Gardens thrill my soul. My senses awaken, my soul is refreshed, my mood calms down...and if given time for quiet ponder, I've enjoyed the sound of buzzing bees while collecting pollen, the delightful croak of shy Mr. Toad, the exuberant flutter a hummingbird near my face thanking me for scrumptious flowers, and the gentle touch of the butterfly who settles on my shoulder. I've been known to walk into the house with my hair showered in lavender crepe myrtle blossoms and my clothes covered in blue plumbago blooms. Picture a rustic wrought iron bistro set with floral cushions and gingham pillows under a crepe myrtle dripping in blooms. I've set out some tea. Come and sit with me while I catch you up on the latest of the happenings in my family. Welcome to my garden. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:49:00 -0600 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:49:00 -0600      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? http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/746114/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:49:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/746114/      The most interesting aspect of World War I in our recent studies, was about the continued development of air flight and the Red Baron.  Although I've been to the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum twice before, I didn't realize until the other day that there is a gallery about the airplane in WWI.  The opening displays were of none other than the Red Baron himself. In one window was the classic Red Baron pizza box amongst other items. In this window was one of my favorite imaginative dogs...Snoopy. It was interesting reading about the Red Baron. Then we got to see some old movies from the 30's, about the dog fights in WWI. Did you know there is a Carey Grant movie and a Fred Astaire movie where each represent WWI pilots?  We learned that these early war aviators were called knights of their era, which was romanticized by the movie industry.  After the movies, we got to see the real war, showcasing the development of the airplane during the hopeless war.           My husband enjoyed reading about individuals like Billy Mitchell, whom he read about in his PFE, in preparation for his numerous promotion tests in the military. At the time he studied and reviewed USAF history year after year after year, he kept telling me he wasn't retaining much information. However, while we were here, he kept telling us about a few individuals before he read their placards.       We all found interesting things to see.  My son saw a video clip of an elderly man who was one of the WWI flying aces.  My son also had fun seeing many of the things he had read about in history and researched for a writing project.         To my surprise, I found aviators who were influcnced by my favorite historical figure, forming the Lafayette Escadrille. These guys obviously knew their history!  If you don't know who Lafayette is, or how he could inspire others, here is a synopsis of his life. We read about some of the pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille. Like Lafayette who joined our fight for liberty in 1777, years before the country of France officially lent support, the American pilots also lent themselves to France during WWI in 1914, before the country of America got involved in 1918.  Here's one of their kepi's...      Everything in this WWI exhibit was interesting. Most things I expected to see.  However, Lafayette took me by surprise.  It made me feel good to know that some Americans living in France knew their American history.  This was definitely the most fun part of the day for me. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/744959/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:22:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/744959/     Since we now live near Washington DC, we took advantage of a field trip opportunity in light of our recent studies of the Wright Brothers. The Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum have an excellent exhibit on the Wright Brothers, including the infamous 1903 Wright Flyer.  If you cannot go to Washington DC to see this interesting display, you can read the on-line exhibit, which includes activities.      There are numerous hands on activities and terrific life sized displays. When you first walk in, you feel as though you are in front of the Wright brothers' home in Dayton, Ohio. Then you work your way into the amazingly methodical development they undertook for the first sustained flight.  Eventually you can imagine yourself on the beach at Kitty Hawk, watching the first manned flight. We originally took a whirlwind tour of this after sightseeing in Washington DC last summer, then we went through about 2/3s of the exhibit a month ago. The museum closed about the time we reached their work in WWI.  Sunday when we arrived, we went directly to where we left off, to the WWI part of the exhibit.  We only had a few hours, and wanted to see the wind tunnel downstairs, as well as the "Airplanes in the Great War" exhibit.  After reading about the Wrights in WWI, we were overwhelmed with the wealth of displays on the Wrights we still had not seen.  There's never enough time in a museum.  We decided to make use of our time by pushing on to the other exhibits.      Last month many things from the exhibit impressed me.  The methodical resourcefulness and ingenuity of Orville and Wilbur Wright was quite impressive, considering their trade was in bicycles. In fact, it is amazing how they used their knowledge of bicycles in the development of the airplane.      The concepts the Wright brothers worked with were available in a hands on gallery called the "How Things Fly" exhibit. Anything hands on is always a thrill for my son.  