Written by monthly contributor Renee Tougas of FIMBY.

A note from Jamie: This post first published on June 11, 2010. With many of us gearing up to make smores and set up tents at some point over the summer, it seems like a good time to revisit these thoughts from Renee.

Summer is a great time to be outdoors. A time to get away from it all, relax and play as a family.

One way to make the most of summer and to really enjoy nature together is to go camping.

Camping is a fun, affordable and memorable vacation for many families. It also presents excellent education opportunities.

So why not get out there and take advantage of the following things you’ll learn when camping.

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The following is a guest post written by Kara Anderson of The Very Next Thing.

Last year, my husband and I sat down to look at our finances and were not exactly shocked to see that we wouldn’t be heading to Spain for a family vacation.

But he had some time off available, and we wanted to spend it having a family adventure. It was around that time that his parents invited us to Wisconsin Dells — the land of wax museums, T-shirt shops and waterslides.

That sounded like a terrific get-away. But as homeschoolers, we like our vacations to offer educational opportunities too.

My husband and I often say that if we had the time and resources, we would be tourschoolers – traveling the globe as a family and learning along the way.

And so, we challenged ourselves to tourschool our way through our Wisconsin visit.

Since then, we’ve taken other family trips, and have realized that if you approach your vacation, long weekend or holiday travel with a solid plan, any trip can be both educational and fun.

Here’s how:
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The following is a guest post written by Linda Cerynik.

Field trips are one my favorite things about homeschooling. They make learning fun for you and your kids, and they give everyone a break from the routine of books, pencils and computers.

Field trips are a wonderful way to instill the value of lifelong learning in your children, as you both experience and discover new places together. Sometimes getting out of the house for a day gives you a little inspiration, or a spark of curiosity, reaffirming just why you chose to homeschool in the first place.

To make the most of your field trips, considering the following ideas:

Choosing your field trip

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