When my husband was a boy, the Warrens took a trip to Yellowstone. It rests in his memory of one of the best times of his childhood. So taking his own family there has been a dream of his for years.
We decided 2017 would be the year.
When we said yes to homeschool, I knew planning the Yellowstone trip would be the perfect life skill for our boys (8 and 11) to partake in. Over time we've been collecting books & maps, eagerly awaiting the time when we can sit down and officially begin to piece this thing together.
This thing, is lovingly dubbed, The Yellowstone Experience.
We know there are websites out there that will plan your trip from point A to B and back again. We love technology, we do. But we also think it an important life skill for our boys to know how to do things the good ole fashioned way.
You know, like reading a map. And planning a budget. And checking weather, and packing, and making lists, and getting their hands deep into the idea, dirty even, so that when we do it, when we pull out into the great unknown, they'll take pride knowing they had a hand in curating this experience.
That's our goal, and we can't wait.
LET THE PLANNING COMMENCE
Today we pulled out the books, our binder, and maps and began to brain storm. Of course that's after a quick bison watercolor (the binder needed a cute cover, am I right?), some iced chai, and mini corn muffins.
I explained to the kids a bit of what we would be doing in the coming months. Their first question was "but where do we start?".
So we pulled out some paper and I asked, "What things do we need to do, to research, what questions do you have?".
And so it began. They had great ideas! I'll organize them a bit and then we will begin to dig into them, answer, plan, and come up with a trip they're sure to remember decades later - just as their daddy does.
Here's what we will be working with:
- How will we get there?
- How long will it take?
- When are we going? What season?
- What will we pack?
- Where will we stay?
- What will we eat?
- Can we hunt? Fish?
- How much will it cost?
- Will it be fun? (really guys?)
- What wildlife will we see?
- What route will we take?
- What time will we arrive?
- What place will we see first?
- What will be our itinerary?
- What will the weather be?
- What will we see?
- What will we buy?
- Who will come with us?
- What will we do with the dogs?
- How long will we be gone?
- What equipment do we need to get?
- What safety precautions will we take?
Until next time...