We went apple picking with some of our co-op friends this week - anything is more fun when done with friends (and apple picking is fun to begin with)!

Jaden pushed the cart to the part of the orchard we would be picking in.

Noah definitely enjoyed his first trip to the apple orchard :)

Jaden inspecting the cart to see how much room we had left.

The final two apples for our baskets!

Lael shared the pushing job with Mom on the way back - being very careful not to spill any of our beautiful apples!  We picked two varieties - Jonagold (the ones closest to Lael) and Empire.

A lovely afternoon at the orchard!

I'm already thinking of all the tasty treats we will make!

Pennypacker Mills

Last week we experienced a piece of Pennsylvania history when we visited Pennypacker Mills in Schwenksville, PA.  This estate was the summer home of Gov. Samuel W. Pennypacker, who served as governor of Pennsylvania from 1903-1907.

 

We visited in conjunction with "History Adventures in the Summer", a hands-on history program by Pennypacker Mills.  The theme on the day of our visit?  The General Store - and we had so much fun!

 

The staff gave the kids a general overview of the general store - where things were located and what kinds of merchandise could be purchased - as well as sharing a snapshot as to what life was like at the turn of the 20th century.

 After some instructions, each child grabbed a basket and a shopping list and were turned loose to shop!

 There were all kinds of tasks - like weighing out dry beans . . .

 . . . and cool things to see, like this telephone.

 Noah watched all the big kids scurry around from the comfort of his stroller.

 One favorite activity:  grinding grain by hand into flour.  (My kids were thankful that we have an electric grain grinder at home!)

 Even Noah got in on a bit of the grain grinding action!

 Noah was quite entertained by the "horse" (made of wood) tied to a hitching post - he couldn't understand why the hitching post wouldn't "let go" of the rope when he asked it to! ;)

 Lael and Jaden also tried their hand at using a pen and ink to write . . . then decided that they'd stick with pencils for their schoolwork!

 After they completed all the tasks on their shopping list, they went to the front counter - Jaden wasn't quite sure how to take the general store clerk . . . she talked to him like he was a boy of that time period!

We also got to tour the governor's home but have no pictures (none were allowed inside).

 

It was a fantastic field trip . . . and a wonderful glimpse into what life was like 100 years ago!

Boston's Museum of Science

Boston's Museum of Science . . . where it's fun to find out! 

That was the advertising slogan for the Museum of Science in Boston when I was growing up.  I remember hearing that often when commercials for the museum aired on television.  Our family had a museum membership one year, and I remember enjoying it so much.

While up in New England for Thanksgiving, we took a trip to the Museum of Science . . . alot has changed in 25 years!  The displays are alot more "high-tech", but still so much fun!

We all enjoyed the mathematics exhibit . . . lots of optical illusions and things to figure out.

Then there was the "Creatures of the Night" exhibit . . .

Don't I have the cutest bats in the world?

Here's Jaden-the-bat . . . 

 . . . and Lael-the-bat!

 Yes, this is a picture of a picture of my kids!  They are in a completely dark room, and they're trying to figure out which hole a particular peg fits into - very tricky when you can't see what you are doing!

 A highlight for everyone was the lightning show! This was something I really wanted the kids to see because I remembered it from my childhood visit to the museum. (However, Noah didn't enjoy it so much, so he and I visited some other exhibits while Daddy and the big kids stayed.)

This is the Van de Graaff generator. During the lightning show, bolts of lightning are produced by this generator, which is the world's largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generator.

 Yes, that's Lael in the lower left-hand corner . . . she looks pretty little next to this dinosaur model.

 We had fun looking at models of sailing ships from different times - ancient Egypt, Greece, Phoenicia, Rome were especially exciting to see since we've studied those time periods in school this year!

 Lael would have spent all day here if she could . . . waiting for a chick to hatch!  Unfortunately, no chicks decided to emerge from their shells during our visit.

 The museum tired this little guy out!

 It was a great field trip . . . so much fun that they didn't realize how much they were learning!

Fire safety night

We had the opportunity to attend a fire safety night with our homeschool group this past week.  The firefighters at Perseverance Volunteer Fire Station did such a great job!  The kids got to see the equipment on different fire trucks and learned about what situations merited the use of which rescue vehicle.

 You never know when some massive cutters will come in handy!

 Of course, a highlight of any fire station visit has to be climbing into the vehicles . . . pretending to be a firefighter is so much fun!

 

 Trying on the gear of a firefighter really helped Lael know that the clothes are really heavy and HOT!

 Firefighter Jaden hanging out with a new friend!

 The kids saw a firefighter in full gear so they could see (and hear) what they could expect if they ever were in a situation where they needed to be rescued.

In addition to all that, they even got to fight a house fire (okay, so the fire wasn't real, but the hose was)!

Pictures of that to come ;)

It was a great night!

Walking through history . . .

We had a fabulous field trip yesterday to the Goschenhoppen Folk Festival - what a wonderful experience!  Here are a few photos (which don't at all do this event justice) . . . it was literally like a walk through the 18th and 19th century lives of Pennsylvania Germans.

Noah is "strollered" and ready to go!

 All three kids excited about the Festival

 Visiting the blacksmith

 Wheelwrights

 Trying some colonial games

 Noah providing some comic relief :)

 Jaden needed a quick break ;) - loved the rocking chair

 The ice wagon - we saw a picture of it on the festival's website so Jaden wanted me to take a picture for us to have too!

 19th century quilting bee

 Making apple fritters over an open fire (18th century style)

 This gentleman showed us what a soldier might carry with him - fascinating for my seven-year-old especially!

 Threshing grain by hand - no machines here!

 Lael got to help make candles - each row of candles would need to be dipped at least 25 times!

 Jaden enjoyed the view from this stone wall . . .

 . . . so much that he convinced his sister to join him!

 Churning butter

 This churning will yield about 5 pounds of butter!

 Now it's time to do the laundry

 If only they were that quick to do laundry at home! ;)

 Lael had a lesson in making sauerkraut

 Another favorite - seeing the militia fire their muskets

 The Goschenhoppen Festival parade

 Wagon ride - with several of our homeschool friends

 Jaden "warming up" by the fire while waiting for Lael to finish her cornhusk doll

 Lael made a wonderful cornhusk doll - complete with bonnet and apron!

 Jaden got the hang of this game quite quickly :)

We also tasted some yummy treats like apple butter, potato candy, funnel cake, watermelon, corn pie, apple fritters, faschnaughts, apple cider and freshly made peach ice cream!  It was an absolutely marvelous day!