Home-schooling

Bandelier National Monument

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I am linking up with Design Mom today. Thank you for stopping by!

Have you been to Bandelier National Monument? We have been several times because it is one of our favorite places to take visitors to. It has all the right elements to make it a great outing for the whole family: a moderate 1 mile hike, lots of climbing on ladders, and just the right amount of anthropology and history to call it a field trip. Bandelier has several ruins and cave dwellings to explore what life for Native Americans was like around 1,000 AD. And, unlike Mesa Verde, you can actually climb into the caves, which makes it so fun for kids.

First a village on the ground. To get the full scoop I suggest paying $1 for the pamphlet, which explains explains the numbered sites in detail.

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If you look closely there is an adobe structure in front of the cliff. That is what the cliff dwellings used to be like. When you see the pictures with us in the cliff dwellings, these front structures are missing.
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Here is a view of the village from up high. I think several hundred people lived there at the time.

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Lots of climbing up stairs to see the cave dwellings. You do not want to bring a stroller here.

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So here we are climbing into a one room cliff dwelling. Like I said earlier, there would have been a structure in front of it. These caves are so nice and cool, which is nice because usually it gets hot climbing up the hill. Be sure to bring lots of water…IMG_8990 IMG_8992

How many people can you fit in one room? The people hiking behind us where a little surprised when they watched 8 of us climb out of there.
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Another shot of the village below.IMG_9005 IMG_9008 IMG_9010

Here is my son Finn climbing up a ladder with Tasha. The ladders are bolted in, just in case you are wondering.IMG_9019 IMG_9038

My friend Jana with our 6 and 8 year old. My six year old could do the hike and climbing pretty well with some assistance.

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Here is a 4 room cave. IMG_9062 IMG_9069

Here is my youngest taking a water break. The second half of the hike is in the shade along a small stream.

IMG_9099Bandelier is about 50 minutes northwest of Santa Fe. For more info go here. The visitor center has a small little museum showing what life in the village looked like. And it also has snacks foods available.

If you like travel posts like this, here are a few others I have done: Tent Rocks, Taos, Santa Fe, The Very Large Array, and Lincoln.

Have a great day,

Sofija

Pictures taken by David Burton

 

Bandelier National Monument

Lincoln, New Mexico

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One of my favorite field trips we have done in the past is visiting the little town of Lincoln, New Mexico.

Lincoln is a small ghost town in southeast  New Mexico, with one main street, and lots of little houses. The whole town is like a walk through museum, nobody lives there. There is a court house and prison, where Billy the Kid escaped from pretty spectacularly. There is the town store, a church, a doctor’s office, a hotel, little gift shops and places to eat for the tourists. It is really fun to walk through and see what life was like back in the 1800’s. What people could buy at the store, what a typical kitchen looked like, the sizes of beds… The doctor’s office’s instruments looked pretty scary.

Here is the my son Shane (about 2 years old at the time, how cute is he!!) in the court house.
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My kids with their cousin (left) in front of the courthouse.
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Houses like this are lining the street, you can wander in and out of stores.houses

Next the museum telling of Billy the Kid’s history and the Lincoln County War, he was in the middle of.the kids with Billy the Kid the kids outside hotel

church in Lincoln,NM sign4-6 Museums are open 7 days a week, depending on the season. To plan your visit go here.

Have a lovely day,

Sofija

 

Lincoln, New Mexico

Explode the Code

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I would like to tell you about a Phonics program I discovered about a year ago, and I wish I would have found it sooner. My 4th and 2nd grader love it. It is a supplement for your reading and spelling programs.

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My second grader (picture above) dislikes reading, but when she is working on Explore the Code she does not realize she is doing reading. I like that it is cheap (under $10) and compact. I have a hard time with phonic programs that come with a lot of accessories. I tend to either loose or not use them. I also like that they can work on it on their own without needing my help.
Book 1-3 are recommended for first grade. Books 4-5 1/2 are for 2nd grade, and so forth. However my second grader needs is working on book 2; what is recommended for 1st grade would be too hard for her.
So if you are looking for a program this might be a good option.
Have a great day,
Sofija

Explode the Code

This Week at our Homeschool Group

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This year my 9 year old son is in a class that has different dads teach each time. First the dad will talk about his work and then do a devotion. So far they had a fire fighter (who brought his fire truck!), a police officer, pastor, and carpenter. Yesterday, a scientist from a national lab brought part of a supercomputer and let the boys take it a part.

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Pretty cool!
I love it when dads get involved and share their expertise. My husband and his friend have taught computer programming to home-schoolers at different times over the years. Who knows how many future scientist they have inspired?!
-Sofija

This Week at our Homeschool Group

Free Learning

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Wow, we are already half way through the school year, and learning at our house is back in full swing. I want to be more committed to learning myself and take advantage of some of the free online courses available. And I think they are an incredible resource for home-schooling, as well. In the past I have considered a Harvard history course for my high-schooler. We use Khan Academy if my kids don’t understand a certain math concept or need a refresher. I use Live Mocha for language learning.

I found an article “12 Dozen Placed to Educate Yourself Online for Free” that is a great resource when looking for a particular course or topic. I will be using this for reference in the future. I hope it will help you, too.

Happy learning everybody,

Sofija

 

 

Free Learning

Thanksgiving Crafts

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I did this post last year and since it fits so well I wanted to repost it today.

Did you wake up this morning and realize that it is getting really close to Thanksgiving?? Are you ready?

If you are teaching this week you might be focusing on our nation’s beginning. Here are some craft ideas I found via the Martha Stewart website for your visual learners.


Here are the links to the tutorials: The corn dolls. The hat and bonnet. The table ship.

Happy crafting!

-Sofija

Thanksgiving Crafts