We had a blast with Beach School in 2019. We will be changing up beach school for the 2020 calendar year.
The Gulf of Mexico is a wealth of knowledge.
“We are all meant to be naturalists, each in his own degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the Marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things." Charlotte Mason
Skill building
Every day at the beach is a completely different experience. The kids could look up at the shy on overcast days and watch how quickly or slowly the clouds moved because of the wind. The could visibly see the storms move in and see the rain falling from the clouds. We danced and ran in the rain, no thunder or lightning don't worry. WE also learned about rip currents and how to look out for them. We learned about the tides and where to build in the sand for us to have water enter our forts and where to keep them safe from the rising tide. We learned that the flat water is perfect to be able to snorkel and waves are fun to jump over but not so easy to snorkel in.
"Sand buckets, shovels, trucks, goggles are the tools used at the beach"
our three beaches
Our first Location was in Clearwater. We had a long walk to the shoreline and could see the sand dunes easily. Our second location was in Treasure Island and the walk was a little shorter with a larger sand dune area. The kids noticed that when it rained there were puddles to walk through due to the lower depressions in the sand. The kids did notice as well that the sand was compact and easy to walk on. When we had large amounts of rain the puddles ended up becoming large ponds. Our third location was in Indian Rocks. This location had a short walk with a narrower beach and not as compact sand. All three had different sand and textures. The children definitely noticed a difference in textures, sea shells, and beach landscape.
In 2020 we will revisit these beaches and a few more so the children can visibly see the different landscapes, beach textures, amount of fish, shells, and seaweed to find on the shore and while snorkeling.
I wouldn't trade our adventures for anything.
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