In preparation for the holiday season, my mom & I planned out 4 weeks of Christmas-related assignments. Everything from reading to social studies to math has been included. We've done several field trips, too, and hopefully we'll get in a few more!
Speaking of field trips, my favorite one this week has been our trip to the Vaile Mansion in Independence, MO. The Vaile Mansion was owned by H.M. Vaile and his wife. They were originally from Vermont and he made his fortune in everything from postal service to wine-making. They didn't have any kids and sadly, Mrs. Vaile died the year after the house was completed (1881). For having only one full-time resident, the house was definitely opulent (I guess that would be the right word). The two indoor bathrooms were unusual for the time. Most houses didn't even have running water. Some of the painted ceilings were pretty amazing, but I can definitely see why the servants gossiped about one particular painting on the ceiling of the master bedroom. The house was decorated for Christmas with trees and wreaths in various arrangements. Each room was a different theme and there were some very pretty Victorian-era dresses out on display, too.
Now in contrast to the Vaile Mansion, a few days earlier we visited the more rustic scenery of Missouri Town. The buildings were decorated in the traditions of different countries, including Germany, France, and Ireland. At the Inn, we tried something called Friendship Tea which I thought was very good. The non-authentic recipe (as if they had Tang in 1855?!) was on the program and I think we'll try it someday at home. We also met a gentleman in the role of a travelling lawyer who gave us a quiz on the Government during 1855 (he would not break character for anything!). I discovered some things that even I didn't know. He was very interesting. Gifts in 1855 were often very simple, like toys carved out of wood or a bolt of fabric that they would make clothes out of later. In addition, we were also told about a very interesting German Christmas tradition which involves upside-down trees. It was supposed to save space, but if you ask me, it looked kind of silly :) Belsnickle, a 19th century Santa Claus-like figure, was roaming through the village asking kids school questions before he could decide if they were naughty or nice. I failed the math question, but I got the grammar question correct so I got a candy cane. I also tried threading popcorn to make tree garland while we were there. This is very tricky, as the thread kept coming out of the needle!
We've been working on some Christmas science projects, too. So far we've made peppermint cream wafer candies. We obviously didn't do something right, because they came out waaaaay too chewy and sticky. But they tasted good. Also, we made Borax crystal ornaments. They came out looking very pretty, but the crystals took hours to form! As we speak, some fizzy bath bombs we finished making about two hours ago are hardening. I learned the chemical formula that causes the bath bombs to fizz. Basically the whole thing relies on citric acid and baking soda (which is a bicarbonate). If you mix an acid and a bicarbonate and put it in water, it creates carbon dioxide which is the same gas that creates the fizzing in soda. Next week, mom is planning some sort of secret science cooking project, but she won't tell me any of the details.
One of the other things we've been doing, that is often overlooked, is studying the religious aspects of the holiday season. We read the books of Luke and Matthew from the bible, because they tell the story of Jesus' birth and life, and really that is what Christmas is celebrating. We also set up an Advent wreath and Creche (that is to say, a nativity scene). We also learned about St. Nicholas, the basis for the more modern legends concerning Santa Claus. Most people tend to forget he was a saint before he was a man in a red suit. Many international traditions have their basis in religion, too, such as the Swedish St. Lucia day and the Mexican procession called Las Posadas.
In keeping with the idea of different traditions, different cultures, and different time periods, I have been reading the American Girl historical Christmas books, one per day. My favorite so far has been Samantha's Surprise, about Christmas in 1904, but I found Kirsten's Surprise interesting, too. They lived in very different time frames and came from different backgrounds, but family was an important theme in both books. For literature, we're also reading Dickens' A Christmas Carol and we're also planning to read a Dear America book about Christmas in the Great Depression (an era also covered by American Girl's Kit Kittredge), as well as The Gift of the Magi.
I guess that's all I have to say about our Christmas unit! I'm looking forward to having two weeks off soon! On the 22nd, we'll be going to see Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker and I'm really looking forward to it, because I've wanted to see that ballet forever! After that, hopefully it's just going to be relaxing and baking Christmas treats though mom will sneak school in there somewhere!
Feliz Navidad! Good Jul! Frohe Weihnachten! Joyeux Noel! Buon Natale! Merry Christmas!
No comments:
Post a Comment