• Amy Mendel Winston
  • Robert Winston
  • SUPERFIST1017 ULTRABEAST
  • SHATTERFIST1019
elok. 2022 – kesäk. 2023

Worldschooling Year

we're hoping to immerse as much as possible into local cultures to understand how other families live around the world while exploring interesting cultures and histories. Lue lisää
  • Greece (by Andrew)

    27. syyskuuta 2022, Kreikka ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    Why you should go to Greece:

    I think you should go to Greece because it is beautiful and the food is so good!!! Athens has the Acropolis with the parthenon. The parthenon has a statue of Athena the goddess. Athena is the goddess of wisdom, crafts, war, and a lot of more stuff. Sea bream skin (fish skin) is really good.It is a small fish from the sea. They serve it with the head and tail still attached. Mt. Olympus is there and is the biggest mountain in Greece. The hike took us 3 days and was hard, but the view is worth it. You have to eat some ice cream!!! I liked it there, you should go there too.Lue lisää

  • Why You Should Go To Greece (by Lewis)

    27. syyskuuta 2022, Kreikka ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    Greece is a great place, here's three reasons why:

    The Acropolis
    Because it has the Parthenon in it!
    The Parthenon is a temple for Athena + Poseidon.
    16,000 people visit the Acropolis every day!!!

    Mt. Olympus
    It's the highest point in Greece!
    It's also the home of the gods.
    About 10000 people climb it each year!!!

    The Mediterranean sea
    It’s the sea where all the Greek islands are.
    The water is really warm there.
    301370 people visit the Mediterranean sea each day!!!!!

    Greece is a great place, you'll love it!!
    Lewis, over and out.
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  • Israel First Week (by Lewis)

    3. lokakuuta 2022, Israel ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Israel is cool. We went to the park that has a gym. We exercise there using ropes. We saw our Israeli family. There are so many of them I'm not sure we'll see everyone. We went to get *gleda. They had mint chocolate chip (FINALLY). There is a lot to do and see in Israel.

    *Ice Cream
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  • Dig for a Day (by Lewis)

    7. lokakuuta 2022, Israel ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    Today we went to “Dig for a Day.” Dig for a day is digging for ancient artifacts. There's three main parts to it: Digging, sifting, and Crawling. During digging, there are two people: The Digger and The Separator. There's a 99.9 percent chance you'll find your first artifact. You use a sifter to find stuff that you accidentally missed. ‘Hope you don't find much doing this job! You had to crawl through “doggy doors”to get around the crawl space in the second cave. It was my favorite part. There are so many artifacts to be found.Lue lisää

  • Dig for a Day (by Andrew)

    7. lokakuuta 2022, Israel ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    We are going to dig for a day!!! Dig for a day is where you dig for 2000 year old stuff. I liked using a pick-axe to find treasure. I also liked finding missing treasures using a sifter. We went into a cave with 4 dog doors and 1 toilet bowl. I liked going down a toilet bowl. I think you should too. Dig for a day is so fun.
    Ps: you get to go down a toilet bowl.
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  • Uncle Mike’s Visit to Israel (by Andrew)

    14. lokakuuta 2022, Israel ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    Uncle Mike visited us in Israel. We went to the beach with him and we had fun with him. I like it at the beach and we go boogie boarding. We also loved going to the park with him. I enjoyed his visit. You could come visit us too.Lue lisää

  • A Visit from Uncle Mike (by Lewis)

    14. lokakuuta 2022, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F

    Uncle Mike's trip to Israel is special. It's special because he was taking time off from coming home to see us. He was very kindhearted to do that. It's also special because... well... because we were together. We were together at dessert(ice cream), we were together at the park exercising, too. It was also special because we got to wake him up with kisses. And it was special because he was with us. We also got to facetime with Ethan and Izzy, which was one of my favorite parts. Family members out there, come visit us!!!Lue lisää

  • Hiking Mt. Masada (by Lewis)

    16. lokakuuta 2022, Palestiina ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F

