First impressions of the Calvert Curriculum

I will let my extended absence from my blog speak first and foremost as to how the whole ‘Calvert thing’ is going.  I have no time anymore, it seems.  I knew it going in that it would be a tough transition from how we used to do things, but I think there have also been some unintended consequences as well as some positive results as well.  Here are my impressions so far..

Attendance

Colorado Calvert is officially an online public school, so they have to take attendance.  For a homeschooler, the Colorado State Statute requires a minimum of 174 days, at 4 hours per day, for a total of 694 school hours per school year.  The state, of course, never checks that you actually met this.  The way a public school takes attendance is by counting heads every single school day.  (a fellow homeschooling friend jokes that she take attendance by noting if any of her boys have gone missing, lol...)  The way Calvert handles attendance is to require that the student do something called a checkpoint.  A checkpoint is a short 1-5 question review that covers the material taught in a particular subject that day.  In Jordan's case, a typical day means he has a checkpoint in each category that he worked on in that day's lesson: math, grammar, composition, reading comprehension, history, science.  As long as Jordan completes at least one checkpoint on a given day, he is marked 'present'.  The checkpoints are time-stamped.  We can do school on any day of the week, even on holidays, and if he completes a checkpoint that day, it is considered a day spent in school.  This is where online school gets brownie points for being flexible.  So far, attendance, with the exception of October Count has not been an issue for us, and it's that 'thing' I needed to hold my hand to the fire and keep me accountable, and hold my kids accountable too.

October Count

October Count is the God-forsaken day that the bean-counters in the Ed. Dept. devised to tie actual attendance to per-pupil funding.  If the child is present on that day, the school will get funding for that pupil for the year – something in the range of $7-8 K.  October Count for most public schoolers is on Oct. 1^st.  Parents get a slew of letters and emails in the weeks before reminding parents that only death should prevent their child from attending school that day.  Otherwise, they had better damn well show up.  I received much the same communication (in a much nicer tone), but because Calvert is an online school, their October Count window was from September 24^th to October 8^th.  I was in charge of making sure that each of my children completed a checkpoint, watched a video, attended class on class days, played a game and did an enrichment activity BY NOON, every. damn. day.  Only problem is, we unfortunately have scheduled activities most every morning that require us to be out of the house, so getting stuff done in time has taken just about every last ounce of sanity I had left.    I had never intended for these activities to be on the schedule in the first place, when I first signed up for Calvert.  I had made a strict personal rule: NOTHING ON THE ACTIVITY SCHEDULE BEFORE 3 PM.  I had visions of unrestricted mornings that required no rushing, yelling, searching for clean underwear or breakfast-in-a-baggie in the car just to get to some class or group activity on time.  That madness was reserved for kids that went to public school!  Well, that was the grand plan before I blew out my knee (which requires multiple daytime physical therapy sessions) and before I received a Lego practice schedule that meets for 4x a week in the mornings, (it used to be late afternoons).  L  It has been pretty ugly around here getting this October count requirement met.  Early mornings make for cranky kids.  Tight schedules to get kids where they need to be make for cranky moms.  The kids were doing checkpoints on half-finished lessons because it was 11:59 a.m. and we HAD to.  That is no way to get an education!  It’s not Calvert’s fault.  It’s the bureaucratic we-need-data bullshit I ran screaming away from 8 years ago.  Anyway – it is past October 8^th and I am celebrating.

Lessons

Each Calvert 'Lesson' equals a full day of school.  Each child's teaching manual contains a list of the subjects and activities to do for that day's lesson.  In Jordan's case, he has a list that rotates just a bit, adding in computer on this day, or switching back and forth between history and geography... so every lesson is not exactly the same lineup of stuff to do - which he and I both like.  I like that he can at least get part-way through a lesson, complete a couple of checkpoints to get his attendance logged for the day, and then we just pick right back up where he left off on the next day.  The only issue with this is that he is really supposed to be doing an entire lesson in one day.  We have a pacing guide that we are supposed to follow.  We are now significantly behind, but Jordan has made great personal strides in the past week or so, and is now getting through about 80-90% of a lesson in a day.  He’s almost there!  

