WSIS Year Two

It's been awhile since we've even thought about our travel blog, so we thought it may be time to give you a quick update on our wanderings, and a brief overview of this, the second year of the so-called Winston Salem International School.

Actually, the plan for this year is to be not-so-international.  After a wonderful 2007-2008 traveling around the world, we felt that our kids needed a little United States history, and have therefore planned to focus on the colonial period through the present day, with just a little international travel to the places that we couldn't/didn't fit in last year.  So in addition to the normal math, science, writing, enrichment, etc. projects of 5th and 7th grades, we will be visiting some key historical spots around the U.S.

Our school year began by trying to complete the previous one.  In the generous spirit of trying to get last year's experience to "sink in", Claire and I prepared a final exam covering many of the highlights of our travels last year.  We were really pleased with our efforts, until we handed the kids their 38 page final exam.  As they are quickly moving from the sweet and innocent elementary school age to that of pre-pubescent adolescence, one can only imagine the looks that we, the proud parents, received.  Not to worry, for we all chipped in, and worked together to compile our answers and essays for the exam. 

For U.S. history, Claire decided that we start at the beginning when the Asians crossed the Bering land bridge into what we now call the Americas. Since the Bering Straights are now underwater we made our first official visit to Cherokee (no we did not have a black jack lesson) and then to the first English settlement in the New World at Roanoke Island.  On the latter, we enjoyed a nice 3 day trip to the NC Outerbanks in late August, visiting the "Lost Colony", and learning about the intrepid pioneers of the late 1500's, including our state capitol's namesake.  We also visited the First Flight museum at Kitty Hawk, celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary in Sanderling, NC (where we were marred), and stayed overnight in Ocracoke 

We have since visited Plimoth Plantation (and the very underwhelming Plimoth Rock)(and no, I didn't misspell Plymouth), Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown.  We think we have the colonial period down.  For the remainder of the school year, we plan to visit Boston, Washington, D.C., and some other possible locales yet to be decided (like the Lewis and Clark trail and many of the canyons in the west).  Internationally, we will head to Australia, and possibly back to Central America for some Spanish language immersion and study of the Mayan culture.  

Thanks for putting up with our ramblings (literally and figuratively), and we will talk to you from the road.