Ever wondered what you would do in London with the kids? Ever even thought about going to London with the kids?
The Olympics has inspired us to become intrigued with London and a trip there with the kids.
But, where do you begin to figure out what do and where to go with kids, if you have never been there before or live there?
Found a great website with the best 10 free things to do in London.
http://golondon.about.com/od/londonwithchildren/tp/FreeThingsLondonChildren.htm
I personally want to see Big Ben and Parliament, but only because of Chevy Chase and Family vacation.
The kids love the idea of going around saying they are on holiday rather than vacation.
Well, cherrio off to watch the opening ceremonies.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
We did summer camp at home
In order to keep summer interesting, we decided to do summer camp at home. But what and how to do it?
In comes the Internet and Pinterest. Google search at home summer camps and tons of ideas come our way.
After reading and viewing some ideas, I decided a theme of "Space" be fun.
I liked the idea of keeping it simple and creative, while learning in the process. Being a homeschool family, we are always trying to squeeze learning into everything we do.
So, not putting pressure on ourselves to try to meet a daily agenda made it more fun. Then we could go at our own pace.
We had a rough schedule for everyday. Read a book, make a craft, watch a video and play some review trivia games. All of it about Space.
Threw a makeshift Bulletin Board together, requested books and movies from the library, bookmarked the best websites for Space Camp ideas and viola ready for our camp.
Here are some of the websites I used for ideas: http://m.parenting.com/article/summer-camp-at-home?page=0,2#bmb=1
http://www.thecraftyclassroom.com/ThemeSpaceCrafts.html
http://m.hubblesite.org/#_home
We looked at pictures from space. Which were super impressive. Check out the Nat geo website's photo gallery of the Hubble telescope http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/04/photogalleries/100424-hubble-telescope-20th-anniversary-pictures/
Plus, we found NASA has an app to view photos from space probes they have sending pictures back. Some of the Nebula pictures are amazing. We loved the pictures of Saturn and the panoramic landscape shot from Mars
We are excited for Aug 6 to see the new Mars rover,Curiosity, land.
We started by making the Hubble telescope, after we looked up information about it on the Internet. We read about its mission, it's launch, reason it was named Hubble an we saw pictures, both of it and from it.
Next, we started to read a book called "I Wonder Why Stars Twinkle?". We read a small portion of it over the next three days. After reading about the three types of galaxies, we decided to make a spiral galaxy.
Over the next few days, we made elliptical and irregular galaxies, hung the solar system from the ceiling, learned the phases of the moon, distances from the sun to each planet, drew our own aliens, made our own solar systems out of art supplies lying around, learned about stars, chalked our own stars from hottest to dwarf, ate an astronaut dinner, learned out the international space station, made an international space station, watched movies galore, viewed a ton of space photos, learned about launches and missions, weighted ourselves on other planets, ate black holes for breakfast, ate Milky Ways with lunch, talked about Dr. Who, made star cookies and read some great books from the Library.
Whew, that was a lot!
I think I may have learned more than the kids!
Great stuff!
Next week we start Animals, but will be closer to 3 weeks to finish.
Since there is so much, and I didn't do our Space weeks justice, I will try to post everyday during Animal unit study.
Maybe that way I can get everything covered.
In comes the Internet and Pinterest. Google search at home summer camps and tons of ideas come our way.
After reading and viewing some ideas, I decided a theme of "Space" be fun.
I liked the idea of keeping it simple and creative, while learning in the process. Being a homeschool family, we are always trying to squeeze learning into everything we do.
So, not putting pressure on ourselves to try to meet a daily agenda made it more fun. Then we could go at our own pace.
We had a rough schedule for everyday. Read a book, make a craft, watch a video and play some review trivia games. All of it about Space.
Threw a makeshift Bulletin Board together, requested books and movies from the library, bookmarked the best websites for Space Camp ideas and viola ready for our camp.
Here are some of the websites I used for ideas: http://m.parenting.com/article/summer-camp-at-home?page=0,2#bmb=1
http://www.thecraftyclassroom.com/ThemeSpaceCrafts.html
http://m.hubblesite.org/#_home
We looked at pictures from space. Which were super impressive. Check out the Nat geo website's photo gallery of the Hubble telescope http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/04/photogalleries/100424-hubble-telescope-20th-anniversary-pictures/
Plus, we found NASA has an app to view photos from space probes they have sending pictures back. Some of the Nebula pictures are amazing. We loved the pictures of Saturn and the panoramic landscape shot from Mars
We are excited for Aug 6 to see the new Mars rover,Curiosity, land.
We started by making the Hubble telescope, after we looked up information about it on the Internet. We read about its mission, it's launch, reason it was named Hubble an we saw pictures, both of it and from it.
