Newsflash...

     Interrupting the latest weather report to announce that I have finally finished 100% handstitching my son's historically accurate colonial shirt!  It's not great. But it's done!  And it actually looks like a shirt!  Absolutely amazing, considering it is made with nothing but rectangles and squares! My son tried it on with the waistcoat I am making for him and oh my...he looked more like Lafayette! 

     Here is the shirt.  I made an awful mistake and the tailor at CW told me to fix things by sewing the fabrics I mitakenly cut back, together and completing the shirt. That V shape is the awful mistake I made. That part is not historically accurate. However I learned that being frugal and sewing the pieces back together is historically accurate!  I have a few other mistakes.  I have a few stitches I couldn't figure out. The monogram is historically accurate, done in cross stitch in blue or red (my son chose continental Blue over Redcoat Red) with a number underneath. This gets a 1, being my first handsewn shirt. I just eyed my stitching on that, instead of following direcions to make a pattern.  I think my attempt at using a pattern would have failed. Eyeing it was easier! I did the ruffles exactly like the Kannik Korner pattern said, around the cuffs and up the arm slits.  Now that it's done, I don't think that's right.   I think the ruffle should only go around the wrists.

Here is the waistcoat next to it. I still have buttons to do.  I did the buttonholes in the shirt by hand, like I learned in my stitching class at CW!  I don't know whether to do the ten or so by hand (Do I have time to finish before our next trip to CW? Can I make them look nice?) or by machine (Do I trust the machine?).  I also have pocket flaps left.  I'm not sure if the pockets themselves are hanging correctly. The flaps seem to be wonky but I followed the pattern. I might leave them off and ask the tailor.

Despite all my awful mistakes, they look great together. I can't wait to see them with the Lafayette coat...

...and the Lafayette hat...

Sewing breeches are in my future.  Ugh. I have heard bad things about sewing these.     

     Last Friday/Saturday we got our third snow storm in a week. This one was predicted to surpass the Christmas snow of 19" and dump 20-30" in our area.  Many places in Northern Virginia did indeed receive 30+" of snow. DC snowfall made the #4 spot in the historic snowfall list, missing the top spot by only an inch or so. Residents have lost power. Roofs have collapsed. Thankfully we received a mere 20".  Now the weatherman predicts more...and it indeed has begun to snow at 5pm. 

     Really, now. We shouldn't get piggish with all this snow.  We should share with those who have not had any snow. A lady in Maine recently commented that they might not get to tap Sugar Maples this year because of their lack of snow. That gave me an idea. I asked my husband, who is from upstate New York and a connoiseur of maple syrup, if we could tap our own trees, since we've had all this snow. His reply was, "You will leave our trees alone.  Do you realize how much you have to collect and boil down?"  Yes, I do.  Actually my initial question wasn't if we WOULD, I was asking if we COULD. Is it possible to do such a thing as far south as Northern Virginia?  Hmmmm, consider the educational opportunity.  Wouldn't it be fun if we could and would?  My husband refuses to talk to me about it. =)  Oh well. Another missed educational opportunity. 

   The real estate agent who sold us this house told me that she has lived in the area since 1982 and this is the worst winter she's ever seen around here. She said it was great that I was homeschooling, so that the kids don't miss school.  The public school kids, she said, will likely make up for lost days through the end of June. I told her my kids' education has broadened this year, from the Texan concept of snow to the understanding of why the Inuits have hundreds of words for snow.  We could write a menu. How would you like it...as flurries or a blizzard?  Powdery or wet?  A la sleet, as in a wintery mix, or pure snow?  My kids have learned a lot!  The agent sent me a forward on snow that had my laughing so hard I was crying.  I read it aloud to the kids, while editing for language, and we understood it in ways we never would have had we received it while living in San Antonio.  After this new major snow event,  yes, another MAJOR event, I'll tally the results and post a cleaned up version of that forward.

     In the meantime, here are pictures of the 20," which we still have, everywhere!

     Saturday night, when the skies finally finished sending down 20" of floating, twirling, snow in high winds...

 Sunday the sun was shining. We walked around the best we could. A lot of the sidewalks were still under snow. Sometimes I followed the family as my son blazed a new trail. I have only one balance nerve due to head surgery years ago, so I lost my balance and fell kerplunk into the snow more than once.  I needed help to get up. It got to the point my son started hanging out with me to make sure I didn't fall anymore! This time I took pictures of the unique snow when hanging off the edge of a roofline. I have always thought pictures of these "snow sheets suspended in air" were so nifty! The neighbor next door, the pastor, borrowed a snowblower from another neighbor. When he was done snowblowing his driveway-to-street connection, he did ours while we were out walking!  Most snowfalls, my husband goes to the pastor's house to shovel his car and driveway. 

All of my kids' sleds have fallen apart.  Before this storm hit, I took the kids to the store and they used their allowance to purchase their choice of a makeshift sled (Real sleds are all sold out around here and swim suits are now available!).  They chose these swimming innertubes.  I didn't think they'd work, but I have seen that their sled ideas and the snow have become great real life physics lessons.  Also, nothing ventured, nothing gained. If they just take my word for it, I know my son will always think this will have worked.  This is where I have mentioned in previous posts how important it is in nonessential matters to be more hands off and let them be free to choose.  I did tell them I sort of doubted it would work, but I hoped I was wrong, and I was impressed with the handles which I knew they really wanted and would be practical.  Here they are about to try them out.

Look at how deep that snow is!  We still have it all!  The streets in the neighborhood are like the tundra, covered in snow and ice! I know because it was my first day to drive in it!  When my kids found out we were getting another 10-20" of snow, they asked if they could have snowshoes.  

He told her to push him because he wasn't getting anywhere.

Ta da! That's as far as he got!  LOL

He pushed her after I went in the house and her path went quite a ways down the hill! Overall they had a lot of trouble though.  My son was quite frustrated when they finally came in. However, the next day at lunch, you could see the wheels turning in his head and he had a new plan.  They've been trying lots of plans out, none of which have been super yet.  Well, it seems as though they will have fresh snow to try out.  We are praying we can get out to go to a special event this weekend! 

     Growing up near military bases and being a military dependent, I have been to a lot of air shows.  None scared me as badly as the last one we attended at Randolph AFB in San Antonio, Texas a few years ago. We were driving to the show and could see the planes flying in the distance, when suddenly, one nosed down and disappeared behind the treetops...then an explosion took place! Horrors!  I had heard of plane crashes at some of these air shows but to see one is horrible.  Then we saw more planes zooming up and over and around with more explosions.  Wait a minute...this was one of the pyrotechnic shows! Later that afternoon, we got to see a replay of this show, a dramatic event called, Tora, Tora, Tora, based on the Japanese code words when they bombed Pearl Harbor.  

     I used to live in Hawaii when I was a little girl.  My dad worked at Hickam AFB and I remember the bullet holes from the planes in the buildings. I remember the Punchbowl, which is an extinct volcano, where the men from Pearl Harbor are buried.  However, I do not remember the USS Arizona, because I was too little to be allowed on board.

     These memories come flooding back, since watching the historically accurate Tora, Tora, Tora the other night. The movie shows the process of the Japanese plans for the attack and the American blunders during the decoding of secret messages of the impending attack.  One of the technical advisors helping the producer was the Japanese man, Ghenda, who planned the attack, who wanted an accurate story to be told.  The producer of Tora, Tora, Tora, previously directed another historically accurate movie, The Longest Day, about D-Day.  This producer oversaw the American side of the story and the Japanese side was overseen by a Japanese director.  In the telling of the story, the Japanese speak Japanese, and English subtitles are used.  Actual locations were used.  A replica of the USS Arizona was built. 

     The kids and I were able to make lots of new connections in this movie, despite all that we had read about the attack.  There were references to Japan's alliance with Germany, their previous war with Russia, and comparing their planned attack on Pearl Harbor with a similar situation America had in Italy. There are also unbelievable stories during the attack that were told.  Now I know they are true events, because our copy of this movie has a behind the scenes feature that interviews the cast and crew about the historic accuracy and yes, incredulously, these stories happened. His goal in telling this story was to prevent another attack on America like this again.  He wanted America to not be complacent again. Hmmmm...see, he knows that history repeats itself.

    The ending quote came as no surprise to my son and me. It had to be there. The producer knew it too. He knew that without this infamous quote, the movie would end with destruction and utterly hopelessness.  There was a Japanese man who obeyed orders for the attack. However, having been previously educated in America, he knew Americans.  The movie ended by him saying that Japan had merely awakened a sleeping giant. When the kids and I were at Quantico museum last week, we heard this phrase more than once from the docents. Is America sleeping today?    

    Now that we have completed our three week study of World War II, we took a field trip...between snow storms! We are expecting a doozy this weekend, 18-24"!  We went to the National Museum of the Marine Corps  at Quantico Marine Base near Washington DC. This free museum is loaded with numerous interactive displays. Last spring we did bootcamp. That alone took most of the day. After a thorough tour of bootcamp, we quickly went through WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War, along with some stuff on Iraq and 9-11 to get an idea for our TOG Year 4 studies. I told the kids we would come back to each of those areas when we study them. So here we were, studying WWII!

     While in the main foyer, or Leatherneck Gallery, my son was taking pictures of the Corsair when a docent came to me to direct us. I told him we were studying WWII and had come to see the exhibits. He gave me directions then left. 

     As we entered the WWII exhibit, one of the first things we saw was this movie where we got an overview (and review of our reading in previous weeks) of what led to the war. 

Then we entered a living room where a mother and daughter had  been listening to the radio program on December 7, 1941, when President Roosevelt broke in with the news of the "day that will live in infamy." What appear to be wallpapered walls are actually a scrim that allowed us to see actual footage of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt giving his speech, reactions of Americans, etc.

      Around the corner, we learned how women were allowed to join the marines for the first time, to take on marine support jobs that freed more men to go into combat.  We also learned about the first African American marines, who were segregated.  They proved their worth and got to fight alongside everyone else in future wars!

        There were realistic displays sprinkled throughout the story of the Marines role in America's attempt to overtake Japan by hopscotching (a term we read about in our books) across the Pacific.   

