This contest will be a little different from what we have done in the past. Instead of emailing me your responses, I’d like you to post them as comments on this blog entry. Sometime tomorrow afternoon I’ll choose the winning responses from among all the comments. The three winners will each get her choice of one of Johannah Bluedorn’s art prints.
Here’s the contest:
What is the most valuable, educational type activity you and your kids have done during the summer months? Describe the activity in a few sentences.
Creating Old Testament History Notebooks, which included a family tree, tracking Adam to Jesus (eventually that far anyway) some proof’s of God’s existence, creation charts and a few written summaries. The kids have learned so much (and mama too!) and are having fun doing these.
This was easy! Working in the garden/yard. We were able to practice/learn measurements, botany, nature, growth cycles, birds, insects and much more. But above all, we learned appreciation of the beauty of this world and His gifts to us.
Our two sons (15 and 17) combined $710 they had earned and purchased a black 84 T-top Camaro on eBay. They and their Dad poured over manuals, worked under the hood; we had 3 pairs of legs sticking out from under the car at times. They learned how to repair the car and get it running again, along with working together on eBay. Car runs great!
Watching, encouraging, and cheering on Mom as she a.) studied for a motorcycle learner’s permit test and passed; b.) watched Mom learn how to ride and not give up even though she was terrified and she nearly ran the borrowed motorcycle into the neighbor’s living room c.) helped Mom shop for a motorcycle of her own — comparing prices, sitting on motorcycles, learning the difference in motor sizes, etc., d.) the excitment of Mom getting her own and e.) lots of hours sitting on the front porch watching Mom learn to ride, adivising Mom to study more, practice more, and laughing with Mom at her silly mistakes. They boys then were able to see Mom really learn to ride — outside the neighborhood on the highway — all by herself. It taught us all we are never too old to learn something new.
Went on an owl watch .
My daughter had become interested in owls through a series of books she read.
One day we went to our nature park , it happens that on that night there would be an owl watch.
The naturalist wasn’t sure we would see any…
as always in our nature studies God revealed His love and grace and much to the surprise of all there we were delighted with the 5 eastern screech owls who stared at us and delighted our hearts.(Don’t laugh but I was actually moved to tears, it was such a big deal for us)
Definitely raising monarch caterpillars. We have three right now, and one just pupated into a chrysalis last night. It’s fascinating to watch them, and the kids have learned so much about butterflies.
We are not a Texas family by birth and the first few years here we found it hot, flat, dry, and ugly. I have ask myself many times why so many people in history gave thier lives for this forsaken landscape.
This is our seventh year to live here and that is a good Bibical number of years. We traveled to San Antonio for a political convention to give our oldest child that type of experience. Along the way we did the tourist type activities and……
We came away with two great things, a stronger love for our country and a true appreciation for the history of the state of Texas.
Our nine year old son has spent the rest of the summer reading about the Alamo and the Texas Rangers.
When not outside enjoying the beautiful weather, we spend lots of family time playing a variety of games. We don’t have to be concerned a bit with the more hectic schedule of the rest of the year. In fact, we just finished our first round of the Lewis and Clark game and we’re looking forward to learning more about the people and places mentioned in the game!
We are simply reading good books together on the couch or outside(if it is not too hot). No more curriculum’s to worry about or schedules to keep. Maybe this should be how it always is…..
This summer ds7 memorized the 23rd Psalm using the Thy Word Creations book and tape. We reviewed it often after bedtime devotions and it has been one of the highlights of my summer.
One day we were outside and some dragonflies began to fly near us. I snapped some quick pictures while we observed and discussed their movements. They were friendly enough to land on my three older children’s extended arms and we spent 10 wonderful minutes watching them. Afterwards, my lttle learners raced inside to sketch them in their science notebooks. This led to an internet search of dragonflies and of course, a library trip later in the week.
With only a pencil and paper, my children can learn about God’s amazing works of creation and do some ‘school’ without even realizing it. These moments are why I homeschool my precious treasures.
I’m not sure I can name just one. We have gone to see “La Gioconda” at the museum and discussed whether or not this could be the study for DaVinci’s Mona Lisa, we have studied the birds of Maine from our backyard feeders, attempted (and failed) at raising some tadpoles, learned independent baking of some favorite recipes, have been shipwrecked on an island with Robinson Crusoe, are learning how Mom & Dad run their catering business, and got a private tour of how c.t. scans work and are done at the hospital.
