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" Of courage undaunted, possessing a firmness of purpose which nothing but impossibilities could divert from its direction " Thomas Jefferson of Merriweather Lewis This summer the kids and I have studied the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It began with our being half-way through the book on the Louisiana purchase on the last day of school. Our interest was peaked and I hated to skip the books about Lewis and Clark that we did not have time to read during last school year, so... The book about the Louisiana Purchase is titled: What's the Deal Jefferson and Napoleon and the Louisiana Purchase , by Rhoda Blumberg. I would classify this book as a textbook. We read it in small portions each day. Then we read a few chapter books about Lewis and Clark and some of the other characters in the Corps of Discovery, namely, Seaman, Meriweather Lewis' Newfoundland dog. Patricia Reader Eubank's book, Seaman's Journal: On the Trail with Lewis and Clark is a beautifully...

I have been using Mason jars to house so many things these days and I wanted to share a few of  my soap recipes here. Maybe some day I will can again... my last attempt at strawberry jam resulted in a wonderful strawberry syrup, which my ten year old asks to make every year! Anyway... here are some of my new ideas that do not require a water bath, or fruit pectin! First up, liquid laundry soap. Ingredients Hot Water (2 cups) Baking Soda (1 cup) Salt (1/3 cup) Castile Soap (1 cup) Essential Oils (10 drops) Directions Place the first three ingredients in jar and shake well. Then add the Castile soap and essential oil (optional for fragrance). The ingredients settle and this must be shaken or stirred before using.  I also enjoy using dry laundry soap. This recipe is so basic and simple. I do not add the essential oil to mine. Thanks to my sister for this one.  Ingredients: 1 1/2 c Baking Soda 1 1/2 c Washing Soda 1/2 c Epsom Salt 2 Tbsp Salt A fe...

The Berks County Heritage Center hosts a variety of educational programming, from history day camps, to paddle board lessons, to their lunch and learn series on various topics. The children and I attended June's Lunch and Learn program about covered bridges. This was our first time visiting the heritage center property and we had a lovely time. The heritage center is a cluster of buildings located just north of Reading in a secluded spot bordered on one side by Tulpehocken creek and otherwise surrounded by farmland. Wert's Red Bridge spans the creek and is the longest single span covered bridge in Pennsylvania and the second longest in the country. The presenter for this program spoke about the history of covered bridges in PA, how covered bridges are constructed, and included in her slideshow pictures of covered bridges around the county of Berks. Her presentation also included interesting anecdote and information about animals that use the bridge as a shelter and home. The ...

To kick off summer, we have enjoyed a fun unit study about Amelia Earhart. We have read almost every children's book our library system has on this enigmatic lady. We also visited Pitcairn air museum at the Willow Grove air field, Willow Grove, PA,where Amelia flew to new heights in an Autogiro. Some of the fun books we've enjoyed are: Amelia and Eleanor Go For A Ride , by Pam Muñoz Ryan. This story began the whole unit for us. A friend at my homeschool group recommended it and we were off! I did not know about Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt's friendship and this book tells the story well. Sky Pioneer , by Corinne Szabo is a simple introduction to Amelia's life and accomplishments and the end of her story, as we know it. When Amelia Earhart Built a Roller Coaster , by Mark Weakland is a super fun story that includes fun details about Amelia's childhood. Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic , by Robert Burleigh tells the story of Amelia's...

I just finished reading The Perfect Horse: The Daring Rescue of Horses Kidnapped During World War II , by Elizabeth Letts. This book, published early 2019, is adapted for young readers from Letts' 2017 New York Times' Best Seller, The Perfect Horse: The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis . I pre-read this book in hopes that I can use it next year as assigned reading for history. The story is interesting, but complicated. It's real history, with characters who actually lived, and these events happened. Real life is not simple, cut and dry, or easy, and this story of the beautiful Lipizzaner horses, caught in the middle of World War II, reflects that truth. Elizabeth Letts put in a ton of research to write this story. I am surprised by how much I learned about General Patton. Thanks to my oldest child's fascination with horses as a toddler (we read every book, fiction or non, that the library system owned on h...

