Junior Rangers: Topeka

  Ever since our Rushmore trip, the kids have been itching to add to their junior ranger badges.  One that is super close to us is the Brown vs. Board of Education site in Topeka.  We wanted to do something for Black History Month, so this seemed like the week.  Mookie was dying to have her buddy, who attends public school, spend the night last night.  I almost said no.  The buddy didn't have school due to a teacher work day, but we did.  We decided to flop our week and take our buddy with us instead!  So field trip Monday it became! :)
  Since it was just me and 4 kiddos, I knew that Shorty wasn't going to fare well through all I had planned, so we went to the John Ritchie House first.  Ritchie House is the oldest structure standing in Topeka.  The Ritchies were staunch abolitionists, hanging with the likes of John Brown during the turbulent territorial era.  Their house was a stop on the Underground Railroad. When we got there, Bubby was SO excited (really he makes homeschooling easy, the kid LOVES learning!).  He leaped out of the car and shouted "The Freedom Trail!" He had learned about the house at Kansas Day and its been on his mental list to visit ever since.

The kids in the front room of Ritchie House with a pic of John Ritchie

  The tour is free, and actually only open on Mondays and Wednesdays.  There is an education center with a small exhibit detailing the era the Ritchies lived in, and then you get to tour the 1st floor of the house which is next door. The house has only sparse furnishings, and some artifacts, but the tour guide did a fantastic job of explaining the Ritchies and their role in the early Topeka time period as well as their part in the Underground Railroad.  Shorty did a wonderful job, only faltering temporarily when he grabbed a door knob on the artifact shelf and called it a hammer.  *whew*
  On to the Brown vs. Board site.  I explained the background of it on the way over.  The kids hadn't studied that yet and were fairly incredulous that segregation had happened.  I was glad to expose them to these in conjunction with each other, really makes history more easily understandable when you can merge lessons like that.

  Admission is free to this one as well, but both sites would appreciate donations.  We checked in with the Park Ranger & she started us off in the auditorium that had some artwork & video going.  The videos at Brown are so well done.  I had been several years ago and they really do a great job of detailing what led up to that decision and the effects (which is good because between chasing Shorty and trying to help kids find answers to their Ranger booklets I really didn't get to absorb anything).  When she got the intro movie up and running we moved on and watched it.  It was pretty corny, but really if you had young kids it was a good way to introduce them to why this was an important place without getting too in depth.
  The next room is my favorite, it is chalked full of why blacks were treated the way they were, the Jim Crow laws, the court cases, a timeline, and a hallway which makes you feel like you're walking in the midst of one of the race riots (it can be a little overwhelming, so keep that in mind for young kids - Shorty was unaffected though).

The riot hallway.  This pic does not do it justice.

  The whole Junior Ranger process takes on average we've found about an hour and a half.  The number of sections you need to complete varies with age, for instance, our buddy only had to complete 4 since she's 8, but our two completed 6 for ages 9+.  Which is only right since we made her do school on her day off;)  The Park Ranger swore them all in as Junior Rangers and presented them with their badge and certificate.

   Bubby is already planning our next Junior Ranger expedition to Nicodemus, KS.  I'm focusing on something closer like the National Archives in Kansas City:)

Field Trip Friday: Skating!

  We almost forgot about skating today.  Its been a really weird week.  Shorty has been sick & we had around 15 inches of snow with really cold temps so it threw us a little off.  We started out normally.  The kids had a little bit of computer time - we give them 15 minutes each day, with more occasionally.  They stretch it out a little bit by watching each other play their games:)

The boys watching Mookie play WebRangers

  While we did our devotionals for the day, Mookie worked on her dishtowel embroidery.  Papa gave her some for Christmas (and pretty much every color of the rainbow in embroidery floss) and she's been dying to start another.  She threaded her own needle this morning and she was so proud:)
  I made sure they got Math & English done and a few other side items.  This week has been a little loose.  Our buddies across the street used to be homeschooled and now that they're in public school if they're off for snow days (which they were 3x this week) we make sure the kids are available to play more readily than a regular school day.  Between that and Shorty making trips to the doctor, it cut up the week a bit, but one of the awesome things about homeschooling is being flexible!
  The timing of skating day couldn't have been better to get us out of the house!  Mookie absolutely LOVES rollerskating!  We've dropped going to the Keepers of the Faith group meetings so we can go to a monthly homeschool skate instead.  Bubby chose to stay at home with Daddy.  While we were gone, they cleaned the basement.  Its more of a cellar, so they scrubbed down the walls and chased the cobwebs away:)
  Shorty is a little too young for me to feel comfortable with him being on skates in the midst of the other skaters, so I pushed him in our umbrella stroller on the skate floor.  Mookie lapped us several times on the floor, but came by and gave us a smile every once in a while.

  Her favorite part of skate day is the limbo!  She's getting better and better, both at the limbo & skating.  There were about 100 kids doing the limbo today and she lasted until the last 25, but we didn't get any farther than that because its on a time limit.
  No trip to town is complete without running extra errands, so we grabbed some groceries and then headed to the library.  Shorty was in high gear because of a super short nap, so it was interesting at times, but its always fun:) 

Happy Birthday Kansas!

