We spent the week wrapping up our study of colonial history and getting ready for the Revolutionary War era. We spent one evening sipping hot apple cider while I read a chapter from America’s Story Vol. 1. It always amazes me how much they enjoy listening and that they continue to ask for more. Afterwards, my daughter took the pages I had printed to bed with her so she could look at the pictures and maps. We also read some from some of our other selected colonial history books. Elizabeth finished up her colonial basket and Matthew finished his puppet play.
I think Elizabeth was surprised that basket weaving was not as easy as it looks (or as easy as weaving paper) but her basket turned out great and she is excited to try a more complex basket soon. She is entering her basket into our state fair this month as one of her 4-H projects.
On Friday we had the opportunity to go to Historic Bath, NC with a group of our friends. They were able to tour one of the historic homes, see the oldest church in North Carolina, and participate in several projects. One of the most interesting things that happened on the trip was learning that the home we were touring belonged to ancestors of a relative (by marriage) of ours. The kids really enjoyed that connection.
The kitchen was my favorite part of the tour (you may notice a trend, I enjoy cooking and eating 😉 ). It was a reproduction and during parts of the year they actually use the fireplace and cook food for folks to see. It was well stocked with a variety of dishes and cooking equipment. My son is excited that he has seeds to try and grow gourds similar to what you see in the picture of the ladles made from gourds. They also had a large loom and linen press in the kitchen. The press makes me thankful for my dryer but the loom was of particular interest to my daughter who has been interested in them since our trip to Williamsburg.
They had an opportunity to write with a quill pen and make rope during our tour of historic Bath. Both activities were fun but the rope making was hands down the favorite of my children and most of the others that were with us. Historic Bath was a coastal town that primarily dealt in naval stores so rope making would have been a common task. We learned to make rope using a hand cranked machine, though it wouldn’t’ be long before they would have used steam powered machines to help with that task. The tour in Bath was only a couple of hours but a fun time and really helped to wrap up our colonial studies.
If you would like to join us on this journey through US History, join our mailing list and get access to our free library. Each month I’ll post a list of resources and ideas for the time period we are going to cover the next month. You can learn more in our post Our Journey Through History. Colonial and Revolutionary resources are currently posted.
When you sign up for our free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.
Also, today is launch day for Sally Clarkson’s new book The Lifegiving Table. I am so excited about this book and the message that she is sharing. We can use our tables to disciple our children and all of those that come through our homes. We can give them rest, nourishment, comfort and so much more. I invite you to join us on this journey as we study through the book. I believe it has the power to transform families. To learn more or to join us in this study check out this post.
Finally, Not Consumed is having a great sale on their hymn studies. These are great ways to includes holidays and seasons into your studies while also focusing on God. We have used them in the past and really enjoyed them. Her missionary study (which we are using this year) is also on sale right now.
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