Sometimes homeschooling leaves me feeling drained and defeated, but this week was a different experience. It was the week of the Taste and Glow Hot Air Balloon Fest in Wausau, Wisconsin! There's nothing more exhilarating or refreshing than a good old field trip, and sometimes, all you need to hit the reset button is to walk out the door. We decided that this week, science class would primarily be all about hot air balloons.
A couple of weeks before the event, I jumped on Linkcat, our library's website, to find books and DVDs, and I found several kids' books on hot air balloons.
Did you know the first hot air balloon passengers were not people? That's right. On September 19, 1783, Pilatre De Rozier, a scientist, lit the first pilot light on a hot air balloon named Aerostat Reveillon. The passengers were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster, and the balloon soared through the air for 15 minutes before crashing back to the earth. It was not for another two months, after a few tweaks to the design, that humans took flight—learning fun facts before the event adds excitement and meaning to a trip.
Currently, one of the best times to read to our kids is in the evening, as they still enjoy snuggling up on our laps for a good story before bed. Usually, we read the children's Bible, but I've been sneaking in some extra learning by having them pick out two books to read before we read the Word of God.
After a week of reading about balloons, we were prepared to take a "flight" up to Wausau, Wisconsin, for a fantastic trip.
We arrived at the Bantr Hotel around check-in time and settled into our room for an hour before hopping over to the shuttle parking area. We were pleasantly surprised that the shuttle was only a short walk from our hotel. I highly recommend taking the bus, as parking at the event is a bit of a nightmare, and your experience will be way better as they drop you off directly at the gate.
The festival had a fantastic array of family activities for everyone. The grounds were lined with bounce houses, a face painting booth, food vendors, craft vendors, tethered balloon rides, and even a lumberjack show!
The event was the perfect size for our family as our ages ranged from four years to sixty-eight. It was convenient for us to see everything we wanted without overwhelming us. That's always a plus!
Someday, we'd love to experience the big daddy of all balloon festivals in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they have over 750 balloons!
Would you ride in a hot air balloon ?
0%No way!
0%Yes, it's on my bucket list!
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