Did you know that one in five women confess to sleeping regularly with a stuffed animal (as do five percent of men), that 27.1 percent of Americans regularly chew on pens and pencils, and that if you DON’T set your clock ahead of the actual time, you’re part of a minority that makes up only 1/3 of the population? So says this humorous little book I picked up at Barnes and Noble the other day entitled, “Are You Normal?” (by Bernice Kanner). Now obviously this book resulted from an intense, nationally-conducted, professional study, but it left me wanting to find out for myself: What IS normal homeschool behavior, and am I normal? I drew up a survey of questions ranging from “What do you wear to ‘school’?” to “Describe your portfolio-keeping skills” and sent it all over Pennsylvania. At first I was delighted when responses came flowing back. Then I was terrified. “HOW WAS I GOING TO COMPILE STATISTICS FROM ALL OF THESE?!” It took me a day and a half just to READ them all! Even more intimidating was the extreme variety of answers. How could I tell what was NORMAL homeschool behavior? And finally, the most alarming was the response to my random question, “Are you normal?” I may have gotten three, at most, responses from people claiming to be normal! At this point I shook my head and kissed my statistical quest goodbye. The best I could do was observe, quote, and laugh with the 55 responses, and I pray you’ll do the same as I relate my absolutely unofficial observations and quotes from a large batch of people who refuse to be labeled . . . NORMAL!
Going to School = Going to Bed: Where and How Homeschoolers Study
Although almost every response contained a check by the option, “While Sleeping,” I was not surprised to find that most did claim that in bed, locked in a bedroom, with a pile of cats and dogs on top (“My dog LOVES to listen to me yell at my frustrating math book!” –Karah C), was the favorite position for education. (After all, that’s what *I* do. My classroom system: Mom’s Bed = Physics, English and Math class; My Bed = Economics and Literature reading; etcetera):
“I usually curl up in bed and study/read as little as possible. Just kidding. I do almost all my work in my bed. It keeps me comfortable and quiet and lets me focus.” –Audrey N
“In the early morning (and sometimes late morning if I'm feeling particularly lazy) I like to study snuggled under my bedcovers… although I have to admit that I don't get a whole lot of studying done as for some strange reason my eyes don't want to stay open...” –Rachel S
“I try to avoid the desk and the kitchen table; they make work seem too much like work.” -Mark G
“I usually start on my school work before I even get out of bed in the morning.” –April H
“I alternate between lying on my back and propping the book on my knees, and lying on my side with one elbow supporting me, laying across the bed with my head over the edge and the book on the floor, and laying on my stomach with both elbows propping me up, changing positions whenever I get cramped” -Matthias Hess
“I read with my little angelic teddy bear. I'll have you know that it inspires me that I'm not the only one reading the book, especially if it is boring.” –Sarah T
Homeschoolers are skilled at making almost anywhere into a ”school,” however, and responses included, “On my porch swing” (Amber Ross), “In my car in a parking lot” (Kate Deely), and “Sitting in my chair backwards with my legs hanging over the side, and periodically practicing ballet in between concurring and dissenting Supreme Court opinions” (Sarah A). (An alternative to practicing ballet to keep awake would be to look out of the window at your sheep. At least that’s what William E claims to do. Personally, I always associated sheep-watching with going to sleep, but hey, whatever floats your boat.) Anna Megill has even developed a helpful scale for determining where it is “safe” to study:
If the book is.....
VERY VERY BORING: Read aloud and walk in circles around the room to keep myself awake.
VERY BORING: Sit on an extremely uncomfortable coffee table, or lie on the table and put the book on the floor
BORING: Sit on one of my mom's comfortable (but upright) Aerochairs.
IN BETWEEN: Sit on my comfy chair in my own room (but not too comfortable)
INTERESTING: If the weather is nice I will read in the hammock out in the backyard or else I will lay on my bed.
VERY INTERESTING: Read on my mom's bed with her back rest and the covers over me
VERY VERY INTERESTING: cuddle down in the corner of my favorite couch with my favorite blanket and enjoy!
Shopping for School Clothes? Head for the PJ section!
