And Speaking of Field Trips

One of the very best things about being a home-schooled family is all the Field Trips you can and should take. For the Farmer’s Wife that’s local stops every Friday, with a longer trip planned a couple times a year. The Friday Field Trips this year have included Nature Hikes (Lockport Nature Trail on Slayton Settlement Road), Apple Picking (Lynoaken Farms), and having the kids run and play at the park (Day Road Park, Lockport, NY). It gives the kids a chance to get together, and get some much needed energy spent.

But it can also be educational, too.

In the case of LynOaken, they have over three hundred and fifty varieties of apples from all over the world, dating back to when the calendar ended with a B.C. And they let you sample. Oh, and sample they do! The Farmer’s Wife even brought a cutting board and knife, just for the occasion. Now, some of you may say this is stealing, but rest assured, the kind folks at LynOaken are well aware and more than happy to share, as all good Farmers should be. Not to mention, the Farmer’s Wife bought a very large bag of a particular kind of apple, one by the name of Maiden’s Blush, that much to her eternal sadness does not grow on the Farm. Which is unfortunate, as it makes the very best dried apple chips.

Now. On to the longer trips. These take planning. Because more than one stop MUST be made, and all stops must provide value in the educational sense to all involved. Past trips include Washington D.C and all there is to be seen and done there, Gettysburg, Williamsburg (that’s a lot of burgs!), and some lovely towns in Vermont and Maine. The plan for this Fall included the Air Force Museum in Ohio (for our Jacob, who is a fan), with a stop at Lehman’s (for the Farmer’s Wife, who is more than a fan), and ending with the Creation Museum and Ark, in Kentucky.

I say included because all may be on hold for the time being. You see, the Farmer and his Wife live in New York, where things such as travel and the like is a last minute decision based on the decisions of others.

Not to fret, though. Back-up plans have been made in the way of a(nother) trip to Gettysburg, by way of Amish Pennsylvania, with a quick stop at Corning Museum of Glass, right here in New York.

If those who decide things decide Pennsylvania is also undecidable, they will enjoy all that has been left undone in New York. Which will require some research–the Farmer’s Wife’s very fa-vor-ite thing!

But rest assured, whatever they do, they will share it with you, so you can learn right along with them!

Life Lesson: If it takes all you have, get Wisdom.

*The artwork above is the work of Jessica Gadra and used with her permission