Robert Toombs & Civil War Recipe

A couple of years ago we went on a business trip with my husband to Washington, Georgia.  While we were there we took a day to visit the Robert Toombs house & made it part of our history study.  His home has been turned into a museum for the public to view. 

Robert Toombs was an attorney & was instrumental in helping the South secede from the Union during the Civil War.  He became Secretary of State for the Confederacy, however, he really wanted to become president.  When Jefferson Davis was chosen for that position Toombs was not happy.  He eventually resigned & lived out the remainder of the war at his home in Washington.

While we were there I picked up a recipe that was made by Mrs. Toombs.  If you are doing a Civil War study this might be a neat project to do with your kids. 

Staying Home Alone

My son is now 12 years old & has just recently asked if he could stay home while I went grocery shopping & doing errands close to our neighborhood.   I felt like he was ready to try it...but was I?  Also, I didn't know the laws & what the legalities were for leaving children home alone in my area.
So I researched & came up with this information:   According to the National Child Care Information Center, only Maryland and Illinois have specific laws stipulating the age at which a child can be left home alone.

However, the National SAFEKIDS Campaign recommends that no child under the age of 12 be left home alone.  I have to agree with this...I never felt comfortable leaving him home when he was 11.  Also, I didn't feel he was ready emotionally to handle being alone.  

Hear are some guidelines to follow in helping you to determine if your child is ready:

Writing with Reactions

Today in school we had more writing to do...the never ending battle.  He had to write paragraphs with "reactions" included.  We had just read a short version of "Gulliver's Travels" so he had to write a story of a fantasy land. 

He choose to imagine being sucked into one of his video games, Lord of the Rings Online.  He did great his first paragraph with reactions of being "confused" & "amazed" but the second parapraph he totally forgot!  He wrote about being attacked by giant spiders & other great action...but no reactions.  What am I going to do with this kid?

So we discussed what his "reactions" would have been...."scared, nervous, frightened", etc. & how they would have made the story more interesting.  Without "reactions" there is no emotion.  When there is no written dialogue, "reactions" tell how the character feels about a person, place, or situation.

So the next time your child writes a story have them add reactions to add more interest & emotion.  Some reactions to include could be:  happy, excited, sad, concerned, sympathy, anger, shy, disappointment,  proud, disgust, etc.  With these additions they will add emotion & interest.

Taash and the Jesters

Since I am a homeschool mom & choose not to work outside the home, I run a bookstore on Ebay called The Book Cafe. I have over 100 books & movies listed and try to read through my books before they sell. Some I choose not to finish & some I like to recommend.

One book that I would recommend for you or your children is Taash and the Jesters. It was written in 1963 & is along the same vein as Narnia. Here is a quick synopsis:

"The orphan Taash lived with the good witch Bargah, until he went down a forbidden path in the forest one day - and awoke on a desolate moor, where witches were dancing under a full moon, winding a charm to take control of an infant's mind. Horrified, Taash snatched the child from their midst, little knowing that his good deed would put him in the center of a deadly struggle between good and evil being waged over the throne of his country."

I am not good at adding links to my page but I think if you click on the title of this post above, it will take you to my Ebay store if you are interested in purchasing it. My copy is a First Edition & there is a complete discription of it in my store. This was written for juveniles & was a school library book at one point. I really enjoyed the book & think you will too. Thanks for visiting my blog!