Family vacation activities often include the outdoors, such as camping in the woods or spending time at the beach. Families may use vacation time for projects improve their home. Which the case may be, not so for the McCoy family!

In April 2018, Chris, Melissa, and their three children (Hannah, Catie, and Owen) headed to Mississippi from California to volunteer at Mount Olive Ministries. Their goal? To teach Science and Art, as well as having a lot of fun!

Arriving in Mississippi, Chris and Melissa refused to waste any time. They immediately rolled up their sleeves and began the work of helping the students understand the benefits of using both science and art by implementing science and art activities.

The benefits of Science for children are tremendous. When children are Engaged in a science project, they are no longer disruptive because they are too busy learning and exploring.

The beauty of art is that there are no right or wrong answers. It offers freedom of thought and experimentation. Children can explore their imaginations and find out what happens when they mix certain colors or textures, try different approaches and explore ideas. This is a good platform for learning how to problem solve, which is a key skill for school and later in life.

Most of the time while in Mississippi, Hannah, Catie, and Owen were diligently working and making lifetime friends! They were having so much fun. At one point, they asked their parents to allow them to go to school at GCS.

The students at GCS were excited to have the McCoy family interact with them by teaching science and art activities to expand their knowledge.

By the end of trip, both the McCoy family and GCS’ students had become lifetime friends.