A Conservatory Tour PhotoJournal - National Botanical Gardens

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Yes, I'm still recapping our conservatory tour from our Summer of Kennady vacation! I've tried to spread it out a bit, because after all, one glasshouse starts to look very like another! That's what we were starting to think, but all the same, we thoroughly enjoyed each of them. So let's pick up where we left off - we had come home and were going on day trips so that we could take Kennady's friends along. Or at least that was the plan. On the Thursday of our stay-cation week, we'd hoped to take Kennady's friend Meaghan along again, but she wasn't able to go after all. So it was just the three of us heading to Washington, D.C. and the United States Botanic Garden. Or National Botanical Gardens. Or whatever variation of the name.

We took the Metro and it was a rather muggy day, so coming into the cooler conservatory was refreshing! We did choose to spend more time in the cooler biome houses than in those like the desert house as a result.

As always, the orchids were fascinating.

The flowers on this tree reminded me of  the Truffula trees in The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.

This bamboo is much better contained than what's growing in our backyard!

This was towards the end of the day, and we were all getting hot and tired, as you can see.

There's one more Conservatory Tour PhotoJournal still to come!

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Rushing Into History (A Homeschool Coffee Break Review)

I've been listening to radio host Rush Limbaugh for many years and find his political commentary both educational and entertaining. When I first heard about his Adventures of Rush Revere Book Series, I was intrigued even though my kids and I were all outside of the targeted age group! When the opportunity came to review the series, I jumped on it. So without further ado, let me introduce you to the Adventures of Rush Revere #1 New York Times Bestselling Book Series by Rush and Kathryn Adams Limbaugh!

Along with his wife Kathryn Adams Limbaugh, Rush has written five book series bringing his passion for American history to young readers. In the Adventures of Rush Revere Book Series, Rush Revere starts out as a substitute history teacher, but quickly wins over his young students with his unique approach to teaching American history.  Together with his talking, time-traveling horse named Liberty, he brings American history to life for their students as he takes them back in time to meet the pilgrims, the brave American patriots of the Revolution, the early American presidents, Francis Scott Key, and many more extraordinary Americans. When Liberty says the magic words "Rush, rush, rushing to history!" and Rush Revere declares the date and place, the adventures in history begin!

We received all five books in the series, all tied up in a blue ribbon like a patriotic Christmas gift. (And the series would make a fantastic Christmas gift for a young reader, if you're thinking that far ahead!)

Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims - Rush Revere comes to teach history as a substitute teacher at Manchester Middle School and raises some eyebrows when he brings his horse Liberty to the classroom. Liberty is special though - he is able to travel back in time!  Two of the students, Tommy and Freedom, get to come along on this time-travel adventure and spend some time on the Mayflower. They meet some of the pilgrims, including William Bradford, Myles Standish, and Squanto; and learn first-hand about the hardships faced during the first winter spent in the New World. They learn why these brave folks were willing to risk so much to settle in a new place, all for the sake of faith and freedom, and how their sacrifice and courage laid a foundation for the future United States of America.
Rush Revere and the First Patriots - Liberty and Rush Revere return to the classroom and this time their destination in history is just before the American Revolution, where they have the chance to meet exceptional Americans like Ben Franklin and Patrick Henry. Tommy and Freedom are joined by a new student, Cam, and are encouraged to stand up for freedom and justice in their own time. The students learn why these American patriots stood up to King George III of Great Britain and were willing to fight for freedom. 
Rush Revere and the American Revolution - It's summer break, but Rush Revere decides to invite Cam, Tommy, and Freedom on some more time travel adventures in a summer class. Cam is having a hard time coping after his military dad is deployed, and is the victim of some bullying. Rush and Liberty take him and the others to meet some more exceptional Americans like John Hancock and George Washington, and they learn first-hand about how the underdog patriots were willing to fight so hard for their freedom against such long odds. The students are right there during the brave midnight ride of Paul Revere, the First and Second Continental Congress, and the Battle of Bunker Hill. I loved the focus on helping an army kid realize why his dad serves and sacrifices for his family and his country. Rush Revere and the Star-Spangled Banner - This book opens with Rush Revere and Liberty helping Dolley Madison save the portrait of George Washington as the British advance on Washington D.C. during the War of 1812!  Then Rush and Liberty take their students on a field trip to Washington, D.C., and into history where they learn about the flag and other American symbols. A trip to the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence leads to time-travel trips to Philadelphia learn first-hand about the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the formation of the American system of government. Then a discussion about the national anthem as the class group attends a baseball game leads to a time-travel trip back to Fort McHenry and the War of 1812, as Francis Scott Key writes The Star-Spangled Banner. This one is special to me, because I like just a couple of miles from Terra Rubra.

I know exactly where this sign is! Very close to my house, in fact.

