Summer Highlights Week 3-Another Busy Week

Monday-

We woke up in an experimenting mood and decided to work with the printing painting technique using stamp letters, a toothbrush, broccoli, stencils, bubble wrap, shells, toy wheels, bolts, and sponges.

Tuesday-

In the morning I found Hannah and Jamilah hard at work making sock puppets.  They entertained the little ones with a short puppet show before we headed off to the library for a scrapbooking class.  As usual I was really impressed with the quality of materials and  instruction considering it was a free program.  Even though this particular class was one we had to sign up for ahead of time, I still don’t understand why more people don’t take advantage of these free programs.  There were only about 6 children in the class and I think the limit was 15. Also, it turned out that the instructor was a fellow homeschooling mother whom I have known for several years now so that was another positive aspect of the class for the girls.

Hannah and Jamilah caught on pretty quickly and learned some fun scrapbooking techniques.   Hannah chose a botanical gardens theme and Jamilah chose an arts/crafts theme.

Wednesday- 

Wednesday was a stay at home cleaning/laundry day.  We did manage to listen to a short audio book while we folded laundry together called Stone Fox.  The story was about an 10-year-old boy who lives with his sick Grandfather and enters a dogsled race in hopes of winning the money needed to pay the back taxes on the grandfather’s potato farm so they could keep the farm. The boy had some fierce competition during the race from a Native American who races each year and is always the winner.  The result of the race surprised us a bit, but I won’t spoil the ending for those interested in the book. 

Another surprise we had this week which was a very pleasant surprise for the girls was that there is actually another addition to the classic Little House series  called  Old Town in the Green Groves. This novel written by Cynthis Rylant fills in two years of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s life that she didn’t write a novel about but were based on Mrs. Wilder’s memoirs.

Thursday-

We headed out to the park early in order to try to beat the heat which was almost impossible.  Some fellow Muslim homeschoolers met us there, so the children and I enjoyed ourselves tremendously. 

In the afternoon we baked a couple batches of fudge brownies which didn’t last long over here.

Friday-

There was a free Stories with Art session at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts that we attempted to attend but we ended up at the educational resource library instead of the library inside the main museum where the class was being held.  Even though we missed the class, the visit wasn’t a total loss as we did get to tour the Pre-Columbian Americas exhibit for the first time.  It was something that was on my list of things to do with the children, maashaa Allah.  The picture quality isn’t as good as it could be due to the fact that flash isn’t allowed inside the museum.

Finally, when we went back to the resource room there were cutouts of birch bark canoes and dugout canoes available, so the girls ended up with a museum tour and a hands-on activity of our own after all despite missing the scheduled class, maashaa Allah.

I hope everyone enjoyed their week as well. What did you do this week?

 Have a wonderful weekend! 

Spending Special Time

With my four oldest children gone on their own adventures with their grandparents, the three littles and I have had the rare opportunity to spend some quality time together.  They have kept me quite busy while following their lead.  Their choice of activities has included painting, read alouds, bike riding, playing at the botanical gardens, a library visit, lots and lots of baking, and a trip to a local nature center.

Today we journeyed to Three Lakes Park  and Nature Center and despite it being a bit crowded with daycares and other camp groups, the little girls and I had a wonderful time, maashaa Allah.  Here is a description of the park from the county website.  “Three Lakes Park and Nature Center bring together the three worlds of air, water, and land for visitors to explore. The Nature Center is a 6,500 sq. ft. facility featuring a variety of exhibits designed to provide hands-on experiences. The 50,000 gallon aquarium also gives visitors a “fish-eye” view of the underwater world.

The exhibits in the Nature Center will introduce visitors to the plant and animal life native to the area and wildlife living in the wetlands and woodlands of the park. By providing an assortment of live exhibits, dioramas, and interactive displays, the Nature Center offers something for every field of natural interest and is appropriate for all ages.”

I’m not sure why we don’t take greater advantage of this awesome facility and visit more often though. Nevertheless, we relished  our last excursion today before everyone returns home. 

Share our experience at the nature center by viewing the slideshow below.

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3,2, 1 Blast Off into Astronomy

Launching a water rocket

As homeschoolers who are always in search of learning new things, we tend to take advantage of educational opportunities in our community when they are offered.  So, when I discovered that the local science museum was offering astronomy activities this morning, I immediately planned our morning venture.  I also have to admit that astronomy  isn’t my strength, therefore; I need  any assistance available in exposing the children to this field of science.

As part of the many options at the museum, there was an opportunity to view the sun through a telescope.

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The girls and I were totally inspired to learn more about astronomy and the constellations after learning that a 12 yr. old girl made this telescope.  Learn more about her over at her blog, Sydyney’s Telescope Blog

Her father recommend a book about the stars by H. A. Rey. who also authored the Curious George series.  I checked it out on Amazon and was very impressed with the simplicity of book.

Another exhibit that the children enjoyed was about meterorites.  We learned that meterorites are usually very heavy and magnetic.  They were challenged to determine which rocks were earth rocks and which were meterorites using those characteristics.   

Finally, they were interested in experimenting with the air pressure rocket which I was told is always a big hit with the young children.  I really had a difficult time pulling them away from that activity.

