Chapter Seventy One

It is the time of year when the new school year comes to mind.  It is the same in this house!   Esther teaches us at home and since our family has grown in the past year it is much more informal than a classroom.  Reading, discussion and role playing are our forms of learning.

Geography is the subject for now. Having just returned from the little town of Leavenworth in the state of Washington our interest was piqued about foreign lands and other cultures.  Geography books were passed out as Esther explained how the world was divided into hemispheres, five continents, two major oceans and a few other bodies of water not quite as large.  She showed us on the globe where we lived in North America. 

We started our lessons with a discussion about the American Indians and how this country had once belonged to many different tribes.   Our book had several pictures of Indians showing how they dressed. To make our studies more interesting Esther had costumes for some of the subjects so  HittyBelle and Hitty Amelia got to model Indian dresses!   Oh, what fun!  She told us all about Pocahontas, a famous Indian girl.  That gave us an idea!  Maybe we could get some of our Hitty friends and do a play about Pocahontas!  Esther said she would think about it but right now we were to concentrate on our studies.

We then turned our attention to Bavaria, Germany.   Esther explained how the southern part of Germany is called Bavaria. There are beautiful high mountains as the region is nestled in the Alps.   The people of Leavenworth had  very closely simulated that architecture and decor and so many of the pictures in the book were familiar to us.  Hitty Carol put on her costume that she wore to that event.  She was pleased to have an opportunity to wear it again.

The next chapter was about the Orient.  Hitty Marie was the most curious about  Japan.  I think she was mostly interested in the picture of the beautiful cherry blossoms.  Many years ago Japan had given a gift of cherry trees to adorn our nation's capitol and each spring there is a festival in Washington, DC as the blossoms appear.  We go to Washington several times a year and perhaps one day we will get to see them. Esther and Russ lived there for thirty years and saw them many times.

At this point our lesson turned into more of a fashion show than actual study.  Hitty Marie and Hitty Emily both changed into  kimonos. Hitty Beth helped adjust the obis for Hitty Emily while Tasha watched.   HittyBelle wanted to trade outfits!   Esther told her she could change later.

Our attention span had come to end!   We had just briefly touched on a few countries so we will have to have repeated lessons in geography.  I plan to find a quiet place and study on my own. 

Next Chapter or Return to Beginning