These are some of my favorite choices. Isn’t homeschooling fun!
That’s an easy one! My 9 yo son working for my husband a 18-25 hours per week has been a highly educational and character-building experience for him. My husband is self-employed in a seasonal business (he works constantly from April through Labor Day, and very little the rest of the year) which requires a lot of outdoor work in the hot, humid coastal Carolina sun. My son is being paid a certain percentage of profits, and is doing REAL work. He is learning about real world finances, watching his father demonstrate how customers should be treated (including the ones that test your ability to behave in a Christlike manner!), gaining an appreciation for what his father does, developing a work ethic, and developing a unique kind of relationship with his Dad. Though he made a commitment to his Dad to work certain hours through the summer, he did so voluntarily, loving the idea that he can do something to help out the family.
Our version of educational summer activities is a little unusual and driven by circumstances. As my husband’s Crohn’s diseased has progressed, we are studying the digestive system and how food is broken down into different carbohydrates, and the physical properties and digestive properties of monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides.
We have completely changed our eating and cooking practices, and are learning the lost arts of making such things as mayonnaise, ketchup, 24-fermented yoghurt, salad dressings, etc., and have eliminated all sugar, grains and starches.
There’s a lot more to this, but this is the gist of it.
Love in Christ,
Christine
We, Yola 12,Oivia 7, Dominic 6, Francesca 4 and mom, have been walking to stay fit for a few years now, we are also training for a mile fun run on August 5. We have memorized Judges 13:2-3 in Latin and English.
Our families (on both sides) all live in San Antonio, about 4 hours away. This summer we visited every other weekend. Normally we take the time to enjoy the city and attend festivities. However, early in the summer my DH’s grandmother broke her hip. She was in the hospital and rehab for over a month. She then moved into my MIL’s home. This summer my older two daughters (8 and 6) spent alot of time with her. They were her nurses and enjoyed helping her. My 8 yo dd even spent a few hours just talking with her. She was amazed to find out some of the things her great-grandmother had experienced. After having such a wonderful visit with her, my girls always spent the night with them whenever we came into town. They also went to a few of her rehab sessions. They became very aware of her needs. They wanted to bring her some “snacks” and loved talking to her about the “olden times.” Even though they have known her all their lives, I feel like they really bonded with her (and vice versa) and learned that she used to be young!! Their great grandmother even shared some stories from her childhood when she got in trouble for misbehaving. They couldn’t believe she would ever do anything wrong! I think this summer a generational gap was bridged and I know both my daughters, husband, myself, and grand mother were very blessed.
Though we did not plan this, it has been, by far, the most educational thing we could have done. My #5 son, age 9 had to have an emergency appendectomy. So we took the opportunity to learn about the vermiform appendix, peritonitis and what an ileus is. But, even more important, we learned to be gracious when our brother gets much attention from soooo many people. We are all still recovering.
My daughter went to Honduras on a mission trip for most of the summer. She learned how blessed we all are to live in this country, and also how to share her faith combined with her “team” effort to a people she could not communicate verbally with. She also learned with the rest of our family how to get along without each other, as you all know when we homeschool, we are almost always together. We learned to lean on Christ and trust Him for everything!
Pricey Educational Activity: We bought a membership to the local zoo and visited almost every week. Each visit we bought 1 cheap plastic animal from the giftshop (used our membership discount!) and studied that animal(personal and public libraries and internet)until the next visit. We also learned secret ways (no rule-breaking) to get the animals a bit more active on those hot days!
Cheap Educational Activity: We planted a huge garden with heirloom seeds and seedlings – the kids helped choose what to plant. We kept it organic so we could collect insects and caterpillars (and be a bit more healthy and environmentally responsible). The harvest was abundant – both in veggies and butterflies/moths!
Reading, reading, reading. At the beginning of our break my 9 year old was really struggling with reading. I handed him the first of the Little House on the Prarie series. It was so interesting that he plodded his way through it one-word-at-a-time. The next book was easier, then the next… He would occasionally appear, giggling, in my room late at night to tell me what was happening (like the time Almonzo’s parents went out of town and the kids used all the sugar making ice cream!) Now he’s almost completed the whole series and we have to tell him when he needs to turn out his light and go to sleep. He has really started to enjoy reading.