Rylan has the same lesson line-up, except there is one major annoyance.  Her checkpoints, with the exception of math, have all been combined into one big one.  So even if we manage to do 5 of the 7 things she was supposed to cover, we can't do the checkpoint yet because we didn't finish.  So that day's attendance is screwed, unless we flub her answers and get to those activities we missed on the next day.  But, again, we are really supposed to do it all in one day.  It is Rylan's schedule that I am most concerned about because she is by far the busiest kid with her insane activity schedule.

Owen’s lessons are the easiest, but I have zero time to do any of the enrichment activities with him – which are the activities that make Kindergarten so awesome in the first place!  I don’t know how families with multiple kids in this program do it, I really don’t.  I am exhausted.  Each kid needs one-on-one, which means - after bouncing back and forth all day, about a 12 hour school day for me.  (not them..me.)  This includes taking what work we can in the car to fill whatever length of time we will be gone and so forth.  Every minute of every school day, somebody is working on something with me, unless I have made the blessed escape to physical therapy.  So far, this really sucks.

Math

Okay, no offense to any of you Singapore fans out there, but Calvert uses Singapore and we all hate it.  We have used MEP up till now, with Teaching Textbooks and Khan Academy as a resource.  Who ever heard of a 14 year old begging to do math 'the way we used to'?  I have!  I have no idea if I can pull some strings or not, but we can't do a whole year of this.  Singapore does such an awful job of presenting material (a short, difficult-to-understand paragraph) followed by a mind-numbing amount of repetition that calls for no variation or creativity....  MEP WE MISS YOU!  I am vowing right now that we are picking up with MEP again and carrying onward in our own way.  I can't do this to my kids.  Singapore will kill math for them, and I have been fighting like mad to keep the wonder and magic of math alive as they progress.

Reading

In Jordan's case, I am thrilled with the Language Arts component that Calvert offers.  He is learning so much with each lesson (which illuminates for me all the stuff I wasn't covering, but should have).  Jordan read Jack London's To Build a Fire during the first week. You know?  Of all the literature I read in Jr. High and High School, it was THAT short story that I remember.  Any time I tromped through the snow, I would think back to that story.  Jordan has a special appreciation for it since he has done the Klondike scout campout every year, and can personally identify with dealing with intense cold.  He is recognizing that literature does not take hold of you, unless you can make a personal connection with it.  He has also read a slew of short stories by various authors such as Edgar Allen Poe, Ray Bradbury and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  He’s checked out a couple Sherlock Holmes mysteries at the library because he really likes that literary style in particular.  Bless him.

In Rylan's case, she uses a standard classroom reader.  I do like the activities associated with it, and there is some writing involved, which makes me happy.  The rest of her work is pretty standard, and sort of uninspiring, if you ask me.

With Owen, I am reading stories or poems to him and then we discuss them.  He is learning  his letters and sounds...finally.  This is all stuff he has been working on with Reading Eggs for the past year, but only now has he been willing to sit down and actually move a pencil around on paper.  Ever since we finally broke through that barrier, he is now a willing participant in coloring, writing, cutting and pasting.  He is a whiz with shapes and counting.

The Assignments

Not only do the kids do a checkpoint for their subjects, they also have work to turn in.  Each week the teachers post a list of assignments (that are a part of the regular lessons anyway) that are due.  I have to scan them, save them to a separate file folder for each kid, and then submit them.  The first couple of weeks were tough, because it was almost 20 files.  Now it is about 8-10 that I send in on a weekly basis.

The Teachers

I love Rylan’s and Owen’s teachers.  They are real pros at this, and have easily made a connection with the kids through the online classes.  Each kiddo has class twice a week – one is math and the other is language arts.  Owen’s class is about 20 minutes long.  He puts on headphones and talks part of the time.  His teacher has the ability to turn on each student’s mic as she chooses – that way they are not all talking at once and producing feedback.  So every now and then I will hear his voice pipe up with an answer to a question she asked.  It is the same way with Rylan’s classes.  Her classes last about 30 – 45 minutes.  Owen’s class is also interactive, so he can use the mouse to do different things on a work surface on the screen, when it is his turn.  I think that is really cool.  Jordan’s classes last about an hour, and they don’t chat via headphones, except in his small-group math enrichment class.  Jordan’s teacher is new this year and I can see that she is learning the ropes just as we are.  She is a very nice lady, but a bit reserved and hard to read.  Jordan likes her well enough, but there is not a personal connection yet.

