Join our journey. Grow and learn with us.

This is a year of 180-degree change for our family. We’re leaving our home and hitting the road on a world trip. As we embark on the journey, Earth Parade, this thing you are reading, will be job #2. Job #1, of course, is keeping our family safe, healthy, and happy while going on a quest to encounter threatened animals and plants in the wild. As we sojourn, the grown-ups will get an immediate promotion to the roles of full-time homeschool teachers, mentors, drivers, navigators, cooks, explorers, filmmakers, writers, logisticians, butt wipers, and all-purpose cleaners. Those are jobs #3-#11. The children will receive the great privilege of becoming learners in a global classroom with no walls.

We believe that by trying to see the world through the eyes of these vanishing wildlings, we will learn deep lessons about ourselves as individual human beings and about this experiment we call human civilization. Each of these creatures has lived for millions and, in some cases, tens of millions of years. We want to learn the secrets of their survival and also understand why they are on the verge of extinction.

Whatever wisdom we acquire, we promise to share with you here. We also hope to provide family-friendly travel tips and guides, coloring pages, nature games, art, activities, and other things of value that we will undoubtedly come up with as we officially hit the road (Official date and route still TBD)

Why are we doing this? To spend time together, learn, teach, answer a calling to live differently, and do something we believe is good for the world as a family. We are trying to understand basic principles by asking the most pressing and perplexing questions facing humanity today. What kind of world are we living in? What kind of world do we want to build? At the same time, we grapple with the same perplexing questions as everyone: how to entertain, educate, and, most perplexing of all, feed veggies to kids ages 3, 5, and 7.

Last but not least, we are doing this to build relationships with you, our dear friends, and our community. We hope that you will get some ideas and inspiration to spend more precious time outside with your loved ones, having experiences in nature. That you will improve your green time-to-screen time ratio. That you will touch more grass,” in Gen Z parlance. The data suggests you will live longer, be happier, and be healthier if you do. If we help one person or family in this regard, that alone will make this newsletter worth doing. We are honored to have you join us on this journey and look forward to many years of growth together.

To life!

Dana and Jaron

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