Next, we started to read a book called "I Wonder Why Stars Twinkle?". We read a small portion of it over the next three days. After reading about the three types of galaxies, we decided to make a spiral galaxy.
Over the next few days, we made elliptical and irregular galaxies, hung the solar system from the ceiling, learned the phases of the moon, distances from the sun to each planet, drew our own aliens, made our own solar systems out of art supplies lying around, learned about stars, chalked our own stars from hottest to dwarf, ate an astronaut dinner, learned out the international space station, made an international space station, watched movies galore, viewed a ton of space photos, learned about launches and missions, weighted ourselves on other planets, ate black holes for breakfast, ate Milky Ways with lunch, talked about Dr. Who, made star cookies and read some great books from the Library.
Whew, that was a lot!
I think I may have learned more than the kids!
Great stuff!
Next week we start Animals, but will be closer to 3 weeks to finish.
Since there is so much, and I didn't do our Space weeks justice, I will try to post everyday during Animal unit study.
Maybe that way I can get everything covered.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Skyauction
Found this website and unleashed the beast! My parents found a trip they wanna go on and all they have to do is bid.
Honduras, which was never on their radar. Now they are intrigued and they are bring their friends and sweeping them into the fun of planning and going on a great vacation.
If you haven't looked at the site try it out. Good deals, but so read the fine print.
Honduras, which was never on their radar. Now they are intrigued and they are bring their friends and sweeping them into the fun of planning and going on a great vacation.
If you haven't looked at the site try it out. Good deals, but so read the fine print.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Medicine
Sometimes the best thing to have in the car is the medicine. That can be anything from Tylenol for a headache to Dramamine for carsickness. Oh now don't forget about medicine of the unconventional kind like music or a nook to keep the kids busy.
Somedays, you just gotta have the tunes to get you through.
Today, I was able to listen to my music while the kids played the Nook in the backseat. Together! They shared and cooperated. It was crazy.
Today's car ride was smooth and easy!
Somedays, you just gotta have the tunes to get you through.
Today, I was able to listen to my music while the kids played the Nook in the backseat. Together! They shared and cooperated. It was crazy.
Today's car ride was smooth and easy!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
How about a car seat?
If you don't already have extra seats for all your cars you should. Today was the day it finally happened. We are always just moving the seats from one car to another. Well, we forgot to move them from hubby's car back to mine, so I was without a booster for My daughter today.
Noticing this 1 hr before I needed to be at the Girl Scout meeting did not help as it takes an hour to get there.
So, I bit the bullet and put My DD in the car without a booster and headed to Target 15 mins away and bought a new booster.
Now there is no more switching. Get however many seats you need for each car and just have them!
Noticing this 1 hr before I needed to be at the Girl Scout meeting did not help as it takes an hour to get there.
So, I bit the bullet and put My DD in the car without a booster and headed to Target 15 mins away and bought a new booster.
Now there is no more switching. Get however many seats you need for each car and just have them!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Boy has it been awhile
The last trip we took was to Disney in Feb. While there my daughter was enrolled in classes offered by Disney. They were very educational and fun and one of the coolest things was being in the park before it opened.
We meet up with my brother and his family and my parents. It was fun. I just wish we would have had more time together. We couldn't go as long as everyone else because of my husband's job. What's worse is the kids got sick middle of the week. I got sick on the ride home.
The week after we got back we headed to Great Wolf Lodge for 2 nights. That was a lot of fun, and my husband and daughter practiced surfing skills. It was cold moving from one water activity to the next.
If you are a germ-a-phob, then I would not recommend the Lodge. So much spit and snot floating in the pool. You know people have to be peeing in it too!!!
Krispy Kreme's on the way home and we ate at The Cheese Shop in Williamsburg. I was a happy camper!
We have no big plans on the horizon.
We want to do another cruise, take the kids to Europe and hit the cabins in TN again. BUT, for now no plans.
We tend to be more spontaneous lately.
We meet up with my brother and his family and my parents. It was fun. I just wish we would have had more time together. We couldn't go as long as everyone else because of my husband's job. What's worse is the kids got sick middle of the week. I got sick on the ride home.
The week after we got back we headed to Great Wolf Lodge for 2 nights. That was a lot of fun, and my husband and daughter practiced surfing skills. It was cold moving from one water activity to the next.
If you are a germ-a-phob, then I would not recommend the Lodge. So much spit and snot floating in the pool. You know people have to be peeing in it too!!!
Krispy Kreme's on the way home and we ate at The Cheese Shop in Williamsburg. I was a happy camper!
We have no big plans on the horizon.
We want to do another cruise, take the kids to Europe and hit the cabins in TN again. BUT, for now no plans.
We tend to be more spontaneous lately.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Our next trip!!!
