Update, and LOTS of Pictures

 We have spent a lot of time at Mystic Seaport, especially while the weather was nice, and one day we ran into a group doing some history presentations for a homeschool co op.  CJ and Eliza loved learning about Emperor Nero and helping to eat a cookie map of the Roman Empire.  It was so interesting!

We have also been enjoying the Mashantucket Pequot Museum.  The kids loved the temporary exhibit on bison, and they learned so much.

Then there was a wonderful trip to see the Steampunk Alice in Wonderland Wee Faerie Village and several other amazing exhibits at Florence Griswold.

There were some great nature hikes, with Eliza keeping notes on everything in her nature journal.

And we all enjoyed the Rennaissance Faire.

We also took several cool trips with Southeastern Connecticut Homeschoolers, including Pumpkintown.

And the Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill, AMAZING!

And The Dinosaur Place at Nature's Art.

And a Walktober sponsored Project Oceanology Boat trip in Norwich Harbor.  The kids loved doing experiments, asking questions, and learning a ton.

Yale Peabody Museum, also an amazing spot we will visit again.

Southeastern CT Homeschool Halloween party.

Halloween trick or treating at Mystic Seaport.

Eric Carle Museum, meeting Mo Willems.  It was great, and we saw some good friends while there.  It was a great day.

We went to Magic Wings while in Massachusetts, and Yankee Candle.  Magic Wings was so calm and zen after the insanity that was the Eric Carle Museum.  700 people, little museum, lots of noise.

Time on the T while on the way to the Boston Museum of Science.  Thank you to my great friend Diana for bringing us, it was fantastic.

The kids just having a great time walking to CCD class.

Trip to the Clay Room, a clay studio, with Southeastern CT Homeschoolers.

And who doesn't love playing with squishy internal organs, with our new Squishy Human Body toy.

Trip to the Frozen Ice Palace at Westfarms mall, not worth the wait.

New exhibit at the CT Science Center after Westfarms, Grossology, this is the kids, playing in a giant digestive system.

We have been learning so much the past month.  We are studying basic anatomy, and learning about Alexander Graham Bell, Andy Warhol, Duke Ellington, inventors and inventions, Benjamin Franklin, and reading tons of great books together.  We have been working on multiplication and division, and learning about basic geometry, lines, line segments, rays, etc.  We are studying rocks and minerals, and continuing with insects and dinosaurs.  We have been watching educational tv, and learning about Van Gogh.  We did a mini unit on Medieval times in conjunction with the Ren faire.  We learned about George Washington, topography, economics, graphing, orchestras, opera, equations, and expanded form in math.  We have done several cooking and baking lessons.  And CJ is learning piano.  We have studied geography and world landmarks.  Done crafts and art lessons.  We have done phys ed lessons, and tangrams, and play dough.  Throughout the past two months we have spent a lot of time talking, researching topics that the kids are interested in, and writing about what we learn.  We listened to some cool audio books, and lots of music.  We have been just trying to enjoy our school time together.  I am looking forward to the next couple of months being slower as far as trips and heavier on lessons.  We are going to study more inventors, artists, and composers.  We are working on Wind in the Willows, and will move on to another book soon.  Next we will spend some time with our snap circuits to study electricity.  Looking forward to another month of fantastic learning, and tons of questions.  And snow :)

Planned Field Trips

So you thought last month was busy?  Not compared to this month.  October is traditionally very busy for us for many reasons.  Number one, it is my favorite season and we go apple and pumpkin picking.  Number two, zillions of people we know plan zillions of things this month.  Number three, Walktober.  There are tons of wonderful educational walks/hikes and outings all over the state this month every year.  We try and do several each year.  This year we are participating in a Project Oceanology boat trip as part of it, as well as a night hike, and a tour and lecture on the fish ladder in Norwich.  Maybe also the historic cemetery walk learning about Benedict Arnold.  We are taking several trips to the Florence Griswold Museum this month for the Wee Faerie Village.  As members we get to go one evening to see all the new exhibits with docents leading tours, and we loved it last year.  We have a class at the Seaport later in the month, and an art class at Florence Griswold.  We are taking at least one trip to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, and we are joining in field trips with other people to the Yale Peabody Museum and Dinosaur State Park.  We are also going to Pumpkintown.  In early November we are going to Magic Wings, the Eric Carle Museum, Old Sturbridge Village, and a friend is taking us with her to the Boston Museum of Science.  The kids are incredibly excited about that :)  We are also planning at least a trip to the CT Science Center and Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center this month.  In between all the parties, classes, Renaissance Faire, and hikes.

September Review

We have had a very lively month.  We have spent time at Mystic Seaport, and the kids have taken a cool class there.  We have been to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, We have been to the Florence Griswold Musuem, and the kids took an art class there too.  We have studied geography, dinosaurs, oceans, multiplication, division, reading comprehension, have written reports and poems, done some fun playdates and great group get togethers with the Southeastern CT homeschoolers, and gone to great classes including sports classes, and lately CJ has been taking piano.  We are reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells and doing a fun unit on it.  We have been learning about art and music, including murals, still lifes, Mozart, Bach, and impressionist landscapes.  We have learned life cycles of plants and certain animals.  We have been to the library often.  We have finished a great unit on insects, including a fun craft on the life cycle of a butterfly.  We have completed a unit on money.  We have done crafts, and playdough, and made moon dough and goo.  We have been playing chess, and had a great time at Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center doing a whole series of activities on birds.  The kids participated in a Bluff Point Shore Program through Project Oceanology, and attended a Kidsploration concert.  We have visited Clyde's Cider Mill, and been watching Liberty's Kids.  We have visited the planetarium several times and studied the solar system in our school room.  We went to the Big E and the kids learned all about agriculture and New England.  We have been baking and cooking together, and doing lots of chores together.  We have done weaving, attended fall festivals, and started ccd.  We have done some great computer and kindle activities too.  The kids have learned about fractions and made fossils, extracted honey and studied bees, worked in the garden and taken nature walks, preserved food for the winter, and worked in our Human Body science kit.  We also have learned all about Florence Nightingale and famous scientists.  We have had a lot of fun and completed a lot of work, and completed some assessments to keep in my bin of stuff that I keep.  Tomorrow if the kids aren't sick, as they are today, we will finish our paper making kit we began this past week.  We will continue to study oceans and dinosaurs, and learn about artists and composers.  We are going to keep practicing multiplication and we will read The Wind in the Willows next.  Looking forward to another great month.