castle mcculloch photos

From the previous post, here are a few photos, thanks to "Nanny" (Anna, my sister).

castle mcculloch

Last month, Anderson revisited the subject of the earth's rocks and minerals in science. He had originally studied this in the third grade, but since this is a topic which interests him, and since we were going to next study fossils, I thought this study would be a great precursor to that.

So, after studying the layers of earth, minerals, gemstones, and rocks, there was no better field trip for us to take than to the Castle McCulloch in Jamestown, North Carolina.

The Castle McCulloch was once a gold refinery built by Charles McCulloch who was inspired by the architecture of his native England. This refinery housed the latest technological development in that time--the steam engine. McCulloch Gold Mill was built in 1832 and operated for many years as an integral part of the history of gold mining in North Carolina and in the nation. The gold rush in California lured miners west, and the "castle" eventually became a hospital for injured soldiers in the Civil War. Over the years, the property was abandoned and left to deteriorate until a man named Richard Harris purchased it for $1,500 and refurbished it. Now, Castle McCulloch is a beautiful property, ideal for parties, weddings, tours, and events. The castle itself is stunning, and the surrounding property with its streams, pond, forests and landscaping is breathtaking. I think this property must be especially beautiful in the fall with all of its rich, deep hues and textures.

We were able to "round up" at least fifteen people to join us on the field trip. My sister, Anna, who researched this location and thought it would be an ideal place for a field trip, joined us with her son, Jackson. My sister, Laura, bravely brought her three children (ages four, twenty-one months, and nine months), too. Then, Paul's cousin's wife, Heather, joined us with her children and friends, and our friend, Dawn, brought her daughters and mom, too. Because we had a group, the castle was opened to us outside of normal operating hours for just $8 per person if you mined for gemstones and $4 per person if you did not. So, from 11 am to 2 pm, we had the full attention of our tour guide as we explored.

First, we met in the small rocks and minerals museum on site. We were all able to take home a stone as a souvenir. Anderson chose fool's gold (pyrite), I chose a piece of amethyst, and Bennett chose a peacock stone that was exquisite--bright royal blue with metallic flecks in it.

Next, our tour guide took us to a huge rock quarry whose property is adjacent to the castle's site. That was a highlight of the tour for me as we had just studied the layers of earth, so having a close-up view of layers of rock which reached over 450 feet tall was a treat. There was a lookout point with railings (still made me a bit nervous with the kids, though) where we could stand and watch the excavations and rock breaking that was going on below. The equipment looked like they were the size of match box cars from our view. Eventually, when they have removed all they can from this area, they will fill this gigantic hole with water. As someone who used to jump off cliffs in high school at an old quarry, I never realized how very, very deep that water was. I only knew that none of us could ever find the bottom!

Next we ventured back to the castle where we saw the adjacent building used for parties and entertaining. They were built as replicas of the queen of England's tents. The chandelier was the largest of its kind in North Carolina, made of thousands of hand-picked crystals, and the glass which surrounded most of the building was recycled and done by hand.

We then followed a beautiful trail over a large wooden bridge that stretched over the place where the pond empties into a stream. Beyond the bridge was another bridge (which looked like a draw bridge) that led to the huge double doors of the castle. The castle looks like it has a moat around it! We toured the inside of the castle, with its beautiful hardwood floors, suits of armor, ornate woodworking, iron chandeliers, stone, and high ceilings. We also watched a fifteen minute video on the history of the castle.

Next, we went mining! We all were able to mine for gold and gemstones. Playing in the sand and water and finding these treasures were such treats for the boys. They found all kinds of stones--from emeralds, to amethysts, to pyrite, to rose quartz, to a variety of other stones.

We concluded our trip with lunch out by the pond under one of the tents on the property that is just by the bridge. It was peaceful and relaxing. It had been raining most of the day, but by this point, the earth was wet and silent. The boys were lethargic and still. It was a much-needed rest from a very busy day. But what fun!

I hope to post pictures very soon....I just have to get them from my sister since my camera's memory card was not in it--a discovery I did not make until after we arrived at the castle.

an afternoon at pullen park

As you can read from previous posts, we really love Fridays around here. Fridays are typically our field trip days. The week of Labor Day, we had to have school on Friday since we took Monday off. But, since we can finish school in a few hours, especially when we have tests (which we do at the end of the week), we were able to spend most of the day together as a family, just having fun.

After tests were completed, we ate lunch at Carolina Ale House. This restaurant is one of the boys' favorites because it has sports memorabilia and lots of tv's showing various sporting events. In fact, I think they walk in, fingers crossed, saying hail mary's with rosary beads in hand (and we're not even Catholic), praying that the hostess will seat us in the "NC State" section. Unfortunately, that section's booths were taken, so were relegated to the far-less-interesting, not nearly as visually appealing "Carolina" section. Ugh. The boys were not happy about that.

After lunch, we headed over to Pullen Park for some good ol' family time. The weather was beautiful--a late summer day with plenty of sunshine and temperatures which remind you that fall is indeed just a few weeks away--a truly perfect day to enjoy the outdoors.

First, we rode the train which encircles most of the park. It is the same train I loved to ride as a young girl; Actually, I still love to ride it! To be able to ride that same train with my children now brings such joy to my soul. It is the merging of my own childhood memories with the memories my boys are creating for themselves, right before my eyes. There's something so indescribably sweet and precious about that.

After the train ride, the boys and I played on the swings and monkey bars while Paul bought more tickets for the boys to ride the kiddie boats and the carousel. I was a bit sad to see that Anderson had outgrown the kiddie boats. He barely fit in them! But, he was willing to endure a cramped space with little leg room and a tinge of embarassment so that his brother could enjoy the ride. Bennett generally doesn't like to ride things like this without his big bro at his side.