The Fieldtrips

We have had two ‘fieldtrips’ so far.  The first was a school picnic that met the Friday before the first day of school.  The kids got to meet their teachers face-to-face for the first time, and meet any other students that came.  We had a good time.  Owen’s teacher gave him a pencil and a lucky penny, and you would have thought he had won the lottery.  Rylan’s teacher has a very lively personality and she took to her immediately.  Jordan joined a game of soccer with the older kids, within five minutes of arriving.

Our second ‘fieldtrip’ was a gathering at a library about a month after school started.  The kids split off into two groups – older and younger, and did literary activities for a couple of hours with their teachers.  They had a fun time and could now connect better with classmates since they had seen them online a few times.  Jordan made quite the connection with a girl, actually.  They now exchange multiple texts every day.  Unfortunately (for Jordan, not for us) she lives over an hour away.  They have been trying to figure out a way to meet up ever since the library gathering.  We’re suggesting the families meeting up for dinner or ice cream at some half-way point.  We’ll see…

The Backlash

Unfortunately, a stinging remark or two about making Calvert our chosen way to homeschool has been directed my way, and left their mark as I have incredibly thin skin when it comes to that type of thing.  Well, any type of criticism, really.  It’s bad enough that I already question absolutely everything I do as the right thing to do every second of the day.  There are definitely opinionated camps as what is the correct path to follow in regards to how organized you should be.  Homeschooling is starting to feel as lonely as ever.  I’m worried about my mental health with the amount of stress I am under to get the work done, and how the schedule leaves zero time to fit in anything that could be considered down time with the kids – like a play date or a nature walk.

So that is Calvert for us at this point in time…I’ll reassess in a few more weeks.  By that point both Lego and my physical therapy will be done, so we will have gained back some crucial daytime hours that are so negatively affecting us right now.  

The week where we cancelled just about everything...

We got sick last week.  All of us.  We dropped like flies, one by one.  Rylan started it, on Mother's Day.  The following day was her birthday.  Instead of celebrating with a family dinner and blowing out 8 candles on her birthday cake, we cancelled everything and she fell asleep in my lap, feverish and miserable.  Colin and Owen followed suit the next day - after I dragged everybody but the fever girl to the dentist.  Do you know how hard it is to reschedule four simultaneous dental appointments?  I'm sure the dental hygienists loved me.  We skipped Park Day.  We missed tumbling.  And the saddest of all, we stayed home instead of driving to Boulder and watching my nephew - the first of the great grandkid generation - cross the stage and accept his high school diploma.  My mom took several short bits of video and so we got to see things as they happened, which was nice.

Rylan on her birthday afternoon.  She isn't feeling too hot..  :(

Jordan was next.  Jordan is leaving for a scuba diving trip in just two short weeks - the last thing he needed was a head cold, considering he had burst his eardrum on Christmas Eve during the last cold, but germs don't seem to care about plans like that.  Rylan finally ate a single bite of birthday cake on Wednesday night.  She had skipped scouts that day - more due to her brothers than to her, but she did go to her ballet class late that afternoon.

Dean came down with it and stayed home from work on Thursday and Friday, running the occasional temp.  We skipped a morning of play and work time we had planned to spend with the other girl scout leader and her three girls, and rested the rest of the day.  Friday seemed to be a good day for the kids, so we left Dean at home to fend for his sick self, and we took off for Colorado Springs to take part in a field trip to the Air Force Academy for Jordan.  Even though we don't officially start up with Colorado Calvert Academy until the fall semester begins, Jordan was invited to go on this field trip with other Calvert eighth graders for a tour of the campus.  I'm glad everyone was feeling good enough that we could go.  I gave a Jordan a don't-you-dare-cough-on-anyone lecture and we left him with a fellow homeschool friend and her mom (they are the ones that introduced us to Calvert) and wandered around the area for a couple of hours to kill time.  I took the kids by a B-52 that is on permanent display, and then that was about all there was to see on the Academy grounds, so we drove to the east, into the Black Forest, an area that was devastated by wild fire not quite even a year ago yet.  It was certainly a sight to see.  I was curious to see if La Foret, the UCC church camp that I attended in my youth was still standing, and to my relief it was.  The kids and I drove onto the grounds, and circled just a bit.  It looked very familiar, and I wish I could have wandered around on foot, but I didn't feel comfortable asking.  We drove back down the road to a parking lot we had seen for a recreation area, and got out to walk a trail through the blackened forest for a bit.  I'm glad no one else was around because I'm sure it would have been a sad scene to listen to three kids hack and cough and wheeze as they ran back and forth along the trail.