During the summer, my husband and I go to several art shows and rendezvous’ selling our work (hand made knives and jewelry, respectively). This year our 10 and 12 year old boys have each started their own businesses and participated in the sales. Our older son is learning leatherwork and now makes his own patterns for sheathes and wallets; our younger son collects rocks and fossils and polishes, organizes, prices, and sells them. They’ve both learned a lot about marketing, making change, and artistic display, as well as about their chosen products.
Our best educational experience came as an amazing gift from the hand of God. I have desired to take my two children, 5 and 4 years of age, on nature walks. Due to my 3rd pregnancy (due Aug. 11th), I have been laid up, very sick and unable to get out. God says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Of course, we know He is the One to give us our desires as we delight in Him. How good He is to us!) God brought a couple of Morning Doves to my daughter’s second floor window ledge to build her nest and lay her eggs and raise her babies. She is now on her fourth nest of eggs in that same spot since April this year. We have supplied my daughter with cameras to take pictures. She spends her quiet time just sitting at her window, studying these amazing birds. She has learned more than we could have any other way about these amazing creatures. Isn’t God good!
My two older girls participated in a park district program as street musicians every Thursday in July. The had 1.5 hrs practice, then that night all the children and adults gave a free concert with the open case for donations. One dd plays flute so she did band and the other dd plays violin so she was orchestra. A very interesting sound considering they just learned the song that day. On the next night they played the Star Spangled Banner at the County baseball game. The violin daughter also participated in an area Festival of Arts for their very first piano recital. They wanted to give the children an opportunity to play on a large stage in public. Our son went to Peterson AFB for a week of Civil Air Patrol training in July. One of his flights hit quite a bit of turbulance due to a thunderstorm. All the cadets were “under the weather” so to say. Son is still continuing geometry and chemistry. August get ready month.
The most valuable educational activity we have done in the summer is raising livestock to show and sell at the county fair. My 2 daughters have raised pigs, lambs and steers to show and sell at the county fair this year and the last 3 years. We tent camp at the fair because we live quite a distance from the fairgrounds and they have to have their animal pens cleaned by 6:00 a.m. every morning as well as caring for the animals throughout the day. Besides raising and caring for their animals they have to keep financial records and records concerning the animal’s health, feeding and weight. They have to solicit buyers for the livestock auction and they have to work along with the other 4H-ers at an on fairground restaurant which the 4H council runs to help pay county 4H and fair costs.
Right now we are cataloging all the books in the house! The kids and I are creating a spreadsheet showing author, title, subject,date of publication etc[…and marking how many of the books we have actually read]
After that we’ll get back to building the tree fort when the Oklahoma weather cools a bit.
Participating in the Jr. Ranger programs at Rocky Mountain National Park and the St. Louis Arch (Officially called the Jefferson Expansion Memorial). Both are part of the National Parks system. In RMNP we spotted all the wildlife pictured in the books and we now remember what we saw. At the St. Louis Arch, we did the ranger program and again, the kids and I remember what we recorded in the books from the museum about our westward expansion. The program makes museums and parks much more memorable. And the Jr. Ranger badges are great souvenirs!
Our eight-year-old son (our oldest) has long been fascinated with bats. We were all in the back yard the first weekend in July, and heard him cry “I found a creature of the night!” He ran to me with a dead bat in his hand. The health department was unable to test it for Rabies, so our son has gone through the series of shots (His last one is August 2). This has been learning of another sort! He did fulfill a life-long wish of handling a bat. He will now be immune to Rabies. He is no longer afraid of shots whereas he was deathly afraid of them before. He knew not to touch a dead animal-especailly a bat, but gave in to being impulsive. We hope this will be a hard-won lesson in resisting temptation : ) When he found out he had to get the shots he was quite upset and felt it was the “worst summer ever.” We have tried to show him God’s mercy and grace. We thought he would have to have sixteen shots and he has only had to have six. I personally was absolutely overwhelmed when we found that out–overwhelmed by the reminder of God’s kindness and tenderness–all toward this child He has given us. This was no “formal” lesson, but one that will stay with us all. From one tiny dead bat, we have had lessons in: biology, theology, immunology, history, character training, and so much more. A unit study designed by the greatest teacher and designer of all!