About half of those surveyed expressed surprise that the most commonly asked question encountered is, “Can you do school in your PJ’s?”. Sarah T commented, “This one always cracks me up because I never EVER did that; it never even OCCURRED to me to do that!”, while Annie B mused, “I’m amazed how many people ask that one. I wonder if THEY would if they could!” Well, for the sake of Sarah (and others’) enlightenment, about half of those surveyed (the other half; the ones who did NOT express such shock), admitted that they DO INDEED study in their PJ’s:
“One question, why get dressed? Tell me why, and maybe I'll consider it!” –Kate Z
“Oh, yeah! PJ's all the way! Cow print and satin lizard print pants with big t-shirts!” –Shannon B
“PJs are the greatest, especially during winter months (the majority of the school year) when it gets really cold. I like to make a cup of Hot Chocolate and settle in my bed with my pajamas, to read or study.” –Audrey N
“I usually wear my PJ's. Whatever is comfortable really. I find that having to dress as if I was going to "real school" is a drag and I never do it even if I'm "told" to so who cares.” –Audrey N
“Pajamas, or sometimes terribly ugly clothes that I would absolutely die of embarrassment if anyone saw me wearing them!” –Marilee G
For the rest of us, “whatever's at the top of my drawer” (girls?) and “whatever I find on my bedroom floor” (guys?) made up the bulk of the responses, leaving the average homeschooler wearing something like “jeans and a t-shirt that is either ancient or the design is just ugly” (Esther P). A few people admitted to wearing “real” clothes, because, as Meghan C put it, “When I feel good about what I am wearing I am more likely to feel good about my work.” Although a few of the normal-clothes-people admitted to staying in their PJ’s till early afternoon, explaining that “by afternoon, [they’ll] take a shower and change into regular clothes cause it just feels better” (Rachel S), quite a few claimed (myself included) they’d never wear their PJ’s to school. Kelly C explained it, “I don't feel awake until I'm dressed for the day” and Anna M insightfully considered both the question and the PJ’s in her response:
“The question that I get most often is, "Do you get to wear your pajamas all day?" I have often wondered why people care so much about this, but I think it's because every day they have to dress respectably in order to go to school and since this is very trying they are eager to avoid it when they can. I, on-the-other-hand, only have to wear comfortable clothes that I like. I usually tell them that it doesn't actually work to wear your pajamas all day because, if you do, you feel like you have never woken up.”
The Non-Feline Classmates: Siblings (Or “the other pets”)
With a few exceptions, most of the responders said that they really don’t teach their siblings, except for lessons like “how to behave” (Annie B), and that they and their siblings, for the most part, have their separate spheres. The most common image conveyed involved a sibling “popping” in the door and “asking random and unrelated questions”—I was surprised by how many people conveyed this same image in their response! Other notorious antics included “singing or screaming while doing homework” (Sarah R), “bursting into the bedroom at the most inopportune moments” (Mark G), “threatening to put guinea pigs on their big siblings heads” (Kelly C) and “tickling in the middle of Algebra or Geometry” (Audrey N), Sarah C did admit that little siblings are “so cute when they sleep.” Just kidding. One must not confuse “distracting” with “annoying”—Most homeschoolers found their little siblings quite distracting, but not necessarily annoying. April S summed it up well: “My siblings are very special to me. When you think about it, your brothers and sisters are probably the people you will know longer than anyone else in your life. Yes, they can be distracting, but can’t any good friend become a distraction?”
Sung Or Spoken: Good Morning Homeschoolers!!!
Getting up in the morning is a special challenge faced by homeschoolers. You would be surprised what you are able to do when you absolutely have to—at Taylor last summer I could stay up till 3 and get up at 7 for nights in a row! At home, however, with no bus to catch, we must fight to roll out of bed on an average morning. Although these statistics are not calculated or official, and while wake-up times varied from a few 5am waker-uppers to our 11am friends, the most common getting-up time was, relative to those of our public schooled friends, leaning towards the late side, generally around 8-9. And what wakes them up?
“Mother. ARGH! She makes me want to stay in bed.” –Gwen U
“Sometimes the cat wakes me up by ‘cleaning’ my hair” –Dane Hl
“Singing. Yeah you heard right. My family is notorious for singing… No, it’s more like screeching. It’s never a, ‘Hi sweetie, time to get up” in a soft whisper. It’s more like, “TIME TO GET UUUUPPPP, LALALALALA!” in a national anthem pitch” –Kate Z
“Alarm – It’s supposed to but you know how that goes. / Mother – She sends dad up to get me. / Singing – Yeah, my brother in the shower. / Other – Cold water normally works pretty well.” –Mark G
Although homeschoolers require several means at a time to pry them out of their beds (even though they’ll return to it shortly for school), I was surprised to find that most all of the responders go to bed on their own, when they feel like it. Despite this liberty, and despite a few who admit to staying up somewhere between 12 and 2 every night, the most common bed-time seemed to be between 10 and 11.
Some Thoughts on Portfolio and Log-Keeping Skills
Christi B: “AAAAUUUGGGHHH!” That sums up just about everyone’s responses well. Kudos to Christi. No further remarks necessary.
So, Are YOU Normal?
So there you have it: My best attempt to compile the responses which, if printed, would add up to almost 250 pages of anecdotes, stories, and schedules, into an article that would not fill the entire Excelsior. This is your life. Or maybe it’s not. But I hope as you’ve read and laughed a little at these aspects of homeschool life, you’ll take a moment to celebrate—celebrate sleeping in, portfolios, siblings, felines, your bed—celebrate whatever homeschooling is to you . . . but above all, celebrate the fact that you, as a homeschooler, are NOT normal! Repeat this a few times as you celebrate homeschooling: “’Normal is conforming to a standard; typical; of average intelligence or development’ (Webster). As a rule, homeschoolers are NOT normal. Perhaps, however, I am a normal homeschooler because I conform to the standard of abnormality. I am not, however, a normal person!” (Mark G).