We went back to pick up Jordan and then made a bee-line back up the interstate to none other than IKEA!  I just about peed my pants when we passed it on the way down.  It has been open for what...three years now?  And I haven't been there yet.  So I WENT.  :)  The place is huge, confusing, and I have a few unkind things to say to the men (obviously) who designed the layout, even though I know the effed-up plan is all in an effort to control 'flow'... but if you are someone like me, who leaves her wallet in the car and only figures that out while trying to pay for food in the cafeteria, it is damned near impossible to make a dash for the parking garage in any kind of quick manner.  I am proud to say that we spent a whopping $17.  We came home with a new wastebasket for the office, and plastic snack cups, bowls and plates.  My husband got off very easy.  This time...

Saturday morning I woke up and well...wanted to die.  It may have been a cold for the rest of the family, but for me late Friday evening into Saturday morning felt like the flu.  Everything hurt.  I could even feel my insides hurting.  I don't think that another single ounce of snot could have been packed into my sinuses.   Despite feeling like curling into the fetal position, Dean and I dressed up, traveled across town and spent a scant 15 minutes congratulating a young man (who will forever be a sweet little toddler in my mind's-eye), on his high school graduation.  Austen was a wee 5 months when I first started nannying for him and his older sisters, and the next seven years I spent with them were very happy ones - gosh I love their family.  They were kind enough to host our wedding in their gorgeous backyard almost nine years ago, and so it was nice to be at their home again, for one last time.  They are empty-nesters come this fall, so they are putting their home on the market this summer.  I remember when it was built.  I dragged the Austen and his sisters over there when they were pouring the concrete and each of them placed their hand prints on the front sidewalk.

The garden area where we got married nine years ago

Straight from the party, with enough Sudafed in my system to trigger alarm bells at a Walgreens, Dean dropped me off to see a movie with friends.  I hope they forgive me for showing up sick.  Even though I felt like absolute crap, after a week of sick kids and all the *super fun* we were having, I really needed to get out.  I loved the movie - as you may have read - and I think I need to see it again, because I was kind of in a drugged-out haze at the time.

Dean picked me afterwards, with all the kids in tow, and we -as promised to our birthday girl - set out to start our quest to build a turtle enclosure that will sit on top of our present fish tank.  All week, between episodes of dealing with sneezy, wheezy and snotty kids, we had been doing research on how to go about this.  It has been a crash-course in all things turtle - habitat, keeping, species...blah, blah, blah.  Rylan has settled on a Southern Painted turtle, which is one that swims and basks - hence the need for a basking area above the water.  I'll go into more detail in another post.  What it meant on this day was three hours of going from store to store to store gathering the different items we needed.  Turtles are a real pain in the ass, if you ask me.  I wish she had asked for a kitten.

On Sunday we went to my nephew's graduation party.  He had his ceremony on Tuesday, and now it was time to party.  We all went, I greeted people with a safety sick perimeter around me and we didn't stay too long.  It was nice to see some of my SIL's family that came and family friends, I wish I had felt better.

And that was our week.  It was a week I had been looking forward to - a birthday and two graduations, and to miss some of it was very frustrating.  There is also that strange freedom you feel though, as you cancel things right and left... that you get to stay home and do nothing because nobody feels like doing anything anyway... and suddenly you feel a lot more relaxed and at peace.  Note to self though - I need to have a batch of chicken noodle soup, frozen and ready to go for the next time.


 

Simple Woman's Daybook Entry

 

 

Outside my window... Frost on the grass and a clear blue sky. It will be a sunny day.

I am thinking... About our upcoming trip to OKC for Thanksgiving, about the logistics of the very busy weekend that we leave... and it makes my head hurt.