      You can't see it, but underneath this movie marquis, is the seating for newsreels from throughout the war, showing movie stars enlisting and selling war bonds, the first blackout test in Seattle, war production, etc.  I sat here and rested my back while waiting for the kids to catch up with me (I read a lot faster than they do.)  It was very entertaining, so I didn't mind seeing it 3x through!  There is even Bugs Bunny in the beginning dressed as a marine singing "...halls of Montezuma..." and at the end he sells war bonds. 

     By this point we went upstairs for lunch, since my blood sugar was dropping. I needed fuel to get on the boat for Iwo Jima!  Here's a picture of a corsair, as seen from the upper deck when we leave the mess hall! 

     Refueled, we went back to where we left off.  We sat on these boxes to learn about the marines' Alamo, called Tarawa.  Due to a lot of problems, especially a high atoll in the water, they learned a lot of lessons that proved invaluable in future successful missions.

     I confess that all of the battles of the marines on every island is a blur to me.  However one definitely gains an appreciation for the massive objective before our military to conquer in order to reach Japan. It was a daunting task and our military definitely rose to the occasion! 

     Then we entered these doors, which shut behind us. We were in a debriefing room where we were given assignments. Suddenly we were marines on a mission to Iwo Jima! The layout of the island was explained with graphics on the wall.  Although it appeared as though the enemy was nowhere around, they were actually hidden in caves!  Iwo Jima stinks of sulpher, since it is a huge volcanic island.  The purpose to capture the island was to have access to the airfield, which would prove strategic in capturing Japan. Our mission was to take the now infamous Mt. Surabachi! (The doors are to the right, inside the cave.) 

Then we went through another set of doors, which closed behind us, and we were on a boat, a type of landing craft.  I was one of the first to enter, so I could find a corner to lean in. Last time I got very dizzy in here (I only have one balance nerve)!  Even so, I still got dizzy, because ahead of us on the wall, actual footage of the arrival to Iwo Jima was shown. We really felt like we were on the boat!  When we landed and we saw the marines ahead of us get off the boat (via the footage), the doors opened and we walked into a gallery where there was a wall of pictures of the taking of Iwo Jima.  Once we were out, I turned around and took a picture of the boat we were on.

     Here is the wall of pictures...

There is no flash photography allowed of the flag that flew over Mt. Surabachi, so I set my camera to museum setting (no flash) and took a picture of the infamous flag.

     About this time, the docent who had directed us first thing that morning, saw me and walked over and incredulously asked, "You're STILL doing the WWII gallery?"  I laughed and said that I told him we were studying WWII and we were there reading everything and experiencing everything they had on WWII. Suddenly he started talking to me! He told us all about Surabachi. Even though we knew most of it, we smiled and listened and learned a few new things.  He told us about men in some of the pictures who have been to the museum recently. Then he again asked incredulously, "You are still here at WWII?" I told him we had been reading about WWII over the last 2 weeks (actually 3...or 4 if  you count the peace treaty and occupation...or 5-6 if you count the build up of the Axis Powers). I told him about our unit celebrations, and that the kids choose a historical figure to do a first person interpretation and my son was there for research. He was shocked! Another docent had been talking to us, who was surprised to hear all this, and he found another docent who was an expert in the field my son was researching!  I think the first docent really wanted to stay and talk but the second docent made him go back to his assigned station =) while the third docent took care of our questions. Eventually I explained to him about our weeks of study on WWII, our unit celebrations and my son's upcoming first person interpretation. Now he was pleasantly surprised.  He looked around and said there weren't many people there that day (everyone else that day flew through WWII) and took us back through where we had come from to show us specifics about my son's project. Eventually he had to return to his assigned station so he walked back with us to where we left off, chatted with us about how his dad had fought in the liberation of the Philippines (stories we didn't read about in books) and he left us to finally return to his station, after thanking us and shaking our hands. He had said a few weeks ago a high school group was there looking at the Marine Corps timeline and they were asking where their favorite rock group was in it.  My kids shook their heads. We read a little more, moved a little further, and he kept coming back to tell us more stories about the next section we were in.  I truely appreciated the docents' help.  It was fun learning extra tidbits and understanding the displays even more.

     We have speculated for nearly a year on what the unusual design to the museum was based upon.  My husband thought it was a sinking ship and we knw it was not that, but we couldn't figure out what it was.  Today while driving up, my son said he thought it resembled the raising of the flag on Mt. Surabachi. So he asked one of these wonderful docents and he said my son's theory was correct!    

    All of the docents kept telling us we had to go to the Korean War gallery and Vietnam Gallery. I kept assuring them we'd be back, but there was too much info to do it all in one day. We'll be back when we study those wars in the upcoming months.  They also have us booked to see the new section on the American Revolution, War of 1812, Civil War and WWI.   To paraphrase MacArthur, we shall return!   

     We got more snow last night!  Can you tell we are Texans?  My husband just laughs at us. As a little girl, I had beautiful white sandy beaches and an azure blue ocean underneath a sapphire blue sky...yet I was deprived!  No snow!  I did meet with a few snowflakes in Texas and the Rocky Mountains over the years, but this is the first the kids and I have lived with snow. Our entire concept of snow changes with each experience!  We had heard that there are hundreds of words for snow in the Inuit language.  Okay. We could believe that since they live with it daily. Now we are expanding our own snow vocabulary. The kids have figured out the best snow for sledding, forts, snow men and snow fights. Today we woke up to a brilliant world of white that was yet different again.  This time we had clumps of snow all over the bare trees.  I guess this is indicative of wet snow? We've had dry powder the other times. I was impressed that the road in front of the house was already plowed (we'd have been snowed in in Texas).  We have a snow emergency route right outside of our neighborhood. I used to wonder what that meant. Well, that road is always clear thanks to the chemicals they put down. So my husband should have a pretty good route into DC on his commute to work.  My husband shoveled half the driveway and left the rest for my son, with instructions to also get the snow off the van. My son had a blast doing this! I'm hoping to get out tomorrow for a field trip and run to the commissary. We're supposed to be hit by a major storm this weekend! So here's a new round of pictures.

     I have struggled with this post for weeks. I want to say the right thing without coming across the wrong way. In order to do that, I've decided to cut to the chase.  I help moderate some yahoo groups for my history curriculum.  The one group is open ended in conversation, including not only history questions, ideas for the teaching of history and specifics about how to use the curriculum, but also questions about how to teach.  One of my joys in being a moderator, is in helping other moms with some things I've learned over the years.  Since many of the same questions come up all the time, I find myself retyping the same information more than once.  These questions are like our history curriculum being classical.  The curriculum is classical because history repeats itself and we look at primary source documents to get the real story. Another reason it is classical is because we study literature that has stayed alive through the ages because it weaves a masterful tale common to humankind. Likewise I've thought that many questions that homeschool moms ask are classical. Everyone is asking them!  They have always been asked. They will always be asked. A lot of information on my blog has been written in order to answer a few of these questions we have all asked ourselves at one time or another.  I do not claim to have all the answers.  However, because these questions are classic, I have dealt with them in some way in my own life. My children are teenagers now and I've learned some wonderful stuff from lots of speakers, authors, and friends etc over the years.  Anything I write here is merely an extension of what I have found valuable in my own life.

     To that end, I developed this thread of classic questions that I hear all the time every year, that of motivating our children to do school.  Specifically the concerns have centered around kids that won't do schoolwork or obey.  I have previously written of a few things that I have found helpful in working with kids:  listening to them, entering their world, and giving them the power of choices instead of rewards.  I think that these lay the foundation for the most pivotal of all motivating factors, that of character training.

     I began teaching my children about the Bible, as many of my friends did, when they were quite young. My favorite book of ideas was Sally Leman Chall's Mommy Appleseed.  Then I took the training more seriously, when my son was too sick to attend church anymore.  Therefore, while my children were toddlers, I taught Bible at home with the Sally Lukens flannelgraph set.  With that and songs and hands-on activities, my children learned the stories of the Bible.  One day, I had the honor to lead each one in a prayer of salvation.

     School years began and while they were in the early years of school, I continued with the flannelgraph. My son eventually got better and we got to attend church again. Then we got a second car which allowed us to join Awana clubs.  Even though my kids were basically great kids, there were a few attitude issues. Despite the great depth of teaching of various topics they received at church, character training was not included. We are all human. We all miss the mark.  We all need redirection.  I keep reminding myself that when Proverbs says to train a child in the way he should go, it has no guarantee that it will happen overnight. After all, isn't God still working on us adults? Therefore I pray a lot for patience.      

      Attitudes and actions come from the heart.  Training their hearts come from how I interact with them.  Our pastor back home used to say, "Walk the talk...and if you must, use words."  My words won't mean anything to my kids, if I'm not living an example of what I expect from them.  Children are a mirror of who we are.  I know my kids are mirrors to my husband and me anyway.  I don't always like what I see in those mirrors.  At that point, I quickly evaluate and if it's a fault they picked up from me, it's time for me to deal with it in my life before I can expect to teach them how to take it out of their lives.  Therefore, a consistent daily quiet time is essential for me.  If I'm not nourishing myself on Scripture, then I won't be in tune with God. If I'm not in tune with God, how can I hear when I need to correct my mistakes, much less have the wisdom to guide my own children. In fact, I have started a new blog on daily quiet time. I haven't written much over there yet.  I haven't thought of much to say.  But I do have a daily quiet time.  

     After I have dealt with me, I plan our daily morning devotions according to what I'm seeing a need for in my kids' lives. Each morning we begin the day with our Bibles and learning how God wants us to live our lives.  It's easy to hear what the Bible says, but the daily challenge is to become what those words encourage us to do.  Sometimes if we have a specific weak point in character, I look up that quality in the concordance, and we go through those verses one by one.  When we first started doing this, my kids were shocked to discover those verses. They were so indoctrinated in bigger ideas like evangelism, world missions, even predestination, that little is ever said about character.  We can't leave everything to the church. As parents, we need to take the fuller point of the responsibility in training our children in the way they should go, and allow church to supplement that teaching with more great information.    

