Life as a Homeschool Mom: Fun in Nashville

We spent the last few days in Nashville. Hubby had a conference and the kids and I made the trip fun and educational. This was our fourth trip to Nashville, so we are getting accustomed to the city. The children looked forward to our stay downtown again.

Our first full day in the city turned out to be cold and wet. Definitely not the kind of weather to walk around downtown. So, I loaded the kids in the SUV and headed to Opry Mills. We walked the mall and then made our way to the movie theater. I treated the children to The Croods. It was a cute little movie and held their attention. A perfect indoor treat for a gloomy day.

Stopping to look at the Aquarium in Opry Mills.

Riding the carousel at Opry Mills.

We finished out the day at the indoor pool and dinner with Hubby. Dinner was especially delightful for the children. We went to Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. The children love the keyboard staircase and gravitated right to it, as we waited for a table. To top off the dining experience, Life Guard came out to make balloon hats for everyone.

Playing the piano stairs.

Live music at Margaritaville.

Life Guard posing behind Little Man.

Butterfly balloon hat

Shark fin hat

We spent the next day basking in the sun at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere. We enjoyed the zoo's animal presentation about local Tennessee wildlife and the children played at the Jungle Gym. When we got back to the hotel, we found it to be invaded by hoards of cheerleaders in town for a competition. There went a quiet, peaceful, and relaxing trip! We dined at The National Underground for dinner.

Local Critters of Tennessee show at the zoo.

Corn snake aka red rat snake

box turtle

Jungle Gym tree house at the zoo

Trying to climb the ladder.

Eating at The National Underground.

Live music at The National Underground.

On Saturday, I took the children to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. The children enjoyed following the different paths and listening to a jazz quartet. We discovered a very large treehouse that they thought would be perfect in our backyard. We then stumbled upon a model train exhibit. I thought that it would be cool to have one in our yard. Little Man was very impressed with the stone garden house. We made our way to the art building. The children made animals from clay and various art supplies. Then we headed up stairs to try weaving rope and making tree shadows.

Listening to the jazz quartet beyond the arbor.

Cool tree house

Garden shed with thatched roof

Walking along the garden path.

Model garden train

Time to make critters!

Our critters

Interactive I-spy exhibit

Weaving rope.

Drawing a tree.

Finished tree shadow.

We then toured the house/art museum. Egee loved looking at the various art pieces. Little Man just wanted to go outside. He did like listening to the piano, while in the house. We made our way out of the house and along the garden trails. We discovered three waterfall ponds and a Japanese garden. This was Little Man's favorite part. He just gravitates to water. Overall, Cheekwood is a wonderful place to slow down and enjoy nature. We can't wait to visit again.