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Banana Palms
Banana Palms - Objective/Subjective Science Essay - By Alexa Weber
Ever since I met my first banana tree in the Dominican Republic, I have been in love with them. What a beautiful tree! Tree that captures the glory of the tropical paradise that is Hispanola, with its broad purple flowers, its waxy palm fronds, and its ubiquitous fruit (the banana, which in Ancient India was considered to be the “forbidden fruit” of the garden of Eden!)
Banana palms evoke an air of adventure, awe and mystery, as if they hold the secret of paradise. One of my first encounters with these pristine trees was while walking along a trail in a lush palm forest, where they grew wild and untamed. I was with teammates and we were busy inviting local Dominicans to our drama, but we always took time to pause and squeal with delight -- “LOOK! BANANAS!”
A year later I went to Haiti, where banana palms also flourish. There, however, the entire country has been stripped of much of its natural vegetation, and the trees grew in fields, like corn. One of these banana fields was right outside of our “home” in Haiti, and we had fun browsing the fields and plucking off the whorls or “suckers” which are the rolled up, infant palm leaves. These twisted whorls made the ideal toy expandable swords, and I amused myself often by trying to unroll these.
When you set foot on a tropical island, the simplest things become EXTREMELY amusing! In addition to the banana crop, a little palm-forest was a highlight of the backyard. One afternoon I left on a little “safari” into the back yard . . . and I didn’t come back! (well, at least not for a while) My teammates were starting to worry when finally I returned with a giant palm branch, probably twice my size. I’d wrestled with breaking off the leaf, which was VERY firmly and fibrously attached. My teammates immortalized this incident in our team “log” of quirky moments as “Alexa picked a fight with a tree . . . the tree almost won.” I returned triumphant, however, and before we knew it I’d fashioned a lovely hula skirt for the missionary’s little daughter with it, as well as one for myself.
The flower of the banana tree is particularly fascinating. One particular banana tree that grew outside of the house produced a flower that was quite a bit larger than our heads. It looked like some form of man-eating plant, and several girls from the trip look at the pictures of it and shudder -- “That plant, like totally freaked me out!” Whether it was a man-eating monster or not, we all enjoyed inspecting it each day, as it shed its giant rubbery petals, that were something like banana peel, and, of course, we posed for many pictures with the monster-flower.
Banana palms conjure up all of the wonderful mission field memories. Oh, that I could have a banana tree in my own backyard! My project director, however, concluded my first mission trip with an unforgettable illustration. Holding up a palm frond during debriefing, in all its glossy green glory, he reminded us that as Christians we must be able to flourish wherever God puts us. While gazing at our banana-palm-pictures evokes sighs and a desire to go back to Hispanola, I am also reminded that God has planted me here and this is where I belong right now. Will I be a tree that can only flourish on the mission field on a tropical island somewhere? Or, will I be a tree that sets its roots down deep and that survives, ever green, whatever seasons of life may come?
Ever since I met my first banana tree in the Dominican Republic, I have been in love with them. What a beautiful tree! Tree that captures the glory of the tropical paradise that is Hispanola, with its broad purple flowers, its waxy palm fronds, and its ubiquitous fruit (the banana, which in Ancient India was considered to be the “forbidden fruit” of the garden of Eden!)
Banana palms evoke an air of adventure, awe and mystery, as if they hold the secret of paradise. One of my first encounters with these pristine trees was while walking along a trail in a lush palm forest, where they grew wild and untamed. I was with teammates and we were busy inviting local Dominicans to our drama, but we always took time to pause and squeal with delight -- “LOOK! BANANAS!”
A year later I went to Haiti, where banana palms also flourish. There, however, the entire country has been stripped of much of its natural vegetation, and the trees grew in fields, like corn. One of these banana fields was right outside of our “home” in Haiti, and we had fun browsing the fields and plucking off the whorls or “suckers” which are the rolled up, infant palm leaves. These twisted whorls made the ideal toy expandable swords, and I amused myself often by trying to unroll these.
When you set foot on a tropical island, the simplest things become EXTREMELY amusing! In addition to the banana crop, a little palm-forest was a highlight of the backyard. One afternoon I left on a little “safari” into the back yard . . . and I didn’t come back! (well, at least not for a while) My teammates were starting to worry when finally I returned with a giant palm branch, probably twice my size. I’d wrestled with breaking off the leaf, which was VERY firmly and fibrously attached. My teammates immortalized this incident in our team “log” of quirky moments as “Alexa picked a fight with a tree . . . the tree almost won.” I returned triumphant, however, and before we knew it I’d fashioned a lovely hula skirt for the missionary’s little daughter with it, as well as one for myself.
The flower of the banana tree is particularly fascinating. One particular banana tree that grew outside of the house produced a flower that was quite a bit larger than our heads. It looked like some form of man-eating plant, and several girls from the trip look at the pictures of it and shudder -- “That plant, like totally freaked me out!” Whether it was a man-eating monster or not, we all enjoyed inspecting it each day, as it shed its giant rubbery petals, that were something like banana peel, and, of course, we posed for many pictures with the monster-flower.
