The overall experience has been a rich one for Ethan. As Judy mentioned yesterday, Ethan’s old enough to remember the trip and young enough to have fun with us on this epic journey. The experience, the sights, the people…these are all things we wanted for Ethan to witness on this roadschooling adventure.

Video to come.

Morning

This morning was definitely a #vanlife moment, as we woke up at the beach watching the sun come up. We dreamed of moments like these when we got the Westfalia, so this was living that dream.

Ethan immediately pulled out his camera and started snapping away. I’ll be posting his photos once he’s chosen the ones he’d like to share.

After breakfast, we took a stroll to Freshwater Lake, which was right next to where we had parked. Ethan immediately wanted to practise skipping rocks when he saw the calm water.

But Ethan decided it would be more fun to build a path along the water using rocks. He saw one larger rock jutting out of the water and set that as our goal.

This turned out to be a lot fun, as we all got involved. At some point, Dong Eun suggested tossing the rocks into the water, instead of just carrying them one at a time. This worked great, too. After setting a base, we added more rocks by hand. Eventually, we had built a quite a long path out into the lake. Part of the reason was to save a spider that we thought was stranded on a rock. But the spider later disappeared, so perhaps it actually lived on the water.

With bridge building done, it was time for some peanut butter and bumble berry jam sandwiches before more time on the beach.

The sand here was a powdery brown, almost like soft brown sugar when you stepped on it. It was perfect for some sand sculptures and designs.

Ethan is always looking for anything heart shaped to give to Dong Eun as a gift. This morning, it was a rock.

Afternoon

We needed to go to the local public library so I could get some work done. Roadschooling is challenging for Ethan, but it’s also not always easy being a digital nomad. However, I’m grateful for the free wifi at libraries and the fact that I can work from the road.

At the library, which was tiny and very cute, Ethan completed the math section of the online assessment, then got to work on his latest video.

We set time limits on how long he uses the computer, but we mostly leave it up to him to be disciplined enough to stop using the computer on his own. And at the libraries, we ask him to spend an equal amount of time reading, which he’s happy to do.

He then went out to the van for lunch and to practise some math with Dong Eun. She has a way of making these activities fun for Ethan, so I’m always impressed by how she finds a fun way to work with him.

We said a final goodbye to the Cabot Trail and started making our way to North Sydney to catch the ferry to Newfoundland. Cape Breton was spectacular and we highly recommend a visit. At this time of year, there are almost no tourists, yet the scenery is not to be missed.

Evening

We arrived in North Sydney and needed to have dinner before boarding the ferry. The ride over to Newfoundland would be over 7 hours and didn’t depart until 11:45pm. With an overnight ferry ride looming, Dong Eun made a fantastic chicken stew for dinner. The remarkable thing about her cooking is that it’s delicious and it’s all been done within the confines of a ’94 VW Westfalia.

I called the ferry company to check if we needed reservations because we just wanted to roll over there about an hour before departure. Lucky I called because you need a reservation, and you need to be at the terminal for check in about 2 hours before departure.

The interior of the ferry was part airplane, part cruise ship. The seats were big and plush, as well as reclining. There was an on board coffee shop and restaurant, too. Once he got settled in, Ethan read some more of his math textbook.

If you like, there’s also cabins to sleep in, but they were about the same price as the ferry tickets so we decided to sleep in the chairs, instead. And just like an airplane, it’s hard to get comfortable to sleep. However, we did manage to find positions that worked for us, somewhat.

Next stop: Newfoundland!

If you’re just reading this blog for the first time, we are a family of three traveling across Canada (and likely beyond) in a 1994 VW Westfalia camper van called Juju Jr. Our son Ethan, age 9, is unschooling and so we want him to learn from being on the road and traveling. So he’s also now a roadschooler and we are documenting the trip and his learning on this blog.

The post Home Learning Journal October 26, 2017 – Finishing the Cabot Trail & Late Night Ferry to Newfoundland appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

Video to come!

Morning

Last night, we stayed at a local Walmart and when we woke up, we were greeted with pumpkin and chocolate chip muffins made by Loretta. Ethan was happy to see them again, as usual, and was even happier to have a muffin for breakfast. Dong Eun also liked not having to cook.

Ethan worked some more on his fourth grade assessment. We’re still trying to find a way to motivate and encourage him to write. We know he’s creative and we know that he can write if he put his mind to it.

Once we were done breakfast and cleaned up, we headed for Cape Breton. We followed the directions of a new navigation app, which told us to mostly take a smaller road, rather than the Trans Canada Highway.

But interestingly, we got to experience something new… There was road construction and to get through the construction area, we were escorted by one of the construction trucks.

We went back onto the Trans Canada and eventually made it to Cape Breton.

Afternoon

We kept seeing signs for the Farmers Daughter market and were curious what it was. So we pulled in to check it out and were impressed by the local products and the in store bakery.

At one point, an older fellow asked if were the ones from BC and told us about how he’s been across the country 3 or 4 times. He also mentioned how he has two daughters living in BC. We then found out that he was the owner of the market and had a nice chat with him about the store.

He told us about the contest he held where if someone worked with him for 5 years, he would give them 3 acres of land. I remember that story in the news and told him that I might have even applied. Obviously, I didn’t get the job.

Before leaving, we bought their oat cakes and Ethan and Dong Eun had to get a photo with the giant red chair outside the store.

Back on the road, we couldn’t help but marvel at the beauty of Cape Breton.

Everywhere we looked, it was nice and we had to stop to enjoy the views up close and to have lunch.

Ethan also got a much needed toenail trim.

He then picked some leaves to press them using his new math book. This is something he learned from seeing Loretta do the same thing.

With our belly’s full, we drove on and encountered the rocky shores of Cape Breton. This was the first time that any of us have seen something like this.

It was easy to see how the earth pushed the fault lines up to create this dramatic shoreline.

Driving further along, we came up to a grassy area overlooking the water.

A little further and we were back down at sea level, visiting a local beach. Ethan took the opportunity to write something into the sand for Dong Eun.

A short distance away, Ethan collected sea snails and made a game from them… If the snails started trying to move, we had to flip them over and poke them so they’d go back in their shell.

We also saw a mask making shop, that unfortunately, was closed for the season. It seemed like many places were closed for the season, but it meant no tourists, too.

Ethan has been enjoying all the little things he can do on the trip, such as finding sticks and carving them.

Evening

There was so much to see that it was dark before we started looking for a place to camp for the evening. We drove along Cabot Trail until we found a quiet pull out area. It turned out to be a great spot because we saw more stars in the sky than we have ever seen in our lives.

How amazing that the people here get to gaze up at the sky and see such a sight every night. Ethan ended the night by doing some math. He then stretched with Dong Eun to get ready for bed.

We took one more look at the sky and called it a day.

If you’re just reading this blog for the first time, we are a family of three traveling across Canada (and likely beyond) in a 1994 VW Westfalia camper van called Juju Jr. Our son Ethan, age 9, is unschooling and so we want him to learn from being on the road and traveling. So he’s also now a roadschooler and we are documenting the trip and his learning on this blog.

The post Home Learning Journal October 24, 2017 – Cape Breton Island’s Cabot Trail appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.