Quote from Forum Archives on October 8, 2001, 11:13 pm

Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE HOPE CHEST: Ideas and Inspiration for Home Education
Issue #45 part 4 / October 2001
Justice and Mercy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WELCOME TO THE HOPE CHEST!

The Hope Chest Home School News is a free bi-monthly e-mail
newsletter with encouragement and practical teaching tips.
Web page: www.homestead.com/hopechest/welcome.html
Personal e-mail: mailto:[email protected]
Subscription address:
mailto:[email protected]

This is part 4 of 4 for this issue.

NATURE STUDY: Botanical Gardens
by Virginia Knowles
ON OUR HOMEFRONT: What’s New at the Knowles House?
by Virginia Knowles
WHAT’S UP IN THE NEXT ISSUE?
RESOURCE ORDERING INFORMATION
REPRINT PERMISSION

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NATURE STUDY:
Botanical Gardens
by Virginia Knowles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Botanical gardens have a special spot in my heart. My husband
Thad took me to Leu Gardens, just north of downtown Orlando,
very early in our courtship seventeen years ago. We strolled
around, ate apples and cheese on the shore of Lake Rowena, and
enjoyed the orchid house. He also presented me with a set of
ceramic bells he had bought on a trip he had just taken to
Venezuela.

Several months after our wedding, we moved to Silver Spring,
Maryland. Our apartment complex bordered Wheaton Regional
Park, which featured the stunning Brookside Botanical Gardens.
The day we found out we were pregnant with our first child, we
ambled over to the gardens to celebrate! We visited there often to
unwind during our nine months there.

A few years later, for a “just the two of us” weekend (actually, it
was unknowingly “just the three of us” since I was a few weeks
pregnant with our third child) we drove up to Kennett Square,
Pennsylvania to tour Longwood Gardens, which must be one of
the largest and best in the country. We stayed in a quaint bed and
breakfast, and had such a romantic weekend.

OK, but what does that have to do with home schooling? This
morning I planned to take the children to the Orlando Science
Center. When we got there, we found out they are closed on
Mondays! BUT, Leu Gardens is free on Monday mornings, and
only a mile or so from OSC, so we went there instead. We’ve
been there many times as a family, since we had an annual
membership when Mary was taking botanical art classes. Let me
take you along on a tour with us.

As we entered the gardens, we noticed a large construction crane
removing a stump. A huge live oak tree had toppled in a recent
storm. The guy who was overseeing this delicate operation
mentioned that the trunk weighed 8 tons, and asked the children
how many pounds that was. Can you imagine a 16,000 pound
hunk of wood swinging from a crane over a cavernous hole in the
ground? The trunk was just a tiny portion of the original tree! The
man also mentioned that the tree had been as large as the
adjacent one, which had a humongous branch span! The sign
beneath it said that it sprouted from an acorn 200 years ago, when
this was still the territory of Spain. (A history lesson, to be sure!)

>From there, we headed down the waterfall path, passing the spot
where Rachel scratched her name into wet concrete a few years
ago. (Oops! Fortunately, it’s not too noticeable any more...) The
girls raced on ahead to the boardwalk overlooking Lake Rowena,
past the sign that says “Do Not Feed The Alligator.” This is not a
joke sign. They quickly spotted a baby alligator, which we used
our best math skills to estimate at about 3 1/2 feet long. (And yes,
Andrew counted the legs, so even he got some math in!) They
threw some sticks on the water, and the alligator, thinking he could
get some food, swam over to a spot right below us. Two large
turtles also surfaced, and didn’t seem at all fazed by the presence
of the gator.

Next we pushed the fully loaded double stroller up the hill past the
Leu House, a very historical museum that we did not have time to
“do” today. We mosied through the annual garden, threw pennies
in the fountain, chased a few butteflies, and snacked on juice
packs and ginger snaps in the gazebo. Our noses noticed the
distinct smell of sulphur from the sprinklers. I explained that they
pump up ground water for irrigation, and this is the natural odor.

I always enjoy the rose garden, which was full of dozens of
varieties of gorgeous, fragrant blooms today. Julia says we ought
to plant some rosebushes, but I am clueless about their care. I
guess that could be a good research project for us.

Next on the agenda was a detour through the herb garden to see
the lifelike bronze sculptures of two citrus workers. Then we hiked
to the arid garden, where they grow plants which can survive on
very little water. For an impromptu science lesson, I pulled out an
empty foil juice pack and demonstrated (by blowing air in and
sucking it out) how succulents can expand to hold fluid or contract
during the dry season. Andrew decided to get a little more tactile
experience with a cactus when he backed into one. Merciful sister
Julia (the one who wants to be a paramedic) pulled out the prickles
for him.

Adjacent to the arid garden is a greenhouse which used to house
the orchids, but now is home to lots of wierd and wonderful
species of vegetation. It’s not unusual to hear cries of, “Oh wow,
look at this one!”

About this time, Micah started to get a little “wilty” on us, so we
headed back to the entrance. As we tromped across the little
pedestrian bridge, we noticed a sign saying it had a weight bearing
capacity of 4 tons. Lydia commented that it wouldn’t hold up under
that big old 8 ton tree trunk!

All in all, we had a pleasant morning! I encourage you to venture
out to your nearest botanical gardens for some educational and
aesthetic pleasure! God’s creation awaits you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ON OUR HOMEFRONT:
What’s New at the Knowles House?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, there’s always so much happening around here, I’m sure I
can’t put it all in this issue!