Banana palms conjure up all of the wonderful mission field memories. Oh, that I could have a banana tree in my own backyard! My project director, however, concluded my first mission trip with an unforgettable illustration. Holding up a palm frond during debriefing, in all its glossy green glory, he reminded us that as Christians we must be able to flourish wherever God puts us. While gazing at our banana-palm-pictures evokes sighs and a desire to go back to Hispanola, I am also reminded that God has planted me here and this is where I belong right now. Will I be a tree that can only flourish on the mission field on a tropical island somewhere? Or, will I be a tree that sets its roots down deep and that survives, ever green, whatever seasons of life may come?
Letter to the Author, C.S. Lewis
This "letter to an author" paper was written following a summer honors program at Taylor University that Alexa attended after her junior year of high school.
Alexa Weber
155 Spohn Rd.
Freeport, PA 16229
Dear C.S. Lewis,
When I cracked the cover of Mere Christianity during a course on Worldviews at Taylor University, my heart was heavy with the soul-searchings of previous months. I turned back to my journals and found bitterness and frustration. “God, are you there? Can you be known? Do you know me? Do you care about the simple struggles of mundane life?”
Just weeks before, an email from my friend and role model left me disillusioned. I had seen fire in her eyes; a passion for God that one could almost feel. Thus, when that fire seemed to have died; when she told me solemnly, “if we continue to walk through life thinking that we can know God with an unrealistically positive, super-spiritual view of Christianity and God -- thinking that he will bless us and reveal his will to us -- I think we walk naively. How can we even seek God, demanding a response, when we can’t see him? We can not know God in that way,” her words struck a blow to my morale.
When I first met her three or four years ago, I thought that having a “fire for God” meant having a burning emotion of love in my heart and seeking out some literal voice. I could talk the talk of passion, but when it all came down, I did not and never truly have touched, heard or seen God, at least not in the literal way I’d imagined. I found myself disillusioned by this “experiencing God” mentality. How can I pursue God relentlessly when it is impossible to know Him? What am I expecting in response to my questions? A sign? A letter? A miracle? I can’t feel him moving in me. I left for Taylor University haunted by questions. Are all the emotions, essays full of flowery words, and catchy slogans a facade, part of a deception that says we can experience God? I am generally an emotional person. Close and intimate contacts and relationships appeal to my personality. The ideals of a “Spirit stirring a soul to holiness” were like music to my ears. Even worship songs stress this ideal: “So close, I believe you’re holding me now . . .” and “I want to know you -- to touch you.” Was it an illusion?
As I studied it over the summer, Mere Christianity appealed to my rational side in many ways. God began to answer many of those questions scatted throughout my journal pages. How do I know that what I have devoted my life to is even true? I can not imagine a more solid proof than what you have provided here, as you brought to light the very evidence of God in my own life. There is ultimately fulfillment for every desire, the “apologetic of desire,” as you have called it. If the universe were meaningless, why would man search for meaning? If the world were purely natural, why would we long for beauty, perfection and joy? That we have these desires suggests that either man is a freak, or fulfillment for these desires does exist and that the world is deeper than evolution defines it to be. Yet I still desired to “touch” God.
I closed the cover of Mere Christianity, awed by the confirmation it had brought me. Yet the questions still eluded me. Can we truly know God in an experiential and intimate way? Or are we supposed to live by faith in the unseen -- faith being, as you have said, “the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.” Yet what is faith in reality? Perhaps, in this world, we can never truly know God or see him face to face. Yet perhaps this unfulfilled desire, a groping groaning for something more to this relationship between man and God, will ultimately be fulfilled. Either I am a fool that desires something that does not exist and ought to “give up chasing the rainbow’s end,” or perhaps, as you have said, “Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists.” You defined hope as keeping alive these desires for things that “no experience in this world can satisfy.” This is faith: being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1).
Till we see God face to face,
Alexa Weber
Alexa Weber
155 Spohn Rd.
Freeport, PA 16229
Dear C.S. Lewis,
When I cracked the cover of Mere Christianity during a course on Worldviews at Taylor University, my heart was heavy with the soul-searchings of previous months. I turned back to my journals and found bitterness and frustration. “God, are you there? Can you be known? Do you know me? Do you care about the simple struggles of mundane life?”
Just weeks before, an email from my friend and role model left me disillusioned. I had seen fire in her eyes; a passion for God that one could almost feel. Thus, when that fire seemed to have died; when she told me solemnly, “if we continue to walk through life thinking that we can know God with an unrealistically positive, super-spiritual view of Christianity and God -- thinking that he will bless us and reveal his will to us -- I think we walk naively. How can we even seek God, demanding a response, when we can’t see him? We can not know God in that way,” her words struck a blow to my morale.