      My original plan for today was to go to Colonial Williamsburg with the kids, for a treat. We have a light history week in school and I thought we could visit Lafayette and get some info for our upcoming unit celebration.  Before that we were going to go to the Mariners' Museum so my son could deliver his entry for the current art contest they have for the Battle of Hampton Roads.  The deadline was today and my son was taking quite a while putting finishing details on the picture.  Therefore I thought a day in CW after we delivered it would be fun!

     While I was planning this last week, my husband told me that we were expecting 6-12" of snow for the weekend with a dusting in CW.  As the week went on, and the storm drew closer, it looked like CW was going to get hit hard and we'd get perhaps an inch of snow.  Around here the roads are usually cleared the day after a storm. Being further south, I wasn't sure how Newport News would be able to clear the roads.  My son had to finish his art entry quickly so that we could Express Mail it Thursday in order for the museum to receive it before the storm hit Friday night. That was accomplished!

      Saturday morning the snow started to fall after I woke up. My husband reminded me that I had to ride with him to the mechanics so that he could pick up his car.  I don't know how to drive in a snow storm!  My husband laughed and told me there were only snow flurries.  He told me driving in them would be like driving in rainfall. He wanted to go after This Old House.  Um, no, I thought we should go asap. He thought we could be back before his show came on, so we set out in the snow flurries...which were furiously falling. When we got onto the main road, we couldn't see the lines on the road, so my husband told me to just follow the paths the other cars make.  I told him I never had this trouble with rain fall. After an incident, which my husband called a fishtail I think, he explained to me what to do when the car slides and can't stop. He said to take my foot off the brakes and keep going or if I need to, to go into low gear.  At this point, my husband conceded, we were having a snow storm!  When we got to the garage, he went in and I headed home at 30mph, which was slower than my husband was driving.  I am glad, because the van is not happy braking in the snow.  The brakes kept going boing, boing, boing, like rubber bands. I gave the van lots of time to come to a stop, but it just didn't like it. I finally remembered what he said earlier and went down to low gear.  I had no trouble at all in low gear.  After I got home and told moy husband, he said I had trouble because of the automatic braking system.   Now that I was home, my back hurt terribly from the stress of trying to brake.

     That afternoon the neighbor kids were sledding down the hill.  I was elated to hear my husband say that their store bought sleds didn't take them any further than my kids' homemade sleds from December's 20" snowfall. Specifically he said those kids weren't able to go as far or as fast as I did! Maybe this Texan has trouble driving in the snow, but I can sled! 

      The next day we had beautiful blue skies and enough accumulation of the dusting of snow that was predicted for the kids to go out and sled!  The stores are done selling sleds for the season. (I probably need to buy them in July.)  This time my kids decided to use my daughter's inner tube from the swimming pool.  They had a blast!

     My son tried to talk me into sledding.  Oh how I wanted to.  However, I was in the emergency room for my lower back a week ago.  The doctor said it would take 4-6 months to heal.  I didn't think it was the best idea that I sled.  Also everyone was twirling with those inner tubes. Since I am missing a balance nerve from major head surgery years ago, twirling makes me dizzy.  Sadly, I passed.

     Later some neighbors took pity on my kids and leant their larger inner tubes.  I guess these have plastic on the bottom and are technically meant to be pulled behind boats. The kids had even more fun with these!

     Then the neighborhood kids built these ramps.  My son had fun with these but my daughter would have nothing to do with them, until one of the neighborhood men gently encouraged her.  She finally gave one of them a try and she loved it!  I heard that on one trip, my son forgot to hold onto the inner tube while going over one of the ramp, so he went flying and landed on his bottom without the inner tube!

     When I did my student teaching in New Braunfels, Texas, I got to work with third graders.  I not only experienced the responsibilities of teaching first hand, I also learned a lot about New Braunfels history.  I was gripped not only by the information, but also how the students easily picked it up.  I was amazed as I watched the kids actually learning the structure of their local government. Our field trip was to city hall to meet the city dignataries. 

    When I got my own third grade classroom, I ditched the typical generic social studies book on communities and I wrote my own curriculum for San Antonio, where I taught.  Although I had lived most of my life in San Antonio, I had only been to a few places. The summer before I taught this class, I endeavored to do a lot of research and driving around to visit every nook and cranny of the city. I was amazed at what I found!  San Antonio not only has rich Spanish and Mexican history, but also French and German!  I wrote out a basic history of specific locations in third grade language. Then I developed an appopriate art assignment to correlate throughout the lessons.  When we studied Spanish missions, we tried our hand at watercoloring the infamous Rose Window.  Each student had a book, with their own writing and art, by the end of the year. 

     Well, fast forward a few years and it was time to teach my own kids state history. Using a similar approach, I wrote our own state history curriculum. Again I learned a lot more interesting things than I did in our boring history text in 7th grade!   Dividing the curriculum into major components and then putting them in a logical order, my kids studied geography, symbols, history, and government.  We also visited as many places as we possibly could. 

      For geography I used the Texas State Park Service. I found printable maps and the kids labeled each area.  Then I had lots of brochures of our state (gleaned from tourist racks) which the kids cut up to make collages for each geographic area.  This has stuck with them. Whenever we drove to a certain part of the state, like Dallas to get from San Antonio to Virginia, the kids would say, "Wow, we're in the Prarie and Lakes region!"  Excitement built as we saw our first pine trees in the Piney Woods region of East Texas as we drove to Virginia. If we drove to Colorado, they definitely got a feel for the distinctions of the Panhandle Region. Of course our favorite part was the Hill Country.  

     Then I scoured a Texas guide book (obtained free from the internet) for fun facts, which I devised into a scavenger hunt. The kids had fun with that.  I learned a lot about how towns were named.  I also made a list for common items to develop thematic studies of Texas as they fit chronogolically into our studies.  Before I had never appreciated being a Texan. Now I was getting hooked!

     After studying geography and state symbols, I started researching the history. I had gotten as many Texas historical coloring books, none of which my kids liked. They were never ones to do coloring books. They always had to create their own stuff from scratch.  If I had thought about it at the time, I'd have also gotten books at the used bookstore. I hit upon a gold mine of information at a web site developed by the University of Texas, from which I wrote the bulk of our Texas history pages. I am picky with using the internet and want to make sure of the veracity of the information I use.  Being a university with masters and PhD programs, I should be able to trust their information. One question led to another and they had an excellent data base.

     From topics studied in Texas history, I googled to find interactive web sites at the kids' level. We used one from the Smithsonian on reading Native American symbols on a buffalo robe. Another great site was a role playing scenario at a US fort in Texas. 

    Then we visited as many places as we possibly could.  We got to visit a fort in Fredericksburg, Texas.  We learned that the fort wasn't needed, so they closed after a few years, because the nearby town of Fredericksburg had made an excellent peace treaty with the terrifying Comanche Indians in the 1800's, which is still in effect today.  Every May they have a Pioneer Day celebration where they celebrate their German pioneer history with the descendants of the original Germans by day, and have an Indian Pow-Wow with descendants of the original Comanche at night.  We got to do this several years ago and had an incredible time! 

     When we got home from these field trips, the kids would write about it and do art work, creating their own state notebook. Sometimes they would use tourist brochures to make collages. Other times I would write up something for them to copy. Towards the end, they started learning IEW. Since they were new to IEW, I would write something simple for them to KWO and rewrite, using IEW units 1-2.  If they were older, they could use the Write from the Brain from unit VI after the field trip. Or they could do a research paper using literature from the place we had visited.  

     Texas history sticks with us today, even though we are now in Virginia.  Hmmmm, I think this summer we need to do a little research on our local Virginia history... 

Since a movie synopsis can easily be found on-line, I have noted the historical aspects of each movie, primarily for my own reference, since I tend to forget the details after viewing the movie. Sadly, I didn't think to keep up with this during the times we watched the movies in conjunction with our TOG studies of the era.  Also my little stickie notes on each movie have mysteriously disappeared.  I will update this list if I find more movies or information to add. I thought other homeschoolers might find this list helpful.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang-Set in early twentieth century, starring Dick Van Dyke.

In the Good Old Summertime-Set in early twentieth century, starring Judy Garland and Van Johnson.

The Seven Little Foys-Vaudeville was big from the late nineteenth century into the early twentieth century, and one of the best known performers was Eddie Foy. This movie stars Bob Hope (who himself got his start in vaudeville) as Eddie Foy who made his seven children part of his vaudeville show when his wife died.  James Cagney also stars as George M. Cohan, the famous star of vaudeville and Broadway star. 

Easter Parade-Set around 1911, starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland.

Christy-Based on the true story of a privileged girl who left her comfortable home in Ashville, North Carolina, to teach the poor in the hills of Cutter Gap, Tennessee, in the years before World War I.  Christy's daughter, Catherine Marshall, wrote the novel upon which this is based.  Catherine Marshall was married to Peter Marshall, who was US Senate Chaplain in the 1950's.  This television series was produced by their son, Peter Marshall, Jr.

Fiddler on the Roof-Set in Russia on the eve of the Bolshevik Revolution, it tells the story of the change of traditions in the lives of a peasant Jewish family. 

Nicholas and Alexandria-Set in Russia before and during the Bolshevik Revolution, telling the story of the last czar of Russia.

All Quiet on the Western Front-Set during World War I, the specific story of a German soldier that broadly tells the story of every soldier. Starring Richard Thomas.

Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story-This movie is a complete departure from the traditional Anne of Green Gables books and movies with Megan Follows.  Megan Follows reprises her role, this time caught up in intrigue and espionage.  The ending of the movie delightfully comes full circle to the beginning of the first movie. However the movie itself shows the Canadian homefront animosity toward those who do not serve their country and the Canadian hospitals full of wounded show the need for doctors on the front, convincing Gil to join the war.  When Gil's letters are returned, Anne goes to France as a Red Cross worker to find him, meeting the horror of war head on. When left with a motherless baby, she finds her best friend's husband as he loses his arm from a battle injury.  She takes Fred and the baby to a "safe place" in London where she secures a job at a newspaper and gets entangled in espionage, which eventually returns her to France in adventures that seemed doomed to capture and death.  After the armistice, Germany is seen in reckless disorder, as loved ones look for new hope.

