Field Trip - UNC TV Tour

Another fun outing with our FIAR group when we toured UNC TV.  

This is our statewide TV network with many types of programs from cartoons to pottery, from woodworking to news, from history to current events - something for everyone.  We divided into 2 groups based on age.  The youngest children toured first.

We started our tour in the lobby and here there were at least 5 TVs with different programs going on.  Interesting and a little distracting too.  LOL

We learned so much on this tour about the way things are operated and the extent to which these networks reach families.  The children were fascinated to have a peek at the MANY monitors that must be watched.  We learned that there is a 5 second delay in programming that was instituted after the Super Bowl debacle.  It doesn't seem like nearly enough time though to catch something unless you are really quick!

Here's what the children were watching above.

Once the crowd moved on, my little girl tries to take a peek.

I think this was her favorite stop of the morning.  We don't watch much tv so I wasn't sure if she would even know who Cookie Monster was.  She loved hugging on him!

We toured several more control rooms learning about the operations and the behind the scenes work involved in putting programming on our tv.  It really is interesting.

As I watched all the children, intrigued by the electronics, in my mind I was wondering if any of this was "real".

And as Eliana reached for the keyboard, I certainly hoped it wasn't!  LOL

I couldn't get into this room to hear much of what was going on, but did manage to get a picture.

We then went to see some of the rooms where filming of various programs occurs.  Take a look at the ceiling.  Look at all the different types of lights!!!  Can you imagine having that job?  None of these are cameras - just lights.

These are the cameras!  Three huge ones to the middle and right of the photo.

We then saw some of the different types of lightbulbs that are used in different programs.  Different lighting to simulate various things such out natural outdoor sunlight when you are inside an enclosed room.  Who knew that there were so many types of lightbulbs too!  This is a 1000 watt bulb.

And there were stronger ones too!  Even up to 5000 watts!

This is the door to the studio.  I found it fascinating to learn that it is filled with OIL to help block sounds from the hallway while filming is occurring.  Who knew?

This is another set.  Some in NC might recognize some of these.

The Woodwright's Shop.  Interestingly, the idea for this show was pitched by the man on the show, Roy Underhill.  The producers didn't think there would be much interest in a show like this, but agreed to give it a one year trial.  Now, 30 years later the show is still running and very popular!  I thought that was really neat!

The kids get a chance to view themselves on TV.

Here they are watching themselves on the screen.

This is the older group getting ready for their tour.

Those of us with kids in both groups waited in a nice meeting room.  What the children loved was a HUGE tv with Curious George playing.

Afterward we headed to the park to picnic and play.  It was a nice, but cool day and I took no pictures there.  Just enjoyed hanging out with my friends.  

I love field trip days.  To me, this is one the best ways of learning - experiencing something in a hands-on manner.

Blessings

Leslie

Beyond Co-op - George Washington Carver #2

I'm behind in posting about our co-op, but we are soon taking a break (spring break between books) so perhaps that will help me to catch up.  This co-op covered the 2nd set of chapters, 5-8.  The lessons covered were on Kansas and Missouri.  It always encourages and inspires me to see how someone can take a lesson that does not appear to be a hands-on lesson to me and make it something really fun to experience in a group.  To me, being a co-op has had a number of blessings, but learning from the other moms is always a sweet one.  

The children were divided up into groups of 2 or 3.  This activity was set up like a game in which each team travelled to different stations to learn something, engage in an activity and fill out information on a card that they had been given.  

I enjoyed following behind each team and reading along with them.

And listening to what they were saying.

They all worked well together.

Here are some examples of some of the places that they visited - all within the states of Kansas and Missouri.  If you zoom in, you can see some of the activities too.

They took turns with the die and sometimes had to roll it over and over again to get what they needed to move to the next location.

Each team had a card with 4 sides that needed to be completed.

Since each group had a different route, they each learned about unique events in history.  At the end of the journey, each team took some time to share about the places that they had visited and what they had learned.

In honor of the World's Fair held in St Louis, the snack today was fair food.

The foods are always a hit.

Especially when it ended with Nutty Buddies.  (Do other people call them by this name or is there another name?)

As always, it was a fun morning learning with our friends!

Blessings

Leslie

The Rag Coat

I don't often post about our FIAR weeks as we plug along at home and just don't always take pictures.  I thought I'd try to do a little more with photos this time and share just a little bit of our time.

This is our time with the book The Rag Coat.  What a wonderful, tender story about friendship, love, forgiveness and the important things in life.  We read some additional books to go along with this story (and I didn't take a picture).  The two titles that I remember are The Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton which is a story similar to this one and Appalachian:  The Voices of Sleeping Birds by Cynthia Rylant which is a great look at this region of the country.  My Mom is from this area, so it is close to my heart.  We watched the movie Christy to learn a little more about this area about 100 years ago.  Here is a great map of the region.

One of my goals in this unit was to have more hands on projects.  I'm not always so good about this.  I remember doing so much more when it was just my oldest two doing FIAR.  So, my intent was to make this memorable.

We made coal cookies after discussing and learning about coal, how it was mined and how it was used.  We modified the recipe slightly to make it gluten free.

Here are some more resources we used to learn about coal.

Short movie on how coal mining is done.  Definitely worth watching as it really gives a great picture of what it is like to work in a mine.

Facts on coal.  The basics are from an old earth position.  We used this site for information on types of coal and types of mining.

For anyone that is local, this was a surprise.  We found that there was once a coal mine near where we live!  Here is the information.

This next activity was one that *I* was very excited about.  This sensory bin was a huge hit!   (I saw this also on Tamara's blog linked below.)  I filled a tub with black beans - lots of them.  I used the magnets that we had on hand - a wand magnet and some small discs with a metal rim.

 The discs were buried into the "dirt" and then Daniel went mining to see what he could find.  I loved that we had this hat too!  This got a lot of play and I hope to do a better job incorporating these more often into our days.  It helps a lot when they are simple like this one!

 We made an apple pie as is suggested in the cookbook.  Actually, Daniel and his Daddy made this one! Great job guys!

 It was delicious and enjoyed by all.  (Yes, we did adapt it to make it gluten free.)

More great posts on rowing this book are here and here.

We had a great time with this book and made some sweet memories.  I love that about Five in a Row!

Blessings
Leslie