Upcoming events

[Pamela Jo]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post special events at Revolutionary War sites, but here goes...

If you are able to attend, Valley Forge National Historical Park has some great special events coming up soon!

The annual March-in of the Continental Army will take place on the following dates:

December 16, 2006,  12pm - 7pm
December 17, 2006,  11am - 3pm
December 19, 2006,  Anniversary Event, 5pm - 8pm

It's always something special to see the March-in reenacted.  If you live in the area, don't miss it!

Pam

*Through the rest of December, the Encampment Store at Valley Forge is hosting a holiday shopping extravaganza.  The store is located in the Welcome Center at the park.

[Administrator]

This is the perfect place.  Thanks for the great info!

[AmandaLynn]

I plan on being there for sure!

Other events coming up in December include the Washington Crossing re-enactment:

Sun., December 10, 2006, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Crossing Dress Rehearsal
Location: McKonkey Ferry Inn Section of the Park
Fees: Admission is charged.
See the precursor to the Christmas Day Crossing as the troops row General Washington across the Delaware River. Experience such activities as tavern life in the McKonkey Ferry Inn, open-hearth cooking, historic demonstrations, sutlers, and more at this great family event. The Crossing rehearsal occurs around 1:00 pm. River crossings are contingent upon safe conditions for participants. If conditions discourage crossing of the river, ceremonies and activities still occur.


Mon., December 25, 2006, around 1:00 pm
Washington Crosses the Delaware River
Location: McKonkey Ferry Inn Section of the Park.
Fees: Free. Witness the 54th annual Crossing of the Delaware at this traditional recreation of a crucial historic event. River crossings are contingent upon safe conditions for participants. If conditions discourage crossing of the river, ceremonies and riverside activities still occur. Guided tours and access to historic structures are NOT available on Christmas Day.


Also Trenton, NJ is celebrating Patriots Week between December 26-30. http://www.patriotsweek.com/main.html

The schedule is here: http://www.patriotsweek.com/schedule2006.htm


Linda

[tonyt]

Linda and Pam thanks for the schedule of events I have a friend who recently moved to the Valley Forge area and his kids have lots of questions about what occurred there . He has ask me lots of questions to pass along the answers to his kids . Think they will enjoy the events .
Tony

[Pamela Jo]

Tony,

I don't have any kids of my own, but I have 24 kids in my Pre-K classroom.  If your friend's kids are really very interested in learning more about the events of the Revolutionary War, tell him to check out the website for "Liberty's Kids"

www.libertyskids.com

It's great!  There is also a wonderful computer program called "Liberty's Kids" which is available from The Learning Company. It's an interactive newspaper journalist game for kids ages 8 - 12.  I don't know if your friend's children are in that age group, but if they are, there's no better program for teaching them about the
war.  Tell your friend to look into "Liberty's Kids"...and tell him it's "teacher recommended!"

Regards,

Pam

[tonyt]

Pam,
Thanks for the information I will pass it along . He had ask for children recommendations and unfortunately I had none as I have no child of that age and my reading is more strategy and politics of the era . I still owe him a visit to provide a tour of the area .
Tony

[tonyt]

Pam,
Talked to my friend today and he is taking his son and a couple of school friends to Valley Forge on Sunday all seem excited . He is going to call me to let me know how they enjoy it . Maybe some new converts .
Thanks again
Tony

[Pamela Jo]

Tony,

If they enjoy it, he should take the kids to the March-in event the weekend of Dec. 16th.  That will surely impress the younger set!  Let me know how things go for them this Sunday.  I love to hear that the younger ones are showing an interest in history.  The public schools don't focus on our heritage as much as I think they should.

One of the nice things about working in a private school as I do, is that we are free to plan our lessons the way we want to.  Of course, we must cover the basics, but we have quite a bit more freedom to choose the topics we add to our curriculum.  I've been teaching children ages 4 to 12 for the last 26 years and I love it!

Regards,

Pam

[tonyt]

Pam,
Did you make it to Valley Forge this weekend it should have been good weather , well attended . If you made it please give us a short report .
Keep up the excellent work of teaching our young people the principles of being good citizens and understanding the our heritage and sacrifices to get us to where we are today . Do you teach social studies or a complete curriculum ?
Tony

[Pamela Jo]

Tony,

I didn't go to Valley Forge this weekend.  The March-in is next weekend...I plan to attend if my schedule allows.  Actually, I was in Philadelphia today.  My friend and I had tickets to the Noon performance of "The Nutcracker" at the Academy of Music.  We try to go every year.  Because of that, I also did not have the chance to attend the Washington's Crossing event today.  I would have loved it.

Regarding my curriculum, right now I'm working with older 4 year olds and 5 year olds.  I plan my entire curriculum.  We are not dictated to by the Dept. of Education, so I do the whole program myself.  I also put together the monthly activity calendar for the entire school.  I am able to include lots of Social  Studies themes.
My class learns about a different "American Hero" each week.  Due to the young age of my current group, I always use lots of visual aids and dramatic activities.  We've been learning about the encampment at Valley Forge and George Washington.  The children are very interested and really seem to grasp the point...except for one 5 year old who has a bit of trouble with attention.  I asked the group to tell me who we are learning about right now.  His hand shot up and he was very proud to say "Georgie Washinmachine!"  Those are the moments that  a teacher is quite pleased with!

During the month of November, we reenacted the First Thanksgiving.  The kids built the Mayflower in the block corner and some were Pilgrims while others were Native Americans.  Activities like that get everybody interested and the children remember the lesson better, too.  I worked with the 11 and 12 year olds for several years...I find that the younger ones are much more open to learning about history. In any case, there's never a dull moment, as they say!

I'll post a report about the March-in next weekend.

Regards,

Pam

[tonyt]

Pam,
I had my weekends mixed up.

Keep up the good work with your students I am certain they will be better citizens . I liked the little quip about George Washingmachine it made me chuckle but it was heart felt .

Sounds good
Tony