The Virtual Art Show

 I've posted before how my boys love to enter the local state and country fairs each year. Normally they enter only a few choice categories, but this year they have set their goals high and want to enter just about everything. So in order to beat the procrastination that tends to run in this house, we have decided to dedicate the month of March to art. The local fair has 15 categories for Art ranging from watercolor to charcoal to mixed media.  So our plan was to do some sort of art, directed by me or self-directed each day. Here is look at some of the projects they worked on this week:

Cohen, Lakin and Cale worked with watercolors and painted these birds.

 We also worked with pen and ink on some Tangles. This is my kind of drawing.

The kids also worked independently on some projects. Cohen was also reminded not leave his half finished art work on the table because a certain little girl of the family will most certainly add her own art to it.

 

We had a slight set back during the week when Lakin ended up in the ER for stitches. He's doing fine now, with a bruised and sore ear, but it looks to be healing nicely.

Have your kids created any masterpieces this week? Link up below to show them off, I'd love to see them!

Field Trip Friday: The Mountain State Fair

This week we took a trip over to the Mountain State Fair. We didn't usually go to the fair in TN, and we don't do the rides (or food) but we do enjoy the exhibits and the animals. So we decided to check it out on the day they offered free admission to kids.

They all enjoyed digging up potatoes in this bin of sawdust.  And looking at the animals- chickes, ducks, goats, sheep. We hung around the Moo-ternity tent for awhile waiting to see a calf being born. We left and came back again at the end to a newborn calf already in the hay (this picture is not of the newborn calf....)

 The barns were amazing. Huge, long, with tons of stalls. Annika liked this one in particular. She ignored the real ducks and geese and played and touched the little fake ones and the pumpkins and all the other fall decorations. We had to drag her away. 

Of course we also checked out the Expo Building.....

What about you? Did you take a special field trip this week? Or do you have an old favorite to share? Link up below and tell us about it! Please link back here on your post so this blog hop can grow! The more the merrier!

Field Trip Friday #3

Welcome to Field Trip Friday! Thanks so much for joining me! This blog hop is all about sharing those wonderfully, educational experiences outside the home. From neighborhood walks to big city museums to treks through the forest. Any activity where you are your kids get out and explore with your senses and experience nature, science, history, art, etc first hand.

Last week there were some great posts linked and I encourage you to go and check them out! Here are the top 3 most visited links:

Our Life's Adventures posted about her family's trip to Sherwood Forest and the Robin Hood Festival. I know many kids- including my own who would absolutely LOVE to go here.

Morning Hugs and Goodnight Kisses shared their day at the lake and their wonderful nature finds.

And Home to 4 Kiddos showed some amazing pictures and experiences from the Naval Air Station and some authentic WWII planes. My boys would love to see something like that!

This week I shared our trip to Hendersonville during the North Carolina Apple Festival and the many museums and experiences we had that day. Did you take a special field trip this week? Or do you have an old one to share? You can share your links below!

To help this blog hop grow, please link back to this post so more people can find it and share!

Field Trip Friday: Asheville Botanical Gardens

This week Rylan asked to go to either the NC Arboretum or the Asheville Botanical Gardens so that he could take some pictures of flowers to enter in the fair. We decided to try the Botanical Gardens since we've never been. It was very nice, and not at all what I was expecting. I was thinking it would be similar to the University of Tennessee's Trial Gardens, but it was much more naturalized.


















  The kids were automatically drawn to the water and rocks. And flip flops are not the shoes to wear while chasing an excited toddler over slippery rocks! We spent a lot of time skipping rocks and stomping in puddles and streams.



















Rylan took pictures with my camera so he could get a better shot for his fair entries. He also hogged the camera taking pictures of every tree he hasn't seen before. And their leaves. And their sign. He was pretty excited about some of them since they were on his "want to see" list. He also has an "already seen list" which currently lists about 115 tree species.

We saw a few caterpillars to identify later. And we found a tree with an odd fruit-like seed pod. Rylan collected some seeds from the Cucumber tree and Spice Bush to try and plant at home. We also came home with a new Peterson's Field Guide- A Field Guide to Eastern Trees. And a new bird book too.  Rylan is excited to go back in the spring, since he saw signs for many of the wild flowers he's been wanting to see.

So that was our field trip of the week. Now it's your turn! Did you take a fun outing this week? Did you let your kids explore nature? A museum? Zoo? A neighborhood walk?  Link up below and share your experience! If you don't have a blog, just leave a comment with your favorite field trip.