Over the years I have strongly impressed on my children that when we go to a museum and there is a hands-on activity, they cannot participate unless they read the information to understand the point of the activity. Now my son doesn't need to read as much as he used to, because he walks in with a wealth of information already stored in his head.     We quickly located the wind tunnel... When I was in elementary school, I read a biography on the Wright brothers and was fascinated by their wind tunnel. I've been anxious to see one of these up close. However this wind tunnel wasn't anything like I expected. Horrors...there was math involved!  The concepts did not come easily to me. My son, however, understood everything and had a blast figuring out all the procedures.  Basically he was doing something with this part of the wind tunnel...   ...which is explained and illustrated here... Then he moved on to other aspects of the mechanics of flight. Getting lost in the concepts of physics, which was never a strength of mine (geology is easier) I kept reading and trying to understand the concepts. Eventually I realized there were two main groups of people doing the activities. One group were the kids who aimlessly went through, making the machines move without reading anything.  The other group were the adults, trying to contain themselves while waiting for my son to finish his analysis of the activity. I have a feeling these adults are engineers. They were like kids in a candy shop.       Throughout the day, there are demonstrations in this gallery. We got to see one which was down to earth and understandable. The demonstrator did a terrific job working with the children to allow them to help and showing them the props. After that we left.  This hands-on gallery was my son's favorite part of the day. I asked him how much he understood and learned there. He matter of factly said that he already knew all that stuff! He did? He said he had learned it in his science curriculum, but now he got to experience it, which was fun for him.  Wow!  If only the doctors could see him now. He was born a preemie and the doctors used to worry about his educational development. No problem there. I think he gets an A+ for the day. He's always been the type to pretty much teach himself. Interestingly though, he's been coming to me more lately, to hear my ideas about things, which surprises me.  In hindsight, I admit some of the concepts are sinking in.  My husband said when he was outside of the office at work today, he'd watch the planes from Reagan National, working out the concepts we had read about in the acitivity center.  I noticed a few planes from Dulles in the sky this afternoon, when I was out to do errands. However applying the physics we studied about didn't occur to me until my husband mentioned it. My mind was more on languages, writing and the history surrounding the plane. Now that I think about it, I can imagine how the physics allows the plane to work.  The displays must be pretty good if I can understand the basic ideas!      http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/744948/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:24:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/744948/     After lunch today we drove into Washington DC for a bit of sight seeing.  Stay tuned! In the meantime, I thought I'd share some of the pictures I took. This is our first autumn in the area and the first time for the kids and I to see the colors in our nation's capital (my husband sees it five days a week).  We were in a hurry to get to one of the museums, after parking at Union Station. I took a few pictures while driving, so they aren't as clear as they could be.    The Washington Monument coming into view... The Washington Monument against a stunning blue sky after several days  of Tropical Depression Ida's rain and wind...  By the time we left the museum, it was dusk.  As we approached the US Capitol, we could see the beginning of the illumination of the beautiful architecture, set against the sunset sky.        As we walked by the capitol, we were surprised to hear church bells from nearby ringing out a chorus from "In the Good Old Summertime."  We were struck by two things.  One, it isn't summer anymore! We had a good laugh about that.  Second, we had seen that movie the other night. I had a desire to break out into song and dance, a la Judy Garland.  However, I restrained myself. Recognizing the tune but not placing it, my daughter asked what the tune was. When I told her, she still couldn't quite figure it out. Ah, my chance to be Judy Garland.  As I started singing the tune, my husband hurriedly had us cross a busy intersection and the bells finished their tune. We were wondering which church was playing the tune and why that tune?  At least it was an Indian Summer type of day.  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/744928/ Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:04:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/744928/      For weeks I had been thinking we'd go to Colonial Williamsburg to celebrate Veteran's Day. There will be a parade for all veterans, cannon volleys, speeches from historic speakers and fife and drums. I knew it would be a special treat for my husband, who retired last winter after serving 24 years in the USAF.  However he works for a private company now. Even though they are based at the Pentagon, he has to work.  I keep forgetting he doesn't necessarily get Federal holidays off anymore.  I think reality hit my husband this afternoon, when he asked if we could watch a Veteran's Day movie. I explained that we've recently watched the last of all of our WWI movies.  "Sgt York" is the traditional Veterans' Day movie for us.  I'm going to have to think of something meaningful to remember this important day for him.      In the meantime, the significance of the day means more to the kids and me, now that we have completed our studies of World War I.  We've read about the trench warfare, the endless wait for battle that gained little, and the frightening new technology in weaponry, airplanes and chemical warfare. We've watched the utter hopelessness in "All Quiet on the Western Front." Told from the viewpoint of a German soldier, it revealed the agony of the war itself for the soldiers of every nation. Even though "Anne of Green Gables" is based on a series of Victorian books for girls, the third part of the trilogy is about WWI. The second part of the movie shows the horrors of the front lines and trenches of the Western Front, while Anne works as a Red Cross worker while looking for her husband, a Canadian doctor who has been conscripted by the German army.  Anne returns to England with an orphan baby and her best friend's husband, who lost his arm due to an infested wound from battle.  Swept up into intrigue and espionage, Anne returns to France with hidden jewels to help the Underground. We see the end of the war...the armistice.   In graphic cinematography of the movies, we experienced the horrible trenches, the exploding bombs, the wounded soldiers waiting for hope, the dead waiting to be buried.      The most poignant of all the WWI movies, was the end of "All Quiet on the Western Front." As the war ended, the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour, we see the results of the final shot, encapsulating the theme of the movie. Also in school, we've pondered the depth of meaning in the poem, "In Flanders Field."         In  years past, I remember my husband being called out in the middle of the night to arrive on base with his duffel bag to fly around on a plane...exercises.  Keeping that duffel bag packed, my husband placed it in a readily handy location. How many times did I stumble upon it...wondering?  How many times did I walk into the downstairs powder room and found a ghostly gas mask staring up at me from a cleaning solution in the sink, in preparation for the next exercise or deployment? How many times did we cancel family vacations, events or activities so he could be on call, available at a moments notice? How many "buckets" was he put into, waiting for deployment to the Middle East? How many times did we hold our breaths, trying to prepare for his times away?  Assignments stateside and to Korea were many. The deployments to the war zones strangely eluded him...and it made us feel guilty...fully aware of the families who sacrificed as their loved ones did go to the war zone. My husband's career field engaged him in safer zones, in support of those overseas, working long hours as needed for the mission.  Our sacrifice was easy, as compared to those who sacrificed the most.                     To all those who did go to the war zone, thank you. You sacrificed so we could keep our freedoms at home. Your life is different because of the sacrifice. Your family's life is different because of the sacrifice. Serving wasn't easy.  Serving was dangerous. Serving gave us freedom. We salute you. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/743749/ Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:25:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/743749/      A few months ago, my son intently looked at me and seriously said, "Mom, you're just not a gadget gal."  With my husband's retirement from the USAF and a move from San Antonio, Texas (where I lived most of my life) to the Washington DC area brought about sudden crash courses in my learning how to use.... ....a lap top  where the keys must be spaced differently from what I was used to. My fingers usually fly when I type and I rarely made mistakes until I used the lap top. Now I was making nothing but mistakes.  I was making a gazillion typos, bringing up other web pages, and closing down my page by the mere attempts of striking the keys. Then there was a "ghost" feature that mysteriously appeared while I was typing.  I accidentally found a setting to get rid of that ghost and my fingers have finally learned to fly on a lap top!   ...a cell phone which I rarely used in San Antonio. With the move across country I finally learned how to plug in phone numbers so that I could keep in touch with my parents, our real estate agents in San Antonio and Virginia, etc, etc, etc. Then we moved into our house and my phone basically sits in my purse. When a friend of my son's came over, I had to ask the boys how to put in the phone number for the friend's mom.  What can I say...I forget things I don't use all the time. ...a GPS, which I've dubbed Lee because describing him takes a lot of adverbs while we are on the go.  He likes to drive us through downtown Washington DC.  However I've learned to reroute him so he will take me out and about via easier routes. Interesting-lee, he gets lost once we reach our own neighborhood. I'm glad I have that much of the area figured out!   ...television cable which in Northern Virginia apparently requires numerous mega monster electrical cables and three remote controls. That's crazy!  I still haven't figured out how to use the VCR or DVD or any other doo-dad on the machine. My husband says I'll never figure it out.  Hmmmm, that sounds like a challenge.   ... the telephone answering machine which is now more complicated than a simple push of the button. ...learning a new phone number took me months. Numbers aren't as friendly to me as letters.  