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JFK Library & Museum | Field Trip | Homeschooling

March 16, 2011 By Laura 10 Comments

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I’m a planner.  I plan everything.  Call me not-very-fun, but there is not much I do spontaneously.  Especially when it involves, like…..a whole day. Or traveling a small distance.  Or worse……changing plans I already planned!

So when a friend of mine sent me a message one bright and early morning not long ago, asking if we’d all be up for a trip into Boston, to visit the John F. Kennedy Library & Museum that day….well, I started having heart palpitations, and immediately started brainstorming excuses to say no.  For examples:  I had a full day of lessons planned!  The kids had a test.  My camera battery wasn’t charged! (My gosh!  I can’t take a field trip without taking photos!  How would I blog it?!)  And honestly… I had work to do after schooling the kids!   And…and….I hadn’t planned, on going to the JFK Library & Museum!   I can’t just TAKE OFF like that!

All of those things were the truth.  But it was also true, that going to the JFK Library & Museum, had been on our field trip agenda, for at least a year, and we just hadn’t gotten to that one yet.  And my oldest  daughter {A}, had been nagging me about it all-365-days, (or it’s seemed like it anyway), because she’d been dying to go.  Beggin’. She has a deep and peculiar passion, for American History, for a 13 year old girl. She loves to learn about past U.S. Presidents, and especially has a keen interest in the Kennedy family.  My camera battery could charge in an hour.  Also,  my friend’s kids had a 1/2 day of (charter) school, and therefore would be out early, so that’s why it was a perfect weekday for them to go, with us.  But the truth of all truths was…..it could turn out to be one fun and exciting day, if I could just wrap my brain around <gasp> changing plans, last minute.

jfk-john-f-kennedy-library-and-museum-boston-ma Well, it was, and I DID IT!!!

It actually turned out to be a very, very interesting trip.  Downright fascinating, at times.  It blows me away, because I could have cared less about American History when “I” was in formal school growing up, on top of several other subjects.  Or, all of them. (Except art of course!).   But I just love, love, love schooling now. As I always say, “I’m being re-schooled”, while I school my kids. And I thank God they are loving it, the first time around!  Because 13+ years is a dang-long-time, when you don’t like school! (Ask me!)

So…..let me show you some of the things that we got to see on our field trip, and intriguing things we got to learn more about, at the JFK Library & Museum.

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THIS….Is John F. Kennedy’s high school report card/transcript!    But here is what is sooooo interesting.  If you look closely, you will see…..

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…..He got a D in his Sophmore year!!  IN HISTORY!  Did you know this?  Because it’s quite a shocking revelation, to me!  Now, {A} is a little upset with me, that I’m telling you about this.  She says, “But Mama!  He really loved History though!  He did!”.  And she’s concerned I am embarrassing him.  To which I replied, “Well, Honey, you know…come on.  He’s dead.”  And also, “It’s in a public museum!  I think more people blow through that place, than my little ole’ blog, in a day. Don’t you?”. Because I just feel the need to tell you all!  I find this little tid-bit of info shocking, but also encouraging, to children everywhere!!  As I see it, if a kid can get a D in History, and go on to be the President of the United States, there is hope for anyone!

(She’s in the kitchen right now mumbling, “Poor Jack.”)

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Check out the appliances of those times.  My three 8 year olds just stood and stared through the window here, dumb-founded.

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This display really got me.  As an educated graphic and package-designer, all I can say is….it is really no wonder, why the decade following the 60’s, involved tie-dyed shirts, and psychedelic-color-inducing drugs.   I mean, I do understand there was printing limitations, and limited inks to work with then.  But goodness…..what horrid looking packaging. It all looks the same!  Honestly, I had to walk away, as depression was setting in.
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We had a great tour guide.  She popped in and out, as we made out way through the place, giving us more info here and there.
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There are mini theaters there in the museum, and we watched two very interesting films.   I can say that in my own experience of watching these films, I was able to really feel more connected to exactly who JFK was.  To see him in motion, and hear him speak, in his own words, was…fascinating, and mesmerizing.  He had a great voice!  I’m going to link you to some of the film at the end of this post, so you can experience it yourself.  In case, you know, you’re as young as I am. ; )
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A mock set-up of (one of?) his campaign offices.  I desperately wanted to take the desk, and the chair. And maybe the door knobs.

Possibly the hanging light fixture, also.

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The pavilion, was a cool place to be.  All glass and steel-work, overlooking part of the Boston Harbor.  To think, that JFK and his siblings’ great-great grand-parents, had at one time sailed right by here on their arrival to the United States from Ireland, in 1849, because of the “black potato famine”.
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Our crew of kids.

