Tarrytown Lighthouse

We've been reading The Lighthouse Family series by Cynthia Rylant (The Storm, The Whale, The Turtle, The Eagle). They are sweet books about a lighthouse keeping cat, a sailor dog, and three little mice children who find each other and become a family, and enjoy a series of adventures. Mikro has had lots of questions about what it would be like to live in a lighthouse. So I thought it was a wonderful learning opportunity when I noticed that the Tarrytown Lighthouse (which is in Sleepy Hollow, formerly known as North Tarrytown), was open for visiting.





The Town Historian told us about the history of the place and what it was like for the keepers who served there. Then he allowed us to explore.

First Floor: kitchen and parlor.



Second floor: bedroom and posted photographs and articles about the history of the lighthouse and the families who served there.



The third floor is now empty. There is a balcony there, where Mikro was given the honor of ringing the bell.



The fourth floor is the lamp room. The fresnel lens has been removed by the Coast Guard.

After touring the lighthouse, we visited Kidd's Rock.



Mikro enjoyed the playground at Kingsland Point Park.

Friday Fieldtripping at AMNH and Victorian Gardens

Our homeschool group took a field trip to the American Museum of Natural History to see the Extreme Mammals and Frogs: A Chorus of Colors exhibits.





Mikro was way more hyper than usual. Probably because he knew that AMNH was only our first stop of the day. Afterwards, we wandered over to Central Park, where we saw Chewbacca out for a stroll.



Our destination was Victorian Gardens, a seasonal family amusement park within the park. Mikro has been on the Wonder Wheel and a couple of kiddie rides at Coney Island, on which he was... less than comfortable. So I wasn't sure what to expect.

Well, he had a blast!











After we left, we saw some interesting sights.





It was a howl at the moon kind of day.

Independence Day

We finally made it to Van Cortlandt Manor for their annual reading of the Declaration of Independence.



Mikro got a crash course in American history beforehand. He enjoyed watching the artillery unit drill, and the parade.



We had a picnic by the river, and watched the local wildlife, including dragonflies, geese and chipmunks.





Went home and played with our friends in the neighborhood, then headed out to Peekskill's Riverfront Green for a wonderful fireworks show.