Monday, October 27, 2008

The Adventure Has Arrived

The Adventure is the new ship has landed at Charles Towne Landing. The SC State Park website shares this information about the ship.

The Adventure is a 73-foot representation of a 17th-century trading ketch was built at Rockport Marine in Maine and, like its predecessor of the same name, will be used as an educational and interpretive exhibit at Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site. The new Adventure fills the spot left vacant by the original Adventure when it was claimed by the elements after more than 30 years docked at the spot where the first permanent English settlement in the Carolinas was established in 1670. That ship was built as an original attraction at Charles Towne Landing when the park first opened as part of the state’s tri-centennial celebration in 1970. The builders of the second ship also followed the original plans by William Avery Baker, a Colonial ship expert whose credits also included the Mayflower II.


The new Adventure is expected to take about a month to reach its final destination in the marsh-lined creek off Albemarle Point where South Carolina as we know it today was born. There it will be a floating classroom, helping to tell the story of how English settlers, Native Americans and enslaved Africans used land and sea to build the plantation economy of the American South. A welcoming celebration for the ship will be held once it’s in place and secured for visitors to board, tentatively in early November, depending on the weather during the trip. The arrival of the new Adventure culminates the rebuilding process of Charles Towne Landing, a multi-year effort that also has resulted in a new visitors center and museum, replica working cannon embrasures and indentured servants quarters, ongoing archaeology digs and displays, and an interpretive history walking trail.
Adventure Fast Facts:
Length – 50 feet on deck, 73 feet from bowsprit to furthest point, 40 feet on the keel.
Weight – 50 tons. (The anchor weighs 350 pounds.)
Height – The mast, with an extension, measures 53 feet from the hull, 43 feet of that above the deck. (The ship is taller than it is wide.)
Construction – Cedar, pine and oak. The boat took nine months to build.
Masts, sails – Two masts from the desk (main and mizzen), top mast attached to the top of the mainmast, and the bowsprit (which leans horizontally out over the front of the boat.) There are five sails: main, lateen, top, stay and jib.
Diesel Engine – To meet modern requirements, the Adventure is equipped with a 180-horsepower Volvo diesel engine.
Builders – Rockport Marine, an internationally known wooden ship boatyard on Rockport Harbor in Maine. Its work includes the Godspeed II now at Jamestown in Virginia. (
www.rockportmarine.com)
Time, Cost – The boat took nine months to build. The cost is $1.4 million, funded by state appropriation.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

October Special from the Schoolhouse Store

It's Election Time!
There is never a better time to study the presidential elections than while they are happening! This month we want to focus on the presidential elections and point you towards the wonderful items we have to help your children understanding the election process. Check out these great items we have on sale this month!


2008 Presidential Election Project Pack - Hands of A Child
SALE 20% off
When citizens elect a president, who is also called the Chief Executive and Commander in Chief, they are choosing who will lead the nation. Students will learn about the presidential election and follow the 2008 election process as they complete a lapbook using The United States Presidential Election 2008 Project Pack from In the Hands of a Child.


The American Presidents- An Overview of US History Unit Study
SALE 15% off


E-Book: The American Presidents- An Overview of US History
SALE 20% off

This 30-week unit study will take you on a tour of America's history, from 1776 to the present, by surveying each American president and the events that took place during his term of service.
A special 3-week section on the presidential process and elections is also included. This section can be scheduled at any time during your school year, especially if you are studying during an election year and want to follow the election process.


E-Book: Presidential Election Process Lapbook - Grades K-5th
E-Book: Presidential Election Process Lapbook - Grades 6-12th
E-Book: Presidential Elections Games & Trivia Lapbook

SALE 30% off
Knowledge Box Central has prepared lapbooks with the election process in mind. Lapbooking makes learning fun and takes a lot of guess-work out of the subject matter, and results are captured within the lapbook.


American Presidents and First Ladies Notebooking Pages CD
SALE 30% off


Create a beautiful notebook study of all the presidential families, from George Washington to George W. Bush. Our CD includes notebooking pages for each president and presidential first lady (or hostess). Each individual set contains multiple notebooking layouts as well as your choice of primary and regular-lined pages.