Well, I am not sure we’ve had the most exciting educational summer. Because it’s so hot here in TX I decided to just simply start our school year early. But in the midst of that we had been doing a lot of reading (for school and outside.) I am an avid reader, by myself. But have struggled to make reading aloud a habit with my family. So we’ve worked really hard to do that and we’re having a blast doing it.
We’ve also been working as a family on training habits and such. I began using special chore cards to motivate chore time in the morning and evening. The children have spent more time in the kitchen with me this summer than ever before. And mom has worked really hard to make sure the children know that she’s no longer going to overlook sin. 🙂
I think most of all, I have a renewed love of just being with my children. I am learning all about them as I give them more of my time. They are 7, 5, 3 1/2, and 18 mos. I also have a baby on the way so we are learing a little bit about babies and we all watch mommy grow.
This summer has been busy, as we have been preparing first, for our 16 year old daughter to go on a missions trip to Mozambique, Africa. She leaves August 15th, returns August 27th. We’ve also been preparing for our oldest daughter (almost 18) to leave for 10 months to the inner city of Chicago. This will be a discipleship training program, and doing inner city missions work (feeding the homeless, working at a crisis pregnancy center, ministering to homeless women and children and so much more). Although this starts the second week of September, we’ve been busy scrambling preparing for this new adventure in her life. Her application for this program was accepted on July 1st, so there’s much to do with tying up loose ends for Sarah’s trip to Africa, and now preparing Rebecca for Chicago. What an adventure we’re having! These are both “firsts” for our family, as my husband and I never lived away from home before marriage, nor have we been on a missions trip outside of the USA before, neither have our children before this opportunity. Prayers would be much appreciated! Thank you!!!!!!!!
My husband and I want our children to know how to garden so this spring they helped plan, plant and care for our garden. We have four children so far ages 9,6,4,1. The three oldest each chose a vegetable or fruit they wanted to grow and helped make a diagram of where we have everything in our back yard now and where the new plants will go. Then they helped choose either the plants or seeds, build the containers or prepare the bed, put soil in, plant seeds, water and check for bad bugs. They have loved every minute! The joy we have seen on their faces when they see “their” plants growing has been wonderful. They have also delighted in encouraging one another. I am so thankful they know about growing things because I certainly did not growing up! Harvest has been so much fun and useful! We are still very much in the middle of it. Not everything grew as we hoped which has made for good lessons in and of itself. They want to grow pumpkins next. Dh and I have been inspired to think of other projects we can do as a family.
My arm around my wife’s waist waving good-bye to Brianna(12) and Ryan(9) lifting off at LAX on Southwest Airlines to visit Grandpa and Grandma for 10 days. Golf camp, Tennis camp, riding in a coach for a day…Mommy and Daddy reuniting…Kids, applying what they have learned, on their own…
The best thing about this summer and every summer is the enjoyment of the rhythm of the seasons and the year. We move from academic subjects to raising the garden – weeding, watering, harvesting. Swimming for hours and hours with favorite cousins is a favorite pastime. My boys look forward to my Mom spending long days with me canning peaches, beans, applesauce, tomatoes, and pears, while they play in freedom. In August we prepare for academic learning that comes in September. We look forward to structure again after the lazy days of summer.
I used to reject the typical September to June routine of “public school” life, but I have learned that it does have a beautiful rhythm that we have since embraced. I think that is the type of wisdom learning that is easily forgotten in the regular school year.
This summer I started teaching a Clothing and Textiles Class. Our oldest daughter, Sara, is my assistant. I teach her the sewing techniques and then she assists me in teaching the other children and moms in the class. The other bonus to this is that our four younger children got so excited about what everyone else was learning, that they asked to learn to sew also. We are having a great time.
My 10 yo son has been challenged and stretched this summer, as my husband kept him by his side to “tame wooded land” and to design and build a pier.
They have cut trees, hauled logs, and chopped briars to make walking trails and our future driveway, which we rode down yesterday for the first time.
They planned a design, bought materials, and constructed a pier that Mom and little sisters are enjoying. (We are amazed at them!)
And just for fun, my husband has taught him to paddle and steer a canoe and to bait hooks and catch fish.
Most importantly, my DH is imparting a vision to live out of the city on acreage, near like-minded families, and taking ownership of this land. My little man has grown up with his Daddy this summer. And this story will be continued…
The most valuable, educational type activity me and my kids have done during the summer months was to begin a Bible memorization study. Its value is unmeasurable!
