Nov. 22, 2009 - Intentional Training - Bootcamp
This morning I looked through my blog for some links for a friend so I thought I would share them here with you too.
Intentional Training - bootcamp - an intense period of training for a purpose.
These blog posts are simply my thinking processes. I share them on my blog not so much to be copied (as each child will have different heart attitudes) but rather to share the thought process and the intentionality that is needed if we are to help our children succeed.
Training Notes - Boot camp - Obedience
Bootcamp – final report and here
Training notes – Boot camp – Diligence
Nov. 27, 2009 - Colonial Williamsburg: Thomas Jefferson and the Coffeehouse
Last Friday we visited CW not only to have my son's Lafayette hat upgraded, but also to see the Grand Opening of the Coffeehouse. More on that in a bit.
By the time we drove down from Northern VA that day, Thomas Jefferson had started speaking in the Palace Garden. Since we were late, I was not certain what the time period was. Usually he talks politics. Only 8 minutes into the presentation, he was already answering questions, about Monticello and wine no less! That's the fun part of visiting the Founding Fathers more than once. The audience interaction is priceless and the queries vary each time. I was struck by how colorful he looked. Usually I see him in browns and blacks. Later in the afternoon, he told us the costume was based on the Trumball painting of the Declaration of Independence.
After meeting with Thomas Jefferson, we went to the Mary Stith House to see a program we had not seen yet, where we get a peek into the traveling actor's trunk. Actually, all of the items were laid out and one of the actors was there to answer all of our questions. There was an original book on the art of elocution. I told the actor my son would like to be a lawyer so he gave him some tips from the book on the style that lawyers of the 18th century used. We learned lots of interesting information about things like the theater that used to be in CW, when ladies first started acting for Britain, the type of salaries they made, the types of costumes they wore, and more.
Next we went to one of the historic shops to have my son's Lafayette hat updated. While waiting for the new lacing to be done, we ate our picnic lunch on one of the benches. Meanwhile we heard lots of activity coming from down the street near the Coffeehouse. After we finished eating, we went down to see the action. The actors and sound crew were rehearsing for the Coffeehouse event later that afternoon. I told the kids to pay special attention to how many times these terrific actors have to redo their parts. If they rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, then we should rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, for our unit celebrations.
Then we went to the Tucker House, which is for donors of $100 or more per year to Colonial Williamsburg. There are special programs here, which include informal visits with different historical characters. This was our first time to meet a historical person here and the person of the day was Thomas Jefferson. There was a small group of members and we sat in comfortable chairs in one of the rooms of the house, where he sat down with us. He is a great story teller and more than once he wove a tale by which we were completely mesmerized. My kids were the only children there. He paid special attention to them and commented on my daughter's lovely dress and asked who her milliner was, to which she replied it was her mother. Mr. Jefferson said that is not at all uncommon, since a mother often sews for herself and her daughter. He then noticed my son's costume of an American general and said that surely his mother did not make that! He asked where he got it from. He said his mother did make it and Mr. Jefferson was shocked. He told me that I would be of great service to the troops! I forget exactly how the conversation went, but he asked me a few questions about sewing and I lamented that it is getting more difficult since the family would like more accurate costumes. It's a bit difficult to even talk about it in 18th century terms when I am a 21st century seamstress with limited knowledge of 18th century style and sewing technique. He asked if I had been to the milliner and tailor for advice. Oh yes, but they have greater confidence in my sewing ability than I do myself.
Halfway through, there was quite a bit of commotion where he was called out...then he returned as the actor! He never steps out of character! I was shocked! My husband was elated! He's always trying to get them out of character. The actor told us that one of the special aspects of meeting historical characters at the Tucker House, is that they will always step out of character halfway through their presentation. We were able to ask anything and the conversation was extremely interesting! We found out that he remembered us. I was surprised, because we haven't had much opportunity to visit with him. We attended his talks once in April, once in August and then again on this day. Although he is busy with his job interpreting Thomas Jefferson and meets thousands of guests, he has a great memory!
