Creation

Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."

Ask Micah what his favorite verse is and he'll start reciting this. I think it's just because this was the first verse he learned. Or maybe it's because he learned this verse before Grady Lee and he likes bragging rights. 

We visited another local museum and spent a few hours looking at animals from all over the world. The boys ran from window to window asking what each animal was, what it ate, where it lived, and what noise it made.

They even got pretty good at figuring out which animal was a Daddy and which was a Mommy. "Daddy animals are bigger and stronger and have sharper teeth. Sometimes they have horns on their head, too."

We spent most of our time in The Naturalist Center. The boys couldn't get enough. Not only were there big, stuffed animals to see and touch...

... there were drawers and drawers and drawers of small animals to see and touch! Fish, birds, reptiles, bones, antlers - you name it and it was there. (Should I mention that there was also a drawer of, ahem, "droppings" and that my boys were quite fascinated with this?)

Talk about a hands-on lesson in science and creation! The boys studied skins and bones up close and personal. The drew what they discovered. The told me which of the five senses they were using to make observations about each animal.

And the best part? When a museum volunteer asked my boys which animal was their favorite, Grady Lee replied with, "They are all my favorites because God created all of them and he called everything good!"

Annalyse sat and smiled and gurgled and was her usual happy self. It was everything I could do to keep Grady Lee and Micah from handing her bones and feathers and skins to touch and chew on. "I just want her to feel how soft this chipmunk is, Mom."

My mind is already thinking forward to elementary age science - think of all the fun this room holds for learning! I think that the best kind of learning sometimes happens when it seems like play and discovery rather than quiet listening and reading.

After spending an hour in The Naturalist Center, I convinced the boys to leave and explore the rest of the museum. There were children's exhibits to play on, puzzles to do, balls to roll, water to splash, buttons to push, and levers to pull.

By 1:30 I was tired and ready to go. The boys, however, weren't. 

I hope the museum staff and volunteers took it as a compliment to their great exhibits while they listened to my boys cry and wail that they didn't want to go. I can assure you, we did not leave quietly.