Venus will be in front of the sun tomorrow, June 5th

This happens TOMORROW!  The next time it happens is in Dec. of 2017.

Homeschooling Through the Holidays

I'm not the "go all out" type for Christmas. I am withdrawing more and more every year and leaning more toward the Biblical holidays but that's a TOTALLY different story!

Homeschooling through the holidays may be a struggle for some people. We went away for Thanksgiving and it was like a glorified field trip! The Espressos learned about hunting, guns, deer, bows, reading maps and a bunch of other things along the way!

We were going down the highway and Espresso was studying the map to see where we were when all of a sudden he insisted that we need to take a different route. I decided to trust him and go that direction. (My husband said that it didn't matter which way we went.) So, Espresso navigated me through 3 highway switches and into another state.

Even though you may not be officially "schooling" during the holidays, there are plenty of ways that your children can still learn.

What does your family do during the holidays?

There's Room At the Top For YOU!

What does that mean? It means that you can be at the top of "The Best Homeschool Mom Club" too! We took the boys on what was meant to be an AWESOME, two day field trip to Indianapolis and because of God's blessings on us, it was so much MORE!

We don't usually have the funds to go on trips like this but with God's grace, we were able to do it! A lot of what we did was free or discounted. I'll do another post on that next week. I kept telling the Espressos, "Who's got the best homeschool mom in the world?" "That's right! You do!"

Highlights of our trip:
Stayed at the Hyatt Regency downtown Indianapolis on the 15th floor
Swam in pool
Indianapolis Children's Museum for FREE
Circle Center Mall
Indianapolis Museum of Art for FREE
Pacers/Bulls game and got autographs for FREE

Indianapolis Children's Museum

We learned about different parts of the world and other cultures like Egypt.

(Double Espresso isn't sad, he thought he was posing. ?)

Star Wars is a HUGE entertainment for the Espressos so we visited the Star Wars Clone Wars exhibit.

Recently, we read the story of Ann Frank. The exhibit was about children who have made a difference. This picture of Ann was made of many, many smaller photos of different people including Hitler.

Ann's Face Close Up

The Espressos checking out the barbed wire used at concentration camps.

Double Espresso is turning 13 and is on the quieter side. This place had a strange effect on him. He was immediately pulled into the exhibits and started climbing around and didn't mind his photo being taken!

Indianapolis Museum of Art

The IMA had some really impressive pieces of art!

I got this photo in on the Contemporary Art floor before I got scolded and told that I couldn't take photos on that floor. ?? She was very cranky!

Espresso is really into photography. He was able to practice some of talent at the IMA.

This painting of George Washington was among some of the great paintings we saw including some by Monet!

Last but not least, the icing on the cake! Of course the learning was fun and would have been enough, but getting autographs of their favorite players of their favorite team was the highlight and treat of the trip.

Once in a lifetime...

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Turn the County Fair Into a Field Trip

That is just what we did!

I know some people who have gone to state fairs this year. We chose a county fair to attend in Northwest Indiana. (We've discovered many natural things to do in NW Indiana just outside the city of Chicago.)

Instead of sinking our precious resources into games and rides (we save that for the big parks like Six Flags) we go see the animals and eat a wonderfully sugary delight called the Elephant Ear. (I know it's not healthy!!)

Last year we discovered that Double Espresso speaks pig and come to find out, he still does!

I am so impressed with these Belgium horses. They are soooo tall!!

Dream Latte is about 6 foot tall and the horse isn't even standing all the way up.

Our "healthy" snack!

We got a kick out of this foaming cow! He was getting a bath and had a very slimy mouth.

Uhhh, I can? (read quote)

Espresso was there too. He just likes to take the photos like his mama.

Signing a police helicopter

Double E is also a rooster tamer!

And last but not least, we saw that the pots were called "Drop Zone" and thought that was sooo funny!

Something Different

Today was Thursday again and that meant it was our day to get "K" and do something special with him. (Read more about that here.) Well, we are a little low on funds so we hung around and didn't go far.

