We were delighted to have Katie Kingery-Page and daughter Ruby usher us all to Italy on Sunday! Their pictures were delightful. Students had fun using a variety of stickers to mark pictures that involved… food… travel… and more! We got to taste bread and talked about how some customs in Italy were the same as Kansas and how some were different.
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 Finding food pictures |
 Ruby made pasta while in Italy! |
 Tasting bread |
 Italy has art! |
 Italy has turtles! |
 Family fun! |
Katherine Colburn took us on a tour of backpacking. She taught everyone a few different ways to cross a river (we practiced the eddy method), showed us topo maps, gear, and more. We set up a tent, purified our water, made potato pearls (yum), and roasted marshmallows on a camp stove. Then we looked at spectacular pictures of places we could go if we went backpacking in Wyoming. We had fun testing her boots, backpack, mosquito head net, sleeping bag, trekking poles, and tent.
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 Practicing the eddy method. |
 Examining topo maps. |
 Rose tries the mosquito head net |
 Julia tries the sleeping bag |
 Roasting marshmallows |
 Purifying water |
 Rose is ready to go! |
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Summer family fun at the water park!
Last Sunday Nick and Molly took everyone on a tour of Saint Louis. They talked about the importance of Saint Louis in river trade and the Gateway Arch and what it symbolizes. Then they talked about the Saint Louis City Museum (a must see for any family traveling through Saint Louis!) and watched a short go pro video about it and looked at some pictures. Everyone was excited and we made our own City Museum inspired tunnel! We used duct tape, corrugated plastic sheets, sharpies and some found objects. After the service Cade and June came and got to enjoy it, too!
Many thanks to Austin Roberts for snapping some pictures of the adventure.
On Sunday, Susan Adamchak took us on a tour of maps. LOTS of maps. She read a wonderful book called “My Map Book” by Sara Fanelli.
It had maps of the child’s bedroom, daily activities, family, and even the food in the child’s stomach! Susan gave everyone a map of Kansas and we found interesting markings showing where there are airports, parks, and cities. She showed us how to mark a map with pins to show where we’ve been. We even drew our own maps!
 Susan reads to us.
New York, New York! A city so nice they named it twice.
Lily Colburn took us on a tour of New York – mostly New York City, but up state as well. We played New York Bingo (idea courtesy of Ken Embers) and took a break when we got to the bagel square! Yum. Somehow the cheesecake square was called last and everyone had a bingo so we stopped to taste some cheesecake. At least one of us was surprised that it didn’t taste like cheese at all! And then that same someone wanted a second piece! Double yum.
 Bingo!
On Sunday we enjoyed talking about Washington D.C. and the Declaration of Independence. Then we tried our hand at writing with a quill and learned that it was not that easy. And then it was on to fireworks. After lessons about striking matches and fire safety, we thoroughly enjoyed our sparklers and colorful smoke bombs.
Many thanks to Larry Weaver and Dan Swenson for funding and hosting our annual canoe trip to Pillsbury Crossing. Many adults and children had a glorious time!
We also had a great Family Fun Campout at the Fellowship the night before. What a fantastic weekend!
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 All aboard! |
 Quick kayak lesson |
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 Paddling into shore |
 Paddling around |
 Paddling around |
 A little swimming |
 Dan and Kim talk shop |
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 Around the campfire |
 Lots of tents |
Many thanks to Mark Clarke for taking us on a tour of the International Space Station. We learned about being an astronaut. We were weightless for a microsecond as we all jumped into the air! We also made “rockets” that were propelled with our own breath.
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 ISS logo |
 Space Station |
 Nick |
 Mark helps with the rocket assembly. |
 Molly even got some cuddle time with baby Carl! |
 Piper and Jake |
Many thanks to Billy Mitchel for taking us on a tour of disc golf. We had a grand time!
First, he led the group in warm up activities and gave instruction for gripping, throwing, and course safety. Then we headed outside to try out our new found skill. Turns out, there’s a perfect tee-box at UUFM! It was hot, but we had a good time. Cool-down included disc-shape cookies! Billy graciously gave everyone a disc from his own collection so they could continue their new-found skills at home. Yay!
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 Warming up |
 Tee box! |
 Putting on the green |
 Arthur experienced course safety first hand |
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