Washington, DC

Last week was spring break where we live right now, and even Daddy got a few days off. We took advantage of the break to visit Aunt S and Uncle J in DC. In homeschooling terms, this means we had two and half days of American history intensive, a day of science, and an afternoon of art appreciation along with a slew of life skills lessons sprinkled along the way.

All aboard! We managed to score facing seats with a table!

The adventure started with the life skills of packing for the trip (I check their stuff, but I don't pack for them) and experiencing a seven hour ride in a passenger train followed by changing trains a time or two in the Metro, then walking several several blocks to S and J's apartment at midnight.

History lesson at the WWII Memorial

The next day we hit the ground running and visited Arlington National Cemetery, since it was relatively close by. We had a serious talk with the girls about what this place was and what behavior was appropriate, and that it was a strong reminder that freedom isn't free. (That phrase became something of a theme for much of the trip.) We visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to watch the changing of the guard, and on the way back out found a good viewpoint for impressing upon them the seemingly endless lines of white stones. We took closer looks at a number stones to talk about what information was on them, and who was buried (many spouses and a few children along with all the service members). From there we visited the National World War II Memorial. We spent a long time talking about the symbolism in the memorial and looking for Kilroy (we found him!). On our way to lunch we made a point of walking by the White House to show the girls where the President and his family live. After lunch we hit the National Air and Space Museum. The hands-on exhibit was extremely crowded, but Daddy managed to explain the basic physics of flight before heading into the historical exhibits. The displays of space

Each of the girls got to sit in the cockpit
of a small plane.

suits and space craft were probably the most popular and the Wright Brothers exhibit a close second. The exhibit about WWI aircraft included a small theater showing old Hollywood movie clips featuring flyboys. (The girls got to sit in the quiet and rest their little legs, and Goose even caught a 10 or 15 minute power nap.) On our walk back to the Metro, Monkey in particular regained a sudden burst of energy when we suggested we stop in at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. We made the guards very nervous, but the girls loved it. (Neither Daddy or I are big fans of modern art, but Monkey adores it, so of course we had to visit.)

We referred to our next morning of sight seeing as Monuments with Marines." Very shortly into our visit to the National Mall we crossed paths with a large group of Marines running in formation to visit the monuments and memorials. They would stop at each memorial, and their leader would give the typical tourist information at full volume with the standard military pseudo-profanity thrown in. We ran into them a few times as they crisscrossed the Mall (they were easy to track since they were calling cadence), and I got some neat pictures. We walked a long way that morning and were able to see and discuss all of these memorials:

The top of the Washington Monument is
up there somewhere!

Washington Monument
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
Lincoln Memorial
Jefferson Memorial
FDR Memorial
MLK Memorial
Memorial for the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
United States Navy Memorial

We had lunch at the National Museum of the American Indian (Indian tacos ... yum!) We examined the displays of different types of traditional boats used by American Indians, and then thoroughly examined an exhibit of American Indian children's artifacts (clothes, toys, games, etc.). The girls were fascinated. On our way to our next destination we took a quick walk (and a rest on a bench) in the National Art Gallery's Sculpture Garden. The last thing on our agenda that day was the National Archives. Highlights included: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Emancipation Proclamation, and one of George Washington's notebooks. We also stopped for a bit to watch clips of 1920s industries (steel, paper, etc.) and old military recruiting ads.

For the next day of our visit, Daddy and I took off for a long day trip to visit the likely town of his next PCS. It was a highly productive visit, but would have been excruciatingly boring for the entourage. Instead they stayed with Aunt S and Uncle J in DC and visited the National Museum of Natural History and the National Zoo. The girls were very excited about the butterfly garden and insect exhibit at the Natural History Museum, and any zoo is always a hit with this crew--they were especially keen to tell us about the teeny tiny monkeys (marmosets perhaps?) and the panda bears.

Our final day in DC we focused on two major museums. We toured the National Museum of American History in the morning and spent most of our time in The Price of Freedom: Americans at War. After all the topics we covered in our history studies and just touring the monuments this was a great way to give them a clearer timeline of events. They mostly focused on the changes in fashion and technology through time, but we spent an unexpectedly long time sitting on a bench in front of the recreated Berlin Wall answering questions about it and the Cold War. We spent the afternoon at the National Art Gallery. Usually the entourage takes in art museums at breakneck speed, and they want to see it all. This visit was distinctly different. The girls had been studying artists recently (Picasso, Degas, and Monet in particular), so they really wanted to see the Impressionists exhibit and they wanted to study each paintings individually to find out the title and artist and to compare it to other works by the same or different artists. Their behavior and enthusiasm so impressed one of the guards that he took the time to compliment them to Daddy and say how much fun it was to watch them.

The girls loved running around on this massive map!