Homeschooling: Europe was our 'classroom'

Rosie, Ruth and Jonathan Alumbaugh at home. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaughs.

The scenery in Italy had its own magnificence and grandeur that added a whole new dimension to our studies of art, architecture and history. This tour included Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper" and the cathedral known as the “Duomo.”

As Jonathan so aptly put it in his last contribution to this column, “We are back!”

Our trip to Europe was an important part of our family's homeschooling goals - and I will tell you more about that - but I'd like to take a moment to encourage you to think of your own life as a journey that is just as important a source of education for your children as a trip to Switzerland.

Why not talk to and with your kids about your “travels"?

What a drive...

We drove about 2,000 miles during our journey and that gave us the opportunty for lessons about the metric system for distances, speed, and the like. And we had fun - well, it wasn't always so much fun - trying to figure out the road signs. signs. We learned how differently countries can communicate their information.

Switzerland, however, was like driving in a picture postcard. Jonathan, on a few occasions, made an interesting observation about the fact that the camera usually cannot capture what the eye sees.

Only the eye could measure the greatness of the countrysides, appreciate the brown cows with the huge bells ringing as they graze, the Alps' magnificence and the waters cascading down the sides of the mountains, and the view from the top of the cable car or ski lift. These sights were a wonderful reminder to appreciate Our Creator - something that's important in our family.

The scenery in Italy had its own magnificence and grandeur that added a whole new dimension to our studies of art, architecture and history. This tour included Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper" and the cathedral known as the “Duomo.”

As we walked into and around and on top of the cathedral we were awestruck, especially when we pondered the fact that it took hundreds of years to construct, and that is was built without the kind of machinery we have today. This was a great opportunity for some scientific conversation!

Our travels in Germany took us to historic castles and allowed us to experience day -to-day life in the streets and shops, where we could observe and talk about the traditions around us.

We were lucky to be in Stuttgart on a weekday when we witnessed couple after couple coming out of the town hall after a number of weddings. This opened up the topic of wedding and marriage traditions, as well as the politics at home in the U.S. surrounding this issue.

We also talked about the differences between our government system and a monarchy when we drove through Liechtenstein where we were able to walk around a castle currently inhabited by the royal family.

A driving need to eat, too...

And what is an eduational experience that doesn't include trying a country's cuisine?

We enjoyed all the wonderful cheeses, as well as the chocolate. The local grocery stores had walls full of different kinds of chocolates. And we particularly enjoyed the tour through the Appenzeller cheese factory.

Another flavor we really loved was the local sausage of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Hot dogs were served from the stands in baguette type of bread that was placed on a long heated prong. After the baguette was heated, the ketchup and mustard were poured into the end and the hot dog was inserted, thus forcing the ketchup and mustard into the bread. No mess, no fuss, and good pigeon food when you are done (the bread, I mean). The kids were ready to take the idea home and market it. Conversation about entrepreneurial jobs ensued.

I was impressed by the "fast food" in Milan. Sandwiches made with fresh vegetables and meats are ready to go when you are on the run. Nutrition is not sacrificed for lack of time.

And in Germany, where we ate our meal in what used to be a wine cellar, I purchased a recipe book of local favorites that we’ll be using for our home economics/cooking class this week. Onion pie, anyone?

Your travels through life...

Our trip was truly exciting, but you don’t have to go to Europe or a foreign country to learn about the world around you and incorporate your discoveries into your homeschooling.

Look around your neighborhood and see both the similarities and the differences. Ask each other questions about what you observe.

Talk about what you see, smell, hear, touch - all experiences present opportunities to engage the senses. And some kids even learn best this way, rather than sitting and listening to a classroom-style presentation.

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Rosie's View

Hey all, glad to be back (finally!). Will ya look at that! The keys are in the right places See, in Europe when you type, the “Y” is where the “Z” is and the “Z” is where the “Y” is. Another small thing but, their comma is where our period is.

Anyway, let me tell you about some of the other things I learned from our trip to Europe. A lot of it was fun - who said learning isn't supposed to be fun?

The second day of our travels, we (my family) arrived in Switzerland. Well frankly, it's so clean!

The next day was my parent's 16^th wedding anniversary and we had fondue and also took a tram up a huge mountain. Then, the day after that, we went to an alpine slide. They are SO MUCH FUN!

Next, we went to Vaduz (which is the capital of the country of Lichtenstein) and I got a Swiss Army knife with an engraving of my initials on it.

I played a lot of fooseball (soccer). It was a lot of f-u-n!!

I learned about churches and the architecture of the churches. It was very interesting, more interesting than I thought it would be.

In a BIG library I saw a bunch of really special Bibles that were hand-written. It was pretty cool.

We got to see the Bodensee (the lake near our friend's home which, in English, is called Lake Constance), and got to try Appenzeller cheese. IT'S REALLY GOOD! It's my favorite!

There are a lot of mountains!

We met a couple of kids too, and everything was so beautiful.

-R.G. out!!!

Posted Nov. 8, 2008

Rosie, Ruth and Jonathan at home.

The castle is in Bellanzona, Switzerland. It was built by Romans in the first century B.C. It is now a UNESCO world heritage site.

Scootering in Switzerland with friend, Marion Bellanzona in Italy.

Swiss beauty.

The Duomo.

Jon, Rosie, Jonathan and Ruth at their favorite cheese place; Appenzeller.

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