We set an ambitious schedule of activities for ourselves this past Friday. Friday afternoons are usually reserved for activities but the kids are ahead in their studies so our schedule had some wiggle-room. The Lord blessed us with beautiful weather. We had a history fieldtrip in the morning, a picnic lunch with friends, nature club in the afternoon, and geo-caching after an early dinner. Whew!The Northern Indiana Center for History invited us to Civil War Days. They had reenactors who shared their knowledge of the "Conflict between the North and the South." They told us that it was not really a Civil War because the Southern States had already seceded. Good point!
They showed us the equipment that the soldiers carried with them. We learned about the conditions that soldiers endured and the way they survived with the little rations that they received. Below Bookworm holds one of the Union's weapons. They were quite heavy.
Then the Union soldier talked with us about bullets, taught us about the parts of a gun, discussed the uniforms, hats, and showed us some artifacts he had found on various battlefields during reenactments. Below Busy Bee and friends listen intently as the soldier discusses the casualties. 
Our next station was focused on actual battles. They shared what a soldiers life was like, how they survived by living off the land and that they often had to "reappropriate" food from farms they were travelling through. They let the kids try on the heavy packs. I think all of the children were surprised by how heavy the packs were. They talked about formations, marching, troops from Indiana, and gave us a shooting demonstration.
Our last station was with the army doctor. He discussed the medications available at the time, the sanitary (or lack there of) of operating conditions, amputations and diseases that killed more soldiers than bullets.
The doctor then did a slide presentation on the timeline of the civil war touching on the main battles and key figures from both sides.
It was a very informative time and the reenactors added in humor which helped to keep the kids stay engaged.
After the program we had our picnic with our homeschool friends. It was fun to relax together and share bits of each others lunch.
Our Charlotte Mason inspired Nature Club met after the picnic. This term's focus has been Birds of Prey. We learn about the topic during our own family's nature study time and then come together once a month to share, hike and do some kind of hands on project.
At this meeting we focused specifically on Owls, Falcons and Hawks. We read from The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. We did a fun activity on the sizes and shapes of the nests of these birds. We then dissected small owl pellets that I had been collecting over the last month. We put together the skeleton of a vole out of our 12 small pellets. We had a lot of leftover bones. We also found skulls and jawbones of a bird and a shrew. One of the kids found over 100 bones in her small pellet. The kids sketched their findings. We discussed our findings together.
The club went on a short hike together and then the kids played on the playground for a bit. Next meeting we will be dissecting large pellets and we will compare our findings. Ladybug was not thrilled with the dissecting part. She didn't like the idea that she was touching vomit. I wonder how she will feel when she gets to Biology?
It was a fun day by all accounts. When Brad got home we had dinner and went geo-caching. Bookworm is really getting into searching out the coordinates with the GPS. She likes the adventure of it. I still like letterboxing better. I guess we'll have to take turns. Have a great weekend!