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Here, a replica of the desk in the Oval Office.  It was interesting to note, that the little door under the front of the desk, that JFK Jr. was later photographed playing behind, was put in to hide Franklin D. Roosevelt’s leg braces.  They felt that, when photographing him at his desk, it may appear that the President of the U.S., was weak.   (Nice.)

Also interesting to note:  My flash went off when taking this photo of the desk, and I got in trouble.   Once a rebel, always a rebel! ; )

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Call me ‘Silly’.  But this is my favorite shot of the day.  RFK’s glasses.

I actually took the shot, through glass.

Bet you’re impressed now.

Or…not.

They are on his  desk, shown more below. Robert was appointed Attorney General, when his brother was President.

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It was cool to read all of the documents and notes lying about the desktop.  And laugh at the phone.
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RFK’s Dept. of Justice badge, and the football that the Dallas Cowboys gave to Robert, because the Kennedy’s loved the game so much, and were known to play.

I have to be honest here…..some of these details I am not actually remembering all on my own.  {A} is over my left shoulder, dictating some stuff to me.  Lol.  Just keeping it truth, People!

jfk-john-f-kennedy-library-and-museum-boston-ma-16 A bit of Jacqueline Kennedy’s wardrobe.  On the right is her Inaugural Ball gown.
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jfk-john-f-kennedy-library-and-museum-boston-ma-17 THIS, I do remember on my own.  I did not know, that Jacqueline (Bouvier) Kennedy was a photographer!  In a round-a-bout way, it was through her photo-journalism work, that she met her future husband, JFK.  I was saying to myself, out loud, “Well I’ll be a blue-nosed gopher.”  And someone said, “……What?!”
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jfk-john-f-kennedy-library-and-museum-boston-ma-18 The baby with us loved this purse.  He kept saying “Ooooo!!” (Short O sound.)   It was rather eye catching!
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These are ‘doodles’ of JFK’s from a meeting during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  In the top-right, you can see where he wrote and circled several times, “Missile. Missile. Missile.”
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News publications from over the years.

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The polls.

There was another little room we went through, that was dark, and just had a few tv screens going.  Airing, was the news broadcast footage, of when JFK had been shot.  I can only imagine, having been born and grown enough then, to understand what was happening at that time.  Because the heavy feeling we all had in that room.  All silent, staring at the monitors, some with a tear rolling down our cheek.   I guess it’s the closest we’ll ever feel, to having been there.
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Oh how I would have LOVED to have taken this portrait!!  {A} walked up to this, and named every person in it, from left to right. As easy as counting, for her.    This portrait was taken, when Joe Sr. was Ambassador to England, and they were in London.   What a great photo.

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Oh…what to say here.  Funny, but this vision of {A} doesn’t seem that far-fetched. You’ve got to know her, if you don’t.  She’s only 13 now, but she’s really into politics, government, and planning her future!  Let’s just say, she’s got a few things she wants to say, and a few things she wants done.

She’s got a dream.

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We all had such a good time, and learned so much, here at the JFK Library & Museum.

We highly recommend this attraction, if you are ever in the Boston area.

There was a great little still film clip on JFK we really enjoyed.

I was really glad my friend called, and I’m so spontaneous.

So…..Did you enjoy this post?  Did you learn anything new?

Please share your thoughts with us.

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Filed Under: Field Trips, Homeschooling, Middle School Homeschooling, Middle School Homeschooling HOME ECONOMICS, Politics and Government Tagged With: Boston-attractions, homeschooling-field-trips, JFK-Library-Museum-Boston-MA, John-F-Kennedy-Library-Museum-Boston-MA

Politics, the House Senate and Voting | Homeschooling Elementary and Middle School

January 20, 2010 By Laura 11 Comments

The exciting and intense campaign race for the Massachusetts House Senate seat has been another golden homeschooling opportunity to teach our younger children more about politics, the house senate and voting, following the opportunities that came with the the most recent presidential race.  Granted, we weren’t sure how much they could really grasp or follow at 7 years old, but they have pleasantly surprised.  If nothing else, with their interest and enthusiasm.  {A} is already rather informed on this subject, as she has a very strong interest in all Politics & Government, which she has elected (pun!) to study in depth this year.

house-senate We began with more general talk about the the government, a little about how it runs, and then got more into the purpose and duties of the House Senate. To help them get the visual of the state representing senators, we showed them this photo above that I found online, of the House Senate quarters, that helped them get some kind of visual.

img_0175 We took a field trip, to one of the (8?) campaign offices for Scott Brown, right here in our home town of Plymouth.   Note: Michael went back and took a photo of the office, as the parking lots was full the day we were there.  The windows were also full of Scot Brown posters. Our plan was just to stop in and hopefully get some buttons or something, and show them what a campaign office is like.  But we all got so much more than that.   We went in and a very nice woman started talking to us and our kids right away. We told her we were on a home school field trip, and that made her very excited, as she is a supporter of home schooling.  She took us right in and started talking to the kids about what they were all doing and why. The manager for this particular office also talked to us, and really educated us all about what their goals were for the duration of this race.   The office was jam packed with volunteers, making calls to promote and ask for a vote for Scott Brown.
They offered us pizza, bumper stickers, yard signs and even had the kids help make a phone call or two!!  What a great experience for all of us!

homeschooling-house-senate-voting They took our picture on someone’s camera phone,  and it emailed to us! 

