There seems to be a renewed interest in Puerto Rico lately. I had not heard much about people traveling there for vacations but we did in 1980 approximately. I specifically remember one snafu when my mom booked the trip–the ticket agent on the phone (nothing was online back then) confused San Juan for Santa Domingo. Nevertheless, it worked out that we went to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Now, I am curious about Santa Domingo as I write about this snafu. The markets were very authentic in Puerto Rico at that time. We mostly spent time at the resort.

Activities to do:

• ziplining
• surfing lessons
•  kayaking adventure
• caves exploration

A convenient thing about Puerto Rico is that you don’t need a passport to get there as it’s part of the United States. This has been a quick trip idea for friends of mine who did not have updated passports. Just something to keep in mind. Puerto Rico means “rich port.” The culture, music, food and people are vivid. Check out this link regarding Puerto Rican music.

http://www.topuertorico.org/culture/music.shtml

Follow this lesson plan to build trip itineraries with your family:

Travel Lesson Plan: Integrate the Concepts

Aruba, with its sandy white beaches in the green-blue Caribbean sea, was a new “hot spot” to go to back in the 1980’s. I remember people horseback riding on the beach, my parents going to the hotel casinos, and all of us shopping in the town center. Beautiful embroideries and wooden sculpture souvenirs were some of the specialties.

A fun fact about Aruba that we learned while we were there, is that it’s only 17  miles from Venezuela. We could see Venezuela from our resort in Aruba!

A unique detail about Aruba was that it was a small country with three official languages: English, Spanish and Dutch because it had been settled by Dutch. Aruba is a Dutch word and both Aruba and other nearby islands were referred to as the Dutch Caribbean. I’d like to go back with the kids next time as the boys are so adventurous.

Scuba diving is a popular activity to do in beautiful Aruba.

I specifically remember the water being so crystal clear that I could see little schools of fish swimming around my feet.

Activities to check out in Aruba:

• Aruba Butterfly Farm
• Numismatic Museum
• National Archaeological Museum

  

  Curacao, Aruba’s neighbor, was equally beautiful! It’s also known for diving! http://www.curacao.com/en/

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Follow this lesson plan to create an itinerary with your family for visiting any destination:

Educational Family Travel Planning

Dominican Republic was a Spring Break destination for my high school senior. It was a mother-son trip in Punta Cana and we were looking forward to the rest and relaxation after a productive high school career. “D.R” as we called it was a gorgeous beach resort trip for us and I’ll always remember how surprisingly warm the water was for March….you could walk right into it!

This particular trip kept us at the resort instead of venturing off since we were herding teenagers and concerned about safety but we did pick up some cultural nuances. We learned about larimar, the unique stone of Dominican Republic and its healing effects.  http://www.bernardine.com/gemstones/larimar.htm

Larimar is an active chakra crystal whose vibration is said to assist with clear communication by helping people express their emotions. It was discovered in 1974 by a man named Miguel Mendez who named the stone after his daughter. He took the first three letters of her name, “Larissa” (Lar) and the local word for “the sea” which is “Mar”. The combination of the two words makes the word “Larimar” and this blue stone is only found in the Dominican Republic. When the stone is closely examined, the colors in it reflect the sea and sky and boasts a strong feminine energy conveying harmony. It attracts spiritual feelings and its higher heart chakra (thymus) is said to yield a vibration that assists people with forgiving others and purging deep emotional pain. Resentment and fear are some of the emotions that larimar is supposed to aid as well. One recommendation is for people to hold a piece of larimar stone close to the area where they are experiencing pain. The energy from doing so helps it work at its highest potential.

There are beliefs that the larimar stone can be helpful in relating and activating a kundalini energy for calming and soothing. Kundalini is an energy which moves up the spine from the base to the crown and it’s associated with “enlightenment.” What I found particularly fascinating is that the latter is associated with the serpent that legend says dwells at the base of the spine.