Lawrence of Arabia-Set in the Middle East during WWI

Sgt York

Cheaper by the Dozen-Set during the Roaring Twenties, telling the true story of a time management expert and his wife and their twelve children and their wonderful adventures while the older daughters try to convince their father to let them wear the new fashions.      

Belles on their Toes-Sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen, a tribute to the mother who is forced by necessity to succeed in the business world in the 1920's.

Chariots of Fire-Paris Olympics 1924

Singing in the Rain-Starring Gene Kelley, showing the difficult transition in Hollywood from silent film to sound.

Spirit of St. Louis-The story of Charles Lindbergh's successful trans-Atlantic flight in 1927.

       One of the movies I was most looking forward to in our unit of study of the early 20th Century, was The Spirit of St. Louis.  This great movie stars Jimmy Stewart, who incidentally flew planes in WWII for America! I heard that Stewart sought this part!  As in all his movies, he did a terrific job in this part. And we had fun reading about and watching this movie about Charles Lindbergh.

     One reason we enjoy Charles Lindbergh, is that he he trained at Brook's Field in San Antonio, Texas, after WWI. (I grew up in San Antonio and my husband and kids lived there many years.)  This is hysterically shown in the movie by his arrival with his broken down and beat up biwing airplane, that he flew onto the base flightline, in front of a training instructor who prided himself, as all TI's do, on everything being spit and polish.  (My dad used to be a USAF TI so I know a little about this!)

     The story amazingly shows Lindbergh's dream, among others, to be the first to fly across the Atlantic Ocean without stopping. What was the motivation?  A man who owned hotels in New York City, promised $25,000 to the first pilot to fly between New York City and Paris, France nonstop.  The race was on! (By the way, the name of one of his hotels was Lafayette! The kids and I read this in one of our books and we were laughing!  See, Lafayette was so wonderful, his name has been placed everywhere!)

      The movie shows how Lindbergh was financed, how the name of the plane, Spirit of St. Louis, was obtained, and how the plane was made from scratch, specifically for this flight, to be as light as possible to hold as much fuel as possible, to fly across the dangerous ocean.  

      Watching the flight was an edge of the seat experience, as Lindbergh fought sleep deprivation and climate elements.  His arrival in Paris, the city of lights, was a beauty to behold and the joy of the French people was fun to watch, although their exuberance wrecked his plane, which you can see today (repaired!) in the Smithsonian!               

     Grading papers has been a topic of dissent among public school teachers with whom I've worked in the past and even homeschoolers with whom I befriend now.  Where's the balance?  How to keep up with the deluge? Why grade anyway? I am rather self-motivated and thrive in most issues regarding school.  Grading papers when I was a public school teacher for over 30 students wasn't bad, especially once I learned a few tips to manage the process.  However, the best laid plans of mice and men can sometimes fall apart, making the process difficult. I know.  This has happened not only while recuperating from major head surgery as a public school teacher, but also as a homeschool mom of two moving across country.  I have empathy, motivation and lots of tips.

     Although I normally keep up with grading my kids' papers, that fell by the wayside a year ago. My husband retired from the USAF, he got a job at the Pentagon, we prepared our house in San Antonio for sale, we sold it, we packed, we moved to Virginia, we went house hunting for a month, finally we got under contract and spent time with financial paperwork, closed on the house, moved in, unpacked, worked on new state residency paperwork for the commonwealth of Virginia along with all kinds of other life changing paperwork....all while keeping my kids flexibly on task with math, science, literature and history. (Latin went by the wayside until the new school year picked up after Labor Day.) History and literature I had to stay most on top of, reading hundreds of pages a week and preparing for weekly Socratic discussions in history. whew!  I continued grading all papers except writing.  To simplify my grading of compositions during this time, I only assigned one major paper during our move on our studies of the Civil War.  I thought this would also keep my kids productive while I unpacked boxes and painted walls in the new house. My son did a 12 page super essay on Abraham Lincoln and my daughter did a literary analysis on Uncle Tom's Cabin.  When they were done, I couldn't find my specially designed rubrics!  I couldn't even remember how I had designed them! Since I was deluged with moving paperwork and projects, I decided to tuck the compositions in my teacher notebook. We finally completed school at the end of July and when we kicked school back up after Labor Day, I continued to be swamped with moving paperwork and major life changes and fell a bit more behind in grading compositions for the new school year. Last week I finally realized my helpful composition rubrics and checklists were permanently lost in hyperspace.  I set aside time to develop new ones, printed out a slew of them, and focused on grading all the papers, including all the essays my kids wrote from the time of the move through the current school year. Then I had my kids look through them and we reviewed strong and weak areas, and this became our composition lesson of the day. In turn, I noted the weak areas to be worked on and I now have a teaching plan for composition for the next part of the school year.  

     I have heard many a homeschool mom say she can't keep up with grading papers, so now you know I completely understand.  The motivation though is the clincher. Without papers being graded, the teacher does not know the student's strengths and weaknesses, nor does the student know where they stand.  It is difficult to grow and learn as a student without feedback. One of the largest weights on me during the move about homeschooling, was in having an accurate feel for where my kids were excelling and needing guidance in school, particularly in writing, where I was most behind in grading.  Once I caught up with grading the papers, I felt an enormous weight lift off my shoulders and I felt more clarity in direction of how to proceed in school. 

     Therefore, here are some tips for staying on task with grading.  First, have your students grade their own daily work! This is not only a huge time saver, but it also immensely helps the student to own his own work, receiving immediate feedback.  Immediate feedback is key to catching misconceptions early on and correcting them before bad habits are formed. The only things I grade are tests, essays and discussions.  My husband also wants me to grade our presentations and projects for our unit celebrations. More on that in a bit.   

     Second, make the grading of tests and compositions a priority.  When the paper hits my desk, I try to stop everything as soon as possible to grade it. If I am dusting or vacuuming, the dust and dirt unfortunately won't run away. I can always get back to it. After grading the paper, I allow my child to look it over and we discuss any questions concerning it. My child and I now have direction. I know if we need to review something or if we are ready to move forward. Then I record the grade and file the paper. Done. 

     Third, be organized.  My major hurdle in keeping up with essay grading last year, was that some of my organization got lost in the hustle and bustle of the move, despite my best intentions. Then I was mentally overwhelmed in trying to find new homes for everything I had unpacked in our new home.  Also I couldn't find things. Which box did that item get packed in? (Alas, some things, like the lenses to my son's telescope were never found.) At last the dust is truely settling and it is easier to focus on reorganizing our school for my kids' growing needs. Now that my daughter is in high school and my son is not far behind, it is of the utmost importance that grades be documented for transcripts. 

     I will work on a post about how I organize a teacher notebook where I keep track of weekly lesson plans, rubrics for the various subjects that allow me to quickly grade a variety of subjective subjects like compositions and unit celebration presentations and projects. This notebook stayed readily accessible during the entire move and was essential in helping me to stay as focused as possible.  Obviously things weren't perfect, but it helped us to keep moving and learning.  That felt great! Anything I got behind in grading was tucked into the nooks and crannies of this notebook for a better time.  It is also versatile enough to change with new ideas I learn from others. Most importantly, it changes with the needs of my kids, according to their stages of education in preparation for college, and their varying focus for life dreams.  Stay tuned!   

    With winter coming, the kids wanted to continue dressing up in costume for Colonial Williamsburg.  Last autumn I made capes for them which have indeed helped them to keep warm, remain in character, and entice much conversation among the guests.   

     We've gotten lots of comments on these capes, all of which are positive. The guests ooh and ahh over them and ask if they are warm. The kids smile and assure them that they are.  Even when we visited the tailor one cold day on New Year's Week, some guests pointed to my kids' capes and asked some questions about style. I quickly asserted our capes are not historical to the CW era, but are warm for my kids.  The tailor thanked me for helping him make that transition. 

     Because we have recently moved here from Texas, this is our first winter here and we are told it's the coldest winter on record for the last several years. It's certainly been colder than we ever imagined possible! Underneath my kids wear lots of other stuff, but at least the capes add yet another layer of warmth while helping them to look lat least somewhat colonial.

     For fabric, I chose felt instead of wool.  It was on sale for less than $3 a yard.  Being 70" wide, it goes a long way and comes in many color ranges.  Incidentally, I've seen many various colors of capes in the historic area. The felt has fooled some guests into thinking it's actually wool, which is more pricey.  Also wool cannot be washed or it will shrink. The felt I purchased is safe to wash on the gentle cycle.   

     I used a contemporary pattern I found in the costume section. Technically it's a 19th century cloak.  I made my daugher's almost identical to the pattern. It has a hood for warmth, like the ones in the historic area.  However a key difference is the size of the hood and the drawstring. I want her to be able to tie the hood around her head to keep warm.  There are no drawstrings on the hoods in the historic ones at CW.

  Men did not have hoods. Instead they have a small cape around the shoulders, on top of the larger cape.  I found no pattern like this.  To achieve a semblance of this look for my son, I used the same pattern with the hood for my daughter.  I used the hood plain, without a casing or drawstring, and the result was a large overcape.  This shoulder cape is larger than you see in the historic capes. However I thought I saw somewhere this larger shoulder cape but I don't remember where.  I decided the extra large shoulder cape would provide an extra layer of warmth for my son, especially since he doesn't get a hood. In reality, when we attended the CW Grand Illumination, Sat night was so cold and windy, my son used that shoulder cape to pull up around his neck to help him keep warm.

      To keep warm my kids wear lots of layers under their costumes, as well as the cape over their costume.           

     When we started using Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)over 3 years ago, I learned many valuable tips.  When I watched the TWSS session on  unit 4 research reports, Andrew discussed valid research sources. He said wickipedia was not a reliable source of information, because anyone can write an article there.  Really?  After a few moments thought, it didn't surprise me. Information from wickipedia can be as trustworthy as these hoaxes and urban legends we receive in our e-mail inboxes.  Although I had become quite astute at catching a hoax a mile away, I had let down my guard with sites like wickipedia.  With this new information, I now scrutinize any source material we use for research on the internet.    

