Christmas Vacation

For the past 2 years, our family has escaped at some point during the month of December to Branson MO and Silver Dollar City MO (yes, the same place Jed, Granny, Ellie May and Jethro  of the Beverly Hill Billies was from).  We have gone as guest of our minister, who has season tickets and a timeshare in the area.  Last year we went before Christmas, and this year after Christmas.

When we went last year, we went to the top of Inspiration Tower (by Shepherd of the Hills).  The view is awesome on a clear day, and you can see clear into Arkansas.  There is also a Vigilante Ziprider from the top of the tower that runs down the hill.  JD has been talking about doing the zip line all year, along with Elizabeth, and then finally Emily got the bug.  So, yesterday, they zipped, while Rebecca and I watched.  The zipline is 1/2 mile long.

You can barely make out the platform under the tower where they start their zipline trip down the hill.

The ride is gravity fed, and the less you weigh, the slower you go.  From the top, I could see Elizabeth (in the back) kicking the entire way down.  I asked her why she was kicking, and she said because she was trying to catch up to Emily and JD.

At this point, they were almost half way down the hill.

The entire trip down the hill takes around 45 seconds.  They loved it.  I prefer the ground.

Afterwards, we went back into town and ate, then went to the Veterans Memorial Museum located on the strip in Branson .  It is a small building, but don't let the size fool you.  It has ten rooms full of items on display and represents all branches of the military, as well as the Red Cross.

If you take this trip as a homeschool field trip, I would give it at least 4 hours.  Pictures are allowed, so you can take plenty.  I would also take a notebook and pen, as there are several things you will want to write down and study.  One display we want to do more research on was a son's telling of his mothers experience as a Red Cross volunteer.  He had her uniforms, a collection of photos and letters.  He has written a book of her experiences which we plan to get and read.  The book, Mom at War,  is by Todd Parnell.  I am ordering it from Amazon with my swagbucks, as it is one I will want to keep in our home library.

Many uniforms are on display, and most also tell the history of the person who wore the uniform as well.

One of the many war posters on display.

More uniforms

Many guns--the wooden on in the front was a training gun.

Interesting German helmet.  A plumber found this in Dallas TX in 1990 while working under a house.  It is unknown how it got there, probably brought home as a souvenir and forgotten about.

Uniform and objects from one of the concentration camps in Germany.

These are items from a German concentration camp.

Since I am big into family genealogy, I had to check the names on the walls.  I found quite a few from our tree.

Historical Mt Gilead event for young girls

Girls Ages 8 - 13 years,

 

The Clay County Historic Sites are hosting a "Tea with American Girl Doll Addy (1864) at historical Mt. Gilead Church in Kearney, on Wednesday, July 27, 9:00 a.m. to noon.  We will be doing time-period games, crafts, serving refreshments, and a readers theatre story about Addy called "Friendship and Freedom".  Girls, ages 8 - 13, will learn a little about what life was like for children during the Civil War.

 

The fee is $10 and reservations are required.  Call the James Farm Museum at (816) 736-8500 for more info or to reserve a spot.  Seating is limited.

If you cannot make this date, another date, Saturday, August 20, 9:00 am - noon, will also be offered.

Our "new history thing"

Today, for the first time, we participated in an online webcast history lesson. The girls loved it. We (along with others) were invited to another homeschooling families home to participate in it. There were 5 families there today.

The host family has subscribed on an online history class in Colonial America. The topic this week was on slavery (fitting, since February is black history month). Their family actually does "double" on this, as the kids are also building their own web page sharing what they have learned. So, not only are they learning about Colonial America, they are also learning computer and web building, and how to research their material. They will meet again in March. One week they will work on the web page, and the next week they will have a new web lesson.

After the lesson was over, the kids split up into groups. Some played a board game, some had computer time and the rest gathered in the kitchen and did science experiments with various chemicals.

This was a great opportunity for us, as we only have dial up (about all we can get where we live), and programs such as this don't work with our computers. Our county has no library, and the one we do frequent frowns on 4 being on the same computer to watch, plus it limits your online time to 1 hour a day, which is shorter than the web cast was. So, if it wasn't for them inviting us in, we would not be able to do this one. The girls can't wait to go back.

After we finished at their house, we went on a shopping spree to Target. My husband surprised us this morning with $125 worth of gift cards he had received through his employer as a sort of bonus. I had a $10 to add to it, so off we went. I bought some new wisks, a tea pot, a new alarm clock, a Mavis Beacon computer typing program, and a garlic press to replace one I broke a few weeks ago. (the garlic press as I have high hopes for all the garlic I planted!) I wanted to check out their lawn and garden area, but they were just starting to set it up. I did notice however, the swim suits were already out.

