Tis the Season for Homeschooling, Fa, La, La, La!

Rosie enjoying a laugh with a favorite athlete. Photo contributed by Ruth Alumbaugh for HTNP.

Our home school has shifted gears considerably since the last installment to HTNP. In fact, this time around, you only get to hear from ME, the mom who quit her day job with the State of Connecticut to devote her time, energy and life to her children/family.

So, where are we now in the process of homeschooling? So glad you asked!

This past summer, Rosie (who is 14 years old) got herself a job at the Windham University Club doing landscaping work. She was up at 6 a.m. many mornings, lugging dirt, debris and driving a golf cart on whatever her assignment was for the day. I am pretty proud of her, since she just walked into the place and asked for a job… and got it.

So, I have a pretty independent young teenager who was working AND going to school at the same time since she started her job the end of April.

This past summer, Jonathan, going into his senior year of high school, took a pre-calculus class at Quinnebaug Community College. Through much toil, study and struggle, he aced the class.

Jonathan, in his fencing gear, posing for a photo with his photography mentor at The Chronicle, Roxanne Pandolfi. Photo contributed by Ruth Alumbaugh for HTNP.

He also got a job working as a freelance photographer for the Chronicle, a local newspaper. He is very fortunate to have gotten a job he loves and one that he gets paid for, too!

Fast forward to this past fall and Jonathan has gained admission to QVCC and is a fully matriculated college student.

In fact, he is dually enrolled in the local community college AND our home school high school! He is earning college credit during his senior year of high school.

When he takes 12 or more credit hours, he can take a FREE class at Eastern Connecticut State University, as well. He is even enrolled for classes in the fall.

He continues to enjoy his job at the Chronicle (perhaps you’ve seen some of his photos?), as well as fencing whenever he can. He is one busy young man.

He has also gotten his driving permit, so we are driving with him as he heads to getting his own driver’s license and vehicle.

Rosie proudly displays her Quinebaug Valley Community College ID. Photo contributed by Ruth Alumbaugh for HTNP.

Rosie is homeschooling this semester but has gained admission to QVCC, too! She is going to get her college feet wet in January where, at the ripe old age of 15, she will take her first college course in drawing. This will supplement the academics she is already taking. This course is 6 hours a week and garners her 3 credit hours when she matriculates.

I can’t say enough about how the local community college is really on the cutting edge of getting some of the educational cream of the crop. Most other colleges won’t let you even stick your big toe into the classroom unless you are graduated from high school, have a transcript, or have taken your GED. My kids have done none of that but they are able to move forward educationally, nevertheless! I am really grateful for this shift.

So, what am I doing? I am glad you asked. I am shifting, too. I find myself grieving the loss of my children since they are now into adulthood. And I find myself coordinating scheduling more and doing more administrative stuff rather than hands-on academic tutoring.

However, there are life lessons that can still be learned at home even while children are at the stage my children are at. Here are a few…

• Time management/planning – How do I steward my time so I can get my academics done well and on time?

• Budgeting skills – How do I spend my money? What do I save? How can I avoid borrowing?

• Communication skills – This area is of utmost importance to me, as we are all going in various directions at times. Appointments, jobs, trying to schedule family time when we are ALL together, being faithful to our commitments, and saying we are “sorry” when we mess up….these are all things that are part of growing up!

• Sexuality – Yeah, you were wondering about this issue, weren’t you? Well, we feel it’s important to discuss this area when it seems appropriate for us as parents. Neither child dates, but we talk about relationships, friendships, and what each of us values. We get to know one another through this process!

• Household chore coordination – I used to incorporate cooking and domestic training into the kids’ schedules. Now, I find myself doing more of this. I also find myself giving the kids more freedom to do things on their own time clock. However, when the laundry on the floor of a bedroom gets up and walks itself to the hamper, I know that I MUST intervene!

Jonathan helps with Website design, business cards and more. Photo contributed by Ruth Alumbaugh for HTNP.

It’s a different season of life. I recently started substitute teaching in the public and private school system. I continue to give piano lessons. I continue to accompany for choral concerts and occupy the bench at some local churches when they need an organist. I continue to make cookies and spend time at the University of Connecticut with international friends quite frequently.

But I still haven’t hit the nail on the head when it comes to what I am going to be when I grow up. I wonder how long it will take?

If you’d like to contact Ruth about homeschooling questions, please write to editor@htnp.com and your message will be forwarded to her.

Posted December23, 2012

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A new season, homeschooling the Middle School and High School years

Rosie at her first job, landscaping at the University Club golf course in Willimantic, CT. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaugh family.

Last year this time, we were preparing to take a trip (as well as our classroom!) around the world. Forty two days later, we were home with armloads of stories and pictures. This summer, however, it will be VERY different!

It’s time for students in my Eagle Hill Academy classes to spread their wings and FLY! The kids are more independent but still need me once in a while. At least I still have a job!

This summer’s plans will see us mostly HOME in the United States. Yeah! As much as we savored our travels last year, our plans are here.

Jonathan just enrolled at Quinebaug Valley Community College. He is taking a precalculus class as we speak, for his high school year. He has been tutored by Colton Alexander, a recent grad from ECSU whose expertise is in math.

Jonathan has also completed his chemistry book, thanks to UConn. PhD. Alyssa Weer. I don’t do chemistry, nor do I do the level math he can, so I have found tutors to take care of these things. When the kids were younger, I could do the teaching but now, things are different.

And since Jonathan LOVES photography, he’ll get to spend time with some of the best locally, including The Chronicle photographers Marie Brennan and Al Malpa.

His passion for fencing is also occupying his time as he studies the rules so he can take a test, referee, AND get paid for doing it. He’ll also have his class two times a week in June and July.

Jonathan and his father, Jon. Jonathan's passion for fencing is also occupying his time as he studies the rules so he can take a test, referee, AND get paid for doing it. He’ll also have his class two times a week in June and July. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaugh family.

Jonathan is also on track to begin Driver’s Education, which will mean getting more hours of freelance work and paying for HIS car insurance. Soon, he’ll be taking Rosie to her classes, as well as getting the groceries. I’m dreaming of that even now!

And Rosie is on track to complete ALL of her academic work so she can repaint her bedroom. She is working extra hard on her academics so she can get to her painting job before the weather gets so hot.

She has done the research at local stores, chose her paint, knows what she needs and is ready to get going on her project. She’ll do much of it herself. “Independence” is the name of the game!

She can pay for her materials, since she recently landed a 10-hour a week job.

She walked into the University Club in Windham and asked to be a caddie, but was told they don’t have them. Instead, she was offered a chance to landscape and work on the grounds of the club. So, Rosie has been a working girl AND going to school for over a month now.

She’s learning how to manage her time, talents, and bucks so she can have an idea of how to do this in the future as she becomes more mature.

Since Rosie likes Shakespeare, she has signed up to be in a Backyard Shakespeare production that requires a month-plus of daily, lengthy rehearsals that will culminate in a performance in Bolton. She’ll be either in “Twelfth Night” or “Henry 5th.”

We are grateful for our neighbor, Susan Johnson, who graciously gave us permission to swim in her pool these past few summers! We’ll be there at least four times this summer, since I promised the kids we’d go swimming 100 percent more than we did last summer.

As a family “unit study,” we hope and plan to replace a shed in our backyard by building it ourselves. My husband would take time off of work so we could do this project together and hopefully learn about construction and the like.

There is lots to learn when we work together! Math, science, geography, budgeting, design, etc. It’s all there in the backyard.

The summer is full of activity – much of it will require me to just get children from point “A” to point “B.”

Rosie and her first paycheck for her first job. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaugh family.

We’ve had some great preliminary discussions about jobs, work, leisure and spending hard-earned money. It’s all a part of the nest getting closer to being emptied and training our children in the skills and values we feel are important as they enter adulthood.

These are exciting times. But they are scary, too!

