Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park (May 2)

We joined a bunch of kids from his co-op on a field trip to the glorious Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Felton, CA. Our docent was a very helpful guy indeed who not only deftly answered questions from the kids but also regaled us with great tales about the area's famed link with John C. Fremont.

The park is a true gem. Not only did we see deer in the grasslands and had our first encounter with banana slugs, I also couldn't stop snapping photos of the delightful promenade of redwood trees (a lot like Muir Woods) and had an exciting hike down to the river that runs through it.

Here are some snaps from our trip.

A study of canopies, angles and perspectives.

Clockwise from top left: carpets of redwood sorrel, a pinch of lichen,
edible miner's lettuce and banana slug!


Natural beauty from clockwise top left: albino redwood, redwood canopy,
a mosaic of color on the forest floor and interesting trunk formations
(this one reminded me a little of the head of a koala in profile).

Pondering Another Change in Direction

I know for a fact that many homeschoolers count the wide offering of resources on the Internet and curriculum at curriculum fairs a blessing. But for me, it's all becoming a huge headache.

I think from the outset I've been trying too hard. Trying to fit so much in. Get everything "done". And all at the same time.

I've done everything from planning a whole year ahead to months at a time to weeks at a time to finally counting myself satisfied if even a day at a time works.

But lately, several realizations have hit me hard. That for my son, no one learning approach, and especially of a highly structured sort, is going to work and that I've been trying to impose instruction exactly where I shouldn't.

Our across-the-Bay house hunting treks haven't helped any either. And the kiddo is being carschooled more and more, funschooled less and less and sort of unschooled somewhere in-between. Sorely neglected at times too. Exactly what I did NOT want to achieve.

I'm thinking of loosely planning on only two subjects being brought to the table each morning and letting everything else just fall into place as they come. The two being an activity-based Math lesson using a resource of his own choosing, and then DVD-based Latin since he seems to have a liking for the language, with workbook on the side if it is needed.

I'm also contemplating ending our Year 1 here and now. We haven't completed all our Ancient Egypt resources as I'd hoped we would (that was my plan to indicate a Year 1 Finale) but then again, he has spent more than half the year on the topic, still loves it and will probably want to pick up more books on it even if we move on so no harm done.

Goes to show how much our homeschooling keeps evolving over time.