October in Indiana

The girls looking over the falls at Cataract

We decided not to take a "Fall Break" as the county schools do every year. Instead we opted for a week long field trip. And yes, I know that is what many public school parents do with their children on fall break. I even know some who use the opportunity to do educational field trips instead of just, "We're going to Disney and calling it a field trip." Although, Disney has an amazing homeschool education program and a homeschool field trip day every year that we are definitely going to check out next year.



Learning the ins and "outs" of outdoor plumbing

So, when our county schools went on Fall Break, we packed up "Stella" (our Routan) and headed for Indiana. Why Indiana, you ask, when there are so many great things to do in Tennessee? Well, I will tell you. While I may be southern bred, I am Hoosier Born and that is where I went for field trips as a child, so why not? Also, I really wanted one last chance to visit the property where I grew up before a new house was built where ours used to stand. See, in February, my parents' home of 30+ years burned to the ground, taking with it all of my childhood mementos (the fire started in my old bedroom). So off we went on our Indiana adventure. I made Boo research Indiana and learn about the places we were going to visit and we had just completed our History Unit on Prairie times and one room school houses. I giggled when they said, "Our school has LOTS of rooms."

Our first stop in Indiana was, of course, Grandma and Papaw's new house. We are so blessed by how God has blessed them in their new home. It is beautiful and SO much closer to everything and everyone they need. I am so glad they are minutes from the hospital instead of more than an hour (Daddy has a heart condition). They are minutes from my sister and their church. They are much closer to my aging grandparents and my Grandma. And we were so excited to be there.



Mama at the "Lower Falls"

Of course that excitement only lasted as long as it took to discover where the closest adventure was. So after an evening of rest we headed off on our adventures. Places we visited were: Cataract Falls, the Cataract Old General Store, Lieber State Park, Conner Prairie Historical Village, a pumpkin patch, and an apple orchard. After our trip to Indiana, we capped off our month in Alabama visiting family and working on a real horse farm. We also visited our favorite animal friend, Cisco, and took a few rides.



At the Cataract General Store

At Cataract Falls, we took several pictures of the girls looking over the falls. We learned about erosion and the local water shed. Cataract Falls is the largest water fall in Indiana. At the Old General Store, we got lost in the myriad of historical objects on display. The girls enjoyed Coca Cola in glass bottles out of an old fashioned reach in cooler and pickles from the barrel. We giggled at the old sign on the wall from the door that read, "We are out, leave the money under the door" and talked about a time when it was safe to do things like that. There were spectacles, old post cards, widgets, gadgets, mustache wax, scissors, and more in their display cases. We had a great time.

One of my greatest joys as a homeschool parent is
seeing my girls walk hand in hand.

The girls visited with other homeschoolers as well as grandparents and other family. We had a great time attending AWANA at another church and even completed sections. My favorite photo op of the week was this picture of the three of them walking hand in hand down the walkway that used to be the main entrance to the park. After walking the old covered bridge, they decided to take a walk "just the sisters". I was lucky enough to snap this precious shot as they walked off. I think it really sums why we are homeschooling. They are already growing so much closer to each other.



With our homeschool buddy
in IN (our cousin, Caleb)

Sweet Nayners in Pioneer Dress

Kadoodle in pioneer dress
and her homeschool shirt

Conner Prairie Historical Village was probably the most expensive field trip we will take this year, but it was worth every penny. I will admit that I was so frustrated with the fact that if they had been with a brick and mortar school, their admission would have been only $5.00 each and mine would have been free as their teacher. They offer no discounts or special privileges for homeschool families so it was nearly $80 for the four of us to go, but like I said, still worth every penny. We took this trip with my sister and her three children who are also homeschooled which made it much more fun! My teenage nephew and neice (who are a senior and freshman in high school) were a great asset to have as they had been to the Village many times throughout their school lives. I especially enjoyed my nephew and Kadoodle as they are both in first grade and experience things similarly. However, Kadoodle is much more laid back than her cousin so she and I ended up taking a much longer look at everything. The rode old fashioned wooden horses, dipped beeswax candles, Kadoodle roped a bed, they all milked the cow. It was a grand adventure. One of my favorite picture moments was the "dress up" section where they all had the opportunity to dress in pioneer fashions. Nayners stole the show with some of her finds.



Learning how to stencil. We learned that in
pioneer days, people used these stencils for
decorating their walls when wallpaper was too expensive.
Thankfully no one came home and tried this on MY walls!



Kadoodle dipping candles









She roped the bed all by herself!

Nayners was obsessed with milking the cow!



Typical sister silliness!

The girls also enjoyed an exhibit on one of the first balloon mail delivery locations. The balloon "ride" does seem to be more enjoyable for Kadoodle than Boo. It would appear that Boo is afraid of heights. Not to worry though. This particular balloon is firmly rooted to the ground.

At the Apple Orchard wearing their "Homeschool Diva" shirts

At the end of the week, we packed Stella once again and headed home. The girls got tired of sight word videos and such so there was quite a bit of Barbie and Disney on that return trip, but thankfully no one got carsick, so maybe there will be an opportunity to do this again some day.

Visiting Cisco at Pinedale Farm

Later that month we kidnapped Daddy on one of his RARE days off and took him to Springville, AL to Pinedale Farm where our PeePaw and Marilyn now reside. Their enormous estate and working horse farm was a great joy for the girls. Of course, seeing their buddy, Cisco, was a big deal as well. The girls explored the farm, groomed horses, read stories with Marilyn, and got to push the WildKat when it ran out of gas! Of course, lunch and treats at Chick-fil-A with PeePaw were a big bonus as well.


A great way to end the month of October

Y'all come back now, ya hear?!