I tried to give someone my phone number the other day. He thought he remembered the prefix, which was wrong, but since he put the wrong number in my head, for the life of me I could not remember the correct number.   ...the clock on my nightstand is beyond comprehension. I purchased it when we moved into this house because my husband gets up at 4:30am to get ready to arrive at work by 6am.  4:30am is too early for me!  I want to wake up at 6am.  However I couldn't figure out how to set the alarm, so my son set it up for me.   Now my husband turns my alarm off on Friday nights and sets it up again on Sunday night. ...and now a new sewing machine which the moving company recently paid for! I have been busily sewing window treatments, Year 4 Unit 1 costumes, and researching and gathering supplies for new colonial costumes. I want to make my daugter's dress more historic. My son wants me to make a warmer and more accurate Lafayette costume for winter and a gentry outfit for summer.  I've not had much time for sewing, due to lesson planning and studying. We've also been sight seeing, either at historic places or at Lowes, my husband's favorite store. When he runs out of projects, he takes me shopping. I can't complain.  I'm thankful my husband is perking up the house. Alas, my sewing sits on the table during the hours we are at Lowes. The few times I get to sew, I optimistically think I'm going to be extremely productive, but something always happens.       I've been sewing on a piece of silk and the tension has been too tight. I thought it was due to the flimsy fabric. Tonight I finally took a look at how to fix that. I'm not great at figuring out tension. Remember I'm not a gadget gal. It appeared that the top tension was too tight, so I decreased the tension but it didn't make any difference, not even at a 1. I tried a piece of cotton and had the same problem. Oh dear, my new machine is broken. I resorted to my old machine which is broken from the move, but at least the tension still works. As I sewed on my silk, the tension problem kept nagging me. I finally sat at the computer to do some googling.      Specifically I googled, "Pfaff Expression 2.0 tension". Oh, no.  I found a lot of comments about the exact same problem I had experienced. They users all sold their Pfaffs and purchased other machines.  I felt awful. I looked through my google search and found another forum (not Pfaff), where the thread was about the Pfaff Expression and opinions of it. Everyone loved it! One lady had a thread gunking problem. She took her machine to the Pfaff dealer and found out she was doing two things wrong.  One, she was threading her machine with the presser foot down.  Hmmm, I thread the machine with the presser foot up, so that's not the problem.  Second, when she inserted the bobbin, she didn't listen for the click when she moved the thread around to different parts of the chamber. Hmmmm, this could be my problem. I've always suspected that I was not putting in the bobbin correctly. The thread was always flowing too freely from the base of the machine. However the insertion method is completely different from any I have worked with and is quite intricate.  I went to the machine, took out the bobbin, moved the thead around the different parts of the chamber until I heard the click. "Click!" Do you know how wonderful that sound is????? I've never heard that before!  I finished threading, replaced the cover, and started sewing. Eureka!  The seam was gorgeous!!!!!!        Since Pfaff users sometimes find my blog for information, I wanted to be sure I posted this little tip. Also it will make great reference for me. Since I'm not a gadget gal, I might forget if I am ever away from sewing for months at a time! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/743410/ Mon, 9 Nov 2009 18:22:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/743410/      Over a month ago we started seeing pumpkins galore being sold. We've never seen anything like that in Texas!  In San Antonio, I used to either buy our pumpkin the last week of October or buy it early and store it in the refrigerator. It is so warm in Texas, the pumpkins go bad quickly. Last year we managed to grow a pumpkin in our garden, which I needed to harvest when we returned home from our Virginia vacation in mid August. That was stored in the refrigerator for the end of October and barely made it. This year I hesitated to buy a pumpkin early.  How do they fare in Virginia?  I let the kids each choose one and had them set them on the front porch.  They survived! Now what to do with them?       We don't do Halloween. We have no interest in Halloween costumes. No interest in trick or treating. No interest in fall festivals. However the kids do want to do something quietly at home.  I thought I'd put the kids to work to hollow out one of the pumpkins so I could bake a beef stew in it. Then I had also planned to make a pumpkin cheesecake.  The other pumpkin they could carve and we could watch a movie.      Well, I was gone from the house most of the day, trying to find things for our Year 4 Unit 1 costumes and for a warmer Lafayette costume for my son.  By the time I got home, the pumpkins were spoken for.  The family had done their traditional gospel pumpkin, with a lot of help from their dad.  I think my son drew the symbols and my husband cut them out.  Hmmmm, I think this is the first year my husband did the pumpkin with the kids.  Usually I do it with them, but my husband wants window treatments and the kids want costumes for their unit celebration and Colonial Williamsburg, so my husband was happy to give me a pumpkin break this year.  ;)   Then they wanted to do a Colonial Williamsburg pumpkin. This year CW provided several pumpkin carving patterns at their web site.  