He stayed with us for longer than I had anticipated, then he had to go to the Coffehouse, which was where the rest of us were going to go too. The ceremonies for the grandopening would start soon. The Coffeehouse was the Starbuck Coffeeshop of its day. Located next door to the capitol on the Duke of Gloucester Street, men of politics met here to further discuss issues of the day, over a cup of coffee...or even wine.
We have literally watched this from the ground up. When we were there on vacation in 2004 and again in 2008, the site was an archaeological dig.
Then a year ago, the foundation was completed and the walls went up. A web cam was installed and we were able to watch the process from San Antonio, Texas, where we lived at the time. Now that we live in Virginia, we've been able to watch the completion in person. We've been to different historic trades where we've seen elements that would go into the Coffeehouse. We saw the trim be made at the carpenter shop...
....we saw the bricks at the brickyard...
...we saw the locks and keys at the blacksmith...
Finally the big day was here. The research, planning and building were finally complete. As we waited for the proceedings to begin, Revolutionary City characters milled about, greeting us and talking to us about the Coffeehouse. Mr. Mason remembered us! He remembered us during homeschool week too! He's always great to talk to. He's one guy I can talk 18th century politics with without being told I'm just a woman and can't possibly understand what is going on. Another actor came buy, saying he thought we'd be there that day. Really? How did he know? He smiled and said we are always there for important events. =) There were also samples of drinks that will be served during tours at the Coffeehouse...coffee, tea, and hot chocolate...all historically made.
The fife and drum corps played...
Then Mr. Goodwin came out and incredulously looked at the Coffeehouse, while Mr. John D. Rockefeller came up to him.
These are the two men who are responsible for Colonial Williamsburg.
Mr. Goodwin was the rector of Bruton Parish Church and lived next door in the Wythe house.
He had a vision for this sleepy town that time forgot, to restore it to its historical roots. All the other historical towns of the American Revolution...New York, Boston, and Philadelphia,...were forever changed by technology in the 1920's. Although Williamsburg had pavement, cars, telephone wires and 19th and 20th century "upgrades" to the original colonial shops and homes, there was the realistic possibility of turning back the hands of time because it was a quiet small town instead of a growing city. Mr. Goodwin's vision became reality when he found a benefactor in Mr. Rockefeller, who caught Goodwin's vision.
Teaming up to restore the town in the 20's and 30's, they now meet again in the 21st century at the first restored building in CW in fifty years. They wonder who was responsible for restoring the Coffeehouse.
Then the new RC scene debuted. It opened with this man telling another about the recent speech Patrick Henry made at the capitol.
Here he is doing the famous Caesar/Brutus speech, Patrick Henry style.
The next part is based on an actual event that occurred on this same front porch in 1765 during the time of the contested Stamp Act, placed on the colonies by King George to pay for the recent wars. Throughout the colonies, stamp collectors were being threatened. Virgnia was no different. Met by an angry mob...
...who threatens the stamp collector...
the royal governor escorted the stamp collector safely out of the way.
After the mob dissipated, there was a quick review of the events that this mob scene influenced...leading to Thomas Jefferson coming out of the Coffeehouse to share the Declaration of Independence.
After the RC scene, there were special contemporary speakers, including the chairman of the CW Foundation, the mayor of Williamsburg, the President and CEO of the CW Foundation and Forrest E. Mars, who donated the money for the Coffeehouse to be rebuilt. Mr. Mars owns candy companies, like Dove Chocolate (oh their dark chocolate is decadent!) To see information on the Coffeehouse, video and interviews of the grand opening, check here and look for the links.
After the ceremonies, we finally got in line for samples of a hot drink. There was the Charleton Coffeehouse blend of coffee and hot apple cider to sample. Since I don't like coffee, I got the cider. It was wonderfully warm and tasty in the cooler temperatures from the setting sun. My husband got some coffee and the kids got cider. They also distributed samples of the American Heritage chocolate which is the historic chocolate that can be seen being made in the Palace kitchen on occasion. These chocolate sticks have a dusting of spices on it, because in the 18th century, the same grater that was used to grate spices was used to grate chocolate.
