I’ve managed to find this octopus three different times in three different holes scattered around in a nearby field of coral. I can’t ever entice her to come out, though. I find her by looking around for holes with an obvious pile of small shells out front. I even found her pulling a brick into one hole.
Someone is finally catching the reading bug. Our approach with unschooling is to let things progress at their own pace, at the kids’ discretion, instead of force-feeding them things they have no interest in simply because they are X years old. This worked great with Ouest, who became a voracious reader. Seems to be working for Lowe now, too.
Prepping for an afternoon barbecue on Buck Island.
On this trip out to Buck Island the kids and I took the dinghy around to the reef on the East side to snorkel. This is where the boats bring the tourists, touting the “underwater trail.” These trails always make me chuckle. They must seem like a good idea to people who don’t know about how things grow on anything you put underwater. These signs never survive. Dozens of them, all impossible to read.
It was a very cool place to snorkel, though. Felt a bit like snorkeling through a petrified forest, with huge piles of coral stacked up and canyons running through it. Quite a bit of good live coral, too.
We always like to find where the waves are breaking and watch them crash over our heads. The rumble, and the rolling white water are always fun to play in.
Fairly quiet out on the beach during the week.
No overnight anchoring on Buck Island, so back to Christiansted in the evening.
An old fender, twenty-five feet of line, and we have a swing that has logged hundreds of hours.
Surprisingly to me, St. Croix turned out to be a great place to get a COVID vaccine. Rumors started circulating last month that pretty much anyone could get the shot. We called and were turned down the first time, but a couple of weeks later we called back and they set us right up. No need to be a frontline worker, just be over sixteen, and you’re all set. We got our two shots complete without any side effects at all, and feel great knowing we won’t be getting sick. Honestly can’t imagine how crappy being laid up with COVID on a small boat would have been.
Mongoose are all over St. Croix. One of those ill-fated attempts made in the 1800s to control rats on sugar plantations. We all know how these new species introductions go, though. Rats go on, while snakes, lizards, and insects are fairly well decimated.
11 Comments on “Snorkeling Buck”
Your approach to learning is much like what AS Neill taught in his Summerhill school. He has a book out called Freedom not License. Basically he felt children should set the pace of their learning and it worked. It certainly seems to be working with your kids.
Thanks we will check it out. The kids were on the boat swing yesterday (a Sunday) just chatting away and we overheard Lowe say, “I love school days!” My jaw dropped. Somedays he will fight me so hard, and I was really worried the reading was taking a bit more time. Made my day to say the least!
WOW! How easy to get your vaccine there, compared to here in the states….even as geezers we can’t get an appointment! Love the underwater pix-like snorkeling along with your adventures. Kudos on your approach to education! I was a Montessori teacher for years-self-directed learning works wonders to instill a life long love of learning. The amazing life experiences your kids enjoy teach them so much every day.
Glad Lowe has caught the reading bug. Our son loved comic books and some of our “intellectual” friends were shocked we encouraged him. We believed any reading was beneficial. He is almost 50 now and has been an avid reader all his life–Always seems to have the latest Kindle… And, he is one of your Financial gurus, too. Love your photos and posts. Thanks!
Yes there was a boat mama at the marina a few years back that didn’t let her son read the Wimpy Kid series, saying it wasn’t good reading and there are sooo many good books for the kids to read available. I wanted to give him one and tell him to hide reading it from her to see if he thought it was a good book. š
Love the photos! If you have the notion and ability, there is an excellent documentary called “My Octopus Teacher” that you and your family might enjoy. Your octopus friend reminded me of it. Glad you got your shots! I have one to go.
Yes, we watched it and LOVED it. Truly amazing creatures. It would be really hard for me to walk the sidewalks in Greece seeing them drying now. I used to think of them like fish, not any more. https://www.bumfuzzle.com/august-2006/
Whatever their conformal level is Ouest and Lowe will be far advanced in life’s richness and diversity. Winners all the way.
Thereās a wonderful documentary on Netflix called āMy Octopus Teacherā that the family may enjoy.
Best form of education? Unschooling! Unquestionably the best!
Reading
Riting and
Rithmatic
The rest is just fluff!
Ha
Ha! Agree.