My son wanted to do all of them.  I couldn't afford that many pumpkins, so he had to choose one. Actually my daughter chose one, the Governor's Palace. Here is my son carving it, while my daughter picks out the seeds. My husband likes roasted pumpkin seeds.  Here it is. I am impressed. This was my son's first pumpkin to carve and he did it entirely himself. He had a bit of trouble with the intricacy of the pattern, so he said he improved a few parts.  Can you imagine me shaking me head?  He reminds me of Patrick Henry. If I could go back in time, I'd love to meet Patrick Henry's mother and ask her specifically what her son was like as a child. I have a feeling we would share a lot in common.  It was a bit late to start a stew and there were no more pumpkins to bake it in.  The family decided they wanted snack food. Earlier in the day my husband had gone to the store and bought the cupcakes and candy corn. He went back out and bought snack food. Then we settled down to "Arsenic and Old Lace."  I'm a huge Cary Grant fan and my husband is a Theodore Roosevelt fan.  It's a hilarious movie and sort of where we draw the line at the end of the month.  =)  For me anyway, if I watch anything more intense than this, I'll have nightmares. I've had enough bad dreams this month as it is. Since we recently studied WWI and the Bolshevik Revolution and watched movies about it, I've had quite a few sleepless nights. "Arsenic and Old Lace" was a fun movie to lighten the mood from our recent studies!  That's why I like Cary Grant. He can be sophisticated, yet hilarious, at the same time!       http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/741892/ Tue, 3 Nov 2009 21:15:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/741892/      We were recently gifted "A Day in the Life," which is a DVD/CD-Rom series from Colonial Williamsburg.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  We have had a terrific time watching this.  Last week we watched the first DVD and the other night we watched the second DVD.  (You can see samples at the link above.)      There are eight segments, telling about a day in the life of eight different people from different segments of 18th century society on the eve of the American Revolution, set in Williamsburg.  Taken from historical research, we learned about men and women who were slaves, free African Americans, gentry class, middling sort and apprentices. One of my favorite things about this is that all of the stories intertwined, showing that people across the spectrum of social class did interact with each other. We learned how they interacted with each other. We also learned/reenforced lessons in customs/life situations for different social classes, politics, economics and differing roles for men and women of the day.  Additionally, there are many references to events we are all familiar with (the Boston Tea Party) as well as references to scenes from Colonial Williamsburg's Revolutionary City.         My 16 year old daughter's favorite story was about a gentry girl named Prissy.  Her day consisted of the type of schooling she had, to train to one day be the wife of a gentry husband. She learned how to supervise the household,  practiced her French with a tutor and took dancing lessons.  (My daughter is often asked by the townspeople of Colonial Williamsburg if she is training in such a way herself.  Um, no....) Prissy's story was intertwined with that of an apprentice and a young slave boy named Dennis.  Someone needed to make the dessert for Prissy's party, but the best cook for this particular receipt (recipe) was the slave who seriously injured her leg.  Surprisingly, the dessert was made and it was as delicious as ever. It becomes a bit of a mystery trying to ascertain who made the intricate dessert???          My 14 year old son's favorite part had his favorite actor with all the contests (as my son put it).  This was a fun story with a great deal of humor and action which we all enjoyed. This segment told the story of a young gentleman, named Daniel, who lived on a plantation near Williamsburg. Daniel was the quintessential gentleman of his day, who was discovered by his father and another gentleman (who were the focus of the previous segment about politics) while quoting romantic Shakespeare, substituting Juliet's name for the young lady he was in love with.  He was a bit embarrased at getting caught and tells his friend, Percy, about it. Percy plays Daniel's literary foil, teasing Daniel unmercifully and pridefullly challenging him to a series of contests.  The contests include horse racing and fencing.  I could tell my son was experiencing these exciting activities vicariously through his favorite actor.  My son got to go horseback riding in Colorado a few years ago and he had visions of galloping off into the sunset across the top of the snow covered Rocky Mountain peaks. However, he got a plunker of a horse who wouldn't budge.  My son also enjoyed the fencing scene, because he taught himself fencing moves a few years ago when he portrayed a French Musketeer.  My son has seen very little fencing in any of the movies we have. This was his first opportunity to see how fencing works. While watching, he was calling out the different moves and techniques. How he would have enjoyed being there and participating! We all had a lot of fun seeing who played the fencing master.  Absolutely unpredictable! Then probably my daughter's favorite part was when they attended the ball. Percy was talking to one of the young ladies while dancing. My husband couldn't understand why.  I reminded him that during the dances back then, it was quite proper to talk while dancing. We've had the opportunity to dance with costumed characters at Colonial Williamsburg. My historic dancing partners spent their time talking pleasantries with me while waiting our turn to dance and while dancing.  