Bekah's Senior Trip

A few weeks ago, we took our final "Senior Trip," a tradition in our homeschool that started out rather unintentionally, but became something of a rite of passage for each of our high schoolers. 

Here is how our Senior Trip tradition began:

The summer before Kristin, our oldest child, was a senior, we decided to take a family vacation to Niagara Falls. It is something that we had been wanting to do for a while. But we suddenly realized that this particular year (1997) should be the year because who knew if we'd have the opportunity  to travel together after Kristin graduated?

Kristin's Senior Trip to Niagara Falls, 1997
(We do not know the lady wearing the red shirt. 😄)

So two years later as Ryan was heading into his senior year, we asked him if there was anywhere that he would like to go. He chose a trip to Skyline Drive, Luray Caverns, and Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.

Ryan's Senior Trip, on Skyline Drive, 1999

Between Kati's junior and senior year, she spent the whole summer living with Ryan and his family in northern California. They traveled some while she was there, including a camping trip to Crater Lake in Oregon. Even though we did not share this experience with her, we considered it her senior trip!

Kati at Crater Lake, 2010

And now, of course, Bekah is a senior!

When you are the baby of the family (and that family has an age span of nearly 21 years!), there are  plenty of things that your older siblings have done that you have not!

You've never been to an amusement park, Bekah? Are you sure? 

Remember the time we went to the Museum of Natural History? Oh, you've never been there? 

You mean you haven't done      fill-in-the-blank   ?

Oops.

So when it came time for Bekah to choose a senior trip, she wanted to stay closer to home and grab some of the experiences that she had only heard about! And she didn't want day trips. She wanted to hang out in the big city (cities) and fill the days. We were going to visit museums . . . as many as we could do in three days!

On Day One, we visited the National Aquarium in Baltimore, located on the beautiful Baltimore Harbor. When we arrived, we were surprised to learn that we qualified for "Maryland Mornings," a limited time offer in which Maryland residents who purchase their tickets before noon on Monday through Friday receive a substantial discount. Yay!

A view of Baltimore Harbor, seen from a window in the National Aquarium
Photo by Kati

We spent our day exploring exhibits of a tropical rain forest, coral reefs, and "extreme" creatures of Australia. We saw jelly fish, puffins, a sea turtle, and rays. We watched a dolphin training demonstration. We all loved the multi-story shark tank where you see several species of sharks (and other fish) swimming up close! 

Photo by Kati

Photo by Kati

After we left the Aquarium, we meandered across the foot bridge over to a large Barnes and Noble . . . not for the books, I'm afraid, but for some cold, liquid (and caffeinated) refreshment at their Starbucks cafe!

Photo by Kati

On Day Two, we went into Washington, D. C. via the Metro. Bekah had big plans for that day. She wanted to tour three different museums!

Photo by Kati

We began at the International Spy Museum, this one new to all of us, not just the "baby." We spent several hours learning about the world of espionage through exhibits about disguises, famous spies, codes, and much more. There was also an entire section dedicated to the fictional James Bond. My favorite part of the museum was the gallery called "The Secret History of History" where we learned how spy activity impacted history, from Moses to the Trojan horse, from Harriet Tubman to Elizabeth I.

Photo by Kati

From the International Spy Museum, we went to the Museum of Natural History. Bekah had researched the galleries ahead of time, and had chosen the ones that she wanted to visit. We explored the Mammals exhibit and the Ocean Hall on the first floor. (I am still amazed at how evolution theory is presented as fact in the exhibits at this museum. Perhaps I shouldn't be, but I am. Yet another reason that I am glad that we homeschooled our children!) 

Photo by Kati

Upstairs, we spent some time at the Live Insect Zoo, which made Kati happy! (She loves creepy crawlies.) We made a quick pass by the mummies and the dinosaurs, and we saw the Hope Diamond. The girls had gotten (free) tickets to walk through the Live Butterfly Pavilion, but the time slot they had would have meant that we would miss the last museum on the list for Day Two. We let Bekah make the call and she reluctantly chose to move on.

Photo by Kati

Our last stop of the day was the National Air and Space Museum. Due to limited time, we made sure to prioritize the things we most wanted to see, but we ended up seeing quite a bit! We began with The Wright Brothers & the Invention of the Aerial Age, but we saw The Spirit of St. Louis and we  visited galleries on Early Flight, How Things Fly, Sea-Air Operations, World War II Aviation, and the Great War in the Air.

Photo by Kati

While looking at the WWII planes, Bekah asked me a question about one of the planes. While I struggled over an answer, she said, "No. I'll ask Dad." 🤣

Dad supplying a knowledgeable answer. 

Day Three took us back into DC. Our first stop (which also ended up being our last) was the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Ron and I had been to the museum before, but this was a first visit for both Kati and Bekah.

There is so much that could be said about this museum. It is incredibly, incredibly moving . . . from beginning to end. It mind-boggling to see the rather rapid evolution from tolerance to persecution to  absolutely unspeakable horror. It was a somber visit. Much to learn, much to ponder.

