Ohio

Just, whatever. You try to get four kids to look at the camera at once.

         Our main focus for Ohio was the Ohio River. Its history is so rich, we could have spent many more weeks learning about the thousand-mile-long, meandering river border, but we had to find a stopping point. Choosing what to see and do has been the hardest part about planning our trip. I want to see everything, and that just isn't possible.

Diagram of how a river is formed

• We learned how rivers are formed.
• Read about the Great Serpent Mound and other Native American mounds in Ohio.
• Discussed the river's role in transportation, the economy, and lifestyles of people of the area.

   
       I think the kids and I agreed, the most compelling stories of the Ohio River are those of the Underground Railroad. We had the opportunity this spring to do an Underground Railroad simulation, in which we acted as slaves attempting to escape to the free north. It was unusually cold and snowing hard that night as we ran through the woods, hiding in different houses, being chased by slave hunters. Gabby even hid in a coffin. We heard the story of a young mother

Hiding in an attic during an Underground Railroad simulation

who had to bury her baby along the trail because she had accidentally smothered it trying to conceal its cries, and I'll never forget the image from Uncle Tom's Cabin of a mother running across the frozen Ohio River with a baby, falling in the icy water at times to get to the other side. So many stories, both heartbreaking and harrowing. Very interesting stuff, indeed.











       Another highlight of the week was a visit to A and M Orchards. The littles were studying seeds and trees, so what a fabulous fall opportunity for hands-on learning. The folks at A and M were super friendly and helpful. They answered all our questions and drove us around their huge farm in a uber-cool UTV (again with Jesse's exploding head). They also told us feel free to sample directly from the trees and pick what we liked to take home. My kids ate so much fruit I thought the honest thing would be to put them on the scale with the apples in our bucket when we got back, but they assured us that would not be necessary.

    

 

     We wrapped up our week in Mason, Ohio at King's Island Amusement Park, because Toyota Family Day happened to fall on that Saturday (oh, happy coincidence). Thanks Toyota!  Here, we studied, uhhh, physics? ;)  Happy Trails, Readers! See you in Indiana!