We had a lot of changes this year in our homeschooling. We started the year with both Caleb and Cami at home, then in January when Cami went to school, Caleb and I had to adjust to a new way of homeschooling. It was a bit of an adjustment for both of us, but we had an enjoyable time together.
One of the things I wanted to do with Caleb on his own, was work in more field trips. It was a bit hard getting him motivated to want to do them, but I think we found some fun ones.
Google – London
We were actually invited to tour Google by one of our friends who works there. It was really neat to walk around the office and see the fun things they have set up to make it a relaxing and productive environment. Everything from break-out rooms to ping-pong tables to snack-attack corners to an amazing cafeteria with almost any food you could possibly imagine, as well as a library, workout room, and nap areas.
Official Name-tags
We did have an amazing experience during our tour and were so grateful for the Bruce’s to invite us!
Truly British Google
Caleb will tell you that one of the field trips that wasn’t up to par was one I had booked at a small theatre in London for a presentation of ‘The Velveteen Rabbit’. I actually thought it was an amazing 3-person production, but the large amounts of grade school kids there for their own field trips didn’t help Caleb feel it was age-appropriate.
Downward to the Tube
My redeeming grace was that after the show Caleb and I were able to take a short walk across the Tower Bridge and meet Chris for lunch.
Approaching the Tower Bridge
Scoping Out His Pictures Whilst on Tower Bridge
Our last field trip was to the Royal Institution, for a lecture on space, which we happened to be studying at the time.
The Royal Institution Entrance
Again, a great topic to listen to, but most of the audience was younger than Caleb making him feel out of place.
Michael Faraday
After the lecture, we wandered down to the basement of the building to walk through the small museum. This building is actually where Michael Faraday did many of his experiments, like those for electro-magnetism, which he is known for.
Maybe one of Caleb’s favorite field trips was a spur-of-the-moment one. On the morning of Five Guys opening in the mall, Caleb got all his school work done and made plans to meet friends from church for lunch. So, we made our way over and avoided the crowds for a great early lunch.
5 Guys Grand Opening
One of our last and most memorable field trips is one that Caleb and I stole away to Paris with my parents when they were visiting. One of the perks we are definitely losing as Caleb heads to school in August.
Acceptance E-mail
Caleb is still trying to weigh how he feels about this new stage in his life, but we feel it’s a good time for him to break into the school scene as an 8th grader. It will be a great transition year as he prepares for high school and all that entails with his training schedule and other commitments.
As for me, it will be the first time since I became a mother (almost 16 years ago) that I won’t have any children at home during the school day. It may be time to rediscover some long-forgotten hobbies.
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