Oct 22, 2018

Freeschoolin' @ Canada's Wonderland

What's educational about an amusement park?

We're excited to share! Our family was gifted tickets by an amazing family to the biggest amusement park in Ontario, and so for the first time ever, we got to enjoy the rides and fun together! Hope stayed up the whole night before, too excited to sleep.

Hope had had big ambitions for her first ride; the tallest rollercoaster in the park. Once she saw it up close, she decided on the Spinnovator instead. There wasn't a line up so Hope went on this a few times in a row.

We discovered the park was decorated for Halloween much to our delight!

Hope was insistent, upon learning we were going, that she wanted to ride the most intense roller coaster first. The first roller coaster she wanted to go on was The Beast. Little did we know it was the most rough roller coaster in the park, according to staff we asked afterward. I sat with Hope and Freeschoolin' Daddy positioned behind us. As soon as we hit the first drop Hope was terrified. I held her hand and explained ( at breakneck speeds and being tossed from side to side lol ) that no matter how it felt, she was safe. After the ride, she was ok, but definitely not interested in another rollercoaster for a while.

Our journey took us to the well known mountain with a waterfall, which I believe Hope used to clear herself. (Despite the overwhelming scent of chlorine. lol)

Hope at the Canda's Wonderland waterfall

We adventured to the kiddie section for some calmer rides at Hope's request. It was so cool to see the familiar rainbow that I've known since I was a kid. #Nostalgia

First up was the classic swan ride for Hope and I while Daddy went and acquired our park meal plan. (More on that to come...)

Hope saw the carousel and went on twice in a row.

We took advantage of silly and fun picture spots.

Finally we got to the much anticipated Dinosaurs "exhibit".

Back to the meal plan I mentioned... They had selections like grass fed beef burgers and all naturally raised chicken burgers and fingers so we bought 1 meal plan and shared meals from our preferred places every 90 minutes. It was kind of fun running around going on rides and then timing our meals; Freeschoolin' Daddy made it happen like clockwork and the day felt effortless for Hope and I.

Hope waiting in line for lunch at Canada's Wonderland

Hope being silly in line for lunch.

More rides together. So much fun.

At the end of our time at Canada's Wonderland, it started to get dark and Hope's fatigue began to show. We resolved to go to 2 rides Freeschoolin' Daddy really wanted to hit up. Hope was too tired and nervous to go on any more rides, so her and I just hung out and I let her fall asleep in my arms. Happy memories of holding Hope as a baby bubbled to the surface, and though we were in a crowded place, I secretly wept and sang to her as she rested with me.

What We Learned: Engineering Time Management Bonding Fear Management Self Care Respect for Others Patience Trust Energy Management Exploration History Social Skills Exercise Navigation Problem Solving Risk Assessment Retail Physics So Much More.... If there's one thing we want people to take away from seeing how we live our life, it's that just LIVING LIFE IS LEARNING. This is the beauty of Unschooling and a message that all Unschooling advocates agree with.