It was a lot of fun!  While studying Pride and Prejudice, set a bit later than the CW era, my daughter and I learned that dancing was one of the very few times unmarried men and ladies were allowed to touch, by holding hands while dancing.  Dancing was an extremely special event and a form of dating.  I assume this was true even in the Colonial Era. However, we found out that romance was the last thing on Percy's mind. He was merely talking to the young lady to unmercifully tease her and his friend Daniel. He was quite the trouble maker.  It was all presented quite humorously. Daniel and the young lady definitely knew their proper manners. Sigh...poor Percy. Perhaps he will become a gentlemen when romance slips into his heart.           There is also a CD-rom which has a student role playing game. Additionally there are numerous  excellent lesson plans and activities. These are set up exactly like the Electronic Field Trips. (samples are at the link above) We haven't done any of these yet, but we are looking forward to them!  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/741873/ Fri, 6 Nov 2009 20:11:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/741873/      Invited by a friend to meet her at Colonial Williamsburg Fri, the kids and I went down for the day, and we had a great visit! In addition to that, the day turned out to be primarily a costume research day in the historic area.  That was productive and a good thing, although I felt the usual historic magnetic tug to listen to Lafayette behind the Palace, but we didn't arrive until he was nearly done. He always has great stories prompted by guests who have great questions which I never would have thought to ask.  We never can plan ahead of time to see any specific Founding Father, because the schedule on the web site merely says that "a Founding Father" will be speaking, but we never know which one.  Later in the day I felt another tug for the kids to have the opportunity to meet with Thomas Jefferson at the Tucker House.  We have yet to have an opportunity to meet any historic figure at the Tucker House, which we've been told is extra special. We're not sure if we need to come prepared with lots of questions for that or not, so we are trying to fill our colonial book for one of these special occasions. Well, I managed to restrain myself from history and focus on some of the things the kids wanted to find in relation to their costumes. Originially unplanned, it is funny how things fell into place for our costume research day.     As we were preparing to leave the house that morning, my son announced he wanted to use some of his birthday money to buy a Lafayette hat at CW. I didn't realize they sold them.  It wouldn't come with the cockade or plume, but it has a different triangular shape from the usual tricorn.  Suddenly my son has this compulsion for his costume to look as accurate as possible. I knew he was a fan of the actor who portrays him, but I was sensing that something deeper was going on. Each year I ask him who his favorite historical figure is, but he is always non-commital.  After the announcement about the hat, I asked again if he had a favorite historical figure. He said Lafayette. The night before we were researching Lafayette's life for a report he is working on.  He said he was still supporting the troops at CW, but he wants every detail of his costume to be as historically accurate as possible. He wants the Lafayette costume for the cold days to keep warm and the gentry outfit (without the coat) for the summer.  We still have quite a bit of research to do.     When we arrived in the historic area, we went to the open air market and looked at their hats, but my son couldn't find the right one.   We decided to go to the Greenhow store next. On the way, we were stopped by a lady who approached my son, not only to look at his costume, but also to actually touch it, opening the coat to look at his vest, etc.  This was a first! She was extremely interested.  She asked him where he got the costume and he said that I made it.  She asked me where I got the pattern and I said there was no pattern.  I looked at vacation pictures of the actor who portrays Lafayette to assemble pieces to try to get the proper look.  She told me that her ten year old son was a huge Lafayette fan and he analyzes all the costumes and tells his mom how he'd like this or that.  In disbelief I told her my son was the same way.   We got to meet her son and daughters, all of whom were in costume. Her daughter's costumes were more accurate than my daughter's and I asked where she got the pattern. I think someone made the dresses for them.  We talked about all kinds of things about trying to make their costumes as accurate as possible. We were laughing and laughing at everything we had in common.  I felt as though she was my twin lost at birth.      Eventually we moved on. My son couldn't find the Lafayette hat in the Greenhow Store either. While there he did some Christmas shopping for us, so I took my daughter to the milliner's across the street.  She wanted to buy a new hat. The old one looked like one of the horses had started eating it, then sat on it.  This time she wanted a style that was more accurate to what the interpreters wear.  This is getting contagious!  The cashier taught me how to properly set the hat, tie the bow and use the hat pins.      Then we headed to Tarpley's Store to see if they had a Lafayette hat. On the way, we met Wil. He remembered the kids and they exchanged courtesies (bowed and curtsied). He even remembered their names. He said my daughter's name was Elizabeth. She said no, it was ___________ and he said that he would have said that next.  