Downtown Family Field Trip

Since I have been exhausted lately and I have such a wonderful husband, we did this field trip on a weekend so that Brian could go with us and help me out a little. Going downtown is really a big ordeal with all three kids and me being nine months pregnant, and with Brian there it was so much easier. Hannah, Genna, and Isaac are so blessed to have a daddy like him. Some dads wouldn't give up their time off like that.

First we went to the National Gallery of Art for the Stories in Art program for 4-8 year old kids. Isaac was not officially registered, but he was able to participate. The program consists of looking and talking about art and the artist, a story that relates to the art, and drawing your own art. The girls got a booklet that had activities in it and they worked on that in the Rotunda while we waited for the program to start.

Here is the story portion of the program. (My three are easy to spot. They are nearly always at the front.) They discussed Rembrandt and read about an old Holland legend. I was super proud of Isaac since he was able to sit still and listen better than some of the registered, therefore older, kids. He also got called on to answer a question about the story and he went above and beyond in his answer, retelling almost the whole story in his own words. The moderator commented on his excellent memory. Hannah turned around and mouthed to me how impressed she was with his answer as well.

Before leaving the museum, the girls wanted to draw a picture of one of the paintings. It was well past lunch time, and as a compromise I took pictures of a painting (each) of their choice on our way out so they could draw it at home.

After lunch we headed over to the National Museum of American History for the self-guided Addy the American doll tour. We have been reading Addy books since I found out about this tour. We learned a little more about the Civil War and slavery by following the tour. At the end of the tour, the girls stamped their paper and took it to the gift shop to redeem a prize. I had no idea what the prize would be, but I was glad that the girls were super happy with the Addy bookmarks they received in exchange for their hard work.

This was way above Isaac's head, so he and Daddy looked at the old trains and cars while the girls and I did the tour. They even left early to fetch the car to pick us, delicate ladies, up at the door of the museum after a long day of walking. What gentlemen! It was a scorcher, so we were very thankful. Genna, especially, was grateful since she does not tolerate being out of her comfort zone well.

Oh, I should mention all these programs were free (as was the parking since it was a weekend,) and it was the cheapest day we've spent out as a family in a long time.