Some Boston Pics...finally!

Posted some pics from our group trip to Boston back in September on our family blog if anyone wants to check them out. They are mostly my kids but still of the trip. We had such a great time and ended up with TONS of pictures!! Sorry it has taken me so long to post some! Check it out:

Boston Trip Day One

Liz K.

Boston Trip Ininerary

Hi all
Those of you going on the Boston trip will want to print this out, but I also thought everyone else might like to see what we are doing in Boston. :) This is all tentative, but I have called most of the places to confirm details. Let me know if you think of something I may have left out. This trip is going to be sooo memorable for the kids! WOW! Sorry there is so much text below. :)
Sonja


Tentative Boston Itinerary

Thursday
7am meet at Conway Public Library for departure to Boston

10am Approximate arrival to Church, unload and head to Public Gardens

12pm T (pay $) to Public Gardens, lunch at the Make Way for Ducklings statues
Swan Boats
Snack _____________
Ritz Carlton lobby (reference to Trumpet of the Swan)
Boston Common (pasture land, British army, Boston architecture)
Snack _______________
State House (cod fish)
Granary Burial Grounds (Egyptian entrance, 4 famous people)
Snack _______________
Old City Hall (1st public school, elephant, Ben Franklin statue)
Snack _______________
Old Corner Bookstore (Dickens, Emerson, Longfellow, Thoreau)
Potato Famine memorial
Snack _______________
South Meeting House (Boston tea party, museum shop)
Snack _______________
Old State House (lion/unicorn, Boston massacre 5 died)
Snack _______________
City Hall Plaza (Ziggurat, bricks, teapot)
Snack _______________
Holocaust Memorial (SILENCE & observe, discussion at end)
NO SNACK!
Fanueil Hall (grasshopper, weaponry museum)
Snack ______________
DINNER Quincy Market and enjoy vendors and entertainment as long as desired

7:30 option beantownjazz.org/schedule.html
Free concert at David Friend Recital Hall
Arrive early for seats
On Boylston St between Boston Common and Fenway park
T (pay $) home to church

Friday

8:30 T (pay $) to Copp's Hill Burial Ground (revolutionary bullets in tombstones)
Snack _______________
Old North Church (climb bell tower)
Snack _______________
Paul Revere's House
Snack _______________

Lunch Christopher Columbus Park at Harbor edge

2 ½-3 hrs Aquarium visit (I know it sounds short, but it is the only spot I could fit it)
Snack _______________
3pm Tall Ships (2 hour harbor cruise)
Snack _______________

Dinner North End Italian Food MMMMM yummy!
After dinner
Play and hang out in Rose Kennedy Greenway (used to be the old Expressway, now a 1 mile park filled with vendors and a carousel $3/person) This wasn't open when I used to come to Boston. Should be interesting. Carousel open till 9pm? Visit rosekennedygreenway.org
Didn't find any concerts in Boston Friday night
T (pay $) home to church

Saturday

8:30am T (pay $) to USS Constitution & Museum (opens 9am-gets crowded should arrive early)
Snack ____________
Free Trolley to Long Wharf or $2.50 for Water shuttle bus to Long Wharf
Boston Harbor Cruise (first cruise 10:30 departs every hour-45 minute cruise)
Snack ____________
Lunch Pick a Wharf to eat on and watch the waves and boats and seagulls
Free trolley to next adventure
Pick an Adventure: (The rest of the day is open to your preferences-all free with go Boston card)
Museum of Science
Museum of Fine Arts
Children's Museum
Fenway Park tour 9-3pm Red Sox have a home game, tours end before batting practice begins
50 min walking tour start every hour on the hour
Tomb Adventure 11-5pm recreated 3,000 year old tomb, 45 minute adventure, located next to Fenway park

T (pay $) home to church
Costs of T:
$2 per ride x approx 6 rides per person = $12 per person
OR purchase an unlimited week pass for $15

Boston Trip Update

Thanks for the feedback on the Boston trip, it looks like there is lot's of interest and our trip is a go! There have been a few questions that have come up since posting the first information and we are going to try to shed some light on them. We will be discussing the trip in more detail at the Mom's Meeting on Monday June 7th. Most people have asked about an estimated cost, we have tried to break it down for you here:

                                            Adult                               Child
Go Boston Card             $90.00                              $55.00
Church Donation           $2.00/night                        $2.00/night
"T" Transportation      $2.00/ride x7 (est)             <11  FREE
                                                                                   >12  $0.85

Other things to take into consideration:
Food - plan on 2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 dinners (one of which may be at Quincy Market for $9/person)
Shopping/Souvenirs
Gas/Tolls

The majority of people are interested in fund raising. After some research we have picked a couple that will give us the biggest bang for our buck.

