An Amazing Day

This past Wednesday we had our first trip in our Homeschoolers State Park Series. We were so lucky to have Ranger Betsy as our interpreter. We arrived at the park and she showed the girls her fairy houses, and invited them to build their own. Then we went over to a picnic table and learned about tree cookies. The children counted 14 rings in a small cookie, and 96 rings in a large one. Then they decorated the small cookies and made them into necklaces. Next Ranger Betsy taught them about how owls eat, and we dissected owl pellets, and classified the bones we found inside. I loved how Rangeer Betsy trusted the children to understand take in such meaningful information. We took a break for lunch and the kids had a great time playing on the beach. After lunch we made our own fossils with plaster of Paris, and then went for a hike. We learned so much on the hike - we learned about caterpillar tents, wintergreen, beavers, squirrels, etc. This was one of the best field trips we have been on since we started homeschooling!

DCR's Park Passport Program

We are so glad we discovered this program! It has inspired our whole family to be excited about visiting our state parks!! We got a park pass for the first time this year, and have already visited several this year. It also works very well with our love of camping and letterboxing. You can get a passport by visiting any state park or by signing up here. Then every time you visit a different state park you unlock the box and stamp the image into your passport. We love the designs chosen for the stamps. We also go to learn about the No Child Left Inside program which is also super cool.