Homeschool Days at Lehman's Hardware

Have you been wondering what to do with your kiddos in these winter months? Too cold to try hands on science outside? Or maybe those birds chirping outside your window have got you looking for some early gardening tips. Bring on the springtime!

One of my favorite places to spend an afternoon, Lehman's Hardware in Kidron, offers scheduled events for fun and learning about history, gardening, science, and more. You can find details on their Events page.
This month, their upcoming Homeschool Day on Tuesday, February 25th at 9:30 am. centers around Ohio's Ancient People. Here's a description of the class: "Life would be very different if you lived in Ohio thousands of years ago! In this class we’ll learn about the ancient peoples that lived in this area and the tools they used. Students will make observations and hypotheses based on actual artifacts. We’ll end the class by practicing some prehistoric skills and making a game to take home."
The class has a modest charge of $5.00, as space is limited. There are no refunds, but you can pass the ticket to someone else if you are unable to attend.

Due to my recently heightened interest into archaeology, I find this topic fascinating. There's a lot going on right now to preserve Ohio's history, so this is especially timely. Check out Ohio History Connection and Ohio Archaeological Council  for more info about preservation efforts.

Antique phone booth at Lehman's

If you can't attend this particular class at Lehman's, don't give up! They have a full schedule of events and classes for young and not-as-young alike. Keep checking back for something that fits your schedule or tickles your fancy.

Goodies, of course

And if you are more casual in your learning journey, just spend a couple of hours in their store. It's a history/science/sociology lesson in itself. From non-electric appliances, to soap making supplies, to off-grid household equipment, you can't spend any amount of time at Lehman's without seeing something you probably haven't seen before. You're sure to learn something new, or at least, something new to you. Often the greatest wisdom was already discovered by those who went before us.

Nature Discovery Day for Homeschoolers

I've just learned of a wonderful opportunity for home schooling families at Camp Buckeye in Beach City, which is in the southwest corner of Stark County. Below is the information, copied from their Facebook page:
"We are so excited to invite homeschool families to Camp Buckeye for our first Winter Homeschool Nature Discovery Day! Dress for the weather; we will be spending time outdoors, hopefully in the snow! This hands-on Nature Discovery day will be Thursday, February 13, 2020, from 9:30 to 2:30. Students and their parents will participate in two sessions ("Mammals in Winter" and "Snow!") and an outdoor hike. We will conclude the day with hot cocoa and a journaling or sketching activity.
Please bring your own lunch. Cost for the day is $14 for one student, $25 for two, and $35 for three or more (from the same family). Register by calling Camp at 330-756-2380 or emailing naturediscovery@campbuckeye.org . Sessions will be oriented toward K-8th graders. Parents, plan to stay and enjoy the day with your students!"

The camp is only a short drive from I-77, and always well worth it. Don't let the winter weather scare you away. We had some really great times on field trips at Camp Buckeye. Their staff are passionate about nature and teaching children. Not just for kids, though, moms and dads are encouraged to get involved and learn something new as well. I always said that I learned more from homeschooling my children than I had from my own education in a classroom.
It's short notice, but if you can take advantage of the opportunity, I'm sure it will be fantastic!

I learned about this fun day in my local paper, the Bargain Hunter, linked here to give them credit for covering the important news. 

Let's Trip Again!

23 years ago today, I became a mother.

My amazing daughter was born learning. She had her eyes wide open and immediately started looking at the world and everyone around her.
On that day, I also became a home schooling mom; I just didn't know it yet.

A few years later, it was official. We were home schooling!

Exciting, yes, but also daunting. How to keep her very active mind occupied?
When she reached the typical Kindergarten age, I decided that it would be a good idea to spend time with other children as part of our learning process. I called a few home schooling friends and set up our very first field trip together. Not long after that, my second daughter was born, and I had a full classroom.

Here we are about 18 years later, and I truly don't remember what the first trip was. Giant Eagle? Hale Farm & Village? Dussel Farm in Brimfield? Uh-oh, I must be getting old... At least, I'll use age as an excuse. I might have the records somewhere around here, but what really matters is that it went very well. We had a great time, and found that immersive learning fostered a memorable experience and led to practical teaching moments. So Take Off! Field Trips was born.

If you have read previous (much older) posts, you'll know that we went online in spring of 2005 and by 2006, we had over 500 families involved. Unfortunately, after several successful years and many, many field trips, I had to take a break from Take Off! and from home schooling.
But I have never lost my love of learning and, especially, learning by doing.

