Tuesday, April 9th

Our first field trip with the Southshore Homeschool Coop!

MIXON FARMS

Bradenton, FL

The tour consists of a tram ride through part of the orchard and a stop at the animal sanctuary.

 Our group filled up an entire front portion of the tram. 

I don't remember the name of this fruit, but it is named for it's "hand-like" look. Connor said he remembers they said it tastes like candy.

A skunk. (Maybe like the one my mom had growing up? ;)

One of the four Pythons they have on the premises. They rescue these from people who owned them but don't want them anymore. Our guide told us this snake is very friendly and docile, but that he has hunted them in the wild and they are pretty aggressive. 

Super giant iguana they "accidentally" rescued. They got a call from a church on Long Boat Key that said they had this iguana living there and they didn't know where it came from. So the guys went out and got it. They noticed he seemed really friendly like he had been kept as a pet. One of the workers saw him when they brought him in and said, "Wow. That looks just like my pet iguana." Apparently he had been keeping it at the church and the church owners didn't know where it had come from. 

His skin felt kind of like a soft rubber. Not like I expected at all.

Tortoise.

Amelia said his shell felt soft. I think we need to work on describing what things feel like.

Sand Hill Crane. This one won't be able to be released back into the wild because her wing was broken and she will never be able to fly again. These birds mate for life, though, so they are waiting until they find another crane that can't be released to see if they take a liking to each other.

Parrot.

Another parrot. This one climbing sideways.

Super cool alligator head. That funky looking contraption next to it is some sort of catching device.

Can you spy with your little eye two Great Horned Owls?

Full grown Screech Owl.

Typical Amelia picture. She later told me that she didn't like "the guy" (our guide).

This bird was the original national bird of Mexico. I can't remember what it's called though.
(I think it is a Caracara.)

Feeding the Koi.

Side note: Amelia thought the fish food was regular food. She told me, "It tastes gross."

We finished the day off with some free orange and vanilla ice cream cones. Amelia of course wanted the flavors swirled, but then didn't like it so she ate my vanilla. I got the swirl. Not a fan. Just saying.

One of the biggest arguments I hear about homeschooling is the lack of socialization. But just to put it in perspective, our group had over twenty children attend this field trip. Not everyone could attend and our group is smaller than the more than a dozen others you can find around the Tampa Bay area alone. Connor's new friend is named Caden. He wore a Mario Brothers tee shirt. He's super cool.

I told Jason last night as we were getting ready to retire for the evening that homeschooling is one of the best decisions we have made for our family. It has completely changed our family dynamic. We are so much more focused on learning. We watch WAY less television. We have been making more homemade foods from scratch. There is less stress and rushing around. We are saving gas. We are growing closer. The kids now ask to paint or ride their bikes or play soccer or work on Spanish instead of playing with electronics or watching television. It is truly remarkable and I hope it continues. I am so grateful that we followed the prompting of the Spirit, even though we had no idea why the prompting had come. We are better for it.