All posts by Danielle Huddleston

Maplewood Leaf Days

10/18/2018 Danielle Huddleston Leave a comment

1st full day up in Minnesota we went to the Maplewood Leaf Day’s(I may have planned the trip around it)!

My mom liked to make apple cider so I don’t find the apple cider press as interesting as other people…

It is only fun for the first few batches 😉

They made these bird feeders with shortening so my twins could do it(peanut allergy)! This is our second time at this event and the people are always so nice! I love that with just our two families we bring a crowd. There were so many fun activities to do. It was pretty cold but everyone was a good sport about it.

Some of mine wait too long and end up with hurting hands before they say anything though.

So many great learning opportunities! Home Depot donated these kits! These rag dolls were cute and a great lesson about what toys used to look like.

Brave man… Again, brave man. My oldest loved to watch him cut these wooden figures out.
Next we drove around the park while everyone warmed up. I did manage to talk them into a short hike or two. And I of course tried for a family pic 😉 The leaves were beautiful! Truly my happy place. My youngest boy told them to say “girl power.” He got beautiful smiles. Nick and I took the boys back that night to a different part of the park. Do you go north to see colorful leaves?

I would like to spend a whole fall up there.

History, Homeschooling

If you give a child Jonathan Park…

10/17/2018 Danielle Huddleston Leave a comment

The children and I have been listening to Jonathan Park and The Hunt for Beowulf(a creation science audio adventure series) because it touches on Noah’s Ark and Creation.

Which we have been studying.

But they became really interested in Beowulf because of it and asked that I get it for them.

I had been wanting to do the Brave Writer Boomerang on Beowulf but thought they might find the book too difficult.

Since they requested it, I got them the book from the library.

Because they were going to read it anyway we are doing the boomerang.

Because the boomerang had them recite the first 11 lines I had them listen to the “Eve of Saint Crispin Day Speech.”

Because I was already on youtube, I had them watch the “Old English Version of Beowulf” and found “Seamus Heaney reading Beowulf.”

Which was amazing.

I felt a bit like “If you give a mouse a cookie” but I think it is my favorite way to teach

So if you also want your child to read Beowulf, listen to Jonathan Park 😉

My Family, Parks, Wildlife Preserve/Reserve

3 free stops on the way to Minnesota

10/16/2018 Danielle Huddleston Leave a comment

Two of these stops were great!

And one was not so great but most of that was timing I think.

The bonus was all of them were free and great ways for kids to get some energy out!

The first stop was in Independence, KS at the Riverside Park and Ralph Mitchell Zoo.

They don’t have any big animals but we saw monkeys, birds, raccoons, donkeys, and more!

And the best part was it is free!

It was a great way for the kids to walk around.

And since there were animals to look at none of mine complained about the walk 😉

They also had a fun play area with statues and a castle! The boys liked the castle!

Second stop that was great and free was the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center in Sioux City, IA. The kids loved a little camera in a cave that was an animal on the exhibit!