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I just had a brain storm. I feel I deprived dd this year. We took in a newborn in October and really couldn't get much past the normal school day in LHFHG. I know dd learned a lot, but I really would like to include some special field trips or plan some special extra-curricular activities that would relate to what she is learning in Beyond. I have the guide to look over to see what kind of history or science places we could look into, but I thought it would be neat to get some ideas from others who are familiar with Beyond. I know most do not live in PA, but has anyone done field trips to correlate with Beyond. This is just something I want to do, maybe once a month, just to get out and give dd a break from the 3R's. I just feel like I need to plan these special days out with her. I should have utilized a baby sitter more often this past year, but I didn't. I want to do that and just set aside that day for the two of us, if we can't go as a family. Or, I can suggest it as a field trip for our local hs group. I'm open to any suggestions. By the way, even though we are in PA, we will make occasional trips to CT to visit my son, so we could visit places in that area as well.

You sound just like me! We're doing Beyond too next year so I'm all ears!

I was thinking that it doesn't even need to be a trip away from home. Back when homeschooling my others, we did a unit study based curriculum. One unit was on Ancient Egypt. At the end, we had an Egyptian meal. The girls dressed in Egyptian style clothing and then each family made a recipe similar to what would have been eaten in that time period. I was thinking we could even do a time period day from Beyond similar to that. This is not to take away from what is in HOD, but to do something special on a 'day off' and still be learning.

In the past couple of years while studying pioneers and early American History in Beyond and Bigger, we went several places around here that had pioneering days. One place was a redone old city, sort of like Williamsburg only smaller, one was a celebration of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the other was an old battlefield. I know in PA you probably have lots of battlefields so you could check to see if they are having any special days. Often times places like that will have re-creations of how it was way back when with people dressed in period costumes doing things the way they did then. We've really enjoyed all of our experiences like that. We actually did make it to Yorktown, Jamestown, and Williamsburg this past year as well. They were all really worth the visit and if you can find the time to make the trip during their homeschool days, I feel it is worth it. I found some small craft kits that made covered wagons and carts that were similar to those used in the time period that we made. I wanted to make mocassins as a fun and useful project, but never got that one done. We have done the pioneer meal and that is a lot of fun. I must say that we have really enjoyed our time in the early American era these past two years. There are many great activities in the guide that are going to bring that time to life for you.

Thanks, Patty. Yes, there are many places in PA where there are re-creations of battles. My 21 yo loved that kind of stuff. I know there will be a lot of neat activities in the guide. I am just looking forward to a year when we can plan some days out. I feel more equipped to take time to do this now. This year most of our days out were appts. or visits to the prison to visit the baby's mother. Since she got transferred to a prison farther away, we are not making many visits. Not good for the baby, but good for our family. That is very time-consuming. Now I feel I can plan some days like this. It doesn't have to be history. It can be science, Bible, anything. There is a lot to do in PA. I just thought it would be neat to see what others have done during Beyond.