I am thankful... For the fact that maybe, *just* maybe, we might all finally be getting over our colds. I think three weeks is sufficient penance for whatever it is we did to offend the Gods of cleanliness and sterility.

From the Learning Rooms... Last week Rylan and I finished reading Charlotte's Web - our first novel we've completed together. No - Rylan didn't read to me, but we read and discussed as we moved along. She's not quite at the reading level yet where she could tackle something like that, but she just may be ready for something like Magic Treehouse... I got the Charlotte's Web movie at the library last week and told her we could watch it as soon as we finished. We got to the end of the book (Rylan's reaction to the passing of Charlotte was rather blasé - not sure why...) but Rylan was reduced to tears when the stupid library DVD would. not. play. Luckily I could pull it up on Netflix, and so we watched it as a family on Sunday night. I was very impressed with the movie (the one with Dakota Fanning...) - one of the best movie adaptations ever! I stressed to Rylan the importance of reading the story BEFORE you watch the movie, because a lot of the thoughts and feelings that the author is expressing is lost when it is adapted for the screen. It was very satisfying to hear Rylan name each character as they initially appeared in the movie, and recall what their character traits were. "See that rat, Owen? That's Templeton, and he is very selfish...".

I'm working on number recognition with Owen, and the other day I gave him a set of cards, numbered 1-20 to place in order. He worked off of a number grid that was printed on another card and matched pattern and placement to get the job done. He is very, very particular about how he goes about this. I am confident that he recognizes #s 1-5, and #8 because he looks like a snowman. It is a work in progress. Very sloooow progress.

Dean stayed home on Monday so that he could attend a memorial service that afternoon. I had him work on Jordan's physics lesson with him while I did math with Rylan and Owen. I like when I have the opportunity to get Dean in on the lessons. He is more aware of what we do, and Jordan is more aware of teaching differences. There is dad's over-the-top-way-too-technical explanation, and my let's-consult-Google-because-I-have-no-idea explanation. :)


In the kitchen... we have been surviving on minimal cooking at home, and a lot, A LOT, of takeout. As my energy returns I am in better shape to get to the store and do some cooking. Pushing a grocery cart and carrying groceries is still a painful activity for me (because of the BR), so that plays a huge part in it. Last night I made PW's sour cream beef noodle bake, and it was meh... :/ I'd add more sour cream. I also added green beans and used leftover spaghetti sauce instead of tomato sauce. It still needs more 'oomph'.

I am wearing... comfy pjs. As soon as I finish this I'll change into walking gear and get outside.

I am creating... I'm making a mental packing list for OKC, and among the items is my yarn and circular knitting needles. It's been a couple of years since I knitted last, so it is time to learn to how to cast on again and do the basic knitting stitch. I am in need of a hat for running, as well as maybe a neck (cowel?) type thing, and a ear warmer/headband. Then I can pick and choose based on the weather of the day... I have no idea how to make a hat, but there is always Google and YouTube to show the way! This will be a good way to pass the time on our trip.

I am going... We have a girl scout outing this afternoon - a fire station visit to go hand-in-hand with our current badge - First Aid. Rylan has ballet later this afternoon and Jordan has Lego robotics.

I am wondering...How the kids manage to use 20 different cups in one day... sigh.

I am reading... currently I've been reading different articles about the Common Core. I've been holding this issue at arm's length, thinking that it wouldn't have much effect on us since we homeschool. Now I am not so sure, so I have been cramming on the issue. My gut reaction is 'This is bad. Very, very bad.' Many thanks to various friends for posting different editorials/videos about the issue. Any kind of blanket education policy is bad policy!!

In the garden... dead plants that really, really need to be removed. Anyone?

I am hoping... My gosh the destruction in the Philippines is just heartbreaking. I hope that relief comes soon for the people who are desperate for food and water.

I am looking forward to... the weekend. Not much is going on other than Saturday morning when Dean and Jordan complete Scouting for Food, but I am looking forward to the quiet before the crazy-assed stress of the following week - a busy week and packing for OKC.

I am learning... about Common Core, force, how to convert an Ikea table into a sewing table with a dropped machine placement, and this Ikea-inspired family locker unit! I wish we had a mud room - it is actually very high on my must-have list for whenever we make the move to a bigger house. God help our family budget if I ever set foot in the Ikea that is in Denver... one of these days...one of these days.

