If I have to teach homeschool, it's going to be fun. Less than a month until go time. It's time to set some habits that prioritize fun.
Apparently we homeschool now. In the last few days, we officially unenrolled Betty from public school and bought her curriculum (Oak Meadow; more on that later). I am the last person I would have ever pictured as a homeschool mom, but here we are. Pandemic Eternal. So if I have to teach homeschool, it's gotta be fun. Not just for Betty. But for me. So I don't lose my mind (or worse, my curiosity).
I refuse to let this school year be a throw-away year. Another year in limbo, as we wait for life to begin again. Life is NOW. Now is all we have.
We are Researchers of Adventure, and this world is our classroom.
Let the world go completely mad, and the chaos continue to churn.
Instead of resisting the change, we are catching its wave. Let's ride.
We've got mountains to conquer and a whole big planet to meet.
TODAY'S ADVENTURE
I want to start setting up habits that get us out of the house and into memorable and interesting situations. The main reason I picked the Oak Meadow curriculum, instead of enrolling Betty in online public school, is I don't want her sitting on the computer all day. Some kids learn fine online. The past spring, it was a chore for Betty and a daily battle. I don't think she learned anything. I figured heck it, let's try another approach -- one that I can weave into my personal favorite part of having a kid in elementary school: field trips. Oak Meadow is Waldorf-inspired, nature based, artsy and creative.
Round Mountain Trail
"I feel so small." - Betty, in the Big Thompson Canyon
We first explored Round Mountain Trail, up the Big Thompson Canyon. The hike was rated for kids, but it was honestly a bit steep. We also hiked pretty fast. Along the way, we saw stacked rocks and added one to the top.
We kept going until we stumbled across "Bear Country" signs. This made Betty a little nervous, so we decided to turn back and come back again with our two big dogs to give us confidence. It's a dog-friendly trail, as long as you keep them on a leash.
Yeah, no.
Viestenz-Smith Mountain Park
We then headed to the nearby Viestenz-Smith park, with paved walkways and picnic tables. A little less intimidating. Plus, it had tons of educational stops. We saw old turbines from Loveland's original power plant, the Civilian Conservation Corps building from the 1930s and ended up in the Environmental Education Cabin, where we got to see a real bear. A real dead bear, taxidermy style. We also saw a lot of skulls (cool!) and horns (cool!) and learned about rocks (cool!).
I know it was educational, but I low key felt like it was design inspo for my living room.
We spotted the History Center in an old stone building in the parking lot and went in to learn us some Colorado history, but it smelled like pee in there so we left. There is a public toilet literally next door. Why are humans like this?
We left the canyon sweaty and 6,000 steps deep, with a little more knowledge about Northern Colorado, a little more cautious curiosity about black bears and a mission to return and conquer Round Mountain with the assistance of our trusty Rhodesians.