Experimental Home School Day

My son loves school. And his sister, who's almost 3, already wants to go to school like her big brother. But even though they are so fond of it, I'm leaning more and more towards the decision to home school.

We've been talking about it together as a family and we recently had the opportunity to take a day to experiment with the idea.We decided to go on a field trip. Our destination was Laguna Hills Community Center to check out the fossils and learn about the animals that have inhabited the area over the years and the changes that have occurred over time. The kids loved this spot and the Community Center provides informational material and an activity packet for the kids to add to the educational experience of the visit. To learn more about the Community Center and our visit, check out my previous post, Got Fossils?

We realized that we were close to Laguna Niguel Regional Park, so when we were done with our visit at the Community Center we headed there to play and explore. Our first stop was the playground near the main entrance, but the highlight here was exploring the stream that runs through the park. We sent leaves and sticks downstream and watched as the current pushed them along, then we wandered both upstream and down exploring the habitat and encountered lots of animals that live there. Tadpoles, fish, turtles, crayfish, geese, many other birds, and butterflies were some of the animal friends we met along the way.

 

After a snack and a few more minutes of playground time we headed to the lake. We walked along the trail that surrounds the lake and watched the ducks and squirrels. On our way back we found a small amphitheatre and we all took turns putting on a performance. I danced, the kids sang, and my husband did animal impressions.

Can you see the crayfish?

 When we finally made it home, we were to tired to do any writing activities, but over the course of our field trip we fit in physical education, science, history, and visual and performing arts. Not bad for our first try.

I'd love to know what kind of field trips other homeschooling families are going on. Please leave a comment with your favorite location for field trips so we can see the great locations you're all exploring.

Laguna Niguel Regional Park is located at 28241 La Paz Road, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Got Fossils?

We went to the Imaginology event at the Orange County Fairgrounds recently and we were lucky enough to stumble upon the booth for the Laguna Hills Community Center. They had a few staffers on site and a big box of fossils for kids to dig through.

I was excited to learn that the community center is situated right smack dab on top of one of the richest fossil sites in America. And rather than keeping all those bones to themselves, they've kindly put some on display for the public to explore.

My little ones love dinosaurs so we made the trip. It's a beautiful location with fountains and a mural of the prehistoric animals that once roamed the hills and swam the seas on that very site. Inside, they have several displays to view including the tusk of a Columbian Mammoth that was 15 feet tall. Quite impressive! They also had the fossil box out, so the kids got to do a little digging of their own. My favorite was the skull of the saber toothed cat nestled in the wall above the staircase landing.

When you arrive at the center stop at the front desk and ask for a Paleopack. They have a parent/chaperone guide with a map of the exhibits and fun facts to talk with your kids about while you view each display. They'll also give you a kids activity packet with coloring pages and dot-to-dots. Take crayons or pencils with you if you want to complete the activities there.

 

The community center also offers a Fossil Finders Fossil Fixers School Tour Program geared for grades 2 through 5. With this program, students will participate in a three day program that meets the California State Science content standards. They offer this same program in a condensed one day version for the general public. For information on when these classes will be offered or to make a reservation call 949-707-2680.

When you've finished exploring inside, head out to the Prehistoric Playground. Loved this spot! The boulders had fossils and imprints of scallops and other prehistoric sea life and the cave beneath the bridge showed off the dinosaur skeletons. There are two levels to play on with multiple structures and a super-cool whale skeleton to climb.

 

For a morning of play and learning, Laguna Hills Community Center is definitely a must-do!

For more information visit www.gotfossils.com. The website also features games, videos, animal facts, and much more to explore with the kids before or after your visit.

Laguna Hills Community Center is located at 25555 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Hills, CA 92653.

Imaginology

I took my kids to the Imaginology event at the Orange County Fairgrounds this weekend and it blew me away. What an amazing event! What could have been your run-of-the-mill youth expo, has been totally redesigned to become one of the most creative, interactive, educational, and worth-while events I've ever attended.

The S.T.E.A.M.-themed activities and vendors were so well put together and they had so much to offer to get kids thinking and creating. S.T.E.A.M. stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and math, so on-site we were able to explore a science fair, see 4-H exhibits and livestock, dig for dinosaur bones, build structures with toothpicks and marshmallows, build mobiles, create with clay, and build a foil boat and see how many pennies we could put in it before it sank. Oh, and my son made a cardboard rocket and got to launch it himself. Loved that. These were only a few things we got to do in our short time there. I say short because we went on Sunday at 1:00, and some vendors and activities were packing up ahead of the 5:00 closing time, but we were still able to participate in some really fun activities.

 

 

 

I love the Centennial Farm area at the Fairgrounds, and was excited to see that a lot of the event was situated here. We got to see and touch baby chicks and plant radish seeds, and they had brand new piglets and lambs that the kids thought were super cute. You could even catch a hayride.

 

 

After attending this event I'm hyped to try to incorporate more of this style of learning into my children's education at home. The School Library Journal has a great article on STEAM and a list of resources to refer to for inspiration and information. Don't forget to check out the STEAM Pinterest board. And keep an eye out for the STEAM Carnival that will be coming to the Port of Los Angeles in October.

Why I Love Shipley

In my last post about Shipley Nature Center I talked mostly about the new children's program and offered a general overview of the grounds. But I really think this nature center has a lot to offer and I wanted to mention a few more of the things I love about Shipley.

 

 

 I took my daughter with me to take a few photos for a post I was writing for dandelionmoms.com, also about the new children's program (you can read that post here). We said hello to Barbara, one of the staff members, and she offered us a Critter Count checklist to keep track of the wildlife that we spotted while we were out on the trails. My daughter LOVED keeping track, and I was amazed by the number of animals we encountered. When we checked back in, Mandy helped us record our observations so the next time we visit we can compare our animal observations. We had a grand total of 2 bunnies, 9 lizards, 9 butterflies, 7 birds, 2 hummingbirds, and 3 squirrels.

Shipley also participates in the Get Outdoors! OC program and they provide Nature Scene Investigator Guidebooks for kids to learn more about some of the natural environments and historic locations in Orange County. With the NSI Guidebook, you are directed to various locations to explore and follow clues that lead you to keys or rubbing plates to help you complete your mission.

In addition to the new children's program, Shipley seems to be adding new things all the time. They now have a spot outside where kids can make footprints of local wildlife. At the first children's program event, they made binoculars, then went out to look for animals on the trail. So stop in on Wednesday's at 11:00 and participate in a fun, nature related craft and story time. It's such a great experience for the little ones.

Shipley will also be hosting their annual Spring Festival on Saturday, April 26 from 10:00 to 2:00. There will be face painting, a Maypole dance, storytelling, and much more.

For more information about Shipley Nature Center visit http://shipleynature.org/.