I haven't been here since Sept. 11 and boy do I miss it. At the end of each month I like to reread that months posts just to be reminded of all that happened. September 30 came and there wasn't much to read. It almost felt as if the month never happened, but I know better.
The Civil War was the topic for our "Today's Lesson". What I thought would take 3 weeks ended up taking about 6 weeks. We read about the events leading to the war, President Abe Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, Generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant and a number of historical fiction picture books. The kids colored pictures of soldiers, drummer boys and nurses; labeled a map of the United States and identified the free and slave states. We watched two great animated videos, one on Abe Lincoln, the other about Harriet Tubman. We made hardtack and gingerbread. Grace made a paper mache project and Lee made a parachute; both of these ideas came from a Civil War activity book. Later today they are going to draw and color flags while I finish reading one last book to them. I've had a great time learning about the Civil War, it seems like I'm learning most of it for the first time, even though I'm a college graduate. That's not too surprising, though.
Today we made pasties for lunch. They are cooling now and making the whole house smell yummy. The basic recipe is: 2 cups rutabaga, 2 cups potato, 1 cup onion, 1 lb. ground meat and lots of pie crust. We used seasoned pork sausage and homemade pie crust (enough for 2 double crust pies). Each one of us made our own and suited it to our taste and hunger. Now for the test; time to ring the dinner bell.