  Today we went to the Kansas Day celebrations at the Kansas State Historical Society.  The Society holds special meaning to our family.  The current building is just down the hill from where my Grandparents Murray used to live.  Hubby & I worked there for years in the archaeology department & library/archives.  Plus, it is one of the kids' all time favorite places to be with the exhibits, the trails and even the library.  We hadn't attended the Kansas Day festivities there for a few years, so we were really excited to go!
  We always try to go around lunch time so we can beat the large school crowds.  Its still really busy, but a little less so.  When you get there they have you sign in and give you a handout on where the activities are within the building.  The set up is really wonderful - you don't need to advance register and homeschool teachers are treated just like regular teachers:)  The activities range from crafts and live performances, to individuals demonstrating different crafts.

Shorty & his railroad hat

  The absolute best demonstrator is the rope making.  There's always a huge line.  I'll let you in on a little secret, homeschoolers have a HUGE advantage at this one.  They allow each class to make a rope and one lucky kid gets to actually take the rope home.  Mookie was dying to get a rope this year.  Fortunately for us even though she got the rope, our "class" gets to take home the rope and share it amongst themselves:)  Bubby's rope from the last time we went is an improvised rope swing in one of our trees.  It is quite a treasure for the kids to take away from this day. 

Bubby helping Mookie make her rope

  In true Bubby form, he had to go to each activity/demonstration on the map.  That made for a real challenge with a toddler who refused a nap before we left, but we almost made it.  I think we missed 2 :)  We even completed the gallery scavenger hunt which the kids loved!

Mookie trying her hand at basket weaving

  One of the really cool things about the day for the teachers is they send you home with a packet of great Kansas teaching helps.  There are some other wonderful Kansas Day activities in our area, we hope to try them out in the years to come too:)

Adventure along the way

  Yesterday we had an unplanned trip out of town. One of the wonderful things about homeschooling is that school can be anywhere!  One of the attractions along the way to our destination was the Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan, KS.  It has been on my list to visit ever since it opened.

A look down from the second floor

  It did not disappoint!  While we were waiting for the intro film the docent explained the whats and wheres of the displays and a "thunderstorm" rolled through.  Made us all jump a bit.  The intro film was amazing!  Now usually any intro film is a little blah.  You're just waiting to get on to the main attraction.  This thing was panorama, had "prairie breezes" moving through, "smoke" and even "snow"!  It was my favorite part of the Center. 
  The kids' favorites varied.  Shorty loved the trains of course :)

 There were tons of hands on things for the kids.  Although Shorty's attention span was, well short, we took advantage of many of them.

Shorty "branding" a cow.  He won't give us a normal smile for the camera right now;)

Mookie loved the kids' interactive play area.  She's a more hands on/active learner so it was perfect. 

the tunnels in the kids' area

The kids area was complete with tunnels that showed the creatures that are found in the Flint Hills area.  There were also sounds of the Flint Hills, a book area, toddler area & a small rotating exhibit. 
  Bubby, well, in true Bubby form loved everything!  He looked at each individual exhibit & read all the captions!

Bubby & Daddy

the under the Flint Hills hall

We spent about 2 hours there and the kids wished we could have had more.  So if you're going, plan for 2+ hours for sure to take it all in.  Our family of 5 spent $30 on admission. 
  We made our way to Lindsborg and couldn't stop there without seeing Coronado Heights.  The Heights was built in the 1930s by the W.P.A. memorializing Coronado's trip through Kansas.  It holds a special place in our family's heart because the archaeological dig that Daddy & I started dating at was held near Lindsborg.  The Heights had been the place for all the kids on the dig to hang out at in the evenings.

Coronado Heights

It was cold and super windy so we didn't stay long.  Just enough to show the kids the buildings and point out where we had climbed into the tower those many years ago (there isn't a ladder, you have to scale the wall - we discouraged the kids from even thinking about it!) 
  On our trip home we stopped at the Brookville Motel in Abilene for a wonderful chicken dinner.  Yum! 
  We're definitely planning a lower key week next week.  Its been hard to get back into sit down school today - but so totally worth it!

Field Trip Monday

  We usually take our field trips on Fridays, but an unexpected errand took us to Topeka today so we rolled with it.  The kids started off with our normal school.  Shorty held the flag for our flag salute a job he takes very seriously.  Afterwards we do a short round of exercise, which is good for the 2 older kids (and mom!) and good for Shorty (age 2) for gross motor & counting.

  Next in line is our daily Bible lesson.  Right now we're working our way through the Keepers of the Faith books on character.  If we're lucky, Shorty plays quietly with his toys during this - today was one of those days! Then Bubby and Mookie head off to work on their core subjects (English and Math), we schedule in an hour for the 2 of them but that ebbs and flows with the day.  Mondays are always tricky with regaining attention spans from the weekend, but it wasn't too bad overall.
  Our field trip was to the Governor's residence of Cedar Crest.  There's a free tour on Mondays from 1-3pm.  I've wanted to get there for quite a while, and we snagged the chance today.  Unfortunately, Shorty had not taken a nap and was throwing quite a fit when we headed out the door.  My wonderful hubby arrived home just in time though and offered to keep little guy at home and get a nap in for him.  Yay!  So the rest of us took off on an adventure!
 

