Boston, Mass – The twins will have a total of 30-something days of in-school school this year. And they are going to spend three of those days taking standardized tests. Really? (Those of us who have been overhearing 5th-grade homeschooling…
Where Chocolate Comes From
La Palma, Costa Rica – The twins agreed to go on a farm tour because they called it a “chocolate tour.” We learned all about where chocolate comes from, from cacao trees to candy, start to finish. Finca Köbö is…
The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful
Somerville, Mass – Here we are, back in the pink house, back to winter, back to reality. Our homecoming brought on many mixed feelings. Here they are: the good, the bad and the beautiful. The Good The twins got such…
World Schooling Research Projects
Somerville, Mass – While we were in Italy, I decided that our international experiment in education would benefit from special world schooling research projects — something more formal than our field trips and fun explorations around Italy, but less formal…
Gallerie dell’Accademia
Venice, Italy – Now I know what teachers feel like in the last week before summer vacation. We’ve reached the point where I’m ready to take field trips pretty much everyday. Honestly, nothing else is going to get accomplished here.…
Palazzo Ducale
Venice, Italy – Now that it’s December, the tourists are gone (except for us!), the Venetians are friendlier and it’s safe to go to Piazza San Marco. We took our visitors to the Palazzo Ducale–the Doge’s Palace–for a primer on…
Venice Naval History Museum
Venice, Italy – The Museo Storico Navale–aka the Naval History Museum–is approximately two minutes away from our apartment. And there is a giant anchor out front marking the entrance. We walk by it nearly everyday. I can’t believe it took…
Mount Vesuvius
Ercolano, Italy – After an amazing day exploring the ruins of Pompeii, the obvious next stop was the fiery mountain itself. And so we ascended the infamous Mount Vesuvius (mostly by bus, but also on foot) to peek into the…
Ruins of Pompeii
Pompeii, Italy – I can’t think about Pompeii without hearing a song that my 7th-grade classmates wrote for Latin class: Once there was a city, a city named Pompeii. It was very pretty, ’til it blew up one day. Pompeii,…
Via Appia Antica
Rome, Italy – Here is a quick summary of what it’s like to travel with children. On some days, you go bike riding on the oldest Roman road, nonchalantly pedaling past 2000-year-old Ancient ruins. On some days, you (or your…