Field Trips

It's nearly the end of the school year, and of course that means it's field trip time (even for home schoolers).  We had two big field trips last week.  First, we went with our co-op group to the Pacific Science Center to tour the King Tut exhibit.  Mark took work off early and steered the boys to more age-appropriate areas (like the Butterfly house, the insect zoo, and the toddler play area), while Aubree and I explored remnants from Ancient Egypt.

All year we've been studying Ancient History, coming back frequently to Egypt (a major player in early civilization), so it was a perfect culmination of our studies to get to see genuine relics.  That being said, I recognize that Aubree is only six, so I had fairly low expectations of how much she would enjoy seeing statues and reading explanatory text, and I didn't expect that she would remember too much from what we've learned over the course of the year.

The King Tut exhibit overall was pretty neat, though I was disappointed that there wasn't more from the actual tomb (like a death mask or a coffin).  My favorite part was definitely seeing Aubree's reactions and realizing (in amazement) just how much she remembered.  She quickly discovered that many of the statues had heiroglyphs on the backs, and set off on a hunt to try to distinguish which did and which did not. 

Frequently, as we came across a statue or a bust or a picture, she would say things like, "oh! isn't that the queen who dressed up like a man and wore a false beard?" or "don't you remember that the falcon head represents Horus?" or "remember when we learned about how all the tombs were robbed?"  Makes me feel like all the time and effort is totally worth it!

After finishing our tour, we met up again with Mark and the boys and finished exploring the Science Center.

The following Saturday, Aubree and I again left the boys with Mark for a BIG adventure - a day trip to Victoria, Canada with the school-based home school program.
Normally, leaving Bryce and Thane with their Dad is nothing short of a special treat.  They both idolize Mark and have been looking forward to having a "boy's day."  Thane especially is a Daddy's boy; the only times he prefers me over Mark is in the middle of the night, when he's hurt badly, or when he's sick.
So, of course, Friday evening Thane got really sick.  He had a doctor's appointment Friday morning and got a couple shots, and he always reacts terribly to shots.  He was up most of the night miserable and burning hot and only, ONLY wanted Mom.  I felt horrible leaving him in tears at 5:30 am the next morning, but it was too late to change our plans (Mark assured me that he fared just fine during the day, thank-you-very-much).

After a rough night with little sleep, Aubree and I began our adventure by heading to the Seattle port to board the Victoria Clipper ship.  We had a 2 1/2 hour trip, and it didn't take long for either of us to head back to dream-land.

When we arrived in Victoria, and were greeted by a beautiful, sunny day.

  Aubree outside of the British Columbia parliament building

Our first stop was the Royal BC museum, where we learned about dinosaurs (and how scientists now think the T-Rex ran more like an elephant than an ostrich), and Queen Elizabeth (Diamond Jubilee and all), and the first people of British Columbia.  Aubree especially liked all the totem poles and the fancy, beaded clothing.

After lunch, we trekked around downtown until we came to the correct stop for our "Hop-on, Hop-off Bus tour" of Victoria.  We both really enjoyed the hop-on, hop-off bus; it's a great way to see a new city!

Our next stop was the Craigdarroch castle.  It looks a bit castle-ish, but wasn't (of course) a "real" castle.  It was, at different times, a home to a rich family, a war hospital, a music conservatory, and a college.  

Aubree considers the castle one of her favorite parts of our trip.  Mostly because they gave her a scavenger hunt pamphlet when we first arrived with items to try to find in each room.  She loved it.

Hiking up the hill to the castle, then up and around five stories, was when I realized that I am very pregnant.  Oh my!

After the castle tour, we headed back to the bus and finished our tour of the city.  By that point we were both pretty exhausted, though I must say that Aubree was amazing.  She maintained her energy and enthusiasm, and was happy and easy-going the whole day.  It's not often that Aubree and I have extended time to spend together alone, and I loved it!

We ended the day with a nice dinner, then again boarded the Clipper for our return trip.  I thought we'd both crash, but sleep eluded us.  Though we crashed quickly once we got home at 11 pm (and I got my sick babe back in my arms).  It was a long, fun day.

Hurray for field trips!