I am hearing... Ylvis - The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?). This is the kid's new favorite, and it is an absolute joy to sing and go a little crazy!

Around the house... Last weekend Dean finished tearing out the tile around the fireplace, and we went to the tile store to pick out new tile. I am also looking forward to this weekend because I hope we can finish up this stage of the project - especially since part of the wall is exposed to the studs. I am thankful that the weather is mild right now - otherwise this room would get very chilly!

I am pondering... paint colors for the downstairs. The time to choose is now!

One of my favorite things... changing the looks of things. This part of the house is looking so different, yet in a good way! I can't wait to post pictures when we get it all cleaned up.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Just activities and such. I also need to get the tires checked, oil changed and windshield replaced before we leave.

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing...

To read more entries and visit a variety of other blogs, go here...

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Planking on the hippos

 

Yesterday we went to the Denver Zoo.  It was a last-minute decision - the weather was absolutely gorgeous, the last time we went was the end of May, and we always go in the fall.  And fall is slipping by fast...  So we enjoyed beautiful azure skies, a dazzling display of fall colors and warm sunny weather.  Such a great day!

 

 

So first... a couple lovely pictures of fall...

 

 



Now a few sentimental kid shots...

 

 



 I have to say the Jordan is the best big brother around...

 

Love those two little blonde heads!!

 

 

We arrived around lunchtime, so we set up our picnic lunch by the camels.  We were under about six different locust trees, and when the breeze would blow the leaves would come raining down - it felt almost magical.  And then you would find a dozen leaves in the Cheetos bag, a few stuck to your apple, and several more down your shirt.  Not so magical.

After scarfing down lunch, we set off for the new Asia exhibit.  After about two years of construction, it opened at the beginning of June - so we hadn't seen it yet.  This jeep was on the outside of the exhibit.  I don't know what possessed me, but I thought "This would be a funny picture!", so I asked Jordan and Rylan to get under the jeep and pretend they were dead.  They happily obliged.  A mom who was sitting nearby nursing her baby wasn't sure what to think.  I heard her laugh a little nervously as I coached Jordan and Rylan to "Look a little more DEAD!"  Colin grew concerned and wandered into the picture to make sure they were 'okay'.  At this point I decided that for the rest of the day we would work on a variety of silly pictures... so here they are, for your viewing pleasure...

 



 

 





 

 



**

It is supposed to read "Elephant Passage"

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For a variety of planking fun - go here... 

 

**No children or middle-aged moms were injured in the making of these photographs.  Which is amazing.

 

 

 





Field trip: Berry Patch Farms

We visited Berry Patch Farms, in Brighton, CO, on August 15th.  (So...yeah, this post is a little delayed...).  A lot was happening on the 15th - my nephew, Connor was turning sweet 16, our dog, Abby, was turning 8, and Jordan was arriving home on a flight from OKC.  There was also a preschool-aged event happening that morning at the Berry Patch Farms - a place I have wanted to visit ever since fellow homeschooling mom, Kristina, arranged a field trip there a couple of years ago.  (we didn't go - Colin was only 6 mo. old and I was not up for it).

So the scheduling stars aligned that day, and we went to the farm that morning and then hightailed it over to the airport to pick up Jordan by early afternoon.  The event ran from 9:30 - 11:30.  The website was a little lacking in it's description... it sounded more like 'a class' than an: 'arrive whenever you want to, do some stuff, and leave whenever'...  'And pay us $5 per kid that you bring.'... 'Thanks.'

So I was sweatin' buckets when I pulled in at 9:39am, thinking we were late for a class.  Parking was difficult but we managed to find a spot amongst the other 128 minivans.  I didn't think to grab a backpack for myself when we left the house because I am still in stroller-mentality - which is a method of transportation we rarely use anymore.  It sure would have been helpful that day, and I think I will have to go that route for any future events like this.  When you take into consideration the waterbottles, sunscreen, camera, phone, keys, money, snacks, blah, blah, blah... I can't really wing it anymore.  Fortunately we did have Colin's little backpack, which has morphed into the on-the-go diaperbag in recent days.  ('THE' diaperbag - the bag we have used everyday since Rylan was born six years ago, had run it's course a couple months ago.  It was also something we rarely used anymore.  I had this little backpack, and it was perfect to hold 2-3 diapers, small box of wipes, and a large baggie of kiddie first aid stuff - bandaids and antiseptic wipes, which is all we really need anymore)  So I put my phone, keys and money in there too (no pockets that day), and hoped that he didn't run off!

