Family Vacations- and saving money on the trip

Family Vacations are so important. One thing we have done the last couple of years is join with a group going to the Great Wolf Lodge. By going with a group, we are able to stay in a nicer room for less than we could for the least expensive room without the group discount.

Every time we stay in a hotel, I bring oatmeal packets. These days many hotels have coffee makers in the room. We use the coffee maker to heat water and then make instant oatmeal for breakfast. If there is a mini-fridge, I hit a grocery store for a couple of apples and some yogurt too. My kids love having their oatmeal in the room since I never buy oatmeal packets at home.

This year we decided that since there is a mini-fridge, and we would have 5 meals on our vacation we would pack for 4 and only eat out at the restaurant for dinner before we went home. For lunch the first day, I brought PBJ from home. For dinner I found some noodle bowls from Trader Joe's like this for about $2 each. They were actually pretty filling and they were all natural too. I also bought a bag of salad greens and a jar of salad dressing. We ate our noodle bowls (with coffee-pot hot water) then poured the salad in the bowl and ate that.
Lunch the second day was hummus, carrots, and crackers. For snacks we brought some granola bars and apples.

Could I have fed us even cheaper? Yes! But I didn't have a lot of time to prepare food beforehand so this was still a good compromise between the restaurants and home cooking.  We swam, ran, played, and laughed. Tiger, Butterfly, and Pumpkin Pie all had a chance to take a "Jr. Lifeguard" class too. They got the opportunity to rescue some ducks from the pool and then to use the lifeguard noodle to pull each other to safety.

Did we do any book learning during this time? Nope. Did we do life learning during this time? As always, yes! Relationships were strengthened, children had to compromise on activities, and all had to work together to get out the door.

Living a Life of Science

But what about science? I remember when I was in school, we almost never did science. Science was something older kids got to do that we didn't get to until junior and senior high. Not in my home! Science is all around us from cooking, to soap making, to cleaning a bathroom, to a box of wires, batteries, and buzzers. In our home, we live science with the help of a few resources.

For "formal" science, I really like what I have seen from Apologia. We are currently using the elementary Botany book. I love the activities and depth of information conveyed even to the elementary age students.This year we have built a light hut and grown plants and dissected tulips as part of our experiments. We have also grown beans in various places to see how light effects the germination and growth of the plants.

The library is full of fabulous books. We often check out books from the library but I also have a few core books. I  love the Usborne Internet Linked Encyclopedia of Science and the new Time Book of Science Experiments.  We also have various books by Janice VanCleave. The cub scout manuals also have ideas for science experiments.

In addition to books, I keep acquiring science kit! Thames and Kosmos is one of my favorite brands but the rather inexpensive Science Wiz kits from Norman and Globus are a hit here too. For $15-$20, all the materials and hours of exploration on a topic are included. Tiger loved the electricity and inventions boxes. Later he constructed a door alarm with the materials so any time someone opened his bedroom door he would know.

The internet is full of science resources Instructables.com and Pinterest have become two of my favorites. I am amazed at the experiments people explain on pinterest!. Just yesterday I found an pin about ants eating colored sugar water and how their abdomens were changing colors. While I don't think I will set this experiment up, it is a cool thing to look at!

What resources do you use? Please share with me as I am always on the hunt for more science resources. While you are at it, check out what other TOS Crew members have to say about science resources. (This link goes live March 13).

Ahoy Mayteys

 Tiger found a book on paper engineering where all the creations are pop-ups or have moveable parts. There was a pirate ship that folds up into a card.

 After spending hours tracing, decorating, cutting, and assembling, a game of pirates ensued. It always amazes me how one small thing can inspire a great game of excitement.

Books to Reference

Until I can figure out how to make a page tab for this stuff, I am going to keep a running list of books to reference so I can find them again. Sometimes I come across a fabulous book that will enrich my schooling.

Great To Read Aloud:

Carry on Mr. Bowditch
Summer of the Monkeys
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

Books about States
Golden Numbers- A California Number Book (Sleeping Bear Press)- There are others for other states too.     This book is great because it has simple numbers, pictures, and a cute rhyme with more information about each thing in the book.

The Delicious Apple at the Top of the Mountain AKA the Rabbits

I love Leslie Householder's books Jackrabbit Factor and Portal to Genius. Some people see Jackrabbit Factor as only having to do with money, but I see it as so much more. I see it as putting yourself into a positive frame of mind to be in harmony with what you truly want. If you are truly in harmony, you will also be in harmony with God's will for you because you are prayerful and grateful for His blessings. In my family, we call the visualization process "Jackrabbiting."

For example, I am a black belt in karate. I have been training for 5 years. The black belt test in my style is VERY intense and requires extensive conditioning training as well as mastering 10 different katas (a choreographed set of karate movements which symbolizes the battle between you and yourself as you are your own perfect enemy), all the bunkai (the extrapolation of what various movements from the kata would represent if someone really attacked you) for half of them and 1 each for the other half, application of half of the katas (a 2-person choreographed "fight" which goes back and forth and back and forth), a set of self defense drills, as well as a cardio sparring drill. The fail rate of the black belt test is high. Only about half the people I know passed on their first attempt. When I took my test, I applied the Jackrabbit principles. I trained hard and did the work I needed to physically- I wasn't just hoping a "rabbit" would hop by, but I also visualized and prayed with gratitude because I knew that God wanted me to have the desire of my heart to earn my belt. I was grateful that he allowed me to train despite my husband working out of town for half the time during the 5 months before my test. God put in my path a babysitter that was available twice a week for just a short time to allow me to keep training. I didn't walk around saying, "If I pass..." I set out to say, "I will pass..." Lo and behold, after a lot of hard work, I passed. This was only a gateway into more training because now I am training to confirm that I am worthy of holding the rank of a first degree blackbelt (I am un-certified). I spend a year training and continuing to work on my basics and techniques. Then I test again with a different set of kata, application, and bunkai.

So, what does this have to do with homeschooling?

As a homeschooler I have set out on a hard path. It has its rocks, blind corners, and blood, sweat, and tears. As long as I stay close to the Spirit, asking in faith that God will send me answers, I can be successful.

I want my children to learn this lesson too. I want them to know how to create a goal, visualize it, know what it will be like, pray for it, and work for it, and finally achieve it despite trials they may encounter. To help me, I just bought a book from Amazon that was recommended to me by Katie Vrajich from A Woman Who Lived. It is called Fox and the Mountain. It is a sweet book to help teach children to persevere and keep working towards their goals no matter how hard the climb and in spite of the nay-sayers.

I can't wait to read it to my children tomorrow.


Update March 1:
This book made an impact on my children. Tiger decided that he wanted to learn a kata for karate. It is a tough kata and he missed several days of class and was behind the class in it. He told dh that he wanted to use that kata for an upcoming tournament. Dh advised him against it since he still didn't know it. Ds said, "Dad, it is like the apple at the top of the mountain! I can do this." He spent the next several days really studying the kata and learned it well because he wanted that apple.