field trip friday

When we started planning our school weeks for our new school, we decided that Friday would be "Field Trip Friday". Each Friday, our aim is to visit a place (within a reasonable driving distance) that is optimally related to something we are studying, have studied or will study in school.

This past Friday, Anderson wanted to visit some of the military museums in Fayetteville and Fort Bragg. Since we are commencing our study of World War I, I thought this was a fantastic choice for a field trip. So, on Friday morning after Anderson finished a few tests, he, Bennett and I hopped into the car for a quick trip down to Fayetteville.

When we arrived on base at Fort Bragg, we first had to have our car inspected. That's right--in order to enter Fort Bragg, they have to approve you and your car for entry. That meant that I had to show a valid driver's license and car registration and that I had to open my hood, my trunk, and every door on the car for inspection. .

Once inside the base, we first visited the JFK Special Warfare Museum. This is a very small museum, but it was interesting nonetheless. It didn't take us long to browse, and soon the boys were ready to move to the next museum. My favorite part of this museum was seeing a stuffed Sunshine Bear that the troops had adopted (the bear had been orphaned) during the Vietnam War and brought home--with special permission of the federal government--to Fort Bragg after the war. Sadly, the bear died of pneumonia two years later. The full-grown bear was only about 3 feet tall . It looked like an adolescent brown bear cub with a golden stripe down its face. (Thus, the reason for its name--the Sunshine Bear.)

Next, we headed for the 82nd Airborne Division Museum. It took too long to find it as Google had not given me correct directions, nor had the guard at the entrance to the post. However, after prayer with the boys, we found it. (This would be an example of a time when I realized I should have prayed a lot earlier than I did because as soon as we prayed, we found it within one minute. Lesson learned.) While trying to find our destination, though, we happened to see a unit marching through the base. Their commanding officer was a woman, and we could hear her shouting, "Left....right....left, right, left." The cars all slow to a respectful crawl which gave us plenty of time to observe and snap a few photos.

The 82nd Airb0rne Museum is a museum dedicated to preserving the history of the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. This museum has lots of aircraft, tanks, helicopters, and guns outside. The boys loved inspecting them all! Anderson, being the history buff that he is, even explained some of the artillery to me.

Inside this museum, they have an area where mannequins are dressed as soldiers in various displays. The first display is in a darkened room which contains several U.S. soldier mannequins in a trench in the middle of battle where you hear the violent sounds of World War II. This made quite an impression on Anderson as he stood there for a long time, visualizing what it must have been like for those soldiers who dug themselves into dark and dirty trenches in unknown lands to fight for not only their own freedom but for the freedom of other nations. When we finished our tour of the museum, he returned to this spot, and I watched as he took it all in one last time.

Next, we left the base to head to downtown Fayetteville for The Airborne and Special Operations Museum. This museum is much larger than the others, and it is impressive. It has several sections, all of which retell the history of the Airborne and Special Operations units from pre-World War II, through the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, Dessert Storm, the war on terror, etc. There is so much history to be relived as you wander the aisles of this grand museum, but we did not have time to absorb even a fraction of it. Instead, we looked at the impressive displays, equipment, guns, soldiers, and even paused to watch clips from videos along the way. Bennett wanted to crawl on top of several of the displays, but we managed to keep him off for the most part.

At the end of our tour through the museum, we purchased tickets for a simulator ride! Bennett was so excited about riding on a "sim-e-yator" that when I told him what we were going to do, he loudly replied, "Wi-ye (Really), Mom? We get to go on a sim-e-yator?! Yea!!" Everyone in the 5,000 square foot lobby could hear as his giddy voice echoed off the five-story walls. He hugged me so tightly and told me over and over what a great day this had been and how he "yuved" me "foreva". In fact, he added, "I yuv you so much, Mom, I wi-ye (really), wi-ye, yuv you." However, when we fastened our seat belts on the simulator, he changed his mind and wanted to exit. I held his hand, told him he would love it, and he did! Within ten seconds after the ride began, he was entranced.

The simulator "provides visitors with an extreme taste of what the Army's finest are trained to do. " You get to experience what it is like to ride a Humvee, an army motorcycle, parachute out of a plane, and ride in an army helicopter. (The helicopter part of the simulator made me so nauseous that I had to put on my sunglasses and stare up and back at the exit sign. Whew! I was glad when that part ended. The boys were unfazed, of course.)

On our way back to Raleigh, we passed by a Krispy Kreme on Bragg Boulevard. The perfect way to end our trip, we agreed, was to make a pit stop for a few doughnuts. The "hot now" sign was not on (this is usually my motivation to stop--I love hot doughnuts), but the ten-minute delay in returning home was well worth it.

An hour later, we were home. Bennett napped most of the way home, and Anderson watched Star Wars (of course). As for me, I spent most of the ride home eating doughnuts and thinking about how thankful I am that I am Anderson's teacher this year. I am so grateful that God opened a door for me and gave me the courage to walk through it. Homeschooling isn't easy, but it is much easier than I anticipated. Yes, it is time consuming, but not nearly as time consuming as it is for him to attend school. The best part of homeschooling so far has been the time--the time spent with my boys, the time saved, the time I cannot ever recapture but can make the most of while it is here.