I manage my own business, participate in town events, provide cooking support and suggestions to two cooking magazines, and am involved in a couple of ministry organizations!

We are embarking on a Google program that will help us synch our schedules and keep us organized. And while I rely on my paper month-at-a-glance calendar, I am demonstrating to my kids that I, too, can learn new things and enter into the world they live in.

There’s always something new to learn when you home school! And this summer, my “eagles” will be learning how to fly!

– Ruth Hartunian Alumbaugh

Jonathan’s Blog

Most people throttle down in the summer, but my summers are almost as hectic, if not more sometimes, than the school year. Last year was really busy, because we went on a really long trip. Hopefully, this year will be a bit more relaxing, as we won’t be going anywhere to far from home.

When I was 6 or 7 years younger, we had to school in the summer as well. Just the two “main” subjects – English and math – but I didn’t appreciate it then. I always thought it was a waste of time, boring, etc… But now I won’t go through summer without doing math or English.

I’m not that good at math, and I figure that I need all the help I can get with it. I do well in English, but there’s always room for improvement.

Jonathan signs up for his first Quinebaug Valley Community College class, in Willimantic CT. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaugh family.

Math is the main problem I have; I forget a lot of it fast, if I’m not using it every day to triangulate the height of a building or something interesting. So I’ll be taking a pre-calculus course this year at QVCC.

Originally, I was going to take intermediate algebra just to brush up, but I was told by the instructor of the class that it’d be boring for me (according to the “basic skills assessment”). That was enough to convince my mom, since she’s the one paying for the class, to put me in precalc. So I’m a bit scared about that, and hope that it won’t be too hard.

When the school year starts again, I’ll be doing math and English at QVCC for college and high school credit. I wish I could do some science/chemistry there, but a three-credit class costs about $400.

If I could advise myself a year ago, I’d tell myself to start taking college credit classes at the beginning of my junior year. It’s a great way to knock out some required classes, learn more, get ahead, and look good to colleges. Hopefully, doing this will allow me more time for the things that I’ll be majoring in, in college.

Help wanted?

As far as jobs go this year, I’m going to be ramping up my “ad campaign” and marketing myself more. If anyone needs someone with basic HTML4/CSS3 skills for cheap (compared to the “pros”) I’m your guy.

I’ll also be trying to get more graphic design/Photoshop gigs (i.e.; photo restoration, retouching and altering, business card design, photo shoots, logo creation, etc.) I’m putting in my shameless plug – if you’re interested in anything graphics/photo/web related, even if it’s not listed here, email me at jonathan.alumbaugh@gmail.com

You can see some of my best work and photos here https://picasaweb.google.com/109706361318407685038/AllTimeFavorites

My goal is at least 10 hours of work a week, I’ll be taking on as many temporary and longer-lived jobs as I possibly can.

The main reason I’m looking for more work is that I’m going to need money in the near future, for college, insurance, driver’s education, some form of transportation, maybe a new computer. It’s all going to take a load of cash.

Qwerty vs Dvorak

A couple of the other projects that I’ll be working on this summer (and will detail in later paragraphs) are modifying my Qwerty keyboard to a Dvorak layout and learning to touch type again, building a new shed, renovating the bathroom ceiling, and trying to run at least 2 miles more than twice a week.

I’m going to take apart one of my keyboards that I have laying around and reposition the keys so that it will be laid out like a Dvorak keyboard. I just thought it’d be kind of fun to know.

I can already touch type on Qwerty, and at about 80 words per minute I can go along at a decent clip as long as my brain can keep up.

I have heard of people getting up to 330 wpm on a Dvorak layout, so I figure that if I can get touch typing down with Dvorak, I could probably get at least a 20 wpm boost.

Qwerty was created to put most commonly-used letters farther apart from each other back when people used typewriters, so that there wouldn’t be so many jams.

Dvorak was created with modern computers in mind, and is supposed to help avoid computer-use related injuries. It is alleged that the keys are placed in more logical places. We’ll see if my brain doesn’t kill me in the first week.

DYI Time

I and my family will be working on a new shed this summer because the current one is falling down. Pretty self-explanatory.

The bathroom ceiling has been a problem for a while. Since that’s the only bathroom with a shower in it, and some of us like to take long, hot showers, it gets pretty steamy. The steam creates mold on the ceiling, and we have one of those lovely old popcorn ceilings. If you have one you know what I’m talking about, especially if you’re tall, like me.

I can’t stretch, take off my shirt, or put my hands up in the bathroom, because I’ll scrape my knuckles. It’s worse than falling off your bike or something, because it happens way more often.

So, we’ll scrape that junk off and repaint the ceiling and that’ll take care of that.

One mile in 5

On the physical front, I’ll be trying to run at least 2 miles twice or more a week. I’m 6’1” or 6’2” so people expect that I can run pretty fast, and I can, but I’m more of a sprinter than a distance runner.

My goal in running regularly will be to do 2 miles in 13 minutes. I’m at something like 2 miles in 16 minutes right now, so it’ll probably be forever until I reach my goal.

I’m also trying to reach 1 mile in 5 minutes… If you run often and have any tips for me, tell me, because I know next to nothing.

Running is probably one of the toughest exercises for me because it’s so boring. It takes an incredible amount of will power to run just for the sake of running.

I find it incredibly boring to run by myself. I’m extremely competitive, so it’s much easier me to run with someone.

It’s going to be a busy summer, and it already is (hence the somewhat hastily written article), with sports (fencing), a job, working on a lot of projects, trying to building a new computer, and getting into college… It’s not going to be the most relaxing summer ever.

From here on out, life will probably just get more busy until college is done in another 4 or so years. So I’ll be savoring my free time…

Rosie’s Blog

Well, to start things, there is no way to top last summer. It’s one that I will always remember. That and the summer I lost 5 teeth.

This summer will be exceptionally exciting, with all the excitement to ensue! I am going to try new things and with that, will come new experiences!

This year, I have a job landscaping at a golf course. Although it may not seem exciting, it sure is when elderly gentlemen compliment me on what I’m doing even though it may just be weeding.

Also this summer, I decided the “White Duck” color in my room is a bit boring, so I’ll be painting my room a light blue.

I’ve been blessed enough that my dad offered to pay up to half of what I need for paint supplies! The fact that I have a few things already planned makes it easier. I hope that I can get a paint that has a lifetime warranty.

Rose in a solo acting role this Christmas 2011. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaugh family.

At the end of July, and almost halfway through August, I will be have a role in William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” but I’m not sure what part I am playing yet. I’m excited that I will be doing this with some friends, which will be fun.

I think Shakespeare is hilarious, witty, and able to engage the reader or watcher with his wordplay! I recently read “As You Like It” by Shakespeare and it was hilarious. It would be fun to play Rosalind/Ganymede someday in a production.

These are the highlighted plans for my summer. I’m so excited for all the new things!

And this year, I’ll be around for corn and tomato season.

I’ll be happy to be staying close to home – no packing for 42 days!

I will love to hang out with some friends, and just have fun.

I hope you have a wonderful summer! I can’t wait to get out of school!

My family has supported my interests in all sorts of things like

• My job; my mom comes and helps me a lot,

• Music; I get to play guitar like an hour and a half each day,

• Acting; I’m doing Shakespeare!

• Painting; my dad is offering to pay for half of the supplies,

• And most of all, my pursuit to be a honorable human that sets a good example.

Posted June 9, 2012

Have a news item, event or Letter to the Editor you’d like posted on this news site? Simply send your information to editor@htnp.com and include your town in the subject line of your email. Please also include a phone number where you can be reached if there are questions. For daily updates on local and Connecticut news, “like” us on Facebook at HTNP News. https://www.facebook.com/HTNPnews and find us on Twitter at HTNP News (@HTNPNews )

Home Schooling – Reflections on Patriotism

The Hartunian-Alumbaugh family at an awards ceremony - (seated) Rosie, Jonathan and family friend Kathleen Thompson and (standing) parents Jon and Ruth, with Ida Ransom who is Vice Regent of the Anne Wood Elderkin Chapter of the DAR. Photo courtesy of the Hartunian-Alumbaugh family.