"K" had a lot of firsts, though! He went in a 4ft swimming pool for the first time in his 11 years! He rode his bike on the road for the first time and on the main road. He also got to go to a playground and see a baby bunny that Double Espresso caught. The mama bunny didn't like that and let us know real quick!!

As homeschoolers, sometimes our focus can be so inward. That is understandable to a point. As good citizens and/or Christian people we really should be looking to help others.

I just want to encourage you to find someone to help. It is so easy to talk about it. Instead of talking, put it on your calendar so that you will be more likely to do it.

Field Trip

In another post, I mentioned that we have been taking a boy from church with us on our weekly trips. Last week, we went to another park. This one was in Valparaiso, Indiana. It was so beautiful! If you live in the Chicagoland area, it's not too far of a trip.

First, we had lunch in a beautiful gazebo with a fireplace.

(Of course, we didn't NEED the fireplace right then!)

Off to the climbing wall! "K" had to be coached. This just isn't his kind of thing. But, that's ok! He did great!

This IS right up Espresso's alley! He was up and over in no time. Not only that, but he did an awesome job coaching "K" and helping him to pull himself up to his next peg.

Ooooh, paddle boats! Paddle boats! Can we rent one mom? "K" had are hard time with this one. He was frightened, at first, to walk on the dock then he had to step down into the boat. He was afraid that he may drown. Once he saw that all was well and he remained alive for a few minutes out in the middle of the lake, he said, "This is the best day of my life!" (So sweet, so innocent.)

We went for a walk in the woods on the trails. It was so beautiful! We found many activities to do along the way. We came to a balance bridge. Of course, Double Espresso lived up to his name. He wanted to run back and forth and bang each end down to the ground! "K" was finally convinced that he could stand in the middle of the bridge and not be banged around. They finally accomplished their goal and balanced the bridge with 4 people on it.

We identified poison ivy, poison oak, berries you should eat and berries you shouldn't eat. We walked down to the lake through the woods and also saw a deer. Unfortunately, he saw us too and ran! (Can't say I blame him!)

Espresso LOVES to climb up high and then jump off. He researched on youtube, how to roll when jumping off of things. Ok? Of course, he jumped off of this thing and "K" was cheering for HIM! It was so cute!

Our day was complete once we ate a small sandwich, drank more water, and had an ice cream cone from McDonald's.

Can't wait to do it again!

Be the Star of the Show!

Nasa Photo

One of the most fascinating things our family has done was to go to a local star gazing. We got to see the moon, planets and star clusters. I was most impressed with the rings around Saturn.

We found out where our local astronomical society was going to be and just showed up. They set up their telescopes (some of which are HUGE) and let us carefully look through them. They also told us what we were looking at.

I encourage you to take yourself and or your children to look at the stars. Be the Star of the Show.

Field Trip to Chicago

The 2 Espressos technically finished school last Friday but we continue with some things through the summer. (I'm not into wasting my time with review.) Today we went on a field trip to downtown Chicago. It was an overcast/cool day but we had such a nice time together. I told Espresso, "Aren't you glad that you have such a nice mom and dad who homeschool you? You could be sitting at a desk right now waiting for your last 10 minutes to end so that you can go home! Instead, you are downtown Chicago learning and seeing life!"

It really was a good day to see life. The boys got to see where we have been going to feed the poor and homeless. They saw a mentally disturbed man sitting on a sidewalk talking to himself. We talked to a homeless lady who was working for a Christian mission. The two "unsocialized homeschoolers" had conversations with complete strangers at a skate park downtown. (They really aren't unsocialized but that's what people like to say about hsers.) They saw run down buildings and million dollar condos just a mile from each other.

We asked them, "What did you learn today?" Double Espresso said, "To encourage others like that skater did to me." Espresso said, "Don't look down on others."

Espresso has never been to Wrigley so we made a stop there.

Double Espresso and Dream Latte with their "colors".

Dream Latte and I in front of Buckingham Fountain.

The 2 Espressos / Sears Tower in background

Espresso at skate park

Double Espresso at skate park