This year Ryan and I decided we were kinda done with the "9-5" schedule thing. Granted, Ryan and I haven't had 9-5 jobs in years... but we've stuck to the kids school schedule, and as more and more traveling opportunities popped up, we realized we needed to do a major life change.
Home schooling.
You guys have every right to say were out of our minds.
I will totally admit- for ME- home schooling is hard. It's crazy. It takes energy. It takes organization. Patience- omggggg it takes patience. And you have to show up. All day, every day.
But its given us SO MUCH MORE than what its "taken." (energy, sleep, etc.)
When I was sick, in and out of the hospital, I felt such a disconnect with my kids. They started depending on Ryan; which yeah, why wouldn't they? I was in the hospital all the time. Or knocked out in bed. It was awful. And while we still don't know what caused the craziness (we suspect an autoimmune disease), as my "good days" started stacking up, I began thinking about everything we could see and do with our time! (( NEVER TAKE YOUR HEALTH FOR GRANTED. EVER EVER EVER. ))
Traveling, following our fave band around (I swear we're not stalkers- just big fans:), ticking things off our bucket list... with my health in check, that door was wide open. And we jumped through it without much investigating :)
It was (IS) a scary jump, but its one I'd take over, and over again.
Learning with my kids is something I never thought I'd really enjoy... I mean they would bring home packets of worksheets from their old school and I LOATHED it. But this is different.
There aren't loads of worksheets. (& they aren't whining 24/7 while doing it, like they would after school last year. :)
They do book work every day (Mon-Fri), but we incorporate their book work with fun and relevant activities; reading, researching, visiting, seeing, hearing, tasting- ALL the things they're learning about. We also play. A lot. Whether its the ice cream scoop game, or throwing a ball around, or side walk chalking, it's the absolute BEST to feel so connected as a family. I can't imagine ever doing "normal" school/life again.
Something else we have the kids doing is collecting things from everywhere we go. Each and every museum, zoo, attraction, or experience of any kind is documented. It's super fun to see what "sparks joy" in each kiddo ;) On our recent trip up north, Stella had grabbed a bunch of info cards about Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. I knew she liked it, but it wasn't until getting home and finding her stash of maps and guides, that I realized she really got something out of it. She also started a $2.00 bill collection. :) haha
SOOOO.... back to SARASOTA. What about it?
It's been one of our favorite "easy to get to" destinations as a family. And I want to share why you should take a visit to this cool circus city!
Aside from it being just plain GORGEOUS, and accessible (to us Floridaians) there is SO much fun history! And really good food. GOOD, good food.
So, with the kids help, we came up with a "Sarasota MUST DO" list :)
1. The Ringling
This was- hands down- the kids' very favorite thing we did. THEY LOVED IT. WE LOVED IT. Right on the gulf, sits the Ringling Brothers estate. It's incredible! The actual museum has a ton of hands on, circus-y stuff for kids. But their favorite part was the ginormous model circus. They have been begging to create a mini model zoo, since seeing the TWO STORY Ringling circus model. We also loved the giant Banyan trees, and sitting on the deck/ back porch of the Ca' d'Zan. It's probably a 3-4 hour experience... and we just adored it :)
2. VENICE BEACH
We live over on the Atlantic and are privy to having the beach at our fingertips. With that being said, my kids don't go crazy over new beaches. To them, they're all the same: sand and water. But Venice beach is a little different. It's about 30-45 minutes south of Sarasota, but we hit it up because.... there are shark teeth everywhere. I'm talking handfuls of shark teeth (if you go at the right time, in the right place :) I consider myself to be a professional shark tooth hunter, but my kids are not. They hate it. They don't have the patience for it at a normal beach. Venice however gives them the excitement, and satisfaction of finding loads of sharks teeth without much actual "searching." ;) We had a contest last time we went; whoever found the most teeth could pick dessert. EVERY kiddo (even Rosie) found several teeth, and we had a blast counting them at the end. Turns out we are a very competitive family... and just for the record, I won. (And, yes, I absolutely was the one who chose dessert).
3. St. Armands Circle
This little bit of town, is identical to St. George street (here in St. Augustine), but in a circle... and circus themed. Because everything in Sarasota is circus themed! We spent HOURS here, window shopping, eating, and listening to music while the kids ran around the huge grassy center (St. Armands Circle). Make sure to walk alllllll around the circle and read even MORE about the history of the Ringling brothers circus. There are plaques dedicated to the best of the best tightrope walkers, contortionists, clowns, and all sorts of other cool circus acts. It's def a MUST SEE!
