All Saints Day Festivities

We had a wonderful time celebrating All Saints Day at the local parish with two other large homeschooling families. The kids all dressed up like a saint, we attended morning Mass, and then went over to a class room for some activities. We were very fortunate that Grammy and Paw-paw were even able to come with us.
All the kids did a great job sharing some information about the saint they were pretending to be. At the end of the morning we prayed the litany of the saint while taking a walk through the cemetery. We also shared some delicious snacks and candy. I think all the kids really enjoyed themselves...and they looked so cute!

All Hallow's Eve Fun/ Fall Parties

Little Bo Peep and Spider Man at the Cub Scout party.
The cowgirls with Aunt Olivia.
Our little pumpkin in a pot of boiling water while our chef stirs up some tasty treats with his own pot.
The seven trick or treaters with Paw-paw.
At T's cub scout Fall party playing spooky bingo.

Due to road construction/detours and gas prices, we haven't been able to be as involved in our home school group as we have in the past. So, this year we did not get to go trick-or-treating at the Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home. Instead we attended the cub scout party with T's den, a trunk or treat at the parish where we go to daily Mass, and a 4-H trick or treating event with Nana, Aunt Olivia, Grammy, and Paw-paw. We were rather busy celebrating the season.

Fun Times in Town

A few weeks ago, we attended a fiber arts festival at the fairgrounds. I didn't take very many pictures, but we saw lots of neat things while there. The kids were able to see and pet angora goats, lamas, and alpacas. Venders were spinning wool and different fibers while some were knitting or felting. The above picture is of a man we spoke to who was weaving on a small loom. This festival was timely since the girls and I are starting to take up some more crafts. We will soon be learning how to knit from a friend of ours. M is really excited and can hardly wait to get started.

After the fiber festival, we went to a free event sponsored by a local Christian church. The kids were able to enjoy a free petting zoo, jumpy castle, large slide, cotton candy, popcorn, and a few games before the crowd and all the noise was just too overwhelming for us. Dear hubby and I took the kids to redeem their free kids meals at Chik-fil-A instead of fighting the crowd anymore. I think they enjoyed the little play area there even more.

Johnny Appleseed Fun

The local state park has been really welcoming to homeschoolers. They even have a "Young Adventurers" activity program specifically for the homeschooling community in our area to teach some lessons on science and history. They recently had a program on Johnny Appleseed. The naturalist discussed John Chapman's life and the importance of his contributions to our state, agriculture, and the first pioneers. I found the lesson very informative and interesting. It was a great follow-up to our library research we did as a part of our state history unit. The kids did apple carving as a fun follow-up activity to the lesson. These are a few pictures documenting our afternoon. The kids really enjoyed the great fall weather and the hike we took afterward, as well.