Schoolroom Journal: October's Field Trip Fun!

October was such a fun month for us, friends! THREE field trips. Not too shabby, huh?

Since we're learning about Ancient Egypt all year, we took the boys to the Ancient Egypt exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science {through Groupon we paid $30 for a family of four...regularly $80!} It was amazing. Every corner we turned the boys saw things we've been reading and learning about. It was such a joy hearing them spout off facts and get excited about what they saw. Isaiah played it cool as long as he could when we saw real mummies then he made Guy hold him :) Elijah, however, was fascinated by them--especially one that still had hair on his head and chin. Pretty creepy, but WAY cool! At lunch that afternoon Isaiah told me that he never thought he'd get to actually see everything we've been learning about at a museum until he was at least eighteen..."and I'm just SEVEN, Momma!" Such a sweet and encouraging moment. Sadly, we have ZERO pictures from the museum! Can you believe that? But to make up for that, here's a picture of Isaiah pretending he's an "ancient Egyptian artifact."

After the Ancient Egypt exhibit that afternoon we saw Jerusalem 3D in the IMAX theater. Simply stunning. Elijah kept reaching his arms out during the film to touch things in the air :) It was SO cute. This film is a must see, friends!

Here's a clip below--breathtaking!

http://youtu.be/tejeDb_5WWs

We also took the boys on a field trip to The Oil Ranch. SUCH a fun time! The boys each got a free pumpkin from the Pumpkin Patch, we learned how cows get milked and the kids could even milk her {the boys wanted nothing to do with that}, the boys rode horses, learned about and got to pet tons of animals {pigs, goats, chickens, roosters, etc...} AND we got to see gorgeous peacocks, a ram and a real billy goat. And not to mention the massive hay pile in the barn they got to play in and the tepee and totem poles--the boys loved it all. There's even a mine where you can gather lots of small gems and stones...Isaiah came home with a pocket full!

http://oilranch.com/

{Isaiah was in cowboy mode all day at the ranch :)}

{Sweet Elijah riding a pony}

And last but not least we went to the Calendar Garden. This is such a sweet and quaint little garden that I happened to find while searching for fun fall/pumpkiny type things to do with the boys. There are several free outdoor games to play and a hay maze. They have a stunning rose garden and a Texas garden full of Texas flowers, plants and, of course, lots of cactus. There were so many teachable moments at the garden as we saw and got to smell and touch citrus trees, herbs, vegetable plants, a grape vine and bumble bees! We went with some precious friends of ours and we sat down at a table under a cute little rustic pavilion and note-booked about our day {thanks Susan!} I can't wait to go back at Christmas.

http://www.calendargarden.com/

{Elijah...he could have stayed on this tractor all afternoon!}