Homeschooling fun

I'm running high school chemistry lab course for my kids this year, and, long story short, they got to do a tour of the Chemistry Department at Indiana University. It was a marvelous tour, ending with a popular chemistry demonstration:

It was tons of fun, with explosions, fires, and liquid nitrogen. No chemistry demo is complete without liquid nitrogen.

Then, a friend organized a field trip to Limberlost State Historic Park in Geneva, Indiana. I'd never heard of the author Gene Stratton-Porter before moving to Indiana, but we learned that she led a very interesting life. The house we toured was one she'd lived in in the early 1900s. It was beautiful but I think my husband and kids enjoyed the Loblolly Marsh that she used to visit even more. Our guide, Bill, an enthusiastic naturalist, did a nice job and endured the heat with us.

That reminds me, I don't know if my kids know how lucky they are. As homeschoolers, we're able to pick up and go anytime, anywhere. At the tender ages of 14 and 16, they've already been to about 46 of the 50 States, and 4 of the 10 Canadian provinces. We sure do enjoy our driving trips across the continent, but I'm going to keep reminding them that they're lucky, lucky kids. in so many ways.

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams