Field Trip - Chippokes Historic Farm and Plantation

On Thursday we packed the van and took off early for a field trip to Chippokes Historic Farm and Plantation. The morning was rainy.  The drops fell steadily the entire drive up to Surry, making me unsure of my choice for the day.  However, when we got there the rain had ceased falling making it the perfect day... the rains kept crowds away so the groups were small... perfect for our first exclusively homeschool field trip.

Chippokes Historic Farm and Plantation is the third oldest English settled plantation in the country and the oldest working farm in the nation.  It's tucked away off major roads, about an hour away from home, but well worth the drive.

Upon arrival we parked in a separate area down the road from the actual center.  Lining the gravel road were tractors of all kinds from all eras.  A tractor pulling a trailor awaited us for a ride to the center.  We rode down the gravel road, circled the old sawmill that is still in use, and then made our way to start our field trip. 

 

The theme of the day: Chores on the Farm a hundred years ago.  Kids had the opportunity to participate in the chores that kids were expected to do on the farm.  Our first in the rotation was caring for the animals.  Our group met over by the pen which included a donkey named Jack, several sheep, and goats with their kids.  The kids were able to stand on an elevated stand that allowed them the ability to see the animals and touch them over the split rail fence.  Chops and Monkey were right up front as they were the smallest in the group.  Chopsy asked a few questions regarding anatomy... embarrassing for momma... oh well... the gal must have known it was coming because she answered the question and kept rolling with the information. You gotta love my 2 year old.  Sheesh!

  

  

Station number two was hopping back onto the tractor and taking a riding tour of the grounds.  We rode up to see the mansion which included a separate building for the kitchen as was customary for that time.   We saw the barn and silo, a small vegetable garden with a fence made from long sticks and branches woven together.  Another farm house sat on the property along the banks of the river, while cattle grazed in a nearby field.  The tractor brought us back to the parking lot and ready for our third station. 

  

  

Caring for the chickens was our third session.  The guy who led this session was great.  He explained to the kids that he woke up and was at the farm at 4 am to feed the chickens and collect the eggs.  The boys both had an opportunity to feed the chickens, and then Monkey followed the teacher, Rudy, into the hen house to gather eggs with the rest of the kids.  All of the kids gathered eggs, placed them in a basket,  and then washed their eggs in soap and water.   Rudy talked about the differences of fresh eggs from a farm verses eggs from the grocery store.  Monkey loved it.

  

  

The bell rang signaling the change of session, and we were off to learn about kitchens 100 years ago.  We learned that ovens and stoves didn't have knobs, but the wood burning heated the top. The amount of heat you needed determined where you placed your pots or kettles on the stove.  We made butter from cream by turning a butter churn after seeing many other tools that were used in the kitchen in years past.  At the end of the entire day we tasted the butter that we made spread on saltines.  Yummy!

  

Monkey's favorite session was on Old Timey Games.  A park ranger explained that children not only had chores that they were required to do, but also had time to play.  Even back then parents knew that play was a part of learning.   She showed us games like marbles, cup and ball, a die made from horn, and also a game called graces.  She showed us an actual hornbook that was made from a horn and explained that it was passed down to younger children after the lessons were memorized. 

The students split up into groups of two and played graces after learning about it. We learned that it was improper for boys to play this game, but they were permitted to play if a girl was playing with them.  The object was to take your knitting needs, cross them inside your embroidery hoop, and then fling the hoop into the air.  Your partner's job was to catch the hoop with her needles.  Monkey partnered up with a really sweet girl, I would guess she was about 11 or 12 years old.  She was really good with him.  He had a blast. 

  

  

  

  

Lastly, Monkey ran his first relay race.  Dan, our instructor, mentioned it would not be uncommon for a child to fetch water from the well as soon as they were strong enough to carry a bucket.  So, the kids participated in a water relay, fetching water from one tub and pouring it into a bucket that sat in front of each team.  They ran the relay 3 times.   What fun!

  

 

And what day would be complete without a sweet treat from the Farm Store? 

We headed back to the van to eat our picnic lunch (thanks Daddy!) and had some time to run around, explore the machines, and just enjoy the day.  We can't wait to go back again to learn more! 

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

As we pulled away the rains came back.  We listened to our book on ipod.  Chopsy snoozed. And we headed back to our modern comforts of home. 

 

FIELD TRIP!!!!!

Last week during school we learned about flowers in science. The curriculum material suggested I buy a rose and have "the student take it apart." We did better than that. We live in a city with a great botanical garden.. or beetanical garden - as Chopsy likes to call it. What's even better is that we have a free membership because my mother-in-law works there.

Friday morning I packed a picnic lunch, ran some errands, and then by 11 we were at the gardens to investigate. We gazed at flowers and insects doing just what God had ordained them to do. Bumble bees danced from flower to flower not even noticing our presence. Butterflies floated on the warm summer breeze. A butterfly mistook my Monkey for a flower in the Butterfly Garden, landing on him for just a few moments and then fluttering away. There were caterpillars, eggs, butterflies galore there. We walked all around the garden until our tummies grumbled with hunger for some yummy treats. After playing in the children's garden under the fountains we headed to the parking lot to change clothes and then sit on the hill to watch the planes take off from the local airport while enjoying our favorite lunches. Flowers, water play, bugs, lunches, watching planes take off, and just the opportunity to spend time with my two precious blessings! What could be better!

Monkey and Chops crossing the bridge into the garden.

What boy can resist throwing rocks into a fountain?

A bumble bee busy at work

Even the sky displayed God's splendor


A secret resting place under a huge Magnolia tree. Monkey found it.
It was unseen from the walk - just goes to show it pays to explore!