It’s been a while since you heard from any of us, but that’s not because we have been taking it easy! Our goal from the start of the school year was to complete the 2010/2011 school year by Memorial Day weekend.

We took very few snow days (we actually worked harder on those days this year!), breaks or days off so we could give ourselves a little room to breathe before the trip of a lifetime occurs (read more about this later).

Contests

Since we last submitted any new news from our home school, the Jonathan and Rosie entered a writing contest sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Locally, that would be the Anne Wood Elderkin Chapter.

Jonathan’s writing was to address lessons learned from Christopher Columbus’ life and Rosie’s was to address, in creative form, who she was as Paul Revere.

They have both entered various contests in the past, but this one seemed pretty rigorous.

As their “gatekeeper,” I try to limit the number of these opportunities since everything they do affects our household through time. I am concerned that they are involved in activities that are meaningful and sometimes even fun. But I have chosen to NOT be a “soccer mom.” I value my and my family’s sanity too much!

But, through the prompting of a friend, they both entered the contest on the local level.

They both won at this level, with Jonathan’s writing going on to the state level and winning there, too!

Currently, his writing is awaiting national judging and we are looking forward to hearing of the outcome of this contest!

Locally, they celebrated their successes in May at the local chapter’s gathering at the Jillson House on the 17th.

For Jonathan, we celebrated at a hotel in Rocky Hill with other DAR recipients of awards for service, writing and the like.

His state level award adds another given by the Italian American Society. He received a lovely small bowl (Paul Revere style!) with his name engraved on it, as well as the two organizations’ insignia. He also got a check for $100!

We were proud to accompany him to this evening event. It was a moving time to see him accept the awards and to relish his continuing journey toward adulthood!

A new camera

He also entered an amateur photography contest and won second place. That landed him a $50 prize and a greater spark to go on and purchase the camera of his dreams with his hard-earned snow removal, lawn mowing, and home care monies.

He seems to enjoy competitions, including his new passion; fencing.

Contests offer a great way to get feedback about one’s abilities, as well as hone/increase those abilities.

And it’s an exercise in learning about various areas of life from reading the contest directions, researching the “fine print,” taking the time to enter, sometimes paying fees, as well as determining which are a “right fit” for you.

One can’t enter EVERY contest. But a contest once in a while is sane… at least in my opinion.

Contests can enhance one’s curriculum; I just need to be sure it accomplishes something meaningful and that it’s not just busy work!

Prior to winning the writing awards, Jonathan earned his Bronze Level of Achievment for the Congressional Award. He will have many good things to include on his resumé/cv in the future. In fact, I think he will have a hard time picking and choosing what to put on it!

I’ve provided a couple pictures from Jonathan’s awards night with this column, as well as their writings for you to read for yourself.

There are a number of people who have shaped their writing abilities. As a “thank you,” we sent each one a copy of the writings. We are grateful for the wonderful people who have been a part of our children’s academic lives.

Rosie’s Blog

Rosie’s essay - Memoirs of Paul Revere

I am Paul Revere. You may know me for a ride I did on a horse in order to save many people. But there is more to me than that! I want people to know me from the inside out, good to bad. So if you find this document, it is quite special; please save it carefully for future generations. Let me tell you a little about myself.

I was born on New Year’s Day. I was never close to my other 11 siblings. My intent was on other things, like school or preparing to take my father’s place when he died. And that soon happened. At 12 years of age, I left school as did many children my age, to apprentice my father who was a silver smith. When he died, he left me and my brother to run the shop and provide for my family.

I went to church. My mother was a Puritan by birth and my father was a French Huguenot. My mother, when she was a child, didn’t like church very much. She would sometimes skip it or say she was sick to get out of going. But my father came from France. In his country of birth, it was important to be baptized and to go to church so at the age of thirteen, he was already baptized and a church-goer. Like my father, I want to be a strong believer in God. He was a wonderful father who was strong, loving, and kind…all the things I want to be remembered for. I am sure his faith in God helped him to be the man that he was.

Ida Ransom, Vice Regent of the Anne Wood Elderkin Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, with Jonathan Alumbaugh at an April awards dinner. Photo courtesy of the Hartunian-Alumbaugh family.

Skip forward a few years in life and I’m doing some exciting things! I have done many rides but the one I’m most known for here, as I first mentioned, was in Boston. It took me to Concord, Massachusetts. Being a Freedom Fighter was exciting. I would consider myself a real risk taker, someone who would fly into the face of danger and persist. And that’s what I want to be remembered for. I took risks and didn’t care if I got caught. I would always push forward and never give up.

Some people think I’m a hero for what I did that night on the “midnight ride” with William Dawes. But I always wanted the simple life, to be clever. I wanted to find out what it was like living with no care in the world. One time, when I was sixteen, I had a wonderful idea! My friends and I asked the pastor if we could ring the bell in the church and earn some money doing it. We got the job and made 3 shillings a week! I guess you could call me an entrepreneur!

I was a dentist once, a spy, and also did a midnight ride to Maine in the winter. I was a successful business man. I was conniving, sly, and wise in what words I chose when I talked business. And that’s another thing! I want to be remembered for my skills as a business man and a skilled artist in whatever profession that I chose.

In my family life, I was saddened every time one of my children died. It comforted me that they were in heaven, but sickened me that they were gone. I wanted my children to remember me as a father they could address with a hug or a kind saying of “thanks.” I believe I was a good father, always happy to help my family out and willing to supply for them when they were in need. I really enjoyed my large family!

So, this is the end of my proverbial “ride through time.” Writing these memoirs helped me find something out about myself. I decided I wanted to be remembered by these attributes of my character;

A risk-taker. I think being a risk-taker takes some gut and strong emotions.

A person who was patient in times of difficulty.

A competent business man who excelled in whatever he chose to do/be.

A loving father; one who takes a kind spirit to watch children grow up and become something beautiful.

A skilled business man; the trait that is needed to establish an honest reputation.

A man who was strengthened by his faith.

These are strong traits that I want to be remembered for. Thank you for saving these memories in this document. I hope you will share it with generations to come and be inspired to take on the world (like I did!) no matter the cost.

Works Cited

“Answers.com – How Many Siblings Did Paul Revere Have.” WikiAnswers – The Q&A Wiki. Web. 23 Dec. 2010. <http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_siblings_did_Paul_Revere_have>.

Giblin, James Cross. The Many Rides of Paul Revere. New York: Scholastic, 2007. Print.

Nisenson, Samuel. Illustrated Minute Biographies. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1964. Print.

“Paul Revere.” Google Books. Web. 23 Dec. 2010. <http://books.google.com/books>.

Randolph, Ryan P. Paul Revere and the Minutemen of the American Revolution. New York: PowerPlus, 2002. Print.

Jonathan’s Blog

Jonathan’s essay - Lessons from Christopher Columbus’ Life

Our country and our political leaders face some difficult decisions, today and for the foreseeable future. President Obama must deal with pulling troops out of Iraq, the Afghan War, a three trillion dollar budget deficit, and massive amounts of top secret government documents released to the public. These are times that try the best of men and women. These are times of heavily pressing decisions. Our leaders need the wisdom and the courage that it takes to do what is right for the country and put partisan politics aside. Our leaders perhaps could learn from Christopher Columbus. Columbus also had some tough decisions, but it was his faith that helped him endure the hardships and overcome the ridicule associated with his quest that ultimately led to the discovery of the new world.