Rush Revere and the Presidency - Cam decides to run for student body president at Manchester Middle, so it only makes sense that Rush Revere and Liberty takes him and other students in their history club to meet Presidents Washington, Adams, and Jefferson, and their first ladies. Together they learn about the keys to success and good leadership, and they find out that the presidency is really about serving others. This book is a unique look at American elections, leadership, and the early presidents. 
Each of these hardback books is printed on glossy paper that looks like parchment, and contains photos and illustrations - there are photos of the historical sites mentioned, reproductions of paintings of the historical figures and events, reproductions of historical documents, and some whimsical drawings of the fictional characters in the books on their time travel adventures.

And the fun doesn't stop with these entertaining books either! The Adventures of Rush Revere website is full of more ways to engage kids with history. There are educational resources geared to classrooms and to homeschools, a book club, an activity depot, Rush Revere's Library (for further information on the topics in the books), Revere Riders Gallery (with lots more resources), and more. 

What we liked best:

• These stories are really entertaining! Yes, they are intended for children, but this mom enjoyed every minute and turned pages eagerly. The point is to capture children's interest and engage them in history, and these books certainly do that.
• The history is accurate. The fictional characters (Rush Revere, Liberty, and the students) get to witness the historical events, and take part in them, but the description of events as they unfold is true to history. The interactions with historical figures depict the personalities of those figures as well as possible in a children's work of fiction.
• I loved all the reproductions of documents and artwork included in the book, and the photos of the sites where the events took place. 

What I need to mention:

• You may have trouble putting the book down!

Our bottom line: I can't recommend these books highly enough! The Adventures of Rush Revere truly are an exciting and entertaining way to learn American history for kids - and adults too! 

Would you like to rush into history with Rush Revere and Liberty? Here's what you need to know:
Visit the website:  http://www.RushRevere.com/
Follow the links on the Adventures of Rush Revere Book Series page to order from your favorite bookseller.

Age Recommendations: These books are written primarily for ages 8-12 but are suitable for all ages.

You can follow Rush Revere on Facebook, on Twitter, and on YouTube.

Visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog for more information and to read other reviews.

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 ©2006-2017 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/

I have done my best to provide accurate pricing and links at the time this post originally appeared. Please be aware that these may change.

A National Building Museum PhotoJournal

We've finally arrived at the time of year when the hubster doesn't work on Saturdays, so it's also time to revive our tradition of Super Saturdays, when we try to go on an explore that's near home. This past Saturday we decided to visit the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.. This has been on his wishlist to visit for awhile, and this was the perfect day to do it - it was Frank Lloyd Wright Day, in honor of what would have been the architect's 150th birthday.

By the way, admission to the museum itself is free, but some of the exhibits require an admission fee. We paid $10 each for access to all the exhibits and to the curator talks specific to Frank Lloyd Wright Day.



Since we attended on Frank Lloyd Wright Day, we did stop in and listen to the curator talks, and we also did a little coloring. Right now the musem has an exhibit called Wright on the Walls which is a room full of whiteboards featuring outline drawings of buildings and art pieces designed by Wright. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to use the provided dry erase markers to add their own colors to the drawings.

Other exhibits being featured currently are Timber City, Around the World in 80 Paper Models, Cool & Collected: Recent Acquisitions, and House & Home. For the most part, photos are not permitted in these exhibits. Timber City showed how the benefits of timber construction and had models of many impressive all-timber structures from around the world. Around the World in 80 Paper Models featured the models of buildings popular over the years, both as architect's models and for educational purposes. House & Home was a history and sort of scrapbook of home construction and furnishings in the United States over the past couple hundred years. Cool & Collected was an eclectic selection of building and architecture acquisitions. It's also where I got my favorite photos of the day - the hubster and me sporting a plaster mustache!

The building itself is beautiful and has a fascinating history. You can get all the details at the National Building Museum website, on the History page, so I'll just toss in a few quick facts here, as I remember them from the guided tour we took.

The structure was built in the 1880s as the national headquarters for the United States Pension Bureau. It was also intended to provide a grand space for social and political functions, and to commemorate the service of those who fought for the Union during the Civil War. U.S. Army Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs was appointed architect and engineer for the building, and he modeled it after Roman palaces built during the Renaissance. 

The large interior courtyard design, and large windows were intended to provide plenty of fresh air and natural light for the office workers. There were no interior lights on in the courtyard area when we visited, yet it was definitely light enough for even the construction that was ongoing in preparation for a large summer event. Our tour took us through some of the office spaces and they were quite bright as well.

Over this fireplace, as well as on the outer walls and in the stairwells, there was a frieze honoring the military. This particular one shows the cavalry, and the one from a stairway below shows the infantry (if I remember correctly).

Our tour took us to the third and fourth floors, from which we could look down into the courtyard - a long way down!

The National Building Museum has for many years been host to Inaugural Balls and other state occasions.

This post will be linked at Sometimes Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Tots and Me . . . Growing Up Together!

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 ©2006-2017 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/