Barcelo Bavarro Palace Deluxe was the hotel we stayed at in Punta Cana.  

https://www.expedia.com/Punta-Cana-Hotels-Barcelo-Bavaro-Palace-Deluxe-All-Inclusive.h2438582.Hotel-Information

• Suggested reading:
• The Secret Footprints by Alvarez and Negria
• How Tia Lola Came to (Visit) Stay by Alvarez

Follow this lesson plan to build trip itineraries with your family:

Travel Lesson Plan: Integrate the Concepts

Bahamas— so nice! As newlyweds, it was a popular destination during the 90’s…. Once for spring break and once for a national convention that we attended with other family members. Bahamas has a great variety of adventure, relaxation and culture. Depending on where your resort is, you may find certain parts of Nassau pedestrian, while other places require a bus trip to reach a town atmosphere. Both times, we enjoyed one of our favorite Bahamian traditions—conch! Conch fritters, conch salad and cracked conch. The Poop Deck was a romantic restaurant setting for us after a long day of being on the beach. It was nice to dress up and go into town and dine in candlelight. The casinos were a definite draw and highlight of our getaway as was the music of the steel drum bands everywhere. The Bahamian people are so nice and I recommend taking a bus into the city center to see the local flavor.

One adventure my husband and I tried was taking out a catamaran. We didn’t really have the experience required to do this on our own and it was risky. We got caught far out on the water and nervously tried to make our way back. At the time, luckily, I did not know my husband, “the captain” was nervous and I just sat and enjoyed the sea breeze. To this day, it is still a story he tells with trepidation. If you are going to do the catamaran, know what you are getting into! On our second trip there, we did a banana boat–a fun water ride that 5 people can fit on–a long tube that looks like a banana pulled by a speedboat. That was exhilarating too and much safer than the catamaran. The Booze Cruise was a tale in itself. Glass Bottom boats are a great way to enjoy the view and relax. Getting ON the water is something I’ll always recommend.

Atlantis is a huge attraction to the Bahamas and has been a vacation destination for many of our friends.

http://www.atlantisbahamas.com

Suggested reading:

Climbing Clouds- Stories and Poems from the Bahamas by Turner

Follow this lesson plan to build itineraries with your family on visiting a destination:

Travel Lesson Plan: Integrate the Concepts

Cabo San Lucas is a favorite getaway for so many Americans! We’ve done Cabo as a family and I’ve gone with a friend for a girls’ weekend. The ease of the all-inclusive hotels beckons to anyone needing a beach vacation.

When we went as a family of four (before our youngest was born), we had to beware of swimming in the ocean because of the huge waves. The pool was perfect for us though because our preschoolers were just learning how to swim. When I went back with my friend, we enjoyed the water taxi tour of the huge rocks, sea lions, Cabo town… RIU Palace was the hotel we stayed at and we thoroughly enjoyed the choices of restaurants, pools, and shows.

Things to do in Cabo:

• relax at resort
• Cabo Wabo Cantina (Sammy Hagar made this famous!)
• Iglesia de San Lucas  ( for beautiful church architecture)
• Land’s End (El Arco)- water taxi out there to enjoy the sea lions
• Golf
• El Squid Roe (dance club)

Cabo is one of those rare vacations I’ve taken where I really just recommend R & R.

Follow the lesson plan to build trip itineraries with your family:

Travel Lesson Plan: Integrate the Concepts

Puerto Vallarta, a gem of Mexico, has been a destination of ours many times. The ease of getting there in just a few hours from our hometown and not switching time zones even is a huge plus! We leave our hometown early in the morning and fly there with one connection, arriving to the resort usually by 1:00 p.m! That means the rest and relaxation or celebrations can begin early in the day!

Puerto Vallarta has a quaint town that we’ve driven into with the resort shuttle or even just walked to ourselves. Our last trip there, we walked 45 minutes into town. We’ve enjoyed resorts located far from the airport and on one trip, we enjoyed a resort closer to the airport which meant less driving time. I have to say, the resort that was closer to the airport was more enjoyable for me because we didn’t have to rush around so much on the last day to get back to the airport. http://www.applevacations.com/hotels/hilton-puerto-vallarta.html

Other great resort destinations that we’ve enjoyed in Mexico:

• Cancun
• Playa del Carmen
• Puerto Adventuras (swim with the dolphins!)
• Acapulco
• Riviera Maya

Suggested reading:

• Off We Go to Mexico–by Krebs and Strickland
• Frida Kahlo: The Artist who Painted Herself by Frith and de Paola
• Diego by Winter and Winter
• Esperanza Rising by Ryan and Ryan

Follow this lesson plan to build trip itineraries with your family:

