The basics: What we are and what we do

I thought I better put in some basic info:

We meet up about every other week usually in a canyon or a nature park of some kind.  We occasionally go to a museum when I ran out of other ideas.

We dress for the weather because even in rain or snow or wind or shine we have fun.

We post on Facebook or Whenonline.org to say where our outings will be. *maybe I will start posting here too.

I live in Utah County so that is where adventures are based.

We typically meet at 10 a.m. for about 2 hours but the fun has often stretched to 4 or 5 hours.

It is a great thing to bring your nature journals.  We sit together and draw or write whatever you feel like writing.

Introduce yourself! You are the best pathway to making friends. Want a friend, be a friend.I really want the kids to learn this.

Did I forget any other basics?

Here are some heart nuggets I want to share about Utah Homeschool Adventure Club

2016 has come and left already.  I am amazed at what a fun little plan in my head at the beginning of 2015 has evolved into.

I will maybe do a recap of 2016 post if I take the time to find some pictures.  BUT I wanted to say a few things.  I have learned a few lessons.

**If you have an idea, put it out there. It does not even have to be a great idea or a well thought out idea (that is how our club began).

**We live in the greatest age for homeschooling! We can learn so much and accomplish so much by using the Internet, and not only for finding curriculum or "school" information or classes, but by using Facebook, emailing, getting the word out,

**We really are made to collaborate with each other and become a real community.  I have heard many conversations over these past 2 years of moms discussing ideas together, helping each other, giving advice, seeking advice and just reaching out in the way we all need - but I really have greatly valued the connection and the experience of growing together.

**Our kids have new people in their life as acquaintance and friends.  I love seeing the kids go from hesitant to deeply involved.  I have watched friendships emerge from any different age groups. Why am I still surprised to see little kids discussing with bigger kids? I love seeing any ages gather and befriend.

**I love being out in the canyon. I used to think I ALWAYS go outside and spend my life outdoors but THEN I set up the Adventure Club to going out about two times per month.  Well, I sure surprised myself how often two weeks came around. That is proof that I hardly got out there! Scheduling this has been essential for me to be out there.  I definitely know that even if something is valuable in life, it does not necessarily mean it will "just happen"... don't we all see that more and more.  Just because we "home school" does not necessarily mean we spend all the meaningful time we would like in each category of our lives.

**There have been so many little serendipitous moments.  There have been so many impromtu moments that we have experienced just by being out there together. The kids have buried each other in the sand one day (when it was still pretty cold to a mom's point of view), we saw bald eagles flying and nesting near Utah Lake, there was a snake in the river one day, a tiny bird still learning to fly, a butterfly landing on a child's arm, wading in the river, finding a secret log hideout, ... and the list just goes on. I don't think it will ever stop either.

**We are experiencing the lesson that nature really teaches. Not always in the moment but when we are out there we learn about things in a different way than we might expect.

**More and more people come all the time! I sometimes love to make a new friend but not sure when I will possibly be able to fit them into my schedule.  But now we have a place to get together and a time to get together!

I just feel like an exploding volcano of joy! These are just a very small few reasons I love you and I love our Adventure Club. I hope you have felt the goodness that I have. It has all happened just because we have needed each other.

What benefits have you received from coming to our Adventure Club? Tell us even if you have only come once or have never come at all -- how has it inspired you?

Battlecreek Waterfall in the Fall November 2016

Ahh Battlecreek, you never fail us.  Your beauty even shows through gravel roads or drizzly, foggy air.  In truth, the air was the biggest part of the thrill of the day... I mean, have you ever walked in a cloud?  Here are just a few pictures from our fun day!

Frozen! Utah Lake Jan 25, 2016

At Homeschool Adventure Club today, I witnessed some of the things that books cannot teach.  This is also one of the goals of our club. We gather together with no real "plan" other than to spend time in nature with our children.  The reality is after a few minutes of arrival, the adults wander around and talk with each other and looking at our children from afar. The kids join up quickly to throw rocks into the ice and see it crack and splash.  I am always interested whom will end our adventure day as buddies, sometimes unlikely combinations.  I love what we learn from each other, children included.

We enjoyed the horses on the side of the road - Such long hair in the winter!  We walked down to the ice and enjoyed testing it out for a long time, slipping on it, throwing rocks onto it, and splashing rocks into the restricted area of the lake.

We saw a very large bird afar off and I asked Delita, who has a very good eye for birds, and she told it was a bald eagle! We were amazed and crept closer.  It found a tree to perch on that was not far from us.  The majesty and grace of that bird is something that is really special to see. The kids stopped what they were doing to run over and see, saying "Look its the bird of America!"  They were as enchanted as the adults, if not more so.

Connie's kids got the chance to find out that 4 inch diameter holes meant for fishing are still large enough to fall into, clear up to the hip.  They had a very short stay at the lake. Each of my kids by the end of the day got to remember the excellent blessing of getting into a car and quickly warming up those wet toes.  they will remember that chill of tight fingers with too thin gloves in cold weather.  Taking time to prepare in the winter is essential! Jessie, quotes often the Norwegians, saying "There is no bad weather, only bad clothing!"

Ice, friends, rocks, nippy noses, bald eagles, tall reeds, horses, and friends made it a very enchanting day at the lake.  It was so fun to have new friends join us!

Adventure Club Wish List

In the month of goal setting and renewal, what should we plan for fun this year! I want to see Utah! We are located in Utah County and for the most part, that is where we base most of our adventures. I would absolutely be happy traveling up to an hour in any direction.

Do you have any fun ideas? I would love to hear where your family goes to picnic or have fun visiting (in any weather).


Here are some of my ideas for this year:

Riding on the Heber Creeper

Donut Falls in Little Cottonwood Canyon

Hiking to Ensign Peak in Salt Lake City

Visiting the Great Salt Lake

Beach day at Utah Lake in the summer


Now is your time to speak.

Here are my goals for this year for our group!

Have an uplifting experience in nature

Slow down and enjoy our children (without always trying to "arrive at a destination")

Explore different parts of Utah- what a playground we have here

Practice drawing and writing in our Nature Journals.

Please comment below with your ideas

I thought it would be fun to see what we did in 2015:

January:

Bonneville Shoreline Trail, Provo
Rock Canyon

February:

South Fork
Canyon Glen Park (campfire day!)

March:

South Fork (campfire with Smoreos!)
Battlecreek Falls Pleasant Grove
Nielson's Grove Orem

April:

Tibble Fork Reservoir American Fork Canyon

Jolley's Ranch Springville Canyon

May:

Hike Y trail Provo

June:

Cascade Springs Provo Canyon

July:

Upper Falls hike Provo Canyon
Brighton hike to see the wildflowers

August:

Bridal Veil Falls Provo Canyon
Nielson's Grove Park Orem


September:

Payson Grotto hike to waterfall
Dry Canyon hike Orem

October:

Big Springs Provo Canyon
Gardner Village witch hunt

November:

Rock Canyon
Bean Museum Provo

December:

Hybernate at home!  No Adventure Club

We blog now.

We made a blog! This will be a great place to tell you about all our upcoming adventures! So keep watch.