Lessons at the beach!

Sun and fun to everyone!

As I sit here at the beach, watching the children play, and listening to the waves, I am reminded why I chose to home educate. You see, learning takes place even as they play.

The children were digging up clay from the lake. My camp friend and I explained to them how the Native Americans, used clay to make all types of beautiful pottery. We explained how they also dug out the clay, sculpted it, and then either baked it or sat it out in the sun to dry.

Guess what? They decided to do the same. They huddled together, sculpted some stuff, and then set it out to dry. But there wasn’t much sun! History lesson. Check.

Now skipping rocks. That’s something every child should get a chance to do! As the children skipped rocks, I reminded them to throw the rocks at an angle, with a little spin, and to find rocks with a flat side. These bounce on the water better than round rocks, which just sink straight down. I could go on about the “science” of skipping rocks.

The children also collected rocks and took them back to the RV. We then, looked in our rock book to identify the name of the rocks. Science lesson. Check.

As they played with friends, they were learning how to share, cooperate, and work together. Getting along with others. Life lesson! Check.

Like most children, my children LOVE the water and swimming. They raced and I heard my camping friend tell them to hold their fingers close together while they swam on the floater, in order to go faster. They followed her advice, and won!

When I heard this, I immediately heard a metaphor. It was simple. I told the children that the same principle applies in real life. Just like their fingers, when they stick together, they’ll go further, faster! Another life lesson. Check. 

As we watched the waves, I asked them how waves were made. They answered. We talked about how the energy from the wind pushes the water, and that the stronger the wind, the bigger the wave. We discussed a few more details. Another science lesson. Check.

So you see, many things can be learned at the beach. A math lesson, geography, and so forth, could have been taught as well, but for the sake of time, I focused on a few things.

After we went back to the RV, I began to write curriculum to go along with our day at the beach.

While on this journey, living and learning collide. They are always taking place, simultaneously! 

Our plans, His hands.

To get your copy of Swift Walker and other products. Click on the link below. Your support is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

http://astore.amazon.com/plumstreetpress-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=8