Rebecca takes after me, as she went straight to the clearance rack and with $20 managed to get a new purse, 2 pairs of pants, socks and a sweater. Elizabeth got a book, socks and CD's, and Emily jeans, socks and a new billfold.

We love Target clearance sales. We found knee socks for 50 cents a pair! OK, they were Christmas socks, but hey, Christmas is only 10 1/2 months away.... And, we still have some left on the last card for our next trip!

The girls started on the Mavis Beacon typing program tonight. So far, they have learned the home row keys with the left hand. They have been using the computer, but this will help them get the correct finger placement and improve their speed. So, lesson one down, 249 more to go! Each lesson takes approximately 40 minutes, with option games as well. The CD is for all ages, up through adult, so as they progress they can learn by typing things on their level, such as poetry, Mark Twain, history, literature and more. It was a well spent $9.99

People say homeschoolers don't get enough socialization, but this week, we have had church activities, 4H, fire department training, history at another homeschooling families home, and homeschool coop. (Not to mention trips to the store and an upcoming one to the library next town over) And, I might point out, each of these activities involves different people, and of various ages, unlike traditional schooling in which kids are normally exposed to the same people daily. Needless to say, the lack of socialization argument doesn't carry any water with me.

I had someone tell me today that homeschoolers don't have to pay school taxes. I want to point out that YES we do indeed pay school taxes. (at least in Missouri, other states may be different). Not only do we pay school taxes, at the same rate as everyone else, but we also have to pay for most of our learning materials, unless we use free ones obtained from friends, bartering, online or the library. In fact, since my county has no library, and we use the library the next county over, we even pay for our library cards at $60 per card, per year.

History weekend

This Saturday and Sunday, Plattsburg held an reenactment of the Civil War Battle that had been fought here. The event was held at Perkins Park, despite the cold and rain. I have to admire the reeactment soldiers, they were shot and fell right in cold mud puddles, but it didn't stop them! After the battle, we wandered the camp and watched the horses, weaving (I learned a new way to make a rug!),cooking over open fires and more. I am glad that we no longer wear hoop dresses. I think the long dresses would have been very uncomfortable on rainy days. Meanwhile, Watkins Mill in Lawson also was having a living history event with its Fun on the Farm--in the rain.

Who will remember our lessons in family history?

This week our family has attended two funerals thus far, which is sad since it is only Tuesday. Sunday we attended the funeral of a co-worker of my husband, and yesterday, one of my cousins. Both persons had lead full lives, full of experiences many of us never get to experience.

In the case of the first man, he was born in Slovakia. When the Russian invaded his country in 1968, and killed neighbors in front of him, he took his wife and two daughters and fled. He left all he owned behind-including his home, money, furnishings and more. He did manage to have a few photographs and copies of his two college degrees. He spoke no English, but made it across boarders into Switzerland and then onto a ship bound for the United States. At his memorial service they told of many stories of his past, including things that happened before his daughters were even born. The family produced photos and letters that spelled out his life. By viewing and reading them, I felt as if I had somehow lived a small part of it or watched him portray himself in a movie.

Yesterday we attended the funeral of my father’s cousin Joe Espey. Again a full life and well documented with photos that were laid out in chronological order showing his life, beginning with his young life, and FFA days and later being a grandfather to eleven grandchildren.

I keep a lot of family history-some of it I gathered, and much came from my Aunt Mina Alice Espey Robison and some from my cousin Matt Wilson that he traced back to Austria. I thought I knew a lot of the history, yet I found out more yesterday. I didn’t realize that Joe had gone to England with the International Farm Exchange Youth, or that in 1982 he was an Ambassador to China. I knew him as a retired banker who farmed on the side with a son and 3 daughters, and a wife who has beautiful flowers planted in their yard.

Before the funeral we went to my cousin Karen’s house and I heard some of the stories I had heard several times, and a few new ones. After the funeral we went to visit an aunt in the nursing home, and then to visit another cousin in her 90’s. Hear again I heard some more stories.

These stories are what make our families, our history and our heritage. Often I have told a person they should write down a story or an event and they laugh at me, and reply that no one would be interested in that. True, your child may not be interested in that now, but what about later, after your gone? Or perhaps your grandchildren or great grand children?

