Jennifer Lambert

A Sacred Balance

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Fort Ancient Archaeology Park

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Fort Ancient Archaeology Park offers exploration and learning both indoors and out. Visitors will enjoy watching an introductory film in the indoor theater, viewing artifacts and learning about the history of the Village and its inhabitants in the Interpretive Center, and immersing themselves in the 800-year-old lifestyle by visiting the reconstructed structures, located in their original, exact locations.

The indoor museum teaches about Ohio native peoples and how European white people came for trade and decimated the native populations. It’s very accurate.

There are lots of artifacts that are family-friendly like clothing, musical instruments, and toys.

Native houses and a garden are in the courtyard.

We attended a special event last year to learn about native food.

Our Boonshoft membership is reciprocal.

Guides taught us about native foods – growing, preparing, and preserving.

We tasted some stew with hominy and bear meat.

Native foods and preserving

There are lovely hiking trails along the river.

There are events all year round for families to learn about the area and the native peoples who inhabited this area.

We’re excited for summer field camp!

Fort Ancient Archaeology Park Hours and Admission

April–November
Tuesday-Saturday
9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Sunday: noon-5:00 p.m.
Closed on Mondays

December–March
Saturday
9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Sunday: noon-5:00 p.m.
*Closed Monday-Friday, except by appointment

Closed: New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Easter

Adults $7.00
Seniors (60+) 6.00
Students (6-17) $6.00
Members are always FREE!

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Boonshoft Museum of Discovery

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Our favorite event every month is the Boonshoft Homeschool Day.

It’s the first Thursday of the month from September through May.

Boonshoft Museum of Discovery

I purchase a membership each year since we all attend the homeschool days each month and it pays for itself in two sessions.

My middle girls attended invitation only Summer Field Camp and loved it.

There are homeschool science activities all day long. The earlier activities are geared for younger kids.

We like to show up for the 1:30 Do Lab activity.

They usually have stations set up at lab tables around the theme of the day. My kids like to learn together.

Safety first!

We’ve learned about ponds.

They have great equipment we don’t otherwise have access to, like microscopes.

The kids have learned about coding and robotics.

We’ve learned about African American inventors and their inventions.

We’ve learned about Native American history and archaeology.

We like chemistry and physics.

Testing water salinity from the pond.

We all shocked pennies and watched them change color.

Biology is not a favorite.

Bone density day was ok.

We dissected eyeballs and a heart for the last homeschool day last year!

After the 1:30 Do Lab, there are often animal meet and greets at 2:15 and science theatre at 3:30.

Boonshoft offers a small zoo, StarLab, hands-on science exhibits, special exhibits, NOVA weather station, archaeology exhibits, space exhibits, a children’s museum with a fun playground, treehouse birdwatching, pond and walking paths through the woods. There are fun special events throughout the year.

Boonshoft is a fun afternoon for our whole family!

Hours

Monday – Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: Noon – 5:00 p.m.

Admission

Children (3-17) $11.50
Adults $14.50
Seniors (60+) $12.50
Children (under 3) Free
DSNH Members are FREE

Check for discounts and deals or how to become a member.

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Corn Maze

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The kids wanted to do some fun fall activities.

It’s getting harder the older they get. Most of the fun things seem to be for little kids.

We went to the homeschool day at Pot-Luck Greenhouse.

We went for the corn maze. It was ok. It was near our house, and we went through a couple times. There were activity books.

We’re already lost!

I have this same shot when Alex was 18 months old in Utah!

I love this shot of the bridge!

Fun games!

We took a hay ride to choose pumpkins. They were already cut, to my kids’ disappointment.

 

Our Other Fall Field Trips:

Black Island Farms in Utah

Sunshine Pumpkin Farm in Germany

Appel Happel in Germany

 

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Dayton Art Institute

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The Dayton Art Institute is a great beginner art museum for people of all ages.

It’s small and doesn’t take long to go through. There are some important examples of art for every era.

For military families, DAI is FREE all summer long. Students and kids are always FREE.

My teen daughter and I visited to check it out.

We were a little silly.

Some of our favorites:

Visit DAI:

REGULAR HOURS
MONDAYClosed
TUESDAYClosed
WEDNESDAY11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
THURSDAY11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
FRIDAY11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
SATURDAY11 a.m. – 5 p.m
SUNDAYNoon – 5 p.m.
Leo Bistro is now open!

MUSEUM ADMISSION
Suggested general admission to the museum’s collection galleries:

  • Adults: $8
  • Seniors, Groups & Active Military: $5
  • Members, Students, & Youth: FREE

NOTE: Special exhibitions, programs and events may carry an additional admission charge.

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Spark Art

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We are so thrilled to have found Spark Art Studio.

As a home educator, I don’t usually outsource my kids’ education. I can teach art history just fine.

But hands-on arts and crafts is something I often skip at home. While I absolutely love art, I fail in the actual hands-on part of art. I don’t like the setup, research, mess, or cleanup. I don’t have the time, talent, supplies, space, or aptitude. I don’t feel I do art justice or often enough.

These classes are worth every single penny.

The homeschool classes encompass all sorts of fabulous art techniques and art history.

Miss Jamie really goes all out with getting the kids involved in the process and creating amazing and fun projects.

I love this sign that hangs in their waiting room:

Sometimes when we arrive a few minutes early, I overhear the interaction with the previous class. I just love the kindness in Miss Jamie’s voice as she ever so gently guides the toddler and baby in their art exploration, play, and projects. Their mother also is exemplary in her respectful tone and words with her young children. They both are such role models!

I’ve never heard Miss Jamie get exasperated with a child. She must have the patience of a saint!

My kids adore Miss Jamie and the homeschool art class.

Here’s a lovely tribute wall to her mom:

I will sacrifice in other areas of our budget to ensure my kids get their art on.

Spark Art just moved to a new and improved permanent location and it’s just wonderful.

I’ve been so very impressed with all the incredible art my kids have learned about and created each week.

The kids loved making prints and learning about lithographs.

They learned about the Huichol people in Mexico and made some inspired texture designs.

Miss Jamie often gives me neat printouts of the artists and art history for me to bring home for my files. I love that.

I have no interest in glitter.

One of my favorites are these drip paint pieces. I sprayed them with polyurethane and mounted them on our wall.

I also love these circles paintings. I plan to frame those and hang them.

The kids really enjoyed making clay sculptures.

They learned about Helen Frankenthaler one week and painted these amazing rubber band boards. They’re still being stored on the shelf to dry.

They’ve learned about story book illustrators, painters, performance artists, sculptors, and pop art. 

They’ve worked on stop motion videos, anime, drawing, painting.

I love the variety.

Each homeschool class includes a lesson and/or story and often up to 3-4 projects!

There are classes for everyone!

You can order a whole session of 5 weekly classes or do a drop-in to see if you love it. (You will.)

  • Mommy and Me
  • Preschoolers
  • After School
  • Teens
  • Homeschoolers
  • Adults

There are special holiday workshops, Scouts events, and birthday parties!

The lineup for summer camp looks amazing.

If you live in the Dayton, OH, area…you must visit Spark Art Studio!

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