Fun in the Leaves

If you live somewhere where the trees just dump their leaves all over-- piles and piles and piles of leaves-- you might as well take advantage of it!

Olliver Miller Homestead Adventure

This year we discovered the Oliver Miller Homestead.  The homestead is an old stone farmhouse originally built by the Miller family way back when Pennsylvania was largely nothing but wilderness.  The sons of Oliver Miller served in the Revolutionary War, the frontier Militia and were also involved in the Whiskey Rebellion.  This place is just full of history.  On this very property which we visited today the first shots of the whiskey rebellion were fired.  On this very land we stood today many years ago, was a dispute between the states of Pennsylvania and Virginia, both of which claimed the land as theirs.  If you are interested in learning more about the Miller family, you can visit the website: http://olivermiller.org/history/

Periodically throughout the year, historical festivals are held here and re-enactments are held and all sorts of glimpses into the past are presented.  We went to the Children's Harvest Festival.  It was a blast. 

 The Blacksmith: We visited the blacksmith and learned about the smithy work done on a homestead.  Here homesteaders made nails, horseshoes and tools.  We learned that wrought iron was very rare to work with at this time costing by todays standards $33.00 a pound.

The Tinsmith:  We learned about the role of a tinsmith (or just working with tin).  Beautifully tin-punched lanterns were definitely needed during the time period on ships and in barns and houses since electricity had not yet been discovered.  The kids were able to pick a piece of tin with a pre-made design and then punch it with a hammarlike tool (a piece of wood with a nail driven through it).

 Making Rope:  We learned how homesteaders twisted rope, by taking thinner threads, putting them on this thing-a-ma-jigger and turning the crank to make something much stronger and more durable for various uses (like handles for buckets).

 In the Barn:  We learned that...guess what? The homesteaders did not use nails to build this barn.  That would have been very costly.  Instead they used square wooden pegs in round holes.

 Sack Races:  While homesteading children had a lot of work to do they also got to play from time to time at get-togethers and barn raisings.  I'm not entirely sure when sack races were invented, but they had those here and it was a lot of fun.

 Giant Leaf Piles:  Kids really don't change that much throughout the decades. I guess all kids are drawn to a giant pile of leaves.

 Bobbing for Apples:  Again, I'm not sure exactly when apple bobbing was invented and I'm pretty sure I could google it, but they had apple bobbing at the Homestead today and it sure was a nostalgic nod to the past.

 The Springhouse:  We got to take a peek in the springhouse and see how this system of refrigeration worked since refrigerators had not yet been invented.  Ryan was pretty surprised and impressed by this concept I think.

 Period Clothing:  The boys thought they were above dressing in period clothing (breeches, stockings, cloaks,etc), although that was an option.  Instead they settled for wearing the tri-corner hats.

 Corn Bracelets:  One of the activities today was making a corn kernal bracelet. Dried corn kernals had been softened in water and then on a needle and sturdy thread the kid made corn bracelets.  It was explained to us that when the corn hardened again it would be very sturdy.

 Corn Cob Toss:  Kids had to get creative with what they had on the homestead and there was an abundance of corn.  So, one of the games we played was tossing a corn cob into a bucket.

 Corn-Meal:  Ryan learned how to make corn meal out of a small hollowed out tree log and pestle.  By the end of our activities we had done so much with our arms....those homesteaders must have been very strong!

 Quill Pens:  Ryan was able to experience writing with a quill pen and walnut ink.  There are many recipes for walnut ink floating around on the internet we were told today just in case we wanted to make our own.

 Shelling Corn:  Shelling corn by hand.  It was explained that the older and drier the corn, the stronger the whiskey.  Although, they used dried corn for many other purposes as well.

WhirliGigs:  Homestead children did not have much in the way of play-things.  They had to get creative.  One of the toys they played with was "whirligigs" decorated wheels of wood on strings.  The object was to get it to spin.  This was Ryan's favorite take-home craft by far. 

Church Babies: Way back in ye olden days, church was long and boring and kids had to sit very quietly.  The mothers would make their daughters little dolls out of scraps of cloth and when the dolls were dropped  by accident, they did not make any noise and the preacher did not get upset.  We got to make a very basic "church baby" doll by tying a knot in two sides of a square piece of cloth and wraping it around a cotton ball with a bit of string.  Ryan was not a huge and Dylan did not make one at all.  But I have no doubt we can find a cute cousin or Aunt to give this to around the holidays. 

This was a great family activity and oh, so educational.  Just in time for our next unit: The Colonial Days.  I am considering today a pre-field trip.

Pumpkin Patch Fun

After being rained out the previous weekend, we made it to the pumpkin patch this week.  We could not have asked for a more beautiful day.  The sky was a brilliant blue and the air was crisp and cool.  There were wonderful aromas of freshly baked, hot apple donuts and cider.   Fall festivals are one of our favorite traditions.  

Dylan was treated to his very first pony ride.  He was so pleased and excited he kept rolling his eyes and trying to draw his mouth in a straight line (he's so serious) but kept breaking into a giant grin.  

 The kids had a rubber ducky race with water from the pump.  

 Then up the hill to ride down the tube slides on burlap sacks. 

We met some farm animals: calves and pigs, rabbits, goats, chicks and ducklings.  My little animal lover could not get enough of the animals.

 We practiced our aim using this slingshot to hit the target.  We learned none of us have great aim.

