Seven Free Things to Do in South Texas

Susanne is your driver for this post!

On Sunday morning, we'll be packing up Clark and leaving Texas. According to my calendar, we've been here almost eight weeks. We've thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I think all of us are going to miss it despite the unrelenting heat. (Clark's A/C, however, will not miss Texas. It is due for a nice long vacation.)

Texas has surprised us with its beauty, diversity, food, and outstanding state parks system. In particular, we have appreciated the many quality FREE things to do in south Texas. We're trying hard to save money and still immerse ourselves in our surroundings. We're also trying to incorporate local opportunities into homeschooling. Thus, the free stuff is a boon for us.

Looking back, here are some of the best free things we've done in south Texas:

1. Mission San Jose, San Antonio: We keep talking about this one because it was that good! The Alamo might be the most famous tourist destination in San Antonio, but in our opinion (just our opinion!), it pales in comparison to four gorgeous nearby missions that are part of the national parks system. Mission San Jose was absolutely beautiful: stone buildings draped in flowers, an informative NPS film that provided historical context, and an excellent self-guided tour. We would recommend it to anyone visiting San Antonio.

2. Speaking of free in San Antonio, the Riverwalk is a must-see. If you're a walker, runner, jogger, or biker and you're visiting San Antonio for any reason, head to the Riverwalk early in the morning and enjoy a colorful, peaceful adventure along the San Antonio River before all the tourists come out. Not only does the Riverwalk offer a plethora of shops and beautiful landscaping, it also features plenty of artwork and interesting architectural features. It's total eye candy. (Note: parking later in the day is tricky and expensive, but early in the morning, you should have no trouble finding free parking.)

3. If you're in Austin and needing to get your run or walk in, the Lady Bird Lake Hike-and-Bike Trail is a perfect option. During the week, I parked along Veterans Drive; on the weekend, I parked at Austin High School. I ran several loops along this trail, the shortest being about three miles and the longest being eight. I felt completely safe in the mornings and on the weekends (mainly because there are so many people here) and loved crossing the bridges, watching the paddlers and rowers on the lake, and meeting so many adorable puppies along the way!

4. We have an ASTC science museum membership through the Kentucky Science Center that gives us free admission to science centers across the United States. With the membership, we were able to visit the Children's Museum of Houston and The Thinkery in Austin for no extra charge. The Children's Museum of Houston features an indoor playground, a large water play area, and Kidtropolis (a city run by kids). 

One word of warning: The Children's Museum of Houston is loud. Really loud. There's something about the acoustics in that building that seem to magnify any sound times five. It was a little much for us, and we ended up leaving earlier than we'd planned. If you have children who are sensitive to noise, you may want to avoid the busiest times. 

The Thinkery is smaller but has some excellent mini-classes, an indoor water play area, and a super-cool outdoor play structure that made me want to be a kid again just so I could climb to the top. 

5. Kid's Kingdom Playground, San Angelo: This playground is one of the first spots we visited when we arrived in San Angelo. It's well-shaded, features a wide variety of playground equipment, offers plenty of places to sit, and has an adjacent picnic table/bathroom/water fountain area. It's also located right next to the beautiful Concho River riverwalk, which features plenty of local artwork. 

6. The Children's Room at the Tom Green County Library, San Angelo: The children's room at the Tom Green County Library is phenomenal. It's totally kid-friendly: colorful artwork, stuffed animals propped atop the shelves, and built-in reading nooks, and well-labeled shelves. The architecture in this building is excellent, allowing plenty of light into the children's room on the first floor.

7. Art Thursdays at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts: Sam and I had the opportunity to participate in a free art activity at SAMFA. We created steampunk stamp art, clay sculptures, and watercolor paintings. Everything was free, and we didn't even need to sign up beforehand. Art Thursdays take place every Thursday from 3-6 PM at SAMFA's education building. The SAMFA is in itself a great little museum - and very affordable at $2 per adult!

This list doesn't include the many of not-free yet still-affordable activities in south Texas, including the spring-fed pools in Austin (such as Deep Eddy and Barton Springs) and the state parks (we visited McKinney Falls State Park and San Angelo State Park - both excellent).

