Field Trip Friday: The State Theater in Modesto

On Valentine's Day, we went to the State Theater located in Modesto, Ca. The theater opened Christmas Day in 1934 and is the only original theater from that time to last through the years.

 

Picture from meyersound.com

We met up with our homeschool group, got free popcorn, and took our seats in the beautiful theater.

We watched a short documentary detailing the history of the State Theater and its youth education programs. Afterward they showed vintage cartoons including Betty Boop and her pup Pudgy. This little outing fit perfectly with our History of Animation and Film Unit Study.

Aidyn enjoying his popcorn.

Afterward, the kids put on a talent show. A high schooler played "The Star-Spangled Banner" on an electric guitar, another sang "Let It Go" from Frozen, another performed stand-up comedy, a young man demonstrated some red belt karate moves and broke some boards with his heel and fist, and a family performed a funny skit of "Little Red Riding Hood."

All the kids gathered on stage for a group photo and received Valentine's treats. After, the theater played upbeat music and allowed the kids to dance on stage. I wasn't sure if my shy guy would dance in front of all those people, but he did! I have several blurry photos of him dancing (or jumping?) on stage with a group of other enthusiastic dancers.

This was an adorable little field trip and we're planning another visit soon.

The Fall Catch-All

It would be an understatement to say I have been extremely busy these last few months. Along with homeschooling, I finished my Bachelor's degree, we moved to a new home, and I have been training for a half-marathon. Whew! The first couple of weeks my camera disappeared and half the time I forgot to take pictures.

So here is my Fall Catch-All post about everything (mostly) that we've been up to this season (things are beginning to calm down now, so I'll be posting more regularly)

Fall/Cranberry Thanksgiving Unit Study

Fall words~

Fall books~

Beyond Turkey by Debbie Herman and Ann Koffsky illustrated a fair depiction of the Mayflower's journey to North America, the Pilgrims' settlement and their feast with the Wampanoag Indians.

Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without reading Wende and Harry Devlin's beautiful book, Cranberry Thanksgiving.

We love the Magic Tree House series, and Thanksgiving on Thursday did not disappoint. The book is filled with Mary Pope Osbourne's research of the Pilgrims' settlement, lifestyle and clothing. It also fairly represents their relationship with the Wampanoag Indians, making no hesitation to admit Squanto's enslavement prior to the first Thanksgiving.

Fall Fun~

Reenacting the first Thanksgiving and building a Pilgrim house

Playing the "Sailing on the Mayflower" game

We also watched a Charlie Brown cartoon: The Mayflower Voyagers Netflix streaming. Here's a slip on Youtube:

 

Autumnal Apple Treats (Honeycrisp apples doused with lemon juice, slathered with peanut butter and topped with autumn granola mix and cinnamon. 

Field Trip Friday (the Fire Station!)~

We toured the local fire station with about 70 children and parents from Aidyn's home-based charter school. My camera wasn't cooperating with the lack of light in the building so I only have a few photos. The kids checked out the fire engines and fire truck and opened each and every compartment. They toured the living quarters (kitchen, bedrooms, living room, etc.) and peeked down the firefighter pole door. Aidyn said his favorite part was looking at how far down the drop was and wished he could have slid down.

What the Camera Didn't Capture:

~a beautiful and relaxed Thanksgiving holiday

~our Thanksgiving Tree we made with branches and fabric leaves (w/ words of gratitude we wrote on them)

~a beyond messy house

~a stressed out mother/wife/student/runner/worker

Storm in the Night/Weather Mini-Unit Study

We read the beautifully illustrated story, Storm in the Night by Mary Stolz (illustrations by Pat Cummings). This is the perfect cuddle-up-and-read book, especially during a storm.

We recorded the temperature from places all over the world. First, we would find them on the globe and then look them up on weather.com. 

After learning the basic water cycle, we made a cloud in a bottle!

Then rain in a bottle! (links at the bottom of post)

We read about rainbows and different types of clouds and painted our own with white paint and cotton balls.

We also worked on winter words, and Aidyn learned to spell some tricky words, including "icicle"! 

Wish I had more pictures to share!

Forecast for the Future~

I am in the middle of a huge undertaking, but we're only in the pre-planning/dreaming stages. We are heavily considering making a trip to Walt Disney World in January 2015 (we'll need a year to save for it!). This will be a first-time experience for the whole family and the furthest east any of us has ever traveled.

As we have done in the past for Disneyland, I am planning a long unit study on Walt Disney World, which includes four parks and many, many different learning opportunities. Of course, most of the unit study will have little to do with the actual parks and will touch on themes within the parks, but I would like to include some stuff about Walt Disney.