The Cedar Crest parking lot over looking the beautiful Kansas River valley

  We were so blessed that Ducky and Grandma got to join us today.  They like learning as much as we do!  It looked like we were the only ones that were there for a tour today and the docent made sure we had all of our questions answered and took her time with us, which was wonderful!

  The house was originally built by a Scotsman who published the Topeka Capital Journal.  He incorporated the Scottish thistle & rose into a lot of the features in the house and is also something that has been carried through into the more modern decorations.  Bubby & Mookie thought it was great to hunt for all that they could find!

The study

  One of our favorite rooms was the study.  Bubby loved the secret panel that hid the safe!  I must admit I want a room like this in my house!  The kids ate the whole tour up, and I think we'll have to head back sometime soon. 
  We needed some books for school (American Revolution - yay!), Bubby's Boy Scout project (South Africa), and a section in Mookie's Awana book (Sudan), so our next stop was the library.  Our little library is excellent, but if we are after something specifically, or more than a couple of books on a particular subject we head to the Topeka or Lawrence libraries.  The Topeka Library has just added some new fun things to their kids area that really add to the great experience that it already is!

Our dino friend at the Topeka Library

  They even got in some important cuddle & book time with Ducky and Grandma while mom was looking for some books for school.

 I say some books, but that's a relative term, my dad had to help me carry out all of our books;)  What a great adventure. Now I need to figure out our next destination.  It has been so cold that planning an expedition has not been something on the priority list! :)

Our new library

  We have been waiting with baited breath for our new library to open and this was the week!  They're still putting the finishing touches on it, but they're open for business. We used to go at least once a week, but in the building phase we just never got to the temporary library as much as we wanted which is silly because our town is not that big.  The library's permanent location though is right downtown by the bank, the post office, and city hall which makes things so much easier!
  The kids were so excited to go!  We jumped right into the kids' room...

Mookie curled up with a book

It has been almost a year and even though the temporary space was well suited for a town our size, all the books were now out of storage, all of the comfy furnishings we so enjoyed were all there from the carpeted "cave" to the little cabin...

Shorty playing with the stuffed animals in the cabin

were all there!  Hooray! The wall between the kids' room and the adult section had a bunch of windows in it.  The kids were thrilled that they could spy on the adults.  They didn't buy it when I told them it was probably so the adults could see what the kids were doing. 
  Even the things that had been around during the interim seemed new...

Bubby checking out the National Geographics

We're planning on taking Daddy tomorrow to show him around.  Yay! :)

Our Second Flat Traveler Adventure

  Our second traveler adventure was a little more disjointed than the first.  Lesson #1 learned: don't set up your next swap until your traveler is back in hand.  The swapping group we belong to hosts swaps every month, so I was getting our next destination ready based on expected time of arrival of our traveler per communication with our swapping partners.  Well, real life happens, and no matter how well you plan it can go awry (see here about our first experience).  Having made commitments for the future made it hard to get a good starting exchange date.
  We had a lot of fun with our new travelers: Desert Tortoise from Las Vegas & Maria from Kitty Hawk, NC.  Here is what we sent with them:

what we sent to Las Vegas

  Desert Tortoise got to come with us on our South Dakota trip, so we had tons of fun things to send.  We even sent a fossilized turtle shell piece that we found at the Homestead B & B.  He came with a journal to fill out, but we still included a scrapbook like we have in our previous packets. 

what we sent to Kitty Hawk

  We didn't go as many places with Flat Maria, so we made it more of a Kansas theme & included a Little House on the Prairie book & some other Kansas items along with trinkets from our trips.  She came with her own journal too and a passport.  We bought a stamp just for it  to represent Kansas for it & future passports.

Las Vegas

  Due to some scheduling it took a little while to get Bubby's Flat Hank back from Las Vegas, but that was ok since we weren't planning on hosting any travelers during the holidays.  His host family sent pictures of Hank & some Nevada work sheets:)

Kitty Hawk

  Buffy's host family sent some great pamphlets showing some of the wonderful shoreline adventures in their area as well as pictures & a nice note from our swapping partner, even a Halloween decoration since it was close to then when we got it back.  I was really impressed with this because you could tell the student did most of the work & that was neat:)  I've been writing most of the journal entries for the ones we send but getting input from the kids on what they think is important to include.  I hope that for the next ones that we do they will be in "the know" since we have a few under our belt and take more of it on themselves. 
   Something to keep in mind, each swap is different, you never know what you're going to get.  Just make sure that you "do unto others...." and not expect grandiose things each time.  Go into it to just enjoy catching a glimpse of the interesting things in another part of the world and being an ambassador for your part of the world and you'll have a great time! :)