Lessons of Life on the New River: I'm BACK! (September/October Update)

Yes, I know the last post was September 20 and after a dozen emails AND phone calls, I am finally getting around to posting our activities. I know that there were some things I forgot to put in my September post so I will the time to do that now as well. Be prepared we were busy during October and there will be a lot of photos and maybe even a video if I can figure this out.

September 13 we celebrated Roald Dahl, one of our favorite writer's birthday, by beginning to read 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. This was a good book to choose because September 13 is also International Chocolate Day!
September 14 we talked about the Star Spangled Banner and that it was composed in 1814. When I was in school (yes, I climbed up hill both ways to go to school), my music teacher Mrs Rist, had us sing the Star Spangled Banner each music class. She also taught us the history of this song which I have also passed onto my daughter.

During the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key wrote the words to the Star Spangled Banner, a poem, on September 14, 1814. After being detained by the British, Key saw through the smoke that the American flag was still proudly flying over Fort McHenry. He added a note to the poem that it should be sung to the British melody "To Anacreon in Heaven."
So being the teacher I am, Kira also learned the history and the words to the Star Spangled Banner. It was like pulling teeth to get her to sing it, and she still gets some of the words mixed up but at least now she makes an attempt. It also helped that if she sang she would be able to invade the treasure box!
Many of you are lucky that you live in a part of the world where nature has one last fling before settling down into winter's sleep. The green palette of summer foliage begins to transformed into the vivid reds, oranges, golds,and browns before the leaves fall off the trees. Sometimes it is truly breathtaking. Living in South Florida the leaves do not change (well not like they do up north) and it makes it hard to explain to a small child. Friends and family have always been good at sending autumn pictures for my fall 'fix' and one of my former teachers, Mr. Ralls, posted a fall picture to his Facebook album. Beautiful shades of yellow and orange jumped out of the picture. This gave me the perfect chance to talk about photosynthesis. So on September 20, the first day of Autumn, we made pictures with leaves and a lapbook. I think our favorite activity was our Leaf Man.
September 24 was Native American Indian Day. After doing our regular studies we turned to Google and looked for information on Native Americans. We live in a historically designated neighborhood where there are mounds with Tequesta Indian remains. I have always heard about the Tequesta Indians but didn't know anything about them. We also found a website that had information about the Miccosukee Indian tribe. One of the sites that I found talked about the Seminole Indian tribe which was once an alliance between certain Creek, Miccosukee, Hitchiti, and other Florida and Georgia Indians. Many Miccosukee Indians joined the Seminoles but others still consider themselves distinct.
September 26 was John Chapman's Birthday. John Chapman was also known as Johnny Appleseed. When I was growing up one of my favorite songs was 'Appleseed John' by The New Christy Minstrels. My Dad has a LP of the album Tell Tale Tales and was kind enough to make a copy of it for me so we can enjoy it.

Oh my name is Johnny, Appleseed John
It's a big wide wonderful world we're in
Sweet red, green, and golden apples,
Grow wherever I've been.

We also made Apple Dew Dumplings! Scrumptious!

Apple Dew Dumplings

2 Granny Smith Apples
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks butter (can use margarine)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon to sprinkle on
1 can of Mountain Dew

Peel and core the apples and cut into 8 slices each. Roll each slice into a crescent roll and place in a 9 x 13 lightly buttered pan. Melt butter, add sugar and barely stir, add vanilla and stir, and pour over the apple dumplings, then pour Mountain Dew over the edges of the pan, sprinkle with cinnamon, and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

The first week of October is Fire Prevention Week. Our family has been very involved in the Fire Department both in Missouri and in Florida. I started the Fire Prevention Program in my hometown, and am still very passionate about fire safety. My daughter has that passion for safety as well. We made a lapbook on fire prevention, checked the smoke detector, and also attended the Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Station 3 Grand Opening.