We finished our day at the park with a ride on the carousel. Again, my boys enjoyed the same ancient, beautiful carousel that I rode as a child. I love that the operators allow the ride to last quite awhile. In fact, by the time the ride ended, I felt a bit queasy. Sadly, I am getting less amusement-park-ride-tolerant as I age. I want to change that!

I will probably write and say this so much that friends get tired of reading and hearing it, but I am so grateful that God led us to teach Anderson at home this year. It kinda reminds me of the credit card commercial...

The cost of homeschool materials--$300.

Weekly field trips--$25

Hours spent per week teaching and planning--20.

Number of chores left undone as a result--lots.

Good quality time with my children...

Priceless.

more museum pics

the fossil dig

As I mentioned in the previous post, we had a fossil dig in our sand box in the back yard on Wednesday. It was a beautiful, cool, fall-like day on Wednesday, ideal weather for an outdoor science experiment.

Since Anderson is studying fossils, I took him outside with containers of old playdough, a large spoon, salad tongs, and a cookie sheet. We explored our woods looking for objects that we could imprint in the playdough. This would demonstrate how an object can leave its mark in soil and rock that then hardens and can be studied thousands of years later. We found acorns, pine needles, pine cones, mushrooms, sticks, a snail, and leaves. We rolled out our playdough and placed each item firmly into it, leaving a clearly visible, distinct imprint. We then allowed the playdough to harden.

Next, I took several of those objects and buried them in our sandbox. Anderson had to carefully dig to find each of the objects without damaging them during his excavation. This demonstrated to him how scientists must be very careful, working tediously to recover fossils without damaging them.

Although we had plenty of unwanted help from our Golden Retriever, Hampton, and even though Bennett had a difficult time understanding why he couldn't just run his large truck all over the sandbox while "Bubba" was digging, we had a good time. Just being outside with my boys, basking in warm sunshine and cool breezes, was a gift to this teacher.

full days, fossils, field trips, and friday fun

It seems that my only time to blog is on the weekends. My weekdays are filled with school work, planning, cleaning, cooking, football practices, and playtime with the boys. Yes, my schedule is chock-full of various tasks, but I am so happy that we made the decision to teach Anderson at home this year. We are having fun!

This past week kept us very busy! With football practices, the first NC State home football game of the season, a doctor's appointment for both boys to have physicals and vaccinations, and a field trip planned, we wanted to have as little work to do as possible on Friday so we could go to the museum. I have learned that I must carefully plan our weeks as you have to complete a certain amount of work each day to not get behind. (And the perfectionist tendency in me does not want to ever be behind!) My goal is to try to finish school by the beginning of May to give Anderson a long break before he starts sixth grade next August. In order to do that, we work anywhere from three to five hours a day on school work, and lately it seems that our school day has extended from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm with a thirty minute break around 10:30 am.

On Monday, we had a very full, long day. I think it was our longest school day ever; we wrapped up our day by 2 pm, but it was necessary since the boys had their appointment with Dr. Britt (our favorite pediatrician) and a football practice on Tuesday, and I didn't want to have to work into the afternoon that day. Anderson and I are at our best in the morning hours, for sure. On Wednesday we had a beautiful fall-like day which was perfect for our fossil dig! I will write about that and post photos in the next blog. On Thursday, we had a full day of school followed by football practice and NC State's first home football game of the season. Sadly, we lost to South Carolina 7-3, but at least it was close. Thursday was Granddaddy Paul's birthday, so he and Ava (aka Grammy) spent the night with us after the State game so that Paul could take his dad to play golf for his birthday on Friday morning. So, on Friday morning, Grammy went with the boys, Jackson (my nephew who is in the second grade and is also homeschooled) and me to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. We have been to this museum several times, and we always enjoy it.

Since Anderson has been studying fossils and dinosaurs, I especially wanted us to see those particular exhibits that are there. They are fantastic! So much of what Anderson had learned about was on display, and since I had researched the exhibits before we went, I had him read about the Acrocanthosaurus, a dinosaur whose fossils are on display and were found in this part of the country. It is a dinosaur that was very similar to the T-Rex.

Even though we visited the museum to see the fossil and dinosaur exhibits, we enjoyed browsing the entire museum. Anderson liked the bugs and butterflies exhibits especially. We were able to have the butterfly house all to ourselves, and several butterflies lit on Anderson and Ava! Bennett was enthralled with the stuffed animals that are on display on the lower level of the museum, just past the entrace. He kept asking me to hold him as he looked at a large stuffed panther, an owl, a Bald Eagle, and the gigantic teeth of a Great White Shark. Whew! Were they huge!

After spending two full hours at the museum, we went to the City Market and ate at Big Ed's with my brother-in-law, Jordan who works downtown. Ava especially loved this old-fashioned restaurant that serves some delicious, old-fashioned, southern country cookin'! It was delicious, and the portion size was extra generous which is, I can only assume, in keeping with the namesake of the restaurant, Big Ed.

On Saturday, we went on a family bike ride on the American Tobacco Trail. My dad surprised me this week with a new bike of my own. I have not had my own bike since he and Mom gave me my ten-speed when I was a child. So, needless to say, I was so excited! We biked for eight miles, and during the ride, Anderson kept telling me he didn't feel well. As it turns out, he has a virus and has been sick all day today. Thankfully, he seems much better tonight. Prayers are being answered as we were very concerned he had the flu. Whatever it was, it appears God is taking care of it quickly for us, and we are grateful.

What a week! Thankfully we have the day off tomorrow to rest and prepare for another busy week to come. Labor Day is here, and summer officially ends. Fall.....here we come! Adventures await...