Columbus exhibited great talent as a seafarer from a young age, making his first ocean journey at the age of 14. He made many voyages in the Mediterranean and sailed to the North Sea. In his travels, Columbus visited the Azores, as well as a trip to England. Some would argue it was his destiny to become great. Destiny or not, he was a very skilled navigator, able to determine his ship’s latitude and longitude with the crude instruments of his day without radar, radio, or a phone. Armed only with a compass and a few other basic instruments, he once sailed thousands of miles out of the West Indies and made landfall only 25 miles off of his target. The fact that this was possible with what few navigational instruments he had shows an amazing amount of technical prowess, considering we still have vessels running aground with all the technology available today.

Naturally, as with most heroes and celebrities, there are critics and fans. There are those who would like to crucify Christopher Columbus. The critics tell us all about his bad sides; how he had slaves and enslaved many Native Americans and sold them; how he stole land from them and used simple weapons to amaze them and scare them into giving him what he wanted; and how he made many work in gold mines. Then there are those whom I equally disagree with, who would like to make him out to be a god of sorts. They praise his daring, courage, and vision, but I don’t agree with either side. Columbus could not be made out to be any more of a god then could any of my friends. He had, as all humans do, dreams and goals which he would pursue with passion until he achieved them. What made him greater than most however was his faith in someone greater than himself. His faith in God was what motivated him to work for the people instead of working completely for his own gain. He realized that there was a greater cause that he should work towards for the good of all.

As mentioned before, our leaders could take a few hints from Columbus. He wanted to leave the world a better place. It’s a pretty basic thing but everyone has the potential to change the world. Columbus just seemed to possess more of a drive to leave the world different, and better. He was shrewd. When he appealed to Ferdinand and Isabella, king and queen of Spain, to fund his expedition, they refused. He then asked the French monarchs to fund him. Ferdinand and Isabella then quickly rethought their position on the matter, because if France funded his trip and it was a success, Spain would be embarrassed. Columbus made a bluff that succeeded. He knew that the leaders of the time would think about such diplomatic implications. Ultimately it was the Spanish king and queen’s advisors that told them of the tales of gold and riches in the New World, and convinced them to fund Columbus’ expedition.

Columbus was also bold; he put his money where his mouth was. When Ferdinand and Isabella agreed to fund him, two ships were paid for by them, but Columbus paid for the last one out of his own pocket. He must have known this was something important, that it was something pivotal to history. It would be like someone creating their own company and backing 30% of it with their own personal funds. It’s not really something you do unless you know that your venture is going to be profitable or a huge success.

Our leaders today need to be like Columbus; they need to be bold, shrewd, savvy, and they need to try not to buy into every one or everything that comes along saying that they can help. They need to investigate, get the facts, and see what’s real and what’s not. They also need to do what’s right for this country and not be conscious of what makes them look good or gives them good returns. . They must have courage, and more importantly the courage of our forefather’s and the courage of Christopher Columbus. A preacher who acts one way in front of the people, and another way in his private life is not acceptable. We need leaders who we can follow in all areas of their lives, be it in the public circle or in private when no one is watching. When I say one thing and do another, I don’t look good.

We need people who are patient, that don’t give in or give up if they aren’t getting what they’re trying for the first time. People who will persevere through the ups and downs, when no one can see the land and the crew is threatening mutiny. We need people who are in it for the long run, people who won’t give up at the first sign of defeat or at the first indication of weakness in their party. We need more people like Christopher Columbus.

Works Cited

Web sources

“Christopher Columbus Timeline – Google Search.” Google. Web. 20 Dec. 2010. <http://www.google.com/search?q=christopher columbus&hl=en&prmd=ivnsbo&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=W9kTTa2RGYGBlAfZ4vzIDA&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=16&ved=0CJEBEOcCMA8>.

“Christopher Columbus Timeline.” History Timelines. Web. 23 Dec. 2010. <http://www.history-timelines.org.uk/people-timelines/15-christopher-columbus-timeline.htm>.

“Christopher Columbus.” United States History. Web. 19 Dec. 2010. <http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1033.html>.

Pickering, Keith A. “A Christopher Columbus Timeline.” Columbusnavigation.com. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. <http://www.columbusnavigation.com/cctl.shtml>.

Printed sources

Freedman, Russell. Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas. New York: Clarion, 2007. Print.

Morison, Samuel Eliot. Christopher Columbus Mariner. Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown and Co., Inc. Print.

Nisenson, Samuel. Illustrated Minute Biographies. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1964. Print.

Columbus, Christopher, George William Sanderlin, and Laszlo Kubinyi. Across the Ocean Sea; a Journal of Columbus’s Voyage. New York: Harper & Row, 1966. Print.

Home school column posted in HTNP.com June 6, 2011

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Homeschooling and Holidays go well together

While gifts are exchanged during the holidays, it's time spent with family and friends that make these days the celebration that they are. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaugh family.

The holidays bring us opportunities that cause us to be grateful for the freedoms we enjoy as homeschoolers.  And the season also brings us an opportunity to enter into a time of celebration as some of our favorite family traditions occur during the winter months.

I’ve provided a few pictures of those things as visual aids to this column.

The day after Thanksgiving, we all go out for breakfast and then we cut down our Christmas tree.

My husband and I have been doing this all our married lives; 18 years to be exact. Sometimes we’ve had friends join us but this year, we didn’t.

Most people have “off” the day after Thanksgiving, so this is not too unique as far as homeschooling is concerned.

A new tradition is that Rosie, myself, and Aunt Kathleen get together on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and make tons of Christmas cookies.  This year saw us shaking and baking in Hebron, CT.

The day after Thanksgiving, we all go out for breakfast and then we cut down our Christmas tree. My husband and I have been doing this all our married lives; 18 years to be exact. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaugh family 2010.

This year, I helped organize a campuswide holiday concert at  UConn.  This required us to take a couple of days “off” so that we could load equipment, get technical things in order, do visuals for the concert, and a myriad of other details that go with doing a concert at a remote site!  We had the flexibility needed to do this, without losing too much sanity.

Since the kids are older, they can be entrusted to do their academic work even while I go to a rehearsal or do a few errands.  I check their lesson plans multiple times a day and also try to give them the day’s plans at a glance at the breakfast table so they know what’s going on.

We like to supplement our education with field trips and outings when possible.  Since we live in an educationally-rich area, that’s not too hard to do!

Preparing for concerts and a piano recital with my students, I needed to get things in order for that.  I have buckets in my kitchen of various kinds; the kids help me with loading and unloading the van.  They also have been immensely appreciated when we have to move the classroom to a different location so I can do what I need to do.  Homeschooling allows us to “take it on the road” when we need to.  It also makes it very easy to lose things along the way.  These are the challenges of being mobile!

It’s at this time of the year that we also shift our focus even more so, as we take our eyes off of ourselves and our wants/needs and think of others.

In addition, we focus on the Birth of Christ that is celebrated during this time of year. I realize that some of you may not share this belief, but our homeschool environment aspires to giving rather than receiving. We open our home for the holidays, do a neighborhood-wide Christmas caroling event, and have had an opportunity to share music this year with internationals at UConn through the Coffee Hours (the most recent one being a holiday “sing-a-long”).

In addition, this year, we are saving our pennies to attend a missions conference that we are invited to next June.  The kids are also invited.  Guess where it is?  Hong Kong!

We are thinking of this opportunity and hoping the necessary resources will come in for us to attend as a family, as well as possibly visit international friends along the way.  So we aren’t thinking of spending right now.

Truth be told, none of us needs a single thing.  I would rather be a good steward of what we have and also get rid of the excess, anyway.

My husband and I will have the opportunity to spend quality time with one another as a gift that Rosie gave me will come to fruition this week; she nominated and I was accepted as a “Ray of Sunshine” award winner in January. With that honor came dinner for two and free entertainment at the Mohegan Sun.

We will get to see the Nutcracker there, a sweet memory to share, as that was our first date 19 years ago.  Rosie’s gift of complimenting me provided us with a sweet opportunity.

