My New Kentucky Home

A blog about faith and family, home and homeschooling.

The Nina, the Pinta, and the Teachable Moment

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It’s amazing the way homeschooling changes how you think!

I didn’t used to look at the simple and mundane things of life and see incredible learning opportunities, nor did I become giddy with excitement over discounted classroom visuals, local battle reenactments, and free museum admissions.  (Not to mention curriculum giveaways and homeschool conventions!!)

But over time the homeschooling mom develops a keen sense of the teachable moment–a sort of prowess for anything and everything that might ignite a love for learning in her children, for something that brings to life the things she’s taught them in a way that will cement it in their minds forever.

I had one of those thrilling, (and admittedly nerdy,) moments of giddiness last week when I heard a snippet of a news story on the radio.

What?!  Replicas of the Nina and the Pinta?!  Right there in downtown Louisville?!  It was simply too good to be true, and perfectly timed considering Christopher Columbus was the first unit in our study of U.S. History.

So, though I hadn’t exactly planned on a field trip quite so soon, we ventured off for a day in the big city!

BIG being a relative term, of course.  As far as I’m concerned, Louisville is the perfect size; not too big, not too small, with all the amenities of a large city, but offering the ability to travel virtually anywhere within the city limits in about 20 minutes.  And people will actually let you out in traffic here.  Seriously.  That alone should be reason enough to make a visit to Louisville soon!
But I digress.  Docked downtown on the rolling Ohio were the Nina and the Pinta.  These replicas were built in Brazil and are the most historically accurate reproductions of Columbus’ ships ever built.  (Or so says The Columbus Foundation, www.thenina.com.) 
What struck me was how small the ships were, both just common trade vessels of their day.  It put a 7-month journey across the ocean, (to the New World and back,) in a terrifying new light!  I’m not sure I’d be ready for a three-hour tour down the Ohio in one of those, let alone cross the Atlantic in it!

Love this picture and the little opening in the clouds to the right of the mast there…

The kiddos posed for me on the Nina.  Some of my pictures are so fuzzy, which is making me crazy, but I CANNOT seem to fix it.  Forgive me, please….

We also toured the Pinta.  On this one we were allowed up on the top deck.
On second thought, maybe a three-hour tour would’ve been perfect!
Check out the kayakers to the left there.  Pretty sure Columbus didn’t run into any kayakers on his journey across the Atlantic.  But you never know…

Did I mention my husband got to come along on this little homeschooling excursion?  Love it when that happens!  After touring the Pinta and Nina, we simply had to enjoy a little time in Riverfront Park.

What’s the purpose of the birds?  Umm…I’m not sure.  Art for the purpose of art, I suppose.  My kids enjoyed climbing on them.
And Polly Wolly enjoyed photographing them.  Like she enjoys photographing EVERYTHING…

Check out the chick-a-dees!
It was a beautiful, delightful day, all because I was ready and willing to seize the teachable moment when it presented itself.  Time and financial restraints may make it impossible to hit them all, I suppose, but it’s important to snatch up as many of them as you can!  Nothing drives learning like experiencing!

Might as well cram-pack those little minds with experiences they’ll never forget!

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Comments

  1. Angela says

    Explaining the enthusiasm that comes with homeschooling is well, almost impossible. It's sort of like the good, solid feeling you have inside when you've done something right. With homeschooling, you have that year round. Knowing you are doing a wonderful thing for your children is a reward in & of itself.

  2. kentuckysketches says

    So true! Knowing you have such a pivotal role in what your children learn is scary to some, I suppose, and I understand that. But it's very fulfilling at the same time. And being able to bring FUN into learning makes it even better!

  3. Mrs.Hearts says

    What a fun day you had! We have a teachable moment coming in November. The King Tut exhibit is in Seattle, and tickets are normally $27 for adults and $16 for students. Through the homeschool association, we can get them for $8.50 each! We won't be missing this opportunity even though it is several hour drive away!

    Mrs.Hearts
    http://www.heartsforhomeschooling.blogspot.com

  4. kentuckysketches says

    Oh, that sounds like a "don't miss" for sure! Sometimes the key is just being aware of what's going on in the area and snatching up the good deals when they present themselves. On one cold and snowy day we heard that a local historical museum, (which has a pretty expensive admission price,) was offering free admission for that day only! We did NOT let it pass up by! And we've purchased discounted tickets to historical sites through Groupon as well!

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