Field Trip Mom

Southern California is a great place to live and visit. Several of our museums offer free days, which means that you can have fun without breaking the bank. This year try to visit at least one museum on free admission day. To help you with this plan, I have made a list of some of the most popular places in Southern California to visit.  To have the best experience I recommend that you contact the museum and confirm the dates of their admission free day. Happy Field Tripping! Disclaimer: Please contact the museum to ensure the times and dates are still valid.  Free Museum Days The Arboretum of Los Angeles County : Free admission on the Third Tuesday of each month Autry National Center : Free admission on the Second Tuesday each month California African American Museum : Free admission daily but parking is $8. California Science Center : Free admission daily but parking is $8; some exhibits are an extra charge Claremont Museum of Art : Free admission ...

Your community is full of things to do with your kids for free. We want to share with you a few  fun free events that happen ever month.  Lake Shore Learning offers Free Craft Saturdays, Lowes Home  Lake Shore Learning Free Craft Saturday from 11am to 3pm.  Kids love this place. It is so much fun to cut, glue and paste. You can find lots of great educational products for your favorite teacher. Lowes Home Improvement - Twice a month on Saturday at 10am. Must sign-up in advance. Project changes every Saturday.  Home Depot-   The first Saturday of the month Home Depot hosts a Kids Workshop. You will be using little hammers and nails to make this cute toy. Great way to teach your child how to follow directions. They will need your help to get this done. Other places that host fun free events: Toys R Us   - In-Store events Stores change their times or supplies run out, please check before leaving.

Lego is running a promotion for VIP Card holders. Two free tickets to Legoland and a $10.00 coupon for up to (6) additional tickets. To get a VIP Card you must go to the Lego Store near you. Then register your card online to get the coupon. The coupon will appear once you register.  Then take your  coupon along with your card to redeem your free tickets. Here is the links to both: How to get a VIP Card for Lego. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lego Mini Build The LEGO Store Monthly Mini Model Build! One day each month you can learn how to build a cool LEGO mini model, and take it home – for free! Quantities are limited and offer is good while supplies last only. A new model will be available every month and will be specially themed to that month – ask a Store Associate for details! Models are not for sale and cannot be purchased. One free per child. Event is open to children aged 6 to 14 only. Check with your local LEGO Store fo...

Please share Field Trip Mom with your friends and family.  You can also find us on twitter and Facebook. Please add us to your list of favorites. Here are some fun quotes to get you through life: Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr. quotes ( American best selling writer, author of Life's Little Instruction Book)       “There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein quote “If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” Benjamin Franklin quote “ Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and b...

At the beginning of the summer, I took the kids to the local Dollar Tree store.  he Dollar Store  is a place where everything is under a dollar.  I gave them each $5.00 to spend as they wished.  I wanted to teach  them about money, how it works, tax and appropriate interaction with the cashier.  The lesson was to shop for the best deal and come home with money left over.  My oldest picked (3) items and my youngest child picked (2) two items.  Each paid for their items separately and got change back.  I was very proud that they remembered to stick to their budget.  I myself had grabbed a few things and was excited about my awesome deals.  I got plastic clear dishes, gift bags and some household items.  Overall the shopping experience was a success. As we drove home, I noticed that the kids were talking about their purchases. They discussed about watering them, taking care of them and how fun it would...

September 9th - 11th, 2011 http://tallshipsfestival.com/2011/ http://www.ocean-institute.org/index2.html A great event is taking place this weekend at the Ocean Institute sponsored by Toshiba. Some of the events are free. Other events require a small charge. Overall it is a great opportunity to bring history alive. Kids will be in awe of watching real pirate ships and hear the sounds of cannon battles. Remember to pack a snack and lots of water. This is an event that will last all day and all night. Bring sunscreen and your cameras. Get there early to find parking and enjoy the festival. Here is what is  happening this weekend at the Ocean Institute: Tall Ship and Great Schooner Parade Tall Ship Cannon Battles! Sea Chantey Concerts Annual Richard Henry Dana Charity Regatta Aboard the Tall Ship Pilgrim ! Hula Connection & Halau Hula Lani Ola Inside the Ocean Institute* Live performances by Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders Cap’n Jack’s ...

What do you think of when you hear, "Ghost Town."  Calico Ghost Town in Yermo, CA is not haunted at all, but has the memories of the past.  It is called a ghost town because the people that once lived there packed up and moved out.  Calico was a mining town and known to have had the largest silver strive in California's history.  A visit to Calico will remind you of all things "Old West" and "Rich California History".  It is a trip not too far from Los Angeles and well worth the trip. When you arrive you will pay an entrance fee at the gate:  Adults $6.00 and kids over the age of (5) $3.00. There are many things to see and do, for example, you can go to the Mystery Shack for a fee of $2.00 per person. It is a gravitational spot that defies the law of gravity.  You end up walking like you need a V8. It is very fun and the Sheriff of the town was very funny. This is a must do at Calico. After, you can hike up to t...

