Context

This is one of those things I will miss the most about living in the DC area - and it has a lot to do with yesterday's post about history, but I'm going to expand on it a little with this example.

What I have loved, loved, loved, loved, LOVED is being able to put history in context. Most of you know already that we're a freaky homeschooling family, right? Well, being up here and studying American history at the same time is like eating chocolate doughnuts WITH chocolate milk.

For instance, right now, the boys are studying Abraham Lincoln and memorizing The Gettysburg Address. We've been to Gettysburg and stood on the spot where Lincoln gave that speech, and now? I'm so excited. See, here's the thing...

Lincoln gave that speech on November 19, 1863. November 19 is 16 days from today.

So, if we can pull it off, the boys will be reciting The Gettysburg Address inside the Lincoln Memorial 147 years after it was first given. We'll video tape it, of course, so I can embarrass the boys with it when they think about dating memorialize the achievement.

It's a win-win...