Events and Activities in Townsend This Week

Daily

The Little River Railroad and Lumber Company Museum
Open Monday through Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 1pm-5pm.
Free admission. Hours subject to change.

Tuckaleechee Caverns
Open 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. (subject to change)
Admission:
$14.00 adults
$7.00 children (ages 5-11)
4 and under Free
For more information please call (865) 448-2274.

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center
Open from 10am to 5pm, Tuesday through Saturday and 1pm to 5pm on Sunday.
Admission:
Adults (18-59) $6
Seniors (60+) $4
Children (6-17) $4
Under 6 Free
Admission Free with Membership

For more information please see their website or call (865)-448-0044.
Go here for information on school field trips.

Cades Cove Heritage Tours
Offers guided tours of Cades Cove, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, that showcase the history and resources of the area. Tours generally run 2-3 hours.

Tour Schedule:
Tuesday-Saturday
8:30 am (subject to change)
1:30 pm

Sunday
1:30 pm

Ticket prices:
Adult: $13.00
Senior (60+): $10.00
Child (6-17): $8.00
Under 6: FREE

Ticket Price for Members of the GSMHC:
Adult: $11.00
Senior (60+): $8.00
Child (6-17): $7.00
Under 6: FREE

Combination Ticket: Tour and Entrance to Heritage Center
Adult: $15.00
Senior (60+): $12.00
Child (6-17): $10.00
Under 6: FREE

For more information please see their website or call (865) 488-8838.
Please note: They recommend booking in advance as the busses usually book up a day or more ahead of time.


Sunday November 9

Townsend Visitor Center
Stained Glass by Larry & Paula McLain
Art Exhibit by Steve Norris
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.


Monday November 10

Townsend Visitor's Center
Stained Glass by Larry & Paula McLain
Art Exhibit by Steve Norris
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.


Tuesday November 11

Townsend Visitor Center
Woodturning by Tom Sciple
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.


Wednesday November 12

Townsend Visitor Center
Woodturning by Tom Sciple
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Mary E. Tippitt Memorial Library
Pioneer Lady, "Miss Pam", will be "Making Butter" at the after-school program on Wednesday,
from 3:15pm to 4:15pm.
Please call the library at 865-448-1441 to pre-register your children no later than Tuesday. Children in grades Pre-K through 5th are welcome and this is a free program.
The Mary E. Tippitt Memorial Library is located at 120 Tiger Drive in Townsend.

Thursday November 13

Townsend Visitor Center
Woodturning by Tom Sciple
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.


Friday November 14

Townsend Visitor Center
Art & Jewelry Exhibit by Maxine Falls
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.


Saturday November 8

Townsend Visitor Center
Art & Jewelry Exhibit by Maxine Falls
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.


Sunday November 9

Townsend Visitor Center
Art & Jewelry Exhibit by Maxine Falls
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Wit and Wisdom from the Hermit in the Holler

"He's a boy...he's larnin'."

Autumn Woods

Autumn Woods

I like the woods

In Autumn

When the dry leaves hide the ground,

When the trees are bare

And the wind sweeps by

With a lonesome rushing sound.

I can rustle the leaves

In Autumn

And I can make a bed

In the thick dry leaves

That have fallen

From the bare trees

Overhead.

by James S. Tippett

Free Educational Resources- Buffalo Bill Cody

Go back to the old west and learn about one of America's legendary frontiersmen, Buffalo Bill Cody, with these free resources from the web.

Homeschool Freebie of the Day has an exciting radio program for us today, "Frontier Fighters: The Story of Buffalo Bill Cody". This is an episode of the classic old-time radio show “Frontier Fighters”, that tells the story of Buffalo Bill Cody: American plainsman, scout, and showman. Also included is a PDF study guide to use with the audio program as a history lesson.

This freebie is available for today only.

While you're there, check out the great Frontier Fighters audio collection. This collection contains 39 stories and study guides (from Penny Raine!) about America's frontiersmen and pioneers who tamed the old west, plus bonus shows about Lewis and Clark, episodes of the "Six Shooter" with Jimmy Stewart, and an e-book version of Ernest Thompson Seton's classic book, "Two Little Savages". You can get all this for $24! This is a super deal on a great educational resource for learning history.

Please note: this cd is mp3 file format.

(My children love these old history shows, we have several from The Erskine's, and they actually learn something while they're listening. If you have an auditory learner, this would be an excellent addition to your teaching resources. Plus, they're soooo exciting!)

Next, from PBS's American Experience (television's longest-running, most-watched history series), watch a seven part video series on the life of Buffalo Bill. There is also a teacher's guide to go along with the program and kids can take a "Westerner" quiz here.

