Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Sand Castles and Mountains and Kids


I am not sure if it is because we lived on an island off the coast of Florida for ten years, but our children have always loved beaches, surf, and sand, particularly sand castle building. We were the family that would carry REAL shovels to the edge of the water to dig and build the most exotic and creative sand castles for miles and miles.

By the time our third and most rambunctious child came along, we were heading for the mountains of Tennessee—no more sandy beaches. The boys adapted well to life in the Appalachians, and I was pretty sure that they weren’t missing the beach too much. And then I discovered . . .

 . . . a MONSTER sand castle that they had been building in the huge sand pile that the masons were using during the brick-laying phase of building our house. It was so detailed—a true work of art. You can take the kids away from the beach, but you can’t take the beach out of the kids. Point well proven.

The sand castle lasted for quite some time before the masons had to dig into their sandy architecture. In the meantime, we used the opportunity to learn all about castles, the children’s Scottish forefathers, the clan castle, and so much more. By the time of the sand castle’s demise, they had moved on to knights and weapons and, well, you know, boy stuff.

Learning so often comes when you least expect it, and the memories last for a lifetime.

-Amanda

2 comments:

  1. We had a similar learning event happen. E few years ago my girls decided to train spiders for a spider circus. They were mostly collecting daddy long-legs but I figured we had better learn a bit about which spiders were poisonous just to be safe. That turned into learning all about arachnids, insects, bugs and all sorts of weird facts. We had a blast and I, for one, will never forget watching their little circus grow while their knowledge grew too.

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  2. Spiders and homeschooling and learning, oh my! Wish my entomologist husband could have been there for the circus! :) What a great time for your whole crew, and thanks for sharing the experience with us as you watch their knowledge tree grow!
    Blessings,
    Amanda B.

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