Adventure & Book-Making

Hard to get everyone in the selfie.
But we're all smiles.

Another homeschooling friend shared with me information on a book-making workshop at a 'not-so-local' library.  When I made reservations for my children, I thought that I'd have a way to get there. The closer we got to the date, I soon realized that I would not have our vehicle (DH being out of town and all) but I didn't want to miss it.  So, I decided that we would use our local public transportation. That's what it's there for, right?

Adventure:

Now, we have taken the train/light rail--to major events that take place downtown (avoiding parking fees and traffic before/after the event).  But we have never used the bus system.  Today we did. We made it to the library after taking two trains and one bus.  There wasn't too much walking on either side of things.  We made it in pretty good time as well--this is what impressed me the most.

A quick side note: I share a lot in my homeschooling community about modeling what we want our children to learn.  Part of me preparing my children to be independent is showing them how to get around town.  Today was an effort toward that specific goal and I have to say I'm rather proud of it. They each are different people and can often times be nervous about new experiences (in their own ways).  I was happy to see that each of them embraced this new experience very well.

The children learned several important lessons on our travels.  The most important was about reading signs and paying attention.  We talked about what to do if we were separated.  They also got to view the roads we normally take by car from a different perspective.  I think we all have a better appreciation for our public transportation options now that we've used them.  I must admit that I am eager to go more places now using this option.

Book-Making:

Amy, from Blue Sky Papers Book Binding, hosted a hands-on workshop in book-making.  I had only signed up two of my three, but not as many people attended as expected and so there were enough supplies for my sweetie-pie and I to join in too.

We learned a lot and all got excited about book-making.  The boy has a host of books that we've already written and made.  I was thrilled that she taught us a way to make books that we've never done before.  This widens our book-making repertoire. Here are some shots from our time in the workshop.

Amy giving us a guide for how large our
stack of paper should be.

Deciding the order of pages and stacking them.

Lining things up and clipping pages for binding.

Gluing pages together.

Making book covers; scoring the folds.

As pages dry designing book covers.

Completed book--still bound and clipped
so it can dry evenly.

My book--clipped so it can dry properly.

Once it was over we went into the library.  We couldn't pass up library time in a 'new-to-us' branch. Although it was smaller than our neighborhood library, there were a couple things I really liked. They have window seats with comfy pillows and room for several people to comfortably sit and read. They librarians were friendly--always a plus!!

Browsing the shelves.

One of the three window seats in the children's
section. (The only one without pillows.)

At this point, our books are still trying but I will add a photo of the final products once they're finished.

And now, we're finally home, after a short walk, a bus ride, two train rides, and walking a few more blocks.  With all the excitement of today, I'm tired.  Looking forward to sharing our new knowledge with our friends.

What things did you get into today?  Any new adventures?  Any new skills?  I'd love to hear about them--so comment below.

Happy Life Learning!



UPDATE: 11/9/14
Here are our completed books: