A busy day today, and absolutely divine weather. We began by dropping Mum to the train so she could continue through to New York. She got there in one piece, and should now be enjoying herself with her sister.
We took the children to the local Amish one room school for a visit this morning. Our hosts, Steven and Martha, came along with us. We spent a lovely morning with the children there. There are 30 children and one teacher at this school, with grades from 1 to 8 catered to. Amish children complete schooling until they are 15 then they spend the following summer doing 'vacation school' before heading out to take their place working full time on the farms. They do their schooling speaking English and Pennsylvania Dutch, and have formal German lessons. The schooling is taken directly from a text book (well, that is what we saw today) and there appears to be old fashioned pedagogy in practise. In fact, the teacher is also Amish, and does not attend teachers' college - but instead shadows the previous teacher until she/he is ready to begin teaching solo. The children at the school sang for us this morning, and invited us to spend recess with them playing baseball and kickball. Afterward, the Amish children asked us questions about Australia - and kangaroos in particular.
After a quick lunch, we drove an hour to get to Valley Forge
http://www.nps.gov/vafo/index.htm - where George Washington and his troops survived the winter of 1777/78. Ken and I came here 8 years ago, and it was just as scenic upon our return. I must say though that I engaged with it far more this time, as with the children we spent considerable time speaking to the park rangers, working through the ranger booklets and listening to the self-guided tour cd whilst travelling the 10 mile loop of the park grounds. We walked around some of the cabins (reproductions), the house where George Washington stayed over the winter, and George Washington Chapel - a functioning Episcopal church, built in the ornate style of a cathedral with organs, engravings, and beautifully carved seating for the choir.
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| trying to stand to attention just as Baron Von Steuben would have drilled the Continental Army to do |
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| humouring the Park Ranger by dressing up in American Revolution period costume |
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| with cabin |
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| the kids didn't mind it in the cabin |
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| National Memorial Arch |
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| Pennsylvania columns |
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| such lovely scenery |
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| The house where Washington stayed through the winter, and held meetings |
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| inside George Washington Chapel |
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| and again |
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complete with battle scars on face :)
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