Presidents Day - Field Trip to the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum

     On Presidents Day, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum gives free admission and cherry pie to the first 300 guests.  Such a fun way to celebrate the day and to experience an educational feel trip with the family!  We arrived a half hour early and barely made the cut, but as you can see..we got our cherry pie and my girls were thrilled about it.

Yummy cherry pie!

     This was my first visit to the museum and I was very impressed.  Inside the museum there were interesting facts at every corner.  The rooms were gorgeous and full of educational information and historical significance.

Marley posing as if fascinated. Haha. Silly girl.

Our future leaders. ;)

"DO NOT TOUCH" - What better place to break the rules than the Nixon Museum.  Haha, just kidding! My Dylan is always getting into trouble. 

The Declaration of Independence is my favorite!

     The grounds were beautiful and I loved that there were plenty of grassy areas where children can run and play.  We sat in the middle of the courtyard and ate our lunch on the lawn.  It was a perfect sunny and beautiful day for the occasion!

We got to go inside of the presidential helicopter.  Dylan was especially excited about it.

     My girls are still a little too young to really appreciate what is offered, but they still had a great time and said they would love to come back.

Field Trip to Creamistry! Ice Cream Made with Liquid Nitrogen (Science Fun for Kids)

     What better way to engage your child in a scientific activity than to eat some ICE CREAM!  We heard about a new way of serving ice cream.  Some places are specializing in making the ice cream right in front of you by freezing it with liquid Nitrogen.  Science experiment meets ice cold deliciousness.   Sounds perfect!  For our Family Night we decided to do a field trip to our local Creamistry.  Before we went, I did a basic explanation of elements and Nitrogen to my daughter (almost 5).  Obviously this kind of information won't sink in completely, but I think it's appropriate and respectful to try to explain things to young ones.  I told her we were going somewhere to see how liquid Nitrogen works.  She was excited, and she didn't even know we were going to eat ice cream.  I wanted to keep that part a surprise. ;)  She even asked, "Can we go get ice cream after the science experiment?" Hahaha.  We said we'd think about it.
     She had the biggest smile when we walked in and she saw all the yummy toppings.  Her dad enjoyed explaining the process to her and giving a few quick facts about Nitrogen.  And when the liquid Nitrogen started going, it was all smiles.  Marley loved the whole thing!  And our whole family loved eating the finished products.

Here are some awesome educational links that can supplement a field trip to Creamistry or Sub Zero Ice Cream.

Periodic Table of Elements for Kids

Elements for Kids: Nitrogen

Nitrogen - Quick Facts

Liquid Nitrogen Science Experiment (YouTube video)

Nitrogen Frozen Whipped Cream Experiment --- Makes your kid look like a dragon! :)

Things To Do with Liquid Nitrogen

Our Field Trip to a Local Mosque

     We had the opportunity to attend an event called Open Mosque Day.  When I heard about it, I was excited to take my family and make it an educational field trip.
     My husband and I are members of the LDS church, but we have always embraced knowledge of other faiths.  We enjoy being open-minded and continually learning.  We find it brings us personal realizations and encourages philosophical developments.  This also leads to a valuable lesson in tolerance and love for all people.  These are important principles that we want to pass onto our children, so it is nice that we are able to incorporate it into homeschooling.

     When we first arrived, I was a little nervous because I felt so different from the women there who were dressed in ankle length skirts and had their hair covered.  I wondered if I was going to be allowed in. Haha.  But the attendants were so friendly and made us feel very welcome.  They enjoyed interacting with our girls and engaging in conversation about motherhood.
   
     We were directed into the mosque where we were given a tour of the building.  During the tour we learned about the Arabic calligraphy and architecture.  We took off our shoes in order to enter the prayer hall and we were able to see where and how the five daily prayers are done.  It was a very pretty room.  Here is a YouTube video I found of the Islamic Call To Prayer, which I think sounds beautiful.

   
     There were many interesting details we learned throughout the tour. For example: The prophet Mohammed married a very successful entrepreneur businesswoman.  She had hired him to work for her and then proposed to him.  Isn't that great? Strong women figures making history way back then. ;)
   
     After the tour, we were provided refreshments and were able to sample some middle eastern finger foods.  Marley and Dylan loved this part!

