Open Farm Day

The 21st annual Maine Open Farm Day will be held on Sunday July 25,2010, as more than 100 Maine farms across the state open their doors to the public.

Ashley will be visiting a few farms to see what farm life is all about. She is looking forward to watching farm activities and demonstrations from milking to felting; pet farm animals, picking berries, touring barns and going on a hay ride.

There will be farm-raised products for sale, displays to see and samples to taste. Oh what fun!

Click here to find a downloadable document that lists all participating farms

Kids Workshops at Home Depot

Ashley absolutely loves the the kids workshops at Home Depot!

These workshops offer useful projects including the creation of toolboxes, fire trucks and mail organizers, as well as more educational projects, such as a window birdhouse, bughouse or Declaration of Independence frame kit.

The workshops teach children do-it-yourself skills and tool safety, while at the same time helping to instill a sense of accomplishment. Plus, it is a fun time for quality one-on-one time for parents with their children. Not to mention, the items make great home-made gifts!

In addition to the project kit, each child receives a kid-sized orange apron (similar to The Home Depot associates' aprons) and an achievement pin. Ashley loves collecting them!

Spreading Kindness

Recently we were at a petting zoo at a local fair where Ashley was feeding the baby animals. As she raced back from the 25-cent grain dispenser with another handful of grain, she noticed a little girl that didn't have any grain to feed the animals. The little girl pleaded to her mother, "Please Mommy, why can't I have some grain to feed the animals". "Honey, we have no money to buy grain", the mother explained to the disappointed child.

Without hesitation, Ashley walked up to the mother and asked if it would be okay if she shared some of her grain with the little girl. Touched by her gesture, the mother agreed. The little girl beamed with excitement as Ashley gave the entire handful of grain to the little girl.

The mother was so touched. She turned to me and told me what Ashley had just done. Of course, I had already seen the act of kindness that my daughter had just demonstrated. I walked over to her and hugged her and told her that she made me very proud.

This wonderful demonstration of kindness inspired me to teach a special lesson at Sunday School on how we treat other people and the amazing difference paying it forward can make. I asked each of the children to draw a picture of something kind that they have done for another person. I also challenged them to look for opportunities this week to spread kindness.

We created a display on the wall for everyone to see entitled, "Spreading Kindness - Our Kids Are Making a Difference too". Each week we will continue to put the pictures up on the wall for everyone to see.

Learning About Ladybugs

Ashley learned all about ladybugs when we bought a tub of them to release in our yard. We bought them at a local greenhouse.

Ladybugs are actually predators that feed on a variety of insects including aphids, moth eggs, mites, scales, thrips, leafhoppers, mealybugs and other slow-moving insects.

Early evening is the best time to release ladybugs. So, we waited until dusk to release them into their new home.

Now we are anxious for them start doing their job!

Ashley Meets a Real Author

One of our local libraries recently sponsored a special "Shape Capers" event with a local Maine author/illustrator, Cathryn Falwell.

"Shape Capers" is one of Falwell’s children’s books. The event included a treasure hunt crafts, games, movement, music making, and all kinds of fun activities focused on "shape making fun".

Ashley had a great time participating in all of the activities. But, she was especially excited about meeting the lady who actually wrote children’s books that we have at home.

Of course, Cathryn Falwell signed one of Ashley’s books with a personalized little note to her. Ashley was thrilled!

Falwell's books are all written with a lesson in mind… counting, telling time, perseverance, team work, dealing with new siblings, etc. The illustrations in her books are wonderful - they all done in cut-paper collage. We have really enjoyed her books.

Be sure to check out her website. She also has some fun activities for kids (which are also included in each of her books).

Learn for FREE in D.C.

What better place to expose your child to US History than our very own Washington DC? Not only is a wonderful way to learn about our history, but admission to everything is FREE!!!

While we were in Washington DC, Ashley got to see where the President lives, the Capital Building, Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, among many other important buildings. At each of the stops we discussed the history and significance of each building/memorial.