On the ride home we counted Scott Brown yard signs to pass the time.  We put our sign in our front yard when we got home.

homeschooling house senate Over the next couple of days, the kids were quite the little political cheerers for Scott Brown!

homeschooling house senate Voting Day, was another educational day, through experience.  All 4 of them came with us to vote, and to see first-hand
the process of casting your ballot.  They thought that was THE most exciting thing!!  On the way out of the local elementary school gym, after voting, {S} asked us, “What do we do next?”  And I replied, “We go home, and bite our nails while we wait!”  But then I gave him the serious answer.

That night, knowing voting was over at 8 p.m., they were begging to stay up to find out who won.  But we knew it would be too long and late of a wait.  So I promised them I would wake them up when the final numbers were in.  I tried waking them up, and stirred {S and JM} enough to tell them the news, which was received with sleepy smile. (So cute!)  But {O} wasn’t waking up for anything. She was happy to hear in the morning though.

homeschooling house senate We will continue to teach them what we can about these things, and look forward to this book coming in that we have requested at the library. It may or may not be too elementary for the kids, but if nothing else, will be amusing, while still being educational.  Here is the description to this book:

In a big country, it’s not always easy to get everyone to agree on an important issue. So when Miss Tuftmore’s second-grade class writes from Moussouri, asking for a law to declare a National Cheese, the Squeaker of the Mouse and the Senate Mouse-jority leader have a lot of work to do. By following these congressmice (who live and work alongside their human counterparts) through the steps they must take, readers will gain a greater understanding of this important aspect of civic life — and have a lot of fun while they’re at it.

This delightful sequel to the Barnes’ popular Woodrow, the White House Mouse, told and illustrated in the same whimsical style, offers another detailed but easy-to-follow explanation of the inner workings of American government.

It was a wonderful experience for all of them, that we’re glad had a happy ending. (Well, for us anyway. ; )  They are very much looking forward to the mid-term elections, this November.  ; )   Their interest and embrace of our civic duties, is taking root muuuuuuuuuucccchhhhhh younger with them, than it did with us adults!  You have no idea.   We’re late-comers to the whole political thing.  But, as they say,  better late, than never.

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Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, History / Social Studies, Homeschooling, Politics and Government Tagged With: 7-year-old-triplets, elementary-homeschooling-election-year, homeschooling-elementary-history, homeschooling-elementary-house-senate, homeschooling-elementary-politics, homeschooling-house-senate, House-Mouse-Senate-Mouse-book, middle-school-homeschooling-politics, Scott Brown, triplets

God’s World News / World News Group – A Newspaper for Your Kids!

January 17, 2009 By Laura 4 Comments

God's World News / World News Group

(now….)

God's World News / World News Group  
*
See UPDATE Below.

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Hi there Everyone!!

We’ve been wanting to share with our readers, a subscription that we have found our children really, really benefit from.  It’s put out by * ** God’s World News, and there are various titles, for various reading/age/grade levels to fit the level of any child, Pre-K through young teens! We have received it for a number of years, and it has proved to be a valuable and educational news source throughout. It’s a newspaper for kids!!

* UPDATE/Revision:  God’s World News is now: WORLD News Group   – The links in this post (for God’s World News), will still bring you to the correct site, under their new titles. From there, there are individual site links to the newspaper for the proper age range for your child(ren):  God’s Big World/Pre-Schoolers, worldkids/Elementary age, WORLD TEEN/Teenagers
** IMPORTANT NOTE: Although the titles of the newspapers has changed, the high quality content has not! The intent of the newspaper publications, for age appropriate world news, reported in the light of faith, remains unchanged.

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(Is this photo of our boy, reading his newspaper, not a RIOT??!  He often does sit just like this….while reading, at Mass, etc.  It always cracks us up, but he looked especially like a little man, sitting in his chair with his legs crossed, reading his newspaper. Look at his flickering toes. lol)

Our triplet 6 year olds receive God’s Word News-Early Edition (now World Kids).  Our 11 year old receives God’s World News-Top Story (now World Teen).

