Homeschooling - Vacation, a Practical Study.

Practical experience – The books have been put away for two days so that we can visit family up at the beach. But certainly the learning did not stop. At low tide, as the water retreated leaving long fingerlings of seeping water trying to reunite eith the ocean. DS decided to alter nature. He made paths and channels, redirecting the water this way and that. He watched how the water pooled and erosion built mini cliffs and fjords. We discussed sea level as water began coming up from the bottom of his creation instead of brought by waves. Also, DH and DS experimented with liquefaction as they agitated the already saturated soil creating quicksand. DS & DD looked like they were making wine and stomp, stomp, stomped getting pulled deeper and deeper.

DD has been reading leisurely and is currently playing dominoes on the front porch. Her map reading could have even gotten us here 30 minutes earlier.

Both have been playing endlessly in the waves. DS has wondered why there are mover waves at low tide than high, but the waves are bigger at high than low.

We have contemplated the idea of a flat world and looked at the horizon to see where once it was though that boats fell off the edge. What bravery it must have taken to breech that edge.

Vacations, I believe, are the seed, the question, the ignition to so much learning. Vacations are a homeschoolers delight (and sine the kids around here have gone back to school it is beautifully quiet – maybe I really am for year round schooling). They are the fodder for weeks and months of future study.

The Mission of Missions

There is one week a year when no school books come out in our house: the week that we join our church on a trip to Kentucky on our annual mission trip. We opt to drive ourselves separately than the main group and join them down at Bonanza. Months before we go, I crawl the internet to find places for us to visit on the way down. The first years that we went, this was done out of necessity. With our children only being 6 and 8 at the time, the idea of a 15 hour car ride was not appealing to us. But now these diversions have become an exciting and informative part of our trip. Some of our favorite stops have been:

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center– Cincinnati, Ohio

Philadelphia – Where instead of following our plan we got wonderfully side tracked with the storytelling at the “Once Upon a Nation” stations (We have also since visited their stations at Valley Forge). We also loved the Lights of Liberty show that made the history come alive as we toured the city at night.

Gettysburg – We were lucky enough to catch a reenactment behind Boyds Bears.

Lancaster, PA – It was amazing to see buggies for real, sharing the road with us (I would love to live with them for a month to see if what I think of their society is what it is really like – I think that I could learn a great deal). We did learn one thing on this trip – Sunday is not the best day to visit – dUH! But who thinks of that when their real purpose is to get to Kentucky.

Carter Caves – We have found that we love Spelunking. Our trips have included Lurray Caverns and a couple others, but we really enjoyed Carter’s Caves and their 52 degree constant temperature was certainly welcome against the heat.

We have done tons of other things as well including DC, Zoo’s, other historical sites, but the above are our favorites.

When we get there and join our church, we spend the week building houses for the economically disadvantaged. The first year that we were there, we were lucky enough to have a guest speaker who explained to us how Appalachia became as we see it now. Our kids, while not understanding all the implications of signing away mineral rights on your land, were amazed at this different lifestyle. A true appreciation for all they had started to arise. Where we live, we may seem to be on the poorer side of the spectrum - - - my car is 12 years old, our house is only a raised ranch, their clothes don’t have labels on them all the time, but in the area of Kentucky we were in, we seemed wealthy beyond comprehension. Then the real work began. Although young, the kids were part of the crew and they were expected to work as such. They got to hammer and saw. They got to backfill foundations and lay in roof trusses. All the skills that they learned in school books suddenly had application – measurement, area, volume, angles, linear feet - - - created houses. They built houses.

During this one week, actually two if you count the travel to and from, we probably experience and learn more than in the other 51 weeks put together. Most importantly, they learn how truly blessed they are and that with their blessings, much is expected. Through their hands, God touches the world. Their hands help to bring heaven to earth. Their hands ease the difficulty of others. Their young hands are powerful. We have had to forgo this trip twice since then and we miss it greatly, but are thrilled to know that our church continues the mission.

What ways do you make learning real for your children?