 We got lost in the corn maze.  It was particularly muddy and slippery since we had a week of rain.  I am happy to report no one slipped and fell on their butt although we had some close calls.

 Ryan worked very hard to make the bell ring with this sledgehammer.  

 One neat thing about this particular fall festival is the giant storybook/nursery rhyme/children's movie themed pumpkin people.  Can you guess who we saw here? If you said Jessie and Woody from Toy Story you are right. 

 Then we slid down some haybales and frolicked in the hay. 

Finally, we took our hayride to the pumpkin patch and selected a pumpkin to take home.  The rule is the kids can get a pumpkin as big as they can carry.  Ryan tried his hardest to pick up some of the giant ones but had to settle for a much smaller one. 

Spooky Stories

It was my bright idea the other night to tell slightly spooky stories lit by the glow of Mr. Scary Face's pulsating strobe light and under the banner on the fireplace proclaiming that fall was here.

  The night was cool and windy and deliciously "fall" and all the windows were open for the full effect. My idea of spooky stories is something that sounds spooky at first but in the end all is well with a logical explanation to the initial fright or just a simple joke.  For example, a tale about a creaky old house that sounds haunted but in the end the children discover it is simply the wind howling through pipes or trees scratching on a window.  However, my dear sweet husband apparently has a different idea of what qualifies as a spooky story and additionally, he is not gifted in telepathy and could not read my mind, so really it is not surprising that things quickly took a dark turn.

First of all he began in a deep growling sort of voice and his face was lit eerily by the flashlight on his phone casting foreboding shadows on all his features, telling a tale about a little boy named "Ryan" walking to his dear sweet mother's house on a dark and windy night.  This little boy, "Ryan" was worried about his little brother "Dylan" because there was a werewolf loose in the woods....and Dylan had already left.....but had not arrived yet.

Well the story continued with little Ryan walking through the woods when a wolf howl sounds closer...and closer...and closer.... (at this point in the story both children are clutching my arms and shivering).  At this point I began to interject.  In my head I was already making an escape route out of the darkness of this story.  My plan was to say, "And then Ryan prayed to God, and God healed the werewolf and made him good and kind and they all had cookies together." But Josh cut me off and said plaintively, "Don't ruin it!" and continued in his scary growly voice.....so I waited hoping better judgement would win out in the end..... But my sweet husband had an interested and scared audience and he was enjoying it immensely and better judgement went on a little vacation.  So on it went with:  "Ryan" heard crunching and howls behind him and ran into an old, dark, abandoned cabin.  "Then Ryan sat shivering in a spider infested cabin in the dark, with the werewolf howling and scratching on the other side of the door.  He thought his one chance was to slip out of the back door and run to the barn several yards away.  So he slipped out the back door and the werewolf began sniffing and growling and running after him through the woods.  Story-Ryan raced into the barn several yards away and climbed up into the rafters.  Then when the werewolf was inside, he swung out of the rafters and trapped the werewolf in the barn....just barely escaping.  Story-Ryan went on to his dear sweet mothers house and discovered little Dylan had not arrived yet, evene though he left the earliest.  All night little Dylan did not come.  In the morning Ryan checked the barn and there inside the barn lay little Dylan."

"OH GREAT. NOW YOU'VE REALLY DONE IT!" I enlightened my dear husband.
"What?" He asked in genuine surprise.
"Now Ryan's going to have nightmares about Dylan being a werewolf at night and THEY SHARE A ROOM!" I predicted very rationally.
"What? No way. Ryan you weren't scared were you buddy?" He asked the five year old gripping my arm.
"UM yeah Daddy that was really scary." Ryan said.

Fast forward to about 1:00 AM.

Ryan comes into our room and snuggles into bed on my side.
"Did you have a bad dream?" I ask in one of those flat tones that suggest I saw this coming.
"Yeah. And Mom...Dylan's a werewolf and HE'S IN MY BED."
"Ah."
About three minutes later. I hear footsteps....and here comes Dylan telling me how he had a bad dream about three bad ghosts.
Ryan refuses to sleep next to Dylan just in case he turns into a werewolf.
I spend the rest of the night sandwiched between two heat seeking missles and no room to move.
Dear sweet husband snores blissfully unaware on the other side of the bed.

I. had.no.idea.this.was.coming.none.at.all.
Sometimes, being right is no fun.

We haven't been to the patch yet....

 OK. I know.  It was only the first day of October and I broke down and bought a pumpkin from the store instead of waiting until our annual pumpkin patch excursion (and colder weather).  But my excuse is.....they were cheap....and this counts as my pumpkin....and the kids were just so excited....and October is such a fun month.....it's really hard to wait.  We had to immediately carve said pumpkin of course and celebrate with home made pumpkin pie for dessert.

 This year, Ryan got to help carve...actively.  

 Dylan was adequately grossed out by the slimey gooey insides. 

 And fascinated by the pumpkin top.  We narrowly avoided a topless pumpkin after Dylan hurled the top on the concrete forcefully. 

 Pumpking scooping.

 Looking at the big, flat, white seeds.   We told the kids if they saved them we could bake the pumpkin seeds....but....they didn't think that sounded good. 

 Getting ready to un-vail their spooky creation....

 Yup. Pretty spooky.  The kids have affectionately named him, "Mr. Scary Face."