Miscellaneous November

In early November, Dan started building a greenhouse between the big shed and the garden.

The boys watched Daddy dig the holes.

These posts used to be crossbars on telephone poles!

The kids practiced archery.

Dominic can shoot those arrows a long way!

Joseph agrees.

Also in early November, I took my oldest three and two of their cousins to the Young People's Concert at Century II.  We first listened to Vivaldi, then Peter and The Wolf, the story of which was acted out by a small dance troupe while the orchestra played.  The kids really liked it.  I did too!

They enjoyed the concert.

Dominic, Anne, Isabella, Catherine, and Seth.

One day I snapped a couple of pictures of Anne reading to Anthony:

I love it when the older kids read to the younger ones.

He had to get a closer look at the pictures.

Joseph with a cornucopia creation.

One day when it was really cold outside, we had painting time.

Art, art, art!

Field Trip To Old Cowtown Museum, Part 1

A little over two weeks ago, we went to Education Day at Cowtown, a nearby living museum representing life in the 1870s.  We've been listening to the Little House on the Prairie series on audio CD for a while now, so it fit in perfectly.  We met up with another homeschooling family, which was a lot of fun. 

The kids got to sit in the desks in the one-room schoolhouse.  Just like at home! :)

They all stood in line waiting for their turn on the gunnysack swing. 

There was a display of Native American artifacts, as well as this little tepee, which the kids all loved.  Some of them made Native American necklaces and ground corn between stones.

Taking a break on the boardwalk.  We did not go into some of the buildings because there were so many and I had the stroller.  But they did get to try turning the handle on the table saw at the carpenter's shop and watch a lady braiding rugs at another shop.  We bypassed the undertaker's shop.  

We stopped to listen to these men playing the fiddle and harmonica.  A few of the songs we have sung in choir, which was especially fun for the kids.

In the area of games for kids, they got to shoot arrows, use slingshots (with real stones), throw beanbags, and spin a board wheel for a prize.

Most of the kids there could not shoot the arrows very far, but guess who got his arrow on the roof?

Catherine takes careful aim.

The bowling lane was set up in an alleyway and I think the kids would have stayed there for hours if we had let them.  At least one person had to stand at the end of the lane to reset the pins and send the balls back down the grooved rail.

Catherine and Anne were so excited to be able to pet this horse.  The lady seated there explained to them all about how women would ride sidesaddle.  See the "Bowling" sign knocked halfway down in the background?  Anthony did that.  He'll show up in the second half of the pictures.

Archery Practice

Catherine and Dominic practice with bows and arrows.  Too bad all of the arrows and one of the bows have since been broken. :(