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This week in homeschooling: Fun places to visit in Philadelphia with your kids

Homeschooling at ButterscotchSundae.com

Rockford was working in Philadelphia for a few days last weekend and early this week. The kids and I had never been to Philadelphia and Rockford’s sister lives there, so a few months ago we decided we’d go along with him.

Our hotel (Hilton Garden Inn Center City; great location & very friendly and helpful staff) was right next to the Reading Terminal Market — I recommend a blend of bread-and-butter and hot pickles from Beillers and the Grilled Mozzarella sandwich from MeltKraft — and just a 15-minute walk from what the kids called the “boring history stuff.”

The Philadelphia CityPass covered the Adventure Aquarium; either the National Constitution Center or the zoo; the Please Touch Children’s Museum or the Eastern State Penitentiary; the Franklin Institute; and a trolley tour. All of the sites were on our to-see list, so we decided to spring for the passes. We ended up only using four of the five tickets — the trolley tour didn’t seem like a good fit for us — but I think it was a good purchase anyway.
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Everybody eats when they come to our house

"168/365+1 Spaghetti and Meatballs" by Dave Crosby
“168/365+1 Spaghetti and Meatballs” by Dave Crosby
Did you read that article a few weeks ago, “Friday Night Meatballs: How to change your life with pasta“? It’s about a family who wanted to build a stronger community, so they started invited an assortment of friends over for spaghetti and meatballs every Friday night.

I thought it sounded like a neat idea, so I talked to Rockford about doing our own Friday Night Meatball night. He was dubious.

“Really?” he said. “You want to invite a bunch of people over for dinner? That doesn’t sound like you.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “It’s leaving the house that I don’t like. I like having people over!”

“So you’re just going to — what? — put up a sign inviting people over?”

And that’s when it dawned on me that he thought I wanted to invite random strangers over for spaghetti and meatballs, possibly by posting signs on nearby light posts or something. That would definitely not be my cup of tea. Once I explained that I’d only be inviting people we actually know, he was fine with it.

I don’t know if we’ll do it every Friday, but we’re definitely doing it this Friday. I think it’ll be fun.

Here’s our menu plan for the rest of the week:

Monday: Breakfast for dinner
I may have my leftover chicken pot pie from last night’s dinner instead, though.

Tuesday: Tacos
This might be the first time we’ve actually celebrated Taco Tuesday.

Wednesday: Cheeseburgers
Pete’s favorite meal!

Thursday: Poppyseed chicken
I’m hoping it’ll be chilly out on Thursday. Poppyseed chicken is excellent year-round, but it’s the very best on a cold day.

Friday: Spaghetti & meatballs

I’m linking this up with OrgJunkie.com’s weekly Menu Plan Monday thing.