Field Trip to Old Cowtown Museum, Part 2

I think we spent about five hours at Cowtown.  The first 2 hours were a bit busy because there were a lot of schoolkids there, but after that it was much slower.  Here the kids all took a turn grinding wheat.  They really loved all of the hand-on activities.

There was a display with bushel baskets of wheat, corn, soy beans, oats, sorghum, and milo that the kids could touch and examine.  Then on the table behind were examples of products containing those items. 

Here is my friend, with all of her kids.  Doesn't she have her hands full?  Ha, ha, just kidding.  Between us, though, we have 9 children, so yes, we both have our hands full!

Anne plays in the wheat, while Anthony tries to get his little hand in there.

Of course, as soon as he got his little hands in there, he began "sowing" the seeds. 

One part of Cowtown is a farm, complete with house, outbuildings, and animals.  Here Anne got to be the assistant, pouring the corn into the grinder.

The kids intently watched the horse-powered feed grinder.  Did you notice that my friend was smart, dressing her children in the same color shirt?  I'll definitely have to remember that one!

Then back to the gunnysack swing, where Joseph got a turn.

And what a thrill to pet the miniature ponies!

Our field trip to Cowtown was a resounding success!   I had never been there before and it was much bigger and better than I had anticipated.  We will definitely have to go again next year.

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.

First Field Trip of the Year - The Zoo!

We couldn't go to the zoo all summer because it was just too hot (We had 53 days 100 degrees or higher this summer, which was a record!).  So we finally made it there at the very end of September.

Catherine was studying North America at the time, so she took her notebook and wrote down all of the North America animals she saw.  Here, however, we are in the rain forest!

Looking at the vampire bats.

I tried to get all the kids to pose in front of the waterfall, but it just didn't work.

Joseph, Catherine, Anne, Dominic, and Anthony with the statue of the Grizzly Bear.  We spent a lot of time going through the North America exhibit.

The kids all love climbing on the animal statues scattered throughout the zoo.  Anthony got right in the mix on the tiger.

What fun!

It never fails.  We go into the really neat Gorilla exhibit, and the kids make a beeline for the little hut in which there is a movie showing about gorillas.  And in the next room over, four live gorillas are running around and playing right outside the windows.

Anthony was totally wiped out.

Catherine and Anne find a friend.  We all had a good time and Catherine got quite a long list of North American animals, so the field trip was a success.

The New Swingset

Here is our sad, old swing set, blown over yet again by strong winds.  Bought about 5 years ago, it has been well used, and is now rusting and falling apart. 

So one day, about a month or so ago, Daddy began to build a new swing set.  Here it is in progress.

Now there are three swings that can go higher than the old ones.  Grandpa got put to work pushing all the kids.

Anthony was insistent that he get to swing in the big kid swing, and he really held on well.

You can hear some loud squealing coming from our backyard whenever anyone gets extra-high pushes!

After Daddy built the swing set, he decided it wasn't as stable as he wanted, so he began to add on and make a playhouse, repurposing the rest of the wood from the horse stalls.  Here it is partly finished.  The old slide got put there so Anthony had a way to get down after he climbed up the ladder.

Here the roof is on (leftover material from the big shed) and a rope swing has been added.

And there is a pole to slide down.  Whee!

Catherine testing out the rope swing.

The swing set/playhouse has gotten more additions since I took these pictures, so I'll have to do another post later!

A Milestone For Dominic!

The before shot from a few weeks ago:  notice the new tooth coming in behind the baby tooth.

Last night Dominic let me pull out the baby tooth, so he has now lost his first tooth!  It had a very long root and the new tooth is already almost all the way in! 

Funny Joseph

Daddy And The Kids

Fun With Hay Bales

The kids were very excited to ride in the back of Daddy's truck to go pick up the hay bales.  The rule was they had to always sit.  And Daddy drove really slow!

Anthony was more than thrilled to ride on Daddy's lap and help drive out to the big field.

Anthony, in his big boots, showed Daddy where the hay bales were.

This year the field only yielded 30 bales, so Dan kept 10 and the farmer who baled the hay took the rest.

After Daddy tossed the bale in, the kids got to work, pushing the bale to the back of the truck bed.

Catherine's got a seat, now.

Anne and Joseph are ready to go get some more bales!

Sittin' up high!

It was tricky getting Anthony to stay still for a picture, so Dan stuck him in the corner, where he promptly took off for the end of the truck.

A close-up shot.

Anthony was all set to help Daddy unload the bales into the stalls on the side of the shed.  He actually tried to help pull the first bale, grasping only a few pieces of straw.  It was funny.

Anne loves to pose for pictures.

It's a tall stack of hay bales!

Time to sweep out the truck bed.