Travels with Laurie: Winter
A Home Educator's Travel Guide
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Travels with Laurie: WinterA Home Educator's Travel Guide |
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Winter Field Trips and Road Trips
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The end of winter marks maple sugaring time. This is an industry unique to northeastern North America, home of the sugar maple. This sweet treat was a gift to us from the Native Americans, who taught us how to tap the trees for syrup. Learning about the sugaring process is a lesson in science and social studies.
At home, substitute maple syrup for sugar in recipes during maple sugaring season; make an illustrated recipe book with your own maple recipes; try a taste sample of maple syrup from different sources and rate your favorite; make a stick-and-elastic book using a tree twig and write about the story of tapping the trees for maple syrup.
, by Persis Granger.
Drawn from stories of local elders, the background of this book about family is rural farm life in upstate New York in the 19th century Adirondacks, with a detailed look at maple sugaring. Recommended for ages 9-12.
, by Laura Waterman Wittstock.
This is a nonfiction telling of the continuing Native American tradition, for ages 6-12.
(My First Little House), by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Doris Ettlinger
Adapted from Little House in the Big Woods
, for the younger set, ages 4-8.On special snow days NYC parks provides sleds and hot chocolate at certain sledding locations. If the hill is steep (such as Ewen Park at Riverdale Ave. & 231st St.) check the area for safety. Bales of hay placed in front of park benches and street lamps can prevent serious injuries.
Manhattan / Bronx / Brooklyn / Queens / Staten Island
The Rink at Bryant Park is free, and many others are affordable. Ask for special group rates. Check postings in your homeschooling group for gatherings at Bryant Park and other rinks.
Manhattan:
Bronx:
Brooklyn:
Queens:
Staten Island:
The closest ski slopes to NYC are in the Poconos in Pennsylvania just across the NJ border, and the Catskills just north of NYC. Local homeschoolers in NYCHEA have created a ski club at Shawnee (so car pooling is possible), and some offer connections to bus services (see below). Many ski resorts have homeschoolers days or groups and you should also ask about special rates for a first-time beginner’s lesson and for off-peak hours like weekday mornings. They offer tubing and snowboarding too!
In New York:
In New Jersey and Pennsylvania:
Bus services that commute to ski slopes:
This is the time to try something new! Do it for yourself, and not just for your child! It’s easy to get the blues when you are a hard-working homeschooling parent facing endless daily responsibilities, especially if you are stuck indoors during cold weather. Now is the time to make something new! Learn a new craft (like jewelry-making or origami), start a project (the family scrapbook or a memory quilt); listen to some new music; create something new in the kitchen. Many projects can recycle old materials, like making paper beads, or creating a memory quilt out of old T-shirts. Focus on a small task that gives you pleasure and make something beautiful, just for the fun of it!
All people throughout the world have holidays to help them get through the dark, cold days of winter. We celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, the Chinese New Year. Each has its history, its traditions, and its deeper meaning. Learning more about each holiday helps people understand each other.
There are many craft projects that lend themselves to dark winter days. Build a fountain (see Build Fountains for supplies and ideas), make home-made scented candles or soap, preserve your family photos in a collage of your own design. See also Crafts perfect for the winter season
Putting together a jigsaw puzzle is a great way to spend a day (or several!). And the whole family can help. Whatever your interest, you can find a puzzle to reflect it – art, geography, history, animals, and more.
You'll never forget a birthday or other anniversary again if you make your own Birthday Calendar. It's just like a regular calendar, but with no days of the week, so it will last for year after year. Personalize it with pictures of the birthday person or pet.
Nothing cheers up a cold, dark winter's day like planning your summer vacation. A trip to the beach, or a National Park (did you know that there are several in New York State? A visit to family or friends. A trip to a different country – see our page of resources on other countries, languages, and cultures. Armchair Travel suggests several sources of information.
Too cold to go out of doors? Now is the time to give in to a personal interest. As homeschoolers we are gifted with the promise of child-led learning, yet we shouldn't overlook our own interests in the process of guiding our children to theirs. What would you like to make or learn? Take a break from your usual routine and chase away the winter blues! Now would be a great time to pick up an old hobby – or even start a new one. Our 