Preparing for a road trip.

Since we do a lot of road trips, usually for 2-3 weeks at a time, I thought I would walk you through our process of getting ready.

Usually, I have at least a month's notice. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Our trips are tied to my Hubby's work schedule. We have to go where his assignments are. When I find out we are going & where, then my work begins.

First I google the city we are going to looking for fun & educational things to do. I make a list of places to go with their cost & hours of operation. I also make a list of places within a 2-3 hour drive that might make a nice weekend trip. For example, when we went to Wilmington, Delaware, I also researched Washington DC, Baltimore & Rehoboth Beach. I always look for National Park Service properties as many of these are free. I also check for things related to our current studies, like the Civil War. I also check for not to be missed attractions along the route to our destination. When we went to Clarksville, TN, we stopped at Mammoth Caves on our way.

The next thing I start doing is making a list of school items I need to pack. This includes curriculum, paper, pencils, creative art supplies, math videos & our printer. I find it's easier to take the printer than try to print things to hotel printer or to carry a lot of papers that I might not need. I also pack binders for each kid so they can make a trip notebook.

The next list I make is a clothes packing list. I make one for each kid so they can pack their own suitcases. That makes the week before we leave much easier on me. I also put meds & personal hygiene items on this list.

I also make a tech list. We are a very tech-savvy family. This list includes laptops, iPads, cameras, phones, iPods & headphones. I also make sure to put sync cables & battery chargers on this list. And I need to make sure we don't forget power cords for our printer & laptops.

I also make a list of things we need to do before we leave such as hold our mail, notify neighbors we will be gone, turn heat down/AC up & refill meds we will need.

About 2 weeks before our trip, Hubby & I go over my packing lists. Many times, he thinks of a few things to add. We also look over my places to go list. He helps narrow it down to what is feasible to do in the time we have & with the money we have.

Hubby works really hard to find us a hotel with a one bedroom suite so we have more room for our extended stay. We also try to get one with a pool (indoor if possible). We also try to get one with a frig, microwave & if possible a stovetop.

The week before our trip is very busy. We have to try to get school work done in between packing. A lot of times, we spend that week learning about the city & state we will be visiting. Laundry, packing, cleaning house & more packing must be done. My goal is always to have everything packed & ready to be loaded into our van the day before we leave. Then comes the fun part!

Loading the van is always like doing a 3-D jigsaw puzzle. I have to figure out how to get everything in! I try to accomplish this before bedtime. I tend to sleep better if it is all loaded up!

As you can see, preparing for a trip is a lot of work. And this post has been long & boring with no pictures! I will try to take pictures throughout the preparation process when we go on our next trip. We are also thinking about doing some recordings (audio & video) of our next trip. Then maybe we can revive our podcast.... Maybe....

 

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Some things we've been doing...

Below are a few things we've been doing besides normal school things.

David went hunting for the first time this year with Papaw.

Hubby took the kids to Home Depot's Kid's Workshop.

They shoveled the drive a few times.

They went to another Home Depot workshop.

They made ornaments for family & friends.

They went to a workshop at Lowes.

They helped me make Christmas candy!

As you can see, we had a lot of fun activities over the last few months. Learning happens any where, any time & through any activity.

 

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Summer!

So it's summer. Schooling is officially on break, but learning is still happening. Here's a little of what we've been doing in June!

We started the month off by going to Taylor's graduation. She is my cousin Lori's daughter. David took the photo.

The youngest 2 stayed with Mamaw & Papaw while Jamie & I went to camp to work. David took this pic of them with Mamaw, Papaw & Uncle Bob!

Jessica playing play dough at Mamaw's.

David watching tv while playing play dough.

They visited us at camp. I was supervising the kitchen crew.

Jessica & David playing at the amphitheater at camp.

Picking Papaw's strawberries.

Jessica riding her bike while David & Papaw tend the fire.

David got to shoot his BB gun & the shotgun while at Mamaw & Papaw's.

Jamie & I went to camp to help get the camp ready for the start of camp the next week.

Jamie washed all the tables in the dining room. We had a crew in kitchen, one cleaning bathrooms & washing windows. We also had crews putting bunk beds together, weed eating, spreading sand on beach & volleyball court, pulling weeds & whatever else needed done.

This is Jamie's youth group that did all the work at camp. They are an impressive group of kids with an incredible work ethic!

We got to have fun while at camp too. Here Jamie is doing the zip line into the lake.

Jamie with her crew leader, Corinne.

The next week, we returned to camp with all 3 kids. This time, they were campers! We love SpringHill Camp!

Jamie with her counselor Hannah.

David with his counselor, Adam.

Jessica with her counselor Maddy & all the friends she had already made!

All the campers at closing day at camp. The kids had a great time & grew in their faith too.

We picked them up on Friday. Then Friday night until yesterday morning, their friends Anna & Jamison stayed with us. Their parents were on a mission trip to Ukraine.

Yesterday at noon, Jessica & David went to Grandma & Grandpa's. They will be attending VBS there & I'm sure having more adventures. Jamie is with me this week as she has lots of practices for youth Sunday.

So our June has been full. I'm starting to plan our next trip with Hubby. We will be visiting the Jacksonville, FL area for several weeks later this summer. So excited to be able to visit more Civil War sites as well as some colonial sites.

Plus, we have a garden. So the kids are busy helping me pull weeds & water. We also help Papaw with his 1 acre garden! Summer is fun but busy. Enjoy the rest of it!!

 

 

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Homeschooling in real life

We all have this picture in our heads of exactly what our ideal homeschool will look like. Everyone cheerfully learning. Doing all these neat projects. Finishing our curriculum in a timely manner. And so on and so on.....

It rarely happens as we picture, but sometimes it's close. But what if something happens that completely derails your homeschool? How do you cope? What do you do? That something has happened to us. It's why I haven't blogged recently.

My health took a big nosedive recently. I have fibromyalgia so I'm used to having bad health days & plan for it. But recently I've had new symptoms that have completely derailed our lives. I've had tons of doctor appointments & tests done.

So what have our school days looked like recently? Almost non-existent!! But, that's ok. The kids are learning even though we aren't doing school. They are learning more household tasks. They are learning compassion as they see me in pain. They are learning to problem solve. They are learning to get along better. Sometimes just being a family is enough. School can wait.

Am I worried about them missing school this month? Not really. All 3 of the kids are very smart & will easily get back on track when my health gets figured out.

I'm so glad we homeschool. I can't imagine my kids having to take exams while worrying about me. I can't imagine having to work out all the logistics of getting them to school while juggling doctor appointments.

So this is our homeschool. It's not pretty. It's not ideal. But it's real! And just maybe my kids will learn more about living life by just living it!

Thanksgiving

This year, we decided that since Hubby was home all week we would do a "family" Thanksgiving meal on Tuesday.

On Saturday, the kids planned our meal. Our meal would consist of Turkey, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, rolls, fresh veggies & noodles. We then went to the store. The kids found a turkey, rolls, veggies & stuff to make noodles. We tried to get them to pay for it but conveniently they had left their money at home. ;-)

On Tuesday, we put the turkey in the sink to defrost. Jessica liked playing in the water. After lunch, we put the turkey in a bag to roast. Then the kids got busy peeling potatoes while Dad boiled noodles. Jamie lasted the longest at peeling potatoes. David helped Dad put beef in with the noodles.

Soon the food was all done & while Dad & I plated the food, the kids set the table. Our "family" prepared meal was delicious & it was fun working together.

Sorry I don't have pictures but we were having such a great time that I didn't even think about pulling out the camera.