... the great outdoors and schooling
I'll admit that I'm a huge tree-hugging nature nut. Now, I don't condone spiking trees or that kind of thing but given the chance, I'm out cleaning the Chesapeake Bay, visiting our Botanical Gardens or even trying to convince myself I can garden and that Mother Nature will take care of all the watering (which usually doesn't quite work out).
So as I write my first blog entry, it's with my eldest child, Jake, out on a Boy Scout campout in Surrey (also known as Pipsico). The BSA wasn't my first choice for community involvement. I still have issues with their politics and with their inability to keep the boys safe even WITH their politics in place. ("How's THAT working for you?") However, I joined WITH my son(s) to see first hand what was going on and maybe change and better the organization on another level.
Politics and policies aside, scouts has been a great adventure for my boys. Jake enjoys the Boy Scouts and Caleb enjoys Cubs. Both of them share my love of nature and are passionate about nature conservancy. Of course, living this close to the ocean and bay, all things water take precedent.
Bear with me, this will tie into our schooling, I promise.
We're big on theme teaching and I have been more than pleased with the scouting world for helping this along. For Jake, he has choices of merit badges. For Caleb, his Bear book has lots of opportunities to tie into school work. Really, the merit badges and their requirements are self-inclusive lessons on what seems to be hundreds of topics. Right now, he's busily working on Citizenship in the Community, Personal Management, Pet Care, and Reptiles & Amphibians (okay, this was a no-brainer because his pet care IS his snake). All-inclusive self-study programs - what more could a homeschooling mother of 3 (soon to be 4) want?
You don't have to be a scout to buy the merit badge books. Tobin's Lab sells them. But they ARE worth a look! And while I'm also a Girl Scout leader (wanna' buy some cookies?), the BSA seems to have the corner on the market of these little theme units.
Next blog entry? Examples on theme teaching and nature...
I'll admit that I'm a huge tree-hugging nature nut. Now, I don't condone spiking trees or that kind of thing but given the chance, I'm out cleaning the Chesapeake Bay, visiting our Botanical Gardens or even trying to convince myself I can garden and that Mother Nature will take care of all the watering (which usually doesn't quite work out).
So as I write my first blog entry, it's with my eldest child, Jake, out on a Boy Scout campout in Surrey (also known as Pipsico). The BSA wasn't my first choice for community involvement. I still have issues with their politics and with their inability to keep the boys safe even WITH their politics in place. ("How's THAT working for you?") However, I joined WITH my son(s) to see first hand what was going on and maybe change and better the organization on another level.
Politics and policies aside, scouts has been a great adventure for my boys. Jake enjoys the Boy Scouts and Caleb enjoys Cubs. Both of them share my love of nature and are passionate about nature conservancy. Of course, living this close to the ocean and bay, all things water take precedent.
Bear with me, this will tie into our schooling, I promise.
We're big on theme teaching and I have been more than pleased with the scouting world for helping this along. For Jake, he has choices of merit badges. For Caleb, his Bear book has lots of opportunities to tie into school work. Really, the merit badges and their requirements are self-inclusive lessons on what seems to be hundreds of topics. Right now, he's busily working on Citizenship in the Community, Personal Management, Pet Care, and Reptiles & Amphibians (okay, this was a no-brainer because his pet care IS his snake). All-inclusive self-study programs - what more could a homeschooling mother of 3 (soon to be 4) want?
You don't have to be a scout to buy the merit badge books. Tobin's Lab sells them. But they ARE worth a look! And while I'm also a Girl Scout leader (wanna' buy some cookies?), the BSA seems to have the corner on the market of these little theme units.
Next blog entry? Examples on theme teaching and nature...
posted by Shell at 4:58 PM
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