   I know it is easier to use wickipedia than to go through the extra effort of finding a reliable source.  However, if anyone can write a wickipedia article, how do we know that the information is accurate?  I knew a lady who was working on her higher degree (masters or doctorate). She needed one more documentation for one teeny tiny well known detail before she printed off her research and handed it to the  professor. She was in a rush and used wickipedia. As a result, she scored a B on the paper, soley due to the wickipedia source. Everything else in her paper was perfect and if she had stayed away from wickipedia, she'd have made a perfect score on her research.  The professor admitted her cited information from wickipedia was accurate, but wickipedia itself is not trustworthy. It is not recognized in "the profession" any more than it is in college classes.  Therefore I am training my kids to seek the best sources for the research.

     I want to train my kids to gather their information carefully for integrity's sake. However I am also preparing my kids for college. Even when I was in college, the professors were strict about the types of source materials we used, preferring a variety of sources, no encyclopedias, and nothing published more than ten years previous unless it was a primary source document.  Why should we, ourselves, do less, on blogs, forums, etc, when referencing information? We are modeling for our students. We should train our students to a higher standard.  In my athletics classes in school, we were always told by the coach that the way we practice is the way we will perform.  This is how professional athletes train.  Shouldn't we train our students for the best?  

     Even when I write my blog articles on something historical, I carefully research my information. I try to double check my sources.  If I do not know something I either state that or leave it out. Since I only have a bachelors degree, I do not have the credentials needed for others to cite my work. However, I research my information carefully for integrity's sake. I realize I may have some mistakes despite the care I put into my work.  When I discover mistakes in my writing I correct the mistake. I expect the same of my kids and other students I've had in the past.  I try to be a good role model of what I teach. Furthermore, I link to sites that to the best of my knowledge are reliable, so anyone interested in more information, can continue their research.

     When analyzing source material on the internet, I look at the source.  Often times I use information from a university or museum. Also I scroll to the bottom of the page to check the references for documentation.  In essence, I look for proof of validity. Did they write from the top of their head or do they prove what they know? Then I try to match the information with that which we have in our numerous books and with discussions we've had with various historians.  I go through the process with my kids, since they will certainly be required to include internet sources in coursework. They need to learn now how to use a variety of credible material for research, from primary source documents, to books to the internet.  Over the last four years, they have picked up the scrutiny of research sources well. It takes a little more time, yet in the end, the result is refined and polished. 

     I am often asked by moms how to deal with school when life happens.  Well I am now in that boat. Since I need to answer this question at my history lists several times a year, I thought I'd share how I relate how to regroup when the best laid plans of mice and men fall apart.

     In this past week I've mysteriously suffered from lower back pain, which I've tried to treat with all the good things I've learned over the years.  I dreaded the idea of having to go to the doctor and getting muscle relaxants. This happened a few years ago when I was under stress about my husband's projected mission to go to the Middle East.  At that time I was given muscle relaxants and I was in bed for days.  How would we get school done?  My husband wants me to accomplish a lot of things around the house. How could I accomplish anything if bedridden?  Friday everything came to a halt when I could barely move without pain. New to the area and with my doctor out of town, I had no idea what to do. The receptionist wasn't very helpful until I unwillingly broke down into tears. Amazingly she then gave me some great advice on how to use our military retiree health insurance to get treatment and directed me to an emergency room. I didn't even know where they were, being new to the area. I finally gave in and knew the kids might get behind in history where I am needed to assign all the books we read and give weekly Socratic discussions to help them make discussions. However they can always work ahead in math, Latin and science, where the curriculum we use leads them through the lessons pretty well without me. They could also read ahead in literature.   

      I couldn't get ahold of my husband at work for hours.  I knew since I was needing an emergency room this wasn't expedient and I could wait until he got home. As soon as he came home he put me in the van and we were off to the emergency room. Our gps didn't even know how to get us there except through dead end roads. We eventually found it, while snow and ice pellets dropped from the sky. The facility is lovely and the staff were  waiting for me and very cheerfully helped me. I was immediately put into an exam room. I was out in an hour. So unlike military hospitals.  They gave me 4 meds, two of which were shots and it didn't take me long to succomb to loopiness.  For the first time I was able to settle down in the bed comfortably, cozied with a warm blanket on top of me, and asked my husband to get my latest book out of my purse that I am reading in prep for my daughter's upcoming Rhetoric literature lesson.  Animal Farm is a riot! I was laughing and telling my husband about all the funny things the animals were doing, like taking the hams from the kitchen to bury them.  About that time the doctor came in to check on my status and I regaled him with the same ham story. He smiled and said my demeanor had certainly changed from a dour one to a cheerful one. I apologized and said I was trying to be cheerful earlier but I was in too much pain. He understood. 

     When I got home the kids had funny expressions on their faces to see my loopiness. I could barely walk straight.  They asked if we were going to have our Socratic Discussion for the week.  We quickly agreed that had best wait for the next day. 

     Well I awoke this morning in extreme pain, took my meds, had breakfast and am using an ice pack to hopefully get this pain under control so I can get ready for the day. Then I will slow down my planned activities for the day. I have school lessons to prepare and I'll sew, actually two of my favorite things to do. The doc told me to keep moving, as I had been told before. He said not to stand for more than 30 minutes and not to sit for more than 30 minutes. Meanwhile my husband is working on the kitchen remodel. I have no idea how loopy I will be today but I am hopeful that I won't be stuck in bed. I am also on steroids and I was told they could make my hyper.  It could be an interesting day. It could be an interesting Socratic Discussion! 

     This weekend there is a window treatment sale and I've decided to conquer the window treatments by purchasing them.  Also I need to order our next unit's worth of history and literature books this weekend because of a mega sale at Barnes and Noble. I hope I am not too loopy to process these orders!  That should really impress my husband if I can conquer that much! 

     Recently we studied the life of Eric Liddell, which was a thrill for me. We have studied the lives of many missionaries in the last two years, within the historical eras of their lifetimes. Although reading a biography of a missionary is inspiring, reading it in context of the historical period we are studying helps us to understand so much more. Since many of these missionaries are set in a different time frame than we now live, it can be difficult to truely understand their choices and difficulties, unless studied in context with history and worldview. Additionally I enjoyed learning about people like William Carey, David Livingstone, and Amy Carmichael, yet none of them fired me up.  I was beginning to wonder if I'd get excited about any missionary. In preparing for our studies of the early 20th century, I pulled out my collection of books on Eric Liddell. Then I remembered! He is my favorite!  Without question, he has been the one missionary that makes my teacher juices flow, to try to teach the most about the impact he has had on the world.

     Part of teaching about Eric Liddell is easy, due to terrific movies like Chariots of Fire.    This is one of my all time favorite movies.  In an era when everything is expected to be politically correct, I truely appreciate a secular movie made about 20 years ago, which sought to get the stories of two athletes for Great Britain, a Jew and a Christian, told to the world. Although slightly fictionalized, the movie stayed true to the message of these men. Their entire life stories are not told. Instead, the focus is on their lives at the onset of the 1924 Paris Olympics.  There are plenty of references in the movie that tell about their lives before the setting of the movie.  Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell were short distance runners for their countries, England and Scotland, respectively. Abrahams was a Jew, represented in the movie as out to prove himself to a world that has historically prejudiced itself against Hebrews.  Liddell was preparing to be a missionary in China, where he was born to missionary parents. His brother and sister were missionaries to China.  Yet, to his family, he seemed to put his missionary career on hold, while he ran races in unorthodox style...and won them.  

     This is  a terrific movie for teaching literary technique. They had many things in common.  They won record setting races. They were Olympic contenders.  They were collegiates.  

     The juxtaposition of these two men, are stark. This high definition contrast clearly illuminates their individual motivations for running.  Abrahams was a Jew whose goal in running was to prove himself to the world.  Liddell was a Christian whose goal in running was to let God's glory shine.  Abrahams time was spent with a trainer (which apparently was illegal) to analyze every move to make every move count. He had seen a race where Liddell ran and tripped, causing certain loss of the race.  Yet Liddell amazingly got up, and speeding to the finish line, came from far behind to win the race. This is a dramatically true story!  Liddell had a habit of running with improper form, arms waving and head thrown back.  Abrahams was trained to perform with spit and polish, in preparation for the Olympics. Who would win the gold medal for their best race, the 100m?

     While Abrahams spent his time in worry and training, Liddell spent his free time, outside of practice, in preaching. I read a story about the actor who portrayed Liddell. He had been studying the Bible for his part.  When he read one of the sermons in the script he'd have to give, he felt extremely uncomfortable about it. He said to the directors that he didn't think Liddell, himself, would have preached in that manner. Instead of fiery sermons which were indeed typical of the day, Liddell had an easy going, mild manner. The actor was encouraged by the directors to write his own sermon for that part. He did and it became the most moving part of the entire movie.  Of Eric Liddell, the actor who portrayed him said, "...he never pushed his faith down anyone's throat. When he spoke, he spoke rather quietly. He just talked about real things-about himself and his faith and what he did that morning."  

       There is some fiction in the movie, such as the details surrounding Liddell's refusal to run in the Olympics. But the bigger parts of that story are all accurate.  Liddell was originally scheduled to run in a heat on a Sunday.  Liddell did refuse to run the race due to his personal principle of setting Sunday aside as a Sabbath rest.  Unlike the movie, the details of allowing him to run a different race was settled before he arrived at the Olympics.  Even though he ran for Great Britain, like Harold Abrahams, it was the heat for the 100m that he turned down that would have pitted him against Abrahams. Abrahams won the gold for the 100m.  

     In fact, one of my biographies on Liddell, written by Sally Magnusson, details not only his life after interviews with the family, but also has a chapter on the making of the movie. She has one paragraph on the liberties taken in the movie, primarily so they could have a plot line (conflict). There are 5 details listed that are different from fact, not for artistic license, but to create a drama with a plot line to hold the viewer's attention.      Furthermore, she specifically states that it is details like these that the directors took liberties with.  However, "the personalities of the two men were sacrosanct; they were to be represented exactly as research showed them to have been."  

