By Holly Giles | Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling , Nature Study
Around here, science need not be planned. On any given day, it falls from the sky or slithers by for us to take notice. Why not seize the opportunity. On this day, we were reading on the couch when a loud thud hit the back window. As we searched the deck, we found a Red-Eyed Vireo. […]
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By Holly Giles | Florida , Great Outdoors , Mama's Musings , popular
The anticipation of cooler days is approaching. Our annual fall camping trips come to mind. This past spring, we seemed to hit a camping marathon, three trips in five weeks, that left me pondering the idea versus the reality of camping trips! Just the word “camp” sounds fun doesn’t it? Nature hikes, trail mix, campfire stories and smores. The fresh air […]
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By Holly Giles | Boy Crafting , Florida , handicrafts , homeschooling
There is more to the county fair for the family than candied apples, fried Twinkies, and the Ferris wheel! It can be used to educate your children and learn a new skill! As a child, I loved going to the fair. My grandparents lived very close to the property where the Central Florida Fair took place […]
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By Holly Giles | Field Trips , Florida , hen house , homeschooling , Mama's Musings
The Volusia County Fair is in 2 months and we are gearing up for our entries! The fair association and 4H were offering a “Fowl Fun Day” to teach you about entering chickens. The flyer I received sounded too good to pass up! They would teach anatomy, breeds, disease and pest control, and show you […]
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By Holly Giles | Field Trips , Florida , Florida field trips , Great Outdoors
Last week we had family in town. My husband’s Aunt and Uncle from Tennessee were here for a few days. We decided to cool off at Alexander Springs. We were going to meet them at springs, which is located in the Ocala National Forest. The Forest was established in 1908 as the FIRST national forest east of the […]
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By Holly Giles | Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling , Nature Study
Zebra Longwing butterflies are the state butterfly here in Florida. In June, they started taking over our backyard by the hundreds. What can we find out? Their host plant is the passion vine. We have several planted around the backyard, but the one they favor is growing up the railing on our back porch. We have […]
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By Holly Giles | Family , Field Trips , Florida , homeschooling
How can you turn a morning at the farmer’s market into a homeschool lesson? Follow our morning and we will show you how. I gave each boy $5 and a food challenge to last a week. See how they did… Cowboy was given a $5 challenge to purchase fruit for our family of four for […]
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By Holly Giles | Field Trips , Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling
Fort Christmas Florida pioneer village is a hidden gem that everyone should experience! This property has transformed into a great field trip destination over the past 40 years.December 25, 1837, 2,000 army soldiers arrived to construct a fort during the Second Seminole Indian War. Thus the name of the town, Christmas. As a little girl, my grandparents […]
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By Holly Giles | Field Trips , Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling
Hands-on learning works best here on the Frontier, so anytime I can match a lesson with the outdoors it’s going to be a hit. Some friends from our co-op had been asking us to do a class on tadpoles. Some of the kids had never watched them grow before and were anxious to give it a […]
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By Holly Giles | Family , Field Trips , Florida , Great Outdoors
State Parks for Learning We checked out a local park near Central Florida. Deleon Springs State Park ended up being an educators paradise. Upon arrival, we were in awe of some of Florida’s beautiful old oak trees scattered all over this property. It sets the tone for the tourist destination of old that Deleon Springs once was. […]
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