It's Married

Touring an art museum with a little one is an adventure not to be missed. 

Especially at Christmas. 

(whispered conversation, of course)

"Look there—do you see Baby Jesus?"

"Yes!"

"And who's that with him?" 

"Married."

Hot Pigs

(more Conner Prairie odds and ends)

 

The pigs seemed so content, just dozing in the warm, pluffy mud.

The smell of happy, hot pigs (and not in a bacon-y way) 

was pretty shocking to our fancified noses.

I tried to power through the stench, but ended up covering my nose too.

I don't think the pigs noticed or were offended at all.

This does look painful, though. 

No wonder they want to just lay in some mud.

I felt a sympathetic shudder - do you?

Park Walk

Friday turned out to be a great day for a park walk. 

This time of year goes so fast. 

A few blinks and a doze or two - and the beautiful fall weather will be over!

As it turned out, the litter on the trails around our local park caused 

My Youngest to decide to write his first letter to an elected official. 

Nature Appreciation AND Community Involvement all in one afternoon - 

a perfect home school day!

Pretend

October, you've finally arrived!

It seems a little bit early to go full on with the color show, but I'll get behind it.

Photo was taken at Conner Prairie. 

I love this place - it's like walking right into history.

And if I can't have Colonial Williamsburg, then I'll have to stay faithful to CP.

Historic persons interacting with you just as 

if you're their favorite nineteenth century neighbor - 

what more could a gawker like me ask for?

It's a great big, educational game of pretend.

And last Saturday, it was free too!

A Lowly Spot

Our spring trip to the zoo - EVERYONE else in the tristate area was there, too.  

But there were so many cute little ones, so very excited about the a'mals. 

I had to snicker a tiny bit at the intensity some parents were applying to a simple zoo visit. Does that darling, blond three-year-old really need to be able to distinguish between an emperor and a king penguin? 

There could be a time for just enjoying, right? 

How critical are these facts, anyway?

I guess I always leaned a tiny bit toward an 'unschooling' attitude in my home education - at least toward some things. If they don't wonder aloud about something, then I'm not going to throw out endless trivia. 

If they don't ask, "Mom, what do you think that bit of floppy skin at the end of his nose is for?", then I'm probably not going to say a word. 

Because most of the time, it's ME voicing those crazy questions aloud, instead of them.

This is a source of embarrassment for my almost-teen, who will still go to the zoo with his mom to get out of a day with the Book Stack. He might wincingly hear any number of musings from his mom:

"What in the world are those monkeys doing?"

"Why in the heck is that swan doing that neck thing?"

"How do you think it can eat with that kind of mouth issue going on?"

"What is that in its eye, anyway?"

"Do you think they can see us if I wave like this?"

(his very favorite...)

So, anyway. Lovely photos is what I really meant to post about. 

Youngest son is not embarrassed to have me stop to take photos in random spots, 

even if the zoo is very crowded. 

He is a very tolerant son. 

Or maybe he's just relieved that I'm not trying to communicate in any way with the a'mals 

(or tiny, adorable children in strollers).

2012 Garden Resolution: 

After seeing these at the zoo, I'm going to find them for my garden this year. 

AND I'm going to force myself to plant them in November when I am otherwise completely finished gardening. Daydream Tulips. They sort of glow in the morning sunshine. 

Beautiful from above...

... and from below, too.

Side Note That Might Only Make Sense To Me:

Life can be filled with beauty when you're up and walking about, on top of it all, viewing the Lord's handiwork from an upright point. 

It's a very different view from below, when you're down low, and at the bottom, so far from where you were before. But still, from that humble position, there is beauty, and life, and there can even be joy. As long as we don't squeeze our eyes shut in pain, misery and/or rage, we might get a glimpse of something not seen by all those lofty individuals who have not had the privilege of seeing life from a Lowly Spot. 

Yet.

Isaiah 61:1-3 

Isaiah 55:8

Flying Hunks

I'm not finished with the zoo photos yet!

Why are the sea lions so hard to find at the zoo? Off by themselves, shoved into a corner.

Finally a warm day to bask in the sun...this guy never moved while we were there.

Flamingos --- so PINK and noisy! Can't imagine how this one seemed to be so peacefully dozing with all the squawking going on.

This disgruntled guy was in a zoo hospital room - doesn't he just look peeved? Check out his eensy, tiny cast with the smiley face:

And my favorites, the gorillas, were out for sport! We got to see the almost-a-silverback gorilla beating up on the much smaller tween (it happens everywhere, folks), until THIS big daddy got up and put a stop to all the nonsense.

You'd better believe I was 'alert', cause doesn't he just look like he's thinking about it?

(I think we all know that really means 'clumps of poo', right?

Watch out for flying hunks of poo!

Zoo signage could be so much more engaging...)

Zoo (Love)

A sure way to get out of books for the day here at our homeschool? No fail? Ask for a day at the zoo. Answer: Yes! There's always something amazing to see, lots of great stuff to read, tons to learn, just in observation.

When we go for a field trip, there's always a 'hunt'. Recently, the items on the list were:

1. a declarative sentence

2. an imperative sentence

3. in interrogative sentence

4. an exclamatory sentence

5. a historic fact

6. two words for the spelling list

7. two photos each of acute angles,

obtuse angles, and right angles

Whoever finds the item does NOT have to record it - but the other hunters do! This greatly motivates the searchers and turns the whole thing into a friendly race.

The declarative sentence was taken from the sign describing these Siamang apes. It's terribly romantic, I think...

"Male and female pairs duet to strengthen their bond and defend their territory."

In the Tree

We took a trip to the Creation Museum. It was really crowded, and I have to say that I was not unhappy when the trip was nearing its end. We had spent the morning and afternoon reading every single sign, gawking at the other visitors, processing overwhelming amounts of information and adjusting our worldviews as we moved along.

Did I say how crowded it was?

I like a crowd, the more to look at the merrier, but it was really too close to really enjoy the views.

My Youngest has an eye for detail that always surprises me, and on the way out of theAdam and Eve Eating the Apple scene, as I bustled along with everyone else toward the exit, My Youngest spotted this and called us back:

An amazing sculpture of Christ merged into the trunk of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil!

I'd love to hear the sculptor speak about this inspired/inspiring work.