Please link back to It's a Boy's Life and Field Trip Friday to spread the word!

linked to Fantastic Foto Field Trips,

Field Trip Friday: Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary

 

This week we took a drive over to the Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary. It's 8 acres of land in North Asheville. Mostly wetlands and marshes. We didn't see the map of the sanctuary at first so we headed off down the trail the boys picked. It was a wooded trail that wound around beside the lake- but it wasn't the way to the boardwalk.

The first thing we noticed was this flower- it was everywhere. I brought some of our field guides with us- birds, butterflies, trees and weeds- but Rylan identified it as Jewelweed without having to look it up. There was another flower- 4 petals, white, vine- that was also all over the place. We haven't identified it, but Rylan took a bunch of pictures of different plants to id later. 

 What I realized on this trip is that my kids aren't patient enough for birdwatching! It's like fishing. If you don't catch something in 5 seconds then you are done. I tried to get them to sit and just watch a few times, but they are the on-the-go type. So we walked, collected seeds, moss and leaves.

We did see one bird (well, we saw more, but not close enough to take pictures or identify).  So our birding trip turned into more of a plant trip.  And we came home with acorns, an unidentified fruit of some sort, pine cones, etc.

 We did finally make it back to the parking lot, and the sign and map of the area. So we found our way to the boardwalk- which was really nice. The boys took a break to climb on this cool tree.  It was huge and it's branched were all over the place.

 I think if we had found the boardwalk first, and if we had come earlier than 10am, we might have had better luck on the birding part. But it was still a great trip! Maybe we will take an early morning trip in the fall and see what we see then.

Now it's your turn! Have you taken a fun, educational trip this week? Have you taken school on the road and let the experience do the teaching? Add you link below, and please link back here on your post to spread the word and allow others to link up as well!

linked to Science Sunday, Homeschooling on the Cheap,

Not-Back-to-School: The It's a Boy's Life Boys (and Girl)

It's student photo week on the Not-Back-to-School Blog Hop. So for those of you who are new, allow me to to introduce you to my crew. For those who read regularly, I hope you enjoy the pictures!

My oldest, Rylan. 6th grade. With one of his beloved chickens. She's a Partridge Rock.

My second, Cale. 4th grade. With his top hat chicken. She's a Buff Polish.

Third is Cohen. 2nd grade. With his Creve Coeur, Francine.

And my youngest son, Lakin. Kindergarten. With his Mottled Houdan, Black Hat.

And finally the baby of the family. Annika. Mess maker. She doesn't have her own chicken yet. But she does love to feed them. And collect their eggs. And drop their eggs.

 And that is my family! One of these days I'll get a shot off all of us together. All of the great chicken pictures were taken by my dad!

Field Trip Friday: The Children's Museum of the Upstate

 

This year I plan on taking more opportunities to take learning away from home, and experience it first hand. At least once a week we will pack up and spend a few hours, or the whole day, exploring. I am challenging myself to think past the standard field trips and zero in on my kids' interests, explore the unknowns of my surroundings and find the value in any outing. In order to help keep myself accountable and to allow others to share their field trips- and their outside of the box thinking- I am starting a new link-up: Field Trip Friday. Please feel free to share any outside of the home learning experience!

This week I am sharing a trip that is not at all outside of the box, but it was really fun and my boys have been wanting to go to this museum for months. This day trip was our birthday present for them, so this past weekend we packed up the car and drove south to Greenville, SC to the The Children's Museum of the Upstate.

It's a huge museum- 3 floors tall. And has all sorts of fun stuff to explore. It's got enough to cover any aged kid so that families with large age spans will all have a great experience. Annika loved the Bi-Lo Market. She spent a lot of time filling  her cart with produce and putting it back....and filling it up again. It was situated right next to the climber (pictured above) so she spent a lot of time there while the boys climbed as long as they wanted.

The construction center was a big hit too. The older boys spent time with the magnetic crane. Annika made paths with huge blocks or helped Lakin load bricks into a wheelbarrow to send up the conveyor belt.

The vehicle area was a lot of fun too. A couple large-enough-to-sit-in cars, tons of Automoblox pieces to build your own car with and send down test tracks. For my car obsessed kids it was heaven!

The water area- the best part to any museum according to my kids- was one of the last places we visited since they were sure to come out soaked. They had 2 areas- one for the 5 and under crew and one for the older kids. Annkia got to hang out and pour water and collect ducks (and get soaked) while the older boys got to manipulate water in tons of cool ways.

Once they were thoroughly soaked we moved back up towards the exit, but got distracted quite a few times- in the music room, in the market again, in the Healthy Heros section.

Annkia discovered her love for slides this day. Especially this one- which the boys also found hilarious. It's a stomach. And it makes all sorts of "digestive" noises.

And that was our trip! Have you taken any field trips this week? Or have an old one to share? Please add your link!