We also visited many of the museums, which are also FREE. Ashley learned about space and flight in the National Air and Space Museum. Along with many other exhibits, she got to see the Apollo 11 Command Module and got to go into the cockpits of aircraft and spacecraft exhibits. She also learned about the Wright brothers' historic flights and got to see the Wright Flyer, the world's first successful airplane.

Ashley’s favorite museum was the National Museum of Natural History. We could have spent all day in this museum alone. Ashley is fascinated with dinosaurs and just loved seeing the exhibits. She finally got to appreciate the actual size of the dinosaurs, which you really cannot grasp looking at a book. Ashley also got to explore a living butterfly house (not free) where butterflies sat right on her finger! She also got to see some amazing gems and minerals, many prehistoric animals and some interesting reptiles and amphibians.

I have also learned that the Smithsonian offers some wonderful lesson plans and web-based activities online at http://www.mnh.si.edu/education. Be sure to check it out!

What a great resource for homeschoolers!

Haven's Candy Factory Tour

Ashley went to a special tour at Haven’s Candy Factory. It was so much fun!

We started out by putting nets over our hair before entering the factory. In the first room they were coating popcorn with caramel for caramel corn. We got to pack our own bags of caramel corn to take home with us.

In the next room of the factory we got to see how they created chocolate in molds. Ashley got to take a turn filling the molds with the chocolate by squeezing the handle.

Then we got to cover our own treats (pretzels, Oreo cookies, wafers, and orange creams) with chocolate. We took our treats and lined them up on the conveyer belt. We watched them go through the machine that covers the treats in chocolate. Then we each got to decorate our treats with sprinkles before they continued down the conveyer to the cooler.

In the final room, Ashley got to try twisting taffy into wrappers. After the girls showed her how to "roll and twist" a couple of times, she tried it on her own. She very neatly folded the wrapper around the taffy, folding over each end (not twisting), and then somehow convinced the girls that she needed tape to hold the ends.

We had a great time touring the candy factory. It was a lot of fun!

Fun with Legos

Our local library is a wonderful resource when it comes to fun activities for kids. Of course, the library offers your typical story time for various ages. But it also offers some other great activities throughout the year.

One of Ashley's favorite activities that is currently offered by our local library is "Fun with Legos". The library allows local homeschoolers to use the library once a week to get together and enjoy Legos together.

Bring your own, share with others and enjoy some fun times being creative together. It is great fun for kids!

Ashley hadn't really shown much interest in Legos until she started going to the library to share the fun with some fellow homeschool friends. This fun activity has taken Legos to a whole new level of fun for her.

Factory Tour at Stonewall Kitchen

Ashley recently had an opportunity to visit Stonewall Kitchen for a factory tour!

A friendly staff member shared her years of knowledge with us as she guided us through the each of the departments that "make it all happen". When we went in to view the production line in operation, Ashley got to wear a special hair net and white coat, just like the workers.

It was interesting to learn about the manufacturing process. Each of the production area has a sign identifying what the machine does... filling, capping, cooling, labeling, testing and quality control.

After the tour, we got to sample products from the store’s demonstration kitchen. Yum!!!

We often look for opportunities to visit places that offer factory tours. It is educational and fun!

Ashley Learns How to Make a Hoola-Hoop

Have you ever made your own custom hoola-hoop?

Ashley went to a class where she learned how to make her very own hoola-hoop, custom-made just for her height.

Made from black plastic garden tubing, first they measured the size that would be best for her. Then they used tubing connectors to connect the ends together.

They heated up the tubing with a hair dryer to make the plastic shrink tightly around the connectors.

Once the hoop itself was complete, Ashley got to decorate her hoop with colorful electrical tape, wrapping it around and around and around.

After making her custom hoola-hoop, she even got a lesson on how to use it!


What a great idea that was tons of fun!!!

Ashley Learns How to Use a Pottery Wheel

You are never too young to learn how to use a pottery wheel!

Ashley got to go to a pottery wheel class, where she got to try it out all by herself. It was rather messy ~ buy lots of fun! She got the hang of it pretty well ~ with some help, of course.

Once the bowls hardened, Ashley got to paint them pretty colors.

She made two bowls ~ a small one a medium one. They turned out great!

What a fun day!!! She can't wait to go again!!!