       Another fictionalized account surrounds an encouraging note Liddell received before his rescheduled race, the 400m.  This long distance race was not one that anyone expected him to win, partly because he excelled in short distance races. The movie shows him receiving an encouraging note from one of the American athletes, Jackson Scholtz. In reality he received it off the field from someone else, but the note was the same. The note said, "The Old Book says, 'Those who honor me, I will honor.'"  Encouraged, Eric Liddell stunningly won a gold medal in the 400m!

     I find it incredible at how well Liddell was accurately represented in Chariots of Fire. When the producers talked to the wife of Eric Liddell, the only thing the family saw that they got wrong, was his running style. Yet that was the one thing they knew they got right, because of all the pictures they had on record of him running. We have pictures in some biographies we have of him, and he definitely ran with his head thrown back and his arms flung out.

     Somewhere along the way, I learned that the movie was not made by a Christian company. Instead, it was a secular movie where the directors wanted to get the story right on these two men. Yet even more amazing to me, is that this movie was produced by a muslim, Dodi Al-Fayed.  Do you recognize the name? He died in a horrific traffic accident in a tunnel in Paris with his girlfriend, Princess Diana. 

    Chariots of Fire inspired me to want to learn more about Eric Liddell. Over the years, I have bought a few great books which came out on the market relating to Eric Liddell, including the Sally Magmussen biography. A Professor of Classics  from a university apparently had the same interest in Liddell as I had, reading several biographies on Eric Liddell's life. From them he learned that Liddell had 2 pamphlets published before his death. He also learned that there was a manuscript Liddell had written while in a Japanese internment camp.  It had circulated through the camp and no one knew what became of it. The search began and with the help of Liddell's widow, the manuscript was located and published.  The Disciplines of the Christian Life appear to no longer be in print, but I did find them used at places like amazon and paperback swap. My copy begins with a memory of a man who remembered "Uncle Eric" when he was a young boy in the internment camp. While missing his own wife and daughters who were safe in Canada, Liddell poured his life into helping those around them and took the boys under his care, running races with them.

    The Disciplines of the Christian Life is built upon the idea of "precept on precept" with a daily reading plan of the Bible throughout the year. Unlike most plans, instead of deluging the individual with the breakdown of how to accomplish the reading of the entire Bible in one year (which isn't a bad thing but can be discouraging to those who attempt to keep up with the reading plan, fail and then give up.) This plan is easily managable, using themes to disciple a person in the major tenets of the faith. Liddell also builds upon the ideas with a bit of practical commentary and tips for how to study the Bible and pray. Although he gives ideas on how to grow spiritually, instead of getting caught up in the legalism of having only one way to do something, he gives suggestions but admits there are many ways/times of the day to set aside for study and prayer.   Also the plan does not begin on the first day of January, but goes month by month. In other words, most people are caught up in having to start January 1 and give up before they start if they don't begin according to schedule.  This book designed to pick up any time of the year. 

Month One-The Nature of God, Communicating with God, God's Moral Law

Month Two-Jesus in Mark's Gospel Part I

Month Three-Jesus in Mark's Gospel Part II

Month Four-God's Moral Law

Month Five-The Character of Jesus

Month Six-The Kingdom of God/The Kingdom of Heaven

Month Seven-God is Love

Month Eight-The Life of Paul in The Acts of the Apostles

Month Nine-The Epistle to the Romans, Paul's Gospel

Month Ten-The Holy Spirit

Month Eleven-Victory

Month Twelve-The Fellowship/The Church  

     In the Appendix are helps for new Christians: Baptism, Communion, and Scripture readings for the three great festivals of the church (Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost) 

  Currently the kids and I are doing this as part of our morning devotions. It takes five minutes a day.  After that we do a few other devotions.  After seeing Eric Liddell's story dramatically portrayed in Chariots of Fire, it is fascinating to see what drove his desire to run for the pleasure of God.

     I have been in the process of making a historic colonial shirt for my son.  I have had so much trouble with this, that I went to the CW milliner shop a few weeks ago. After analyzing one of their shirts laying on the table, I talked to the tailor.  Even though I now understand where all the pieces fit, I have continued to struggle with how to do some of the handstitching, which was far more difficult than I ever imagined.  Dismayed with my lack of sewing skills, I was losing hope that I could make accurate period costumes for my kids. 

     Guess what? I recently noticed that CW was going to be offering a sewing class on 18th Century hand stitches, using Diderot's Encyclopedia! I did some quick research on Denis Diderot and here is a searchable database for his encyclopedia, which is currently being translated from French.  After receiving the go-ahead from my husband, I called CW for reservations!

     The class was held in the Costume Design Center, which I got to tour in October for their open house.  The class was led by the manager of the CDC and most of the students were seamstresses at the CDC.  Out of a class of about 9, I think 6 of us were guests. This was neat because we could ask lots of questions about the workings of the CDC and its application to CW's mission, as well as see lots of application of the stitches we learned to actual historic costumes that are sewn there and worn in CW by the interpreters.

     We were given our notebooks for cataloging our stitch samples and reference material, as originally catlogued by Diderot. In four hours, we had 15 stitches to learn to do, in addition to learning how to cover a button.  First we introduced ourselves.  One of the guests had never sewn before. She got all the one on one she needed (we all did) and did a great job! One of the employees from the CDC who joined us doesn't even sew!  Instead she does organizational stuff.  There are tens of thousands of costumes in the CDC and tons assigned to each interpreter (I forget the average number, I think it was something like 80+ pieces! Some actors have far more costume pieces than others depending on the characters they portray.) and she knows where every single one of them are located! She is literally the "go to" gal!  A guy sat next to me.  He was fun to chat with. He does some kind of museum consulting type work.  Although he doesn't typically sew and he struggled a bit, he positively persevered and he learned plenty of information to help him communicate in his consulting job.  He grew up in the area and has always liked CW. He does some reenacting now.  Some guests were just in town for the week because their husbands were at another CW conference  for woodworking which my husband would have enjoyed. I was the only guest, that I know of, who sews historic costumes.  That was revealed to the group later which made things really fun! Anyway, it doesn't matter what your skill level is. Nor does it doesn't matter how practically you might use this in the future. All that matters is that you come with a willingness to learn and have fun...and we did!

     First we practiced on muslin and my basic stitches looked awful! Then I tried linen, which was the fabric used for shirts back then and that was amazingly easy.  No wonder I am having so much trouble with my son's historic shirt. I thought I'd save money and employ ease of care by purchasing a poloyester cotton fabric, but the stitching doesn't take well nor does the fabric have memory.  I learned a lot about how the type of fabric dictates how lots of things turn out. With linen, the guy said we could pull out a thread and use for a stitching line. I confirmed that I had read that in the historic pattern I had been using for my son's shirt. As a result, the manager threw in an extra lesson, teaching us how to do that and what a difference!  Here is my page for this stitch, the Front Stitch.  The sample on top is with the muslin and the one on the bottom is with the linen. You can tell how much better the linen sample is.  There is a page for each stitch. On the right is a diagram that shows how the stitch is made. To the left is a box to place our sample. Underneath that is the written instruction from Diderot's Encyclopedia.  Then I wrote notes on  the sides. This will be an excellent resource book! 

     The manager saw me sewing and commented on how unique my technique was.  She asked the class, "Who sews vertically and who sews horizontally?" Everyone said they sew horizontally, like the manager.  She said most people sew horizontally, from left to right or from right to left, depending on which hand they use. But I guess I'm the first one she has ever seen who sews vertically. "Oh, is that wrong?" I asked.  "Oh no," she assured me. She just found it curious. All through the class I was learning new things, like not to make knots. Historically, they tended not to make knots when they sew. "So how do they tack stitches in?" I asked.  The manager showed us, but she also told me I was free to do as I wish. This went on much of the morning, but I kept assuring her that I was there to learn. That's precisely why I took the class.

       When we learned the topstitch, somehow the subject of military uniforms came up. I don't remember if the manager started it or if I did. But I mentioned that I made my son a Lafayette costume.  One of the employees spoke up and exclaimed that she had seen me and my kids and husband at the CDC open house. Hmmmm, my husband was at work that day. Oh but she saw me with a man.  Perplexed, I said we were on our own that day and no man was with us. Everyone was laughing!  I told her that since she had seen that Lafayette costume, I had made another one, that was more accurate and that the actor who portrays Lafayette told me I got the details right. 

     When the manager heard all this, she explained that topstitching is done differently with wool, because it is thicker.  She showed us samples of wool fabric on the table, navy blue and buff and excitedly I said that was for the Lafayette coat and she said yes.  It is a broadcloth wool which is a wonderful fabric. I could immediately tell it would be easier to sew with than felt, which I used for my son's, (due to expense and ease of care) which is sadly pilling up.  I think another Lafayette coat is in my future, perhaps for next winter season. When I mentioned this I was told that wool is easy to care for and they even dry cleaned it back then, with powders and such. Hmmm...  The manager also explained that wool is not normally turned under and the edges are left raw. I said I had read that in a historic resource I had found and had noticed that on the CW Lafayette's coat, so that is how I did my son's.  Then she gave me an extra lesson, on topstitching on wool. Because the fabric is thicker than say, linen, it is topstitched a bit differently. That was really fun about the class. She kept us moving according to the schedule of learning all the stitches, but she didn't hesitate for a moment to teach us something extra if we were interested! It is rare that I take a class in anything because I am usually bored out of my gourd. But she had my interest every second! I was absolutely thrilled to show this sample of Lafayette's wool to my son, who was equally thrilled to see and touch it. I think this is my favorite technique from the entire class.  I used one of each color of the Lafayette wool, navy blue and buff.  Here it is sewn and opened up.

Here it is closed. On top is the regular backstitch on a piece of muslin. See how awful it is? That is because I did it on muslin instead of linen.  On the bottom is the backstitch variation done on the wool.  That stitch came out perfectly!  I was quickly learning that linen and wool are great fabrics to work with!

We got to do different stitches on different fabrics like linen...this is a striped linen on which I sewed a flat felled seam... 

...wool...this is the dreaded buttonhole stitch.  I had a lot of trouble with my thread knotting up so I never got to finish it.  One of the guests liked this stitch alot and says she'll never make them on machine again!

...damask...this is a reinforced seam...