We filled our spring break with lots of reading. Alone Yet Not Alone by Tracy Leininger Craven is the true story of two Pennsylvania girls who were taken by Native Americans during the French and Indian war. I will not give away the ending, but this is a wonderful story of faith and courage.  In this story one of the captured girls remembered the scripture verses that she had memorized as a young girl, even after living with the Native Americans for nine years. and losing the ability to understand German, her native language.  I am reminded of the command found in Deuteronomy 4:9 Only be careful, and watch your selves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them .  My fourth grade son is reading G. A. Henty's With Wolfe in Canada aloud. G. A. Henty's books are written for young men and can be violent; all of us listen to t...

Monday of this week, I took the kids down to our nation's capital to see the cherry trees in bloom. We met with family in the city and also visited some family on the way home. In addition to enjoying the beautiful trees/city we also enjoyed time with cousins. So fun! It was a perfectly sunny day, though windy, and the trees were as full as I remember seeing them. I'm so glad the kids had the chance to see this. The day went as smoothly as possible. Parking was a breeze. The free lots around the Jefferson Memorial are used by the national park service for the Cherry Blossom Festival (they set up food vendors and a stage with live music. They also had a first-aid tent.) There is still lots of free parking at East Potomac Park, just a short walk to the Jefferson. Of course, it may have helped that we visited on a Monday, it was not nearly as crowded as the weekend, so I was told. All in all, we had a blast and enjoyed this beautiful, natural, national treasure. We own ...

 We find ourselves in an exciting time-period in history class: the time of the American Revolution. As a fun field trip we visited The Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. This very interactive museum not only engaged the children with hands-on exhibits that explore the time of America's independence, it also houses many neat historic artifacts. My favorites were: a piece of the beam from the bridge that Paul Revere rode across on his historic midnight ride and George Washington's war tent. The boys really enjoyed all the weapons on display, and all the children had fun getting tattoos aboard the ship -tattoos are not offered all the time. We are taking a little break from Susan Wise Bauer's The Story of the World to read some biographies and other books about this time period in history. We are enjoying:   Birthdays of Freedom, by Genevieve Foster, which begins at the beginning of time and relates how all of history led up to the revolution of 1776...

Today, my older two children and I attended the Link Up: The Orchestra Moves school concert at the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia. We enjoyed it so much! The Philadelphia Orchestra played beautifully, the soloists were engaging as was the host/soloist. The conductor is always an impressive presence leading the orchestra, but Kensho Watanabe was awesome! He was very engaging with the student audience. We enjoyed the interaction, singing, clapping and dancing along with the orchestra. It was very fun. This is not one of the Kimmel Center's free concerts for students, but it is well worth the admission fee. I would recommend this series.

An Indian Winter , by Russell Freedman is the story of a German prince and his artist friend who lived with Native Americans during the winter of 1833. These are first hand accounts of customs, rituals and daily life as well as sketches and paintings from real life of these tribes.This story takes place much later in history than where we are currently studying, however, we learned so much about the Native Americans. We enjoyed Hello Lighthouse , by Sophie Blackwell. Her illustrations in Finding Winnie, by Lindsay Mattick are great; perfect for Ms. Mattick's sentimental and heartwarming story. She has outdone herself with Hello Lighthouse. Not only are the illustrations superb, but the story is engaging and sweet! This book would work really well with the Five in a Row units of: The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge, or The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar. Hello Lighthouse is a beautiful book. Finally, I'd like to share some ideas about challenging your art...

Samuel W. Pennypacker was the governor of Pennsylvania from 1903-1907. During his tenor as governor the state capital was completed in Harrisburg. He was raised in Phoenixville, PA, but lived at Pennypacker Mills in Schwenksville as an adult. The property at Pennypacker Mills had already been in his family over a hundred years when he lived there with his wife and four children. They added onto the house, and, of course, gave significance to the property as a historic landmark, which it is today. This year we visited Pennypacker Mills' Christmas open house. For one day a year, the historical society opens Pennypacker Mills for a Christmas open house. The property is open all year Tuesday-Sunday for tours, but the Christmas open house is special. The home is decorated as it would have been in the early 1900's with glass beads, garlands, a Christmas tree bedecked with candles and molded candies and delicacies on display as they would have been when the Pennypacker family lived t...