Happy 200th Birthday, Indiana!

One item that turned up in our move was my Indiana history notes from 4th grade. I respect what the public school teachers did for us taking us all over the county and to our state capitol to see historical sites. One reason why I was a history minor in college was because of 4th grade. I never quite got to teaching Idaho history to the Lambs when we lived in Idaho. If I can read my messy handwriting and the mimeographed copies from 30+ years ago, I plan to use this with the Lambs to teach them Indiana history. Mrs. Mosely, your notes are being used for a second generation!

My mom and I did a little small business shopping on black Friday. One store we went to was Mr. Polymath. They sell a lot of items made in the USA and some are even made in Fort Wayne. They had a lovely nativity made out of coal. (Sorry Hannah, I did not buy it for you!)

I heard that the LCMS Synodical office has some church workers that love using Field Notes. I had to see what Field Notes were after hearing this. Mr. Polymath was the only store listed in Fort Wayne that sold Field Notes. Mr. Polymath might be the only store in Indiana that sells Field Notes. Of course I had to buy the Indiana version in honor of the  200th birthday!

Ram enjoyed reading all the facts on the back of the Field Notes. It was fun to be quizzed by him and see what facts I remembered from 4th grade history class. We'll have to see if we can get the ID version for Ram.

Ram and I have watched a couple of episodes of Hoosiers: The Story of Indiana online. We have both enjoyed hearing the history. After growing up in Southern IN, I learned that the state was settled from bottom up, like a glass of water, from the southern counties to the northern counties. In 4th grade I didn't realize how much important history took place in our county. I also bought a used copy of the book this TV documentary was based on. Ram is anxious for me to finish reading it so he can read it.

Indiana had some celebrations and the library did some special Indiana history activities with homeschoolers in honor of the bicentennial that I would love to have done with the Lambs, but unfortunately we arrived too late in 2016. We did take the Lambs to the local history museum.

Stonesetters Part 1

I took several pictures when Lamb 1 and 2 attended Stonesetters at the state capitol. I will explain more about the day in a later post.

Lamb 1 and 2 were allowed to take a turn to sit in the speaker's chair  in the House.

The participants were kept busy from 8:30am-3pm. There were no breaks. We ate our sack lunch during debates. There wasn't even a time for bathroom breaks. So the Lambs enjoyed the couple of minutes when they were invited to lay on the ground level and look up at the ceiling at the capitol.

We saw Governor Otter's ceremonial office. The picture behind the desk is Ronald Reagan. 

At the end of the day, one of our representatives met us. He asked the Lambs if they enjoyed their first Stonesetters. Lamb 2 answered first, "It was boring and too long." Representative Holtzclaw answered that they may not appreciate Stonesetters now, but as they get older they will. We wrote to both our representatives and our senator, but Representative Holtzclaw was the only representative that met us at Stonesetters. 

 Lamb 2, Lamb 1, and Ewe attended Stonesetters this year.

Ram was kind enough to chauffeur us so we didn't have to worry about parking in downtown Boise. Lamb 3 was not old enough to attend this year. Ram and Lamb 3 got dressed up to come down to meet us at the end of the day.

We were all hungry after Stonesetters and I had a gift card for Whole Foods so we went there for an early supper. It is the only place I know we can get pizza without cheese for Lamb 1 without making a special order. We enjoyed pizza and Izze drinks. Ram and I were happy that they were running a deal of 99 cent espresso drinks so we both had a fancy coffee.

After all the Idaho history at the state capitol tour, I thought it would be fun to get the Lambs an Idaho themed treat for dessert. So we went to get Idaho ice cream potatoes.

Ice cream rolled in cinnamon with whipped cream, nuts, and chocolate topping.

They were served at a drive in and the January weather wasn't the greatest for eating outside. I thought they could eat them in the car. But I didn't think about them being dressed up. See that pool of chocolate sauce? After the treats, we stopped at the dry cleaners to drop off Lamb 2's tie and Lamb 3's church coat. Everything else that had chocolate on it was washable. They were a fun treat to have once, but none of the Lambs really liked it. They are definitely a summer treat to have outside!

Stonesetters Prep

I signed up Lamb 1 and 2 to participate in a program at the state capitol in a few weeks. Lamb 3 was not old enough to participate this year. It turned out to be much more involved than I thought it was going to be, but I am so glad that they have the chance to participate in this.

Here is what we have completed:

• Finished the "homework" answering all the questions to learn about the state capitol building.
• Wrote letters to our state senator and representatives telling them when we will be there and that we would like to meet them.
• Memorized 1 Timothy 2:1-2.
• Prayed for our Idaho legislature each day in January.
• Lamb 1 wrote a bill and it was accepted for the Stonesetter legislature to debate.
• Purchased ties and some of the dress clothes for Lamb 1 and 2 to wear business attire.
• Ram and the Lambs learned how to tie a tie. 

Here is what we still need to complete in the next couple of weeks:

• There was one question in the homework that we couldn't find the answer. We plan to ask a librarian to help us.
• We will continue to recite 1 Timothy 2:1-2 daily.
• We will continue to pray for our Idaho legislature daily.
• Lamb 2 was asked to make a few corrections in his bill. We are waiting to hear if it was accepted or if we have to make more corrections.
• Need to purchase dress shoes and a few more items for Lamb 1 and 2 to wear business attire.
• Need to make copies of all their homework to turn in one copy and keep one copy in a binder.

I filled out the application and paid the small fee for them to participate last May. Their bills were due in October. So this has been a long process. I am looking forward to their day in a couple of weeks. I am so glad that a parent needs to attend with them so I get to see what they do. I know it was worth all the prep work to participate in this program. I also know that next year will be so much easier after participating this year. Lamb 3 will be old enough to join us too!

Lamb 1 and 2 have been hesitant to do this program because they don't know what to expect. But I know that they both will excel at this. They will love to debate their bill. They will love to be with other children their age for a day. We get to be at the beautiful state capitol building for a day.

We have worked on Stonesetters this week so we are not back to regular homeschool yet. We will be back on regular schedule next Monday. I am looking forward to getting back to a regular schedule and routine.