Disc Golf, Summer School

Saturday morning the kids and I had a round of disc golf together.  As a homeschool family, we should have known that a father, son, and daughter outing would turn into some life lessons.  Here are a few, with some ideas on how you can benefit from the final weeks of summer:

We also learned about the consequences of drought.
What's under our feet used to be grass.

In one way, it is not necessarily about disc golf.  Do you know how hard it is to get a 46 year old, 14 year old, 13 (almost) year old, and 10 year old to agree on anything?  Silly question, I'm sure you know.  Not only that, but outdoor time has been harder to come by.  The extreme heat and drought has affected us.  Note the lack of green grass in the photo.  You could say that finding common interests is like finding water (you would say gold, but water is more valuable right now).  We as family members need to learn that just because we are family, we don't always like the same things.  When we do, these opportunities cannot get away!  


Action idea:  What can you plan for your family that can be fun, family building, and that everyone can participate in?  When can you do it?

How To Go From Hero To Bum ASAP

With Ryan and his sister at Wednesday night youth group, Mr. 5th Grader and I were good to go for tennis practice.  We worked on rallies, serving, and a little footwork.  He's having a great time and so am I.  He cannot wait until next time, and neither can I.  Tennis partners!  Dad, the hero!

Youth group finishes its lesson at 7:40, then fun and hang out time until 8:30.  Come to find out that Miss 7th Grader got separated from her friends and had a miserable 45 minutes.  After a very emotional discussion, and a declaration that she's never going again, I became Dad the bum.

Next week we will try the plan of discreetly coming by at 7:40 to see how things are going.  Fortunately, we live 5 minutes away and multiple trips are not an issue.

Adjusting from upper elementary to junior high can be a pain.  Adjusting to high school can be a pain too, but that hasn't come up yet.  Be alert, dad!

Homeschoolers Hike Indiana Dunes State Park

Summertime homeschooling is not just about catching up and working ahead in reading, math, and spelling, it is also about exploring creation around us.

What most people see at Indiana Dunes

One great thing about state parks over other campgrounds is that we have found ourselves with a really good interpretive naturalist who can give a good presentation.  It helps to go exploring in an intentional way.  Over last week's Memorial Day weekend at Indiana Dunes State Park, we went on a naturalist-led hike an learned these things about our favorite state park and surrounding area:

What campers see at Indiana Dunes
(full disclosure - we are happy campers)

• The Indiana Dunes region has more bio-diversity (meaning more species of plants and animals) than any place in Indiana.
• The Dunes have more bio-diversity than all national parks in the United States except three:  Great Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon, and North Cascades.
• This diversity includes 1400 different plants and 365 different bird species.
• Indiana Dunes is the second state park to be established in Indiana, in 1925.  The first was McCormick's Creek in 1916.
• The Dunes has a Civil War tie in:  after Lincoln's assassination, his funeral train passed not too far south on its way to Illinois.  A pro-slavery group called Knights of the Golden Circle conspired to steal Lincoln's body, bury it in the dunes, and collect ransom.  Unfortunately, they talked about their plans too much in the local taverns and the plot foiled.
• The Knights of the Golden Circle also planned to free prisoners of war held in Northwest Indiana in Northeast Illinois, using the high dunes as a lookout point.  Again, loose lips sunk their ships.
• From 1925 through the 1960s, there was a Governor's Cottage in the park for Indiana's governor to use as a retreat center.  Remains (of the cottage, not the governor) can still be found at the site.

What homeschooling families see at Indiana Dunes
(part of the old Governor's Retreat cottage)

One thing we are doing this summer is accumulating time toward our 2012-2013 school year.  Next post will be a discussion of why we are doing that and how.

Field Trip and Camping, Indiana Dunes, Part 1

For Memorial Day weekend, we took a camping trip to Indiana Dunes State Park.  This is post 1 of 2 about little known interesting facts about the southern shore of Lake Michigan, originally cross-posted from www.jeffhoots.net.

Trevor enjoying Indiana Dunes

For a homeschool project, our 10 year old son Trevor was to gather facts to write a report about a place.  The curriculum suggested encyclopedia research about a city or state.  Instead, we chose to have him interview me about Indiana Dunes State Park.

What is the early history of the Indiana Dunes?  Who discovered it?

American Indians originally lived there.  During the 1600s European colonization era, French fur traders, including one by the name Marquette, traveled and traded extensively in the area.  Northwest Indiana is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway.

Why did people first go there?

Around the turn of the 20th Century, some who lived in Chicago would travel by train to the Indiana Dunes area for hiking, picnicing, nature study, and landscape painting.  At the same time, industry - particularly steel mills - realized that the sand and water made the region ideal for factories and mills.  

How did it become a city or state park?

Industry and nature preservation became a fight for the dunes.  For example, in 1915 Bethlehem Steel destroyed a place called Central Dune.  As the debate intensified, Indiana was fortunately beginning to establish its State Park system.  In 1925, Indiana Dunes State Park was established.  One of the dunes in the park, Mt. Jackson, is named in honor of Governor Jackson, in office at the time the park was established.

What important events have happened there?

"Strength and Beauty along the South Shore
Line", John Rush, 1998 (lithograph), scan of back
cover of "Moonlight in Duneland,"
Indiana University Press,
http://iupress.indiana.edu

Dr. Henry Cowles of the University of Chicago would lead his students to the Dunes area to study the extensive variety of plant life.  This area has more plant species diversity than all but 4 of America's national parks.  This study led to the creation of a new discipline, ecology.  Indiana Dunes is often called the "birthplace of ecology."


What is it like now?


Northwest Indiana is an unusual compromise of industry and nature.  The undisturbed areas are beautiful.  By contrast, steel mills are visible during walks on the beach.  Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was established in 1966, setting aside more land for preservation.  Over 1 million visitors come each year, mostly for the beaches.  Little do they know the rich history and natural wonder of the area.  Growing up there, I certainly did not.  It is regrettable that my science teachers failed to capitalize on this opportunity.

In my opinion, the Indiana Dunes area is as valuable as any other state or natural area in the country.