Our American Presidents CD - Brandenburg Studies
E-Book: Our American Presidents CD - Brandenburg Studies
SALE 30% off
This unit study is a wonderful way to study our nation's government and its presidents. From George Washington to George W. Bush, this study is loaded with vivid photos, virtual tours, multimedia, biographies, documents, handouts, notebooking, + so much more. This is an internet based study. Appropriate for ages: 8-13


E-Book: A Multi-Book Approach to the 50 States...
SALE 25% off
Interested in learning about ALL 50 states? What about the capitol? What about the United States Territories? America is a glorious nation and every one of its individual states is beyond compare. Take a journey across this marvelous land and learn all about the 50 states, the nation's capitol and 14 of its territories! This course is a two year course that dedicates one week to each state, a week to the capital and a week on the 14 territories. Additional time is spent on your home state. The state you live in should be the one you know the best! There are two years worth of geography included and an overview of our presidents!


These discounts are good for the month of October!

Special Discounts and Ways to Save

The information below is directly from the Homeschool Buyers Co-op. If you are interested in saving money on a wide range of products from academic to household, this just may be the place for you. Please take a look at the article and visit their website for more information.

The Homeschool Buyers Co-op is the nation's largest purchasing cooperative for homeschooling families.Like you, we are homeschoolers with a love for family and a deep commitment to homeschooling.Like you, we have made the profound and life-changing decision to assume full responsibility for our children's education. We understand the sacrifices and joy that this entails, and have decided to devote our energies and talents to helping other homeschooling families who have chosen to walk the same path.On this page you will learn why we started the Co-op, what benefits we provide to homeschoolers, and why we hope you will join us. Membership is absolutely free and private. Whether or not you join, you are welcome to browse our site, return as often as you like, and take full advantage of our many wonderful resources and services for homeschooling families!

Why have a Homeschool Buyers Co-op?
School districts get educational discounts -- why not homeschoolers?The reason is simple: school districts have purchasing power and homeschoolers don't because we buy as individuals.The Co-op changes that by combining the purchasing power of thousands of homeschooling families around the country to give homeschoolers the same purchasing clout as school districts.It is a simple proposition, and it works! Just take a look at the many educational suppliers in the
Exclusive Discounts section that offer homeschool member discounts from 10% to 70% off their retail prices.

Whether you choose to join us or not, if you are a homeschooler we invite you to browse the site. Feel free to return whenever you want and take advantage of our many homeschooling resources and services!We wish you great success and happiness in your homeschooling adventure! We applaud you for starting down this rewarding and joyful path!!


Blessings and warm regards,
The Homeschool Buyers Co-op

Homeschool Field trip to BMW Manufacturing Company

Homeschool Field trip to BMW Manufacturing Company – OPEN TO ALL HOMESCHOOLERS!
Where: BMW Manufacturing Company
1400 Highway 101 SouthGreer, SC 29651

Date: Thursday, October 23rd
Time: Group 1: 12:45pm – 2:15pm
Group 2: 1:00pm – 2:30pm
(All must meet in front of visitor’s center NO LATER THAN 12:30pm. I will tell you which group you are assigned to)Ending times listed above are approximate. Tour lasts 1 to 1½ hours.)Who: Ages 12 and over.

MUST be at least age 12, no exceptions - per BMWCost: $3.50 per person (including adult chaperones)
Contact: Pamela S. Berthume, pamela@berthume.com 864-349-9030

Each group will take the same tour. Will tour the manufacturing line and see cars being made from start to finish. *You are also encouraged to either come early or stay after the tour and check out the museum on a self-guided basis. There is a limit of 20 people (including adult chaperones) per group. If you desire to be a chaperone, please request when signing up. All sign-ups are on a first come, first served basis. Each person staying for the tour must pay $3.50. ALL STUDENTS AND ADULT CHAPERONES MUST WEAR CLOSED SHOES. NO OPEN TOES OR OPEN HEELS!

Please complete the following to sign up and email it to me at pamela@berthume.com :

Number of students attending BMW tour: _______
Student Name(s) and Age(s):
_______________________
_______________________
_________________ ______
_______________________
_______________________

Parent/Guardian Name: ______________________________________

Would you prefer to stay and be a chaperone? Yes ____ No _____
Parent/Guardian Phone Number: ________________________________
Parent/Guardian Email address: _________________________________
Preferred Group (will be assigned based upon group needs, but will try to accommodate your request ______
Please sign up at your earliest convenience. Preferred sign up method is via email, but you may call me at 864-349-9030. Leave a message with your info if I do not answer. All is first come-first served, so sign up now! I will email confirmation to everyone who signs up. If you do not receive an email confirmation from me within 2 weeks, please contact me to verify I received your email!
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at pamela@berthume.com. Please send the above information to me quickly at pamela@berthume.com or call 864-349-9030 to assure your spot is reserved.
Once your registration is confirmed, please send monies via check made payable to: Pamela Berthume at 3 Elstar Loop Road, Simpsonville, SC 29681. Or you can call me to arrange to drop it off to me. This field trip is open for all homeschoolers so please forward this email to your friends and help spread the word.
If you have any questions, let me know!
God Bless!!
Pamela S. BerthumeCreator of HOMESCHOOLOPOLY®
Speaker &Author of: Homeschooling
The Journey is The RewardMain Website: www.homeschoolopoly.com