...and silk...this is a combination stitch...

     This is a piecing stitch that we learned, which I didn't have time to finish. It was running overtime in class. I had previously learned from the tailor about frugality in sewing, and the manager brought out a great example to build on the stories the tailor had shared a few weeks ago.  The manager brought out a coat for Thomas Jefferson. The coat is stunning and unique from what's typically seen in the historic area. There is a blue velvet collar, that is pieced.  This is based on the actual historic coat, where the velvet was actually pieced, at one edge of the collar. It's as if the curve of the collar simply ran off the edge of the fabric, so they just pieced the extra on. The CDC tries to do all of the costumes with historical accuracy. We were told that Mr. Jefferson was supposed to pick it up, but he never showed up. That would have been so much fun if he had shown up while we were in class!  Here is the sample I made with wool. Remember it's not finished...

   This is the button I made, with red silk.  The thread kept breaking and the manager helped a bit and showed me how to sew a dimple on it! 

    Midway through the class, we took a quick break and everyone started asking me tons of questions about my son and the Lafayette costume. This continued in class in between the lessons on how to do stitches, while we stitched. I don't remember everything, but in essence, when asked how and why, I told them that I have made historic costumes across the different eras of history for my kids' homeschool history presentations.  They found out that I do this every 9 weeks. One of them repeated in a stunned voice, "You sew a historic costume every 9 weeks?" "No," I answered. "I sew 3 historic costumes every 9 weeks. One for each of my kids and one for me."  I explained about our history curriculum and unit celebrations and that led to more questions.  

   They asked me specifics about how the Lafayette costume got started.  I explained the positive interactions and words of encouragement the CW Lafayette has given my son from the first time they met.  Then when we did the Yorktown EFT, my son asked for a Lafayette costume. I threw something together, resembling Lafayette's costume in 3 days, which he started wearing to the historic area after we moved to Northern Virginia several months ago.  Then I made a more accurate one, since the original was falling apart and wouldn't be warm enough in winter, being made of cotton. The actor continues to be a huge source of encouragement to my son every time we come.  The guy sitting next to me said it was so neat for my son to have a mom willing to make these costumes for him.  Lots of people tell me that when they were kids they begged their parents for costumes but never got one, so they admire the ones my kids get to wear.  My kids costumes began quite simply from contemporary patterns, and now that we live in VA and go to CW all the time, the kids have developed a desire to look more like the interpreters and I am having fun with recreating the look, despite my feeling completely lost in the process. When I explained future plans for sewing more for his costumes and for my daughter and my husband, the guy said that I was spoiling my son, but he said it in a positive way.  He started giving me some tips on locating supplies and classes.  It's basically a matter of my ability to take these classes, since I can't just leave my kids alone for the weekend and travel, expense, etc.  But maybe someday things will work out. It's something to look forward to.

     When I shared some questions I had about attaching historic buckles I want to buy for a black stock and a white stock, one of the employees dug samples of them out for me to see! I was surprised that the black stock was made of thick leather. I thought the one we saw at the CDC Open House was softer and made of silk. I told my son about it later and he remembers it the way I do. ???? I also said we figured out Lafayette's coat was supposed to open up, but I couldn't make it lay smoothly because of the curves. Also I couldn't make the button holes by machine, because the facing was too thick.  The CDC staff members were nodding their heads in agreement. The lady said she'd get a coat out for me to see and show me how it lays. Really? How exciting! However she must have forgotten and we were short on time.  We went over our allotted four hours! We managed to finish the last of the samples up in an extra 30 minutes. 

     As I packed up to go, the lady who got the samples for me said she'd like to see my son in his Lafayette costume the next time he's in town.  I said  he was in the costume in the historic area right now and everyone laughed.  Since we were all headed our separate ways for lunch, she said to come by sometime with him. Really? Anytime?  The manager even nodded her head!  So we will! My son is so excited!

     We also learned about more classes coming up so I am begging my husband to let me return! These classes are more affordable and less of a time commitment, so it is easier on my family.  I hope I get to go because these are so much fun and I am learning a lot! There is hope for that historic shirt after all! 

     Guess what? I got to take an 18th century sewing class at Colonial Williamsburg at the Costume Design Center!  I'll blog about that separately.  The class began early Sat morning, so after my husband got home from work Fri afternoon, we drove down to CW.  After arriving, we had just enough time left in the day to make our first regular tour of the Coffeehouse. We had attended the Grand Opening, (We are in the video-finding us will be like playing "Where's Waldo", but we're there.) and we got an informal tour that evening. However this was our first formal tour, unlike any other tours in the historic area because we were served drinks!

     We sat in the first room where we listened to a first person interpretation of a lady who worked at the Coffeehouse, learning that these coffeehouses were all the rage in London where gentry gentlemen met.  She tried to play a card game with a gentleman, but a card was missing in the deck.  Because of the ongoing rebellion to the Stamp Act, there can be no purchases for playing cards, much less newspapers or any other pieces of paper.  Then we went into the back office, which could be rented out to us if we had some coins to pay. After that we went into the next room and were told to sit at tables where there were coffee cups set out with spoons and saucers.  There was cream and sugar at the table. The ladies went around serving us our choice of either coffee, tea, or historic chocolate! The chocolate is dark, not as sweet as we are used to and has some spices like cinnamon and nutmeg in it.  Meanwhile Mr. Charleton, the proprieter, spoke to us.  He is hilarious and he told our extremely quiet group that we were dull. (We've gotten to know this actor behind the scenes and he really is nice.) Then my son asked him whose picture was over the fireplace.  Mr. Charleton told us all about the man in the picture, William Pitt, who worked in Parliament in England. Amazingly Pitt stood up for the rights of the American colonies!  None of this was new to me or the kids, but we thought it was a great way to make sure all the adults in the place got educated as to Mr. Pitt! That one question brought up a terrific conversation among everyone.  Hopefully that took care of the problem of being dull! 

     With the money my son has been saving and received from the grandparents for Christmas, he got a new camera, which he finally got to test  at CW.  Most of these pictures are his.

     The next morning my husband dropped me off at the Costume Design Center for my sewing class. Then he took the kids to spend the day in the historic area.  Originally he had no idea how to fulfill their time without me!  I gave him a few leads to keep them busy and they reported later that they had a terrific time!  Here are some pictures from their day!

With a stunning blue sky and highs near 60 degrees, this was the warmest day we've experienced in over a month!

They hung out with the horses.

...who came to see them.

They saw bluejays...

...and squirrels.

They went to the Playbooth Theater that performed at Raleigh Tavern. They saw a few scenes from different plays, including Macbeth. In the 18th century, theater was an interactive experience where the audience could heckle or yell encore to their heart's delight! Then they went to the shoemakers and heard a great story about where General Washington got his shoes.  Ask next time you visit!  You'll be surprised!

 After my class was over, I went to Market Square to meet my family and a new friend for lunch.  I have had the honor to recently receive an e-mail from this very important person from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Being from Texas and having a love for Colonial Williamsburg, we instantly had a lot in common! They more we've e-mailed and talked, the more we have found in common! She was so much fun to visit with and she gave lots of time to my kids! I have told her about the type of positive attention my kids get while in costume.  While we were talking over lunch, a young man walked over to my kids to shake their hands and compliment them. We were laughing about this unexpected greeting. Time flew and before we knew it, it was getting dark. We had a really wonderful time and anticipate future visits! 

  As we left for home, we walked by the Magazine and saw the Christmas tree still lit!  My son went over to take a picture and ended up trading favors with a guest, where they each took each other's pictures!  My son figured out how to get this lovely lit picture in the dark, by using the manual settings.   

     This week was the premier of Colonial Williamsburg's Electronic Field Trip, Westward, about Daniel Boone.  Electronic Field Trips are award winning programs made affordable to homeschoolers through Homeschool Buyer's Co-op.

     We read a biography of Daniel Boone in school last year, so we were able to quickly pick up many of the details we studied through the EFT. However review is always great, because some things are missed the first time around.  As much as I tried to impress upon my kids that Daniel Boone opened settlements in Kentucky during the American Revolution, my son picked up on that for the first time while studing this EFT!  Even though we study history chronologically and topically, we did study Daniel Boone after our American Revolution studies, since his life in the wilderness went beyond the years of the revolution.  

     Because this EFT was basically a review for us and we are busy with our regular history curriculum, we kept our activities for this EFT light this time.  Monday we went through the teacher notes together. Then we did one activity from the teacher packet together. EFT's always include primary source documents, which is the starting place for thorough historical analysis.  This time these particular documents included quotes by famous men involved in exploration of the West, either affecting exploration or affected by exploration.

     The very first person quoted rang a bell with us, Moses Austin!  He is an important figure that we studied several years ago in Texas history.  In the 1820's he lived in Louisiana and made a trip to San Antonio de Bexar, seat of the Spanish government in today's San Antonio, Texas. He talked to the Spanish royal governor about bringing Americans to settle East Texas, which was a tenuous land which the Spanish tried to keep possession of.  With the French close by in Louisiana, they were a constant threat to taking over the Spanish possession. There were few settlers from Spain. The Canary Islanders did settle in San Antonio de Bexar and built San Fernando Cathedral which you can still visit in downtown San Antonio. However there was little interest in settlement until Moses Austin came along.  With the help of an interesting European, the Baron de Bastrop, Moses Austin received permission to become an empressario, or land agent.  In return for bringing settlers into Texas, he would receive land from Spain. Before he could return to Texas with settlers, he contracted pneumonia.  On his deathbed, he asked his son, Stephen, to carry on the task.  Stephen Austin did, bringing in "The Old Three Hundred", to settle East Texas. He brought many more groups over and negotiated constantly with the Spanish provincial government.  The settlers were willing to take on Spanish rules in return for Texas land, like practicing the Catholic religion.  In time, a dictator named Santa Anna rose to power in Mexico and changed previous agreements with the settlers, in essence, taking away freedoms.  In protest, Stephen Austin went all the way to Mexico City to talk to the government and was jailed.  All of this fueled the Texas Revolution.  Today Stephen Austin is known as the Father of Texas and the state capital is named for him.