The same thing happened to my son. Then he talked about taking care of their father's horse at the stable down the road and their father was  named William. They said that was not his name but he insisted it was and proceeded to tell us everything about taking care of his horse. When we got home I told my husband I had learned quite a bit about him and the horse he never told me about at CW that day! Wil also told the kids about the Declaration of Independence that would be read that afternoon. He was quite excited about freedom. My son apologized and told him he wished it meant freedom for him, but it actually meant freedom from Great Britain, not freedom for the slaves.   Wil was sad to hear that. My daughter said something about it which I did not hear, but Wil was shocked that she knew about the politics of the day. He said her father must have taught her that. She said no, her mother did. At that, Wil looked at me in disbelief, then explained it away by saying my husband must have told me about it. I told him no, I actually told my husband about the Declaration of Independence. Well, he went on talking to the kids.  I cannot tell you how many times people in CW have told me that I must get all my information from my husband, since I'm not educated enough.  Everyone from the Founding Fathers to the gentry, middling class, slaves, women...none believe that I have read and studied about the events of their day and taught it to my kids (...including my husband who does not enjoy reading books. He prefers doing things to reading. However he does keep up with current events of 2009.). That is truely how it was in the 18th century. It was interesting that we had studied Women's Suffrage that week. I must admit I was not impacted by all the facts I learned since I am not an activist. I am a quiet, contemplative person by nature.  I like to read and learn and write and talk about the things I learn.  The problem is finding someone to talk about this stuff with. Right now I have a built in audience, since I homeschool my children.  I have a feeling that if I lived in the 18th century, I wouldn't be much different. I doubt that I would have been an activist then either, but I would have wanted to find books to read and learn from. I probably would not have had the opportunity. Although Abigail Adams was well read, that was rare for the time.  The 18th century viewpoint of women has finally sunk in to my brain.  I realize I don't know everything and I still have a lot to learn, yet it bothers me that I am expected to know nothing of a deep nature. This is the mindset of not only the men, but also the women in CW. Surely there was at least one women in 18th century Williamsburg who sought a deeper education than what society allowed for her. This mindset is tied up in the lack of the women's franchise (vote) in the era. I may not be an activitst, but I am a teacher. I love to teach and I love to learn. It has become a passion with me to teach history.  I strongly believe that because history repeats itself, as Patrick Henry keeps reminding us, a solid foundation in it can help us to vote wisely today.  Therefore when I am "in the 18th century", and I am told that I don't have an education, it probably hits a different nerve than it does most. Despite my feelings, I appreciate the actors at Colonial Williamsburg.  They bring the pages of history to life, so that we can feel what historical people felt. It helps us to understand our history better. It is one thing to read about it; it is another thing to experience it. Hmmmm.....          We proceeded on to Tarpleys and my son thought he had found the Lafayette hat.  However, he didn't purchase it yet, because he wasn't certain it was right. He wanted to see the actor who portrays Lafayette because he always wears this style hat. I had an idea to do a little research at the print shop. When we arrived, we met Mr. Greenhow who taught us how to sign our name with a quill. He writes our name first to model for us, then we write underneath. We get to keep the sample. Also if we buy a quill, he'll prepare it for us. He did this for my son when we met him last summer. He remarked on how my kids were left handed, causing a problem with smearing the ink.  Lefties in the 18th century were taught to become right handed. After this, we went to the Revolutionary City scene at the Courthouse then had lunch. After lunch and enjoying the lovely autumn colors we went back to the open air market to look for the black and white cockade that represents the French American alliance that will go on the Lafayette hat. None were to be found. We talked to the cashier for quite a bit about cockades and such and she sent us to the Greenhow store. In there we didn't find the right cockade. My son talked to the manager about the Lafayette hat. He told my son where he could have one specially made!  That's exactly what he did! My son found the lady and told her he wanted a Lafayette hat to be specially made. He showed the one type that was on the shelf, but told her it wasn't quite right. The lady was extremely patient to work with him and understood exactly what he wanted. She started the shaping in front of us, then took it to the back and told my son to come back in 30 minutes. She also gave him further directions to complete the look at home. They did not have the proper cockade either, but I purchased a black one. We can't quite remember what Lafayette's cockade looks like. My son remembered that General Washington's picture was on the front of the weekly schedule.  