Homeschool - Las Vegas-Style

My husband had a conference at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada this week and we decided to join him.  We always struggle a bit with this location as it is IMPOSSIBLE to shield our children from the constant barrage of worldly (often downright sinful) influences of the city, but we always go with a clear plan of action to avoid any unnecessary situations.

My mission this trip was to make it the most educational experience possible.  With some online research in advance, I was able to find some really neat opportunities for learning.  I brought some of our regular reading curriculum to supplement our 'field trip'.

We started our first day with a visit to Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat.  These beautiful gardens feature white lions, white tigers, leopards and panthers.  The Dolphin Habitat houses a large family of Bottlenose Dolphins.  The dolphin habitat is designed for observation and educational purposes.  The kids enjoyed the experience and did learn several interesting facts from the brochure that was provided and the short narratives given by the trainers.  David was disappointed that there wasn't a show or animal performances like at Sea World and Sarah wished that the cats were available for viewing during the nocturnal hours when they would be more active (it closes at 6 p.m. and we missed it the evening we arrived).

Later that day, we visited the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art to see A Sense of Place: Landscapes from Monet to Hockney.  This exhibit featured more than 30 world-class artworks.  A complementary docent tour provided additional background information and helped us learn to observe intricacies such as lighting and perspective when observing the paintings and photographs.  A particularly interesting work of art titled Montagne Sainte Victoria by Vik Muniz was composed from powdered pigments which were then photographed.  This work of art was also recreated completely from flowers and other plants in the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens---It was remarkable!

Floral version of Montagne Sainte Victoria by Vik Muniz

The last lesson took place at BODIES...The Exhibition at The Luxor Hotel & Casino.  Sarah felt the exhibit was 'disturbing' while David found it to be 'cool'.  The exhibit featured over 200 actual bodies and specimens, dissected and displayed in a respectful manner.  The revolutionary polymer preservation process retains the look of the original anatomical specimens, but appears rubber-like.  We toured eight of the nine rooms which were divided according to systems such as Skeletal, Muscular, Circulatory, etc.  We saved the ninth, the Reproductive System and Fetal Development Room for another day, based on age-based recommendations that were provided.  There was an emphasis on making healthy lifestyle choices, for example, by showing a healthy lung and a smoker's lung side-by-side.  We learned that for every pack of cigarettes that a person smokes, he takes 3 hours and 40 minutes off his life!  At the end, David and I got to touch kidney and lung specimens---WOW!!!  David wished for more hands-on experiences while Sarah wished to get the heck out of there ASAP!!!  There are wonderful teacher's guides, available upon request, for free here.  We are going to use these at home as a follow-up to our trip.

Upon our return, we resumed reading one of our Chinese literature selections titled Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze.  We happened upon an ancient piece of advice befitting much of what we had observed in Las Vegas:  "He Who Rides on a Tiger Cannot Dismount."  Indeed, we decided that bad choices entrap us.  They are like a tiger, who once mounted, will become angry and dangerous to dismount.  We vowed to pray for those in that city who were ensnared by sinful choices and to be vigilant ourselves.

Our mission to make our trip one of educational value and fun times was achieved.  We had a great time of learning, fun and relaxation.  If you have the opportunity to make a trip to Las Vegas, don't hesitate!

We had fun too!!!

SpongeBob Squarepants 4D Special FX Ride at the Excalibur Hotel

Loving Baseball!

Rejoice!!!  It's World Series time and the Texas Rangers are one game away from winning it all!!!  There is NOTHING better than baseball!!!  Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating just a bit.  One thing is for sure...I LOVE BASEBALL!!!

I do come by it naturally.  Growing up in Milwaukee, I spent many hours of my youth at Milwaukee County Stadium watching the Brew Crew.  Those were the days when we still had double-headers and Opening Day was an official holiday---or maybe just a good excuse for skipping school;)  I was a teenager when I discovered that I did love a man in uniform...a baseball uniform, that is;)  What sweet memories!

Fast forward to the mid-'80s, when I met the man of my dreams who (of course) loved baseball too.  Never mind that he was a Rangers fan...he promised to love the Brewers too, so what's a girl to do?  Our courtship included many happy times at the ball park.  Many evenings spent watching the Texas Rangers at Arlington Stadium and eventually a couple of  'Baseball Road Trips'.  We traveled to see the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Midland Angels, San Antonio Missions, Tulsa Drillers, Oklahoma City 89ers, and the El Paso Diablos.  We almost made it to see the St. Louis Cardinals, but that's another story for another day.  Perhaps the best memory was our 22-hour straight drive to Milwaukee to watch Nolan Ryan pitch his 300th win.   We even had cameos on WFAA-TV (ch. 8) out of D/FW and an ESPN MLB promo!!!

Wrigley Field - It's magic!

Terry making his sign for Nolan's 300th win in Milwaukee

Representing Texas at Milwaukee County Stadium - July 31, 1990

Today, my baseball journey is better than ever because we have discovered that our son is completely and totally OBSESSED with baseball.  Oddly enough, we were not the parents that had our son equipped with a glove and a bat before he could walk.  We didn't even get him started in tee ball or machine-pitch.  In fact, we waited until he was 10 years old to get him into organized Senior Midget Fall Ball.  We gave him the opportunity to try almost every sport first and then he chose baseball.  PRAISE THE LORD!!!  Lucky for me because it's the only sport that I understand;)  It's the sport that my husband will never get tired of.  Even my dear daughter finds sitting on the sidelines somewhat tolerable (she's 13, after all).

I have to admit that I had feared organized ball because of the stories that I had heard about out-of-control parents, tyrannical coaches and all the nasty political machinations that seem to go with the territory.  It is my opinion that each of these issues do play out in Central Texas at every game...just sayin'.  However, we were blessed to find Alliance Baseball.  Their mission is to bring integrity back to baseball.  What an amazing experience we have had.  This is an organization which will make a lasting impact on the game and I am proud that my son is a part of it.  BTW, Alliance 10U earned bronze medals after a 10-2 season.  This group came a long way in a short time. 

Still love a man in a baseball uniform---my little man, #9 (front, left)

So, for now, we're ALL ABOUT BASEBALL!  GO RANGERS!  GO ALLIANCE!

God Bless America and God Bless Baseball!!!