End of Summer Catch Up

The older kids are starting back to school in a week... do you think we've gotten around to going that Jello cell model yet?  Of course not!  But there is still hope to get it done in the next few days, right?!  Although we haven't gotten this specific project done, we have completed a lot of awesome stuff this summer, so I thought I'd do a quick recap of the things that we HAVE done!

All three older kids did 8 weeks of swim classes this summer.  There was a lot of improvement in their swimming ability through this process, and the youngest was even able to attend a 2 week set of parent/tot classes.  We also took to kids to watch their first race (my first triathalon) and they were very excited, and are inspired to participate as well.  They have actually participated in a Girl Scout 5k the past two years, but that didn't seem like as big a deal to them as going to see a "real" race.  The junior race starts at age 7, so we've told the that if their swimming in strong enough, once they are old enough this is a possibility.  I love that we are fostering such a great love of athletics with them.  They have also participated in fitness activities at home, and the oldest loves creating fitness routines.

We completed the summer reading program through the public library.  Each of the kids set a goal of 50 books.  Catie was very excited to get her first library card, and to finally be able to participate in this.  Adam passed his goal, but a few books, and Reagan was close to doubling hers.  Adam has been progressing with his chapter book reading and is finishing the summer with The Indian in the Cupboard series.  It took over a year of convincing, but we finally got Reagan to start reading the Harry Potter books.  She read the first one in under 24 hours and is well into the second half of book two now.  Her goal is to read all of them by the end of the school year.. I don't doubt she will.

We took an awesome family camping trip up to Flagstaff, and were able to get a lot of educational time in while we were having a great time as a family.

Putrefied Forest

 First we took a day trip form there out to Petrified Forest NP.  The older kids have already completed the Jr. Ranger program here, and the younger ones aren't yet old enough.  We found out about a new program though where the kids were able to become Jr. Paleontologists!  While there we visited the Painted Desert Inn, Route 66, and Newspaper Rock.  The Painted Desert Inn isn't the most spectacular of stops, but it had new meaning for us this time as we were just finishing reading the novel When Molly Was a Harvey Girl as a family, and this was a Harvey House.  We were able to visit the dining room, the counter, and the kitchen!

Reagan with the Pluto Telescope

The next day we went to visit the Lowell Observatory.  We visited during the day and went on two tours, getting to learn about the original telescope that started the observatory, and the Pluto scope that was used to take the photos that were used to discover Pluto.  We also got to learn about and see the spectrograph that was used to make the discovery that the universe is expanding!  We were also able to attend the Great Balls of Fire exhibit that they currently have there, and learn about comments and meteorites.  After going back to camp to watch The Magic School Bus in space, and for a nice big meal and some naps, and running around at the playground, we returned to the Lowell for the night program!  We got to actually look through the 117 year old telescope that was the first one there!  We also got to view Saturn and a binary star system through other smaller telescopes that were set up.  We returned a few nights later for the evening programs again, and since it was overcast we went to an interactive mini planetarium show, and spent more time learning in depth about comments and meteors at the exhibit.  The kids were very excited about this whole experience, and it has inspired more fun since we've been home.

We were back outside the next day with a visit to Sunset Crater NM (where we have also previously completed the Jr. Ranger Program) where we hiked a cinder cone.  The trail was only 1 mile long, but was quite steep, and all three older kids walked the entire way.  This was a big hike for Catie, and she was very proud of herself for making it.  The other older kids were great at encouraging her, and making sure we all made it to the top and back together!




Our last day we spent visiting some museums.  First we visited the Riordan Mansion State Historic Park, where we got to tour the historic home, and learn about the family's contributions to the Flagstaff community, life at the time, and the arts and crafts architecture movement.  We loved this tour, and exploring the grounds.  We made in through both the interior and exterior tours just before a thunderstorm!  After this we headed over the the Flagstaff Pioneer History Museum (sadly, not really recommended) where we were able to view a decade by decade history museum, some pioneer cabins, and a train.  The best parts of this stop were getting to board the train caboose, and the furnished cabin we were able to walk through.  The cabin was used at the same time the Riordan Mansion as built, so it gave us a great comparison about how different people lived at the same point in history.

Coming up I plan to blog about summer scout stuff, our studies since we have returned from this trip, including a Star Party we had last night.  I'm also planning to blog about the book we read as a family over on my book blog, so you can look for that too. :)