Summer Learning

As I've mentioned before, we cultivated a lifestyle of learning in our family. We were always eager to take a break from formal schooling for the summer, but the learning never stopped.

Summer days were definitely more relaxed and the kids had plenty of free time for playing outside and pursuing their individual interests. I think that's very important. I've noticed families who have practically every minute of the day scheduled for their kids year 'round... with sports, private lessons, and organized group activities. For my family, a little of that kind of thing went a long way. We found it worked better for us to keep our schedule flexible to allow for spontaneous activities.

When I was growing up my mother was very good to take us to the library weekly, especially through the summer. I remember devouring stacks of just-for-fun books. The library sponsored a summer reading program with a goal of a certain number of books to read by the end of the summer. I usually passed the goal within the first week or two, as I was a very avid reader. I continued that tradition with my own children. Sometimes we participated in library-sponsored events, and sometimes we just went to the library and checked out stacks of just-for-fun books.

 Mostly, though, our summer learning wasn't even that structured. My husband and I have made it a point to watch for and take advantage of teachable moments as we go about our normal lives.

Our family especially enjoys camping and travel. When we travel we find out where museums, national parks, and historical monuments are along our route, and we plan in extra time to stop and learn. My husband just automatically pulls over if we see a sign for “historical marker” along the way. Often we don’t even get out. We’ll just read the sign aloud, and talk about whatever historical event may have taken place at that spot, and then go on. Sometimes it doesn’t even take 5 minutes.

Here are a few of the educational benefits we have discovered while camping:

• Nature Studies 
• Survival Skills 
• Primitive Cooking 
• Physical Education (hiking, biking, pumping and carrying water...) 
• Exploration and Discovery 
• Socialization (They always meet any other kids whose families are camping at the same time!)
• Reading (A very relaxing way to spend a lazy afternoon at the campground, when electronics aren't an option!) 
•  Photography 
•  Astronomy 
•  Meteorology 

And that's not mention the great family relationships we are building in the process! What does your family like to do in the summer?

African Safari

So I went to Africa for the weekend... um, I mean Sandusky, Ohio. It just seemed like Africa. Or at least a touristy facsimile of Africa.  The Teach Them Diligently conference was held at the Kalahari Resort, which has an African theme. It also features an indoor-outdoor water park. It is near Cedarpoint theme park, so I guess families in that part of the country go there on vacation.

The hotel and water park part of the resort were kinda cheesy, but the convention center itself was tastefully decorated with lots of African art and artifacts. It was interesting to just walk down the halls and see the various pieces.

 Sherry enjoys posing for silly pictures, so she took up with a couple of characters.

The conference went well. There were some slow times, but in general we were pretty steadily busy talking with homeschoolers.

Faux Africa aside, I was within 5 miles of Lake Erie and didn't even see it. We had planned to drive over to at least snap a few pictures on Saturday but it was pouring down rain, so we didn't. I changed planes in Nashville and Chicago and didn't see a bit of those cities, either. I guess you just have to find something interesting wherever you are, in case it doesn't work out to go out of your way for more sightseeing.

This concludes my ramblin' afield for May. I wonder what our next adventure will be?

Headed to Ohio

I'm flying this morning from Denver to Cleveland. I'll be hosting the Sonlight booth at the Teach Them Diligently conference in Sandusky, Ohio this weekend, May 28-30.

Hours are:
6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday
9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday
9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday

Not much down time, as usual for these trips, but I'll be watching for "blog fodder" to share because, no matter what, life is an adventure. Isn't it?

Florida Bites

We ended up not having time to drive over to the beach while I was in Florida. Nor did we go to Disney World. As we were riding the airport shuttle today, on our way out, a recorded announcement said, "Chances are, you didn't see and do everything there is to do while you were here..." My co-worker and I had to laugh. Yeah, we didn't see or do very much at all except work. However, we stayed at a very nice resort, and the convention was at yet another nice resort, so there were a few photo ops.

I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and "had" to wait at the airport a couple hours before going to the condo. As you can see, waiting at the airport was a real hardship for me. I staked out one of the benches by this gorgeous fountain and read through several of the Psalms while I was waiting. It was a unique place to have devotions. I needed some alone time that time, so that served the need nicely.

Late that evening, after we had loaded and unloaded some of the convention supplies and taken care of grocery shopping for the weekend, one of my co-workers, Sherry, and I explored the resort a little bit. We were tickled to discover that the smoking area was called the Cigar Deck. So pretentious! No one was smoking cigars (or anything else), and it was actually a very nice deck overlooking the lake.

Another thing that cracked us up was the Sensory Garden, which was a nicely landscaped, short garden path. Sherry struck a yoga pose long enough for me to take a picture. I'm not sure she got the full sensory effect in that length of time, but we aren't real sure what that was supposed to be anyway.

The convention was busy. We worked long hours and talked to lots of people. 

