We believe that building community is more than simply learning together in a classroom setting. That’s why we make an effort to bring the community together outside our weekly gatherings. We do this through field trips, nature journaling hikes, mother culture events, and more.
Field trips: About once a month during our terms, we plan a field trip for anyone who wants to attend. As an Alveary co-op, we strive to connect our field trips to something being studied at home. Field trips might revolve around the current history time period, an artist or composer we’re studying, science or nature topics, and occasionally, just something fun. We’ve attended Shakespeare plays, explored museums, and hiked state parks.
Hikes: Once a month, we gather in nature to explore the world around us. We meet in a variety of locations around the area, and we begin with a short instructional talk about our nature journaling focus for the day. Then at some point along the walk, we stop to nature journal. Kids and moms are encouraged to participate, and when we’re finished, we gather around to share what we observed.
Mother Culture: Charlotte Mason said, “If mothers could learn to do for themselves what they do for their children when these are overdone, we should have happier households. Let the mother go out to play!” (Volume 3, pg. 34) We strive to facilitate opportunities for moms to play, be it through learning a handicraft, hearing a talk by a seasoned homeschool mom, or getting together for dinner and a movie – and whatever else we imagine! Once a year, DLC provides an education event, where we cover material of interest to our members.