Photo by Kati

One of the most meaningful parts of the museum for me was the little theatre area on the second floor where you can watch a video of Holocaust survivors sharing their own stories. (You can actually see some of these interviews . . . and more . . .  ~here~. Heartbreaking and inspiring.)  

Photo by Kati

We had planned to visit the Museum of the Bible on this trip, but we spent a great deal of time at the Holocaust Museum and we had hoped to leave the city before rush hour. We made a quick decision to return for a day trip sometime this spring.

Although our first "senior trip" was a happy accident, these became a meaningful part of our children's high school experience. Senior trips were something to look forward to. They were a rite of passage. They were meaningful times to spend together as a family. And they were times to make happy memories. 

A senior trip was another way of finding joy in the homeschool journey!

Homeschooling: Field Trip to Annapolis

One of the joys of eclectic homeschooling is the freedom to follow rabbit trails!

During the art portion of Morning Time this school year, we had learned about Rembrandt and James McNeill Whistler. (As an aside, our study of Whistler was surprisingly fun! I knew Whistler only as the painter of Whistler's Mother which I saw as austere. But Whistler himself was far from austere! Watch this documentary to learn more.) We needed to choose another artist to finish out the year. 

Our history studies have taken us to the Colonial period and we did an overview of the founding of each of the thirteen colonies. As we learned about our own state of Maryland, I remembered a book I had read with my older children about the early American portrait painter from Maryland, Charles Willson Peale. So I went to our own shelves and pulled out Painter of Patriots by Catherine Owens Peare. (I had purchased my own copy of this out-of-print biography a few years back.)

George Washington at the Battle of Princeton by Charles Willson Peale

Charles Willson Peale, prolific painter, businessman, politician, and naturalist, was born in Chestertown, Maryland. His father died when Charles was ten years old. The family moved to Annapolis, a wealthier town with a better market for his mother's beautiful embroidery work, and Peale spent the remainder of his childhood and a good portion of his adulthood there.

As we read, I began to wonder if there was not something in Annapolis that we could visit . . . perhaps a childhood home, perhaps a workplace, perhaps a public display of one of his paintings. A quick internet search led me to Hammond-Harwood House, "The Jewel of Annapolis," which has a substantial collection of Peale paintings.

So on a picture perfect May day, we enjoyed Colonial history, art history, and good eats on a visit to our state's capital, Annapolis!


Here, Bekah stands in front of Maryland's State House. Did you know that this building actually served as the capital for the brand new United States, from November 1783 to to August 1784? It is also the oldest state house in America still in continuous use.

Downtown Annapolis has beautiful brick sidewalks and streets, lovely old buildings rich with history, and charming shops and cafes.

We ate a delicious lunch at Harry Browne's (a crab cake sandwich for me, a "Capital Burger" for Ron, and a roasted chicken panini for Bekah),

with a fabulous view of the State House right outside our window!

At Hammond-Harwood House, we visited an exhibit area while waiting for our tour to begin. There were several portraits painted by Charles Willson Peale, including this one of Mr. Thomas Anderson. This is the only Peale painting that I photographed, because I didn't learn until the end of the house tour that non-flash photography was permitted.

As our tour began, the docent told us that this is one of the most photographed doors in America! The architecture of the Hammond-Harwood house is amazing, a five-part Anglo-Palladian house built in 1774. (Read ~here~ for more about the architecture and construction of the house.)

This view of the Hammond-Harwood House (not my photo) shows all five parts of the home and reveals the symmetry that is a hallmark of Anglo-Palladian architecture. 

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Can you believe that these boxwoods in the back garden were planted in 1825?!

At this point, we were well into the tour. I have no pictures of the entire downstairs . . . dining room, parlor, entry, colonial floorcloth, beautiful furnishings (a large collection of John Shaw originals) and art.

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My photo is fuzzy, but I love the coverlet and the fabric in these bed hangings!

Brick floors in the kitchen.

Be still my colonial heart! I love this stepback cupboard!

Back outside, our docent pointed us to something of interest. Jeremiah Loockerman apparently carved his initials in an exterior brick back in 1829!

(Hmmm . . . over 150 years later, our own son carved his pseudonym on a brick at our house! There is nothing new under the sun, I suppose.)  😁

Jeremiah Loockerman's initials, circa 1829

Ryan's pseudonym, circa 1990

After the tour, it was on to Fox Books.

F. O. X.

If you've watched You've Got Mail, you get the reference. (It's really "Old Fox Books" but we edited out the "Old" to make it fit.)

And coffee time at Brown Mustache Coffee. What a great way to end a field trip!

I love how our little rabbit trail into the life of artist Charles Willson Peale let to more "trails" of learning! We "met" other artists in the biography (Benjamin West, John Singleton Copley). We learned more about our state's colonial history. We learned about our state house. (We'd like to tour it next time around.) We learned about Andrea Palladio and Palladian architecture. We learned about John Shaw, colonial cabinet maker. We even learned a tidbit about horticulture! (Who knew that boxwoods could live for two hundred years?!)

Don't be afraid to follow rabbit trails, homeschool mom! You never know what you'll turn up!