    Mt. Masada was cool, literally, like chilly cool. We got to see the sunrise, which was my favorite part. There were ruins at the top. We got to see the ancient synagogue. It was hard, but it was fun. The people on Mt. Masada killed themselves because they didn't want to become Roman slaves. There is a lot of history behind Mt. Masada.Lue lisää

  • Hiking Mt Bental (by Lewis)

    27. lokakuuta 2022, Syyria ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Hiking Mt. Bental was fun. Mt. Bental is in the Golan Heights. There is a great view at the top. It's also a volcano!! We got to see a bunker. There are bunkers at the top because there was a war there: the Yom Kippur war of 1973. We went in one of them. There are funny slo-mo videos of it. Andrew said (in a video) hhhhhhhheeeeeeeyyyyyyyyy gggggggggguuuuuuyyyyyyyyssssssssshh. I said...nothing!!! You should hike Mt. Bental!!Lue lisää

  • Hugs in Israel

    30. lokakuuta 2022, Israel ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    The boys have been doing such a great job of posting that if feels like my posts are unnecessary. However, when on a 6hr flight to Marrakech… The last few weeks have been sort of magical. We have all enjoyed slowing down, having a homebase, a park a few blocks away, a grocery shop whose aisles we learned, an amazing smoothie guy who knows our orders when he sees us and watches over our kids as they go and come from the park on their own, a favorite falafel place, a great produce stand where the cucumbers are crunchy, the grapes are sweet, and the dates are soft, and a regular path to the beach that the boys can navigate on their own. We had a wonderful time just living and being in Tel Aviv with short trips to explore the country, including the Golan Heights, Dead Sea, Masada, Ein Gedi, Haifa, Safed, and staying on two kibbutzes, which were some of our favorites.

    We are so lucky to have my grandpa’s cousins, Micha and Ofra, organize multiple get togethers where we got to see and meet our Israeli family. We use the term family loosely as many are 3rd, 4th or 5th cousins, many times removed, but it was all ‘mishpucha.’ I enjoyed reconnecting with cousins with whom I raced up Masada as a teen and having him now teach me and my kids how to make wine, having a Sukkot dinner and meeting a cousin who happens to be a patent attorney who led a CAR-T patent litigation I followed closely, having pizza at a home surrounded by lush vegetation and mature plantings that 23 years ago was new construction surrounded by dessert, and watching our children connect and play with their Israeli cousins and form their own connections.

    The 5 weeks in Israel was capped off with an incredible hug from home when Gila, my co-mom and the boys nanny for the first 6+ years of their lives came to visit us in Tel Aviv. We spend most of the time in the shuk and on the beach, soaking up the sun and the Gila love. Words can’t express how much visits with loved ones fill our buckets.
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  • Being Flexible

    1. marraskuuta 2022, Syyria ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    For the 0.005% of you following the news in Uganda, there’s been an Ebola outbreak that we were hoping (for so many reasons the least of which are our travel plans) would be contained to under 100 cases, but has recently spread in the capital, infecting 6 students and many others. We have shifted our plans and rather than going to Uganda to spend time with the Abayudaya (Jewish) community in Mbale, we will be spending 3 weeks in Luxor, Egypt at a worldschooling hub.

    One of the things that has been surprisingly difficult is finding other kids to play with. We were so lucky in Israel to connect with a welcoming worldschooling/ home schooling group of families with a bunch of elementary aged kids. We would meet at a different playgrounds where the kids would create imaginative play games, built castles and a moat with palm fronds, rocks and a water source, play math games on picnic benches, play soccer and run around while the parents shared travel and life experiences. It was fulfilling for all of us to have new people with whom to talk and interact.

