Field Trip Scrapbooking

We're going through a homeschool metamorphosis this year. At some point I realized that we were spending a lot of time and energy just trying to get through the material without losing it and experiencing very little enjoyment and excitement over new information and acquired skills. Next year we'll be shifting what we do and how we do it and possibly switching over to year-round school (gasp). One of my goals/hopes is to get more joy out of learning for all of us. I've already made some attempts to shift the scales with some project focused learning.




One of our new undertakings is scrapbooking our field trips. We usually come home with great pictures, brochures, free kid stuff, stickers, etc. What better way to put everything together than in a scrapbook. Thanks to Grandma, the boys already had scrapbooks ready to house their work.

We started our adventure with a trip to the Carrizo Plain. These flat lands out east of us are the home of solar farms and the Carrizo Plain National Monument. There are some pretty great things to do out there - although, you wouldn't know it to drive into the area. The visitor center has lotsa info. and maps about the area's wildlife and sites - an amazing springtime wildflower display (seasonal and dependent on the rain), a Native American trail to Painted Rock, a hike to the San Andreas fault, and Soda Lake - a usually dried up lake that's left behind a baking soda like substance, along with salt and other minerals.

The "lake" looks like a huge expanse of snow offering gorgeous views. Driving in we got to see several whirlwinds drifting across the white expanse. So very cool. When the boys found out we could get down and explore the lake their hearts were set on going, so that's where we focused our energies after we left the visitor center. We'll have to go back another time to see some of the rest of the sites. It's a great place to revisit.

By the way, these types of outdoor explorations are perfect for my kiddos. They're not the "sit in nature and sketch" type of guys. They're the "leap off of rocks and put your hands in the mud" kinda dudes. We spent way more time out on the lake than we did in the well-put-together, but confining, visitor center. All that to say, go with trips, sites, and activities that work best for your kiddos.

The kids loved walking on the lake (this is as close to snow as they're gonna get) and had fun picking up big clumps of minerals and seeing the crystallized salt underneath.

The boys also had fun reliving their experience and highlighting their favorite parts of the trip for their scrapbooks. We loaded our pictures onto the computer and the boys picked out which ones they wanted to print out for their books.




Ezra also cut out pictures from the guide pamphlet we picked up and drew some of the wildlife he saw stuffed at the visitor center.




Mateo put his photos in chronological order and then wrote down a detailed description of our whole day.

This weekend the hubster is taking the guys to see a dinosaur exhibit. They are beyond excited. Can't wait to see what they put in their books!