     Our experience concluded with a short history lecture about the Islamic religion and a question/answer session.  I was very impressed with the historical knowledge shared.  I could see many closely related themes we have in our own religion, such as peace and kindness to all, worshipping of one deity, and personal accountability.
   
     The open house was very well presented and both our daughters had a great time experiencing the tour and making new friends.  I was surprised at how quiet, calm, and well behaved our girls were throughout the entire tour.  We discussed the experience with our daughter afterward and she said she liked the writing on the walls and that the carpets were cute. Haha.  We definitely felt comfortable enough to go back and seek more knowledge.  Thank you to the Islamic Center of Irvine!

     For further information about the Islamic religion, this booklet is very informative and answers frequently asked questions: A Brief Introduction to Islam.

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip (includes FREE educational worksheet "Pumpkin Investigation Report")

     Our annual trip to the pumpkin patch was adventurous this year.  I say "adventurous" because we had a very giddy daddy, an energetic 4 year old, a rambunctious 2 year old, and a VERY pregnant mommy.  It was fun, but when we arrived home I was extremely ready for a nap.  There was so much to do and see!

     It has been our tradition the past few years to go to Tanaka Farms.  It is the largest pumpkin patch in all of Orange County and they have so many activities!

     *Wagon Rides
   
     *Kids Tractor Course
   
     *Carnival Games
   
     *Pumpkin Cannon (our favorite!)

     *Corn Maze
(The corn maze was actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be.  Marley was excited about "exploring" the maze.  We split up into two groups (Me and Dylan, Marley and daddy) to see who could arrive at the center of the maze first.  Dylan and I got there first so I was happy to catch Marley's face on camera when she found the center.  She was so happy to have completed the maze.  On the way out she explained to me that she found her way through the maze by looking at footprints in the dirt and trying to follow our tracks.  Um, brilliant!  I was very proud of her tracking skills. ;)


   



     *Pick Your Own Pumpkin
(We picked out a family pumpkin to carve and the girls each got to pick a small pumpkin to decorate.  I made sure to take pictures of the pumpkin's weight to help complete the pumpkin worksheet later at home.)

     I have attached my FREE printable worksheet to enhance the pumpkin picking experience and add some educational value.  I call it the Pumpkin Investigation Report. 

Chick-Fil-A Backstage Tour: Field Trip to "Eat Mor Chikin"

     Did you know that most Chick-Fil-A locations offer a free "Backstage Tour" of their facility?  We are frequent customers at Chick-Fil-A, so I always have my ear open for special deals and opportunities.

     The tour details vary depending on the location, but generally they will take your group behind the counter and into the kitchen.  The tour guide will show you how the food is stored, prepared, packaged, and distributed.  You may even get a history lesson on the origin of Chick-Fil-A and it's founder, who passed away this past September.  RIP Samuel Truett Cathy.

     I immediately thought it would be a great homeschool field trip, so I invited our local homeschool support group and we arranged a group tour.
     I found the tour to be appropriate for all ages.  Our homeschool group consisted of moms and kids, ages ranging from toddlers to teens.  The tour guide was very accommodating and adapted the tour to match our early learners' comprehension.  Our tour was about 20 mins in length, but I was told that depending on the group the tour can last from 15 mins to 40 mins.  Babies needed to be held and the young kids were told to keep their hands in their pockets or at their sides, for safety reasons.  Chick-Fil-A hats were distributed to all the kids and the adults got to wear "Backstage Passes" to authenticate the experience.  No photography is allowed during the tour.  The employees were very friendly and gladly answered all of our questions.  At the end of our tour we all received a complimentary ice cream cone! This was a big score for the kids!...Okay, okay, I was excited about ice cream too! ;)

     We all had fun and it was a unique experience for our sweet little homeschool students.  They all walked away from the tour feeling at home at Chick-Fil-A and quite knowledgable about the procedures.  Marley was very excited to tell her daddy about how the ice machine works and how the soda gets to the front counter.  I love how the little things fascinate our little ones.  It was an adventurous and delicious excursion for all of us.

