Homeschool Happenin’s! (Outer Banks, Jam Making… Oh yes, and a tiny bit of school…)
The past week or so we were away from home… enjoying the tranquility and pre-summer crowds of the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Since my sister homeschools (and thus also has a flexible schedule), it seemed the perfect time to meet up with her family and my folks!
Homeschool Graduate: Before I share a couple of pictures… let me brag on my niece (who has been homeschooled K through 12). My niece graduated last year and did a “gap” year this year, spending time studying at the Goethe Institute in Germany, pulling together a huge event for the Venture Scouts (for 14-25 year olds who enjoy camping, backpacking, canoeing, and other ourdoorsy adventures!), and taking (free) Coursera University classes online. She applied to schools this year and got a Dean’s Scholarship and Service Scholarship for a school in Oregon. We are SO proud of her.
The Outer Banks, North Carolina: The Outer Banks were lovely! The first couple of days we were there, the weather was in the 80s, so the kids spent long hours playing in the wave and building sand castles and sand animals (like the elephant below!!). Normally we do a lot (like visiting the Wright Brother National Memorial or the Roanoke Island Festival Park)… but this time we were pretty mellow, spending long hours playing board games and card games, go for walks and roller blading (yup! Even me… my balance *is* much better this year!![ –If you’re new to our blog, I had horrible ear problems last year and after 6 ear surgeries I wound up having my ear bones and the entire balance system in my left ear removed–leaving me deaf in that ear. Ugh!]), kayaking, chatting, reading, and enjoying each other’s company.
We *loved* walking along the board walk in Duck. We went there several times… I took a long walk with my Sis; walked with DD and browsed through shops; took a long stroll with Hubby… It was so pretty!
We’ve been to the Outer Banks in past years as well, to meet up with my sister. Here are some posts which have some family activity ideas. There is SO much to do there!
- Wild Horses and Light House Tour, Outer Banks
- Outer Banks, NC, A Terrific Family Destination
- Sea Life at the Outer Banks (including sea cucumbers, star fish, sea anemone, skate, and other sea life we saw at the beach one year)
- You might be interested in our Ocean Unit Freebies from a while back (more for the 4-6 year old crowd)
Needless to say, not much got done homeschooling-wise, but we sure did have fun!
Once we got back, it was the flurry of unpacking and settling back in. And, since our fridge died we quickly bought a new one (hopefully to arrive tomorrow! Hooray.) We also had to get the kids new passports as theirs had all expired… and that took hours, but it’s DONE! (Do you put off things like that as much as I do? When I know the task will involve paperwork & tons of time away from our homeschooling, I just drag my feet.)
And, it’s strawberry season again so I’ve been up late making strawberry jam! Yum!
Because of the holidays we throw in throughout the year, we’re not finished with school for a few more weeks yet. We’ll stop in mid-June. We’ve done shorter days of homeschooling… we’re currently spending most of our time on history (our Middle Ages Unit), German (we’re gearing up for a language immersion family camp in Minnesota), and a bit of math. And always, the kids read lots and lots. (That’s what they are doing at the moment as I furiously type!)
Oh and I have a whole number of posts that I never got around to writing… just because life has been so busy. I also have an amazing, amazing list activity list (for roughly ages 7-14 or so) with hundreds of activity ideas that have my kids SO excited. Hopefully I’ll find time to get those written and published soon!
That’s about it for today! The kids are getting antsy and I better go get things going. Back to Robin Hood and our readings on Feudalism (I hope to get to a simulation activity on feudalism either today or tomorrow! Cool!) I hope you have a great day!
See you again soon here or at our Homeschool Den Facebook Page! ~Liesl