For those of you who have spent time in south Texas, what other free attractions would you recommend?

Reflecting on the First Week of Homeschooling

Susanne is the driver for this post.

Sam started fourth grade on Wednesday, August 3. This was entirely his decision: I'd initially planned on beginning somewhere around August 15, though I hadn't nailed down dates or made any definite plans (to say that I'm not the most organized person you'll ever meet is an understatement). But Sam was ready to get started, and so we did.

One of the great things about homeschooling is that I can tailor my teaching approach to his specific needs, interests, and preferences. For example, Sam is someone who loves routines but who also needs some room to let his creativity take charge. When we sat down together to develop a schedule, this is what we came up with:

Every day will include practice in reading, writing, grammar, and math as well as physical education (and by "physical education," I mean running around outside or taking a walk). We'll spend anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes on each of these subjects depending on how we're feeling and how much time Sam needs on a particular topic. 

I feel strongly about the reading/writing/reflection activity that will start each day. This activity will give Sam a chance to ease into his lessons, read about a variety of topics (on Thursday it was cyanobacteria; on Friday it was Harry Potter), use his writing skills, and practice his handwriting. It will give me a chance to get creative with prompts and find ways to help him synthesize information from previous days.

To build some flexibility into the schedule, we divided the days not into Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/etc., but days where we spend a significant amount of time on history (A days), business (B days), arts and crafts (C days), and science (D days). This past Thursday was a D day: Sam wanted to learn more about bacteria and early life on Earth. On Friday he wanted to study marketing and advertising strategies that he can apply to his online business, so that was a B day. At this point, I'm going to let him pick what he wants to focus on. If that means doing science three days in a row, that's fine with me. I'll just track what we do on a daily basis so that we can balance it out with other topics later on down the road.

Because we're on the road and visiting so many interesting places, field trips will be an important part of the curriculum. We celebrated the first day of school with a field trip to various sites in San Angelo: the playground, the library, a sandwich shop, and the San Angelo Nature Center, where Sam got to meet and pet a snake named Bubbles, an opossum named Marie, and several other animals native to this area.

All in all, the first week (well, half week) went really well, and I'm excited to see what next week will bring. Spending more time with Sam and watching him get excited about what he's learning is definitely a major benefit to becoming a homeschooling (roadschooling) family.

Homeschool planning (or lack thereof)

Susanne is your driver for this post.

One thing I'm (supposed to be) doing right now is making homeschool/roadschool plans for Sam's fourth grade year. I have a general idea of what I want him to do, especially with respect to math, reading, and writing; however, I know that all of this will be much more effective if we ask our very independent learner what HE wants to do, and how.

So this morning I asked Sam to compose a list of ten activities, topics, etc. he wants to do or cover in roadschool starting this fall. Here's the list:

1. Read history books more thoroughly. [He's almost done with Book 4 of Story of the World and wants to explore certain topics in greater detail.]

2. Do activities about the subjects we learn about.

3. Go on fun field trips to museums. [He loves museums.]

4. Go to places based on what we read.

5. Learn how to use Excel. 

6. Learn how to market a business.

7. Art classes - for YOU! Ha! [Thanks, Sammo!]

8. Learn how to use line graphs.

9. Learn how to divide to make a percentage.

10. Learn how to use pie graphs.

If anyone has resources/suggestions based on Sam's list, please reply and let us know!

Sam's New Online Store: Nomadic Arts

Sam is your driver for this post.

I have opened a new online shop with some of my bird art on t-shirts, mugs, pillows, and much more! It is very successful; I have already made $21 in earnings! I might have a blog about it soon. (Note: My new blog series is on hold for now due to me not being able to get pictures.) Click here to go to my store.

A note from Sam's parents: Nomadic Arts was entirely thought up and developed by Sam. The bird artwork, originally in watercolor, is painted by Sam. We asked him to develop a business plan before we helped him set up his online store. Any and all profits from the store will go to him, and he can choose what to do with his earnings. (We're helping him with some of the technical stuff, but we just want to get paid in hugs.) We hope that this will allow him to pursue his interests and develop computer, marketing, writing, art, financial planning, and entrepreneurial skills.