Open House Saturday September 10, 2011 On our travels this weekend we found a very unique place. Cal-Earth, unfortunately I was not able to go inside. But it looks interesting. This coming weekend they are hosting an open house for everyone to come and see their facility. If you are in the area or are driving by, I suggest you stop by. I think it may surprise you. If you go, please post a comment. You may see more pictures on their website to give a better look at their facility. If you want to know more, here is their link: http://calearth.org/ What We Do "Located in the Mojave Desert, Cal-Earth is at the cutting edge of Earth and Ceramic Architecture technologies today. Its scope spans technical innovations published by NASA for lunar and Martian construction , to housing design and development for the world’s homeless for the United Nations. It began as the “project” of the Geltaftan Foundation and quickly became a self-sustaining entity, which merged into a...

This weekend we went to visit Calico Ghost Town. On our way there we wanted to make the most of our trip and visit nearby fun places. On our map we found a Trout Hatchery. It sounded like fun, so we headed off to Mojave State Fish Hatchery. It is a small facility located behind a community college. It was a little hard to find, but there it was next to the park. You can have a picnic at the park after you visit the fish. The place is open air and there is no fee. You may buy fish food for .25 cents if you want to feed the fish. The kids watched, learned about fish and what is a fish hatchery. This was their first time visiting a fish hatchery. So I asked what they thought of the place.  One of them said this: "The humans found eggs that were in danger and decided to bring them here to protect them. The humans will later take them back to the lake or stream once they grow big. They will see their mommies soon. The trout are here just for a few mome...

My family and I had the most fun on Sunday August 21st, 2011. We dressed in our best play clothes and headed to Long Beach to play with mud. Mud Mania event at Rancho Los Cerritos happens only once a year. So we got there early enough to be in front of the line. With our money in hand and our towels in another. We signed up for all the events. Here is a list of what we did that day: Build a house with mud and bricks Shell decorating Paint a Clay wiggles Make your own fossil Make a nature crown Plant a tree with Tree Lovers Make a clay house Learn about rocks and stones Paint your own t-shirt Crush seashells to coat and cover an Adobe Oven Race to make a brick from mud Throw tennis balls with mud Run and walk in the mud The entire family got to participate in all the events and got creative. The day flew by so fast that when we finally got to seat under a large tree to listen to live music. Our feet hurt so bad from walking all day long. ...

My first field trip was very exciting.  I received a field trip slip to take home.  I was so nervous because I wanted to go.  I knew my parents would say, "no" if it involved money.  We were on a tight budget and the answer to everything was "no".  As I gave the paper to my mom, I felt scared. I wanted to go very badly that I did not make a big deal out of it.  As I handed the permission slip to my mom, I remember saying "My teacher said I had to go".  What a big lie!  My teacher did not know my home life and did not care about me.  She was busy with all the other kids that had moms who volunteered.  She barely called on me or made an effort to get to know me.  It was okay because I was afraid of her anyway! She yelled all the time. A field trip would mean she would yell less. Yeah! My mother took the permission slip and looked at me with a sad disappointed look.  She asked how much it would cost for this trip.  I ...

This week we started to say good bye to summer and began learning about bugs. We took to a friends backyard and explored the gardens to find the creatures that live near us. To our surprise they were willing to be photographed with us.  Here is what happen: A baby lizard made himself available to the kids in the backyard. He jumped on Issac's leg and would not let go.  Issac was able to calmly bring him inside the house to show us what he had found. Of course, I jumped and screamed like a little girl. But soon realized I was the adult. So I quickly escorted the lizard outside to be free. But the (4) boys playing outside want to get to know him more. So I began to discuss the lizard. How long was his tail. How did his skin look and feel. Why was he a sun worshiper. What do baby lizards eat?  Each boy held the lizard and asked questions. Until someone set him down and the baby lizard ate an ant in front of the boys. Then it was decided that it was t...

I often look in the mail with the hope that someone has sent my kids or me a letter. Thank God my mother-in-law still believes in writing. She often sends us care packages and letters. Her letters talk about her weather and what is happen in her community. My kids enjoy the fun stories and sometimes share them with their friends and teachers. Like the time their grandparents wrote about the snow and the deer in their home. That was the topic of conversation for months. Now they ask to visit the snow all the time. I feel that the art of writing letters is slowing dying. It does make me sad to know that no one writes letters as much, because I won't get to read, save or put great letter on a frame to remember. So I decided to do something about it.  Today I am asking everyone who reads this post to please write someone you love a letter. Here is my letter to you: Dear Friend, I would like to say thank you for being so supportive of my blog. Without yo...

  Opens September 3rd - October 2, 2011 at the Pomona Fairplex Los Angeles is one of the largest cities in the United States with 3,792,621 people living here. So when the fair comes to town it is a must see.   C om fortable shoes are a must! It is located in the city of Pomona. Nearby cities are Diamond Bar, Covina and Chino Hills. It's main freeway access is the (10) Interstate highway.  The best advice is to arrive early and bring lots of snacks and water. Have a plan as to what you want to do first and where you want to eat. Once you get there and see the great places, your plan may become blurry.  Here is a checklist of things you might want to bring: Camera Water Fruit Snack Hat, sunscreen Sun Glasses Child like imagination Fun comfortable clothes Print Map on the LA Fair website: http://www.lacountyfair.com/2011/planyourvisit/admission_promotion.asp Pre-purchase tickets (Costco) Costco Fair Savings Pack Available beginning Aug. 15...