Our kids benefit from their age-appropriate newspaper-magazines so much, because they ENJOY it so much! They enjoy it so much, because it has SO much to offer! There is a LOT in each edition, and a huge (educational) variety at that.  If you homeschool your kids, we highly recommend this subscription!  If your kids are enrolled in school, we highly recommend this subscription!  : )  This rave review is fueled solely by our family receiving this magazine, and us as parents, consistently seeing what happens with our kids, when they get it into their hands. They get many hours of social studies educational exposure and information from each issue.  All in the name of QUIET for us FUN for them! That’s why we had to tell you all about it…..it just seems like it’s something GREAT for any and all kids!   Read on.

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I don’t know about you, but I want my kids to know what is going on in the world.  They should generally be aware of current events, politics, new-breaking stories, scientific findings, history, etc. But in an age appropriate way!
The problem is, television news, as well as newspaper news, are not geared towards communicating to children.

Naturally, it’s not their mission, as it is all meant to inform adults, and rightly so.  So it’s simply not conveyed in a way all children would understand, nor necessarily be emotionally ready for.

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That’s what we love about this magazine.  In it HIGHLY informative about the world’s news, presented in a way to catch and hold kid’s attention,  and is easily understood, in kids’ terms and ways they can relate to.  It draws them in.  In younger level editions, it’s snippets of info they can read and truly comprehend and retain.   Older kid’s issues are generally the same topics, but with more detail, longer articles and a more in-depth study overall. Then additional stuff. What I love most, is that the contents is delivered in a Christian/Biblical Worldview style.

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But it’s not just serious current events news stories. Each issue is also jam packed with (reading, of course), science, history, geography, weather, funny stories, etc.  And all with LOTS of photos. There are games, experiments, activities and puzzles that strengthen skills such as logic, observation, process of elimination, …. the list goes on. AND on!

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 Beyond the magazine itself, they have a website that has even MORE to supplement each edition.  There are parent/teacher resources, bonus pages to enhance or expand on all the kids have learned, and even quizzes and keys you can use.  There is LOTS at the web site, that is another educational tool all it’s own.

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When our kids are reading their issues, they are so amused by something, or intrigued with something they learned, that they feel compelled to share it with us, or read it to us.  Sometimes, they ask questions, because they want to know more and more. This often launches great discussions to have with your children, that can get as deep as you want, or give you an opportunity to ask them questions, that encourage them to think through concepts, varied opinions, or their own perspectives.  It’s a wonderful tool to help jump-start really good discussions, about often very important topics in the world, with your children.

012_God's-World-News-World-News-Group  For example: Here, {A} is reading about Fidel Castro-how he came to be a dictator, his ways of dictatorship, and all of the effects it has had on his country.

Here’s another  page of Top Story (sorry about the glare. : ):

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Each issue (all editions for all ages) most always has wonderful maps, educational fold-out spreads, and/or pull-out posters, like this one:

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I love also, how these arrivals in our mailbox, bring our kids together too!  They love to share with each other what they are reading, and have discussions of their own about the topic.  They end up laughing together, reading together, learning together, which all means they are simply enjoying more of being ….together!

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If you find yourself remotely intrigued, we encourage you to check out the God’s World News web site. Look around!!  There are peeks inside these subscriptions, and you are also likely able to get a free copy if you request one, to decide for yourself what you think of them!  For us, it’s been just too good of a great thing, NOT to let any parent, or teaching parent, know about this amazing tool. We find it WELL worth the cost of the subscription.  We all know that our kids learn the most, when they are enjoying what they are doing, or enjoying HOW they are learning…anything at all!  The more ways we can find to give them that, the better. Because when they are having fun learning, they want to learn more and more and more.  So we hope you find this newspaper-magazine to be ‘good mail’ in your family.

We’re pretty excited about MANY things we’ve got coming up to share with you on our blog, so come back soon!! In the meantime, if your kids are receiving a subscription, or have a book, or watch a show….that YOU find very valuable, educational, and they really enjoy, please share it with us!  We know there is a wealth of info and resources out there, and what better way than to share it with each other, complete with reviews and gold stars!

We hope you are all enjoying this long weekend!

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Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Elementary Homeschooling READING, Elementary Homeschooling SCIENCE, Geography, History / Social Studies, Homeschooling, Middle School Homeschooling, Middle School Homeschooling SCIENCE, Politics and Government, Science Tagged With: Catholic-blogs, current-events, current-events-newspaper-for-kids, God's World News, God's-worldviews-news, homeschooling, newspapers-for-kids, social-studies-for-preschool-elementary, triplets, World-News-Group

We are wicked happy to have you here! We hope you find much inspiration, help, humor and enjoyment here.




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