Raising kids is challenging. No one can dispute that. Gallons of ink have been spilled on the internet and libraries on how-to articles, advice chats, and training videos. Through all of these resources and tricks, one of the most powerful tools I’ve come across and use is noticing out loud. What is noticing out loud? It is exactly what it sounds like: Noticing when your children, coworkers, friends, or others
We’ve talked a bit about the BLM camping opportunities around Quartzsite, Arizona, but not much about the town itself. Today, we’ll dive into what things to do in Quartzsite, AZ, the snowbird capital of the southwest. RV Facilities Being surrounded by BLM camping, Quartzsite is also flush with full-service RV facilities. The two major locations are right off Highway 95: RV Pit Stop and RV Relief. Both locations offer RV
While visiting the Historic Triangle of Virginia, we had the opportunity to visit many museums in addition to historic sites. One such museum was the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News. This was another opportunity brought to us by the local homeschool community, the other being our tour of the Berkeley Plantation. Even better, we got in free thanks to The Boy’s EAA membership and ASTC reciprocal benefits! The Virginia
One of our favorite science museums that we visited while staying in Virginia was the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News. Best of all, admission was only a dollar a person! This museum was a mix of maritime art, artifacts, and even whole boats. When I say boats, I do mean boats! They have one building that is full of different boats from different parts of the world. From canvas and
While visiting Virginia, we had the opportunity to visit many historic sites, from Colonial Williamsburg to Jamestown Settlement. One of the surprising gems of the area was the Berkeley Plantation, a little-known (to us at least) settlement, with a lot of history! The Historic Location Several companies sent out expeditions during the initial colonization of what was to become the United States. One such company, The Berkeley Company, was given
On our third week of Preservation Virginia‘s home school days, we visited Bacon’s Castle. Regrettably, it seems like the quality of the locations was dropping off by this point. This day was shared with the Smith’s Fort Plantation site. The best part about this location was the two outdoor activities. One was planting a peanut that The Girl got to take home. The other was a demonstration of natural dyes
On our third week of Preservation Virginia‘s homeschool days, we visited Smith’s Fort Plantation. Regrettably, it seems like the quality of the locations was dropping off by this point. This day was shared with the Bacon’s Castle site. Being a split event, there were only two activities at this location. One was where the kids got to make their own whirlygigs. The other was where they could practice writing with
During Preservation Virginia‘s inaugural Homeschool Day events, we got to see and tour Patrick Henry’s home, called Scotchtown. This collection of buildings was the one-time home of the American Revolution politician and orator Patrick Henry. Though mostly reproductions, the main house is original. Patrick Henry is probably best known for his famous speech which ended in the lines “I know not what course others may take; but as for me,
While staying in Virginia, we got to participate in Preservation Virginia’s inaugural Homeschool Day events. The first location of their month-long event was hosted at John Marshall House. As the sign above says, this was the home of John Marshall. He was the fourth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was largely responsible for shaping it into the third branch of the United States Federal Government, giving
While staying in Virginia, we couldn’t turn down the opportunity to tour our nation’s capital! So while staying at the Pohick Bay Regional Campground, we made several trips across the Potomac into DC. On our first day, we wanted to tour the National Archives. Additionally, we wanted to take in as many monuments and memorials as we could along the National Mall. Thomas Jefferson Memorial The first memorial we hit