Schooling Through Experience

I wanted to touch on the learning that took place on our trip to Hawaii.  B-real told me the world's largest active volcano was on The Big Island and he thought we should see it.  I did too, until I realized how much of our vacation was going to be eaten up in the drive to and from the other side of the island!  He did convince me that it might be the only opportunity the girls had to see the volcano and so we went and I think we're all glad we did.  Kilauea was pretty fascinating. 

It was interesting to see the climate changes between the opposing sides of the island.  The mountain range in the middle affects the weather and B-real did a great job explaining that concept to the girls as we drove.    Boy was it a change -- rain, clouds, more humidity and cooler temps on the leeward side of the island.

We also gave Big C the cellphone so she could tell us our elevation as we drove up into the mountains and back down on the wet side.





Surprisingly the girls wanted to watch the video explaining the history of the volcano.  They must be their daddy's daughters because it would not have been my first pick.  It was informative though and we all found it enlightening (the kids scary) to learn the Big Island is ever-so-slowly heading back into the ocean.  This happens as other islands in the Hawaii chain are evolving.

The two photos above are the volcano from afar. We were standing at The Volcano House hotel.  It is smoking but not erupting.   An actual eruption has not occurred since 1983.

This is Big C smelling the steam vents.  She remarked it had to be sulfur because it smelled like rotten eggs.   I found them to be a bit eery, seeing as they are holes that go WAY down into the Earth's crust.  You can see the steam in the photo of our family below. 

Then it was onto the Sulfur Banks.  I love that look on little c's face.  She knows how accident prone her older sister is and looks worried. 

We sat and listened to a park ranger give a talk at the look out point.  I was so proud of the girls because they actually wanted to listen and were even confident enough to raise their hands at the end (in a sea of adults) and ask their individual questions.  Afterwards they met a kind park ranger who told the girls the history of Pele, the volcanic Goddess. This spoke to the girls a lot because they are particularly interested in the Green and Roman Gods. 

I am glad B-real put his foot down and said it was important to him that we visit the volcano.  I love a strong man with opinions!

On the way home we drove the northern part of the island and stopped in Waimea for dinner, where the un-schooling continued through dinner.  Little c was reading a book that uses roman numerals for chapters and so she wanted us to teach her about them.  I think she'll remember them because it was her question that got the discussion going versus a school saying she was in a particular grade and needed to know the topic.   Claire is reading her book while we wait for dinner.

The learning continued when we got home from our trip as I read to the girls about the different layers of the Earth.  On their own accord, they each pulled out a white board while I read and drew their own interpretations of the Earth's various layers.  Pretty cool stuff!