Saturday, September 27, 2014

Airplane/Airport School!


We took this week off from Five In A Row to do something different (I love that we CAN do this if we want to, ah, one of the beauties of homeschool...).  The kids and I are taking a trip on an airplane next week and in an attempt to prepare them for the whole experience, we spent the week learning about airplanes and airports (fellow airplane travelers, I did what I could...).


After doing our usual math, grammar and handwriting each day, we talked about the history of flight, how airports work, what happens when you take an airplane trip and all sorts of other airplane/airport related things.

 Working on that math!

 We also talked about Self-Control and went over our rules of the airplane. 


On our calendar board, I had pictures of JetBlue Airbus A-320s (what we will be flying), our airplane rules, our Self-Control verse and definition page, an airport scavenger hunt, a packing list and an airplane seating chart showing our seats (which isn't in the picture above...it must have walked off).

 Our calendar board for the week...


We practiced rolling our suitcases around...


And read lots and lots of books...

 Mommy, read this please?  Oh that face...of course, I will read you that book... for the 100th time...


Today, after our soccer game, we got to finish the week off with a trip to the Heart of Texas Air Show!  Of course the first thing my kids wanted to see were the fire trucks from a fire department a bit north of us.  We did learn that there is a jr. firefighter program that starts at age 15 and you can be a full-time firefighter starting at age 18, so if that's something LittleBear still wants to do when he gets older, there are definitely opportunities.  The firefighter giving us the tour encouraged him to really work on his math and chemistry skills...good to know!

LittleBear wearing it proudly...


 LadyBear trying on a helmet...


 Two Brown Bear Cubs together in a fire truck!

Helicopter!

Airplane!

Random train ride!


I don't think this part of the airport was open as part of the air show, but we stood outside the hangar and admired the airport fire trucks which LittleBear (along with the rest of us) has never seen this close before and has had great interest in seeing.

Fly, LittleBear, Fly!

So, it was a bit of a different week for us school-wise, but it went well and the air show at the end was a treat that I think everyone enjoyed.  We also read a lot of great books on taking an airplane trip and I think we're about as prepared as we can be...they were all well-read!

Here's the list we read:

All About Airplanes (featuring Backpack Jack) DVD
Planes by Byron Barton
Kevin Takes A Trip by Liesbet Slegers
Airplanes and Flying Machines by Gallimard Jeunesse
What Happens At An Airport? by Amy Hutchings
Flight 1-2-3 by Maria Van Lieshout
My First Airplane Ride by Patricia Hubbell
Richard Scarry's A Day At the Airport by Richard Scarry
We're Taking an Airplane Trip by Dinah L. Moche
The Airport by Patricia J. Murphy
My First Trip on an Airplane by Vic Parker
Airport by Byron Barton
How Did They Build That?  Airport by Matt Mullins
Flying by Donald Crews
Going On A Plane by Anne Civardi
The Noisy Airplane Ride by Mike Downs




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