Jordan went on a trip to Rawhide Power Plant on his birthday with his grandma. Little ones were not allowed on the tour, so it was (mostly) just kids 10 and up. I'm glad he got the chance to go - but this month has been such a whirlwind that I haven't had the chance to ask much of anything about the visit or what he thought of it.
We chose to do Little Shop of Physics this year because it is a perennial favorite of ours, and there is enough to do to keep even Colin occupied. LSOP is hosted every spring and fall by the Physics department on the Colorado State University campus. They have four classrooms dedicated to housing all sort of hands-on experiments. My memory is lame, but each room has a theme - something along the lines of electricity, magnetism, something and something else. (See? lame.) There is a ton of cool info on their website, so check it out!
Notice I didn't get any pictures of Jordan. He asked for permission to hang out with a friend and travel through the rooms with her at their own pace. I guess we've reached that stage... it's no longer fun to hang with your siblings... but I can totally understand, and am glad that he feels comfortable doing that.
Next up was a family trip to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. We were supposed to go to Homeschool Family Day at Elitch's Theme Park, but it was cold and rainy that day, so we went to DMNS instead. We had friend Abbi along with us, and it was such a nice way to spend the day. No agenda, no time constraints... just fun. Jordan and Abbi enjoyed an hour of exploration time in the museum on their own, and they had a good time. These little tugs of Jordan's at the apron strings are much easier to handle than a hard jerk, so we let go and give permission when it feels good to do so. They loved a little dose of independence and they did great! While they were off exploring, we went to check out the dinosaurs.
We also checked out the temporary snake and lizard exhibit. The kids had fun looking at the different animal exhibits and playing with the props in the theater section.
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| Jordan and Abbi 'snake racing' on their bellies |
Then it was off to the DNA lab to don some lab coats and do some experiments....
Last field trip for the month was a visit to NCAR, or National Center for Atmospheric Research, in Boulder, CO. This was last Thursday, the day after Jordan left for his summer visit to Oklahoma. Rylan was already missing him terribly. I signed up for this field trip since it was a class that was geared towards her age group, and I thought she would enjoy it. It was also her first 'class'/field trip like this. When we got there, we waited with the others for several minutes to see if any more of our group was going to show. Unfortunately there were a few who didn't... :( Our guide opted to do the tour first and then the class. Our guide was great - he really knew his stuff and gave a very in-depth discussion into our atmosphere and everything in between. Maybe...a little too in depth. After 60 straight minutes of talking, combined with a respectable amount of showing - enough to keep an adult engaged, but not a 5-6 year old, Rylan decided she was *done*. Both of the boys were *done* after the first five minutes. And then it was me chasing, shushing and chasing and shushing....and chasing and shushing before I decided I was *done* as well. And we hadn't even got to the real reason we came - the class! Rylan could not be persuaded to stay - and well, I admit it, I was relieved. I didn't know how much longer I could stand trying to keep the two little ones under some semblance of control. So, at least I know where we stand. A successful field trip for Rylan must include very limited grown-up talking time and a lot of doing time. I will know what to look for in future field trips, now. Rylan is a lot like her older brother, in that respect.
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| This was all they wanted to do - watch the pennies go down the whatchamacallit. Hundreds of them. Well... okay...about 30. 40 tops. |
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