Pizza Hut Card: We would sell coupon cards offering 6 "FREE Medium Pizza with the purchase of a Large" AND 6 "$5 off any purchase of $20 or more" / no expiration. The card costs us $4 and we sell them for $10 and make a $6 profit/card. A child that sells 11 card will have paid for their entire trip minus food.

Yard Sale/Bake Sale/Car Wash: Each family will get their own spot to sell what ever they would like including yard sale stuff, fresh veggies from your garden, eggs, brownies, cookies, crafts, plants, toys, or anything they want to get rid of.  :)  Plus a car wash.

 If anyone has any other great fund raising ideas please feel free to share.

The Snake Guy!

We were lucky enough to have Josh, the snake guy, come a share his snakes and what he does. Who would have thought there would be such a need for snake removal in our area? And we are not talking about the little guys in your garden, but 10-20 foot pythons and boas. Yikes! Better him than me.

The kids had a great time. Josh brought a bunch of snakes, a couple turtles and scorpions, an iguana, and gecko. And he was kind enough to let the kids hold most of them.

Just check out their faces. This was a once in a life time experience for most of them.

The little ones thought the snakes were cool, too. I thought they might be scared, but no. Lots of smiles and giggles.

Alexis is holding George. A Ball Python. George and his mate are pets of Josh's. We couldn't hold the female because she is caring eggs at the moment.

Here a bunch of the group hold Josh's seven foot albino boa. Can you believe this guy has free rain of the bedroom. I can't imagine waking up with this next to me.

Thanks Josh for a great day, and thanks to Shelia for setting this up.

Check out more photo's on the Kelley Family Blog!

Boston Overnight Poll

Planning has begun for our overnight field trip to Boston.

• We are looking at a Thursday through Saturday in the month of September. The actual dates are dependent on the availability of the church. (Leslie J. is working on the church accommodations, more information to follow. We will be giving them a donation)
  
• Thursday morning we will leave Conway to arrive at the church around 10:00am. Next stop will be Boston Common for a picnic lunch and a Swan Boat ride! Then off on a scavenger hunt for the first half of the Freedom Trail, including Old South Meeting House and the Old State House Museum and many others, ending at Faneuil Hall. From there it is off to Long Wharf to board a harbor cruise. We will end in Quincy Market for dinner. Then it will be back to the church for an evening of games or movies.
• Friday we will start the day at the USS Constitution and then finish the second half of the Freedom Trial with stops at the Old North Church and Paul Revere's House. Arrive on Long Wharf just in time to board the Tall Ships. Both the Science Museum and the Children's Museum are open Friday evening.
• Saturday is your family's choice. Hook up with another family or explore on your own.
  

I know you are going to ask about the cost. Admission to all the above attractions is included in the purchase of a Go Boston Card. You can purchase two days to cover the events we have planned or three days to give you FREE admission on Saturday to your choice of over 70 Boston area attraction. We've done the math and this is definitely a savings. This also gives us options in case of bad weather. We could go to the Aquarium or other museums because it is all included in your pass.

Each family will be responsible for their own food, we are looking into the Quincy Market group dining pass for one or both of the nights dinner ($9.00 per person).

Please note that this is the plan, and is subject to change based on poll results, weather and group size. So it is important to let us know if you are interested or not. Please leave comments on this post if you have any idea, input or questions. Also please let us know if your family is interested via the comments section or the yahoo group.

Skating at the Ham - Week 2

We are right in the middle of a month of homeschool skating at the local ice rink. It has been an awesome time - lots of friends and exercise to boot. This past week we had over 40 homeschoolers on the ice. I wish I had gotten them all in the picture.



