H.E.A.R.T.H.

One of the places my children have been getting socialization this school year is through a local homeschool group called H.E.A.R.T.H. (which stands for "home educators are restoring their heritage"). Described as "a support group designed to help home-educating families network with one another," it has definitely been just that to us in the the few months since we've joined. From educational workshops to field trips, they always have something going on to keep the kids learning, connected, and excited.

Since there is something new to try every week, it is impossible for us to make all of the events. Not to mention that some of them aren't really age appropriate for my little ones anyway. However, we have gotten in several opportunities already to do some pretty neat activities.

To kick-off the year, H.E.A.R.T.H. hosted an ice cream social, which we missed. Next though was an event we were able to attend - a scavenger hunt at a local playground that was built just recently in a rural section of the county.

First, the kids enjoyed a little time with one another playing while the grown-ups chatted, and then the hunt began. My friend Dawn, who is always a great planner, organized this event very well for the large variety of age groups that participated. The younger children were able to hunt for lots of easy to find pieces of nature, including mushrooms, a hole in tree's truck, a stick shaped like a Y, moss, etc. Meanwhile, the older kids were off in search of a variety of different types of trees, bringing back leaves as evidence of the ones they spotted. With the promise of a gift card to Sweet Frog for the first child who returned from each age bracket, they were off!

They started out eager - and Caleb even a little panicked that some of the kids were getting ahead of him on the trail. Slow down and look around you, I encouraged him. He was missing things right around him in his haste to catch up.

Some things the kids were able to find quickly and others they needed Mommy to give clues about, suggesting an area where they should look. 

As we progressed though, they were noticing a lot more about what was around them.

We'd never been on the walking trails near the park until this adventure either, so it was nice to discover something new to maybe go back and try as a family.

Hadley's legs go a bit tired by the end and she complained her feet were hurting, which meant Mommy ended up carrying her out of the woods when it was all said and done. Thankfully, Reid was with NaNa because it was his nap time; carrying two of them would have been a feat.

Towards the end, it got pretty tricky as we'd already spotted the easiest to find items. 

Our second outing with this group was to the Warren Heritage Society where we learned a lot about local history and were able to tour both the Balthis House and Belle Boyd Cottage. Having visited Belle Boyd on other occasions I thought this would be a very good field trip to attend, but was worried my smaller ones wouldn't be able to sit through the tours quietly and without touching things, especially since it was planned for the time slot when they normally nap. Thankfully, my mom was willing to watch them so that I could take Caleb. 

Our tour started in the Ivy Lodge, and I was excited to see that my high school history teacher, Mr. Farris, was the one doing the presentation. His speech was full of all kinds of information about the history of our county. From information about Lord Fairfax, who was granted all of Warren County as well as other surrounding counties as a land grant from the king, to facts such as our county being the fifth smallest in the state of Virginia, he taught us a lot. Though I had visited the museum before, I even learned some new things. For example, Mr. Farris told us about the former military training camp that used to train horses in this area, which later (once automobiles replaced horses) led to the development of the dog training organization we have in Warren County today. (The land dedicated to the Smithsonian Conservation Center here originally served as part of this military camp.) I also learned that Front Royal used to have a catsup factory on Luray Avenue, which exploded, sadly killing a man as a result. He said people are still finding shards of glass in their gardens and lawns and questioning where they came from. Even my Granny didn't know about that one when I asked her!

Another tour guide gave us a good deal of information about the geography of Warren County and the effect that the mountains and river had on developing the town. She also talked about why our county will never get as big as the surrounding counties based on how much of the land can't be built on because of mountain terrains and river flood zones as well as how much of it is protected by various parks - like the Shenandoah National Park, Andy Guest State Park, the George Washington National Forrest, and the Smithsonian Conservation Center.

The Balthis house was the next destination on our tour and one that I don't remember ever visiting in the past. Several families have lived in the home, but the Balthis family is who it named after. The original owner was a tailor, but Mr. Balthis was a blacksmith who added on to the house. He originally owned several slaves, most of whom he emancipated and paid to work in the blacksmith shop before the civil war ended (keeping only a female one to help his wife with the children).

It is said to be the oldest house on Chester Street, and Chester Street the oldest street in Front Royal. The reason this particular residence was not torn down like the other houses similar to it that once lined the street was to due to its role in the life of a soldier named Green Berry Samuels, who lived next door. One time when Samuels was home on furlough, Mr. Balthis saw that union soldiers had arrived in town and knew they would be looking for those in the confederacy to take captive. Thinking quickly, he sent the women in his household next door to warn Green Berry. Dressing him up like a woman, they put a basket on his arm and walked him next door to the Balthis house to hide him in the attic. The union soldiers weren't fooled that easily though by folks stowing away soldiers; they went from house to house, checking even the attics for whom they could find. They didn't know, however, a secret that the Balthis family's home held. Since they had added on to the original building, there was a separate attic section behind a hidden door just big enough for Green Berry to sit in for a week until he could find a way to escape, the Balthis family bringing him meals until that time. Our tour guide said that when the soldiers requested to look in the attic, one of the children began to cry, knowing Green Berry was up there, but her mother gave her a quick kick to cover up why she was crying as she led them to the attic to look around. After several decades when questions about the removal of this property arose, Samuels' son wouldn't let them tear it down, knowing that it was in this house that his father's life was spared.

