Field Trip - Creatures of Creation!

We had an awesome field trip today.  Even though I'm behind in posting about other field trips, I'm going to go ahead and jump in and do a current one.  LOL

We hosted our field trip at our church.  We arrived early to help show people where to park and enter the building.  The boys were directing traffic when they met a friend who gave them a fun ride around the parking lot.  :-)

The girls helping out.

We hosted Dan Breeding for our field trip.  He has a ministry called Creatures of Creation.  Check out the website.  His show is fabulous!!!  If you are at all interested in a program like this for any type of group, he does travel.  And did I mention it was great?!

Dan presents a variety of animals and tells about the animals and also talks about God and creation.  He brought 4 animals to share with us today.  Many of his animals are ones that have been rescued.  The first was a monitor lizard.  This was a huge lizard!

And can you see his tongue?

And the claws?  He said that the tail on this creature is also very sharp and can cause deep wounds.  He did stress that these are animals that are intended to be wild, but because they have been raised in captivity, this is a safer place for them now.

The second animal he showed us was the one that he said was the grossest or was it smelliest of animals.  He even prepared the room before he brought him in by spraying lysol spray all over the room.  Did you guess what it was before you saw the picture?

I perhaps needed more spacing between the words and photos?

Its a vulture.

Can you see the "holes" in the beak of this animal?  They are like "spoilers" on a car.  The air goes up and over the beak of this bird when its flying.  The circulated air helps the bird to better smell its prey.  It does not have good eyesight, but a very keen sense of smell.

And yes, he did show us why he was so gross and stinky.  (Throws up a very smelly mess to scare off other predators from any prey they might find.)

The next animal was the one that he said was the most dangerous - but also the "cutest".  Well, out of today's group of animals, it wasn't much of a contest.  LOL  A monkey.  With an attitude.

It was quite funny to see the techniques that were used to keep the monkey in line.  I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but Dan is quite funny!  The whole show was very enjoyable and as much for the young adults as for the younger children.

The monkey was quite territorial about his ball.

Dan stressed to us that monkeys do not make good pets.

The last animal was one that he said was the most feared animal of all.  He wondered if we knew why is was so feared.  He told us that it was due to the fall - the original sin in the Garden of Eden.  Did you know that the snake is the only animal that was cursed by God?

This is an albino python.  Can you see just how big it is?

And weighed in at 95 pounds!  Eliana and I were right in front of him and there was a time when he stretched out closet to us ... and I was waiting and hoping that he would go back before he crossed the line for me.  Eek!

Afterwards, the kids could have the photo taken with the snake.  Daniel was willing to have a photo, but did not want to touch it.  LOL  Can't blame him.

Hmm ... not touching it here either,  Joshua?  You can't see all of this huge snake that is around Dan.

Yes, it was unanimous.  None of the Nelsens wanted to touch the snake.  LOL  Can't blame them at all.

Again, this was a wonderful program.  I'd be happy to answer any questions about it if you have them.  The day here was so beautiful!  We headed to a nearby park and had a picnic lunch and played.  A fun day.  I love this type of day.  Field trip days are some of my favorites.  

Hope you are learning and exploring and enjoying God's creation!

Blessings

Leslie

Stove ... part 3

And hopefully the last update for quite some time!

Its finally here!  Our new stove.  The cost to repair the old one exceeded what it was worth.  I do use the oven a LOT.  Given our dietary challenges, I cook a lot from scratch and often use the oven/stove for 2-3 meals per day.  I'm excited about this new one.

This is the stove before its put in.  Can you guess what I'm most excited about?  Other than the fact that it won't need to be taped to be functional?

 I will tell you that I was NOT excited about it once it was put in.  Can you see why?  It may be hard to tell in this photo.

Let's get a closer look.  Do you see that space between the stove and the wall?  It's about 4 inches.  I immediately told Roger that this was not going to work.  He wondered why.  Come on mamas - you can tell me why can't you?  Can you just imagine ALL of the things that would get jettisoned into that space?  Ugh!  and LOL!

Do you know why there is such a big gap?  It goes back to my first question.  My favorite feature.  Did you guess it?  It's having TWO ovens!  I'm so excited about the options that will open up to me for cooking!  The downside is that there is no storage space under the stove.  Well, I wasn't really that disappointed about that space.  What I didn't realize is that having that space made it possible for the large box of some sort that is attached the stove to be slid under the stove - instead of sticking out from the wall four inches.

Those of you that know my sweet husband, can imagine what came next.  Those of you that don't know him may also be able to imagine it if you have seen my last stove post with the duct tape!  Yep, the tool box came out.

That white section sitting on top is the wall piece that he cut out so that the "box" (I obviously don't remember what it was, but something really important and electrical I think) could go into the wall.  And yes, the stove move back towards the wall too!

 So, there you have it.  A nice shiny new stove!  :-)  (This picture is actually from before it got moved back and so it does look better now.)  Thanks Roger.

I'm enjoying it very much.  Want to come over for dinner?

Hugs
Leslie

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