Blaine Voyage

Introduction by Sarah, Facts by Julianna: Yesterday, we played hooky from preparing for our real trip to spend a day exploring history in Philadelphia. We finally got to see the inside of Independence Hall, or, as the girls thought it was officially called, “The Room Where It Happened.” (Thanks, Lin-Manuel Miranda.) We also took a peek at the Liberty Bell, and the girls acquired their Independence Hall Junior Ranger badges along with probably a dozen or more National Park trading cards each. In addition, we took a fascinating trip to the Johnson House in Germantown/Mt. Airy, where we learned about the history of the Underground Railroad in Philadelphia (and I learned a bunch of new things myself).

As a dry run for the start of our official “world schooling,” I gave each of the girls a writing assignment. Julianna’s assignment was to write ten sentences with facts she learned in Philadelphia.  This is her first official post to the blog. As she wrote her draft, she asked me for help with spelling some words she wasn’t sure of — this was a big step forward for her, as she normally just writes whatever invented spelling comes to mind. After she finished, we talked about what the red spell-check lines mean, and I helped her correct the proper nouns, which were the only mistakes. I also took dictation for some second sentences for some of the facts, which were intended to clarify for the reader who did not go on our trip with us what she was writing about. Without further ado…

10 Facts I Learned On My Trip To Philadelphia

by Julianna

1. Joseph Brant fought against the patriots in the Revolutionary War.
2. Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod.
3. Harriet Tubman may have walked through some doors that I walked through!
4. John Adams helped write The Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson was the actual person who wrote the Declaration of Independence.
5. Martha Washington was George Washington’s wife.
6. Thomas Jefferson was the first Secretary of State. The Secretary of State is the person who talks to other governments for us and asks about their culture to think of things to talk to the president about.
7. William Still was born free. William Still was a person who wrote about the adventures of enslaved people who were escaping.
8. There once were slaves on a roof! The roof was the roof of the Johnson House in Philadelphia.
9. People tried to fix the Liberty Bell three times, but it still cracked.
10. Thirty-nine people signed The Declaration of Independence.