A few the kids are just learning, and doing great! I just love all the little ones in the picture below.


The teen pack!


We ended the day with the Zamboni! Boy is there a lot more to that machine then I realized. Next week we are going to get a tour of the refrigeration rooms! Too cool!

String at Sea with PSO

I just posted some pics from the Strings at Sea concert with the Portland Symphony Orchestra on our blog! Come on over and check it out!
The Kelley Family

Wreath Making

The Homegrown Explorers took to the woods in search of the perfect bough to make the perfect Christmas wreaths. It was a gorgeous December day - sunny and a little nippy!

Armed with pruners, saws and wagons the boys set off.

The little ones had a great day with Mama Thorne leading them through the woods. She even had them cutting their own little boughs. So cute!


As usual Hannah and Chase had to strike a pose.



A bunch of the older kids.

The whole group with just a fraction of our boughs. The tree farm in the back is the Chamberlain Christmas Tree Farm. Thanks to Ward for letting us visit and cut boughs again this year. He had gorgeous trees if you aren't sure where to go and cut your own!

Then we all headed back to the church to assembly our wreaths and swags. After a quick impromptu lesson the kids set to work cutting and wrapping.

Hannah is hard at work finding the perfect bough.

Slow and steady, Chase worked diligently creating her beautiful wreath.

A little help from a mom goes a long way!


Finally time to decorate!

All the kids did a great job. I wish I had a picture of all of them with their wreaths or swags!

Portland Museums

Tuesday, November 17th we will be heading to the Portland Children's and Portland Art Museums. You can join us for both or either one, your choice.


We will head to the Portland Children's Museum first. Plan to be there a few minutes before 10am. If you would like to follow someone, we will be meeting at the River Church at 8:30am. The museum is geared for children 10 and under, but fun will be had by all I'm sure. Cost is $6.00 per person.


Next we are off to the Portland Art Museum. We are scheduled to be there at 1pm. The art museum is right next door to the children's museum. At the art museum we will divide into groups by grade/age (preschool-2nd, 2rd-5th, 6th-9th), we will then have a guided tour that should last about an hour. At the end of the tour you are welcome to explore the museum on your own. Cost FREE!!!

Please let Elizabeth J know asap if you are planning to join us.

Corn Maize Field Trip

Here are some pics from our trip to the Corn Maize today! I forgot my camera so if anyone has more pics to share I would be happy to post them or give it a try and post them yourself!
Thanks!
Liz K

Most of the kids made it into this group pic. We had a total of 36 people in all!
Kathy Sherman teaching us a little about corn!

Some of the girls!

Mollie had fun riding the cows with the other kids but it was a LONG ride and so much fun for me! I look really impressed in this one don't I!!!

Bison Farm

Kelley Family Blog

or here

The Jette Family Blog

PS- what does everyone think of that pic for the header of the blog???

More White Lake Pics

Here are some more pictures from our day at White Lake:

Emmy, James, and Maverick.

Maverick, Ethan, and Kyle.

Maggie and Sarah

Selena and Jonathan
Check out even more pics on our family blog!

White Lake State Park

Believe it or not the mercury hit 90 before Labor Day and so a bunch of us decided to head to the lake for the day. The weather was beautiful - sun shinning, temp soaring, gentle breeze blowing. Who could ask for more?

The little one had a wonderful time digging in the sand and playing on the new playgrounds. a few of them even ventured into the water, but quickly exited with shivering, blue lips.

On the other hand the older kids were die hards and swam and splashed most of the day. I don't know how they did it. You wont find me in the water for a couple of more months. It is WAY too cold for my piggies.

You can see more about our day at the beach at these family blogs.
Heartfelt Homemaking - The Jette's

Maggie and Me

Welcome

Thanks for stopping by to visit.

We have just begun the creation of this blog to follow the happenings of our homeschool group, HOMEGROWN EXPLORERS!

Hopefully this blog will be a way for our group to share thoughts and photo about our field trips, events and activities as well as share ideas, resources, reviews and more.

Our monthly calendar will be posted at the top of the blog. Please check out the up and coming events. We hope you will be able to join us.