The Visitor

On the way to take the trash can to the curb this morning, I noticed our dog, Sally B, acting strange.  I stopped and went over to see what was going on that upset her so much.  To my surprise, we had a large snapping turtle under our camper.  Now everyone and everything knows that under the camper is her spot.  She runs everything off and loves to spend her outside time there.  The turtle was in her space! 

I got the kids and the camera.  Just another impromptu lesson on nature. 

After the pictures, I rounded the kids and dogs up and put everyone inside.  I am hoping that the turtle will move on to the lake or pond, if given enough privacy. 

Siamang Gibbons

What better way to learn about world geography, than to visit the local zoo!  We are immersing ourselves in world geography this school year.  Now before you say, "What does the zoo and gibbons have to do with world geography?", it has everything to do with it!  I don't want the kiddos to just look at maps and memorize countries and major cities, waterways, oceans, etc.  I want them to get to know what types of animals, people, products, plants, etc. come from different areas of the world.  So, really we are studying so much more than world geography.  We are studying all of the world and all of the school topics during this amazing year or two or more if it takes.

Our local zoo is conducting Tell Me About Them Tuesdays.  They have designated one animal to feature every Tuesday for the school year.  To kick off the series, they featured the Siamang Gibbon.  Their Siamang Gibbon pair just had a baby boy in March.  He just went on display and we wanted to see him, plus learn about the Siamang Gibbons!

It was a small group that gathered to learn about the gibbons.  We were able to ask questions and learn quite a bit about these wonderful animals.  Oscar was born at our zoo twenty one years ago.  He is George's dad.  The lady giving the talk, told us how good a father Oscar is to George.  We even got to witness him caring for little George.  Ella is George's mom.  She is a first time mother and is very protective of little George.  She wouldn't let us see him at first. However, after five minutes of studying us, she finally brought him up to the front of the exhibit and proudly showed him to us.  Little George is a handful!  He wants to climb and eat apples, just like mom and dad.  Mom wouldn't let him have an apple, so in typical child fashion, he reached out his arms and called for Dad.  Dad came over and took him.  He thought he would get an apple from Dad, but Oscar didn't let him have one either.  Poor George, Mom and Dad were on the same page when it came to apples.
 

We learned that Siamang Gibbons' vocalizations can be heard for over two miles in the forest.  They have just as many teeth as a human!  The gibbons are given enrichment activities to keep them mentally stimulated in captivity.  The zoo keepers place their food treats in different things, so they have to 'hunt' for their treats.  The children enjoyed watching the gibbons 'hunt' for their food. 

What a fun way to learn!

The Schiele Museum

I stumbled upon this little gem a few months ago and tried to plan a trip all summer.  It never happened.  So, with the school year settling in for everyone, I finally pinned down a date and invited a fellow homeschool family to go check it out.

The kiddos were happy to have friends on the trip.  Of course, who doesn't like to travel with friends?  The Schiele Museum is just about an hour from us and a very easy drive.  Definitely worth the trip if you live close by. 

A large replica of a dinosaur skeleton welcomes visitors in the main lobby.  This grabs the interest of kids as they enter.  The cost to tour the museum isn't bad.  Nine dollars for adults and six dollars for kids over four years of age.  We decided to buy tickets to the planetarium show for an extra three dollars each. 

The kids loved the large displays of taxidermed animals in the museum.  They could have spent hours looking at them.  The displays were nicely done and very informative. 

The traveling Solar System exhibit was very educational.  I loved the lights on the ceiling and the planetary displays.  The children enjoyed the MARS exhibit with the interactive hands on robotic arm.  Oh, and the self destruct button on the 'space station'. 

A delight was the live animals.  They all wanted to take home a prairie dog! 

They were amazed at the massive rock and mineral collections.  Oh, if only the gold nuggets were real and not casts! 

They were intrigued with the early human display.  Of course, this area brought up many questions.  I'm sure we will be discussing it for a while.

The outdoor area was nice.  The Catabawa village was not open, which was a disappointment.  However, we enjoyed the Stone ledge area and the Gristmill. 

We will definitely be back to see the next traveling exhibit and learn more!

Music Sandwiched In - Mary Poppins!