We quickly pulled that out to look at, but he was posing at the wrong angle. We couldn't see the cockade. Between the cockade I purchased and analyzing more pictures that we have at home, I'll try to make the right kind of cockade.          Meanwhile, I wanted to go to the milliner across the street to ask questions about how to sew my kids' costumes.  I asked about a shift for my daughter and they showed me this baby's shift. Well she's a lot taller than that. I learned that a shift is a shift and I could form ruffles for her by inserting a drawstring around the neck and wrists. That's it? I showed them her somewhat fancy dress underneath her cloak and the milliner was ready to sell me lacing for around the neck and sleeve edges. Hmmm, I come in with 21st century questions and before long I find myself in the 18th century again. It is a lot of fun but it challenges me to translate all of that 18th century information into my 21st century sewing skills, sources and supplies. I was wondering what lace looked like back then and exactly how it is set in to the sleeves and neckline of the dress, but a school group came in for a tour. I turned my attention to this lady who was sewing a gorgeous pink gown, a reproduction from a painting in a book that she showed me. Here is the stomacher. If I recall correctly, this will never be sewn into the bodice, but will be pinned with the bodice into the stays. Then as the fashions quickly change (up to six times a year) alterations can easily be accomodated.     There is some of the pink dress on the left, next to the gorgeous blue dress on the right.  The fabric of each is a lovely irridescent sheen. The sheen is created on the loom with one color thread going in one direction and another color in the other. As I recall, there is a sheen of blue in the pink dress and a sheen of pink in the blue dress. While I was talking to the milliner, my son came back from picking up his hat. He proudly tugged on my coat to get my attention. I took one look at him and gasped. That does look like a Lafayette hat! My son wanted a picture of them doing their courtesies...  I had to shake my head all afternoon. The new hats definitely made them look more in character.  In fact, they are now fooling more guests. They are often mistaken for employees, but when the kids tell them they are only guests, the guests believe them, then ask directions from here to there anyway. Well earlier in the day, a couple stopped my daughter to ask her what the population of the town was during this historic time frame. My daughter was stuck! We did learn that I think in one of the EFTs, but we have forgotten. My daughter told the man she was only a guest and he didn't believe her!  I backed her up and told him my son might have a good answer.  He looked behind me, where my son was talking to a friend. The man asked if the two star general was my son. "Yes, and he has a quick mind," I told him. The man decided to test it.  "General," he asked, "what was the population of the town during this historic time period?" My son said, "It was less than the numbers you see in town today."  The man liked that answer! He walked away chuckling!      By the kids' request, we ended the day with Revolutionary City. We noticed something new, with Benedict Arnold arriving in town with the British flag and handing it to his men to replace the American flag above the Capitol's cupola.  That is the first we've seen him hand over the flag.  It was quite effective.  On the ride home, my kids had many questions about RC and we had quite the discussion.  It is always interesting how we can tie in the history at CW into our current history studies. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/741100/ Mon, 2 Nov 2009 21:20:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/741100/      Our first autumn in Virginia has arrived!  A few weeks ago we had five days straight of rainy 45 degree days. brrr  My husband insisted on taking me tree shopping on two of those days and I am sorry to say that I mutineed on him. As much as I enjoy gardening, I am close minded to it when it is bitterly cold. I am sure any northerners reading this are going to laugh, but I have lived in Louisiana, Hawaii and Texas all of my life. Now living in Northern Virginia has been a new experience. If this is autumn, what is winter going to be like?       Last Saturday was warmer, but extremely rainy. It was a cozy day to sew.  Then Sunday arrived with cloudless blue skies and true autumn cool (not frigid) weather. The kids hit dad up for a drive to the mountains.  I sat back and smiled as I listened to the discourse.   Kids: Dad, can we drive to the mountains today? Dad: Why? Kids: So we can see the colors! Dad: Let's wait for nice weather to see the colors. Kids: It is nice weather! The sun is out.   Son: I didn't realize the colors were changing until I saw all the colors in the mountains in the distance. Daughter: If we don't go now, the leaves will be all gone. Son: I have never seen the colors before, Dad. Besides, you said you wanted to see the autumn colors in the mountains. Dad: Hmmmm, what does your teacher say about your school work? Are you behind on any schoolwork? Mom: The colors can be school today. This is their first year to see the colors. I've only seen them once before.  If we don't see them now, I'm afraid the leaves will drop by next weekend. Dad: Okay, we'll go. We decided to drive out to Shenandoah National Park's Skyline Drive. We drove over 3000' in elevation.  That was sort of funny to us, because we've driven over 14,000' in Colorado.  Nevertheless, the views were gorgous. Enjoy!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/740503/ Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:52:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/740503/