Colonial Projects

Right now in homeschooling, my son and I are doing a unit on the colonists. So we started reading about the Jamestown settlement and now we're reading about the Mayflower. As a historian, I am very careful about what we read when it comes to history. History is a tricky thing because primary sources are often very biased, and reading secondary sources can be even worse! It is very difficult to find neutral accounts of history, so sometimes it proves to be rather difficult to find just the right books to read. (Don't even get me started on Christopher Columbus!) For now we're using Mayflower 1620: A New Look at a Pilgrim Voyage done by the Plymouth Plantation. We will also be taking a look at 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving also done by the Plymouth Plantation. Their books look very impressive, with photos of reenactments of the events, and I love that they really seek to bring an equal point of view from the Wampanoag people. 

Anyway, I also found some fun books on Colonial crafts. I was surprised with how many I found! Our first project was knotting a fishing net, because fish was a very important part of their diet. My son is still learning how to tie knots, so I helped him a lot, but it turned out really well, I think!

The cool thing about this project is that it could be applied in so many ways - for the fishing for food aspect, a religious context with Jesus and the apostles who were fishermen, for studying jobs or industries, etc. It was actually pretty simple! We found the project in Projects About Colonial Life by Marian Broida in the Hands-On History series. I think some of the other crafts in there are a little pointless, but I'm picky when it comes to crafts, so that's really just me. Check it out!

Busy Busy

I have been busy. Perhaps a bit too busy. I tend to overwhelm myself. Last week we went to Larriland Farm and picked the last of the season's peaches and tomatoes. A few days went by and I finally canned the peaches in a spiced honey syrup (YUM!). I had a lot of syrup left over, so the next day I reduced the honey syrup a bit and canned the rest of it to use for other things.

Finally, today, I cut up the tomatoes and boiled them. When they cool down I'll run them through my food mill, boil them down a little more and then make it into salsa. I know. It'll be a thin, non-chunky salsa, which suits me just fine! I am not a fan of chunks. I might add a few cans of diced tomatoes for more texture and to make my husband happy. He likes the chunks. Why go to all this trouble? Because I didn't want to skin the stinkin' tomatoes! It was too overwhelming to think about and because of that the tomatoes just sat there with a few of them rotting in the mean time. So I did what I could cope with and I just cut them up and boiled them. Aaah! I feel so much better! I need to finish it today. I don't want to be canning on my birthday tomorrow!

I've also been busy working on a Regency corset so I can get started on making some dresses. You can read all about it over at my history blog.

My garden is overrun with weeds, but I have 6 watermelons growing about about 3 pumpkins! I've been planting some perennial flowers and some spring bulbs (not daffodils, thank you very much!) so it doesn't look so bare around here. It's slowly starting to look fairly presentable! I have visions of a well established herb and flower garden in the same tradition of well established, old-fashioned kitchen gardens like you see at historical homes. It'll take some time to get there, but it'll be a beautiful goal to achieve!

Healthy TV Habits in a Technologically Saturated Culture

I had my fair share of TV watching growing up of which I have fond memories. (I was a child of the 80s!) But I also spent a great deal of time playing outside, having loads of imaginative play indoors, and going for many long walks in nature with my family. (My mom was a huge advocate of exploring.)

I still enjoy watching movies and television shows I like - sans commercials if I can! And while my children and I enjoy being entertained like everyone else, I need to constantly remind myself that my children also need to learn to entertain themselves. I try to be cautious in how much TV face time they get, especially my toddler. And I try very hard to not let the TV be a babysitter, though I have resorted to it from time to time. The temptation to just sit them in front of a TV show is so strong sometimes, but I am getting better at ignoring that temptation by just telling my kids if they're bored they have to go find something to do or I'll find something for them to do. I'm met with grumblings of course, but eventually they're playing happily (with or without bickering). I've also tried to make an effort to only allow television on Tuesdays and Thursdays, although I've been slipping up the past couple weeks. I should consider it a good sign that my 2 year old daughter comes wandering in to find me instead of watching her favorite "doggy talk" show (Martha Speaks).