I asked Aidyn which park he wants to focus on first, giving him a quick rundown of what each entails. He chose Disney's Hollywood Studios, which will have us learning about:

• the history of animation
• the history of film
• early Hollywood of the 1930s and 1940s
• early film and television stars such as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Lucille Ball,
• classic films such as The Wizard of Oz and Singing in the Rain
• sci-fi flicks of the 1950s
• stage shows
• and more!

In the meantime, we will be playing a little catch-up, reading holiday books, and enjoying the winter break together.

We're weeks away from a family vacation, at the end of which I will be running a half-marathon in support of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (as a tribute to my late father). 

I am still actively fundraising for the charity, so if you are interested in donating, please visit my page: Paula's Donation Page.

Links for the unit studies above:

Both Cranberry Thanksgiving and Storm in the Night are FIAR books.

Free Cranberry Thanksgiving Lapbook/Printables

Free weather unit study printables (including cloud/rain in a bottle experiment)

Pilgrim and Eastern Native American Figures

Sail on the Mayflower Game

Field Trip to Lancaster, Ca, with a Side of Disneyland and Kooky Roadside Rarities

This past week, our family journeyed south through California's valley and into the desert region of Lancaster/Palmdale for Aidyn's first foot race at the Jethawks' stadium.

Community Connection

Although Lancaster is not our community, we signed up for the race not only to help Aidyn pursue a recent goal of his (to earn a medal) but to support a community of baseball fans. This race was set up to bring people to the community of Lancaster and encourage physical movement. Profits for the race direct support minor league baseball and local education.

When we arrived at night, we had no idea what the terrain looked like until we awoke in the morning. I had a vague idea that we were in a desert climate (I was thinking more along the lines of Bakersfield), but it was actually a dry, arid, tumbleweed-populated, rollin'-rollin'-rollin' little town. And the wind was fierce!

Photo from Lancaster city data.

Wake up, Aidyn! Race starts in just a couple hours!

Prior to the race.

Daddy and Aidyn, checking out the stadium.

Lining up at the starting line.

One last Mama-hug before the race.

Yay! Just finished running 1k, two laps around the Jethawks' baseball field!

 Finally won his medal!

Afterwards, we had a celebratory lunch at Primo Cafe in Lancaster.

Roadside Rarities

It's always fun checking out the strange and unusual roadside attractions. For this trip, we visited Charlie Brown Farms, a kitchy little place that has been operating since 1929. Inside are shelves upon shelves loaded with jars of raw, local honey, molasses, fruits and vegetables, hand-packaged farmstand goodies, old time candy (from as early as the 1920s), toys, souvenirs, practical joke merchandise, and more. They serve 150 different kinds of smoothies and have a quaint outdoor dining area. Also near that dining area are these beauties:

And:

We left Charlie Brown Farms with a pound of raw eucalyptus honey (from the deserts of Ca and Az), nostalgic candy from the 40s for Grandma back home, and a practical joke toy for Aidyn.

The next day, we went to our favorite Southern California destination: Disneyland. The Sunday morning traffic was surprisingly light, and we made it to the parking structure in only an hour and a half.

Aboard the Jungle Cruise, after just learning about savanna and rainforest animals. :)

An elephant along the Nile River.

Later, we got in line for Autopia, since it was closed for refurbishment in February. Aidyn has been keen on "driving" lately.

After a nice drive, we took the train to New Orleans Square where we rode Pirates of the Caribbean and had a yummy lunch at the French Market. Afterward, we visited the Disney California Adventure Park and hoped that Radiator Springs would be doable.

Despite the gorgeous photo ops, the ride was temporarily closed.

So we explored the rest of DCA, rode Goofy's Sky School, Tuck 'n' Roll's Drive 'Em Buggies, and Grizzly River Rapids.

Aidyn running through the fountains.

We stopped at the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop, much to Aidyn's apparent glee. 

Aidyn and I washed all the chocolate off with a ride on Grizzly River Rapids, which were closed the last time we visited.

After the big plunge at the end. Aidyn and I are on the right. Daddy, who was developing a pretty bad cold at this point, elected not to get drenched.

Overall, we had a pretty amazing mini-vacation and experience with Aidyn's first race. During the drive to Disneyland and back, we saw the famous Vasquez Rocks, which have been used in countless films.

Photo from iversonmovieranch.blogspot.com

We also visited the Now and Then Thrift Store from Storage Wars.

Photo from aetv.com

And we drove by the very first McDonald's when we passed through Downey, Ca.

Photo from neatorama.com

We love homeschooling!