When I first met her three or four years ago, I thought that having a “fire for God” meant having a burning emotion of love in my heart and seeking out some literal voice. I could talk the talk of passion, but when it all came down, I did not and never truly have touched, heard or seen God, at least not in the literal way I’d imagined. I found myself disillusioned by this “experiencing God” mentality. How can I pursue God relentlessly when it is impossible to know Him? What am I expecting in response to my questions? A sign? A letter? A miracle? I can’t feel him moving in me. I left for Taylor University haunted by questions. Are all the emotions, essays full of flowery words, and catchy slogans a facade, part of a deception that says we can experience God? I am generally an emotional person. Close and intimate contacts and relationships appeal to my personality. The ideals of a “Spirit stirring a soul to holiness” were like music to my ears. Even worship songs stress this ideal: “So close, I believe you’re holding me now . . .” and “I want to know you -- to touch you.” Was it an illusion?
As I studied it over the summer, Mere Christianity appealed to my rational side in many ways. God began to answer many of those questions scatted throughout my journal pages. How do I know that what I have devoted my life to is even true? I can not imagine a more solid proof than what you have provided here, as you brought to light the very evidence of God in my own life. There is ultimately fulfillment for every desire, the “apologetic of desire,” as you have called it. If the universe were meaningless, why would man search for meaning? If the world were purely natural, why would we long for beauty, perfection and joy? That we have these desires suggests that either man is a freak, or fulfillment for these desires does exist and that the world is deeper than evolution defines it to be. Yet I still desired to “touch” God.
I closed the cover of Mere Christianity, awed by the confirmation it had brought me. Yet the questions still eluded me. Can we truly know God in an experiential and intimate way? Or are we supposed to live by faith in the unseen -- faith being, as you have said, “the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.” Yet what is faith in reality? Perhaps, in this world, we can never truly know God or see him face to face. Yet perhaps this unfulfilled desire, a groping groaning for something more to this relationship between man and God, will ultimately be fulfilled. Either I am a fool that desires something that does not exist and ought to “give up chasing the rainbow’s end,” or perhaps, as you have said, “Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists.” You defined hope as keeping alive these desires for things that “no experience in this world can satisfy.” This is faith: being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1).
Till we see God face to face,
Alexa Weber
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Teaching PA History
(Article written for PA Homeschoolers Newsletter around 2002, I think)
Teaching Pennsylvania State History
I remember my first reaction to the requirement to teach state history was to rank it right alongside fire safety. When my oldest two got to 3d and 4th grade, I bought A Beka’s State Notebook thinking it would have everything I needed about Pennsylvania. Well, as should have been obvious to me, I suppose, it had nothing about Pennsylvania or any other state but had a bunch of blank pages with topics like “State Government” at the top which I ended up tearing out and putting into a 3-ring binder.
I always thought it would be rather boring to have to study Pennsylvania for an entire year or even one semester. And for us that just wouldn’t work out. Instead we took that 3-ring binder (and we’ve done two others since then with different children and have made our own topical sections) and used them over the course of our childrens’ school years. With this, we have truly enjoyed studying Pennsylvania and have lovely keepsakes and interesting, personalized reference books when we’re finished. We call them our PA STATE NOTEBOOKS. Here’s what we do.
We have a 3-ring notebook divided into various sections:
• My town
• My county
• My region
• Geography of Pennsylvania
• Other places I’ve visited
• Pennsylvania – Its Principles
• History in Pennsylvania
• Famous People
• State Government
• Pittsburgh
• Harrisburg
• Philadelpha
• Sports
• What People Do in PA
We add to this book every year and take pictures wherever we travel in PA. I think the categories are fairly self-explanatory so I won’t elaborate on them and you can customize them to suit your interests or opportunities. I will share some of the things we’ve done over the years that have found their way into our State Notebooks.
In first grade, we took ourselves for a walk around Freeport where we live, taking pictures with our local postmistress outside the Post Office, as well as pictures at the soda fountain in the drug store, pictures of 17th century homes and churches, the Fire Dept., library, and one over-looking the entire town. In the library we photocopied old newspapers with articles about the history of Freeport. Then my daughter wrote directions for getting to Freeport and explained some of the reasons she enjoys living here.
Under “My County,” we have a map showing all of the counties in PA with Armstrong Co. colored in and a page of statistical information where my children had to fill in the blank for the capital, population, and square footage of the county. At some point, we’ll be adding some local history and pictures of the courthouse, etc.
For the geography of Pennsylvania, my young children drew the shape of the state and colored a map showing not only PA but the surrounding states. We also made a map using sculpey clay that we molded to show the topography of our state and used colored beads for major cities and blue plastic cord for the major rivers and we sprinkled the two plateaus with green glitter.
Our State Representatives or Senators have always been more than willing to furnish us with all sorts of materials about Pennsylvania (– just call and ask). From these, we had plenty of information and pictures indicating our state flag and all the state symbols. (Do you know the State Beautification and Conservation Plant?) The answer to this question as well as other statistical information are available at www.state.pa.us/kids. We also did a survey of a number of people to find out how many had been born in Pennsylvania to demonstrate that Pennsylvania has a high percentage of people who remain in the state of their birth unlike many other states.