I believe that field trips are the best way to learn, whether you are into home schooling, traditional schooling, or just lifelong learning, as I am. I still go and do, visit and learn, all around Ohio. So why not continue to share my experiences and give others some helpful info and advice along the way?
Here's to my personal hope that I can inspire others again to get out and Take Off!

Time to Take Off!

I want to let everyone know that I have greatly enjoyed leading everyone around NE Ohio's best field tripping sites for the past 6 years, but it is time for me to "hang up my hat" as far as field trips go.

Due to changes in my life and new opportunities, I will not be leading Take Off! any longer. I wish all of you the best in your home schooling adventures. I hope to be able to publish a guide to field tripping in NE Ohio or some kind of resource for those of you who continue to pursue educational opportunities in the area, but I don't have any idea of when that would become a reality.

Take care, and you are welcome to email me if you have any questions about field tripping opportunities in the area. I'm still here; I'm just even crazier busy than before.

Happy Field Tripping!

Take Off! is offline due to recent storms

Hello all!
Since I am at the library for my internet usage due to a severe power outage at home, I am unable to respond personally to any emails, registrations, etc.
It couldn't have happened at a much more inconvenient time, what with trying to get fall field trips planned, etc. However, I hope to be back online in the next few days.

I hope that you are all safe and sound and taking care.
Remember to pray for those who were more than just inconvenienced by the recent storms.

We will be back to a full field trip schedule very soon, and I look forward to taking off with you all this year!

Thanks,
Jen

Cleveland Orchestra & Museum of Art

Well, we finally made it to a Cleveland Orchestra concert, and it was as great as expected. The concert was called "Music from Planet X" and since it was an educational concert for young students, it was very fun and relaxed.

Somehow, we were seated in the front row, which is incredibly close to the stage. You know how most stages have an orchestra "pit" or at least an area in front where the orchestra is often placed, so that they are out of the way of the show? Not the case at Severance Hall, where the orchestra is the main attraction. This means that if you have long legs or unusually large feet, you might want to find seating in any other row than the front. I could actually put my feet up on the side of the stage. I didn't realize until I actually did it, that the stage moves! I'm assuming that they allow for the wooden stage to expand with changing temperature and pressure from the performers on the stage. Still, it was pretty cool.

A mime troupe (total of 2) provided the fun story to go along with the interesting music. They were dressed as aliens, and had a grand time of trying to take over the orchestra with their lights and "lasers." The aliens were incredibly funny, and all of the children (except my 4 year old, who cowered in my shoulder whenever the aliens were onstage) laughed hysterically at them.

The Cleveland Orchestra provided educational information and teacher guides to use to help with teaching the children about the music.
As for the music, it was sublime.

After the concert, we walked a block or so back to our parked car, and decided to take advantage of the free Modern Masters show at the Cleveland Museum of Art, which was across the street. You might think it's a bad idea to take a 4 year old to an art museum, but she really enjoyed herself, and behaved very well. I just hated to miss out on such a great opportunity. Many of the greatest impressionist painters and other amazing art legends were represented, and for free! I just couldn't pass it up.
So, we strolled around the art museum, looking at the original works of Auguste Rodin, Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Berthe Morisot, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Rene Magritte, Vincent Van Gogh and more. I had no idea that my 10 year old was such a fan of Van Gogh. As she walked into a room behind me, she said, "These are Van Gogh, aren't they?" And she was correct. How many 10 year olds could tell one artist from another? I know I couldn't at that age. It was an awe-inspiring show. I'm so used to looking at prints of famous paintings, that I just couldn't believe I was standing in front of the the actual paintings.

We completely enjoyed ourselves, but then had to hurry to get home in time.
Even with the cold wind and the hurrying around, it was totally worth it.
What a wonderful day!

Noah's Lost Ark

Had a great time visiting Noah's Lost Ark near Alliance today. A really great place for people to visit, but an even better place for the endangered, abused animals who come here to live. Noah's Lost Ark is a sanctuary for exotic animals who are abused, neglected or whose owners can't take care of them anymore. We were able to see lions, tigers, even a liger (for those Napoleon Dynamite fans) and many more exotic animals. The personal stories of some of these animals were heart-breaking, but their recoveries at Noah's Lost Ark are truly amazing.

The kids had fun feeding some of the animals through a feeding tube. Much safer than feeding them directly, of course. We had a large group, but were able to make it around to see and learn about all of the animals. We found that everyone there was very knowledgeable about the animals, and they were able to answer the many questions that the children had.

They have a small gift shop, and there is even a covered pavilion if you would like to bring a lunch and picnic, which some of us chose to do.