We have sat together in the hot, humid Texas days, with shadows of leaves dancing around our bodies and the noise of the cicadas humming loud in our ears, and the Bible open before us. The children chanted and clapped, stomped and danced the words of God into our hearts and minds. They have laughed and groaned as one or another of them shouted out “Memory check!” and all replied as one with the verse of the week.
My favorite memory is of one night when the air conditioner blew cold and the children were just drifting off to sleep, snuggled under their sheets as I took the opportunity to whisper loudly, “Memory check!” They all giggled and awoke with excitement and laughter that mommy should arouse them for such a thing! It took awhile to settle back down, for sleep to come again, but I think they understood what I want them to know: that knowing God’s word is more precious, more important than even going to bed on time!
My 14 yod found through a series of events that Asian baby carriers can be sewn at home. She perfected a free online pattern and started selling carriers by word of mouth. She is learning marketing by wearing them at our home ed convention and being ready with business cards for the many comments and questions. She had one well-known vendor show great interest in wholesale purchasing. My daughter has “interviewed” and hired her other siblings for piece work to streamline the sewing process so she can keep up with the demand. She has more money in the bank than I do plus a ton of valuable experience!
We’ve spent quite a bit of time researching hedgehogs. My 2nd daughter learned a bit about them from her Clubhouse Jr. magazine and found that they fullfill all of Daddy’s requirements for a pet. So she got excited and has gotten two other siblings excited as well. The three oldest kids are learning all they can through books and the web about feeding, handling, typical behavior, different varieties, taking care of, etc. hedgehogs. They’ve even named the future pet! It’s been a fun way for the family learn together about a creature God has made and very well may bless our family with in the near future. Our first “real” pet!
Two valuable and educational things we’ve done this summer are beginning to memorize the Catechism For Young Children (what a fun, simple way to teach important truths to our little ones)and learning to “treasure-hunt” at local yard sales. It’s amazing the things you can learn (and teach) just by yard-saling: how to stand and walk nicely with mommy while searching, how to count money and other items, how to “round down” and bargain politely, how to study clothes to find ones which are still usable, how to think of creative uses for things (favorite thus far: four lovely aprons made out of a king size sheet set which was full of holes!), how to distinguish between wants and needs, how the body needs extra water when out and about in July heat, and most importantly how God blesses our efforts and provides abundantly!
Whoops – forgot to mention learning how to speak kindly and respectfully with people of all ages – quite important with lots of toddlers! 🙂
This summer we’ve been “piloting” a program with another family. Once a week I teach piano then the other mom teaches art. It’s working well for the 8 children who are participating and we plan to continue into the regular school year.
The other mom, Carole Manning, volunteered a couple of years ago to do a little artwork for our family business, The Math Worksheet Site. She drew 19 different simple line drawings that just beg to be colored by preschoolers.
Earlier this summer my 11 year old daughter said, “I think we should add a turtle to The Math Worksheet Site. I can just see what Mrs. Manning would draw.” I replied, “If you can see what Mrs. Manning would draw, why don’t you draw it?”
After that thought percolated for a few weeks, she did. Her artwork of a tortoise was added today by her daddy to the family business, right alongside her teacher’s artwork.
A more lengthy write-up is proudly posted here: http://themathworksheetsite.com/blog/?p=18
My daughter, the published artist!! 🙂
The most interesting thing my family did this Summer was travel to Ukraine to conduct a children’s Bible school. My father preached at two Sunday services and taught Bible classes, my mother taught Bible verses and songs in English. My two brothers and I helped lead the sports portion of the program. During the closing program attended by parents and grandparents, I gave my testimony–my first time! We also visited shut-ins, including some who survived Stalin’s relocation programs. Our host family doesn’t speak any English, so we had some very creative communication. We also sang together. All the people we met were very kind and giving. We hope we can return on future mission trips. –Danial Replogle
We had read all the little house books at night and in the summers we visited the little house sites. In Wisconsin, we took part in the Laura Ingalls Wilder contest. Lots of fun and so educational. This took several summers’ vacation.
At times, we learn our most valuable lessons during unplanned activities.
In preparation for my daughter’s upcoming fourth grade school year we planned to review “A Greek Hupogrammon” by Harvey Bluedorn and master the multiplication tables. While we achieved these objectives it is not by our plans that we learned our greatest lessons.