It was held at the Gaylord Palms resort, which has alligators in the atrium. They weren't in the wild, and they weren't very big, but still, it was cool to see them. There were turtles in with them.

On Saturday evening my cousin, Kerry, who lives there, came over to see me. We went out for a quick dinner. It was fun to see her again. It had been several years. We were too busy talking and catching up to think about taking pictures.

And that was the extent of my adventure in Florida this past weekend. I've been to Florida twice now, and have yet to see the Atlantic Ocean. 

Someday we'll go back for a vacation. At least, it's on my bucket list.

Going to Florida

I'm headed to the airport this morning for another convention trip. I'll be assisting at the Sonlight booth at the Florida Homeschool Convention this weekend. The exhibit hall will be open 5 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. I'll be working with several other Sonlight reps for this event, most of them long-time friends, so that will be fun. Also, Sonlight's owner, Sarita Holzmann will be speaking. I'm hoping to be able to sneak off for a bit to visit a beach, but I'm not sure if we'll have time for that or not. In any case, it's sure to be a great weekend!

A 3-State Day

We traveled from Denver to St. Louis yesterday with a small detour to Rolla, Missouri to visit Lyle's mom for a few minutes. We left home at 3:00 a.m. and traveled a total of 17 hours, including stops. Mostly we were on the interstate with not much "scope for the imagination" or interesting tallies. We were off the main road for a little bit as we cut down from Columbia to Rolla. With that in mind, here are my tallies for Thursday:

States traveled through: 3 (Colorado, Kansas, Missouri)
Car Talk episodes: 2
Audio book CDs: 3 (of a 15 CD book, Illusion by Frank Peretti)
Dead armadillos along the road in Missouri: 44 (not kidding!)

Country churches with interesting names:
Little Flock Baptist Church
Glad Tidings Pentecostal Church
Grace Cowboy Church

Ok. So we'll see what this post looks like. I don't seem to have the hang of mobile blogging, so I  may or may not post again before we get home.

Road Trip to Indiana

Lyle and I are headed to Indiana this weekend to host the Sonlight booth at the Fort Wayne Area Homeschool Resource Expo this Saturday, May 16.

We'll be driving to this event. Maybe I can post some pictures along the way, though we won't have a lot of time for sight-seeing.

I know! I can keep tallies! That's always fun. I don't know if anyone else is interested in my tallies, but they amuse me.

Stay tuned.

Outside of Fairbanks

For our day off today, we drove out into the country. Our first stop was the Alaska Pipeline. I learned that the reason it is above ground is because the oil is warm (about 100 degrees F) as it flows through the pipe. The ground, however, is frozen permafrost. If the pipeline were buried it would thaw the ground and  make it unstable. I hadn't thought of that before. I guess I figured it was the other way around-- that the ground would make the oil too cold. But no.

A stream ran parallel to the Pipeline. It was still frozen along the edges. We were fascinated with the ice crystals. So delicate and beautiful.

 Then we drove up to the Chena Hot Springs Resort, about an hour outside of Fairbanks. We ate lunch there and enjoyed walking around. There were several old vehicles of various kinds, just rusting away... lots of log buildings with moose racks galore... and pen of reindeer sleeping under trees... another pen of chickens and goats hanging out together. Just random, interesting stuff.

We didn't get into the hot springs, but we dipped our hands in to see if it really was "hot." It was. It also smelled like sulphur. The middle picture is the "ice skating pond." I decided my ice skates probably wouldn't work on it in that condition.

It was a fun, relaxing day. Tomorrow we'll be back to work at the Fairbanks IDEA convention.

Denali Viewpoint South

The second "sight-seeing" stop of yesterday's road trip was at the Denali Viewpoint South. It involved a short uphill hike for the best view. I wasn't too sure where it would take us, so I asked some ladies coming down if the hike was worth the view. They assured me that it definitely was, and that I was almost there. So I kept going.

The strip of photos in the collage above shows the trail, starting from the bottom picture and going up. I could just barely see the top of the mountain as I started up. The background picture was taken from the viewpoint at the top of the trail. As were these...

The view of the mountain from this vantage point was breathtaking. At over 20,000 feet, Denali is the tallest mountain on the North American continent. Apparently, Mount McKinley is the official name, but the "real" name of the mountain is Denali. If you're like me, you've heard all this before but may not remember it at the moment.

As with most major mountains, seeing it on a sunny day is rare. We were thrilled that the weather cooperated for a stunning view just for us.

Talkeetna, Alaska

On our road trip today we enjoyed a detour to the little town of Talkeetna.

Tourists that we are, we decided that it was a quintessential Alaskan town.

 We walked down the street lined with authentic log cabins...

...whimsical buildings...

...and even a yurt!

I would have liked to try this coffee shop, but it didn't seem to be open when we were there.