Then we got in line for the first night of tours of the Coffeehouse. While waiting in line, I was getting extremely cold. I am still getting used to the wide temperature ranges in Virginia. The cressets, which are baskets on top of poles with special firewood in them, were set ablaze. I love standing next to those things. They put out a lot of heat! By the time we entered the Coffeehouse, the numerous fireplaces were ablaze! The fireplaces were part of the structure that we remember from the architectural digs.
The Coffeehouse is completely different from every other building I've entered in CW. The history of this building is unique. It is a terrific new addition, as the president of the CW Foundation said, "where the future may learn from the past." This was a special evening tour. In a few days, the actual historic tours will begin, which will include a choice of one sample: coffee, cider, or chocolate. I'll be choosing chocolate!
After the tour, we heard there was entertainment on the various stages. Which to choose? We went to the nearest one, behind the Coffeehouse where some of the actors were acting, singing and dancing. My son led us to the top of the hill to watch. Then Mr. Murdock came out! We met him and his group in Spotsylvania for a Civil War type of show. They regularly do this for CW, 18th century style. Some elements were the same and some were different. This show had to be viewed up close so we could heckle them! (We're asked to heckle!) Also we would be much closer to the cressets and I was cold!!!!
After we sat in the front row, they picked on my husband. Mr. Murdock tried to recruit him to marry his sister-in-law but saw he had a wedding ring on. Nevertheless he sent him off with his SIL to distract her (where she ended up whispering to him that she remembered him from Spotsylvania) while he had someone from the audience choose a number for the SIL to guess. Later in the show she spits water in his face, to simulate waves during the pirate puppet show. That is our favorite time to yell, "Encore!" I wasn't quick enough, but if we see it again, I'm prepared to yell another line to heckle him! My friends are probably shocked right now, knowing how quiet I am. What can I say? If they don't get heckled, they complain and keep repeating the scene and fussing at us until we make some kind of comments! After the show, Mr. Murdock commented on meeting us at Spotsylvania. Well, if I knew he remembered us, I should have said something when I've seen him on DOG Street or the Costume Design Center. But I always think, "Oh what do I say? I'm just another guest. They won't remember me." =) Anyway the other actor laughed and said we are around CW all the time.
Oh, as always it was a wonderful day with many fun and new things to do!
Nov. 22, 2009 - Lafayette Hat Part II-Soon Available at CW Historic Stores
Friday we went to Colonial Williamsburg for the grand opening of the Coffeehouse, which I'll blog about later. One of our favorite parts of the day involved some unexpected news involving my son's Lafayette hat!
Now that I had the French American Alliance cockade made, my son wanted to return to the store where the hat shaper formed his Lafayette hat to his precise specifications a few weeks ago. As soon as we walked into the shop, the lady who shaped his hat welcomed my son by name! I was impressed that she not only remembered my son but also remembered his name. I explained that we needed her help tucking the cockade behind the lacing like the CW Lafayette wears his. The problem was that the lacing was too tight. Also we thought the lacing should go over the top of the brim. Additionally, my son wanted a button at the base of the lacing, like Lafayette. We discussed the possible options to make it happen.
She said that the other day Lafayette himself walked into the store and she asked him if she could look at his hat. (This is getting contagious. There is another CW employee who has been analyzing the Lafayette costume because of all of our questions!) She explained to Lafayette about my son's visit to the shop a few week's ago to have the hat shaped exactly like his. When she told us that Lafayette knew exactly who she was talking about, we laughed. I can only imagine how that conversation went. (Wherever we go in America, people know my son!)