Playing in the fountains at the children's garden.

Splashing!

Careful steps!

And one last look...until the next time.

GO BUCKS!!!

Yes - it's the season opening game. My Buckeyes are playing Navy. The game started at high noon and of course all of the work that was going on in our house stopped. Everyone was huddled around the tv to watch the Bucks play Navy. As much as I respect and revere the men and women who have chosen a life of military service - my Buckeyes are the only ones I pull for on a Saturday afternoon. So with that - I must close this post so that I can watch my team walk all over Navy. Sorry Chris. :)

September already!

I cannot believe that September is here already! With that the start of public school. Schools in our area begin on September 9th. It was a surreal day on Monday, August 31, when I was absent from my longtime job of teacher of preschoolers with special needs. I slept in. Not overslept... just slept in. I turned in my resignation over the summer because of our decision for me to stay home and school our boys at home. It really is proving to be a fun and exciting adventure. Monkey is loving his lessons and is doing quite well. Chops can't decide if he wants to participate or go play alone in the room - he is permitted to do either - it is just difficult when he changes his mind 2-3 times during our morning.

With the decision to homeschool I have tagged several friends for advice on how and what to do during our homeschool day. We are following a certain curriculum that is literature rich - however, as I have come to find, lacking in a few other areas that I find extremely important. I have begun to tweak it to fit our needs.

I just got 2 new books for momma to help in the battle to nurture the minds of my children, and I'm so excited to dig in to them. Both were recommended by the same friend... the first is Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt. My bff, Heather, had mentioned this book to me a long time ago, and my friend Renee just reintroduced me to the book. It is chock full of worthwhile books for kids from 0-14 years. There are picture books as well as novels included in this book with an annotated list of books at the back. I CAN'T WAIT to get my hands on all of the books and spend time reading to my boys.

The other book is 365 Manners Kids Should Know by Sheryl Eberly. I briefly cracked open the book immediately after putting the boys down for a rest and read the intro. Let me give you a little snippet of the intro to let you see a piece of an anecdote, one of many which are included throughout the book:

Twenty years ago, a family I know decided they wanted to teach the six sons at their dinner table manners so they would grow up not just to be adults, but to be gentlemen. They were not allowed to sit at the table until their mother or grandmother had taken her seat. Elbows were not allowed on the table during the meal. Through the years - and it did take years - as the boys' manners slowly improved, their parents often said, "If you don't learn good manners, you'll never be invited to the White House."
As remote as the possibility seemed, the oldest son took the admonition to heart. When he was selected at fifteen to be a youth representative for a drug-free program, he found himself seated at a luncheon beside the nation's First Lady. He could only think: "At least I know which fork to use!" And his elbows never left his sides.

There are manners for all situations in this book. Manners are laid out in a yearly format. One manner per each day. This will be included in our schooling because this momma wants her boys to be courteous gentlemen in a day in which one is hard pressed to find such a thing.

Now let me depart and get to reading before my blessings arouse from slumber and I'm busy once again! Enjoy!

Ho Hum

I enjoy blog surfing. It's a hobby that I have only been doing for about a year now. At the advice of my best friend, who started blogging, I even started blogging, charting the adventures of our family. I always enjoy seeing what friends are up to, learning more about subjects in which I am interested, and looking back and seeing the memorial stones set up reminding me of what God has done in my life.

Reading bits and pieces of what is going on in the lives of my favorite bloggers keeps me in touch. It's definitely not my preferred way of communication. I am truly a phone call/visit type of gal - but honestly, life does not afford me the opportunity to sit down and chat or even visit often with my favorite bloggers since they have kidlets who are busy going here and there, my kidlets are growing and busy with activities, and too many physical miles lay between us for a "stop over and chat" opportunity.

I am blessed, though, to keep up with the "goings on" of sweet friends through email, blogging, and other electronic methods. It just can't be compared to a visit - to be in the presence of a kindred heart sharing precious moments and memories.

Heather - Know that you are missed. I read your blog this morning and just missed you lots.

My New Adventure

For the past few months I've been hinting toward a new journey in life. So as not to upset a certain someone, you know who you are - Mother - I kept it under wraps until the decision was firm. The Lord led us to homeschool my kiddos. A definite adventure to say the least. For a teacher you'd think that this would come easily. However, concerns mounted left and right. What curriculum do I use? How long should we have school? What will I do with Chops while I'm teaching Monkey? How are we going to do this financially?

Well, the first day of school has come and gone. School started Monday. Monkey seems to be loving it. I'm enjoying it too. For right now things have fallen into place. The curriculum I'm using now will probably not be the same next year, but for Kindergarten it's good enough until I'm more familiar with homeschooling curricula. Chops sits and colors and does school with his older brother. He wants to be involved. Monkey is eager to do his Bible learning, math, reading, and science. I have even been touched by the history lessons about the sacrifices of a missionary woman whose desire was to serve the Lord by serving others in China - a woman who heard the Lord in her heart urging her to do things that didn't seem doable to others.

Today, because of my new shopping hobby, (couponing) I had to go to the grocery store to take part in the double dollar coupon Wednesday at our local grocery store. (brief aside - bought $75 worth of groceries for $28.74 with tax - hooray!) I changed up our school schedule to take the kids to the store early, came home, made lunch, put Chops down for his nap and had school with Monkey. It worked beautifully! Flexibility! Learning! Real life lessons! I think I could get used to this new adventure!

Memory Verse & Wordless Wednesday

Psalm 139:17-18

How precious also are Your thoughts towards me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them.
If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.