HOW TO RESERVE A TOUR:
     It's so easy! Just call your local Chick-Fil-A location and ask them if they offer the "Backstage Tour."  They will most likely say yes or refer you to a nearby location where it is offered.  You can then ask questions about what dates and times the tours are available.  My local Chick-Fil-A offered the tour pretty much any weekday between 10am and noon or 2pm and 4pm, in order to avoid the times of heavy traffic.  They referred me to the local marketing manager and gave me her email address so that I could confirm a day and time for my group.  I was told that a group larger than 7 or 8 people would be split into smaller groups due to limited space.  Our group had 15 people, so we went in two groups.  It did take the marketing manager a few days to respond, so I would try to plan it a couple weeks ahead of time.  And you should be all set!
     Enjoy and "Eat Mor Chikin!"
 

     If you know of any other unique places that offer tours or accommodate small group field trips, PLEASE COMMENT and let me know! I would love to visit other places and see what is offered in the educational sense.

*I did NOT get paid or sponsored in any way to write this post. I just really like Chick-Fil-A.
   

BODIES the Exhibition & A Toddler Tantrum of TITANIC Proportions!

     Thanks to a wonderful event called "Educator's Day," we as homeschoolers were able to plan a field trip to BODIES the Exhibition and TITANIC the Experience in Buena Park, CA...free of charge!  I had been wanting to visit this place for years, so I was very excited about the opportunity to take my family.

     BODIES
     The BODIES exhibit was very cool! Real body parts dissected and preserved for study, are placed on display.  My daughter Marley (4 years old) said the faces were "gross and creepy" but she liked seeing the muscles and brains. This photo, to the right, of the skeleton was taken just before I was informed that no photography is allowed in the exhibit. Oops.
     All the body parts were quite fascinating and we allowed our kids to look around and ask questions as they desired.  One of my favorite moments was when Marley noticed the male genital part and said, "Oh look mom! This one is a boy." I replied, "You are correct. That is a boy."  My toddler Dylan liked seeing the heart parts and whenever she saw what looked like blood, she said "Eww! Gross!" Haha. My silly Dyl-ee.

     TITANIC
     After we were finished with the BODIES portion of the walkthrough, we went through the TITANIC experience where we were given boarding passes (of real people) as if we were passengers.  I was particularly interested in this part.  We watched a video and heard historical accounts of what it was like to be on the Titanic back in 1912.  The tour guides were dressed in authentic looking costumes and spoke with European accents.  We were able to sit in a room that replicated the lifeboats on the ocean, and we watched a CGI Titanic sink while sitting there.  It was a fun theatrical experience.  Both my girls were pretty attentive most of the time. But their favorite part was a room where there was a giant ice block made to look like an iceberg.  It was the one thing we were allowed to touch, and the girls kept running their hands across the ice for a long time.   Here is Marley posing as if she is about to walk up the Titanic staircase (on the right: she froze in that position just to take a picture), haha. She had a great time!

     TANTRUMS
     Now...what I didn't mention before is that in between the BODIES and TITANIC sections, Dylan had a major meltdown out of nowhere!  I knew before we arrived at the location that we were treading on thin ice since she had skipped her nap that day.  I was hoping she wouldn't get cranky until after we left around dinner time...WRONG!  I was also hoping that if she started to get cranky at the museum, she could be consoled with snacks or being carried...WRONG AGAIN!
     It was one of those times when you don't remember how it started.

• What set her off? I don't know. 
• How did we get to this point?  Again clueless.  
• How was I able to keep my composure and not toss the little monster in my minivan and take off?  I have no earthly idea!  

     I only remember the screaming and the faces of nearby people.  Luckily, I had my calm, collected husband with me.  He is always a good influence on me, because he is able to laugh at crazy stressful situations and just enjoy the moment.  Thats right! I said enjoy the moment.  Sounds strange, but we let her do her worst and we filmed some of it, while we smiled at people and employees walking by.  A few people looked shocked and uncomfortable, but most people would either walk over her flailing body and ignore her, or they would walk around her and laugh.  I really appreciated the empathy most people showed.  It was an amusing and adventurous little moment.  Wait, did I just say little? Well, Tantrum Part One lasted about 15 mins.  Tantrum Part Two, which took place in the car ride on the way home, lasted about 35 mins.  So we are looking at almost AN HOUR of kicking and screaming.  Thank heaven for parental sense of humors. ;) Care to see about 50 seconds of emotional chaos?  Check out our video...