Overall, I felt like the children benefited from the array of astronomical activities which were offered at the science museum today.  They also got a lot of individual attention at each exhibit was it wasn’t very crowded, maashaa Allah.  I do hope they are inspired to learn more about astronomy as I feel a bit more familiar and comfortable helping them explore it further.

New Activities Galore at the Garden

Each year spring always brings new and exciting educational programs to the botanical gardens and this year is no exception.   Alhamdulillah, today as the temperatures reached the high 80s, we were blessed to engage in these activities with a few fellow Muslim homeschoolers. 

Before we meet up with the other homeschoolers, my children and I checked out the Orchids Galore exhibit in the conservatory.  Truthfully, I was the one who was the most interested in this exhibit and the children just wanted to go the children’s garden as usual.  Therefore, the encounter with the orchids was short-lived.

During the new April/May  Kid Quest which is like a scavenger hunt, the children became botanists as they observed, took notes, and learned about their environment. 

The older children in our group also throughly enjoyed the newest garden weaving collaborate art project.  They were also encouraged to create their own individual art project with sticks, yarn, beads, and other recycled material.   This garden weaver program as well as a new children’s stick works studio is in conjunction with a world renowned artist coming to the garden this May to sculpt using sticks and twigs. 

So, with all those new activities for springtime and wonderful company, finding  our vehicle with flat tire on the way out didn’t even dampen my spirits.   Alhamdulillah, it was a wonderful day with many memories made.

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Ceramic Gallery Exhibition

While attending a visual arts workshop today, the girls and I had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the current gallery exhibition.   Jennah (6) and I attended a ceramics workshop, so the exhibition fit right in to the work we had done making clay pendants.  Today was the first part of the ceramics workshop; therefore, I hope to share our finished handwork in a couple of weeks.

The ceramic exhibition entitled, Tradition and Moderntiy, featured the work of ceramic artist, Michelle Erickson.   Her work tied the past to the present as well as incorporated techniques used by 17th and 18 century Colonial American potters. 

I am sure that the current issues she exposed in her artwork such as child slavery, war, and politics were not understood by the girls, but we still were able to better understand how the cermanics were made as a result of our class.

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Chilly Day Out

It had been awhile since the girls and I had been out and about due to illness and the cold weather.  Today, we ventured out to the garden to complete the most recent Kid Quest and take some photographs to use in a creative writing assignment.  Insha Allah, we will use their photographs along with this postcard creator to spice up our writing experience and share postcards with extended family.

In addition to those projects at the garden, we were also able to check out some new indoor winter exhibits including a train exhibit and some cute doll houses, maashaa Allah.

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Elizbethan England Meets Richmond,Virginia

My three eldest children and I had the opportunity to tour a late 15th century Tudor estate that once stood on England’s Irwell River during a homeschoolers and historic houses program.  Agecroft Hall,  once located in Lancheshire, England, was disassembled, crated, and shipped across the Atlantic in 1925 to be reassembled here on the banks of the James River in Richmond, VA. 

Although, we weren’t permitted to take photographs inside the manor house, I was able to get some shots of the outside of the house, the gardens, and the kitchen, maashaa Allah. 

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Feeling Refreshed

Since I was feeling the need for some fresh air, some spring greenery, and exercise, I decided to take everyone to Maymont.  Hawwa (3) had been pleading for me to take her there for several weeks now, so I decided that it would be nice place to visit today. 

They wanted to feed the goats, so I suggested they pull the weeds up around the outside of the fence to offer to them.  Alhamdulillah, the children and the goats were totally amused by this and we ended up visiting with the goats for a while.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a bite to eat atop a hill with a panoramic view of the park, they continued exploring nature, maashaa Allah.

As the locals can attest, I got my exercise coming back up that steep hill pushing a loaded stroller, maashaa Allah.

Homeschool Day @ Tredegar Iron Works

While reading over my emails this morning, I came across a notification about homeschool day at Tredegar Iron Works in the city of Richmond.  It was a bit of short notice, but the price was right, we homeschoolers are flexible,  and the hands-on living history events sounded fun and educational for the children.  So after slapping together a quick-lunch, we were off to study some state and national history, insha Allah.

Some of the workshops that were planned for the children included learning about a common confederate soldier, a woman’s role in the Civil War, a Cannon’s Roar, and interactive stations.   In these workshops they enjoying marching in formation, learning about quilting, and working together to “fire” a cannon.

Admittedly, my little children weren’t very interested in the program as it was best suited for ages 7 and up, in my opinion, but I found other ways to make the outing beneficial for them as well.  There was an enormous open field with outside exhibits, look outs, and flora and fauna to discover.  We even found sand in which to dig near the picnic tables.  The train running high above the river  also fascinated  them.

Here is a video of some of the activities in which we participated along with views of the city.

After we returned home, my ten yr. old son had a ton of questions and I was grateful to have my husband available to listen and answer his inquiries, alhamdulillah.  My husband has done much historical research in his spare time; therefore, he is in a better position to explain historical events than I am able.

Humpback Rocks- A History, Culture, and Geology of the Blue Ridge Mountains

Our most recent outing was to the Humpback Rocks (milepost 5.8)  area of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Here, we observed and explored exhibits in the vistor center of moutain life in the late 19 century to the mid 20 century, a mountain farm trail which consisted of a cabin with several outbuildings, and a hiking trail that detailed some of the geology of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

Check out the video of our experience.