The Ark and Creation Museum

Our decision to change our route and include these two places was last minute and made us feel like major tourist considering the amount of money we spent but we're so glad we did! We purchased the combo tickets which gave us 1 day at the Ark and 2 at the Creation Museum. 

We chose to visit the Ark on the first day. We didn't know what to expect but we did thoroughly enjoy our day even though it did cost a bundle, we nearly walked our legs off, and there was so many people that everywhere we went was a slow moving line. There was lots and lots of reading but enough pictures and statues to hold the children's interest well. History has always been a love of mine (Monica) and with being to so many National Parks this summer, it was especially fascinating to learn about how canyons and mountains were formed. Even though we've heard the story of Noah's Ark all our lives, there was multiple things that were new to us:

-It was much bigger then imagination. Noah had no problem getting over 6000 animals on board.

- The animals looked a lot different then now.

- Only 1650 years after creation, the world was so evil that God destroyed it all except one family. 

- Dinosaurs were a lot smaller then typically depicted. 

- Noah and his family were almost certain to be vegetarian. 

- How intelligent Noah and his sons must have been. No cavemen could have built that massive ark.

- How many animals have gone extinct.

- OUR GOD IS EVEN MORE POWERFUL AND AWESOME THEN WE REALIZED.

The next 2 days we went to the Creation Museum. Again, a huge highlight for Eldon and I was getting so many childhood questions answered with a solid, Biblical answer. There was indeed dinosaurs, an ice age, and a reason why so many animals went extinct. We're feeling as though our brains may explode as we continue to process all the information we received and make sense of it all. We've come to see that today there is evolution taught everywhere and our children WILL be exposed to it even by visiting zoos and natural places so it's very important that we make an active effort to teach the truth and give them answers to their questions. 

We got through most of the Museum on the first day but the crowds were so bad that the children couldn't see much after the first hour. We spent a lot of time outside walking in the gorgeous Botanical Garden and playing in the petting zoo. Ethan giggled and giggled while he fed the goats and sheep! The older three were tickled pink to have a camel ride. The littlest man was pretty mad when he realized he wasn't getting a ride! We made sure to get in on the Dino-mite story time at 2:00 for the children. After this Ethan was an exhausted mess so we headed home.

The second day we were there a few min after 9. With a little wiggling we were soon ahead of anyone else and walked through all but the first exhibit alone! It was so enjoyable and we were able to explain and talk to the children so much better. It felt so real to walk through the peaceful Garden of Eden, the fall, and then see the very vivid effects of sin. It continued on with exhibits about life after the fall, the flood, life after the flood, and God's plan for our redemption. 

People keep asking if it's worth the money and I've got to say, it depends what it's worth to YOU. For us, yes. We would do it again in a heartbeat, and probably will in a few years. 

We'd recommend getting there early though, and beating the crowds if possible. We got in the lunch line at 11:30 and waited only a few min but 30 minutes later the line was literally 20 times longer. By the second day we knew a few shortcuts and had an awesome day since we could avoid a lot of crowds and lines!

Also, I'm going to link the blog post of a friend who visited last week and did a fabulous job of writing a review. Definitely read it if you plan to visit!

Heather's take on the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum

How we do school

     I've never pictured myself a teacher. I have always loved children but when I was a teenager I substituted one Sunday for the preschool teacher. I followed a very noisy passel of 4 and 5 year old's down the steps covered in hideous orange and black carpet to the basement of our church. I can close my eyes and smell the damp concrete like it was yesterday. They shuffled wildly around and finally all found a chair around the half-circle table painted white with brightly colored hand prints and the first verse of Jesus Loves the Little Children in red words.I don't remember what all happened but I can still remember the feeling of being totally out of control the whole time. I wasn't expecting to be interrupted every 30 seconds or so to be told an important piece of news like Johnny got a new dog then of course Susie had to outdo that story with one about her new kitten. I decided then and there to stay as far away from teaching children as possible :). 

     Fast forward 10 years and I've got a 4 year old just begging to read. Eldon said, "O, just teach her." So I purchased the Learning to Read curriculum from clp.org and jumped in. Watching the light dawn in my daughter's eyes as she began to put words together and hearing her read her first words have been one of my greatest blessings. Somewhere along the lines I've changed to where I can now say that I absolutely love teaching our children and have no intentions of letting anyone else have that joy. 

     We've tried several different curriculum and what-not but I do believe we are finally getting a feel for what works for us. Although, along with our lifestyle, our teaching style has become much more relaxed and our priorities have shifted so only God knows what the future holds!

     One thing that works well for us and our traveling family is schooling year round. That does not mean that we sit down at 8:00 each day and do the 8 subjects most students are required to do. Quite the opposite,actually. We have workbooks, mostly from CLE that we do when there is not something more exciting to do. Playing with cousins, exploring Indian Ruins, hiking to a mountain lake, going to the Ark and Creation Museum,observing and identifying birds, visiting the Grand Canyon, and completing the Junior Ranger Program at National Parks (and some state parks) are all included in our learning process. I'm frequently asking Google questions like:

-How many countries is there in the world?

-How big is the biggest ant?

-Where does a shark's poop come out?

-How many miles away is the moon?

-How much does it cost to go to Mars?

-Who thought of making speed bikes?

     Since we've backed off the hours and hours of workbook time, I feel like I actually have time to dive into their interests and help them answer their questions instead of saying, "I don't know, just do your Math." Basically, we are always learning. But we never put the books away. We may take a few weeks off if we are at Grandpa's but for the most part a few lessons are completed each week. If you'll notice the grade level each child is at, this actually put us several years ahead instead of behind. It's simply amazing how much better a child can work when they want to learn instead of having to learn :) .

