Field Trip!

Today I took the kids into Gettysburg for a field trip. Back when I was in school, field trips were the best thing ever. No classes, no tests, no books. They were a free day, plus you usually got to go somewhere cool. For some reason, my kids whine and complain every time I announce a field trip. I don't get it. It's the same deal; no bookwork, no tests, a free day! And chances are it's going to be something cool. Getting them out in the morning nearly kills me, and I'm always ready to just leave them home and go by myself!



Well, we did manage to all get out and into town, and on time! I had done some scout work earlier in the month, so I knew just where I was going to park, and how to get from one place to another. We had been sent a notice that the USSC Museum , which is the U.S. Christian Commission Museum, was having special programs and discount rates for homeschoolers today. They have two locations, so I needed to have a plan as to moving between the two.



We started out the day at their "chapel," which is a log-and-canvas tent building like the kind that would have been built for soldiers to attend church services during the Civil War. The people who run the museum wear period clothing, and one of the young men dressed as a soldier gave a talk about his uniform and his gear. He passed around the gunpowder packets, bullets, and caps, and showed us how a soldier would have had to load the musket to shoot. He described what life was like on the march for a soldier. He did a really nice job. Then another man dressed as Abraham Lincoln came up and gave two of Lincoln's speeches; one where Lincoln established the National Day of Prayer, which was April of '63 (before the Battle of Gettysburg) and then the Gettysburg Address (November '63). We discussed the difference in tone between the two speeches.



After that, I took the boys over to McDonald's for lunch. I had to remind them that the field trip was to the museum and not to the Play Place LOL. We met up with some other homeschooling moms that I have been emailing with for a few weeks. I am glad to be widening my circle of acquaintances. It was also nice to see how big a group of homeschoolers there are in our area!



After lunch we went back to the main museum, which is the home of Jenny Wade. As some know, Jenny Wade was the only civilian killed at Gettysburg. What I learned, though, is that it was not her own home she was killed in, that was her sister's house; she actually lived right in town. While being guided through the home, we learned about the Christian Commission and how and why it was founded. It was founded by the YMCA to minister to the soldiers of the war. We learned a lot about the life of a soldier, and also how their survival or demise affected their loved ones and also those around them. We heard inspiring stories of men who shared their faith and even young children who reached out to the soldiers. It was fun, too, to see the house decorated in period style, and all the artifacts.



One last stop was back to the chapel where we listened to two more museum guides play on dulcimers and harmonicas for us. I sat and imagined how it would be to attend a tent service and sing hymns where there were no pianos or organs, and you had to be accompanied by harmonica!



The boys ended up having a good time in spite of themselves, and in the end agreed it was better than staying home and doing book work. LOL Wouldn't you know it, I forgot the camera, darn it. I will say, though, that I enjoyed the day better myself since I didn't have to worry about good picture opportunities. Go ahead and follow the link above and see what it's about.

More Food for Thought

Same book as before, but this time the author is quoting from a book published in 1839:

"According to our theory the people are wiser than the government. Here the people do not look to the government for light, for instruction, but the government looks to the people. The people give law to the government."

"To entrust government with the power of determining education which our children shall receive is entrusting our servant with the power of the master."

Keep in mind that this was written before compulsive education was instituted in America.

Extra Pictures

Here are some more pictures from around the house.

First, the save-it-to-show-the-girlfriends picture of Levi and Jacob:


and another of Jacob, relaxing on the couch:



This past weekend, I went on a fact-finding mission with my sister to see what we could dig up on my grandfather's plane crash. We were more successful than we could have ever hoped for! I am saving that for another post.

We Didn't Call the Fire Department

Last Tuesday, we found one of our cats up in a tree. Chris has said repeatedly that a cat will come down on its own if you leave it alone, but the boys were too worried to sit by and listen to it cry. They did their best to get up and get it, but it was too high and none of us could reach it.





The next day we had strong wind and a lot of rain. Guess what? The cat came down by itself! LOL

5 Fewer Long-Haired Hippy Freaks in My House

On Friday the weather was nice enough to get the boys out on the back porch and do haircuts. They were long overdue!

Levi


Micah


Caleb


Samuel


Troyer


Noah decided he likes his hair long. I think that will change when the weather warms up and stays warm. Jacob needs a hair cut too, but it will take some wrestling with him, and I wasn't up to it LOL. He has had his bangs trimmed, so I left it go. Chris also needs a cut, but he was at work.

Spring is Near

A few weeks ago, I got these pictures from my yard:





A welcome sign of spring! We also had a warm sunny day, good enough to go out and do some yardwork. The boys and I raked the leaves out of the flower beds, but mostly we enjoyed being outside again!





It's been warm and cold and warm and cold, ugh. Right now we are cold. And windy. Double ugh. Next Sunday is Easter, I sure hope it is sunny and warm again by then!

I'm Addicted!

Here are two more:

Just For Fun

Because, you know, none of us has anything to do and we all have time to waste LOL


This was posted on one of the forums that I read.


1 - BAND NAME: Go to "wikipedia." Hit "random" or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:RandomThe first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - ALBUM TITLE: Go to "Random quotations" or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.phpThe last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.


3 - COVER ART: Go to flickr and click on "explore the last seven days" or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7daysThird picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.


Here's mine:




It was so fun, I did it again:





I used a photo editing program to add the artist and title to the picture, but you can just list them below the picture. Go ahead and play!