ThoughtAudio.com has an mp3 audio download of Buffalo Bill's book, "Buffalo Bill Cody: Stories from the Old West", narrated by Michael Scott, as Buffalo Bill Cody.

From Google Book Search you can get an several e-book versions about Buffalo Bill, "An Autobiography of Buffalo Bill", "Life and Adventures of "Buffalo Bill," Colonel William F. Cody", "The Great Salt Lake Trail", and "Story of the Wild West and Camp-fire Chats" (this last one also has stories about Daniel Boone, Davey Crockett and Kit Carson).

And finally, some online history links.

Buffalo Bill Historical Center biography of William Frederick Cody

Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave

Late Fall Colors in East Tennessee

The fall colors have faded fast the last couple of days, it's been too warm.

Here are a few pictures we took earlier this week.

View in Townsend

At Post Office Looking NE

Florida Neighbors Northern View

Sun Coming Over The Mountain

Little Maple Leaves

Our NE Mountain

Abby's Reflection

Family Thanksgiving Activity

I just had to pass along this link from Chocolate On My Cranium for a wonderful family Thanksgiving activity.
Make Thanks and Giving trees for listing what you're thankful for and for your gifts of service to others.

Start a new family tradition with your little ones!

Free Resources for Teaching Punctuation

Today only, you can download a classic teaching resource from Homeschool Freebie of the Day. "Stops; Or How To Punctuate" by Paul Allardyce, is a concise guide to proper punctuation. This was originally published in 1895 but can still be used today.

Free download from Google Book Search.
Originally published in 1842, "The United States Reader: Containing a Variety of Exercises in Reading, Punctuation, Figures of Speech, Spelling, &c. : for the Use of Schools", by John D. Post, is a classic textbook of grammar lessons.


Here are some sites with free punctuation worksheets and printables.

MrDonn.org Language Arts Punctuation & Capitalization Lesson Plans & Activities

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation Free Interactive Punctuation, Capitalization, and Writing Numbers Quizzes

Literacy Teaching Ideas-Writing Punctuation and Grammar

Swinging on the Grapevine Swing

The Grapevine Swing

When I was a boy on the old plantation,

Down by the deep bayou:

The fairest spot of all creation

Under the arching blue:

When the wind came over the cotton and corn,

To the long slim loop I'd spring

With brown feet bare, and a hat brim torn,

And swing on the grapevine swing.

Swinging in the grapevine swing,

Laughing where the wild birds sing,

I dream and sigh

For the days gone by,

Swinging in the grapevine swing.

Out: o'er the water lilies bonny and bright,

Back: to the moss-green trees;

I shouted and laughed with a heart as light

As a wild rose tossed by the breeze.

The mocking bird joined in my reckless glee;

I longed for no angel's wing;

I was just as near heaven as I wanted to be,

Swinging in the grapevine swing.

Swinging in the grapevine swing,

Laughing where the wild birds sing:

Oh, to be a boy,

With a heart full of joy,

Swinging in the grapevine swing!

I'm weary at noon, I'm weary at night,

I'm fretted and sore at heart,

And care is sowing my locks with white

As I wend through the fevered mart.

I'm tired of the world with it's pride and pomp,

And fame seems a worthless thing.

Id barter it all for one day's romp,

And a swing in the grapevine swing.

Swinging in the grapevine swing,

Laughing where the wild birds sing:

I would I were away

From the world today,

Swinging in the grapevine swing.

by Samuel Minturn Peck

A New Use For Pumpkins

Fort Apache

Gettysburg Address Freebie and Contest from Homeschool Freebie Of the Day

In honor of the 145th anniversary of The Gettysburg Address on November 19th, Homeschool Freebie of the Day has a couple of wonderful audio freebies for us plus a great contest to enter.

The freebies are two audios of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
The first is a rendition of the speech done by Darren Cacy for our “266 Words: The Forgotten Story of the Gettysburg Address” audio CD and the second is a recitation of the Gettysburg Address by Lillia Marble of Montana, at age 6. These free resources will be available until November 17th.

The contest is called, “The Gettysburg Address” Memorization Challenge.
Have your children memorize The Gettysburg Address, record it as an mp3 file and e-mail it to Homeschool Freebie of the Day by November 17th. On November 19th, they will post the names of the participants at their website… and maybe even post THEIR version of the speech! All children who enter the challenge will receive a special prize in the US Mail.

Wow, this sounds really neat! We're getting started today!

Do you need the text of The Gettysburg Address?
Transcription of the version of the Gettysburg Address inscribed on the walls at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Autumn Color In East Tennessee

A couple of pictures of our mountains.

