By Holly Giles | Boy Crafting , Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling
Bear Grylls Grant was nine when Bear Grylls became a person of interest. He was all about survival techniques and everyday carry packs. Grant enjoyed watching Bear Grylls’s shows and learning from his expertise. Home education for us is more of a lifestyle. For example, we weave learning into our daily lives. And into what […]
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By Holly Giles | Field Trips , Florida , florida vacations
Clearwater marine aquarium Have you been to an aquarium lately? Grant, my 10-year-old, and I took a mini-vacation to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium to see Winter, the dolphin who lost her tail. The movie Dolphin Tale was made about her and her journey to receive a mechanical tail. My sister recently moved to Clearwater. So, it […]
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By Holly Giles | Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling , Nature Study
Adding Wildflowers to your nature study is as easy as looking in your neighborhood. Yes, it can be easy! For some reason, studying wildflowers seems daunting. Where do you find them and how in the world do you figure out what they are? Start in your yard or your neighbors. Most of our area does not use herbicides on […]
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By Holly Giles | Field Trips , Florida , homeschooling
Backyard history History never captured my attention when I was in school. Memorizing dates and names did not link me with real people. And how our country was shaped because of them. Now, it is one of my favorite subjects that I share with my boys. We love a good historical fiction book to curl up […]
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By Holly Giles | Florida , florida vacations
Debary Hall “We are called the best-hidden gem in Volusia County for Florida history!” said Betty, our tour guide at Debary Hall. A friend and I, along with our four children decided to take a tour of this historic home to learn some Florida history. This particular gem actually sits right within my own neighborhood. […]
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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 , Florida
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 , florida vacations , 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 | Florida , homeschooling
Our homeschool co-op gathered today at our local VFW post to serve our troops by filling boxes. A veteran spoke to the children before we began and the profound sentence he said resonated with us all. “They need to know we care”. No matter your stance on politics or war, we have American citizens who serve […]
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