It's not that I want my kids to be technologically slow or ignorant. On the contrary. I just want them to develop healthy habits when using technology. (Which I need to be diligent in applying to myself as well! It's so easy to get sucked up into things...) To be honest, I am very anti-hand held gaming device, but I don't mind a few old-school video games (like Atari or Nintendo) for a limited time. My 5-year-old son knows how to work the TV and Netflix, but he is also finding his way around building electrical circuits using his Snap Circuits Jr. set. I am reluctant to have the internet on my phone because I know my own weaknesses! I spend enough time on the computer as it is.

I love technology. I really do! I just don't want us to be a slave to it. We are the masters over technology, not the other way around. At least that is my constant goal.

My mother sent me this article about why TV is a bad idea for kids under 2. It is positive encouragement for my efforts and gives me more determination to have less TV time in our family life in general.

http://eartheasy.com/blog/2011/10/why-tv-for-children-under-two-is-a-bad-idea/

One last thing, is that I am concerned by how many young children are plugged into technology - MP3 players, phones, texting, internet, TV. There is something constantly entertaining them. But what about being with their own thoughts? What about forming their own thoughts without constant exposure to someone else's? It is no wonder that children's attention spans are shrinking as the use of technology is growing.

I feel a valuable way to counter this is to have real quiet, contemplative time for children. This usually comes through unstructured play time. Even driving in the car, I've noticed my son quietly looking out the window or talking to himself as his way of using the car time. I am also a strong advocate against movies in cars - unless it's a car trip longer than 2 hours. I don't mean to put down people who use the little TVs in their cars. I just find that idle time in the car to be a good exercise for our children's patience and creativity in the enclosed space. I myself didn't grow up with movies in our cars for long trips (though my husband did, as well as listening to radio dramas). I remember much of the time spent playing travel games, eating, listening to music, feeling the wind on my face from the open window, thinking, and sleeping. (I was easily motion sick, so no books for me!)

Reading a lot of books to your kids and also having them read by themselves is great  in developing attention span. I also find using a different technology - audio radio dramas - develops great listening and imaginative skills. The mind is engaged, but because it is all auditory, their mind is left on its own to imagine the pictures, people, and scenarios. What a lost art this is becoming!

I'm excited whenever I come across audio dramas. I grew up listening to American History radio dramas and my son enjoys them now. Here a few links for audio dramas:

The Living Principles of America
My Audio School
Your Story Hour

We're looking forward to using these in our homeschooling.

I'm writing this post as much for myself as for anyone else - to re-encourage myself to stay strong against overusing the TV and to get the kids playing, reading, or listening!

New History Blog

I've just started a History blog as an outlet for my historical interests, which are many! I've wanted to post stuff here, but it just didn't really fit with the scope of this blog. So, I started a new one. Come on by! Leave comments!

http://history-preserved.blogspot.com/

Book to Recommend: Confederates in the Attic

I did an independent study on museums and museum work when I was in college. Strangely, one of the books my professor required me to read was Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz. What did that have to do with museums? It's a book about the author's journey to discover the exploding interest and allure of the American Civil War, why people are obsessed with reenacting it and why it's being kept alive. This book was one of the most fascinating books I'd read in a long time. It might have helped that I, myself, was a Civil War reenactor for about 9 years.

I did finally get why my professor required me to read this book. The interesting thing about homesteading is that a lot of the skills associated with it are ones that have been handed down for generations. These skills are an important part of our culture and heritage and reenacting our history is just one way that people help keep it fresh, real, and poignant in our minds. Museums, whether living history or not, seek to accomplish that very thing - to bring history alive for all of us and help us relate to the people who went before us and to remember and value what they did.

Confederates in the Attic helps us discover what those Civil War soldiers did for us and why a long gone war still affects people today.

Rating: I'd rate this book a PG-13 for language, suggestive language, and some violence.