And Jonathan received a gift card to a restaurant recently that he gave to us so we could have another date as husband and wife.   Hmmm…maybe they are trying to get rid of us? (smile!)

There are stresses during this time of the year, yes.  I have things I love to do and I love traditions.  But the greatest gift we give one another is the gift of time and attention.  And when we do that, we don’t have to worry about going here and there, buying stuff, and perhaps even being overindulgent. We can enjoy the season and not get “sucked” in to what we are told we need and what we need to do.

For us, keeping on track now, not taking lots of days off and saving those days for the future when we need them is like taking money to the bank.

We are happy to dim the lights, enjoy the music of the season, have a cup of hot chocolate (or good strong coffee for me!), a munchie or two, and a movie to relax and unwind.

Homeschooling won’t solve the problems of the world, but it will certainly make life rich and peaceful.  It’s a choice we are grateful to have made.

Rosie’s Blog

Homeschooling during the holidays… Hectic?  Yes.  Still have school?  Yup.  Get lots of presents? Don’t need ‘em.

I guess you could call those Frequently Asked Questions and frequently answered questions.

Being a homeschooler, it’s a tough season with the no-snow-day thin, but it’s also a great time for fun.  I even made a version of “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” that starts with “I hear three bells on Christmas day that said ‘come and eat chocolate cake.’”

Ruth and Rosie during a holiday baking blitz. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaugh family.

It seems that a lot of people think that homeschoolers don’t have a social life.  But Christmas, on the contrary, is just about the most social time of year.

We get to go to random houses in our neighborhood and carol; we get to go to our friends’ Christmas Eve party, we get to do school.

Okay, the last one was a bit of a downer.  But the point is, that we do a lot of great social things that are in this season.

In this season, two things must happen:  1. I think good thoughts of my brother (rare) and 2. Being sneaky (easy!).

Now sometimes (or most of the time), I think that my brother is annoying.  But in this season, it’s OK to be nice (weird, huh?).

Being sneaky is easy because of all the practice as a little kid trying to figure out what my mom wanted for Christmas so I could tell my dad what to get.

It’s a wonderful and social season for me and I love snow!

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!  This was an inside look at my Christmas season.  I hope that you and your family have a good season, too.

Jonathan’s Blog

During the holidays, we have the freedom to do whatever we want. For instance, at the beginning of December, we took a couple of days off of school to set up for a concert my mom organized.

We also have a lot of things going on at our house and in our neighborhood that we wouldn’t be able to do unless we were homeschooled.  Since we’re home schooled we could just make the school part of the day longer to make up for the school we missed.  I really enjoy the type of freedom that we have because we’re homeschooled during the holidays.

Almost every year I can remember, we have had Christmas carolers at our house.  My mom would organize an event and we would invite all our friends, and when they got here, we would all wrap up in our warmest clothes and go and knock on all our neighbors’ doors (at least a few) and ask them if they want us to carol.

And of course if they say yes, we sing them a song of their choice.

Then later on, we come home and have dinner and dessert and play games and have an all round great time.

I really love Christmas time, because we get to see most of our friends all in one place at the same time, and we have a great time talking with everyone and eating all around our house.

And especially if it snows, we go outside and have snowball fights and then after we are thoroughly cold and soaked, we tramp back in and have some more hot food.

Posted Dec. 31, 2010

Home school: It's busy for us, too

Ruth Alumbaugh (left) with a friend enjoying the end of the summer at the 2009 ICF Barlow Picnic. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaughs.

It’s time to get the house in order for yet another school year. Season-wise, the summer is almost gone.  But we still did a lot of academic work throughout what is supposed to be a typical vacation time for most people.

In this column, we attempt to explain the impossible; what it takes to get ready for another year. This topic should be most revealing!

The summer consists of finishing what wasn’t finished during the (public) school year.  The kids do math on a regular basis, but not as intently as they will now.  The summer also includes time to look at the feedback that was given last year and consider it for the year ahead.

I take the time to do a five-plus-page evaluation that includes both letter grades and narraratives about how the kids are doing in a certain area.

Here are some of the areas I comment on/grade, in case you are wondering:

Math, Science, English/Literature, Piano Lessons, Kung Fu, Horseback Riding, Self-Employment Practices, Living Skills, Home Economics, Attendance, Behavior/Attitude, Comprehension, Social Skills, Maturity, Spirituality, Comprehension, Following Directions, Acceptance of Correction, Quickness to Forgive,  Manners, Sense of Humor, Use of Time/Talent/Treasure, and Extra-Curricular Activities.

You may think that this is a lot of area to cover in a classroom and I would have to agree with you; it is.  But home schooling gives us the opportunity to focus on the things we believe of importance, hence, the almost-entire list of evaluated areas I just shared.

This past year, the kids didn’t finish their Science and History curriculums, so part of preparing for the new year was to complete coursework from last year!

My preparation also includes doing a ton of weeding. I hadn’t looked at files and folders in my basement for a couple of years, at least, so this summer I decided to go through all the academic work the kids have done in the past.

In a way, it’s a trip down memory lane for me.

It is such a joy to see

• how their handwriting has changed over the years,

• how their numbers have gone from backwards to the right direction,

• how both children’s academic work could fit in one thick folder in the past and how this past year’s work gave each child at least two bulging folders full of assignments and documentation,

• and how things changed from me providing all the assignment direction to the kids taking more responsibility in organizing their own things. Wow! Imagine that!?

In addition to weeding, we spend our time looking for just the right curriculum to use for each child. Since each child is different, we don’t always get to do the economical thing and just buy the same stuff for both.

In fact, I have a number of resources sitting here on my floor, awaiting the tag sale pile, that we didn’t even use or that were not as  appealing as we thought they would be when we got them either by purchase or inheriting materials from other people who were being generous towards us!

So, we are also getting the house in order by choosing what we feel are the important subjects to focus on this school year, just as we did last year.

Enjoying the International Students Barbecue at UConn's Alumni Center - Rosie and Jonathan are seated on the right. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaughs.

We are also gathering up dates for things that would be good field trips and educational outings to enhance our home school education.

The calendar fills up (a  little too quickly) for the time between now and the end of the school year. I am trying to monitor things so that we don’t end up feeling frazzled by December 31st!

We are also looking at last year’s schedule and determining if it needs to change; nothing lasts forever and that saying certainly applies here. We need more time for some things and less for others.  Or maybe we need to eliminate something.

When we first started home schooling, I used to block out times with specific parameters – like from 8 to 8:30 a.m., a child would read, and so forth.

Now, I have a master schedule that each child uses that is individually tailored.  I created it with a little help from a more-seasoned home schooler!

It is divided by periods but without specific times. It just needs to all get done by the end of the day! We add or take things away as necessary to accommodate the extracurricular activity calendar.

Since we also have an interest in international students, we get to fold into some special opportunities on campus at UConn.

The Alumbaughs attended a welcome barbecue for international students at UConn. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaughs.

We attended a welcome barbecue for new students recently (see photos) and will also be at the Crystal Pond with students by the time you are reading this column.

So, in conclusion, getting ready for another school year includes lots of things that most everyone goes through, especially if they are a teacher.

Obviously, we don’t have a dress code (we love snow days; we can do school work in our pajamas if we want to!) so we don’t have to go shopping when everyone else does.  We can just go when we want to!

We consider time, academic expectation and factor in the margins along the way.  There needs to be a buffer in between subject or activity to breathe and to relax a little.

Jonathan Alumbaugh designed this logo for the family's home school.

It’s another year. My house is getting more and more in order. We started our concerted school year calendar on Aug. 23. I know that’s early for most everyone, but if we want to take a day off here or there during the off season and be tourists, we can do that.  That’s one of the pluses of home schooling – flexibility.

