Mackinac Island Has Remote Learning Escape for Families
Mackinac Island is filled with history, so why not combine some time away with some education for the kiddos.
With so many families finding themselves balancing working from home with educating their kids from home, household tensions are sure to rise. Everyone spending such large amounts of the that "quality time' may cause parents and kids to need a little break.
Two popular hotels on Mackinac Island are offering up a little field trip/ family outing getaways with a learning twist. These special family remote-learning getaway packages on Mackinac Island come complete with lesson plans created to help parents explore the island while they apply math, geography and history in conjunction with the state parks.
Usually this time of year finds the island busy with conventions, but due to the ongoing pandemic the cancellations of those events have freed up the space and rooms for a few months of special family learning. Both the Mission Point Resort and the Grand Hotel have family packages available.
"The island is breathtaking but also interactive," said Liz Ware, whose family owns and operates the Mission Point Resort. "There are 70 miles of hiking and biking on the island. It's 8 miles around the island. The interior is magical. The leaves are changing. This is a wide-open space, a historic destination, with turquoise water that looks tropical. We have biking and horses and history. It's a perfect destination to bring your family for remote learning."
Both hotels think the idea is a great way for families to come together and really explore the history of the island in ways they never did before, and ease some of the stress adjusting to a new type of school year can bring.
"It's a real chance to turn what is a stressful and challenging time for the entire family into something I hope people will come back and say, 'Remember the time we went to Mackinac Island and we did this," said Doug Dean, executive vice president of operations at the Grand Hotel "We're open until Nov. 2. It's just nice to be able to get outside and unplug."
You can check out the educational resources, now available to download in PDF format, online now. They have been refreshed by state parks workers to help guide children on island at this time of year. The resources include reading, activities, lesson plans, music and games.
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