   Because of the quote in the EFT, we learned new things about Moses Austin.  He was born in Connecticut, eventually settled in Virginia and had a town named after him, Austinville, in Wythe County!  Wythe County is named for George Wythe, resident of Colonial Williamsburg, legal tutor for Thomas Jefferson and signer of the Declaration of Independence. I love these Texas/Virginia connections! 

     Tuesday we watched the video segments on the computer. Part One was about an interview John Filson made with Daniel Boone, where much is explained about why the men dared to venture past the Proclamation Line into the wilderness.  Part Two was about Boone's wife and family, who had to keep a watch for Indian raids.  Finally the wife decided to take the children to North Carolina to her family, after she learned that her husband had been captured by the Indians. Her married daughter though, decided to remain in Kentucky, certain that her father would one day return home. Part Three was about Boone's friendship with the Indians and his justification for it.  Many thought he had turned traitor, but he testified that his friendship was primarily for survival.  After the interviews, Fisk had the book he wrote about Boone published. This made Boone famous.

     There are two computer activities for this EFT. One is a map game, teaching interactive geography and the development of the West. When I say West in context of this EFT, I am not talking about the Great Plains, but rather Kentucky. 

     The second activity was to experience a day in the life of Daniel Boone and his wife.  I chose the wife first, who had busy days due to her husband's absence on a hunting expedition. I had to do as many activities as I could, running to this highlighted spot to that one, trying to accumulate as many points as possible before night fell.  I was going nuts trying to keep up with everything. Then I tried Daniel Boone's day, which was a bit different. Since he was on the hunting expedition, he had to do his tasks of checking traps but also shoot deer to survive on food. He couldn't  come home until he brought home a certain number of deerskins.  Hard as I tried, I quickly died of starvation. 

     Thursday, the morning of the EFT live broadcast, the kids e-mailed their questions to Daniel Boone. My daughter asked: "How did the American Revolution affect your attempts to colonize the western frontier?"

Daniel Boone's answer: 

During the Revolution, colonization continued but probably not as fast as it could have since so many men were in the army.  I spent most of the time in Boonesborough.  In 1781, I was elected to the Virginia assembly so I did travel to Richmond, Virginia for the meeting of the assembly.

Your most obedient,

Daniel Boone

My son asked:

Colonel Boone,

How did you decide to explore the west instead of fighting in the
American Revolution?

Inquisitively yours,

____________

My son got replies 3 different times from Daniel Boone!  Our favorite was this:

The easy answer is I liked to be alone or with a few comrades in the woods.  My family, too, learned to survive in the wilderness.  However, the loss of my son and brothers to Indian savagery was hard on me and the rest of my relatives.

A better answer puts my exploration of territory west of the Appalachian Mountains in the context of the American struggle for independence.  The British enlisted the aid of the northern Indian tribes in their effort to retain the original thirteen colonies.  Any western activity could potentially help the American cause.

Your most obedient servant,

     Last November my husband wanted to start painting the kitchen, but fortunately I was able to convince him that postponing the project until after the holidays might be best. Last Saturday morning he planned to begin and complete the painting of the entire kitchen! He started dissassembling the kitchen. He put blue painter's tape with labels in each door and drawer area to mark where each door (marked on the back) should go. We learned the hard way that doors and drawers have permamament homes and like to go back where they began.  It's good to mark each door/cupboard A to A, B to B, etc. 

     Sunday he took me shopping to choose tile and a counter top. We are going to redo this kitchen to basically look like the one in San Antonio that he remodeled.  Why mess with success?  The house sold in 24 hours. We're using the same paint color, Pam's Lace from Lowes, which is an off white. He did not want to do the same tile layout for the backsplash, because it was labor intensive, much less use stone again.  However Lowes had mostly stone. I like it a lot. I chose an easier layout and we agreed on a size of stone.  Then we looked at handles and had to find the dimensions to match the ones my husband took off the drawers.  Then we chose the same countertop look we had in San Antonio, a faux granite that is actually formica laminate. It is highly durable and has a great look.  Although we live an hour outside of Washington DC, and granite is highly desireable, it is highly out of our budget. When we were house hunting in this area, I saw that the houses that went the quickest and made the most money were the ones that were move in ready with a nice pulled together look.  We got a nice little home with awful paint colors on the walls (a friend said it looked like someone splattered blood on the walls), countertops that were stained and poorly seemed, and appliances that did not work.

     In fact, that is some of the remodel my husband began several months ago. I had no microwave for months. He wanted stainless steel, so we got one.  However he had to raise the cabinet over the stove, before mounting it, so it would be to code.  I suggested that he take that cabinet, shorten it and replace it as a display shelf.  Who wants to reach up there to store things anyway?  I have plenty of storage.  He's going to insert beadboard inside the cabinet and on the outside of the island before painting.     

     Last summer he painted the kitchen yellow.  New Year's weeknd he took me to the Container Store to buy some adjustable shelving that I found on-line for the pantry door.  It significantly maximizes the space of my wee pantry! 

    In November, we got the rest of our new appliances and they arrived Thanksgiving week.  I had quite the learning curve in preparing Thanksgiving dinner, but it was the best meal we had the entire time in the house. It was nice to have a stove that cooks evenly, a freezer that freezes and a dishwasher that washes and doesn't sound like a busy runway at an airport.

     Oh, and now my husband realizes this will take longer than a weekend.  Here is the kitchen now...

     House hunting...church hunting...they have a lot in common.  Since moving to Virginia, we've done both.  After a month of looking at more houses than I can count, the doors finally opened with our offer and we were under contract and we moved in by the end of April! For various reasons, we are still church hunting.  A common factor we are finding in all the churches we visit, is youth expectations, or lack thereof. 

     The church we are currently visiting is starting a new church wide study this week and strongly encouraged us to join small groups.  We signed up for one where we could take the kids.  I asked the group leader what the kids who attend do. I was shocked when he told me they play ping pong in the basement.  Sunday the pastor asked me if I was excited about the book that is part of this study and I told him I was bored with it. He was shocked! I told him I was grabbed in the first sentence with its historical reference, then it lost me when nothing else was mentioned about it. This was a big deal to me because the historical reference is the theme of the book. The pastor agreed it could have been better developed. I told him I tried researching the historical point but couldn't find anything. He said he had two references that he could send to me so I am looking forward to them. He added that the topic is relevant to our lives. I agreed, but I told him we had been taught that information a long time ago and we are living it now and was part of our huge story of moving to Virginia! I added that it's presented rather lightly in the book and I like meatier stuff. I gave an example of what we were studying in school that we thought was more inspirational and he seemed to like that information. I pretty much expected him to put me down but he told me I could be an encouragement to the group in applying the lesson.  Hmmm...

      In the meantime, my kids aren't excited about being stuck in the basement during small group time.  My son told my husband that he'd rather be sitting in the middle of discussion with us and so would my daughter. Tonight, my husband asked the group leader if it would be okay for the kids to sit with us to listen in. The group leader warned my husband we'd be opening the Bible, implying teens don't open Bibles or listen. I was shocked when I heard this.  I asked my husband if he told the group leader otherwise and he said yes.  He told the leader that the kids like to study their Bibles and want to sit in on the talk. The leader got excited!

      We used to attend an incredible church in San Antonio. Without trying to attract members, the church grew and grew and was bulging at the seams.  One of the hallmarks of the church was the incredible teaching at all age levels. I'll have to share later how we used to do missionary conferences for the adults and the kids, which is no longer done, but used to be highly anticipated, enjoyed and resulted in much fruit.  Then we moved with the USAF to Northern Texas.  Seven years later we returned with children to a smaller church attendance and a change in how things were done.

     Over the nine years we attended this church, it continued to change, especially the youth group. The main change in thinking by the leadership was that the church had to conform to the kids. Due to continued changes, we started attending the 8am Sunday School class, for various reasons. One was so that the kids could be part of the early morning youth group which was smaller, more personal and tamer than the wild group that met later. My son started telling us that the youth pastor would teach for 15 minutes of the entire time.  Before long, the youth pastor wasn't even showing up. My husband talked to him and he said he couldn't be bothered. The kids were dwindling in. The real class was later and that's where he preferred to focus his time. This came up with the high school Awana leader who made excuses for the youth pastor, saying that teens do not engage with the teacher. So that makes a pastor/teacher quit teaching????? The leader said it isn't easy. So what?  The leader basically said it was impossible. I was ready to do my Fran Drescher impersonation, sticking out my hand and saying, "Talk to the hand because the ears ain't listening." I don't get like this often, but I am a teacher to the depths of my soul.  When I see kids getting lost in the cracks, shy me speaks up! I told him I teach devotions to two teens (my kids) every single day before we start school, on top of all the other lessons I teach. The youth pastor is paid to work at the church full time to prepare lesson so that he can teach this group of kids one morning a week for one hour.  

     I know it's a different generation but that doesn't mean that we give up on them! I used to work with the children's choir at this church and the director was incredible. She worked with the teen choir too and I know it is possible, in this current generation, to move kids and inspire them!  She did it! She didn't quit! She worked harder! She showed them she cared by listening and entering their world. She told them they could do things the world considered impossible! She taught them Scripture, making it relevant by connecting it to the songs they were singing and the people they would be reaching out to.  I was administrative assistant so I got to type out and print all the stuff she did with the children and teens. One evening during rehearsal, she focused on committment and got them fired up to be committed to the choir. The kids loved it! The problem was the parents. It was tough. A lot of them were close friends of mine who would come to me, thinking I was of the same mind as them, and they'd pour out their guts on how they didn't think their kids should be committed to excellence in the choir and that they had no support for the director. 

     There are two brothers who live north of me in Maryland, who have started talking about teens raising the bar.  Odd that I hear leaders rave about this and take teens to their conferences...but I don't see the leaders help the teens raise the bar.  My kids might be different from other kids out there, but they love the Lord, we are close, they make friends with any age group, they are great listeners and are happy to help others.   I know there are other kids out there like mine, but it appears they are becoming rare. As parents we need all the tools we can get when working with kids.  I've got a toolbox full of ideas that I've learned from those who have gone before me.  I'll be sharing more of them over time.