Homeschool On the Range

Wednesday, October 21

Roadschool Trip to Huntsville

Our youngest has been airplane and space crazy since he could show preferences.... Any time we're near a NASA or airplane museum, stopping is a must!

En route to our Virginia job, we stopped off at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville. It was a rainy day, so the outdoor activities were off the table, but a very friendly docent gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of the newest section of the museum, which will open next summer.

The Space Camp section of the museum ~~will soon be~~ is now open to the public for tours, and this friendly docent led us behind-the-scenes to check out all of the new stuff. It's so new that some of it wasn't even finished yet!

We learned how to launch rockets, step by step. Then we went to see the huge transport aircraft that bring materials to the building pads. When we rounded the corner, we came upon a group of Boy Scouts just getting ready to have a presentation. We asked, and the leader said that we could sit in with them. Score! This satisfied so many of the requirements for the boys' astronomy badge. We learned a bit, too? Do you the names of the first two monkeys sent into space? *see answer at bottom*

Near the carnival rides, we were able to go into a mock-up of the lunar module landing site. We examined moon rocks at the site. Back inside the main building, we tried our hands at handling the space capsule. We checked out all of the training exercises and equipment used by students that attend Space Camp. Have you seen the movie Space Camp? It's one of my little astronaut's favorites!

Getting to see the space shuttle was pretty amazing! It's such an important piece of American science history. Back at the hotel, the boys took a moment and dug up meteorites.

**Abel & Baker**

Tuesday, October 20

Anatomy Unit Study

Our body are machines, and any good mechanic will tell you that machines run better when you know how they work. In addition to our The Good & the Beautiful Anatomy curriculum, we're using these hands-on activities for super-fun learning!

The Basics : Cells

The Basics : Anatomical Overview

Human Body lapbook (pre-K)
Human body lapbook (older kids)
Owner's Guide to the Human Machine (curriculum - older kids)
Body Bingo (grades 2-8)
Inside the Human Body

Respiratory System

Cardiovascular System

Skeletal System

Nervous System

Hands-On Fun!

Digestive System

Immune System

Muscular System

The Five Senses

Optical Illusion crafts
How the Eye Works lesson
Human Senses video
Taste & Smell lesson
Marguerite Makes A Book (Eyes) & lapbook

Beethoven Lives Upstairs (Ears) & lapbook

Hands-On Fun!

Monday, October 19

Roadschool Trip to Kitty Hawk + Wright Brothers

Follow our blog for any length of time, and you'll know that this is a Plane Crazy house! It seems like we're doing something aviation-themed every other week. On this roadschooling trip, we visited the birthplace of aviation!

You might also like our Aviation Unit Study!

After fan-boying over the Wright Brothers themselves, including their family history and early experiments in mechanics, we began the process of learning about the how flight works and the mechanics behind it. Once outside, we saw the barns and structures where the Wright Brothers lived and worked on the plane's construction. Their workspace was considerably larger than the living area!

We stood on the spot where Orville Wright jumped aboard the first plane and took off, that fateful windy December 17th. The more the boys learned about the Wright Brothers, the more they began to identify with them. One was outgoing and imaginative, while the other was the quiet, engineering type. It took them both to take this crazy idea and make it work!

We hiked the distance up to, and around, the memorial. Don't be fooled - it's longer than it looks! We finally warmed up on the hike!

Looking down from the hill, you can see both the Atlantic Ocean and the inter-coastal waterway.....it's peaceful and beautiful. Behind the memorial is a metal replica of the airplane that kids can climb on. We all took turns flying with Wilbur.

We hiked up to the memorial, where you can see both sides of the Banks for quite a ways...and took a break to enjoy the beautiful day! One of the planes you can hang-glide from is designed like the Wright Brothers plane. We got to watch it launch from across the street. Maybe we'll try this one next time....

Did you know that Tom & Jerry helped invent the airplane?
Click on the graphic below to access the free Flight Unit Study.

Get the Charlotte Mason-inspired We Were There at the First Airplane Flight novel study here.

Using the information below, create math problems for your student that are age-appropriate.

Some suggestions for use :

Elementary kids can calculate distance differences (adding / subtracting).
Middle kids can calculate rates of speed or figure out each pilot's average.
High school kids can calculate velocity and graph the flights to project a fifth flight.

By the end of the fourth flight, his brain was worn out from all that math!

Tuesday, October 13

Road Trip to SoCal

With only three days, we took a whirlwind trip to visit family in SoCal!

We were treated to the most PERFECT view of the Grand Canyon during the flight to Las Vegas. We have not had the chance to travel here yet, and it's on our list. These pictures don't do it justice, but the sun's angles gave us a beautiful view for several minutes.

Upon landing, we snagged a car and hit the road. Um.....I think they were just a little tired. Five minutes into the car ride, these guys were out cold. Aren't they so cute? My oldest craves the ocean like man craves air, so whenever we are close to one, we make a point to get there. We drove an hour to Oceanside, CA and spent the afternoon at the beach.

We built sand castles, walked through the waves, watched the surfers, and enjoyed the peace of a beautiful afternoon. Dinner at Ruby's 1950's Diner on the pier, and then it was time to head to the house.

Just down the road lies the Air Force base where a family member is currently stationed. Part of that base is the March Field Air Museum, covering aircraft history from the birth of flight through the future space program. They have a fabulous collection of retired and restored planes!

We spent the better part of a day at the museum to check out all the cool airplanes! And when they got out of hand, we stuck them in a German WWII POW camp...it was only for pilots.

After exhausting the inside of the museum, we headed out into the desert heat. It was eye-opening to see the temperature swings out here! So cold during the night...blisteringly hot during the day! But all the best stuff was outside... The 45-minute tram ride was both entertaining and educational. We learned about World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and current conflicts, as well as the development of the military flight technology to back them. The kids were interested in the aircraft and had lots of questions...they picked up a few history lessons along the way, too.

Waiting for the tram to arrive, the boys played around a little bit, trying on that 'Top Gun' cockiness for a bit. They were adorable in the way that only little boys can be! We saw the bomber that dropped the bomb on Nagasaki, an Alaskan Coast Guard rescue plane, the Tomcats from 'Top Gun,' and many more.

This bomb was neat...it's a replica, about a quarter-scale, that was made by a local Boy Scout troop. The kids are in scouts and asked several questions about how you get the privilege of building a bomb and being praised for it............scary! (Laughing) It was pretty neat, though.

Further on, in the Vietnam area, we had a history lesson all of it's own. Grandpa spent many years, and a couple of tours, in Vietnam. The boys learned about that war, the environment and things that Grandpa may have experienced, and his job during the war (conflict?). They took some time to explore the Cobra and other helicopters used during this time.