a field trip

The weather this week in Ohio is unbelievable. It was in the mid 70s yesterday! Was there any choice but to get outside and enjoy it all day long?

We homeschool. It's not for everyone... I really mean that. It doesn't fit every family. But, it fits ours. It is a major perk of homeschooling to be able to call a field trip day whenever the most beautiful weather comes along. We get our lessons done. We do "real school", too. But, this is my favorite kind of school day.

We packed our van FULL of stuff (goodness, and I'm a light packer! but this was a lot of stuff!) and picked up my sister's three year old daughter. Then, we headed out to a local city park... which is also an 1880s farm :)





I quickly learned that chickens are even more difficult to photograph than children are! I don't think I had my shutter speed fast enough. The very bright noonday sun didn't help matters, either. They were much prettier than my shots show. Really lovely speckled feathers!



Before we had left home earlier that morning, I called the farm to see if there were any new baby animals, yet. That was my main reason for choosing the farm for our trip. Baby animals! The lady on the phone assured me there were lambs and some piglets. Well, we got there. One baby lamb. And she looked a good two weeks old. No piglets. No itty bittys. Oh, well.



Inside the barn was way too dark for photos. So, we saw our one (big) baby lamb and moved on.



















































After a little exploring (and completely wiping out in mud patches - hey, five year old boy), we headed across the road to the park's fishing pond for a picnic. And I thought I'd do a little camera embracing with my windswept self.



Emily, thanks for challenging me to get in there and use the self-timer.



One of the coolest things about this historical farm is the general store selling penny candy. Up until about a year ago, most of it actually was a penny. Now, only the hot tamales can be had for a cent. The other options are mostly 2 or 3 cents. You can see the candy from glass windows in a large wooden counter, and the cashier gets out whichever kinds you choose. The kids think it's great fun to pick out their own varieties and hand the cashier a quarter. We hardly ever pay cash for anything anymore. So weird.

No pictures of the penny candy store this time. It's kind of a LOT to get 5 children to choose 25 cents worth of penny candy. An exercise in decision-making.

It was a great day! Today promises to be just as beautiful... it's 61 degrees right now and it isn't even noon, yet. But, we're tackling some schoolwork, laundry, and cleaning before we're free to revel in the sunshine today. It's incentive to move fast!

Hope you're having beautiful weather, too. Enjoy the day!