The colors are beautiful this year.

New Freebie From Homeschool Radio Shows

This week's program from Homeschool Radio Shows is "The Man Without A Country", the tale of Philip Nolan, a young man who participated in Aaron Burr's empire building scheme, for which Burr was charged with treason. But while Burr and the other leaders escaped punishment, Nolan was convicted.
Note to Parents: Please read the Program Note on the site before downloading.

Old Fashioned Egg Pie

Here is another old-timey family recipe, this one from my husband's Aunt Minnie.

Old Fashioned Egg Pie

5 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 1\2 tsp lemon flavoring

Pinch salt

Beat well and put into 2 pie shells. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. When done, sprinkle nutmeg over pie.

Salamander Monitoring in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Do you enjoy the great outdoors? Would you like to search for salamanders or catch butterflies? Does identifying insects or banding birds sound like fun?

The Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont operates a volunteer program called Citizen Science. This program offers adults and students opportunities to aide in research projects collecting data for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

On Monday, November 10, you can assist with salamander monitoring.
This is a 3-mile round-trip hike to Spicewoods Branch, slow but steady up-hill. Bring lunch, water, and good hiking shoes. Participants meet at 9:30 am at the Tremont gift shop/visitor center. This repeats on the second Monday of each month.

Tremont also needs help from two groups to adopt stream salamander sites at Dorsey Branch. Data will be gathered by these groups through monthly visits to the site, must make one year commitment.

For more information on this or other Citizen Science programs, please call Josh Davis at 865-448-6709 or e-mail him at jdavi132@utk.edu.

Thanksgiving Family and Homeschool Freebies

There are all kinds of Thanksgiving freebies this week.

Free this week from CurrClick is "Wisdom Kids Thanks and Giving", a copywork unit featuring Wisdom Stretchers, coloring pages, Challenge pages, puzzles, and a certificate of completion.
Also check out their freebie page, there are several new products added, including Thanksgiving Notebooking Pages from HomeschoolNotebooking.com.

Free today from Homeschool Freebie of the Day is a collection of children's prayers originally published in the late 1800's, "Little Hands Folded In Prayer". Simple and easily remembered, this is a wonderful resource for your little ones.

Sign up for the SchoolExpress newsletter and get free Thematic Unit eWorkbooks and Activity Fun eWorkbooks every month. This month's theme is Thanksgiving. Free for subscribers only.

In honor of Thanksgiving, The Homeschool Learning Network still has their Native Americans unit study available for free.

Last but not least, get a free Thanksgiving Planner from FamilyTimeZone, a Christian homemaking site. Includes recipes and printables.

New Homeschool Freebies and Blog from TOS Schoolhouse Store

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's Schoolhouse Store has started a new blog, Store Spotlight, where they will be highlighting new products, mark-downs, interviews and random free giveaways. Get a freebie already, "The Schoolhouse Planner Sneak Peek with FREE July Mod".
In addition, they are holding a drawing for 10 free copies of "The Homeschool Planner" along with 3 modules. To enter, subscribe to the blog between now and November 8th. Once they have 1,000 subscribers, they will have a drawing and some lucky subscriber will win a $100 store gift certificate! Wow!
Also, the November freebie from The Schoolhouse Store, "Letter Links- Linking Letters to Sounds and Words" is available now. Letter Links is an e-Game designed to teach letter sounds, letter recognition, memory skills, and phonemic awareness. Learning fun for the whole family.

Fall Mushrooms

These are some mushrooms we have found this past week.

The first two types we found in our woods.

We found these on a rotting log.

This one is growing on the side of a stump.

My little explorer found these huge, puffball types behind the IGA in Townsend.

Free nature study resources. :)
Now to identify them all.

Potato Candy

Have you ever had potato candy? I never even heard of it until I came to Tennessee. :)
Here's the recipe.

Potato Candy

1 large potato

Salt

1 box confectioners sugar

Peanut butter

Peel and boil the potato. When the potato is done, mash up with fork and add a pinch of salt and the confectioners sugar, mix well. This will make a stiff dough. Roll dough out on well floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Spread a layer of peanut butter over dough and roll up like a jelly roll. Put roll into refrigerator to chill and cut into slices when firm.

Yummy!

Homeschool/Educational Freebies- English Language Humour

Here are three humorous, classic books about the English language and ways it's been misused, twisted and translated. Funny stuff. :)

Homeschool Freebie of the Day gives us "English As She Wuz Wrote", a collection of mangles and mishaps of the English language taken from old advertisements, tombstones, correspondence and other sources, published anonymously in the late 1800's.
Get this free e-book today only.