The lady said that Lafayette's cockade didn't look anything like the one I had made. Instead his was black and more of a T shape. Hmmmm, I told her that he must not have been dressed as Lafayette then. My son explained if he's not Lafayette, he's Mann Page. She seemed a bit confused. I told her that I modeled the cockade after a picture I took during Prelude to Victory when he stood a few feet from me. Even though I have the picture on the computer and I can enlarge it, I cannot see the black on black. I was not able to figure out the precise shape of the black backgound of the cockade, nor was I able to tell precisely how the lacing went. However, I thought I got a fair representation of the white part of the cockade, which is more circular shaped instead of T shaped. She was thinking of threading a new set of lacing into the same holes in the front of the brim. I told her I thought that the lacing actually goes over the brim and ties somehow in the back. During all this discourse, my husband pulled up some Prelude to Victory pictures of Lafayette in his camera. After enlarging one, he handed me the camera and I handed it to her. In fact, my husband found several pictures this way and we showed them to her. Ah...she saw what I was talking about. There was white in the cockade and it was circular shaped. She had not seen that particular cockade.
Finally, she had a recommendation and showed it to my son. He talked her into setting the lacing over the brim of the hat and they had a plan. After the lacing was redone to accomodate the button and cockade, she put some special pins into the cockade to hold it securely in place. She also gave him extras, in case they would be needed in the future. The entire fee for this was quite small, which my son paid for. He tried to tip her but she wouldn't take it. She was definitely worth far more than the tiny fee he paid for this service. All he really paid for was the lacing. We already had the button. We were profoundly grateful for all of her patience and help. She was wonderful to work with, listening to my son and being certain of his exact specifications. She told my son to come back for future visits. Also she told him that they are going to start carrying these Lafayette hats in the store, because of him! How exciting! Leave it to my son to start something!
Now I am about to start my son's Lafayette coat. The one he has is falling apart and not accurate. I've agonized for weeks over how I am going to do the buff facings. This afternoon my son and I analyzed pictures together while he tried to explain how the facings work. Finally I got it! It is all one piece of wool. I'll use felt since it's cheaper and washable. The outside is blue and the inside is buff. Those millions of buttons actually have a purpose. The general can keep his coat in a buttoned yet opened position in summer. In winter he can button the entire coat closed. How clever! Now my son can be even warmer this winter.
We are planning to go to the Grand Illumination. I'm afraid I am going to be too cold. Last year it was in the 30's during this CW outdoor Christmas event in the evening. The Grand Illumination showcases special fireworks, music and entertainment. Some people have told me it could be 82 degrees. Hmmmm, yes, but there is no guarantee. It's the possible 32 degrees that worries me. My son really wants to wear this Lafayette costume and I want him to stay warm. Therefore I am going to try my hardest to crank this out while getting our unit celebration put together. Hmmmm, Thanksgiving is around the corner too. And my husband will want to put up the Christmas decorations, not that I know where any will go in this new house. And I am getting a new stove and refrigerator today. Talk about a new learning curve for roasting a turkey. Then after the unit celebration there are the lesson plans and studying for lessons. I'd best get to work figuring out this coat!
The trick will be two things. First I have to size down a man's small pattern for my son. Second I have to figure out the extensions for the button closure in front. The cuffs though are still confusing me. I am going to do what the milliner and tailor have told me to do all along. I am going to use muslin (or scrap broadcloth from past costumes) to make a prototype, which I can cut down, pin and fit to my son's body, basically creating a custom pattern just for him. Theoretically, at that point I can merely whip out the Lafayette coat on the sewing machine. I am excited now that my son helped me figure out some key elements! Stay tuned!
Oh, I also figured out the new flounce on my son's shirt is wrong. In the meantime it makes him happier since it works better than that cravat he was using to fill up the blank space due to the wrong kind of vest. Well I can only do one thing at a time. I'd best get to work!
Nov. 21, 2009 - Eliza, meet Nutella.
We love Nutella around here. If you've never tried it before, I highly recommend it. Just be aware that it is a highly addictive substance, it comes in a tiny jar, and if you eat too much of it, you'll be as big as a barn in no time.
Eliza had her first encounter with Nutella the other day.
Eliza, meet Nutella on whole wheat.
Nutella, meet Eliza.
Besides being highly delectable, Nutella also makes a lovely false beard if you want to impersonate your daddy.