Our blessed Lord has brought life and death situations into our life and it has been by these we have gained our most valuable lessons. We are currently caring for two family members, one not expected to live possibly beyond this summer. What an important way for an eight year old to learn to care for others and to learn how fragile this earthly life is.
We are reminded by this lesson of how important it is not to neglect sharing the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (bringing the whole council of God, found in the Scriptures alone).
The smartest educational activity I did with my children this summer was to read the TTT newsletter. We copied the list of Laurie’s favorite read aloud books, and have plowed through, sometimes for 2 hours/day, Beau Geste,
The Wreck of the Grosvenor, The Colonials, Michael Strogoff and added another that we are reading aloud for the THIRD time: Kon Tiki. An absolute “must” summer read-aloud!
Spiders – I have to say our spider study has been the most educational. My 7 year old daughter caught 2 spiders. We put them in her bug catcher and looked them up. Still not sure what kind they were. But we studied Bird Spiders indepth. The best thing though is we fed the spiders!!! It was a family effort and I wish we had video of all of us running around the house trying to catch live flys and get them in a little bug catcher. We got to watch the spider trap, wrap and eat(should I say drain) the fly. Very cool.
We bought a 5 gallon aquarium for $5 at a garage sale. The lessons we’ve learned are invaluable. While we carefully set up the tank and allowed the natural cycling to occur we experienced a higher than regular mortality rate. Most of the fish had already been named: Fiery, Rainbow, Chubby, etc. We are dealing with grief and sorrow and the transiency of life. It has been a great springboard to introduce spiritual truths to the children: that death is permanent and can be unexpected. We have a renewed urgency to pray for those we love who are still unsaved.
Our most valuable activity had been our getting-back-to-basics detox. We put all the busywork away and turned the tv off. We have been focusing on reading, writing and memorizing select Bible passages and doing The Original 21 Rules of This House. My children’s attitudes have done a complete about-face. They get along and motivate themselves to do chores. I catch them praying at various times throughout the day, for each other, for their otr-trucking-dad, and unsaved relatives. It has been a fruitful summer.
Reading aloud from The Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne (an excellent story about the experiences of 3 young men on an island following a shipwreck). Our 6 year old son and 5 year old daughter are truly enjoying the adventures contained in this story, despite the more “challenging” language. I am grateful to have learned that it is o.k. to read “above level”- it stretches their minds, vocabulary, creative play, and more.
We were able to get my father, who is my kids grandpa, to get checked for a much needed hearing aide. After travelling 1000 miles to visit, we were able to go with him to the audiologists office and watch how they gave him a hearing test in a sound proof room. We got to watch how the chart is used to measure decibels and with an anatomical ear display, how the ear works. He was also fitted for a hearing aide and my how surprised he was to hear things he hadn’t heard in 30 yrs!!! We were taught how much improved the computerized devices are now for those who are hearing impaired. It was something my daughters and I will never forget and all with good ole’ grandpa!!!
Building a home medical Library (bookshelves), while teaching aspects of gilding and reminding them of the coming paperless society and its impact on all Classically educated families, but particularly Trivium advocates. Dania is working on the article “Bad News for All Classical Educators: What You Can Do About It”
Maribel 🙂
I have 4 children ages 5 and under, so we have been focusing on Field Trips this summer. (It’s difficult for me to do this during the school year because I need a helper!) We have gone to Chicago’s Field Museum, Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, 2 musicals (Cinderella and Seussical), Milwaukee Public Museum, Racine Zoo, and the Lake County Fair. We still plan to go to the Botanical Gardens, Lamb’s Farm, Kohl Children’s Museum, the Illinois Railway Museum and a concert of the North Shore Symphony before the summer’s over! –Gena Mayo
Awesome field trip!
We did a number of things this summer but our SE Alaska field trip was the highlight for our family. My husband had to be there to work so we took advantage of the educational opportunities by joining him. In synopsis:
Travel to Sitka & Juneau AK. With the help of four excellent museums(two in each community) we brushed up on our state history & studied the different native groups in our state; learned about Raptors at the Sitka Raptor center; visited a historic gold mine and went on a couple great nature hikes! All very hands on history & nature. After each day’s adventure dd shared with dh what she had learned. We were also able to pick up a selection of great books to use this next Spring when we work through a unit on our state history.