These pictures were taken this Fall in Colorado where we had The Best Summer Ever. We've changed a few things up since then though.

     Since I do so enjoy hearing what other families use I suppose I should share too. Don't be appalled how light our book load is :).

Reading:

     I've taught both our children to read using CLE's Learning to Read program. It works well for us. I've started them both around 4.5-5 and take it slow, usually close to a year to complete the 10 books. It's given them an excellent start.

    Michael is just ready to start 108 and he moans and groans about it but he does love to read already so I'd say it's working! Writing is not his thing at all so I sometimes fill in his blanks because he IS young and he IS smart as a whip. He usually tells me the answers faster then I can write!

     This year I also purchased CLE's third grade Reading for Makayla, mostly for fun. It consists of a reader and 10 light-units. A lot of the questions have to do with reading comprehension and the lessons are short and easy so as long as she enjoys it I'll likely keep getting it.

     As for other reading, we don't lack for it all! I keep our books in the camper to a bare minimum but we visit a local library where ever we are once or twice a week. My pet peeve is when they have a limit of 20-25 books! So we have to go back often to keep new material in the house. We listen to a lot of audio books too, via librivox or CD's from the library. 

Math:

     I have Makayla back in CLE Math and will switch Michael once he is done with first grade Abeka. I do like Abeka in some ways but in my opinion it is not very home school friendly. It requires A LOT of teacher time and moves at a high rate of speed. We tried the video program but that meant hours of the children staring at a screen, lots of $$$$ and then I still had to figure out how they teach concepts unless I watched with them! CLE uses a very gently spiral method and also promotes independent working at a young age so it's perfect for a busy mom. It's also friendly to the wallet AND each subject has 10 light-units so I don't need to lug around a huge book, but only the few we'll need.

     And of course there is lots of mental math that happens here. 

     -"If I washed dishes 2 times and Makayla only 1 then that's not fair because I did it one more time then her!"

     -"Moooom, you only gave me 14 chocolate chips and Ethan has 200. He has more!"

Language Arts:

     Again, CLE. I love it, the kids love it. They were smart enough to combine it with Spelling and Writing which makes this minimalist mommy happy, happy, happy.

Science:

     Nothing official. But we've visited more Zoos, Nature Centers, and Museums in the last year then I did my entire life. We also watch things like Kratt's Creatures, Wild Kratt's, and other cool animal and weather shows and DVD's. And read tons of books. Nope, they are definitely not lacking in this area!

Geography, History, Music, Art, Bible, and Poetry

     Again, nothing official. Since this is the "fun stuff" I tend to leave it until last........and it never happens. We do get lots of first hand experiences at National Parks and Museums for Geography and History. But, in order to round it off, we've started something else this year and now I have a post up about Morning Time and how and why we do it! 

Click here to read the post about Morning Time!

Our last week in Colorado

Our last week in Colorado flew past. We were able to do a lot of fun things with my brother and sister and their families as well as some of my friends. 

The pumpkin patch we went to was a huge hit for the children. We were there for several hours and they would have been happy there longer! They had creepy little plastic rats laying all over and they just loved scaring each other with them!Then of course the huge slides made from pipes and tire swing from a big tractor tire was fun too.There was also a hay bale maze, hayride, and corn sandbox that we all loved.

Another fun thing was our first visit to a trampoline park. Imagine a whole floor made of trampolines! Eldon and I had as much fun as the children but we did wear out a lot faster! And as always, we had a campfire and picnic at Brian's pond several times. We had promised Emily a trip to Heavenly's Delight for frozen yogurt if she can stay dry for 3 nights and she did it! This place appeals to her since you get your yogurt then pick from a ton of toppings!

And then, we left Colorado! Eldon and I agree that this summer was probably our best yet. Many precious memories were made and our lives will never be the same , thanks to all we experienced!

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Our weekend in Kansas was amazing as well. We're just sad it's over already!

Just a note on Graham Cave State Park-it worked fine for us and our 31 foot travel trailer but most pads are smallish and there is a lot of trees so it's not real big rig friendly.

Arches National Park

One of the downsides to being a family who travels is that we are always leaving amazing friends and places behind when we leave. But one of the positive things is that we are always finding new amazing friends and places when we go! It was hard to leave Cortez after being there for 4 months but the excitement of discovering new places was high!

We drove to Moab, Utah and had our first experience boon-docking (no hook-ups). Following the advice of other bloggers, we went down Willow Springs Trail just a little bit and found a lovely spot to pull into. Once we set up and ate some supper we headed into Arches to do a little exploring. The GPS showed that if we followed Willow Springs for 6 more miles it would lead straight into the Park! Well, it did. But it was extremely bumpy and rough and we wouldn't do it again :) . 

We were able to do some hiking before dark. The next morning we showed up bright and early and hiked over a mile and were able to view at least 5 arches along the way. It was just amazing! On the way out we spent some time at the visitors center and the kids did their Jr. Ranger books. They all had to ask a Ranger 2 questions and I always love that part! We learned that rocks are red because they have iron in them, and when left out in the weather they basically rust! 

We got back to our camper about lunch time and quickly ate and hooked up then drove the 3 hours to my sister's in Montrose, Co. Highway 50 between Grand Junction and Delta is very rough!. Everything survived fairly well except for a shelf on the bookcase that broke at the brackets.