The Schoolhouse Log: October 2010

October saw a lot of our activities revolving around our homeschool group's US Government Study. We made our first field trip to Philadelphia and visited The National Constitution Center, Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. It was an obvious place to start as we have been looking at the documents that influenced the formation of government in the US, the one that led to severing the ties with Great Britain (Declaration of Independence,) and those that formed the Government (The Articles of Confederation, The Constitution and The Bill of Rights). So off we trekked to the place in which it all started.

<Phil: I nabbed this timeline from the http://www.constitutioncenter.org web site>

Begin exploring the timeline by selecting a time period below.   1765-1786 We win a hard-fought Revolution and seize its promise of liberty   1787-1790 We adopt a Constitution for our new Republic   1791-1824 We forge a nation where the people rule   1825-1849 We become a land of the common man, though not yet a democracy for all   1850-1865 We are a house divided, a nation divided by bloody Civil War   1866-1885 We rebuild the Union and amend the Constitution   1886-1906 We encounter prosperity and its perils in an industrial age   1907-1930 We are a diverse nation, confronting our differences   1931-1946 We meet crisis in the Depression, and again in World War II   1947-1954 We struggle to provide freedom in a dangerous world   1955-1969 We demand liberty and justice for all   1970-1987 We wrestle with our democratic freedoms, arguing issues old an new   1987- We the People are still making history

Later in the month we visited Washington DC, where we parked our Airstream Flying Cloud in Greenbelt State Park (which is actually in Maryland.)  The campsite does not provide hook-ups for electricity or water, but toilets, water and hot showers are available. This was fine by us as our trailer has been adapted for off-grid use with a solar panel and battery for light, and heating and cooking using propane; we even have a composting toilet! At $16 a night this is definitely the cheapest place to stay to visit Washington DC! Traveling in to the city by Metro was easy, and the parking and train fares are very reasonable. We visited the Capitol Building (that tour was a little rushed), the Supreme Court (where we got to sit in the courtroom itself), the White House and the National Archives (where we got to see the original documents mentioned earlier). We toured all these places with the two other families we are studying all this with, and it was wonderful to be able to share and discuss the experience. We even located a restaurant (Bettucci's) that served a gluten-free food, which was nice as we could not carry food or drink into any of the buildings, so packed lunches were not an option.

Phil and I presented two Gravestone Art Workshops in October and one was given in Boonton, NJ, which was a new location for us. Phil and I  attended a Stream Ecology Workshop for teachers, sponsored by PPL (Pennsylvania Power and Light Company) and had a fascinating day learning all about creatures living in our rivers and streams. These are our water quality indicators. We had fun getting into a riiver in the afternoon, calculating the flow rate, performing chemical tests for such parameters as disolved oxygen and pH, and collecting and counting macro invertebrates. We also attended an amazing Saw Whet Owl program with PPL, learned about their migration and behavior, and how they are trapped and tagged, and then got to view two of these beautiful birds close up, before they were released later that evening.

Our Apple Festival fell on a beautiful day this year and was very busy and everyone had a great time enjoying hayrides, apple cider and crafts.

Lorna celebrated another birthday on the 21st and was treated to a wonderful Earth Loom, which Phil constructed in our front yard. Karla brought some beautiful natural materials to weave into it that day, and The Vonder Haar Family dropped in to weave. All in all another wonderful celebration....

Our month finished with a funeral just before Halloween. The actual funeral was that of Stephen Vail who died in 1864, and this was a reenactment of the event to demonstrate death practices and funerals during this period in the 19th Century. It was offered by Historic Speedwell, in Morristown, NJ, who did an amazing job and I have a feeling we shall be returning there for future programs.