Category: Trips We’ve Taken

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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)....

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It Feels GRRrrreat… (and other Ramblings & Random Things… Like a Pumpkin Muffin Recipe, Hiking Pics)

Hooray! We’re done with standardized testing!!  The kids are really happy! In those hours and hours of sitting by witnessing the kids toil, I have a come up with a bunch of hands-on activities and blog post ideas! Hope to get those written up soon. But in the meantime, I just came on to celebrate!  Jumped through that hoop… Now back to our fun stuff… like our Middle Ages Unit, Human...

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Monticello and Manassas National Battlefield Park

We have managed to fit in two more learning days on the go!  We visited Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello, in Virginia. We did the slavery tour and the tour of his home.  We had an amazing time… Not only because of the incredible weather, but also because of how much we learned. The Monticello plantation was about 5,000 acres. At any one time, Thomas Jefferson owned around 130 slaves.  One thing...

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Some East Coast Historic Sites That Are Great for Families

We’ve been slowly trying to see many of the famous historical parks here in the U.S. This by no means a comprehensive list, but since not everyone is from the east coast, I thought I’d put together a list of some other well-known historic places we’ve visited and blogged about. These are mostly located in the mid-Atlantic states-NC, VA, PA, NY. We’ve been meaning to get up to New England...

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Valley Forge National Park – Great for Families!

Valley Forge National Park is a fabulous family park, not only because of the historic significance which I’ll go into below, but because of the miles of trails. Those trails are perfect for biking and walking. They have a fantastic guided trolley tour of the park as well.  We had a fantastic time there this past weekend and learned SO much!! Our first stop, of course was the Visitor Center...

Ringing Rocks 0

Ringing Rocks, PA – A Boulder Field Where You Can Make “Rock Music”!

We’ve been studying Earth Science and this trip to Ringing Rocks fit in perfectly!! Ringing Rocks State Park in Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania is a seven acre boulder field… a paradise of climbing for my kids!! What is especially neat is that if you take a rock or hammer and tap on the boulders, they ring! Different rocks make different tones, so we were all enthralled with making “rock music”!! Approximately...

Washington Crossing 0

A Visit to Washington Crossing State Park and Yorktown, VA

It’s  COOooooold here!  That was the perfect time to visit Washington Crossing State Park. That’s where George Washington crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night (Dec. 25-26, 1776) and turned the tide of the Revolutionary War.  I told the kids they should take off their shoes and nice warm jackets for a real authentic experience. They weren’t buying it, but we did enjoy our visit and got a lot out of it!...

Travel School: Homeschooling on the Go! 0

Travel School: Homeschooling on the Go!

Do you homeschool in the car and on the go?  Lots of family use time in the car to learn a new language, learn about history,  listen to stories.  Then you hear about the homeschoolers who do extraordinary things for extended periods of time. In the spring and into the summer I followed the adventures of a homeschooling family that hiked the entire length of the Appalachian Trail. That’s 2,000...

Do You Have Trouble Getting Everything All Done? 0

Do You Have Trouble Getting Everything All Done?

Sometimes our family is on such fast-forward speed, I have trouble getting to everything I want to.  I have a list of about 10 blog posts to write (we’ve done such great things in our homeschool lately!)… but somehow life gets in the way of actually putting pen to paper — errr… fingers to keyboard! Happily, it’s fun stuff that’s getting in the way these days (rather than all my...

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Native Americans of the Northeast Unit (Part I, Algonquian Indians)

This fall we are learning about different Native American groups. The past few weeks we learned about the two language groups of the Northeast — the Algonquian Indians and the Iroquois and some of the tribes that make up these groups. A few weeks ago, we went to Williamsburg, VA for homeschool week. That was truly wonderful and is the topic of another post!  We went with some friends who...

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What? A Safari in Ohio to see Rhino, Giraffe, and More? It’s True!

Would you believe there is a 10,000 acre safari in Ohio?  We took the kids there on our vacation and they were absolutely THRILLED!!  We went on the open-air safari, not the private one you see in the picture below, but we still got up close and personal with a number of animals! The Wilds is located about an hour west of Columbus and is an affiliate of the Columbus...

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Tecumseh! — An Extraordinary Outdoor Drama in Ohio

Many years ago, a friend told me about an amazing outdoor drama called Tecumseh.  This is a 2 hour outdoor drama about Tecumseh, a Shawnee Indian who lived at the end of the 1700s and died fighting in the War of 1812.  His dream was to unite all the Native American tribes from Ohio all the way south to Georgia and Alabama.  For years, he traveled trying to gain the...

John Brown Harper's Ferry 1

Our Visit to West Virginia – Harpers Ferry, Adventure Ropes Course, Blackwater Falls

With all of my health problems last year, we weren’t able to get away much at all. At the last minute, we decided to throw our camping gear in the car and head out for some adventures! We had a wonderful mix of camping, nature, education and fun. We unplugged for the week… and headed off!! Our first destination was West Virginia.  You may have heard of John Brown, who...

National Aquarium in Baltimore 0

National Aquarium in Baltimore

Last week, we took the kids to Baltimore for my post-op appointment at Johns Hopkins. We were able to stay right next door at the McElderry House,  small business that provides affordable lodging for families of Hopkins patients in the neighborhoods adjacent to the East Baltimore hospital complex. Everything checked out fine, the stitches that completely block off my ear were removed and the implant in my skull for the...