St. Patricks Day Stem Fun

  Last week was some more library fun.  Good old hands on fun.  St. Patricks day was the theme. Smiles were guaranteed.

Rainbows were made. Of course this was easier said then down with those slippery little water gel balls.

They weren't looking for gold but, how much gold their buckets could hold.

Their first computer experience with game controls using playdough. 

A catapult was made!

Lucky charms made for the best theme cereal to check and see if the catapult worked.

Hats were made of course.  The easiest thing to make to be festive.

We even caught a Leprechaun and brought him home!

Happy St. Patrick's day!  How will you be celebrating it?

Train Depot Pitstop (Tuesday trip)

  A couple weeks ago my bookclub visited the Suffolk Seaboard Station Railroad for our recent book The Girl on the Train.  While here we discussed the book, were introduced to the next book and received an informative tour of the museum.

The tour was interesting as I had never visited here before.  Inside you see all types of items from the train itself, to what the conductor wore, signs and dining car items.

The group made the climb upstairs and took in the sights of downtown Suffolk.

 We concluded our trip with a peek in the caboose.  I actually didn't know these were the living quarters for the train staff.

Not sure about the story behind the torpedoes.

It was a nice day trip.  Train fans would appreciate seeing all the memorabilia and model trains.  

If you are interested in visiting the museum you can find out more information here.

A Trip to Virginia MOCA

  MOCA stands for Museum Of Contemporary Art!  Contemporary is defined is art that is the product and reflection of the culture in which we live.


  My daughter and I visited the Virginia Moca last weekend on a free weekend!  What a great way to introduce us to an art museum we had never been to and to a different style of art my daughter has never seen. 

My favorite thing about an art museum is not the creativity behind it although that is spectacular but, that it changes.  You can always go and see something new.

This art featured was so amazing to look at.  I had to refrain from touching it because it was so unbelievable.  Cardboard was constructed into shapes and positions.

Cardboard!!!! These were just the start.  These were made by art students in high school.  This wasn't even the main event!

Right this way!!

My daughter told me to go first.   I mean who knows what's beyond that black hole.

Magic! Art is magic!  

The Monitorium exhibit was created by artist, puppeteer and more Wayne White.  Here he focused on the history of the Battle of Hampton Roads with the Ironclad ships.  In this exhibit you see sailors, ship related objects and there is even some fun hands on experiences.  You can read more about the artist here.

Next stop we got to see all things "don't touch"!

The objects in the next room were made up of wires or glass but we're on stands or tables.  So they were very tempting. If she saw something, she got excited and immediately wanted to point it out.

I think her favorite after all that we saw was the art lab area.  This area encouraged people both young and old to leave your art.  You know after seeing everything you have become inspired! 

First stop was a picture on a piece of paper stuck on to the wall.

Next stop was cardboard!!! Behold the community board of artistic creativity!

I would say we stayed at least an hour and a half or so.  She had fun looking at all the different pieces of art and creating her own.

It was definitely a great way to spend an afternoon.  We had time together. We experienced a new place and some new art together! I'm glad she is open to visiting different places.  

A Library has Books?

When you get your own library card it's almost mandatory to attend a diy library card holder event.

I have no shame I sent my teen to a bead class....... and she loved it!

All things John Green was a teen event that was all her idea.  She made pins, inspirational coasters and won this signed book!  She couldn't deny she enjoyed her library experience that day either. Watch out teen I think I saw you smile.

We have attended a lot of the preschool and elementary programs.  The library offers something different (usually hands on) every week.

Games are extra fun when your with your family and things are super sized!

Amazement when your balloon fills up by itself. Panic for mom when your not sure if it's going to blow up. Is there a phobia title for this?

The older kids get an experience one another level of learning and fun!  Shel Silverstein was the focal point one day.  The kids listened to a couple books then acted them out with each other for the parents.

Little miss is currently attending the monthly sewing classes.  She has learned basic sewing, adding buttons, and made a bag!

Mommy even gets to jump into a few programs of my own and I don't even have to share!  Crafts are offered regularly. 

I'm also in their book club.  Brooklyn is our next book. 

We even caught the eclipse at our library! This was fun for the whole family! It wasn't even just a show and bring your lawn chairs. It was a party! 

I'm just saying rumor has it a library has books too! Hmm, I didn't see any, guess I'll have to look next time I'm there.

Now I by no means am saying my library is better then yours but, I may be saying go and have fun at your library and see what they have.  Make suggestions to get more community involvement!   If you library does have activities and classes I would love to hear about them! 

School with Letter F

Letter F was fun.  There's a lot that can be done with food, actions and places to visit.  I'm not saying we went to a farm or rode a firetruck.  We didn't make a fan and he didn't eat frosting out the can but, we could have.

Letter writing is a definite daily and weekly thing. There is no fine-tuning.  I'm happy when it resembles the letter.  Working in between lines is a challenge but he concentrates very hard.

F is for face.  He cut out the parts, glue and applied them to the appropriate spots.

F is also for firemen! Fire hats, hoses 

and fire hydrants.  We went outside to color ours more accurately.

Our first snack was goldfish.  I could have picked up some Swedish fish but, Halloween was the other day and we don't need more candy.

F is for fireworks.  This worksheet is a favorite for him.  He likes to dab the spots with the bingo dabbers.

I found this fish counting/match cards.  If you can't figure out the numbers then you have to count and figure it out.

This is an old spiral dry erase workbook with various activities to do.

I would have liked to take him fishing but, I let him play the fishing game instead and sometimes games are more fun then waiting patiently to catch a fish.

Lastly, F is for flying.  Bats are for Halloween so this was a perfect craft for the week.  Here is the original post and instructions for this fun craft!

  Thank you for following along in our school.  I hope you walk away with a little inspiration and motivation to teach and play with your kids!