We followed the signs to the "river view trail"... past the Mexican Moose where this little girl was selling cinnamon roasted nuts, along with random Mexican-y style gifts under the awning behind her. We never did understand why Mexican. In Alaska. Just to be different maybe. I have no idea.

The river view was well worth the hike.

A photographer was rafting down the river with his collapsible bicycle in the raft with him. In case you didn't recognize it, yes, that is indeed Mount McKinley way off in the distance.

Here. Let me zoom in on it for you.

You know what? I think it just needs its own post. But it's getting late. So I'll post those pictures tomorrow.

Out and About in Anchorage

Last night we had dinner at the Glacier Brewhouse in downtown Anchorage. This restaurant is just down the street from the convention center, so we walked over. Obviously, brewed drinks are their specialty, but they had some unique beverage choices in the non-alcoholic section of the menu. I chose Blackberry Basil Lemonade. It was delicious! I would have never thought to add the basil, but it was a lovely variation on mint.

We enjoyed the Alaskan ambiance, not the least of which was the wonderful smell of woodsmoke when we stepped in the door. The large fireplace in the center of the dining room had a gas fire, so it was just for looks. The food was cooked over a wood fire.

 I had the salmon. It just seemed like the thing to order when in Alaska. And yes, it was quite as tasty as it looks.

Then we decided we needed dessert. But not much. So we ordered one slice of "crustless chocolate torte" with 5 forks. The waitress laughed at us, but she brought 5 forks. We passed the plate around and around the table savoring the torte one bite at a time. I have to admit I only had a bite about the first 3 times the plate went past me before "crying uncle." I can only handle so much of uber-rich chocolate desserts.

The convention center where we were working featured this stunning artwork in the lobby. I immediately recognized that it was inspired by the northern lights.

I was amazed to read about the hand-work involved and the method the artist used to create this piece.

It was hung to drape down into the lower level and then over into the hall.

When the convention was over this evening, we took a few minutes to walk around downtown and visit some shops.

We encountered a bear. He wasn't real. But he was large.

And thus ends our sojourn in Anchorage. Tomorrow we will be driving to Fairbanks. We are hoping for some great adventures along the way.

Kenai Convention

 Today was our first convention day here in Alaska. We even put together a special little display featuring books we carry that are set in Alaska and of course we had to add a cute moose mascot. He will be going home to live with Judy's little grandson, but for this week he's helping out in the booth.

Our booth space went around a corner and had a very large world map mounted on the wall behind it, which made for an interesting yet attractive set-up. Don't you think?

The convention ended at 5:00. We packed and loaded up for the 3-hour drive back to Anchorage.

We have been avidly watching for "Moose on Road" but saw nary a one this evening. (Road sign photo courtesy of Stan.)

We would also not have objected to seeing bears, caribou, or whales along the way, but no such luck. In fact, the only wildlife we've seen at all has been ginormous mosquitoes, various birds... and a very strange character at WalMart who was insistent on helping us load our groceries in hopes that we would give him a dollar for his efforts. Never mind that there were four of us who were perfectly capable of loading our own groceries. That was kinda scary.

We have seen more blue sky this year than last year... which make the snowcapped peaks much more spectacular.

 The late daylight hours made the drive back from Kenai very pleasant, in spite of all the animals apparently hiding from us.

It's been a long day, and tomorrow will be an early one, with set-up for the Anchorage convention first thing in the morning. 

No scenic drive on tomorrow's itinerary... but on a trip like this, you never know what might happen. It's always an adventure.

Driving to Kenai

Today's travels took us from Anchorage to Kenai. The drive was described by the convention sponsors thusly: 

The 3-hour (145-mile) ride from Anchorage to Soldotna on the Seward and Stering Highways is nothing less than magnificent, traveling first along breath-taking Turnagain Arm with wonderful views of glacier-capped mountains across the inlet, and then through a mountain pass before you drop down into the forest to drive alongside the glacier-fed, aqua-marine Kenai River.

And indeed, it is a beautiful drive. Last year I was driving, which is not conducive to much picture-taking. Today I was a back-seat passenger, so my view was somewhat limited.

I was able to get a few pictures through the side windows of the minivan.

I didn't realize until we got there that the back windows of this particular minivan will actually roll down, so I wouldn't have had to deal with reflections on the glass if I had known. Oh, well.

We checked into our hotel, then went and set up our booth at the convention venue.

Sheila (one of my co-workers) had discovered an interesting-looking pizza place in Soldota: St. Elias Brewing Company, so we decided to eat there for supper.

The pizza was delicious... as was the root beer which they make there on-sight (in addition to beers and ales and whatever else breweries make).

Sheila is good at taking group selfies. (Or do you call group selfies "ussies" or "weesies"?) She took this one at the restaurant before our food came.

After supper we drove out to the beach on the Kenai River. The breeze was cool but not frigid. We enjoyed picking up pebbles.

And we marveled at how high the sun still was at 8:30 p.m.