In my life this week…
Most of you know - we've been on the road again! I'll be sharing our experiences over the next few weeks. It's been an awesome journey.
In our homeschool this week…
We've been homeschooling on the road. It's been a "spring break - homeschool" kind of couple of weeks. We've enjoyed special friends and family, but we've enjoyed some special field trips and learning along the way.
It hasn't all been easy. We stopped at the Ocmulgee National Monument outside of Macon, GA - the boys had been fighting before I snapped this lovely picture:
(but, the monument - mounds and museum were super cool)
Mostly, we had an awesome time - both with friends and on our own adventures.
We visited Fort Puloski in Savannah, GA - the boys loved it and it was extremely educational - the history in Savannah is rich and includes great stories from both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War.
I'm pretty sure the boys primarily liked the cannons!
Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
I really hope to encourage you to get out on the road. We managed our trip with the help of some generous and gracious homeschool friends who were kind enough to host us in their homes. It was such a blessing being with other homeschool families who love the Lord and seek His will for their life.
We aren't exactly like them, we all have differences, but when you love the Lord and choose to homeschool your family - there is often common ground on which to bond. I'm so grateful for the friendships we've cemented along the way. My children are still talking about their new friends, and I got to visit with women who encourage me on a regular basis online.
We also got to see family and long time friends we've loved for years. I'm eternally grateful to my favorite cousin - and close sista friend - for keeping the boys while I went to Apologia Live. (more about that incredible convention later)
The adventures and friends we've enjoyed
on this trip will not soon be forgotten!
One of the beauties of homeschooling is that it doesn't have to be Spring Break to have these adventures. The experiences along the way have enriched the education of my children and inspired us to dig in to learn more.
There are simple ways to incorporate learning along the way:
My "Chief Navigator/ map reader"
The boys played 7 hours straight of Monopoly with Carrie's kiddos -
Math, negotiating, estimating values - it was fun listening to them and we further solidified the bond we've already made with them from our last adventure - here.
We didn't have to spend money to walk through the historic city in Savannah - to soak up local culture - although we did spend just a tad on their famous Pralines and fudge!
Visiting Fort Pulaski cost a total of $5 for parking and I spent $8 on replicas of original historic documents from the Civil War period in order to help my children gain a more solid understanding of the important events which have shaped our Nation.
We also traveled with food - I kept a cooler as a traveling refrigerator and stopped at Publix and Kroger a couple of times for fresh chicken and cheese to put in our tortilla "roll ups" - they are tastier and more nutritious than peanut butter and jelly. I shared more of our "on the road food" on our weekly link up here. Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
I cannot believe I didn't get more pics of our visit with Carrie's family - we had so much fun I forgot to whip out the camera! Here are a few from Historic Savannah:
Down by the water near one of the forts
Sitting on cobblestone steps - with rock and antique brick wall - loved it!
In front of Riverfront Candy Shoppe along the Riverfront in Historic Downtown
My favorite thing this week was…
Visiting with people we love - spending time on the road with the boys!
Freedom Friday:
We are counting our trip to Fort Pulaski for this weeks Freedom Friday - we'll be catching up with our free videos from Mom's Mustard Seed and Founders Academy this week - and learn more about Political Parties as well as reviewing our newly acquired "official documents" from the History museum.
Homeschool Freebies and Favorite Resources:
We used our ASTC (Association of Science and Technology Centers) passport program to visit several museums for free along our journey! I highly recommend you check into joining your local ASTC museum and enjoy it! Read more about this awesome program here. Don't forget to tell the museum curators (ASTC or otherwise) that you homeschool. We were given free disks and maps from Ocmulgee National Monument and free teacher info packs from Fort Puloski National Monument - You can download free curriculum from Ocmulgee here and free curriculum from Fort Puloski here
*I find that I do not always agree with information from the museums - some time frames are different than what we believe and some perspectives also differ - but I use it as an opportunity to teach my boys about what other opinions are out there. I never want them to be confused about WHY we believe differently than others. It's a wonderful teaching opportunity. Most of the material is perfectly suited to our homeschool.
3 in 30:
Although I haven't been able to stick strictly to my goals while on the road - I have gained invaluable inspiration and information from Rebecca, Kelli, and Carrie on improving my health.
Our homeschool is refreshed and renewed from our journey. We have new curriculum and new inspiration and have had rich educational experiences.
Blogging has been a bit of a hit or miss- I've kept up with it as best as I could along the way. I am definitely learning and putting my blog calendar to good use. I am extremely happy with connections I made at TTD - it's a special convention with Christian companies I am looking to partner with. Awesome time! I also wrote out my "mission statement" this month. You can read it under my link for "Contact and Social Media Services" above or the link here.
