The ocean is an amazing thing. Did you know water covers over 70% of the earth’s surface? Scientists claim they have only explored 5% of the ocean so far. That leaves a whole lot of mystery about this beautiful habitat that is so vital to the world in so many ways. I would encourage everyone to visit the ocean at least once if they get the opportunity. Your senses will be overwhelmed and rejuvenated by the experience.
It is amazing to listening to the roar of the waves, get your feet wet or go for a swim, wait and watch for fish or dolphins to breach the surface, to observe birds swooping down to catch a fish, or sighting an occasional fishing boat out to sea. The ocean is always changing and you could spend hours watching it.
Our family loves to visit the ocean! We are usually blessed to take a day drive and visit the sea a couple of times a year. Sometimes we drive several hours just to get out and walk the beach and splash in the waves for two hours and then get back in the vehicle and drive several more hours back home. Depending on which beach we visit, it takes us about 4 hours to get to the closest one. It is a long ways to drive, but it is free to use the public beaches. If we pack a cooler with food and water, then the only cost involved is the fuel to drive there. With a large family, getting to do something fun for FREE is a big deal.
On a few occasions, we have been blessed with the opportunity to spend the night instead of driving there and back all in one day. Those overnight experiences by the sea have been exceptional. It is hard to describe the amazing way you feel when you wake up to the ocean, and get up with the sun rise, spend the day in the salty air, then get to observe the sunset, and listen to the waves in the dark of night as the stars twinkle overhead. It is wonderful!
Learning To Draw By The Sea.
We recently had the opportunity to stay overnight on a visit to the ocean. We spent the morning and evening playing on the beach, but in the heat of the day, we needed something else to do to avoid getting a serious sunburn. We did not bring electronic games or computers that are part of our normal homeschooling day. Instead, we played board games like chess, put together fun puzzles, and spent part of our time learning to draw with the art kits we recently made.
It was so nice to have our portable DIY Art Kits. Be sure to check the story with information on how to make one for your family.
The kits were small enough to go just about anywhere with us, yet they were big enough to hold just about everything we needed.
For some reason that I can’t remember, I didn’t get pictures of the kids drawing. I guess I must have been so excited about the view, and the opportunity to sit there and draw, that I failed to get up and take pictures of what the others were making too.
For this project, I used the watercolor pencils. I had hoped to make a project with paints too, but I didn’t have time to accomplish both on this trip. My older son chose to use charcoal pencils from his kit, and the younger kids used crayons. I pulled out a small table onto the porch to hold my drawing pad and pencils.
It was a bit windy on this day. I separated the pencils colors that I wanted to use from the case holding the pencils. I set them beside my drawing pad, however the wind kept blowing them off and I was constantly having to get up and down to catch a pencil before it rolled off the porch. I realized the next time I take this art kit on a trip, I will need to bring something better to hold the colors I am using. Perhaps something as simple as a rubber band or a small tray with sides would have solved my problem.
From the porch where I sat, I could see a long ways in the distance across the ocean and the beach up and down the coast. To the front of me was ocean as far as I could see, and to the left was a small fishing vessel that soon disappeared while I was drawing. I tried to capture both in my drawing. The waves were the most difficult part to draw because they kept moving. Drawing the ocean wasn’t easy because even though it appears the same, in reality each and every moment it keeps changing.
Learning to draw by the sea was fun and it is an experience our family will never forget.