By Holly Giles | Family , Field Trips , Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling , popular , Recipes
Even though it is hot here in summer, there are loads of zucchini and other vegetables and fruits that are in season and abundant for feeding hungry boys! Let’s face it ya’ll, it is hot here in Florida and even sitting at my computer makes me sweat. I don’t like to sweat unless it is […]
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By Holly Giles | Boy Crafting , Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling , Nature Study
We love nature study, but sometimes planning it seems to take the joy out of spontaneous interests in the out-of-doors. Although my boys love a good show from the hawks outback or a new bird that shows up, they can balk at a scheduled time to go sit and draw what they see in nature. (yes, those are pj’s, bird […]
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By Holly Giles | Field Trips , Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling , Nature Study
Our homeschool co-op visited the Avian Reconditioning Center in Apopka, FL and were treated to a real wildlife show. ARC has been serving the bird of prey community for ten years by Carol and Scott. They have turned their property into a haven for rescue birds and rehabilitation. They work with area officials and clinics […]
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By Holly Giles | Family , Field Trips , Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling , popular
Mount Dora is a quaint historic town surrounding Lake Dora in Lake County, Florida. They have wonderful festivals of art and patrons come from all over the country to attend. I applied for the Mount Dora spring show in hopes of our family experiencing a large show and to sell enough feed sack totes to keep […]
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By Holly Giles | Field Trips , Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling , Nature Study
The wonderful weather beckons us to be outside! We met up with some friends for a day at Hontoon Island State Park. Come along with us to this hidden Florida gem. Hontoon Island sits along the St. John’s river in Volusia County. It is accessible only by boat. It is a treasure trove of […]
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By Holly Giles | Family , Field Trips , Florida , Great Outdoors , Nature Study , Recipes
You are invited to a Blueberry Pickin Party! The boys and I went to pick blueberries for the first time and invited a few of our friends along for the fun. In our area of Florida, there are scads of places to go, yet we never seemed to make it out during the season. It […]
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By Holly Giles | Family , Field Trips , Florida , Great Outdoors
Taking a road trip with just one of my boys does not happen often. I took advantage of an opportunity to take Grayson to several state parks and to Alabama to see my grandmother and to reconnect with my firstborn. Whenever we hit the road, we have our Florida State Parks Passports in hand to […]
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By Holly Giles | Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling , Nature Study , Recipes
Our Field Study Part One was about a field trip to the strawberry fields. This season we used the strawberries to make Jam. Grayson and Grant can get overzealous when it comes to picking berries.They took off down the rows and came back with their shirts full. Before I knew it, we had $30 worth of […]
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By Holly Giles | Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling , popular , Recipes
In my book, Blaze New Trails, I devote a chapter to U-pick farms. I share how food can teach math in a hands-on way. Two families joined us and we jumped right into strawberry math at Oak Haven Strawberry Farm. Our goal is to find out how many strawberry plants are on the farm and […]
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By Holly Giles | Family , Florida , Great Outdoors , Mama's Musings
Our family took my two nephews and Cindy, my sister in law on a jet ski ride. Curtis, Crockett and Cowboy acquired this new toy free of charge, for towing the owner to shore after sinking it in the river. I will save that story for another day. This day, our plan was to ferry […]
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