So, we homeschool and we try to make everything worthwhile for a learning experience. My family is going to Disney, meaning my brother and his family and my parents. They want everyone there and that means us too.
DH wasn't going to be able to get off from work(and still might not be able), but I planned to go anyway. I am not going to miss Disney!!!!!!
WEll, I began to plan and it just never seemed to be happening because DH and I kept disagreeing. FINALLY, I found out information on discount Disney tickets that include a class taught in Disney by Disney. I sold DH on the idea that we can do a family trip, while making it homeschool and cheap!
I ordered tickets for the 4 of us and Chloe gets to do 2 classes. American History and Ocean Conservation. She is totally excited to be able to do them. I will post how they work and if they are worth it.
We talked about going to FL early and doing Universal and Sea World. Both would be exciting for both kids. Harry Potter and Sea Life come on who wouldn't love that?
We, are leaving Disney before everyone else and potentially headed to Columbia,SC to do a musuem lock-in and learn about life in the civil war maing our own soap and candles and cloth. EXCITING! Then the next day we get to do Body Worlds exhibit. Not sure about it since it is really human bodies donated to science and preserved in plastic.
While is SC, we plan to do the Zoo and the Children's museum and show the kids our own haunts. After, we are either driving to NC to do a homeschool day at the museum there or driving to Williamsburg and doing Great Wolf Lodge.
The Great Wolf Lodge would be to make up for Joel being sick and we had to cancel a previously scheduled trip. It was within the 72 hour window, so we had to reschedule and not get a refund of our deposit.
Anyway, that is a brief synopsis of what is planned.
as we plan more I will post more!
DH wasn't going to be able to get off from work(and still might not be able), but I planned to go anyway. I am not going to miss Disney!!!!!!
WEll, I began to plan and it just never seemed to be happening because DH and I kept disagreeing. FINALLY, I found out information on discount Disney tickets that include a class taught in Disney by Disney. I sold DH on the idea that we can do a family trip, while making it homeschool and cheap!
I ordered tickets for the 4 of us and Chloe gets to do 2 classes. American History and Ocean Conservation. She is totally excited to be able to do them. I will post how they work and if they are worth it.
We talked about going to FL early and doing Universal and Sea World. Both would be exciting for both kids. Harry Potter and Sea Life come on who wouldn't love that?
We, are leaving Disney before everyone else and potentially headed to Columbia,SC to do a musuem lock-in and learn about life in the civil war maing our own soap and candles and cloth. EXCITING! Then the next day we get to do Body Worlds exhibit. Not sure about it since it is really human bodies donated to science and preserved in plastic.
While is SC, we plan to do the Zoo and the Children's museum and show the kids our own haunts. After, we are either driving to NC to do a homeschool day at the museum there or driving to Williamsburg and doing Great Wolf Lodge.
The Great Wolf Lodge would be to make up for Joel being sick and we had to cancel a previously scheduled trip. It was within the 72 hour window, so we had to reschedule and not get a refund of our deposit.
Anyway, that is a brief synopsis of what is planned.
as we plan more I will post more!
Memories
Today,as part of our school day, we are going through all the pamphlets and brochures we picked up on our cross country trip. It is interesting that you can remember it, but not remember it. Meaning that you have it as part of your memory, but not until you see something to trigger it such as a map or a ticket.
We have decided to place the road maps we picked up on the wall. Then we are putting up the brochures and running string from the brochure to the city it is located in on the map.
I thought it would be a great way to learn about maps,miles,distance,capitals, cities vs towns, interstates vs routes etc. We will see how it goes. We are waiting on daddy to come home so he can help us. He did the majority of the driving, so he is helping us map out our trip.
Our next task will be to add the mementos we collected to the kids own scrapbooks. They made them before we went on our trip, but didn't do what we had hoped and add thoughts and mementos during our trip. I know we are a lot behind, but something is better than never doing it!
That trip was still one of the BEST family vacations we have ever done. We stuck it out and spent so much time together, we grew as a family in so many ways we just couldn't do at home and on the weekends.
I will try to post pictures of it when we are finished.
We have decided to place the road maps we picked up on the wall. Then we are putting up the brochures and running string from the brochure to the city it is located in on the map.
I thought it would be a great way to learn about maps,miles,distance,capitals, cities vs towns, interstates vs routes etc. We will see how it goes. We are waiting on daddy to come home so he can help us. He did the majority of the driving, so he is helping us map out our trip.
Our next task will be to add the mementos we collected to the kids own scrapbooks. They made them before we went on our trip, but didn't do what we had hoped and add thoughts and mementos during our trip. I know we are a lot behind, but something is better than never doing it!
That trip was still one of the BEST family vacations we have ever done. We stuck it out and spent so much time together, we grew as a family in so many ways we just couldn't do at home and on the weekends.
I will try to post pictures of it when we are finished.
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