I just can't stop taking pictures of Eliza, no matter what she's eating. You'd think I'd be over the whole cute-kid-eating-and-making-a-mess thing, but I'm not. I love me a messy baby eating spaghetti.
And Eliza? She loves her some Brian Williams. Really. He draws her like a moth to a flame.
I prefer Nutella, personally.
Nov. 20, 2009 - Parenting Think Spots
I've just created a new page on my website: Parenting Think Spot - a collection of short parenting tips, ideas and thoughts.
Two short thoughts are already uploaded
5 Keys to Consistency The key to training our children is consistency - but how do we maintain that?
Instructions or Example? When we are teaching our children what is more effective? Our Instruction or our Example?
Nov. 20, 2009 - Internet Reading
I’ve had several pages open in my browser for the last little while waiting to share them with you. Since I have to shut down my computer for a while now seems like a good time to post them.
I love the idea of these Narration bookmarks. These prompts help the children to think as they are reading. Most of my children are sharing their narrations in their reading journals these days, but they go through seasons of needing prompts. This post was listed in the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival – if you haven’t read it yet – there’s plenty to read!
I love this list of what a true friend is like – as per scripture. These are good scriptures to remember for anyone – not just us ladies!
Not sure how I came across this site though it has been open for a week or so – neoK12 – Educational videos and lessons for k-12 school kids. This will be a handy link to keep!
I’ve printed this off to keep in my Bible study folder. Not sure when I’ll get to this study but I’d like to do it myself or help my older ones to do it as their Bible Study. Getting to know God through His Names and Titles. I like the list in that it is just some prompts/scriptures – you have to do the thinking and applying.
Also need to be more diligent with Scripture Memorisation with my younger two – not sure how I’m going to do this yet, but with AmblesideOnline’s list and this one I think we’ll have enough to work with.
Nov. 19, 2009 - Lafayette Hat
In researching the Lafayette hat that my son would like to have, I stumbled upon the history of the French American Alliance Cockade, one of the distinctive features of the Lafayette hat. Traditionally the British had black cockades in their hats, which the American colonists wore too. When America declared independence from England, they continued to wear the black cockade. The French on the other hand, wore a white cockade. When Rochambeau arrived in America with his French army, he told them to take a bit of black fabric and sew it onto their white cockade to represent the alliance. When General Washington discovered this, he had his men take a bit of white fabric to sew onto their black cockades. (As far as I know, the web site linked above is historically accurate. However, I will ask about the veracity of this story when the opportunity presents itself.)
The last time we were at Colonial Williamsburg, my son used his birthday money to purchase a Lafayette hat which is a differently shaped triangle from the traditional tricorn. In fact, the one store that had these hats were not perfectly shaped. When he found out he could have one made, he took the hat shaper up on this opportunity. The lady was extremely nice and patient as my son told her exactly how he wanted it shaped. She started with a black wool hat with the brim flat. She formed the sides exactly the way he wanted and strung the lacing exactly where she thought it would be best. He liked her recommendation on the lacing. Then she took it to the back to do something with it for about 30 minutes, at which time he was told to return to pick it up.
She also gave him further instructions on how to finish shaping it. I had meant to take pictures of that process, which included spraying water on it and bending it some more in the appropriate places and situating it with weight to let it take shape. However, the day after he got the hat, I shopped for fabric for early 20th Century (Y4U1) Unit Celebration Costumes as well as fabric and patterns for his Lafayette costume upgrade (that will keep him warmer this winter). While I was gone he worked on the hat. By the time I got home, I found the hat on the stair railing with a little sign that said, "Ta da!" It looked great!
The next step was the French American Alliance cockade. We looked through all the cockades for sale at CW, but none were for the alliance. We were trying to remember precisely what it looked like, so we looked on the front cover of our weekly schedule that had General Washington's picture. Alas, it showed the side of his hat that does not have a cockade. I decided to buy a black cockade to see how it was made and compare it to the pictures I had taken of Lafayette on previous visits to CW.
