What We’ve Accomplished Today…04/12/10

I forgot to do the What We've Accomplished Today...yesterday. I wonder if that is because I didn't feel that we accomplished much?? Or perhaps because we were really really busy yesterday... Yes, yes, maybe that was it.

Anyway. We started our day earlier than the previous week: 9:20am.

Bible: We read Genesis 34. This one was about Dinah and Shechem. My ds did not understand what 'and he lay with her' meant but I didn't feel it time to explain it. Dd told him it meant "bad stuff", I said it meant he treated her in a way that he should not have. Anyway, after that happened, Shechem wanted Dinah for his wife. Jacobs sons dealt dishonestly with the men of the land and told them if all of their men would be circumcised that they would give their daughters and take daughters, there would be a peace in the land. So, the men did as suggested, agreeing because they thought it was a good idea, and were circumcised. On the third day after the mass circumcision, the sons of Jacob slaughtered them all. It was interesting to me, but pleasing as well, that both of my kids could see both sides of this. For one, they believed Shechem did wrong to start with but that Jacobs sons did wrong also by first lying to the men and then ultimately by killing the men. I like when I do not have to ask a lot of questions to get an idea of how my kids understand something. I want to know how their mind is working; how they come to their conclusions.

That was the only thing we had together- all of us- today. Next the kids individually worked on their math LIFEPAC. I worked with Fox for language arts, history, and geography. Lee did her geography, health and language arts on her own. Lee didn't get to history or Mere Christianity. Come to think of it, Fox didn't do The Greatest Story Ever Told either. Neither did foreign language or daily news. Both did do copywork- very nicely, I might add :)

But Fox had bible school for the first time last night and Lee had dance class. They had to get chores done before those things so, perhaps, that is why things went by the wayside? Or maybe not. Either way, things got done, and some didn't.

Something from Fox's geography I found interesting: We are in chapter IX (yes, I know it's 9..but I like Roman Numerals). I had never heard of Fort Jefferson. Honestly, I cannot remember ever learning about this place. Some amazing facts: It required 50 million bricks to make, the court is the size of 20 football fields and there is a 30 foot moat surrounding the Fort. Some say that the cost of making this fort was 'a dollar a brick'! These are amazing because originally this fort was built with the intention of preventing enemies from getting to the United States. However, the water is too shallow for boats to actually sail up to the Fort; the cannons and guns could not fire that far! In 1870 this fort was turned into a prison. The person of greatest notoriety held prisoner there was Doctor Mudd. If you aren't sure who that is, he is the Dr. that set John Wilkes Booths leg after Booth was shot leaving the theater where Booth shot President Lincoln. Dr. Mudd was charged with conspiring with Booth in the assassination of Lincoln. Another amazing fact: hundreds of people died at Fort Jefferson but not from enemies, treatment at the prison, or wars. Instead they died from yellow fever carried by the mosquitos that thrived in the warm water cisterns kept on the grounds of the prison. Dr. Mudd was kept in the darkest, dampest cell in the prison for his alleged crime. While he was at the prison, the prison doctor died from yellow fever. Dr. Mudd graciously offered his services and was taken up on his offer. Unfortunately, Dr. Mudd also contracted yellow fever. He did not die, however, and after four years his wife was able to get him pardoned. When Dr. Mudd left the prison, it was also closed down as a prison. In 1934 it was declared a National Monument. It is a place that Fox and I say is well worth a visit and we would like to be able to be transported by reading the Complete Book of Marvels! Perhaps someday we will actually get to visit the site.

Here is a satellite photo of Fort Jefferson from 2005. Up closer... And really close! Another one; wow, the walls have stood up to hurricanes and more than 100 years later, are still mostly intact! Definitely a place to see!

Those links may originate from a site that could have who-knows-what, so, yea, just, you know, be careful when browsing at things other than the photos. Not even really sure why I felt the need to point that out: maybe because I didn't look at the original websites, just the photos, so can't vouch for the content! Anyway...