4. Big Olaf Creamery
Remember the shark tooth/dessert thing? This is what I chose as our prize; Big Olaf Creamery. OH MY YUM.
-quick side note- My dad has blessed me with many things, his nose, and his love for ice cream and donuts. Wherever we go, ice cream and donuts are ALWAYS on the radar, We're like professional taste testers.
So trust me when I say, grab a scoop or two at the creamery! They have tons of different flavors you won't find anywhere else, and of course, those glorious chocolate dipped waffle cones. YUMMMM.
5. Marie Selby Gardens
We were very hesitant to take the kids to a garden. I mean, they're well behaved, (I think) but they ARE kids... meaning, they're loud and curious. :) I was picturing Rosie picking extinct flowers that had taken hundreds of years to grow, or Stella trampling through a patch of protected plants... however, it is SO kid friendly. There are a ton of rare flowers and beautiful plants- definitely take your time to look through them. Make sure to ask for the flower scavenger hunt they have for kids- it made the experience 100000x better :) Each kid had a list of flowers or plants to find. And it was catered to their own preference; "Find your favorite flower".... "Find a plant that starts with the first letter of your name," etc. They had a blast! We hit the kid section pretty quickly, and all flower/plant hunting went out the door. I think they spent a good hour swinging on all the different ropes, and swings, crawling through caves, and climbing over trees. Kid you not- not one of them wanted to go the gardens- they all complained on the way there... and we ended up having to drag them out of the flowers, promising we'd be back sometime soon. HAHA :)
6. Der Dutchman
I'm not really sure how to even tell yall about this place... hmm... I got a coffee mug from there, and it says, "Thanksgiving ALL year Long!" And I guess that's a good way to describe it. First of all, its giant. HUGE. It's two stories of pure goodness. And you'll want everything. The downstairs is hands down the nicest, yummiest buffet I've ever been to (and we've been to every Disney buffet there is...sooo that's saying a lot). And its CHEAP. Like 6.99 per person. We ate breakfast here, and I think its what breakfast in heaven will be like. HUGE handmade Amish donuts, french toast, pancakes, eggs, a million different kinds of potatoes, and the BEST. COFFEE. EVER. The upstairs of the restaurant is a store- like cracker barrel- but way better because everything is handmade (like that day). We ended up going home with a few tubs of raspberry jelly, peanut butter sauce, and apple butter.
7. The "Circus" Park
Umm... I think the official name of this park is "Hyde Park" but we just call it the circus park. And that's because the entire park is circus themed. They have fake (duh) elephants that Rosie loved doing "tricks" on. There are tigers guarding the slides, and monkeys on the monkey bars. There's a Ferris wheel climbing thing... and a line of hoops for kids to run through- with seals that splash you at the end of your run:) It's the CUTEST park, and a great place to get some energy out!
8. "Unconditional Surrender" statue
So this isn't really a "thing to do"- but it's certainly a thing to see! Right on the bay, is the iconic soldier kissing/coming home statue. There's enough room to grab a pic, but not too much room to run around (it's pretty busy with traffic). Regardless, its super cool to see, and the kids thought it was funny because they could see up the lady's skirt...
9. Lido Key
Guys- promise me- PROMISE ME- if you go to Lido Key and watch the sunset, take pictures and TAG ME! HAHA! I am obsessed with this spot! Pictures, words- nothing will do it justice. It's an experience you just have to experience. There's also a really cute NIGHT TIME donut place called "Meany's Mini Donuts"- we stopped here before watching the sunset because... donuts. Duh.
10. THE MOTE!
Hands up if you're really into aquariums!!! My hand is raised high- I flipping LOVE me a good aquarium. We've been to some pretty epic ones... so I was hesitant to go to Sarasota's "little Mote aquarium." I was picturing some gators (they're a staple anywhere in FL), and some salt water fish tanks. OH how we were pleasantly surprised!!! The Mote is HUGE- its actually two buildings and has evvvvverything from tiny sea cucumbers to a HUGE squid. They have several "touch tanks" (my kids fave)- we got to touch sharks-EEE! I can't lie and say I wasn't a little nervous one of those buggers would get annoyed and bite a finger off... but we survived :) And it was so, so cool!
So there ya go!
THOSE are our fam's top ten things to do in Sarasota!
We have tons of Florida travel goals... there's just SO. MUCH. TO.SEE!
But Sarasota will always be one of our fave little places to get away. :)
What Florida town is on your bucket list?
P.S. I have every intention on blogging about all these little trips, and I still do- unfortunately I'm like 10 trips behind...
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