Travel Lesson Plan: Integrate the Concepts

Snake charming is a ritual that involves pretending to hypnotize a snake by playing an instrument. Reportedly, snakes actually are responding to the movement in the performance, rather than the sound. Snake charming performances happen in other countries other than just India. The practice is also performed in Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and other countries. The performance symbolized the snake charmer showing heroism by controlling the evil (or devil) in the snake. There are other interpretations of what snake charming symbolizes. This practice has died out overall but now can be seen at festivals and markets—or in our case, at the Amber Fort in Jaipur. Since the fangs and venom are removed from the cobra, I didn’t feel in danger of the snake. This particular pair of snake charmers was a man and his younger, teenage brother. I was not expecting to see this ritual along the path of the majestic Amber Fort but I’m so thrilled we did! –especially since my son is a musician and could appreciate the instrumental part of this ancient tradition!

Tapas are a recent treat in the United States restaurants,  but they’ve been around for a long time in Spain! Tapas are appetizers or small plates.

There are many versions of how tapas originated. My favorite reason of the origin of tapas is that the Spaniards covered their wine glasses with small plates of appetizers to keep the flies out of their wine! In Spain, we tried the tapas method by strolling from one beautiful restaurant or tavern to the next, ordering a few small plates of tapas. We absorbed the environment of the specific restaurant we were in and we moved on to the next one and tried some more! We didn’t do this every night because it could get expensive. But we tried it to get into the culture and cuisine of Spain. It is a popular belief, in the Mediterranean countries, that people should not drink alcohol on an empty stomach so tapas are a perfect way to mix a little food with a little drink!

http://www.orceserranohams.com/history-of-tapas/ http://azahar-

sevilla.com/sevilletapas/tapas-101/

Some of our favorite tapas were:

• chorizo sausage,
• olives,
• calamari,
• croquettes,
• manchego cheese

What a fantastic custom of Spain! Variety while strolling and extending the night!

(photos from internet)

Click on the link to order the book A Magic Carpet Ride by Gina Michalopulos Kingsley. This travel book / anthology/travelogue has international travel recommendations as well as stories, themes and plots. Proceeds go to charity.

https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Carpet-Ride-Michalopulos-Kingsley/dp/069271393X

Summer tutoring is administered by teachers, tutors, parents, educational consultants, etc. As a teacher and a psychometrist, it is always fun for me when I get back into tutoring from time to time. Summer is one of those seasons when I embrace the chance to tutor again.

There is more time to do it because it’s one of the least busy assessment seasons for me and there are students on summer break looking for remediation.  A way to make it refreshing and different from the school year is to utilize nature in the format!

The way I utilize nature in my summer tutoring sessions is outlined like this:

1. Work for a set time on a subject.

2. Take a break to go outside.

3. We check the chicken coop to see if my hens laid any eggs. I might let my student keep the egg that day. Sometimes the student holds the hen and feeds her.

4. We check the herb planter box. After teaching my student the names of all the herbs, I check for memorization skills by asking the student to name them.

5. Sometimes I have the student close his/her eyes and smell individual herbs I hold in front of her nose and identify them.  A tactile skill to do is have the student rub the herbs to release their natural oils first and then smell them. I let the student keep a small bouquet of herbs to take home (with her egg! to cook for later)

6. We check the koi pond and feed the fish or fill the pond with fresh water.

7. We check the grapevine to see how the grapes are growing as the summer proceeds. We pick the grape leaves to brine later for stuffed grape leaves (dolmades).

8. We check the vegetable garden-–tomatoes, peppers, etc…and I let him/her keep any. We pick them while still green, wrap them in a sack and keep them in a drawer to check on weekly to see if they’ve ripened.

After this “nature break”, we go back inside to finish up tutoring or start another subject. This format keeps the student engaged and interacting. It has made them eager to attend tutoring sessions and has helped build rapport.

The quizzes can be printed off for completion or just glanced over for a conversation starter. They are written at a reading level that students and parents can both understand. The simple content of the quizzes will cover general details of the countries–capitals, religion, natural features or historic landmarks, flag symbols, etc.  The answers, whether they are obvious or challenging, are a way to open up a topic about a particular country or region. Covering the general “social studies” details of culture, religion, geography, map symbols, geographical features, etc…are broad but will give the student confidence about what they might already know about a region. Then, from there, they can springboard into more specific details about a region. For example, on the writing section of a quiz, a student can get into more advanced information about that country.