 
     Ah, memories. LOL.  Funny thing: Dylan calmed down so quickly in the car when we played back the video for her.  She watched herself kick and scream and cause a ruckus.  She was completely captivated and silent while she watched the video over and over again.  I told her, "Oh that is so sad! Isn't that sad that Dylan is crying?"  She replied "So sad."  I believe it provided a learning opportunity for my toddler.  Stepping outside of your situation and observing your actions is often a valuable life lesson.  I wonder how we would react if we were able to playback some of our frantic moments. Ugh. That does NOT sound pleasant, does it? Haha.

  

Farm Field Trip 2014 - Link to Educational Worksheets for Kids

     This past weekend we were able to visit a local farm to go along with our Farm Animals theme for September.  So I had to dress my sweet Dyl in her spiffy little overalls! Haha.  She got to sit on a real tractor and feel awfully special for a few minutes.                               

     The highlight for me, as the educator, was the cow milking demonstration.  The girls saw them wash down the udder and hook the cow up to the milking machine.  We saw the milk get transported through clear piping to a refrigerated system.  And Marley pointed out a poster nearby indicating with a flow chart how the milk gets to the grocery store.  It made me so happy to see her focusing on the educational aspect of the farm.  I think it helps that we watch a lot of "How It's Made" on Netflix.  Haha.

     The girls interacted closely with the calves, because the cows walked over to us quickly and began mooing loudly.  The girls really liked this part and were convinced those baby cows wanted to be our friends.  

     I think the most surprising sight at the farm was the peacock and the peahen.  I did not expect to see peafowl there, but it was cool and we sat down and watched them for a while.  We learned that the male peacock is the one with the colorful feathers, where the female peahen does not have them. Apparently that is so the male can attract the female with it's more beautiful feathers.  Interesting!    

     

     The farm had all kinds of animals: Geese, Chickens, Chicks, Roosters, Pigs, Cows, Goats, and Sheep.  There were many others, I just don't remember all of them.  The farm also had so many fields of different crops. 

     It was a very fun morning and we experienced the farm with much interest.  Since we had already covered sheep and pigs this month, I was able to review some facts with Marley and she impressed daddy with her knowledge.  I guess you could say it was a fun way to do a pop quiz without any pressure or intimidation. ;)

     On the farm's website I found several printable educational worksheets to go along with the farm experience.  It was a perfect way to go home and review what we had seen and to continue the educational value of the trip.  Click here to view the farm worksheet options.

A Disneyland Counting Book - FREE printable template

     In honor of the annual "Not Back To School Day" at Disneyland.  I would like to share a fun preschool or kindergarten activity that we did at the Magic Kingdom today.  This activity was an adventure for the whole family. It also gave Marley the opportunity to apply counting, math, search skills, drawing, tracing and the experience of creating her own book.

     I told Marley she would be creating her own counting book from things that we see at Disneyland.

  1) While exploring and enjoying rides, we found objects around us that corresponded with the numbers 1 through 10.  I helped her with this process.  By the end of the day (even after we completed the assignment) she was pointing out everything she could count.

3 MINNIE EARS

  2) I took pictures of the objects, so that we could refer back to those pictures at home.

1 TEACUP

2 CHURROS

4 SINGING PIRATES

5 COTTON CANDIES

7 CARROTS

6 HONEY POTS

8 MICKEYS 

9 ELSA CROWNS

10 MISTING FANS

 3) When we got back home, I prepared a traceable template for her to use as a base for her book.

 4) I wrote in the missing words and titled it "My Disneyland Counting Book." I had Marley trace the title and numbers.

 5) I asked Marley to illustrate her own version of each object we found.  This is when referring back to the pictures helped. (I decided to insert the pictures into the document so that she could refer to them easily and it added an official look to the book)

 6) Once it was completed, I stapled the left side in 3 separate spots to create a quick binding.

     It was a drawn out process, but very enriching in many ways for both of us.  I was very impressed with how much the assignment engaged Marley. She was very focused and said, "This is a fun project."  Marley enjoyed the tracing and drawing portion very much, and she now has a cute little memento from Not Back To School Day 2014.

     Marley made her counting book about Disneyland, but counting books can be themed for anything or anywhere: the grocery store, a playground, around the house, etc.

Here is my free printable for your child to create their own My Counting Book.

     I hope some of your children can have fun with this assignment!