Newsletter #369: Trips & Memorial Day - Archived Online. For 32 years The Teaching Home has provided families information, inspiration, and encouragement from a distinctively Christian perspective. Co-Editors: Veteran Home-School Sisters, Sue Welch and Cindy Short |
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In This Issue
Family Day Trips
1. Destinations
2. Guests
3. Preparation
4. On the Road
5. At Your Destination
6. After the Trip
Creation Science Resources for Your Summer Trips
Sidebar
• Celebrating Memorial Day (with Freebies and Resources)
• Travel Freebies & Info
• Creation Science Museums and Information Centers
Recommended Resources
• Deeper Roots: Bible Curriculum
• Easy Grammar: with Daily Grams
• Sing 'n Learn: Audio Products
• Living Books Curriculum: Free Webinar
Greetings,
Family day trips are a great alternative to an expensive vacation or one that is too long away from home or work.
A staycation allows you to stay home, sleep in your own bed – or camp in your backyard – while exploring and enjoying activities within driving distance during the day. Be a tourist in your own town, country, or state. See ideas at bjupress.
Day trips can do much to build family relationships and memories.
And of course, as home educators we can always find an interesting and enriching educational angle for each trip.
Plan and schedule your day trips now, or this winter you may wonder why you didn't get to enjoy God's diverse and wonderful creation the beach, park, mountains, etc., this summer!
May the Lord richly bless your family for His glory.
Cordially,
The Pat Welch Family, Publishers
Pat, Sue, Heather, Holly, and Brian
The Teaching Home is a homeschool, family-run business operated in our home since 1980.
See Your Children Move from Bible
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1. Destinations
Distance and Time
Day trips usually should be a distance that would enable you to spend at least twice as much time at your destination as round-trip traveling time (e.g., the maximum might be 2 hours each way in the car and 8 hours at your destination and/or stops along the way).
You might draw a circle using a 100-mile radius from your home and explore that area.
Here are a few ideas that are especially suited for family day trips during the summer. Some are free, some will take gas money, and some may require an admission fee.
• Natural, scenic attractions such as the beach, mountains, rivers,water falls, lakes, hiking trails, and parks.
• Museums, planetariums, aquariums, and zoos.
• Historic sites, districts, buildings, and museums, as well as antique shops.
• Events such as ethnic festivals, state and county fairs.
Where To Go
Find suggestions and information for day trips from the following sources.
• Call your chamber of commerce or visitors' center for a list, information, and brochures on local and state attractions.
• Find a nearby conservation area; garden; arboretum; county, state, or national forest or park; or the beach.
Audubon Centers and Sanctuaries
National Forests
National Park Service (Free days: August 25, September 28, November 9-11)
Also check out the Junior Ranger Program for more than 200 national parks with information, learning activities, and free e-books, some with curriculum.
• For State Parks in your state, search "state park" in Google.
• Visit these websites:
Fodor's Free Online Travel Guides
Online Highways Travel Guide
Virtual Tourist Travel Guides
National Register of Historic Places
• Ask other families what day trips they have enjoyed and getting information from them.
• Study your state's history this summer and visit noted places. State History from a Christian Perspective
Easy Grammar® Is • Easy to Teach
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2. Guests
Sometimes a family needs to spend time alone together, away from the bustle of a busy life. At other times, taking someone with you can be a ministry to them and make your trip more meaningful.
• Is there an older person in your family or church that cannot get out much and would appreciate a short drive in the country?
• Would another family like to ride with or caravan with you on a trip?
3. Preparation
• Read ahead about your destination. Check your library, online, or other sources. Even a few paragraphs can pique interest and motivate learning.
• Get complete information on your destination, including seasonal hours, admission, and directions.
• Do an hour-by-hour timeline of your trip, figuring driving time, rest stops, etc.
Be sure you allow enough time, instead of cramming too much into too little time, which is counterproductive to an enjoyable experience. If you allow extra time for travel, you will be able to stop and explore interesting things along the way.
• Pack everything you will need the night before, get a good night's sleep, a healthy breakfast, and an early start.
• Add interest and education: take your binoculars, magnifying glass, camera and field guides.
Golden Guides are illustrated and economical, pocket-sized field guides written for primary and secondary students: Birds, Wildflowers, Trees, Rocks, Gems and Minerals, Insects, Reptiles and Amphibians, Mammals, Pond Life, and even Weeds.
• Also take along some tracts, like the fun ones from Living Waters, to hand out to those you meet in your travels.