Sunhats and sunscreen were next, and we finally left the car around 10 am.  No kidding.  Nobody exactly felt like being compliant that morning.  It didn't help that we were parked next to a goat pen, with an extremely friendly goat to distract the kids.  We wandered into the farm area and I got my bearings.  I figured out from some other moms that were milling around that we needed to go into a big barn/produce & product farm stand to pay.  That's where I found out that there wasn't really a schedule, and that we could wander around from activity to activity.

Here were the activities:

1. Each kid received a pint-sized container to take to the berry fields to fill with strawberries.
2. A craft project.  The craft project this day was rolling a beeswax candle.
3. Watch out for the resident bad-tempered farm pig.  Don't pet him. 
4. Chase the chickens.
5. Watch a video about bees.
6. Ride on a hayride out to the fields and back.
7. Climb on a wooden tractor and let your mom take a picture of you.

And that was about it for the agenda that morning...  slim pickin's IMHO, but I guess it was perfect for the preschool set.


So, first things first - try and drag the diaperbag-backpack laden two year old away from the nasty-tempered pig. (who didn't appear to be all that mean, but the resident farmer sure hustled over when he saw this mob scene...)

I steered the kids over to some picnic tables so that we could do our 'craft'.  It took about a minute and a half to roll up a sheet of beeswax around a long piece of sting.  Thirty seconds if you are an impatient six year old.  Twenty seconds if you are four, and your name is Owen.

So with that difficult task out of the way and the finished product safely stowed in the little backpack, we were off to the berry fields.  It was very hazy that day due to some smoke from wildfires in Idaho and Wyoming.  This view is looking west, and you can't even see the mountains!  Besides berries, there were long rows of flowers and herbs to pick from as well.  (if you paid for that)

The tractor dropped us off at the field and we tried to wander away from most of the people in the hopes of finding some strawberries.  The fields were already pretty well picked over, unfortunately.

We did manage to find a few.. Owen was eager to pick, and so was Rylan.  But it was hot and the kids were a little cranky.  Especially Colin.  He was all about the tractor, and was *really* pissed off at me that we had to leave the tractor behind as we walked into the fields.  And he let everyone know it too.  To the degree in which he wandered around, carrying our one lone waterbottle, bawling his eyes out and refusing to follow us.  Nice.

See?

 

So once we had picked a very measly collection of less-than-stellar looking strawberries, I made Colin happy by snagging a ride on the next tractor ride back to the main farm.  And then we had to get off.  I was once again the meanest mom in the world...

 

 

There wasn't much to do after that because the kids were hot, tired, cranky - and now hungry, so a little educational video/talk was out of the question, so we left.  We ambled towards the airport and hit a Sonic for lunch and good-mood inducing shakes.  I needed as much leverage as I could get because I was about to not only take the kids into the airport, but get concourse passes, go through security and meet Jordan at the gate when his plane arrived.

 

We were tight on time, and the only parking available was in one of the most remote spots in the outdoor short-term parking lots.  I did use the stroller this time (it's almost always in the car, still) and loaded Owen onto it too so that we could huff it through the lots and up to check-in.  The process actually went very smoothly.  We got our passes and then went through security.  Both Rylan and Owen have done this before, but never Colin, and never as a whole group.  In the past it was mostly Dean, taking only one designated child with him as I circled the main concourse waiting for him to come back.  We got ushered through a different area so that we didn't have to do the full-body scan thing.  The TSA were very polite and patient with us, I must say.  We went down to the trains and rode all the way out to concourse C to meet Jordan - which is nice because it means the longest train ride.  The kids loved it.  We arrived at the gate just as Jordan walked off the plane, so our timing couldn't be better.  We rode the train back, picked up his suitcase and then did the long walk back to the car.  Jordan was thrilled to be back in Colorado, after the awful heat he endured in OKC.