Addendum: Jonthan, in pursuing his interests in Photoshop® and photography, as well as all things graphic, has created a home school logo for us. [See illustration]

You will notice that there is a motto in Latin.  Thanks to our neighbor who knows Latin, we included it in our home school logo. Translated it means, “Look it up for yourself!”  We hear that a lot at our home…. school!

Rosie’s Blog

Summer is over!  Horror of horrors!  Okay, as you could see, I was overreacting.  Anyways, the week of August 23, 2010 I went back to school. This article will talk about how we (my mom, my brother, and I) prepare for the school year.

First things first -  schoolbook searching. YUCK!  My least favorite thing to do.

Sometimes, we go to expo’s, which are basically really big gatherings of people doing the same thing as you. I guess you could say it’s the home-school version of the Home-Show at the Hartford Expo Center. At least that’s my interpretation  of it.

Sometimes, we look up things that we like on Amazon.com and see if we can get it for a better price.

Also, Jay (That’s Jonathan; I call him Jay because that was my grandpas’ name: Grandpa Jay) and I look over the evaluations our parents gave us at the end of the last school year to see what we need to improve on this year.

We have to weed through all of our stuff from last year, too. What a pain that sometimes is.  We do this so we can get rid of things no longer needed.

We spend our first week easing in to our new schedules, so that we aren’t on full throttle the first day of school. This way, we can get a feel for what the school year will really be like!

As we go into the grind – as an axe waiting to be sharpened by knowledge – this is what it takes to prepare for another school year.  Though we still need to do things to prepare, such as praying about what is to come. And we have come a long way.

Jonathan’s Blog

Getting ready for the school year is not exactly too much we have to deal with because we normally have school all through the year (because we’re homeschooled).  But in the summer we usually get less schoolwork, so we do get a bit of a break.

The reason that we have school in the summer is because otherwise, we would have to re-learn everything we forgot in the summer.

In fact, there are some studies that show that kids at public schools take up to three months to ascertain the knowledge they possessed last year.

So when we get back into school, we already know what we’re going to be learning about and have maybe even gotten ahead.

One way we do get ready for school (that is similar to public schoolers) is to go shopping.

At school, you always want to be fashionable, look your best, and have the coolest pencils.

Fortunately, the only other person in my school to contend with for looks is my sister, and I shouldn’t have any problem there. I definitely have way more cool pencils then her.

Sometimes you may want to study to get ready, and make sure your grades are better than anyone else’s. Once again I don’t have to worry too much about that. I had top grades in my whole school last year.

One thing that’s very important nowadays is having a computer that is powerful enough to run the latest word processing programs… and games.  ’nuff said.

Of course, being at the top of the school in looks, grades, and computers isn’t all there is to being ready.

You have to prepare mentally for the tough year ahead. What really counts isn’t being the best looking, or having the best computer, or even having the best grades (although that is a good thing to have).  What really counts is perseverance, a cheerful attitude, hard work, and being willing to try to do well even if you don’t get the best grades.

Posted Aug. 29, 2010

Celebrating success in the home-school classroom

Celebrating success can take the form of enjoying some pool time with friends. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaugh family.

It has been a while since any of us have written in this column, but we are still here home-schooling each and every day!  We decided to write about success and how we celebrate in this installment. We celebrate success in many ways, as you will see.

A little philosophical background would be in order, since the word “success” can be defined differently, depending on the person being evaluated, as well as the person doing the evaluating.

As far as I am concerned, if there is improvement, there is success. If there is struggle and then improvement, there is success, too. If there is failure and poor attitude, there is room for success. I hope I am making myself clear here!

We have attempted to provide small, special celebrations, as well as really big ones, throughout our home-school career. Small things may include a special meal, either at home or at a restaurant of choice.

Another way of celebrating is to make a trip to the UConn Dairy Bar, which has some of the best ice cream ever. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaugh family.

It may also include a special dessert (we like home baked goodies, especially with chocolate, and also like to frequent places like the Dairy Bar at UConn or We-Li-Kit in Abbington or… ), time on the computer playing a game, renting and watching a movie at home (popcorn included), or doing something like a bike ride or hike outdoors.  These celebrations occur frequently enough.

In the summer, we have often done a “math challenge.” This means that if the child completes all his or her math assignments he or she is given throughout the summer, everyone celebrates with a special event.

One year, we promised a go-carting outing at a place in Newington. It was a tough summer, since there was little desire to do math or any kind of school work, but the rewards were sweet when we all donned our helmets and got behind the wheel to enjoy a go-carting outing!

We did the same thing one summer as we were traveling/driving through Canada.  We found a go-cart place and we had an awesome time!

Although we don’t say that we are celebrating academic success or even success based on attitude/behavior, we have given the kids opportunities to invite their friends along on a family outing.

Rosie enjoyed inviting Hannah to a Wolf Pack hockey game a while back. Jonathan invited friends over to play laser tag for his birthday. Getting together with friends is important for both of the kids and we try to do that when we can.

A family picnic with friends while traveling in Switzerland earlier this year. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaugh family.

One of our goals is to develop greater levels of maturity. As the kids are faithful in smaller things, they can then go on to other responsibilities.

Both children have had opportunities to take care of neighbors’ lawns, plants, animals and mail while the neighbors have been traveling.  They are entrusted with house keys and the animal’s human’s love. They are often paid for their services.  Monetary rewards are sweet when you are saving up for something you would like to buy!

Being faithful in something you are responsible for is a success with almost immediate gratification!

This year, we have lots of opportunities to celebrate success.  On June 21, I am providing the leg work for anyone who wishes to join home schoolers at Quassy Amusement Park for the day. The cost is under $15 per person, which includes an educational tour, as well as access to the park all day and with rides.

This will be the first time we do something like this as a family, since Jon will take the day off from work as we celebrate the first day of summer!

We also contributed funds towards Jonathan’s dream camera (a Canon EOS 50-D) and are fulfilling Rosie’s appetite for cooking by giving her the gift of a 5-day culinary camp at Manchester Community College this summer.

Although these opportunities are perhaps larger than you may be able to afford, know that they are carefully chosen months in advance so we can save up and be a blessing to the kids when it is possible to do so!

Celebrations take many forms; tasteful, fun, exciting, a new adventure, something one can’t see (like something that happens in your heart!), something tangible or not.

We try to celebrate when we can. And we LOVE joining others in their celebrations, too.  So, if you need some experienced celebrators, let us know.  We’ll be right over!

Rosie’s Blog

“Success!”

Success is one of my favorite things; isn’t it great to know you’ve succeeded in something?  I believe it’s great.

Celebrating it is great, too.  In this article I will discuss how my family and I celebrate success.

There are a lot of ways to celebrate, so I’ll list a few here. I could receive: money (from mowing the lawn and such as that, to weeding out the patio), food (cake, cookies, ice cream, etc.), prizes (i.e. a toy or going somewhere special), movie (usually non theater), computer time (game time or e-mail time), or time with my friends.

Rosie (left) and her friend Hannah at the Wolf Pack hockey game in Hartford. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaugh family.

All of these things are great fun and usually require me to do my best in getting the work done so I can play.

One time, when my brother and I finished a math challenge, our mom and dad took us go-carting and that was so awesome!!!

Another time we went to the beach for a day-trip; I found a starfish!

Just to clue you in, ‘The Summer Math Challenge’ is what we have done in past summers; it’s a challenge that my mom gives me to finish by September. If I finish it, I get a prize, like going to the place where we go-carted.

All these things are, I think, really fun and very nice ways to celebrate success.

And after all the work I go through to get the prizes and such I think, “Wow! I feel successful because I now get to play!”

I hope you enjoy success and celebrating it. And happy Summer to those that have it because I don’t; it’s for my own good I think.

Jonathan’s Blog

“Celebrating Success”

Celebrating success is a way of life to me. I am almost always celebrating something – whether it’s someone else’s successes or my own, there’s almost always something to celebrate.