4. On the Road
• You can begin your trip with a short devotional time in the car as you start down the road. Start with prayer for your family to have a safe trip, be a witness and testimony (take along some tracts), have a good family time together, learn more about nature or history, and praise the Lord for His wonderful creation.
• Have someone read some Scripture or listen to the Bible on tape.
• Listen to and/or sing hymns or choruses.
• Allow some time for family visiting.
• As you travel, you may want to listen to music or a book on tape, such as those from Sing 'n Learn or your local library
Vacation, Day Trip, or Weekly Errands –
Make Your Travel Time Enjoyable & Educational! |
5. At Your Destination
• Experience as much of the site as possible.
• Pick up any handouts or educational materials available. Sometimes it is worthwhile to buy a book on the subject if someone is especially interested. This could encourage reading or other educational goals.
Wherever you go, be sure you know and observe posted rules, common courtesy, and safety. Stay on the paths, no loud running around other people, no picking plants or removing wildlife, avoid poisonous plants, snakes, ticks, etc.
• Be sure you know what you may or may not remove from a nature area.
• See safety pointers at U.S. Forest Service.
6. After the Trip
Follow-up activities are a valuable educational part of any trip.
• You can do a report of your trip by using one of the 100+ ideas for book reports or unit studies from our Newsletter #26. These include activities in art, penmanship, written and oral reports, speech, drama, writing, and poetry.
• Follow up any interest with more reading or research at the library or online.
• Keep an account of your trips to add to your children's school records.
• Make a scrap book with photos and information.
• Plan a return trip next year if your family enjoyed it this year. Often children will enjoy repeated trips more because they are comfortable with the surroundings, feel at home, and know what to expect. Some summer events may become family traditions.
Feeling Stretched in All Directions?
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Creation Science Resources
for Your Summer Trips
If your family visits a national park, geological feature, or zoo, you will encounter evolutionary explanations.
Be prepared with a creation-science view of God's awesome works which show that real science confirms the biblical account of creation and a global Flood.
Even if you are not visiting these places this year, your family will enjoy studying about God's creation – and perhaps plan a future trip!
Wonders of Geology Brochures
from Answers in Genesis
The Wonders of Geology brochures explain some of the most popular (and misconstrued) vacation attractions in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
These two-page brochures are beautifully illustrated and clearly written. They will show you the secular version of how these features formed and what the Bible teaches about these monuments to God's creative majesty.
Download PDF files for individual brochures for only 49 cents each. They include:
• Niagara Falls• Grand Canyon, Arizona
• Petrified Forests, Yellowstone
• Mount St. Helens, Washington
• Dinosaur Nat. Museum, Utah
• Devils Tower, Wyoming
• Caves: Kentucky, New Mexico
• White Cliffs of Dover, England
• Giant's Causeway, N. Ireland
• Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia
Creation Science Road Guides
"Explore God's Creation as a Family Vacation" online article by Dave and Mary Jo Nutting with information on:
• Yellowstone• Grand Tetons
• Dinosaur National Monument
• Grand Canyon
• Mount St. Helens
• Mammoth Cave
• Carlsbad Caverns
• Niagara Falls Road Guide Books from Creation Research Society
• John Day Area of Central Oregon
• Yellowstone National Park and Adjacent Areas
Guides for Museums, Aquariums, and Zoos
from Answers in Genesis
Don't go to the aquarium, museum, or zoo without these Bible-based teaching aids! Makes your visit more than just fun – makes it factual and fascinating too.
• Zoo Guide. Featuring more than 100 animals, includes beautiful pictures and explores the amazing facts and design features that point to our awesome Creator. Spiral-bound. 220 pages. Info/Order.
• Museum Guide. Along with the true history behind more than 100 common museum exhibits, this Museum Guide includes beautiful pictures and teaches you how to understand natural history from a biblical perspective. Spiral-bound. 232 pages. Info/Order.
• Aquarium Guide. >From the odd-shaped hammerhead shark and the powerful killer whale, to the colorful angelfish and the deadly lionfish, the Aquarium Guide covers more than 100 of God's sea creatures and gives information about their features, their design, and much more. Spiral-bound. 220 pages. Info/Order.
Christian Worldview Zoo Guide
Zoos are tremendously educational and entertaining, and travel helps children learn about history, geography, culture, and nature.
America's Best Zoos: A Travel Guide for Fans & Families is co-authored by a Christian home-school dad.
It contains full reviews of the 60 best zoos in the USA, plus information about zoos, animals, and traveling. Order online here.
American History
A Spiritual Heritage Tour of the United States Capitol: Book, CD, DVD, mp3 from Wallbuilders.