This was at least my third visit to Belle Boyd Cottage, but it had been a while so it was nice to have a refresher course. A female Confederate spy, Belle Boyd has quite a striking history. She was originally from Martinsburg, but she got in a bit of trouble there after shooting a union soldier she didn't agree with and was sent to live with her aunt and uncle, the Stewarts, here in their Front Royal hotel. During that time, many union soldiers were staying in the same hotel, using it as their headquarters. Using her femininity to her advantage, she began dating some of them, gaining confidential information as certain ones let information slip in their conversations around her that the union soldiers were planning to retreat. Finding out about their plan, she flew through town on her horse in an effort to meet Stonewall Jackson. Her blue calico dress made her "a conspicuous target" to the enemy's gunfire, but she reached the general with the vital information, which allowed him to defeat the Union in the Battle of Front Royal and save the bridges that they originally planned to burn in their retreat.

A newspaperman for the union who ago boarded in the cottage tried to court her on several occasions, and when she saw him trying to escape as the Confederate soldiers approached she locked him in his bedroom while he packed. He made it out the window only be caught later, and as a result, he vowed that she would pay - eventually ruining her reputation through some of his later writings. Aside from that backlash and several imprisonments, Belle was pretty blessed to get off as easily as she did. There were several occasions when she could have been executed for her treasonous spy activities but was let live. She eventually went on to marry several times and even become an actress later in life.

This lady, who was a former member of H.E.A.R.T.H., along with her son were our tour guide for the house and the cottage.

And, all that info is just what I learned on our visit! Caleb caught quite a bit himself that he was able to retell later when I quizzed him about what new things he learned. He talked about the "different types" of maps we saw in the Ivy Lodge, which were actually topography maps that I had pointed out to him since we'd been studying a variety of maps during our geography time at home. He also commented about the architecture of the houses with the variety of staircases and remembered that they hid someone in the attic at the Balthis house. He talked about "that type of coal" which was "made out of trees" our tour guide taught us about in the blacksmith room and mentioned something about the slaves which was a new concept for him. Caleb also remembered that Belle Boyd was a spy but not much else about her. At least he got the highlights! More than that though, I really enjoyed that my little fella, who was going through a timid stage during the summer and at the beginning of the school year and was refusing to speak to any grown-ups, was asking lots of questions on the tour - not shy at all about seeking the information he was interested in.

Hadley and Reid actually did get to experience a little piece of this field trip too even though they stayed behind at NaNa's. We brought back a few souvenirs, including a couple pieces of stick candy for both of them and a bonnet for my cute girl. 

I think she looks like her cousin Lydia in this pic. 

I even bought a book for myself on recommendation from Mr. Farris called On Chester Street... written by Laura Virginia Hale. It was hard to pick just one with so many good texts to choose from!

In October, we joined the group at a working dairy farm called Corn-N-Cows. NaNa even went with us this time!

Our day started with a hayride and informational tour of the farm, followed by a chance to learn about and meet two young heifers. 

They had a few others animals to check out too - who were more pets than anything. 

Checking out the chicken like they don't see tons of them at NaNa's all the time

 

Reid especially liked the sheep.

He got a little nervous when they moved around.

He was really getting brave and starting to love on them when all of a sudden something must have happened because he started crying. We aren't sure if they nipped at him or just moved quickly and scared him, but either way I doubt he really got hurt since sheep only have one row of teeth.

After sanitizing everyone's hands, we learned how to make butter. The kids even got a chance to make their own, shaking the cream in little cups until there was a creamy substance with just a little bit of buttermilk on top. Then they spread a few Saltines with their creation and taste tested.

They got to try a little ice cream too. We didn't get to make it, but it was so delicious that I don't think anyone cared. We were too busy savoring!

Finally, everyone was free to go check out the playground attractions, including a giant spiderweb rope net, a wooden train, a jungle gym made out of hay bales, and a corn maze.

A lot of the older kids went for the maze, but I was leery of trying it with my little ones. (I learned my lesson from that scavenger hunt...I didn't want to have to carry anyone out.) Caleb eventually decided he'd like to try it though, and since NaNa was around, we just split up. She watched the littles while I took Caleb through.

It probably would have been more fun if we'd gone with the group, and I should have paid more attention to the map when we got started, but I think Caleb was pretty satisfied with it. We didn't stay in for long, just enough for my boy to get a feel for what it was all about. After the corn maze he did last year at Cox Farm that had all kinds of hidden gimicky things throughout, he was a bit disappointed that it was just corn everywhere. I, on the other hand, thought it was pretty with the sunlight shining down.

 

A few little pumpkins and some cow masks in hand, our day on the farm was complete!

Those aren't the only adventures H.E.A.R.T.H. has provided this year. They've also gone apple picking, toured the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, hiked in the Shenandoah National Park, learned how to make paper, visited a emergency center to learn fire safety, and, just this week, spent some time at a newspaper office. Their goal is to be parent led as much as possible, and with so many members bringing new ideas and events to the table, it definitely doesn't get boring. I actually have to say "no" to a lot of what's going on because we'd never get any school work done if we do field trips every week! Dragging around three little ones, especially at the younger ones nap time (which is usually when these activities are planned), can get to be a bit much as well, so we carefully pick and choose. They older they get though, the more we'll be able to participate, and I'm definitely looking forward to it.