Like many of you, we love to read historical fiction and there are many many books that are set in Pennsylvania. Three of our favorites for elementary age readers are The Cabin Faced West and Brady, both by Jean Fritz, and Benjamin West and His Cat
Grimalkin, by Marguerite Henry. The Cabin Faced West is a frontier story based in Washington County. We’re very fond of it because we identified strongly with the young pioneer girl in the story. When George Washington comes down her lonesome road and congratulates her on her sacrifices in helping to forge a new country, we believed he would have said something similar to us as we pioneer in this ever-evolving world of homeschooling that we pray will strengthen this country. Brady is a story of the underground railroad in PA. The Benjamin West book is really a “must read.” Find out how this young Quaker boy succeeds in getting his family’s blessing to become an artist and ends up in King George II’s court. You’ll also discover why his cat, Grimalkin, always looked as though he had the mange!
Whatever responses our children made to these books also found their place in our PA STATE NOTEBOOKS.
Every local field trip you take can probably find some kind of resting place in your State Notebook. One of our favorite field trips is visiting places where people work. This past year we visited General Press in Allegheny County where they print labels for food products using enormous 6-color presses. Do you remember the pink rabbit on the yellow and green Pillsbury refrigerated cookies last Easter? We saw thousands of them being printed the month before. We have also visited Joy Cone in Hermitage, Tour Ed Mine (Allegheny Co.), Pound’s Turkey Farm (Westmoreland), and Hershey Chocolate factory in recent years.
Under ”Outstanding Pennsylvanians,” our children have included pictures and information they also gathered from various field trips. Albert Gallatin’s home, Friendship Hill and Ft. Necessity near Uniontown, are great places for homeschoolers to visit. At Friendship Hill the park ranger used all of the support group children to put on a mock trial of the Whiskey Rebellion culprits.
Another year, I conducted an 8-week class on Pennsylvania during which time each student had to report on one “outstanding Pennsylvanian.” Copies of some of these reports made it into our PA State Notebook. Besides a written and/or oral report, each student also had to draw and color a paper quilt square of their famous Pennsylvanian. All of these were pasted onto a large white paper “quilt” with P E N N S Y L V A N I A in red and blue through the center. During this time we also made William Penn hats from black posterboard with felt tops.
Two of my children are quite athletic and have filled their State Notebooks with lots of pictures of their own sports teams as well as clippings of the Steelers, Pirates, and Riverhounds of Pittsburgh. Lots of articles about their favorite teams and players and lots of ticket stubs!
Our section on “Harrisburg” is enormous. Everyone should visit the state capitol and especially the Capitol building: it’s one of the most beautiful in the country. While there do learn about Violet Oakley and her artwork in the Supreme Court and see if you can get a list of all the biblical quotations that have found their way to the walls of the capital building as well. Your legislator will be more than willing to help you make arrangements for a tour. There’s an enormous statue of William Penn at the Whitaker Center a couple of blocks away with which your children will enjoy posing.
I hope I’ve given you some inspiration for studying our truly amazing state where many of the foundations of our country and its constitution were forged. We are constantly learning and recording in our PA STATE NOTEBOOKS!
Teaching Pennsylvania State History
I remember my first reaction to the requirement to teach state history was to rank it right alongside fire safety. When my oldest two got to 3d and 4th grade, I bought A Beka’s State Notebook thinking it would have everything I needed about Pennsylvania. Well, as should have been obvious to me, I suppose, it had nothing about Pennsylvania or any other state but had a bunch of blank pages with topics like “State Government” at the top which I ended up tearing out and putting into a 3-ring binder.
I always thought it would be rather boring to have to study Pennsylvania for an entire year or even one semester. And for us that just wouldn’t work out. Instead we took that 3-ring binder (and we’ve done two others since then with different children and have made our own topical sections) and used them over the course of our childrens’ school years. With this, we have truly enjoyed studying Pennsylvania and have lovely keepsakes and interesting, personalized reference books when we’re finished. We call them our PA STATE NOTEBOOKS. Here’s what we do.
We have a 3-ring notebook divided into various sections:
• My town
• My county
• My region
• Geography of Pennsylvania
• Other places I’ve visited
• Pennsylvania – Its Principles
• History in Pennsylvania
• Famous People
• State Government
• Pittsburgh
• Harrisburg
• Philadelpha
• Sports
• What People Do in PA
We add to this book every year and take pictures wherever we travel in PA. I think the categories are fairly self-explanatory so I won’t elaborate on them and you can customize them to suit your interests or opportunities. I will share some of the things we’ve done over the years that have found their way into our State Notebooks.