We kicked off our fine arts experience today with the library's Music Sandwiched In program.  The Spartanburg Little Theatre presented Mary Poppins.  I loved Mary Poppins growing up.  The children have watched it and loved it as well.

I wasn't sure if I could get past someone other than Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke playing the lead roles, but the cast today exceeded my expectations.  I didn't once think about the movie version, as I watched the performers.  Even Little Man, who was not thrilled to be at the program, enjoyed himself.  The entire cast did a terrific job and they are two and a half weeks from opening day.

This is a must see performance!  We will definitely be purchasing tickets to see the show.

Our New Travel Trailer!

We finally bit the bullet and purchased a brand new CrossRoads Zinger 28bh.  This is definitely a big step up for us and we can't wait to start the adventure! 

Now time to start making it feel like home!

Does It Ever Slow Down?

We have been on the go!  That is either a great thing or maybe not, just depends on what is going on.  So, what have we been doing?  Bunches!

I had taken a break from the blog and I'm hoping to get back to posting regularly.  It has been a wonderful way to document our unschool life.  It's just that we have been so busy unschooling that I didn't have the time or energy to sit down and blog about our happenings.  I think I am more busy with unschooling the kiddos than if we just had a set curriculum and studied from textbooks.  But studying from textbooks isn't real life, is it?

Egee has thoroughly enjoyed the dance competition world.  Her team did very well in all four competitions.  They placed high gold in two and platinum in two.  They earned a 1st place ranking in their age/division, as well.  She had try-outs for competition teams in June.  She made the next level in competition teams for clogging and stayed at the performance level for Irish.  She is working hard to make competition Irish next June. 

I have been busy driving her to dance workshops and classes.  Oh the life of a dance mom!  LOL

Little Man has taught himself magic tricks, yo-yo tricks, skate board tricks, etc.  He is always on the move.  He researches everything using Google and YouTube.  I love the fact he can learn so much through self direction.  He has been busy fishing and learning new techniques to catch different types of fish.  He was concerned with getting a hook in his hand and spent countless hours researching the best ways to remove fishing hooks from body parts.  It was a bit much for me!

We have camped and traveled this summer.  (Most of the travel revolved around dance.)  However, we always incorporate some type of learning experience.  We have spent countless hours enjoying our pool and new deck.  Now that summer is drawing to a close, we are looking forward to visiting zoos and other outdoor learning environments.

I don't forsee our lives slowing down much.  However, I will carve out time to post our adventures. 

Orchard Lake Campground

We stumbled upon Orchard Lake Campground through a homeschooling group.  We love to camp here and have gone back many times.  It is a Good Sam Club Campground, so we receive 10% off a nightly stay.  They do not discount the week stay rate, due to the fact that they only charge for six nights instead of seven.  So, you are still getting a discount.

The kids love the lake.  They have a roped off swim only area, but you can swim anywhere in the lake.  There is a floating dock in the middle of the lake with a slide and the kids love it!  Old fashion fun to be had!  Kayaks, canoes, paddle boats, and flat bottom boats are complimentary with your stay.  We have our own inflatable kayaks that we bring with us.  They provide life jackets for anyone wishing to use them. 

You can fish in both lakes.  The small lake is catch and release only.  The larger lake's fish can be kept.  There are tons of brim and bass to be caught in the lakes. 

They have a zipline for the kids, which is always loads of fun.  There is shuffle board, climbing wall, balance ladder, swings, basketball hoop, skateboard ramp, large fields for soccer or other games, etc.  So, no one should be bored!

There are variety of sites to choose from.  Some are reserved pretty fast.  We love to camp in the Palmetto Sites.  They are pull through gravel spots that have full hookups.  It doesn't take much effort to level the trailer in these spots.  Each spot has a fire ring and a picnic table.  The maple trees are getting larger every year and are starting to provide shade for the campers now. 

We camped in the Wood lots once, but the roads in the Woods area are not great.  We drug bottom in our Conquest.  We don't want to chance it in the Zinger. 

I'm sure that Jim and his crew are working hard to keep renovating the park.  They have added more sites for pop-ups and restroom facilities.  This is a little gem in the mountains for us.  We can't wait to go back!