    Thus, when we realized we couldn’t go to Uganda where Lewis and Andrew were supposed to go to school and have kids to play with, we tried to find an alternative place where they could socialize. Worldschooling hubs have popped up around the world where like-minded families will gather. The kids will attend a themed camp during the week that’s mainly kid-led play and exploration, while the adults can work or explore the country. There are meals and activities where the families can hang out and be around other people who speak English. On the weekends, the families can go on optional excursions like diving in the Red Sea or taking a felucca to Aswan. Andrew is super excited, Lewis is on board and predictably a bit nervous, and Rob and I are thrilled for the kids to be around other kids, for us to have other parents to interact with, and for the kids and us to have a break from each other. While we really enjoy each other’s company, it’s nice to have some fresh faces and stories in the mix. Now, on to Morocco where we will see Grandma and Papa before heading to Egypt!
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  • A few more pictures from Marrakech

    2. marraskuuta 2022, Marokko ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    here are some more photos from the gorgeous Jardin Majorelle that we saw the morning before Grandma and Papa arrived. There was about an hour wait to get tickets and another 30mins to get in, but it was SO worth it!Lue lisää

  • Marrakech (By Andrew)

    3. marraskuuta 2022, Marokko ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    We’re in Marrakech in Morocco to see Grandma and Papa. They flew from Boston just to see us (and we flew from Tel Aviv). We played, swam, and had two sleepovers and I lost my tooth and La Petite Souris (aka “the Little Mouse”) came. The Little Mouse is the Moroccan and French tooth fairy! We did archery and we rode bicycles. We rode around the city in motorcycle sidecars and went off-roading at an oasis. It was bumping in the oasis and I got to go flying (he leaned so the side car would go in the air). It was even more special with my family.Lue lisää

  • Marrakech (by Lewis)

    5. marraskuuta 2022, Marokko ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

    Earlier this week, we went to Marrakech with Grama and Papa. We got to have two sleep-overs with them, which was really fun. The hotel we stayed in had a Kids Club, too. There, we got to paint pottery and do archery. At the hotel we got to ride free bikes; speaking of bikes, we got to ride in motorcycle sidecars! You get to ride around Marrakech then go revving around on some dirt! Marrakech is a very exciting place.Lue lisää

  • Atlas Mountains & Berbers (by Andrew)

    9. marraskuuta 2022, Marokko ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    Hello fellow friend,
    We hiked in the Atlas Mountains and we met the Berber people
    who let us come into their house to eat and drink tea. When we were at their house we met a boy who was 11 years old. He was nice and he helped us dig geodes out of the mountain. At the hotel, we went swimming and played tennis with Papa and I thought that was fun. Grandma got sick during the trip, but did her best to participate when she could. You should come to the Atlas Mountains. There are good hikes, you can find some geodes, and the people are really kind.Lue lisää

  • Worldschooling Hub in Luxor, Egypt

    28. marraskuuta 2022, Egypti ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    We came to Egypt after a soul-filling week in Morocco to join a worldschooling hub. A hub is a small community of worldschoolers who come together for a period of time for the kids (and adults) to socialize. The Luxor Worldschooling Hub is run by a lovely family where the husband is from Luxor and has a family farm. The hub kids take a van to the farm to spend 4-5hrs each morning doing project based learning activities (NOT school), which the parents have the morning free to socialize, visit temples & tombs without the “how much longer"s, take crafts and cooking classes, and just have some adult time, which is incredible!

    This month’s theme is food for thought, so the kids have planted and tended gardens, cooked Egyptian foods, made smoothies with a bicycle powered blender, learned about different crops on the farm, taken care of animals and even volunteered at the local animal shelter. They also put together a family café where they sold foods and crafts and raised money to donate to the animal shelter. It’s a very crunchy, kid-driven, participation optional, but both our very different kids LOVED it!

    The coolest part of being at a hub has been the people we met. We’ve all had the opportunity to get to know a Scottish doctor and education consultant and their 11 & 9yo boys who are traveling for 6 months; a British family of teachers with 6&9yo girls who were living in Brunei for the last 5 years and are heading to Sri Lanka; a Kansas City homeschooling family where the dad decided being a lawyer was boring and went into the foreign service, first in China before and during COVID and now in Honduras where they live with 3 of their 5 kids, the other two at boarding schools; and an American dad and German mom, who left their conventional life in Boulder to travel indefinitely with their 9yo son.

