Timekeepers!

May 2:
On Monday we drove through a crazy thunderstorm,

including a deluge of HAIL....

to get to the US Naval Observatory in downtown DC.  

The observatory is home to a very large (and somewhat old) telescope which is famous for its role in discovering the moons around Mars.   Because of the aforementioned storm, we didn't actually get to see anything  through the telescope, but we did learn a lot about it.   For instance, it was built in the 1873 and was the largest refractive telescope in the world when it was first built.

Later on the tour guide took us  to the USNO library, which in addition to holding one of the world's most premier collections of books on astronomy and physics, was also a very architecturally beautiful building.

It was difficult to capture the scope of this amazing round room in my camera lens, but suffice it to say, this room ended up one of our favorite parts of the tour. 

The last part of the tour was about what the USNO is most famous for (besides being the site of the home of the Vice President of the United States).....keeping time!  It was fascinating to learn about how time keeping has changed over the years.  As they've moved from tracking the  movements of the earth, to pendulums in vacuums,  and finally to cesium based atomic clocks, time keeping accuracy has gone from 1/10 of a second per day of variation to 1/1000 of a 1/1,000,000,000,000 of a second per day.    

It ended up being a late night, but, heck, since time is apparently  a human invented concept anyway,  we could all sleep more soundly knowing that the timekeeping ability of our clocks are in good hands! 

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Random Quotes of the Day: 

"If you have one clock, you think you know what time it is, but can never be sure.  

If you have two clocks, you don't know which one is correct.

So you need at least three clocks, so you can find a mean average time."   

Fact:   The US Naval Observatory has hundreds of atomic clocks.   

"NASA determines how long a second officially is.  USNO determines how many seconds have elapsed.   Therefore NASA is like a stopwatch and USNO is a clock."  

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9/11

One of the best parts about homeschooling is the ability to be spontaneous!   

Last week we visited the 9/11 exhibit at the Newseum and had a long discussion with the kids (and a couple of friends) about all that transpired on that day 14-years-ago.   I was surprised at how emotional I still got talking about it and how interested the kids were in learning more about it.    But even after watching a video, looking at artifacts, and hearing me discuss it, I still felt like they didn't get it.  

So today we made a very spontaneous decision to take a visit to Arlington National Cemetery. (thanks for the suggestion, Mika!)  

It was powerful to be there on this day amongst the graves of so many people who had died fighting for our freedoms.  

We watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier  and had a great discussion about the sacrifice that so many people have made to make our country what it is.

(the video is horrible quality and somehow still sideways despite me correcting my camera position after just a few seconds, but it's still cool to watch)

Then we found  the Pentagon Memorial Marker and placed flags on some graves there.  

My kids were in awe when we walked a little further up and actually saw the Pentagon.   We've seen it many times before, but seeing it in the distance just beyond the cemetery was a powerful moment (that I didn't take a picture of)!  

   

It turned out to be a beautiful visit that was worth about 1000 history lessons from a book.  

God Bless America!  

Homeschool Fun

Here's a glimpse of some of the fun we've been having in our homeschool this year...

Afternoon rounds of board games  

With all of their schoolwork done by 1:00pm most days, the kids still have 3+ hours to occupy themselves before the evening activities kick into gear.  We don't allow any tv or computer games on weekdays, so they read, write stories, tweak their Lego robot, play outside, play board games, cook, and in general find creative ways to occupy their time! 

A magic show

The other day Ellie and Adam put together a very fun magic show…complete with costumes, "stage" and curtains, card tricks, and disappearing objects!  I love how the kids have a strong bond of friendship with one another and genuinely enjoy spending time together.  

Fun Fridays 

This year we are trying to work really hard during the week, so that we can have more free time on Fridays.   Sometimes we still have to play a little catch-up on our work, but usually we try to go somewhere and do something fun!  A couple of Fridays ago, we met friends at the park!

Who says recess can't be fun when you're in middle school?   

Field trips 

Another one of our "Fun Friday" ideas for this school year was to go on more field trips.  Last week we met friends and learned all about honeybees!   It was actually pretty fascinating.  

Theater "class"  

A couple of my kids have been interested in participating in theater, but were intimidated by trying out without having any previous experience.   Luckily a couple of our homeschooled friends this year also enjoy acting in plays, so we've been doing little mini-productions.  

The kids are having a great time with it and really gaining confidence. 

It's especially something that Ellie and Emma enjoy.  

Out-of-town trips

In addition to Friday field trips, being homeschooled makes it much easier to go on out-of-town trips too!   We went to Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown last month.  I figure that the three days we spent there counted for at least a month of learning history from books!   

Tools made from bone

An old-fashioned needle (made from bone)

Throw the corn through the hoop

Making bread from scratch, which wasn't actually that novel an experience for my kids, since we make homemade bread at least once a week.

A Native American dugout canoe 

Adam tanning a hide and  a replica of one of the ships.

I'm actually a lot more organized with homeschooling this year than last year, which has proven to be both a blessing and a curse for us.  On the one hand, it's a relief to know that we're covering all of our bases by sticking with the plan each week.  On the other hand, one of my children isn't too fond of "sticking with the plan" day-after-day and week-after-week and lets me know that fact loud and clear.   Thankfully, each week has gotten a little better than the last, so hopefully we'll all be in a good place soon enough!  

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Wordless Wednesday: A Day in Colonial Williamsburg