Each year our family has a reunion in Maryville MO. It is the “Shinabarger reunion”. We are descendants of the Shinabargers, but it has been years since a Shinabarger has been there on a regular base. Each year our group gets smaller, as people die. In recent years we have lost several- Helen, Fran, Charlie, Dick, Beverly, and now Joe, among others. Each year we can feel the emptiness of those who are no longer there. The younger ones have moved away, or are too busy to attend.

We also have a family cemetery, the Whitecloud Cemetery. Even though it has been years since anyone was buried there, at our family reunion each year we see to it that someone has been appointed to mow and maintain it, and is reimbursed partially for their fuel. Our family has chosen to try and preserve some of our past.

Many a time, if we are in Nodaway County with my dad, we will drive through the county and my dad will point out various farms and houses with comments-I lived there, that was the Todd place, my dad farmed here and we used our mules to farm, this is where I lived while I went to high school, this is where my momma would sell her chickens each spring, this is where Charlie’s house was, this is where we would go to butcher hogs and the entire family would come and make a day of it….

But, how do we get the younger ones involved and interested? I have, as part of our homeschooling gotten my daughters to do a bit of genealogy. My 13 year old even took it a step further and made a 4H project with it, for a self-determined project, and it earned her a leadership award.

But, I fear family reunions are becoming a thing of the past. I have heard many people say, “We used to have them”. Why did they quit?

I would like to challenge all of my readers and followers to write down some of the stories, or start a photo collection or a scrapbook of your family. If you know the past, include it. If you don’t know your family past, start with your own life. Create something that can be added to by your children and passed down for generations. Include the hardships that show how you made it to where you are. Include favorite recipes (Yesterday I got my Aunt Leola’s pie crust recipe), photos, event programs, fair ribbons, tell stories of your first job, of learning to ride a bike, your favorite birthday, of your school days... Pass it down for the future generations to enjoy and learn from.

Our History Lessons

I was asked to give some more information about our history. All the girls use Alpha Omega Publications LIFEPAC History and Geography. We use 2 sets, the 6th grade set for the younger girls and the 8th grade set for Emily.

Basically the LIFEPAC books come as a boxed set, containing 1 teacher book and 10 - 12 student books. The student books are broken down, one unit per book. Each unit is further broken down into chapters. The student books are those that you can write in, but we don't. Emily's books get passed down to the twins, and the twins do theirs on separate paper. That way, they can be used again or used for tutoring.

Each chapter has a list of objectives and vocabulary words (which make great spelling words). There are self tests every so often. The books are in color and contain a lot of maps and pictures.

The teachers book states how to reach the objectives and gives various Bible verses to look up that go along with the lessons, experiments, additional readings, and of course tests and all the answers.

Right now the girls just finished working on the globe--they learned the longitude and latitudes, continents, time lines, mapping and geography. Next we start the continents in more detail and learn some history of each.

You can buy the LIFEPACS directly from alpha omega at http://www.aophomeschooling.com/index.php?utm_source=cj&utm_medium=cpa&PID=2203897&afsrc=1, from a Christian book and school store or off ebay. However, make sure if you go through ebay that you are getting the complete package with the teachers book and all student books.

Expect to pay around $45-$50 per LIFEPAC new. For some, this may seem like a lot, but remember, we don't write in ours--and 3 girls use it. So, that makes it around $16 per girl. Then I can resell them for around $20 when the youngests are done with them. On ebay, I have gotten LIFEPACS for as low as $25 plus shipping.

Watkins Mill state Park

Today, for the first time, the girls and I went to Watkins Woolen Mill State Park and sate Historic Site outside of Lawson MO. We were very impressed. We have a friend who works there and numerous friends that volunteer there. We liked it so much, that we signed up to become volunteers ourselves. Our first "gig" (for lack of a better term...) will be next Saturday, April 18 from 11 to 4, during their "Spring on the Farm". We will be dressed in period clothing and helping with the demonstrations. Demonstrations are to include gardening, wood stove cooking, rag doll making, toy making, weaving, rope making and more. This is a free event, although there is a small fee for the building tours.

For more information, call the park or visit their website at

http://www.watkinsmill.org/calendar.html#spring

You will want to wear comfortable walking shoes and bring your camera. Be sure to take the kids to visit the sheep, turkeys and chickens as well.

At the same state park, there is also a camp ground, a swim beach, lake and and a dam. There is a paved walking path around the lake and dam that is perfect for walking or a stroller. A young friend of ours from church and homeschool coop, Caleb, took the girls and I on a personal tour of the park. Caleb and his family ave been volunteering here for years. His mom was one of the people who encouraged me to come check it out.

The girls and I plan to use some of our volunteer time as a history credit.