    While the first week in the hub was probably our hardest week of the trip (due to a variety of reasons, including us arriving a week late in a 4 week hub and the other families already having bonded, our kids figuring out how to be part of a group, us trying to get used to new foods, new culture, new language, new stores with different products, etc…), we all were valuably reminded that it takes time to adjust to new places! The first week in most places we have traveled has been hard, but by week 2, it gets easier. By week 2 in Luxor, we had a routine down, the kids had made friends, we had made friends, and things became quite enjoyable and relaxed. We leave Luxor on Thursday (last day of the November hub) and we are all quite sad to be leaving, but excited to meet up with another worldschooling family with 7&9yo boys to overland in Namibia together for December!
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  • Egypt (by Andrew)

    30. marraskuuta 2022, Egypti ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    I went to Luxor and went to something called Hub. Hub is something that you go to for kids to play with other kids while traveling. I love Hub because I do not have any friends (except Lewis) while I travel and I made friends at Hub. Hub went on a trip to an ancient temple, had dinner together and went to an animal shelter. I miss my friends at Hub.😭.Lue lisää

  • Egyptian Pyramids and Tombs (by Andrew)

    30. marraskuuta 2022, Egypti ⋅ 🌙 66 °F

    I went to Egypt and went to the Pyramids of Giza. It is very cool because they are old but still strong. I also saw the Sphinx, which was also awesome. I love it in Egypt. I also went to the Valley of the Kings/Valley of the Kids and got to see King Tut's mummy. It is a little scary because you got to see his head and feet which are over 3000 years old! There are so many cool old things to see in Egypt that it was hard to choose a favorite.Lue lisää

  • Ethiopia (by Andrew)

    6. joulukuuta 2022, Etiopia ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    I went to Ethiopia and the people were really kind. I also went to Dr. Rick Hodes’ house and met him and some of the orphans that live with Dr. Rick. The orphans really liked playing soccer, especially the older ones, and they let me play with them! In Ethiopia there is really good ice cream, but I didn’t like the food. We got to go swimming at the Hilton pool, and guess what? It was heated by the earth! We walked around the city a lot and felt safe. I enjoyed being in Addis Ababa and meeting Dr. Rick.Lue lisää

  • Namibia (by Andrew)

    10. joulukuuta 2022, Namibia ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    Earlier this week, we flew from Ethiopia to Namibia and got to meet our new friends, the Benwells. They have two sons named Knox & Cruz. I like them. We got to play Pokémon together, which I enjoyed. We also got to go swimming and play with a rugby ball in the pool. Then we went camping at a camp site in the Namib Desert. To get here, we drove in an off-roading truck on dirt roads that had lots of bumps. It was nauseating. We got to sleep in tents on top of the truck. It was hard to sleep because of the noise of the other people camping. It’s really hot here; tomorrow we are driving to a hotel that is a little cooler.Lue lisää

  • You Should Go to Israel (by Lewis)

    13. joulukuuta 2022, Israel ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    I'm only 9 years old but I've been to 19 different countries. If I could travel anywhere, I'd go to Israel. Israel has impressive hiking, warm waters which are great for swimming, and amazing food. You should travel to Israel.

    You should visit Israel because there are great mountains to hike. En Gedi has impressive waterfalls and is one of the only lush places in the desert. Mt Masada is also in the desert. Mt Masada is an archeological site of ancient Jewish ruins, has a great view at the top and you can also (if you're there at the right time) see the sunrise. Another summit you might want to climb is Mt Bental. Mt Bental is in the Golan Heights and has cool bunkers at the top. There are bunkers at the top because there was a war there: the Yom Kippur war of 1973. Also, in northern Israel, you can find Mt Carmel. Haifa is on Mt Carmel and the Bahai gardens are also there. There is always fun stuff at the top of the peaks. We can therefore see that you should go to Israel because there are great mountains to hike.

