Home School History Day

The Henning Five gathered in front of the Bookhouse and waited patiently for Mrs. Wood too unlock the door. The cool autumn breeze teased the blonde hair of the children. The Henning children were homeschooled. Being homeschooled had its advantages. One of those advantages was Homeschool History Day. On History Day, the five children dressed up as their favorite characters or professions from history. Caleb was dressed in a coonskin hat and a leather jacket with fringes up both sleeves as Daniel Boone. Scott was dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt and topped off his ensemble with a tattered cowboy hat and a red and white kerchief around his neck. Kelsey and Kerry were dressed as Mary and Laura Ingalls complete with homemade bonnets courtesy of their Grandma Stucky. Luke was dressed as a cowboy as well and his outfit closely mirrored his older brother’s. Christa did not dress up for history day. She was the mom and she could dress however she wanted.

 

The Henning family had chosen to spend their history day at the Bookhouse in Paris. The Bookhouse was a small building about ten feet wide by fourteen feet long. The was a skid style yard building with a small porch on the front that had been converted into a miniature library. The Bookhouse was owned and maintained by Mrs. Wood, a retired school teacher who had been responsible for part of Dale Henning’s early education. The Bookhouse, as its name suggests, was full of books. There were a number of built-in bookcases lining the walls including a bookcase that acted as a ladder to a small loft. The loft ran around three of the four walls and was also filled with books. There was a fake fireplace on the east wall. A rock that had been painted to look like a very realistic rabbit rested peacefully on the hearth. In a world designed for adults, a building built around children held a special draw for the kids. They loved it there.

Homeschool History Day did involve school work, otherwise it would just be called Home History Day. There were two or three desks and a small table in the Bookhouse where the children could work on their homework. They worked diligently on their studies as Christa drifted back and forth between the students and Mrs. Wood watched with a smile. They worked all morning until lunch time. Since it was History Day, the kids got to take the afternoon off. So, they packed up their books and supplies and put them in the van. 

They walked out to the west side of the Bookhouse where Caleb and Scott took turns striking matches on the box until they finally got a fire going. They added larger and larger pieces of wood to the growing flames until they were satisfied that the fire was big enough to serve their purpose. Christa had packed lunches for everybody, so they didn’t really need a fire. However, the cool fall air gave them the justification for such an indulgence. Besides, it was History Day. What was more historical than fire?

The children sat on the ground around the small fire as Christa and Mrs. Wood watched from their seat on couple of chairs. The children finished everything in their lunches except for their apples. 

“Hey,” Caleb addressed the group. “I wonder what these apples would taste like if we cooked them over the fire.”

“I don’t know,” Scott replied. “Hey Mom, can we cook our apples over the fire?”

“Sure,” Christa replied with a smile. “You’ll need some sticks to roast them with.”

Caleb and Scott walked around underneath some nearby trees in search of appropriate roasting sticks. They returned to the fire with several options in tow. Caleb, being the only child that was old enough to carry a pocket knife, set about sharpening the sticks for his siblings. He handed them out as they were done and then sharpened one for himself. He picked up his yellow delicious and pushed it carefully onto the sharp end of his roasting stick. his younger siblings watched carefully and proceeded to follow suit with the exception of Kerry. She took her apple and stick to her mother who was more than happy to skewer the apple for her accident-prone youngest. 

Before long, the smell of warm apples drifted in the autumn breeze. The skin of the apples bubbled and pulled away from the warm flesh. Scott pulled his back and looked it over before touching it with his index finger. He pulled his finger back sharply and smiled as his sibling.

“It’s hot!” he exclaimed.

“Duh,” Caleb replied. “You just had it over the fire.”

“Be careful, Scott,” Christa chided her other accident-prone child. “Don’t burn yourself.”

Scott just nodded in response and poked the apple again. It had cooled slightly since the first poke so he tested it again with his teeth. He took a tentative bite of the apple and tossed the hot morsel around in his mouth as he waited for it to cool. Finally, he was able to chew it up and swallow and declared that roasted apples were quite tasty. The rest of the children followed his example except that they were a little more patient and waited for the apple to cool a little more before consumption. Christa just sat back and enjoyed her fresh cider with Mrs. Wood as she watched her children.