And whether you celebrate victory-dance style or the football spike method, it’s still celebrating (personally, I prefer doing a victory dance, as I’m not much into sports).

We celebrate successes in home-schooling all the time, but at no time do we celebrate more than during our summer math challenge.

Our summer math challenge does, as its name implies, include math. We have a math book that we are assigned to finish before the end of the summer, and if we do so, we get a reward.

One year our reward was a trip to a really neat place where you can go go-carting. That was probably my favorite reward, because it was a lot of fun to race around in the little go-carts really fast and drift out on the curves.  I still say I won the race, but there are others who disagree with me.

Jonathan (center) and his birthday crew getting ready to play laser tag. Photo courtesy of the Alumbaugh family.

Another year, our reward was a trip to our cousin’s place in Wisconsin and then a trip to Niagara falls.  That was a lot of fun, too, because our cousins live kind of far away and we don’t see them that often.

But on the whole, there is no certain “method” we have for celebrating. Anything we celebrate has its own merits, and you could say no two celebrations are exactly alike.

We do often celebrate the end of the school year by having dinner and ice cream out, but we may celebrate in any of the ways mentioned above.

I would have to say my favorite instance of celebration was the go-carting event, which we did in Canada before visiting Niagara Falls.  The place was deserted, so we got the whole track to ourselves.

I liked how the track went in and out of the building, so that part of it was covered and part was not. It was really slippery and curvy, so we got a lot of chances to drift around the corners, which was pretty fun (I’ve only ever driven a lawnmower besides a go-cart, and you’re not allowed to drift on lawn mowers).

Another one of my favorite outings would be when we visited our cousins in Wisconsin.  Our family is very spread out, so it’s very nice to get together every so often.

I like how we celebrate, more than just saying “yippee” for each other. It’s great to have supportive people around you, as science has proven numerous times.  I think that celebrating each other’s successes not only boosts our confidence in how well we did, but also our self esteem, and esteem for others.

Posted June 19, 2010

[Updated] Off-season travel – can’t be beat!

Rosie on the dunes during the family vacation "off-season." All photos courtesy of the Alumbaugh family.

[Jonathan's contribution to this column was somehow lost in the vast black hole where email sometimes goes - it was resent recently and now is added to the end of this column, along with additional photos taken by Jonathan. - Brenda Sullivan, HTNP.com Editor - March 9, 2010]

Editor’s Note: Need something to keep your mind off of sundown by 5 p.m. and rain alternating with snow forecasts that turn out to be way off base? How about our Home schooling columnist Ruth’s account of her family’s vacation (from home-schooling and everything else) a few months ago?

We had a family real vacation recently and thought that the topic of “vacation” could be interesting to our readers.

We had a rare opportunity to spend a whole week on Cape Cod after the crowds from summer left. We were there after Labor Day.  It was stupendous!

There are many advantages to traveling off season and to home schooling.

The Hartunian-Alumbaugh family on vacation off-season.

One main advantage is the fact that rates for everything go down after Labor Day (at least for the Cape, they do) so, economically, this is a true “plus.”

In addition, there is no traffic going on to the Cape. There was no such thing as gridlock at any time, no matter what route we traveled.  There were no lines or crowds anywhere; the beaches were quiet and peaceful.

The public restroom facilities were clean, and the lines for food at restaurants were nil.

For all these reasons, we find it easier to work hard for a few weeks and then take off while kids are still in other schools.  We plan our vacations around when people are in school, so we have all these advantages working for us.

The entry is made of whale bones.

We also got to see things that we had never seen before! The National Park Service offers great FREE programs all year round (most of the time).  For example, we folded into a hike on the sand dunes near Provincetown that focused on photography skills, lighting, and the beauty of the area. The ranger was a photographer who shared his tips.

We also attended the educational programs at the Cape Cod National Seashore Visitor Center; a couple of films about the dunes, the landscaping, and a museum full of artifacts centering around the Cape area.

One hike at the beach was about the withering shoreline, the way the ocean shapes the area, the foliage that lives there, and the creatures that live there.

The Marconi Telegraph site is pretty amazing, too, where Marconi sent the first trans-Atlantic message to England.

One tasty field trip we took was to the Cape Cod Potato Chip factory. Yum!

Cape Cod Potato Chip lighthouse.

And we also went to Hyannis to the JFK Museum.

The National Seashore is beautiful in many ways. We actually biked on the Cape Cod Rail Trail a few of the days we were there. This kind of activity was free, since we brought our own bikes.

And with the Internet, it was easy to get lots of information about the trails and how they were organized.

We could see the opening of a movie for under $6 per person (matinee), shop for inexpensive things at a local outdoor market, eat lots of seafood, stay up late and sleep late!

On one outing, we got up at 5:30 a.m. to head to the Scargo Tower and take pictures of the sun rise.

Rosie's sunset.

We were also staying near a body of water that made the sunsets irresistible!  You can be sure that there were a lot of pictures taken by the blossoming photographer.

We did a lot of driving on the main routes, and stopped whenever we wished.

I particularly like thrift store shopping. I also like things that have to do with food.

There were a couple of great shops for the cook/foodie.  As we went through some of these places, we remembered our trip to Europe last year and the great food we sampled there.

Truro Vineyard grapes.

One tour we took did have a bus load of people. It was a local vineyard in Truro, and it included a tasting. The wine was excellent.  The kids liked it, too.  Jonathan shares my tastes and Rosie shares dad’s.

It was a small vineyard, but it packed a great flavor.  It was nothing like the European vineyards, but special all the same.  Met someone we knew there; unbelievable!

Cape Cod off-season is the way to go for us.  We had never done this before; it was very relaxing and enjoyable to go where no one knew us, with no appointments to keep and to actually afford to be there. Through the generosity of friends and family, we had a great time on Cape Cod – off season!

Jon and I, wine-tasting for anniversary 17.

Rosie’s Blog

Off Season!

This year for vacation, my family and I were able to stay at a friend’s cottage (it was more like a house) in Cape Cod.

The town we stayed in was called Dennis. Very quaint place.  But the most fun about it was that we traveled in off-season (see title)!

Everything was so quiet that it was kind of hard to get used to.

It was nice to have no agenda.  At all.  Which means we were able to stay up late, watch movies, sleep late (that’s a big plus), eat whenever we wanted, bike ride, go to the beach and above all, have fun.

Biking on the rail trails.

Every night, we either played a family game or sat in front of the Tube. The cottage had 100 channels on the TV, which was really nice to watch.  Just in case you didn’t know, we don’t have TV at home. We stayed up till 11 o’clock a lot.

We started to read a book out loud, too – it’s called “The Last Jihad.”  It’s about 9/11, even though it was written before it.  I thought it was amazing.

We went on a 17-mile bike ride, too.  My brother and I rode our bikes around on the gravel roads near our cottage.

Amazing sand creations.

We found a small beach filled with crabs on our little expedition. We spent about  20 minutes there while my brother took tons and tons of crab pictures.

I hope that we will go back next year. There was no traffic, there wasn’t a bunch of people all around every where and there were so many things to see.

We even got to take a walk in the sand dunes!! There were no rocks or broken seashells, so I took off my shoes while we walked.

I had the most fun during off season.  I hope you enjoyed your summer vacation!

- R.G.H.A out!

Jonathan’s Blog

Cape Cod is a wonderful little piece of Massachusetts, with beautiful scenery, quaint towns, a remarkable past, and pristine beaches. Many famous people such as the Kennedys, Henry David Thoreau, Maria Mitchell (who had a crater on the moon named after her), and many others have lived, loved, and laughed in this self proclaimed “Cranberry State.”

We visited Cape Cod recently and got a taste of the fresh salty air they have up there.  We enjoyed the awesome scenery, visited the little towns, strolled through their overwhelming history, and donned our sunglasses as we surveyed their pristine beaches.

