World-famous Kiev Symphony Orchestra and Chorus at CBC of Beaufort Tonight

Hello Homeschool Families, tonight you can enjoy the music of the World-famous Kiev Symphony Orchestra and Chorus as their tour of the Eastern United States comes to Beaufort.  Community Bible Church hosts this orchestra and chorus this evening beginning at 6:30 pm.  This is a fantastic opportunity to expose your children to classical and folk music from a world reknown musical group.  If your studies include music appreciation or you have a child taking lessons for an instrument or you just love great music, this is an opportunity you may not want to miss!  For more information about the Kiev Symphony Orchestra and Chorus read the article from their tour website or visit the link. For tonight's performance visit the CBC of Beaufort website.

About the Kiev Symphony Orchestra and Chorus

The Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and Chorus was established by Roger McMurrin in 1993. His Goal was to introduce the Ukrainian audience to the great masterpieces of Western classical music, especially those that were forbidden in this country during the 70 years of Soviet rule.

Since 1993 the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and Chorus has grown into the largest private orchestra-choral group in Ukraine.

It comprises of 100 singers and 65 orchestra players. The instrumentalists are the best master players among the six state orchestras; these individuals were handpicked to make-up this dynamic Symphony.

Roger McMurrin

Fire Station Visit a Great Success!

Yesterday, two home school families accepted the invitation extended by Lt. Byrne, community educator from Beaufort Fire station #1 to visit and receive a presentation about fire prevention, survival during a fire, and a number of other things. Our visit began in the Beaufort Fire and Rescue Family Safety Education House which is a converted RV complete with a carpeted stair step seating area in what would have been the dining area, for participants to sit receive instruction.

Lt. Byrne began the presentation with a video presentation to show us just how quickly a fire can start and spread to the point that it engulfs an average family room. The fire on the training video started by a single match dropped into a waste paper basket without any fire inducing agents. Within 2 minutes and 35 seconds the entire room was in flames. We were told to pay close attention to the recliner because it would ignite before any flames reached it and it did. The chemicals in the fabric along with the synthetic wood reached their ignition temperature and the chair burst into flames due to the heat in the room.

We received instruction about cooking fires, one of the top five cause of house fires. Warnings were given about the misuse of extension cords, over loading multiple outlets, and long term use utility cords.

We learned a new danger with candles. Lt. Byrne showed us a candle in a jar that caused a fire in a bathroom. The decorative piece of string around the jar reached its ignition point and ignited into flame. The fire then spread to a box of facial tissue near the jar. The flame from the wick of the candle itself never touched the string so we were quite amazed to know that again, to be aware of the ignition point of objects, not to actually know the temperature but to take it into consideration when we have fires around us.

A substitute for a wax candle is a new electric candle that looks like a wax candle. comes with fragrances but is battery operated.

Children were warned not to play with matches, a classic and still very important. Parents were encouraged to place matches, lighters and any other type of fire started in out of the way, hidden places.

Smoke detectors are still the number one method to warn us of fire in our homes. Instruction about the placement of the smoke detectors in a room or hallway, the care of smoke detectors and new smoke detectors on the market were shared during the presentation. Lt. Byrne informed us of a detector that a parent can record his or her voice with instruction along with the alarm noise.

After leaving the kitchen instruction area, we moved into the bedroom for further instruction. It was there we learned how to stay low to the floor when we smell smoke, touch the door with the back of our hand to detect if it's hot, if so don't open the door move to the window to get out. If the door isn't hot slowly open it to see if there is smoke or fire nearby, if the coast is clear proceed to the nearest exit and then to the meeting point. We practiced this before leaving the room.

Feel the door with the back of your hand.

Atmosphere smoke enters the room

Exit the room from the window.

After we exited the portable education vehicle we went to the garage where Firefighter Rob assisted Lt. Byrne with a demonstration of firefighter gear. Many children are afraid of firefighters and won't approach them when they are in danger. This activity teaches children to trust the firefighter, allows them to touch gear and watch the firefighter put each piece on. They see the transformation of the firefighter without gear and then completely suited. The lessens the chance that these children will run from the firefighter in the case of a real emergency.

Pictures of Firefighter Rob putting on gear.

Following this time, the children were given a ride around the block in the fire truck by firefighter Andy. As the truck re-entered the station lot, all the bangs and whistles were sounded and the children were thrilled.

The final instruction for the day was a hands on demonstration of how to properly use a fire extinguisher and we each were allowed to practice this new skill.

Overall, we had a fantastic visit at the fire station. We all learned loads of new information and were reminded of many important things we often let slip. We are thankful for the community education program offered by the Beaufort fire department. The program depends on funding that is very low and may very soon be deleted due to lack of funds. Presently the department has a grant that allows them to purchase and give away smoke detectors to families that don't have one. The presentation we participated in is still available to the public as funding allows.

If you have fire extinguishers that are out dated they can be donated to the fire department for training and demonstrations such as we participated in. The department also accepts monetary donations as well as donations of new smoke detectors. Lt.. Byrne would like to get the word out about fire prevention to the general public. Please don't think you know everything there is to know about fire prevention, you'd be surprised about how much there is to know.

Yes, the date on the pictures is wrong.

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.

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

Lowcountry Estuarium Tour

We did it! December 4, 2007 we went to the Lowcountry Estuarium in Port Royal for a great fieldtrip. There were five families present which made it a great number. The Lowcountry Estuarium is a learning center designed to provide hands-on learning about the coastal environments of our beautiful area, such as salt marshes, beaches, coastal waters, and estuaries. The tour began at the Estaurium building with a presentation that featured several tanks with creatures from the Port Royal Sound. After leaving the building we went down to The Sands to get a close look at the sound, along with the plant and animal life there. Most of us found great shells and a few shark teeth. Following the entire tour we went to the Port Royal Park for a lunch fellowship.

Facts about the Estaurium

An estuarium is similar to an aquarium. Aquariums usually have live specimens and exhibits that showcase freshwater or marine species. An estuarium exhibits terrestrial and aquatic specimens that live in brackish water and saltwater environments.

Estuaries are areas where fresh water from the land and salt water from the ocean meet and mix, such as in our coastal rivers. An estuary can be as small as a tidal creek or as large as a bay. Port Royal Sound and St. Helena Sound are estuaries located in Beaufort County.

As a learning center, the Lowcountry Estuarium showcases the unique and special organisms and habitats found in the Lowcountry. Some of the ecosystem exhibits include: Diamond back terrapin habitat - Habitat for several species of crabs - Game fish habitat - Food web interactions - Estuary awareness We learned to respect and take care of our unique ecosystem.

The Origin of Estuaries

Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens." So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Genesis 1:20-23, 28