In first grade, we took ourselves for a walk around Freeport where we live, taking pictures with our local postmistress outside the Post Office, as well as pictures at the soda fountain in the drug store, pictures of 17th century homes and churches, the Fire Dept., library, and one over-looking the entire town. In the library we photocopied old newspapers with articles about the history of Freeport. Then my daughter wrote directions for getting to Freeport and explained some of the reasons she enjoys living here.
Under “My County,” we have a map showing all of the counties in PA with Armstrong Co. colored in and a page of statistical information where my children had to fill in the blank for the capital, population, and square footage of the county. At some point, we’ll be adding some local history and pictures of the courthouse, etc.
For the geography of Pennsylvania, my young children drew the shape of the state and colored a map showing not only PA but the surrounding states. We also made a map using sculpey clay that we molded to show the topography of our state and used colored beads for major cities and blue plastic cord for the major rivers and we sprinkled the two plateaus with green glitter.
Our State Representatives or Senators have always been more than willing to furnish us with all sorts of materials about Pennsylvania (– just call and ask). From these, we had plenty of information and pictures indicating our state flag and all the state symbols. (Do you know the State Beautification and Conservation Plant?) The answer to this question as well as other statistical information are available at www.state.pa.us/kids. We also did a survey of a number of people to find out how many had been born in Pennsylvania to demonstrate that Pennsylvania has a high percentage of people who remain in the state of their birth unlike many other states.
Like many of you, we love to read historical fiction and there are many many books that are set in Pennsylvania. Three of our favorites for elementary age readers are The Cabin Faced West and Brady, both by Jean Fritz, and Benjamin West and His Cat
Grimalkin, by Marguerite Henry. The Cabin Faced West is a frontier story based in Washington County. We’re very fond of it because we identified strongly with the young pioneer girl in the story. When George Washington comes down her lonesome road and congratulates her on her sacrifices in helping to forge a new country, we believed he would have said something similar to us as we pioneer in this ever-evolving world of homeschooling that we pray will strengthen this country. Brady is a story of the underground railroad in PA. The Benjamin West book is really a “must read.” Find out how this young Quaker boy succeeds in getting his family’s blessing to become an artist and ends up in King George II’s court. You’ll also discover why his cat, Grimalkin, always looked as though he had the mange!
Whatever responses our children made to these books also found their place in our PA STATE NOTEBOOKS.
Every local field trip you take can probably find some kind of resting place in your State Notebook. One of our favorite field trips is visiting places where people work. This past year we visited General Press in Allegheny County where they print labels for food products using enormous 6-color presses. Do you remember the pink rabbit on the yellow and green Pillsbury refrigerated cookies last Easter? We saw thousands of them being printed the month before. We have also visited Joy Cone in Hermitage, Tour Ed Mine (Allegheny Co.), Pound’s Turkey Farm (Westmoreland), and Hershey Chocolate factory in recent years.
Under ”Outstanding Pennsylvanians,” our children have included pictures and information they also gathered from various field trips. Albert Gallatin’s home, Friendship Hill and Ft. Necessity near Uniontown, are great places for homeschoolers to visit. At Friendship Hill the park ranger used all of the support group children to put on a mock trial of the Whiskey Rebellion culprits.
Another year, I conducted an 8-week class on Pennsylvania during which time each student had to report on one “outstanding Pennsylvanian.” Copies of some of these reports made it into our PA State Notebook. Besides a written and/or oral report, each student also had to draw and color a paper quilt square of their famous Pennsylvanian. All of these were pasted onto a large white paper “quilt” with P E N N S Y L V A N I A in red and blue through the center. During this time we also made William Penn hats from black posterboard with felt tops.
Two of my children are quite athletic and have filled their State Notebooks with lots of pictures of their own sports teams as well as clippings of the Steelers, Pirates, and Riverhounds of Pittsburgh. Lots of articles about their favorite teams and players and lots of ticket stubs!
Our section on “Harrisburg” is enormous. Everyone should visit the state capitol and especially the Capitol building: it’s one of the most beautiful in the country. While there do learn about Violet Oakley and her artwork in the Supreme Court and see if you can get a list of all the biblical quotations that have found their way to the walls of the capital building as well. Your legislator will be more than willing to help you make arrangements for a tour. There’s an enormous statue of William Penn at the Whitaker Center a couple of blocks away with which your children will enjoy posing.
I hope I’ve given you some inspiration for studying our truly amazing state where many of the foundations of our country and its constitution were forged. We are constantly learning and recording in our PA STATE NOTEBOOKS!
On Growing Up
Written for the last Writing Club in the Spring 2008, which will hopefully not be my last Writing Club! -- Very sad, Samantha (10th grade)
What is the definition of driving? Is it the operation of a vehicle? Or is it more than that? To me, driving was at last merging onto the fast freeway of life where I could finally put my foot on the gas, crank up the music, and enjoy growing up. Driving was turning sixteen.