While we were on the Cape, we visited the Cape Cod Chip Factory and took a self-guided tour of how chips are made, then we visited some lighthouses. In fact, we saw the very lighthouse that is on the front of the Cape Cod chip bag!

A closeup of one of the lighthouses we visited. Photo by Jonathan Alumbaugh.

We also visited one near by beach and joined a tour by the National Park Service on how erosion affects Cape Cod. Erosion is such a big problem on the Cape that some of the lighthouses that were close to the shore have been moved, to prevent them from FALLING IN THE OCEAN!  A number of houses have FALLEN in the ocean.  We were wondering how hard it would be to get homeowner’s insurance on Cape Cod…

We had a great time using our bikes, as the Cape has a wonderful Rail Trail program similar to what we have here in Connecticut.  We biked to a couple of lighthouses and even biked to a town or two that weren’t that far away.

One of the nice things about the bike trail on the Cape is that there are lots of places to eat on it. There were quite a few places where you could turn off the trail and get ice cream or (of course) fish and chips.

The trail was fairly flat, as well, and my sister had very little trouble navigating it, and it was very nicely kept up and well used.

A crab I found. Photo by Jonathan Alumbaugh.

We did a lot of other stuff outside, like hiking and walking and exploring.  We found quite a few towns that were quite small and “unpolluted” by tourism, where there was nice scenery, great food and historic places.

Some of the towns we went to were famous – such as Hyannis – but some were a lot quieter. We found this wonderful little town called Wellfleet that was very quiet, but had an enjoyable little island with a bridge. It had beautiful scenery, and the island was large enough that you couldn’t see one side from the other, but you could still walk across it in about five minutes.

The bridge out to the island was pretty long and very rustic looking, but it had in fact been built within the year.

The best part was that we found some great food nearby.  And there were some really neat docks that we went to afterward that had amazing views.

We had a nice time at our temporary residence, which was located conveniently near the water.

We watched some movies at home, such as My Favorite Martian, Back to the Future 2, Kiss Me Kate, etc…  We mostly watched the “oldies.”  But the best part was that we got to make and eat cookie dough and have a really nice time.

A beautiful sunset. Photo by Jonathan Alumbaugh.

Then one night, I went out and took some nice pictures of a sunset over the water.

And since it was the one-year anniversary of our being in Europe during this time last year, we brought along a surprise box of Appenzeller Cheese Fondue that we had brought back with us from Switzerland to commemorate our time there.  We used the leftover cheese for macaroni and cheese the next day.

We had a wonderful time on the Cape, and the best part was that there were no crowds wherever we went.  No lines, no waiting, no nothing.  I like going places in off season best because then there’s no one else to bother you.

There was water right near where we stayed, so we saw some AWESOME sunsets (which I have some pictures of!).  And I even caught some crabs.  I had a great time.  We even made a sandcastle.  It was a vacation to remember.

Science is REALLY great fun, amazing, cool… and right in our backyard

Rosie engrossed in an experiment at the UConn labs. Photos by Ruth Alumbaugh.

In a rare opportunity offered through Dr. Yu Lei, we had a chance to have a morning tour through his lab in July of this year.  Dr. Lei is a highly respected scientist who has garnered literally millions of dollars for research at the University of Connecticut.  With his lab assistants, we had a golden opportunity to have a visit that afforded us with some awesome hands-on experiences.

As we toured the lab, we could really catch the spirit of excitement of Dr. Lei and his colleagues.  They were enthused about what they were showing us, whether it was scientific equipment, nanotechnology, fluorescence or the special places where they do their experiments.

It looks like UConn really has a great research program with all the technology they are able to use. They are distracting strands of DNA from places that are so small you need a computer screen and special microscopes to see them!

Dr. Yu Lei (far right) and his lab assistants took us on a tour of their lab at UConn (center L-R: Ruth, Rosie, Jon, Jonathan) Photo courtesy of the Alumbaughs.

The kids got to wear lab coats and make Petri dishes of agar with which to do their experiments. I think Rosie could have stayed there all day and done experiments. It was hard to tear her away from all the tubes and the equipment that she was given the opportunity to use!

It was a joy to see people at work who really love what they do and who feel a sense of enthusiasm for their tasks.  I think that this is definitely an attitude that is “caught” rather than “taught.”

As the programs at UConn expand, others will hopefully be afforded the opportunity that we have had this past month.  It was truly a privilege to be invited to learn more about the research that Dr. Lei and his colleagues are doing. The pictures will “tell” you a lot about what we did.

A field trip to UConn

By Rosie Alumbaugh

I had a special opportunity at UConn to go to a lab and take a tour.  Now I’m going to tell you about what I did there.

Rosie learning about "growing" bacteria (beside her is her brother Jonathan and a lab assistant). Photo by Ruth Alumbaugh.

We (my family and I) walked into the building where we were supposed to meet our friend Yu Lei.  He met us in the lab because he was running a little late.  We also met a grad student named Liang and another grad student looking for a job and her name was Ashley.

Well, we first took a tour of the lab where Yu Lei works.  It was so amazing that I really can’t explain it.

We got to see a freezer that makes things 80 below freezing Fahrenheit!  It was really cold!

Next, he showed us how he makes bacteria and how he makes gel, to put the gel onto make bacteria and that’s not all.  I got to make the gel and bacteria, put on the lab coat, and every thing! It was fun and educational.

Trip to the lab

By Jonathan Alumbaugh

We leave the house early (for a Friday, that is) and hop in the car and head for the University of Connecticut in Storrs. We get to the building where our friend, Yu Lei, works. Dad drops us off at the door and heads for the faculty parking place because Yu Lei lent us his parking pass on Thursday night. We wait outside Yu Lei’s building, and dad finally gets here, so we go inside.

Dr. Yu Lei at the University of Connecticut. Photo by Ruth Alumbaugh.

We find his room, but he’s not there, yet. So, we talk to a couple of his associates, Ashley and Liang. They’re both really nice people.

Ashley tells us that she spins nano fibers and what the medical uses are for it, and Liang tells us that he works with Yu Lei and what he does with him.

He tells us about how they grow “colonies” of germs on a jelly-like substance called agar. He shows us a sample, and the jelly stuff looks kind of yellow like ginger ale, and the colonies are like little white dots on it.

He said that it ate the agar because of the nutrients in it.

He also told us what they used the colonies for. The colonies are actually e. coli colonies that have been genetically modified so that they aren’t harmful.

Then Yu Lei showed up and he told us about the stuff around us, gave us a tour about what we would be doing and stuff like that.

There was a DNA copier, a fridge that had temperatures of -80 Fahrenheit, and a 7000x microscope.

At this point, we were given a lab coat and rubber gloves so we could do some experiments.  One of the experiments gave us an opportunity to pour some of the agar substance into a Petri dish. We then we put the colonies into another liquid that it ate. We grew some colonies after the substances were allowed to mix together in a special piece of machinery.

Jonathan learns how to safely handle equipment in a lab. Photo by Ruth Alumbaugh.

Another experiment we did was with fluorescence.

Dr. Lei put a liquid on a slide and then put it under an Ultraviolet (UV) light. We could see his name written on the slide; it looked sparkly blue, kind of like the stars at night.

In addition, we went to another lab where Ashley showed us how she spun nanofibers. It was pretty neat! The machine she was using used 30,000 volts of power and the current ran through the nanofiber as it was being strung.

We could see the sample up close and personal with the high-powered microscope. It looked like a really dense spider web.

At the conclusion of our visit, we turned in our lab coats, donned our street clothes, and headed to the University of Connecticut Dairy Bar. There, I had my favorite flavor ice cream to celebrate the success of all of my experiments (!). My favorite flavor is the Husky Tracks; it has peanut butter cups, vanilla ice cream and chocolate in it. It was a perfect ending to a great field trip!

Posted Aug. 30, 2009