So ready for spring....and a mild summer

Ashtabula, Pendleton, South Carolina

One of my favorite things about homeschooling my kids is this:

The time we get to share together is priceless and I love how the kids love each other. Yes, they do argue and hit and... but the majority of the time is living, playing and learning together in complete harmony. No, rarely in complete harmony, but I must admit they do get along very well and I am proud of that.

(oh, and yes that is laundry on the back of the couch...I try to stay humble)

Anyway, we were able to learn together today thanks to my wonderful mom-in-law. She took us to Ashtabula, in Pendleton.

They have tours going on right now throughout December and it was a different experience. Each room is set in different time periods of the homes existence. For example, our first room was set around 1800 during the time of the house's initial construction.

Mrs. Gibbes is being visited by her sister from Charleston. They put on a 5+ minute skit. Each room has people relevant to the house performing a short skit in period clothing. It was a great experience and the girls loved it...I loved it!!

Each place along the tour was a new revelation of the time and the people. It really made it come alive.

 

It was a great day to spend together. And one of my and my mom-in-law's favorite things about visiting historical sites are THE BOOKS! You can always find a unique book or two that is more specific about the area than other book stores. We found two keepers that I highly recommend:

Did you know that the Swamp Fox could not swim!!! Just one of the interesting things I've already learned. Jonathan liked the maps in the book. They did a good job of illustrating the vast area that he fought. The man got around!

The other find was one that my girls really liked. They love studying other girls and women in history and this one is perfect:

In summary it was a wonderful day to spend together and learn about our history in South Carolina. I hope my little ones never loose that love for learning something new.

Thankful

We've had so much to be thankful for this year. Our new home just to name one. But I will say the last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy. I'm slowly getting on my feet cognitively and literally.

The thanksgiving weekend has been wonderful. I've had a bit of a chance to get some things in order. My mom and her sister have been here visiting and we have had a great time together. We've also been spending time with Jonathan's brother and he has been a great help around the little farm.

The last two days have been fun and tiring. The guys worked on clearing out the large trees from our future orchard and we all started working on clearing the fences. My brother-in-law has even gotten to practice blocking our driveway ;)

 

It has been great having him around and needless to say we have been living outside. The last couple days have been just beautiful...I love this place. We have a lot of work to do here but God has really blessed us with this land.

As far as school goes the educational experiences are endless! Relating what we are doing to what the first colonists to America went through...it really helps it to come alive. We've been taking a bit of a break from our structured lessons and moved to more, um, living school. I guess that's the best way to describe it. Next week Jonathan will be back at work and we'll start back to some of our more traditional learning. But the kids have really learned a lot lately and had a lot of fun doing it too.

How many two year olds do you know that know what a level is? My boy does...so what if he uses it to dig with he's just learning how to adapt...right? The girls have been attached to their Gran and loving this time to spend with her.

And we've all enjoyed sitting back in the golf cart watching the big guys work hard. Even Jeb, our dog, loves the entertainment.

We started the fence clearing today and I think it will be a winter long project. The way the vines have grown through the fences it will be a slow process. It was hard not to think of how this relates to our lives. Just how when we don't maintain the Godly boundaries in our lives things start to get woven in. And let me tell you it takes a lot to get them out.

God is everywhere in His creation. There is no better classroom!

Our week of fun

 I absolutely love Edisto Island. I remember coming here when I was little and exploring. Jonathan came here most years with his family. It's where we were engaged on one such family trip. And it's a place that I hope we can always go to for years to come.

This year was the first time that my little guy could fully embrace the beach experience. He is so cute in beach mode!

The girls equally enjoyed their beach bumming time. We even ventured off the island to Beaufort. It was a longer trip than expected but we had fun once we got there.

During high tide the girls brushed up on their checkers skills.













It is such a beautiful and unique place.

The Mystery Tree

My favorite thing at the beach to do is to watch the sun fall into the horizon over and over again.

The island has a really neat Serpentarium that added to our educational experience. It was so informative and the girls had a blast and were so brave.

My favorite picture from our trip.

Our last destination was one that I'd hoped would be one of our first. Botany Bay Plantation is an enchanting place. The beach is a half mile walk and has been left untouched. The shells that are there cannot be taken home so they are everywhere. And they are HUGE!! The kids enjoyed listening to the ocean in everyone they found.

 

It was a perfect ending to a fun week.

Busy busyness

Things are going fast and exciting! So neat to see all the wonderful friends and family around us volunteering help.

It's amazing to see how quickly our little green people are growing. I'm so proud of each one of them.




We are finishing up week 10 of school and the world is giving us so much to explore. We've had earthquakes and a looming hurricane to spark curious minds. I've been fairly dependent on the computer since all my resource books are now packed but I've loved kids natural curiosity....well, most of the time.

I will miss the beautiful sunsets we have at this little house and the numerous opportunities the kids have to be with family.

We have been so blessed.

Oconee State Park Historical Site/Station Cove Falls

Trading post circa 1792

Our first field trip of the year!! Such fun...and such a beautiful little secret on the side of the road. This historic site dates back to 1792. A place of trade with the indians and a way to keep an eye on them too.

The rein-actors were really nice and were just there for the 4th. They were nice enough to wait until we left before shooting their muskets again...that was one part that the kids did not care for.





They were patient guys that also explained the wampum, or beads, that they used for money. You can see some around the man's leg on the left. Later we read a book that talked about wampum. The girls remembered what the men had told them.

Home and trading post of William Richards, circa 1805

The second part of our adventure was to Station Cove Falls. Here we got up close and personal with a sun bathing copperhead. We all agreed to stay in our corners. It was a beautiful half mile hike full of God's wondrous creation.