Sunday School

The weather has finally been moderate enough to start hiking again. It is amazing the amount of learning that goes on while hiking. First of all, we talk. Even more than usual. There is no radio, no music, no TV (not that we have much of that anyway), and no friends over visiting. So we talk to each other as we hike. It started out as an "I remember" hike. We happened to choose our hike on the same day a Volksmarching Club was out and about. This is not a usual thing in California but it sparked memories of living in Germany. So we spoke a little German, remembered castles we had visited and fests we had enjoyed. We talked to cows and about cows. We explored streams and rivers. We threw rocks and watched them skip across the water. We collected water to look at under the microscope. We discussed how much water pushes through the gap of the waterfall per minute and how much of it is lost to spray. We counted flowers and discussed why some hillsides had more than others. We learned that the California State flower is the poppy and that it is illegal to pick it (but why, mom?) so then talked about conservation. We picked what looked like a wild onion and smelled it to see if it was. We compared our experience to Sam Gribley, the main character in "My Side of the Mountain."

As far as I can tell, we covered biology, math, physics, social studies, and literature all through the enjoyment of a simple hike. I don't think I said "don't" or "stop" the entire day. I need to bring more of my outdoor self into our homeschool day. Or maybe we need more Sunday School and less everyday school!