Rose Hill Schoolhouse

 

Several years ago, we were invited to spend a day at Rose Hill Schoolhouse, a 1910 one room schoolhouse experience. My older kids had the best memories of that day and had been asking to return. I called and scheduled a day and asked several families if they'd like to join us. It made me really grateful for such a rich community of friends to have these experiences with. In preparation for our visit, I invited all the kiddos over for an afternoon to prepare copybooks and learn some about the time period and what our day at Rose Hill would include. 

It was such a fun day. I asked some of the older kids to facilitate old fashioned games for the younger kids. Nathan led the indoor games. 

All the kids prepared a copybook to be used for their penmanship practice at Rose Hill. 

A couple of the older girls led outdoor games. The kids had so much fun playing with their friends. 

Finally, the morning arrived and we traveled to Perry for our day at Rose Hill. 

Of course, we had to dress like we were in 1910. That's half the fun.

Katherine was so excited to spend the day with all her friends. 

At the beginning of the day, all the kids line up and they cross over the "time bridge" which represents traveling back in time to 1910.

Once we arrived at the school, we took a class picture. The teacher reminded the students that smiling for pictures was considered foolish. 

Then the school day began with the Pledge of Allegiance and singing a patriotic song. 

Afterward, the kids practiced their penmanship using a quill and inkwell. 

After penmanship, the kids started their reading lesson out of the McGuffy's Reader. 

Then after a quick math lesson on their slates, it was time for lunch and recess. We all packed time period appropriate lunches. 

The Flying Jenny was a highlight of recess. 

The kids also got to play with stilts and a stick and hoop set. 

After lunch, they filed back into the classroom for their afternoon lessons. 

One of Elisabeth's favorite parts of the last day at Rose Hill was the example of student discipline in 1910. She asked the teacher if she could be a part of the example. 

The highlight of the afternoon was a spelling bee. Katherine was especially excited because she beat her brothers. Elisabeth struggles with spelling and she studied so hard for the spelling bee. She didn't win, but she did really well. I was proud of her hard work and dedication to study so hard. 

The school day ended with a game of hide the thimble. It truly was such a wonderful day. We all had so much fun and learned a lot about what life was like back in 1910. And the best part was experiencing it all with so many of our friends. 

The Rose Hill Schoolhouse experience was certainly a core memory for all of us. I'm so thankful to create such special memories with my family and our awesome group of friends. 

March Happenings, Part 1

 Just like every month, March was full of events and busyness. These truly are the best days. Our homeschool group took a field trip to the Philbrook Museum of art. We had knowledgeable tour guides and saw some neat pieces of art (and some strange ones too). The grounds are always the highlight of the visit.

They had an "art" exhibit filled with silver balloons. I don't think anyone really understood the art, but they sure enjoyed playing with the balloons.

For the kids' Oklahoma History class, we visited the Cherokee Museum in Tahlequah. The highlight of the trip was learning and playing stickball.

It got a little intense!

So many times this Spring, our front yard was filled with neighborhood friends who had spontaneously gotten together. I love it so much! What a blessing to live in a neighborhood filled with sweet friendships. 

Even with all our activities, we still kept progressing with homeschooling. One of my favorite sights is seeing the kids reading and lounging on the couches together. Homeschooling is the best learning. 

The girls and I hosted a candle making session for our Keepers of the Faith group. They were making candles constantly for a while. I love their creativity. 

After their interviews in February, we revealed the Biztown jobs. Samuel and Elisabeth both received their first choice jobs- Samuel received CFO of Chick-fil-a and Elisabeth received Attorney with Professional Offices. 

Katherine is taking an art appreciation class at our co-op this year, and when the class studied Michaelangelo and the Sistine Chapel, they practiced drawing on the "ceiling." That class has been a wonderful enrichment for Katherine. 

Some of our homeschool friends performed in Hello Dolly, so of course we had to cheer them on. Katheirne adores Hannah. She's like a celebrity to her. 

Samuel turned thirteen in March. He gets a weekend trip with Matt to celebrate, but they had to postpone that until they could find a free weekend. We still celebrated him the weekend of his birthday. He chose Olive Garden as his birthday meal and happily shared his birthday dessert. 

He asked for apple pie for his birthday dessert. It's fitting that pie is his favorite dessert since his birthday is on pi day.