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 | Great Outdoors , Mama's Musings
This is our first season of playing a sport. Grant wanted to try soccer this season, so we joined our city’s league. I wish someone had told me about the secret soccer mom society before I showed up in my grungy shorts! Our whole family showed up for the first practice like it was the […]
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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 | Great Outdoors , handicrafts , popular
Sprucing up my porch is a yearly effort. Florida weather can be rough on anything exposed to the elements. With an open porch and freestanding canopy, each season calls for a fresh look. My free-flowing creation mason jar light is now a welcome sight with my morning coffee and the birds. Collecting mason jars is […]
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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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By Holly Giles | Family , Florida , Great Outdoors , Mama's Musings
As we head out this weekend on another camping adventure, I thought I would continue our adventures from last year. In part one of camping, I talked about the idea of camping versus the reality. Now I will share our run-ins with critters and nature as we venture on exploring the outdoors. This time last […]
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By Holly Giles | Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling , Nature Study
We just finished reading The Last Egret, by Harvey Oyer. I was not prepared for the fascinating true accounts of Charlie Pierce, a native of Florida in the late 1800’s. History has become a favorite subject for us all in our homeschool, especially Florida history. I am a fourth generation Floridian with roots from the […]
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