TOBYHANNA, Pa. — Tobyhanna State Park has room for swimming, biking, and even the occasional sandcastle competition.
The fourth annual sandcastles competition was one of the activities put on by the Pocono Homeschool Enrichment Group (PHEG).
Greentown student Aida Charlie Getting is one of the participants.
"Me and my homeschool group, we do a sandcastle contest every year, and that's what we are doing today, and we make up two teams and are doing a sandcastle contest," she said.
The fourth annual sandcastle contest has the boys taking on the girls to see who can come up with the more creative design.
PHEG Co-Founder Amber Getting is a part of the group that keeps students involved with one another.
"We are just a group of moms, really, who all homeschool independently and have found each other over the last few years," Getting said. "We've been good together for about six years now, and our group has grown to be pretty solid and very comfortable."
Group members help families with figuring out the curriculum and organizing year-round activities, such as the sandcastle contest.
"I think we've had a very hard few years with the pandemic, and it's been really nice to have each other, especially outdoors," Gouldsboro student Lily Gauvreau said.
Christine Gauvreau, a co-founder of PHEG, thought the kids' interactions were wonderful.
"Even all ages, they support each other the older kids really look out for the younger ones, and they're all like siblings," she said.
Getting agreed.
"My kids have had some of these friends for five or six years now, and those are friendships that I hope with last a lifetime for them," she said.
One of the youngest students, Sophia Porcano, summed the day up best.
"Wow, it's so cool!" Porcano said.
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