Monument Valley - Over-rated

While I think Monument Valley, the drive-through part, is over-rated, the area isn't - it is worth the trip to get there and see.  I just don't think the "park" itself is worth risking your car to drive through - the road through the park is horrible - pocked dirt, huge potholes, ruts and more that have the potential to totally do in your tie-rods!

On our way to Monument Valley we saw a sign for Natural Bridges, looked at each other and said, "yeah, why not, we're on vacation" as we turned toward the entrance with no idea how far it was, or if it was going to mean not getting to Monument Valley.

I am so glad we made that turn - Natural Bridges is a gem of a park, a definite must-see if you're in that area!

And heading there, before Monument Valley, didn't do much to our plans other than provide another great park to see and explore!  Rather than drive back the way we came, we headed down an old route that was carved out for uranium trucks to get in and out of the valley quicker - not sure that it made a difference in time, the road was steep, windy and really narrow in places...but was a fun, if not also an anxiety-producing, ride!

I recommend if you're going to be in Monument Valley around a meal, bring it yourself or eat before you arrive - I didn't think the restaurant serviced by the area was worth the price.

Roughing It

While Bear is a outdoorsy guy who loves camping - me, not so much - we decided to compromise and stay in a primitive cabin overnight on our way to the Four Corners area.  It really wasn't so primitive - while the bathroom was a short walk down the path, it was ours alone, private and had a flush toilet, running water and a shower!

The area was beautiful and the kids got a chance to burn off some energy before bed.

The cabins were located in the foothills of the Abajo Mountains and were a wonderful, off-the-beaten path find for us - the perfect stopping point (Blanding, UT) on our way to Monument Valley!

Arches is Amazing!

Not only for it's absolute beauty, but because it was here was got hooked on the Junior Ranger program!

Nearby, on a road toward Potash, are some ancient petroglyphs - definitely worth the side drive!

The Junior Ranger program is offered in most National Parks, Monuments and other national sites.  While not intense in difficulty, it does offer a great introduction for young kids to spark their interest in an area - the geography, geology, animals, plants and peoples that are there, or once were.  Boo really enjoyed the programs - and as you'll see, we did quite a few in our travels!

Canyonlands, a Parent's Panic-Attack

Our first order of business on Sunday was Canyonlands, which is absolutely amazing.  It is, however, what parents can call a panic-attack park - no real barriers to keep you from falling down into the canyons, and when you have kids, you worry.

We kept Bug strapped in his stroller and gave Boo some rules, namely no going to the edge on his own, and when walking along the narrow pathways, Bear or I am on the canyonside, not him.

Yes, you can walk right off that edge!

But, we did have fun and did explore some great areas despite the potential for death!

Later that evening, we headed to Arches to see the Solar Ecplise at the Ranger Program at that park!

Ranger's pinhole camera

iPhone photo taken with filter

Don't Know How, But We Made It!

Waking in Glenwood Springs, CO was a delight - we spent the morning swimming in the huge hot springs pool and then headed out to meet Bear in Moab, UT.  His flight wasn't due in until the evening, so we had time to poke around along the way and take in the landscape changes as we drove from the mountains into the high dessert going west.

Throughout Utah t-shirts are sold with "Utah Rocks!" across the front - very apropos, the state is a wonder of landscapes, from canyons to mountains, arches to dessert - an absolute wonder to see and travel.

Bear's flight arrived late, but we still were able to head to Dead Horse Point State Park to see a magnificent sunset before heading into Moab.

And We're Off

With my husband due to arrive (flight) in Moab, UT on May 19th, my getting off on our road-trip two days late meant I needed to push hard to get across Kansas and Colorado in just two days!

So, with push-push-push in mind, we hit the road on Thursday, May 17 with Colby, KS as our hoped for overnight destination.  With the kids strapped in, we headed out and managed to get to Oakley, KS - a very small town along I-70 and stayed the night there.  It turned out to be a great place to stop overnight since a map review in the morning showed it was easier to get to Colorado Springs, CO from there than if we'd continued on to Colby.

With Pikes Peak as our target, we hit the road pretty early and within a couple of hours had the mountain in our sights!  Boo and I talked about what it must have been like for pioneers crossing the plains to see the mountains looming large in the distance, with them still so far, yet within sight - how knowing they were ahead must have given them an energized commitment to continue on to reach them.

From the point where we could make out the mountain in the distance, through the haze that still tricked you into thinking it might just be clouds, it took us two hours of driving.  I can't imagine how many days walking that would be!