Joanna (8) and Lydia (just turning 7) and I have joined the Keepers
at Home, a monthly girls club offered by our home school support
group. It is a Christian alternative to Girl Scouts, and offers pins
for different accomplishments in home arts, Bible memory, and
other skills described in the thick handbook. At the next meeting,
we will be sponge painting T-shirts at one of the mom’s parents’
farm! We can even bring our preschool boys along to see the pigs
and other animals, since there will be moms assigned to “little
brother” duty. You can see the Keepers at Home and Contenders
of the Faith (club for boys) information at the Keepers of the Faith
web site: www.keepersof thefaith.org

My mom, sister Barb, and her children came into town a few
weeks ago. We all took an overnight trip to visit my grandparents
at their new retirement village in Port Charlotte. Then Mary and
Julia went to Disney MGM Studios with them for a day. The next
day, Mary and Julia babysat Micah and Naomi while Rachel,
Joanna, Lydia, Andrew and I went to the Magic Kingdom. (Our
friend, CJ, who works there, gave us free tickets. Thanks again,
CJ!) It was a long day, and my back still hurts from riding Space
Mountain, but we had a good time. Andrew had to learn that “we
have to wait our turn” and that we can’t go right to the front of the
line unless we have a Fast Pass!

Thad and Mary, who is 14, flew to Kansas last Thursday to check
on his mother’s rental investments. While there, they toured two
art museums (one in Kansas City, Missouri) and went to an open
house at the Journalism school at the University of Kansas, my
husband’s and my grandmother’s alma mater. It was quite a field
trip for her, but I was glad to have them safe and sound at home
again...

While they were gone, I decided that I was completely disgusted
with how the TV affects our family. We have used the parental
blockout feature. We’ve tried removing the antenna so it will only
play videos. Neither of these quite controlled the beast. On
Saturday, I called Thad and asked if I could bury the TV in our
closet, and he said yes. When I took it out of the living room, I
decided to rearrange the furniture. I did this all by myself after the
children went to bed, which didn’t help my sore back.

As an alternative to watching the tube, I bought some craft
supplies at Wal-Mart. Julia has been busy stenciling a wooden
box with roses and a Bible verse. We are going to put it on the
shelf that the TV once occupied! Andrew is still trying to tell me
that “we need to watch TV!” I think it’s going to be a tough
withdrawal for him. I should mention here that my own parents
removed our family TV for six years when I was a child because
they noticed signs of addiction! I have blessed them for that
continually. My brother and sister and I all turned our attention to
art, music, and literature. Thanks again, Mom and Dad!

Naomi is in the playpen near the computer now, and the girls just
told me that she pulled up to standing position all by herself!
Doesn’t it just seem like I was announcing her birth? She’s 8
months old today!

I’ve been having a horrid time with my computer lately. I replaced
a mouse yesterday, but that hasn’t quite fixed it. I wanted to go
online to doublecheck all of my web links, but it keeps freezing up.
Therefore, I can’t guarantee that they all work! Sorry!

I guess that’s all I have to say that hasn’t been said somewhere
else in the newsletter! May God bless you richly!

Virginia

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHAT’S UP IN THE NEXT ISSUE?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The December issue theme is A Cross-Cultural Christmas. I
would love to hear your thoughts on this or any other thing of
interest to home educating families!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RESOURCE ORDERING INFORMATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don’t have the space here to describe all of these resources, so if
you want to know more about any of them, e-mail me and I’ll send
you descriptions! Right here I am just going to list titles, authors,
prices and order information. Shipping (all orders) and tax (Florida
residents) must be added to the prices listed. I have limited
quantities in stock (and some of them I can’t get any more of) so
please e-mail me before you send payment.

BOOKS BY VIRGINIA KNOWLES
The Real Life Home School Mom -- $14 (list price $16)
The Best of the Hope Chest Vol. 1(Issues 1-10) -- $10
The Best of the Hope Chest Vol. 2 (Issues 11-20) -- $10
The Best of the Hope Chest Vol. 3 (Issues 21-30) -- $10
The Learner’s Journal Lesson Planner & Resource Log -- $10
Nurturing Naomi: How to Help Yourself or Someone Else
Overcome Discouragement (audio tape) --
$3 or free with other order

BOOKS AND TAPES BY CINDY RUSHTON
Inspiring Our Children to Greatness Using Great Literature -- $12
Homeschooling... Digging in to ALL of the Options -- $10
* A Charlotte Mason Primer -- $12
* Ministering to the Heart of Your Child -- $12
Language Arts... The Easy Way -- $20
Nature Study... The Easy Way -- $25
* The 3R'S for Moms...Well, Maybe Four! (tape set) -- $16

* marks resources which I don’t currently have in stock, but can
easily order

QUANTITY DISCOUNTS! If you order any three items or more,
take $1 off the price of each item.

TO ORDER ANY OF THE RESOURCES: Send me a list of which
books you want and how many, and compute the subtotal.
Shipping to USA addresses is $2.50 minimum and 10% after that.
Florida residents pay 7% sales tax AFTER computing shipping.
(Contact me for foreign shipping rates, rush shipping rates, or
quantity pricing.) Mail your check, order and e-mail address to:
Virginia Knowles / 1925 Blossom Lane / Maitland, FL 32751

If you prefer to order with a credit or debit card on the web, go to
the PayPal web site at www.x.com and send the payment to
[email protected]. Be sure to get the e-mail address correct!
Also be sure to include your name, address and other order
information. This is the ONLY way I can accept credit/debit card
payment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REPRINT PERMISSION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You may freely copy material from this newsletter in other
non-profit publications (unless otherwise marked in the article), but
you MUST include the author’s name (not necessarily mine) and
this entire notice:

Reprinted with permission of Virginia Knowles from the Hope
Chest Home School News. For a free subscription, send an e-mail
message to [email protected] or visit
www.hopechest.homestead.com/welcome.html

Please send me a copy of the publication which includes the
material.
Virginia Knowles / 1925 Blossom Lane / Maitland, FL 32751

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~