I have mentioned the many benefits of homeschooling. One of the benefits that I have not mentioned yet is, by homeschooling, you have the ability to TRAVEL. We wish you knew that, we are NOT required to stay home, so our children can attend school. School can take place wherever we are!
We live in a state that experiences a thing called "winter". There are gray skies, blowing snow, freezing temperatures, and ice storms. While this IS a pretty picture to look at, it's not so fun (in my opinion anyway) to experience.
Hubs works at a job that has made it possible for him to work in other states. The state of our choice during winter? Sunny Florida!
This was the view we had outside of our window. Aaaaaahhhhhh.....MUCH better.
Homeschooling has allowed us the opportunity to spend most of the dreary winter in sun-drenched Florida. This could NOT have happened if my girls were attending public school, as they kind of frown on you pulling your children out out of school for two whole months.
We simply pack up our belongings and school books, and off we go! We do not have to alter our lesson plans in any way, unless we want to. There is also the added incentive of being able to go to the pool if you finish all of your lessons without complaining. I'm just sayin'.
We were able to do a lot of things while we were there. Some of them were educational, but some of them were just for fun. Most of the things that we did were either totally free, or very low cost. We....
* Went to see our favorite comedian, Tim Hawkins, perform live in concert
* Went fishing and looked up the different fish that we caught (this is a pin fish)
A blow fish
* Studied dolphins and observed them swimming outside of our window
Fun fact: Did you know that dolphins will help other dolphins who are sick or injured? They will sometimes "lift" the dolphin in need to the surface of the water, so that they can breathe. Awwww!
Can you see the dolphin? It was very hard to get a good picture of them, as they swam pretty fast, and would often just appear for a moment. It was fun to watch them swim, and even play with each other. Not something you see in our state!
* Took walks along the dock to look at the different birds, and then looked them up in our bird book. We even drew pictures of some of them.
* Went to the Don CeSar (the "Pink Lady") and took a tour
* Saw our first "one man band"
* Saw manatees as they were "wintering" in the warm waters of the water treatment plant
Can you see all those brown "blobs" in the water? Those are manatees. You had to be there. They don't take the best pictures, especially in the muddy water.
Here is a slightly better picture
* Went to the "Ringling Bro's Museum of Art"
The Ringling Bro's liked to collect pictures and statues of nudes. I refrained from putting the more "graphic" ones on here. You're welcome.
I find this sculpture slightly....disturbing.
We also toured the grounds and went to the rose garden. It was Valentine's Day, and I was surrounded by fresh roses.
In the Banyan trees
This was John Ringling's and his wife's "main" home. Hmmm....sort of looks like ours. Ha!
* Went to Heritage Village
Hubs taught the youngest how to play checkers in the old "General Store"
* Went to the beach and studied starfish
Fun fact: Did you know that even though most starfish have five "arms" pointing out from their body, some starfish can have as many as 40 arms?
*Went to Sea World which was both educational, and FUN! (OK, this was not low cost, but we allowed one big splurge)
Fun fact: Did you know that an alligator's teeth are replaced as they wear down? An alligator may go through 2,000 to 3,000 teeth during a lifetime. That's a lot of teeth!
* Went to the Planetarium, where we watched a presentation on the night sky, and then went to the top of the roof and looked at the moon, and Jupiter and it's moons, with high-powered telescopes (sorry, we weren't allowed to take pictures there)
* We were also able to spend quality time with our family and friends who live there, and we don't get to see very often. Priceless!
* On the way home, Hubs and the oldest went to the Corvette Museum. Here, my oldest is "driving". This will soon be my reality.....*Sob*
We would not have been able to do ANY of this if my girls were in public school. We enjoy being able to travel, and homeschooling gives us that ability.
Perhaps before you read this series, you felt "sorry" for children who are homeschooled. Do you still?
I will often have other kids tell me that they wish THEY could be homeschooled. Why?
Well...we have a lot of freedom. Freedom from peer pressure, freedom from a strict schedule, freedom from a one-size-fits-all education, freedom to learn what we want, when we want to. Freedom to just be ourselves.
And that, my friends..... THAT is why we homeschool.
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