 

We drove home, had dinner, and then made a 'birthday cake' for Abby.  We do things fancy in these parts and spare no expense - so the cake consisted of a peanut butter sandwich with 8 dog biscuits set in additional globs of peanut butter.  I'm sure we shortened her life just a little bit...

 

Field Trip: Jasmine Moran Children's Museum

In looking back through our summer pictures yesterday, I realized I totally spaced posting about this place - whoops!  While we were in Oklahoma in late July, Dean's mom suggested that we visit this museum during our stay.  So, we're off to the Jasmine Moran Children's Museum in Seminole, OK - just under an hour southeast of OKC...

As with any Children's Museum, there are a billion jillion things to do there.  There were three indoor areas that were (sort of) themed, and then an outside area that featured a train ride, pirate ship, mini village with streets, gardens and a maze.  Indoor room #1 was the 'unthemed' room.  It featured a cockpit to sit in, an old car, model planes, a dinosaur dig, fish tanks and a blurb about water pollution.  See?  Hard to classify...

And that's it for that room.. it wasn't exactly a hit with the kids.

 

Next we went outside because our train ride time had come...

 

 

It's hovering at around 100F right now...

We had the entire train to ourselves.  So Jordan and Rylan elected to sit right behind the engine.

I've never noticed how they have the exact same squinty-face...

The little boys loved the ship - but it was so hot they didn't feel like playing for long...

Here is the maze.  I, of course, forgot to get a picture of the actual maze.  There was an observation deck in the middle of it so that you could look out over it.

We are heading back inside.  We passed through the village to get back to the museum.  I wish there were little cars for the kids to drive along the streets - now that would be cool!

 

Next we were in room #3, because you travel through it to get to the train (it is in that large yellow building in the picture).  There was no way we could pass through it again (after getting to the train in the first place) without climbing this:

 

And then they played in this:

Which, of course, I took incredibly lousy pictures of... It is a waterway that kids can float rubber duckies down.  They can control the flow and so forth, and also winch up buckets of water.

After that we went into room #2, which was by far the best area of fun in the place.  There were about ten little themed sections for kids to explore: weights and measures, art studio, grocery store, mechanic's garage, schoolroom, bubble room, mirror room, fire station, television studio, Lego racetrack, doctor's office and a couple more that I can't remember...

The kids were immediately drawn to the grocery store...

Jordan checked out Rylan's purchases

Then Rylan had a go.  This little girl had a nice array of food items.  The juice bottles are filled with tissue paper, as are the bags of chips.  I think it would be pretty fun to set up a pretend store at home.   Rylan methodically scanned every single item - but then just gave it back to the customer instead of bagging it herself.  Lazy...

Owen went shopping, too.  He first filled up this basket, and then I wrangled a grocery cart for him - which he then proceeded to fill up with every last apple, orange and banana.  He pretty much cleared out the entire produce section.  He got in line in the checkout and Rylan admonished him for having such a big family to feed.  And then she pretended to scan every. last. item. one. by. one.  The line grew long and kids grew huffy...

And then Owen spotted this...

At this point Rylan came over and started bossing Owen about which jobs he would do and what she would do.  Needless to say, Owen didn't like that.  Aaaaand there you go.  As is typical, our family announces its presence wherever we go...

And then Rylan gravitated to the school room... (as in I forcibly removed her from the garage)

Unfortunately there were no other little kids to boss around in here, so she quickly grew bored with it.  We turned around and found Dean and the boys in the bubble room...

Then Owen and I went over to a free-standing display case that housed a mechanical marble track.  I neglected to take a picture of it, but it was along these lines...

 

 

Owen stood there and studied it for a full twenty minutes.  He was absolutely fascinated!  When I could finally tear him away, we wandered into the mirror room...

 

Owen said, "Look at all the Owens!"



 

 

We had a great time, and the air-conditioning was awesome.  By the end of the afternoon though, Owen was running off in one direction, and Colin in another, so it was time to go.  It took three adults to get four children to the car.  We will definitely visit again the next time we are in OKC!

 

Secondly, IF you were paying close attention, you will notice that Owen's and Colin's outfits changed halfway through the day.  We spent a short while in room #2 before we took a break and left the museum to go to Braum's for lunch, during which both Owen and Colin took a chocolate milkshake bath - hence the outfit change...  caught you not paying attention, didn't I??