When I was on my costume shopping trip, I bought black and white ribbon in three sizes. I wasn't sure exactly which combination I would need. I bought a roll of each to have enough to experiment with. The other night I settled down with the rolls of ribbon, needle and threads and analyzed pictures of the Lafayette hat. The one best photo I have clearly shows the white part of the cockade, but the black background blends into the black hat and can barely be seen. Therefore I played with various combinations until I got the right look.
This afternoon I made the actual cockade. This was not as easy as it appeared. (Nothing in this costume is as easy to make as it appears.) The white part of the cockade is merely an accordian fold, which I quickly discovered is a bear to do with grosgrain ribbon which is a tad bit slippery. I made several today before finally settling on a final look.
In analyzing the photo of the CW Lafayette, we confirmed what we had thought. The cockade slips behind the lacing. When I finished the cockade, I confidently grabbed my son's Lafayette hat to slip the French American Alliance Cockade behind the lacing, but it's impossible. It's too small a space and the lacing is too tight. My son's plan is to take the button from the original cockade we had purchased and take it to the store where the hat was shaped. He would like to buy some more lacing and see if the hat shaping lady can sew new lacing onto the hat for the cockade to slip behind it. This is not easy to do because the hat has a solid brim. She uses an awl to poke a hole for the lacing. In the meantime, we are using a corsage pin that came with the orignial cockade to secure the alliance cockade from behind through the lacing. Ta da!
Tonight, I used the flounce of a historic shirt pattern I had purchased on my costume shopping trip. I added the flounce to the shirt my son already has. This is a temporary fix until I make a new shirt for him. He is outgrowing the one he wears now. It is funny that he even wanted this flounce. When I orignally purchased the shirt with the ruffled sleeves that he wears now, it was for his French Musketeer costume. At the time, he did not appreciate the ruffled sleeves, despite my telling him it was not only historic but French. Since then, he has come to realize that. Now he wants more ruffles so that he will be more historically accurate! I must admit, his costume has seemed severely lacking without a flounce around the neck. He begged me to make a quick ruffle to add on to the neck of his shirt right before our last visit to CW. I told him it's not as easy as he thinks and I needed a pattern, because it is curley-cue shaped. He wasn't aware of that. Now that I have a pattern for a historic shirt with a flounce, I worked on that when everyone went to bed tonight (the only time I seem to find to sew). I have everything hanging on the hanger, ready for the next time he wears it. I had a bit of trouble with the hem of the bias edge. Also, it still isn't right, because the vest isn't right. Well, I think the vest needs to wait. I need to finish the unit celebration costumes, then make the Lafayette coat out of a heavier fabric to keep my son warm this winter. Last weekend I sewed my son's Y4U1 costume and now I am having doubts over my ability to make another Lafayette coat correctly. We'll see. At least I think he will be thrilled to see the flounce on his shirt in the morning. That's what counts...right?
Nov. 19, 2009 - Outdoor Hour Challenge & Free Notebook Pages
Nov. 18, 2009 - Fall Bible study invites and Thanksgiving Devotion From 08
Thanksgiving Devotion
Nov. 17, 2009 - Reflecting on my boys birth day.
The boys birthdays are always extra special for me. Yep I said me, probably more so then for the birthday boy. It's a day I spend reflecting on the day of their birth, my pregnancy with them and how they are growing. Am I making each day count, am I taking every opportunity to show them how far and wide the love I have for them flows.
Do I take the small moments to create lasting memories. Birthdays are always joyful with a tinge of sadness; they are growing up too fast. My time with them feels like sand slipping through my hands, it runs out fast.
Today is Ashton's 5th Birthday, he is my tiniest boy weighing 5 lbs less than his younger Brother Noah (2). He is my feistiest and funniest of the 4. He is precious in every way if I do say so myself! :-)
We had an early Birthday party on Sunday so that Troy could celebrate with us. Today we had our Birthday breakfast with Ashton's favorite... cinnamon rolls and hot cocoa! :-)
Find more photos like this on The Homeschool Lounge