Seconds had taken hours, hours had taken days, and days had taken years. I, now, counted down the minutes to midnight, February 28th, and my thoughts of fast cars and freedom turned to reflections and remembrances of the past fifteen years. I closed my eyes and memories transported me back through time. I felt the security of my big sis’s hands as my pudgy fingers desperately clung to her and I took my first steps. The guilt of stealing licks of cake batter whenever my mother turned her back overwhelmed me; and then, seemingly endless joy flooded over me as I played house and cooked play food for my stuffed animals. My eyes sparkled as my fingertips softly touched the fragile face of my new American Girl doll and my lips danced as I read Molly Saves the Day. A sense of warmness covered me as I returned from my dream-like childhood to present time. I realized that after the days of hopscotch, pogs, and Sesame Street had passed, my life had pushed the gas pedal as I headed up a long hill.
Turning twelve began the subtle transformation from freeze tag, jump rope, and legoland into a life revolving around responsibilities, expectations, and achievements. High school filled in my care-free days with things such as algebra, chemistry, and SAT prep. My closed eyes tried to close tighter as bright light peaked through my eyelashes and refused to go away. I turned over in my bed, but it didn’t help. Against my will, my eyes opened and were immediately drawn to the clock: 8:30 a.m. was displayed in red and an alarm sounded in my head. I had fallen asleep! I missed it! I missed my life rolling over from boring to beautiful! I was sixteen, but I had missed the clock striking midnight! Disappointed, I rolled out of bed and picked out my clothes so I could go take my permit test.
Hours had passed and I skipped out of the Driver’s Center and caught the keys my mom had tossed to me. Excitement overwhelmed me as I got behind the wheel and started for home. I turned right out of the parking lot and headed for the ramp that led to the fast freeway. At first street was narrow and I felt nervous as I slowly crept up the road. My mom tried to talk to me, but my mouth was locked shut. I was too nervous to speak and all of my attention was focused on the road. Eventually, as we got closer to home, I began to loosen up, but I realized that driving wasn’t as easy as I had thought it would be. I had mastered steering and managing my speed pretty well, but the thought of merging and parallel parking frightened me. It had taken awhile, but after I was parked in our driveway I recognized that all of the time I spent anxiously awaiting driving had honestly been almost as exciting as driving itself. Reality has a painful bite. It took me turning sixteen to finally see that being grown up isn’t half as fun as growing up; but now, my next hilltop experiences will be getting my license, owning my first car, being able to afford gas and insurance…Oh, wait, there I go again!
On Growing Up
What is the definition of driving? Is it the operation of a vehicle? Or is it more than that? To me, driving was at last merging onto the fast freeway of life where I could finally put my foot on the gas, crank up the music, and enjoy growing up. Driving was turning sixteen.
Seconds had taken hours, hours had taken days, and days had taken years. I, now, counted down the minutes to midnight, February 28th, and my thoughts of fast cars and freedom turned to reflections and remembrances of the past fifteen years. I closed my eyes and memories transported me back through time. I felt the security of my big sis’s hands as my pudgy fingers desperately clung to her and I took my first steps. The guilt of stealing licks of cake batter whenever my mother turned her back overwhelmed me; and then, seemingly endless joy flooded over me as I played house and cooked play food for my stuffed animals. My eyes sparkled as my fingertips softly touched the fragile face of my new American Girl doll and my lips danced as I read Molly Saves the Day. A sense of warmness covered me as I returned from my dream-like childhood to present time. I realized that after the days of hopscotch, pogs, and Sesame Street had passed, my life had pushed the gas pedal as I headed up a long hill.
Turning twelve began the subtle transformation from freeze tag, jump rope, and legoland into a life revolving around responsibilities, expectations, and achievements. High school filled in my care-free days with things such as algebra, chemistry, and SAT prep. My closed eyes tried to close tighter as bright light peaked through my eyelashes and refused to go away. I turned over in my bed, but it didn’t help. Against my will, my eyes opened and were immediately drawn to the clock: 8:30 a.m. was displayed in red and an alarm sounded in my head. I had fallen asleep! I missed it! I missed my life rolling over from boring to beautiful! I was sixteen, but I had missed the clock striking midnight! Disappointed, I rolled out of bed and picked out my clothes so I could go take my permit test.
Hours had passed and I skipped out of the Driver’s Center and caught the keys my mom had tossed to me. Excitement overwhelmed me as I got behind the wheel and started for home. I turned right out of the parking lot and headed for the ramp that led to the fast freeway. At first street was narrow and I felt nervous as I slowly crept up the road. My mom tried to talk to me, but my mouth was locked shut. I was too nervous to speak and all of my attention was focused on the road. Eventually, as we got closer to home, I began to loosen up, but I realized that driving wasn’t as easy as I had thought it would be. I had mastered steering and managing my speed pretty well, but the thought of merging and parallel parking frightened me. It had taken awhile, but after I was parked in our driveway I recognized that all of the time I spent anxiously awaiting driving had honestly been almost as exciting as driving itself. Reality has a painful bite. It took me turning sixteen to finally see that being grown up isn’t half as fun as growing up; but now, my next hilltop experiences will be getting my license, owning my first car, being able to afford gas and insurance…Oh, wait, there I go again!
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