Friday afternoon we arrived at Pikes Peak and headed to the summit...a tax on our lungs, going up from a couple of thousand feet to over 14,000 in a day!  Boo didn't seem to notice (though I did) - what he did notice was the drastic temperature change - in Manitou Springs it was 82, at the summit it was 39!

After the long drive, we decided to head up to Glenwood Springs, CO - not only was it a good point to get to for driving to Moab, UT the next day, it is home to Glenwood Springs hot spring pool, an incentive that made the ride there worth the trip for all of us given how many hours we'd already been in the car in just the last day!

The First Great Road-Trip

For the end of second-grade I decided to again administer the California Achievement Test (CAT) to Boo to see if he was where I thought he was in Reading, Language Arts and Math.  Once the results were in, I called it a year and we were officially on our break.

But, as anyone who homeschools their children knows, though formal lessons are done for the year, that doesn't mean learning ends.

Boo is definitely an outdoor kid - he loves anything and everything outside - so this year, to instill a deeper love of all outdoors, we planned our first great road-trip to not only learn about things in the US, but to see and do things as part of the learning experience (no books were harmed in this adventure).

Since this year Boo asked for a week at snowboard camp for his birthday, we took that as an opportunity to create a loop drive from Missouri to California to Oregon and back to Missouri.

Our route:

Missouri --> Kansas  --> Colorado  --> Utah  --> Colorado  --> Arizona  --> California  --> Oregon  --> Washington  --> Idaho  --> Utah  --> Wyoming  --> Colorado  --> Kansas  --> Missouri

Phew!

Why Homeschool?

The question is so often asked, that I thought I'd start our blog by answering it first.

Before Boo (what I'll call our son here on the blog) was even born, my husband and I toyed with the idea of homeschooling him. We hadn't made any real decision about it though until the summer he turned 5 and missed the cut-off to start kindergarten by two weeks. With no waivers, testing in or other options to start "formal" schooling, I started doing more at home with him, and the rest is history.  At this point, we feel homeschooling will continue to be in his best interest, at least for the next few years.

We live in one of the easiest states to homeschool - Missouri. The state laws are reasonable, with a straight-forward guideline that allows the flexibility necessary to continuously "meet your child" where they are in their learning. For us that means a variety of curriculum across different grade levels, from second to fourth at this point. As Boo advances, so too does the material we use - we're not tied to a grade specific curriculum, but rather continue along where Boo is - one thing I love about homeschooling!

I'm hoping to be able to blog about our homeschool experience in Missouri, and our travels around the country this coming summer. I hope doing so leads others to understand what we do when we homeschool and why it's a great option to educate our children. It certainly isn't for everyone, but for us, it works - and works well!

Dollar Days at Scholastic - eBooks

Scholastic's Teacher Express is running a $1 sale on a large number of eBooks, now through September 20, 2011!

Better still, when you use the coupon code (10THANKS), you'll get $10 off your ebook download order. You get to choose the titles! Pick out the ebooks you'd like, then use the coupon code to get $10 off your order. Since they are having a Dollar Days Sale, you could get ten free ebooks! No shipping costs and no payment information requested.

How to Get this Freebie: Visit Scholastic Teacher Express. Use coupon code 10THANKS in the shopping cart to get $10 off your order (If you copy/paste the code, make sure you're not also copy/pasting spaces. If you type it, be sure to use capital letters).

Expires September 20, 2011

Art-i-Fact Crawl

Enjoy an evening of art, culture and fun with food and prizes at the annual MU Campus Gallery & Museum Crawl on Thursday, September 15, 2011. The crawl starts at 4:00 PM at any of the venues that are participating and runs until 7:00 PM (except Laws Observatory which will remain open until 9:00 PM).

This is a fantastic way to see many of the educational exhibits and offerings on the MU Campus that homeschoolers can utilize in their curriculum!

The nine venues that comprise Art-i-Fact Crawl include the:

• George Caleb Bingham Gallery
• the Museum of Art & Archeology
• the Museum of Anthropology
• the State Historical Society of Missouri
• the Craft Studio Gallery
• the Missouri Historic Costume & Textile Collection
• Laws Observatory
• the Enns Entomology Museum, and
• The Residence on the Francis Quadrangle

Door prizes are given out at each location during the evening.

Participants who get their Crawl postcard map stamped at all nine locations will be eligible to enter a grand prize drawing for a $100 gift certificate to the University Bookstore.

The map is HERE.

Watch for the orange deposit box at each location.

The Laws Observatory will be open until approx 9 pm so participants can view the stars and they will accept Crawl postcards until 7:30 pm that evening.

Musicians from the MU Department of Music will be playing at various locations throughout the Crawl for your enjoyment.