"English as She is Spoke", written by José da Fonseca and Pedro Carolino in the 19th century, was intended as a Portuguese-English conversation guide. It is believed neither author could speak English and that they used a French-English dictionary to translate an earlier Portuguese-French phrase book, resulting in many English "figures of speech" and "sayings" becoming mangled in the translation. One example from the book: "the walls have ears" is translated into "the walls have hearsay".
We have some funny sayings in English but these are ridiculous!

"English as She is Taught: Genuine Answers to Examination Questions in Our Public Schools"
by Caroline Bigelow Le Row, is a treasury of real test answers collected in the late 1800's. Published under the sponsorship of Mark Twain.
Very amusing read.

Daniel Boone Free E-books

Daniel Boone was born in a log farmhouse east of Reading Pennsylvania on November 2, 1734.


Here are some free e-books for learning more about this great American frontiersman.

"Life and Adventures of Colonel Daniel Boon: The First White Settler of the State of Kentucky",
by John Filson was originally published on Daniel Boone's 50th birthday and claimed to be written in Boone's own words. It was actually written by John Filson, though Boone, himself, noted every word to be true.

"Biographical Memoir of Daniel Boone, the First Settler of Kentucky" by Timothy Flint, is another biography of Daniel Boone, although greatly exaggerated. This book is where the tall tales about Boone come from.

William Henry Bogart chronicled much of Boone's life in "Daniel Boone and the Hunters of Kentucky", originally published in 1854.

The "Boys' Book of Frontier Fighters", by Edwin Legrand Sabin, was originally published in 1919 and contains tales of Daniel Boone, Buffalo Bill, Kit Carson and many other famous frontiersmen.

"Indian Tales for Boys , or The Back-woodsman and True Stories of the Frontier", by Walter Whipple Spooner, is another adventure book written for boys, published in 1883. It contains many stories about Daniel Boone and other frontiersmen in our nation's early Western history.

Events and Activities in Townsend This Week

Daily

The Little River Railroad and Lumber Company Museum
Open Monday through Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 1pm-5pm.
Free admission.

Tuckaleechee Caverns
Open 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Admission:
$14.00 adults
$7.00 children (ages 5-11)
4 and under Free
For more information please call (865) 448-2274.

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center
Open from 10am to 5pm, Tuesday through Saturday and 1pm to 5pm on Sunday.
Admission:
Adults (18-59) $6
Seniors (60+) $4
Children (6-17) $4
Under 6 Free
Admission Free with Membership
For more information please see their website or call (865)-448-0044.


Sunday November 2

Townsend Visitor Center
Art Exhibit by Roma McCammon
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.


Monday November 3

Townsend Visitor's Center
Art Exhibit by Roma McCammon
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.


Tuesday November 4

Townsend Visitor Center
Art Exhibit by Roma McCammon
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.


Wednesday November 5

Townsend Visitor Center
Photography by Linda Waterhouse
Decoupage Plates by Anna Bolton
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.


Thursday November 6

Townsend Visitor Center
Photography by Linda Waterhouse
Decoupage Plates by Anna Bolton
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.


Friday November 7

Townsend Visitor Center
Photography by Linda Waterhouse
Decoupage Plates by Anna Bolton
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Mary E. Tippitt Memorial Library
The library is having a used book and bake sale from 9:00am to 5:00pm with all profits to benefit the library.
The Mary E. Tippitt Memorial Library is located at 120 Tiger Drive in Townsend, for more information please call (865) 448-1441.


Saturday November 8

Townsend Visitor Center
Stained Glass by Larry & Paula McLain
Art Exhibit by Steve Norris
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center
A Veteran's Day celebration will be held at 2:00pm, featuring re-enactment groups, period costumes, music and recognition of veterans from all wars.
For more information please call (865)-448-0044.


Sunday November 9

Townsend Visitor Center
Stained Glass by Larry & Paula McLain
Art Exhibit by Steve Norris
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Events and Activities in The Great Smoky Mountains This Week

Sunday November 2

Boogertown Gap Appalachian Music
10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Location: Cades Cove Visitor Center
Old-time Appalachian music. This program is on-going throughout the day. Accessible to persons using wheelchairs.


Friday November 7- Sunday November 9

Sorghum Molasses Making Demonstration
10:00 AM? (No time listed.)
Location: Cades Cove Visitors Center/Cable Mill area
Wheelchair accessible.


All of the above programs are free, unless otherwise noted, and many are wheelchair accessible. For more information check their website or contact them here. To download maps go here.

Coming In The Clouds

And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
Mark 13:26