    You should travel to Israel because there are a lot of opportunities to swim. For example, you can go swimming at Banana Beach. It has GIANT waves, which are good for boogie-boarding and surfing. You can find Banana Beach in Tel Aviv. Similar to beaches, there are deep pools, which are great for diving. You can visit lots of places that have pools, like the Merom Golan Kibbutz and the Kalia Kibbutz. In addition to pools and beaches, there is also the Dead Sea, which is just awesome. You can float in the water, without trying to float or even treading! Plus, you can paint yourself in mud. It is clear that you should go to Israel because there are a lot of places to go swimming.

    You should visit Israel because the food is yummy. There are tasty proteins. The chicken schnitzel is flavorful and there's amazing sea-bream. Smashburger has some of the best burgers in Tel Aviv. My preferred burger is the Double Smash with french fries on top. Smashburger also sells lemonade, freshly made with lemon juice, water and some sugar. Equally important to proteins, the soil in Israel produces healthy vegetables, like broccoli. Because the Israeli weather is great for growing things, they get four seasons of cucumbers and tomatoes. Once you're done with your veggies, it's time for dessert. Israel has yummy chocolate rugelach. Additionally, there are candy shops. My preferred candy is the red licorice spiral. There are also smoothes: Mr. Juice smoothies are my favorite. As a result, you should go to Israel because the food is mouthwatering.

    I'm absolutely certain that you should travel to Israel. You must agree that hiking to cool places, tons of swimming opportunities, and a lot of good food sounds pretty great. Wouldn't you want to go to Israel?
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  • Sandboarding and Quad Biking (by Andrew)

    13. joulukuuta 2022, Namibia ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    I went to Swakopmund and went quad biking!!! I got to drive!!! When we went quad biking we also went sand boarding. I love sand boarding. We sand boarded down a very steep mountain. How you sand board is you get a board and lie on it face first. Then the guide pushes you down and you close your eyes because sand gets in your eyes(trust me). It was “not” scary. You should try sand boarding also.Lue lisää

  • A Trip to a Himba Village (by Lewis)

    17. joulukuuta 2022, Namibia ⋅ ⛅ 93 °F

    We went to a Himba village near Opuwo, Namibia. Their houses are quite simple and very different from modern US houses. Inside their houses, the Himba people sleep on a sack or animal skin instead of beds. Right outside the house, they cook their food in an ash pile on the ground. Similar to the kids in the United States, the kids in the Himba village like playing pass with the soccer ball. The effects of global warming are much worse there than in the United States. Global warming there means lack of rain and water, which leads to lack of food, which leads to hungry people & animals, which leads to starving people and animals, and that leads to death. If I had a wish, I would wish that global warming would stop because it is literally killing the earth and its inhabitants, like the Himba people.Lue lisää

  • Etosha National Park (by Lewis)

    20. joulukuuta 2022, Namibia ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F

    I went to Etosha National Park. I wrote two animal reports, the first one was about lions. Lions have no non-human predators. Did you know lion poo is so big, the length of their poop can be around 15 in.! The lion's lifespan is very short compared to a human. In addition to lions, I also researched ostriches. Did you know that they not only live in Africa, but they also live in Australia? When an ostrich senses danger and can’t run away, it will flop to the ground and remain still, trying to blend in with the terrain, which means the “ostriches stick their head into the sand when they sense danger” thingamajiggy is a myth. Did you know that ostriches are omnivores? There are lots of things to learn about the animals of Namibia.Lue lisää

  • Leopards & Hyenas of Africa (by Andrew)

    21. joulukuuta 2022, Namibia ⋅ ⛅ 95 °F

    I went to Namibia and went on 2 game drives. I did a project on the leopard. Did you know that the leopard can jump 10 ft up and 20 ft in a leap? A leopard can run at up to 58 km/h. I also did a project on the hyena. Did you know a hyena can count? They have powerful jaws also. Seeing these animals in the wild was pretty cool.Lue lisää