Contests and Competitions

The Volvo Adventure (Deadline: January 31) The Volvo Adventure (Deadline: January 31)In partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme - is aneducational programme that rewards environmental activities and thedecision-makers of the future. To enter, you form a team of 2 to 5members aged 13 to 16 years and perform an environmental project inyour local community. You submit the project via our online submissiontool before January 31st 12pm, 2009 deadline (CET). Projects arejudged during February / March and the best projects are selected foran all expenses paid trip to Göteborg, Sweden where they can win: 1stplace = 10,000 USD, 2nd = 6,000 USD and 3rd = 4,000 USD.See the registration details and guidelines for more information. Visit http://www.volvoadventure.org

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Homeschool Talk Radio

As homeschool families we all need a bit of encouragement and information that helps us with this ministry of educating our children. We can’t always make it to a homeschool conference but we can, with the benefits of the Internet receive wonderful information that can assist us in our homes.

JoJo Tabares is a speaker, the author of several published articles on communication skills, the resident communication expert at Homeschool Talk Radio and the author of the Say What You Mean series of Christian and humor based communication studies including Say What You Mean When You’re in Business.

JoJo is the host of Grace Talk Soup, a half hour weekly commentary on how to effectively share and defend the Christian faith in grace along with great homeschooling topics.

JoJo holds a degree in Speech Communication and has over 20 years of experience in the field. She has authored several communication studies and written various articles on communication for publication. She is the owner of
Art of Eloquence.com, the founder of the Say What You Mean Convention and the Carnival of FUNschooling, Misadventures of Foot in Mouth Man and an avid daily blogger at Communication FUNdamentals!. JoJo is also the founder and your host for the Say What You Mean Convention.

JoJo's mission is to educate the Christian community on the vital importance of communication skills in every day life. In addition, to educate them about the mainstream media who has told us to sit down and be quiet about our faith in the name of tolerance. We have paid the price for our silence in bad press. I want to train the Christian community to share and defend the faith with boldness tempered by grace and humor.

For more information on JoJo or the Say What You Mean series, please visit
http://www.ArtofEloquence.com or call 1-866-4SPEECH. Click Grace Talk Soup to visit the webpage where you can listen to JoJo’s talk show.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

CHARLES TOWNE LANDING PROGRAMS


Cannons boom. Muskets bark. Interpretive rangers in 17th century dress tend heirloom crops. They’re all part of the “new” Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site. Here a group of English settlers landed in 1670 and established what would become the birthplace of the Carolinas colony, the plantation system of the American South, and one of the continent’s first major port cities. And here the story is still told. Opened in 1970 as Charles Towne Landing State Park, the peaceful park on a marshy point off the Ashley River was rebuilt in 2006 with a sharpened focus on the site’s remarkable past. Begin with the 12-room, interactive museum in the Visitors Center that includes a “digital dig”. Then walk the self-guided history trail, using the MP3 players that add an audio tour to the experience. Admire the Adventure, a full-size replica sailing ship built onsite, and the authentic experimental crop garden. Talk to archaeologists at work. And leave time for the Animal Forest natural habitat zoo and 80 acres of gardens that includes an elegant live oak alle’ and the Legare-Waring House, one of Charleston’s favorite sites for weddings and other special gatherings.

Visit the Friends of Charles Towne Landing website for activities for students and teachers. There are coloring pages, activity pages, education standards and lots more. You may also see a link to the new ship, Adventure in its building phases and learn of its arrival at Charles Towne Landing.

SATURDAY PROGRAMS
October 4 at 1, 2 and 3pm
Fears that Fortified Charles Towne series: An introduction to 17th-century small arms

October 18 at 1, 2 and 3pm
Fears that Fortified Charles Towne series: 17th-century cannon demonstration

October 25 at 1, 2 and 3pm
Colonial Crafts for Kids

ARCHAEOLOGY DAY
October 11
Get a first-hand look at Charles Towne Landing's archaeological resources and discover the science of archaeology and the history revealed below the surface

CHARLES TOWNE EXPERIENCES
Sundays at 2 and 3pm
Through a variety of program offerings, including costumed demonstrations, hands-on activities, ranger walks, presentations and more, park rangers will delve into the many fascinating aspects of the foundational years of Charles Towne