Field Trip #2 Placerita Nature Center

My awesome visiting teacher,Wendy, invited to take us to Placerita Nature Center.Charlotte and Nina pose in the parking lot.

Jack's on the go....!
We got to see an up close look at a hawk.
My kids see a tree and they have to climb it!!!

Turtles!

Inside they have a little exhibit of things to touch and see.
We went on a little hike to the butterfly gardens and more...

We saw the Oak of the Golden Dream! Where gold was first discovered in California!

"The Oak" where a man surveying his newly purchased property fell asleep near this oak tree and had a dream. In the dream he was told that he would be very rich. When he awoke he pulled onions from the ground and up came gold nuggets with roots!The story and plaque!To get to the oak you have to go under a bridge. My kids are pointing at a mural.To finish it off we had a pic-nic!

Ward Trunk-Or-Treat

Ranger Scott and the Attack of the Killer Snake!Our own Harry Potter Jack! He was Spider man minutes before we were to leave, but promptly undressed and wanted to be Harry Potter.Take a bow Princess Charlotte!She was a princess Musketeer but changed her mind before we left.The last Minute Monk! Sam changed his mind from a fully dressed pirate to a monk before we left.

I had just gotten home from a 5 hour cake decorating shift and I was dead beat. The kids were partially dressed. Once I was through the door they wanted me to re-invent their costumes at the last minute! I quickly helped them transform into different outfits and took pictures once we arrived. that was about all my exhausted legs and body could do. I just sat in a chair and handed out candy the rest of the night while the kids ran free and Rick took Jack from trunk to trunk. I didn't get a picture of out Aria (Elf Princess Nina). She was gone with her friends decorating their cars and Trunk-Or-Treating the evening away!

Home School Field Trip #1

This is our first official field trip. Going to their cousins house would make this the second!

The pictures will be out of order because I had some problems down loading them and it would take way to long to fix it. So here goes. Our first field trip! Here is field trip criteria:1# it must be within 30 minutes from out home, #2 it must be free (with this economy my budget fro such things is now ZERO $ and ZERO cents, #3 it must be out doors (this can be changed). So this is what fell in the 3 criteria. Going to Hart Park and Mansion! Here is Nina and Jack viewing the remains of the pool.

The kids stop for a much needed drink. We took the trail first and then the road. It is a lot easier than taking the steep road all the way.Here's the look out tower from Hart Mansion.

We have Bison in SCV. No need to go to another state!

Look at this huge palm tree! Nina wanted a picture with it :)

This is the bunk house for the workers/ranch hands of Hart Mansion. It's now used as a meeting house.This just makes my heart sing. Big brother Scott holding his baby brother's hand by choice!

I wanted to get out of the house and I wanted the kids to get out too! We had so much fun , I think that i want to do a field trip every week! We'll see after the baby comes if I am up to it...I hope so. The kids were so well behaved at Hart Park, it makes me want to do more and more!

The city renovated Hart Park and it looks great. It has a very small farm/zoo where they keep animals for people to look at. this was a warthog!This cow was the biggest cow I had ever seen!

You can't see it very well in the picture but in the cage is a massive pig.
My kids are so use to pictures that they often tell me to take a picture and pose. Even Charlotte at 7 and Jack at 2yrs. know the routine :)

The Trading Post was closed due to lack of volunteers and the animal food vending machine was broken. I could only eek out very small bits of food after depositing a quarter. The kids still had fun with their 5 tiny pieces of food to give to the animals. This male deer had hormone problems and had a mass growing on it's antlers and head. It looked like it's brain was growing on the outside. They are going to give him hormone shot next season to rectify the problem. A worker told us that these deer are Asian meat deer and normally do not live this long. They are also neutered. This combination apparently causes hormone problems.

We saw a Burro and Horse from afar.

There were also a variety of chickens, birds, rabbits and turkeys to see.

This was where Mr. Hart buried his well loved horse.
Scott insisted on a moment of silence for the horse.
Another moment of silence for the dogs.This is where all the dogs that Mr. Hart had were buried.
They stayed on the trail and we had a great time!

First Day of Home School

Charlotte's first attempt at writing her name in cursive!!! They do not do printing at ABEKA, only cursive from the beginning.Art class taught her how to make a cute bunny with grass and carrots to color!
Here's my little Miss Independent working hard :)
Scott is excited and fully engaged! No wondering off into space or stubbornly not finishing work. Yes, it's only day one but it gives me hope :)

Sam getting the job done and with a smile on his face! WOW!!! Hope it lasts :)

Our official start date wasn't until next Monday but we just couldn't wait any longer!!! Once my husband (the computer genius) set up all of the computers the kids wanted to start...Right then! I let them check out a lesson and then told them we would do a trial run Thursday and Friday. I wanted to find our groove and work out all the kinks.

So far it has been work (I can't sit around and do my own thing at all. Not even for a moment because I am checking on them, answering questions,getting them ready for the next lesson, occupying Jack and/or sitting in and being with them as they are taught their lessons) but it's been really nice! The first thing my 9 year old son said was that the teachers are all so happy and nice!

I have to help the two younger ones the most but my 11 and 13 year old need little to no help. I just have to correct their work and answer questions here and there. They also can rewind the video if they missed something.

It's only the first day but I am really pleased!

We started off with a little meeting of what needed to be done before school starts at 8 am. That included breakfast, rooms picked up, beds made (because someone is doing school in that room and need a clean environment around them), dressed from head to toe as if they were going to school (I think it helps them get in the right frame of mind), hair brushed, and teeth brushed.

To start off school we have family prayer and scripture study. Then they go off to their computers and get their books to start class. They get a break at 11:30 for lunch and a little running around for about 20-30 minutes. Then off to finish the rest of the classes and homework. They'll all be done with class/classwork and homework as early as 12:30 and as late as 3:00. It depends on how fast they do their work. Then they have the rest of the day to play and relax. I told them that when everyone is done with their work for the day that they can have 1 hour to play a video game or TV. The rest of the time has to be filled with chores, reading, drawing, or playing in/outside.
That's our day so far! It sounds perfect and has been running smoothly but it's only day one! I hope it continues :)
All those people (including the Valencia Valley receptionist) that said I was crazy... Hah!!! And there were a LOT!!! So far it's a lot better than stressful public school that makes me feel like a terrible parent for having so many kids. They are respectful, kind, hard working, and have a desire to follow Jesus Christ and choose the right! I call that wonderful having a lot of kids :)