Smith's Surfers

Wednesday!

2010-04-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday we left Reading, Pennsylvania to come home to Jacksonville, Florida. We drove through Washington, DC and got some great pictures, Mar'ria you will love them! The District of Columbia (DC)—identical with the city of Washington; this is just like Jacksonville the district of Duval is the same size as Jacksonville. Washington, DC is the is the capital of the United States. DC history began in 1790 when Congress directed selection of a new capital site, 100 sq mi, along the Potomac. What does 100 square miles mean? The home of government was transferred from Philadelphia to Washington on Dec. 1, 1800, and President John Adams became the first resident in the White House.

What is a government?

Over 200 years ago, our Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution. The Constitution is a basic design for how our government should work. The Constitution divides the government into three branches. They are the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

The Legislative Branch

The legislative branch makes laws for the nation. The main lawmaking body of this branch is known as Congress. Congress is made up of two parts, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress meets at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

The Executive Branch

The executive branch makes sure people follow the laws that the legislative branch makes. The leaders of this branch are the President and Vice-President. When making important decisions, the President often asks for advice from a group of 15 helpers, known as the Cabinet. The President lives at the White House in Washington, D.C.

The Judicial Branch

When people are unsure about the meaning of a law, the judicial branch listens to many opinions and makes a decision. The judicial branch is made up of courts. The highest of these courts is the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is made up of 9 judges. They meet at the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.

This is where Congress meets and conducts business. It is located on the east end of the Mall. Construction of the building started in 1792, and its design was changed several times, until it was finished in 1865. The Capitol's most recognizable feature is the 180-foot-high cast iron dome of the Great Rotunda. In addition to its historical association, the Capitol Building is also a vast artistic treasure house.

The 132-room White House is the official residence of the president. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. President George Washington chose the site in 1792 and supervised construction. The mansion was not finished until 1800, so Washington is the only president who never lived in the White House. The British burned the building in 1814, during the War of 1812. The rooms for public functions are on the first floor. The second and third floors are used as the residence of the president and first family. The most celebrated public room is the East Room, where formal receptions take place. Other public rooms are the Red Room, the Green Room and the Blue Room. The State Dining Room is used for formal dinners.

The White House is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., I took this picture at 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. Far was I from the White House? When you answer your statement would say, "You were ???? city blocks away from the White House."

Construction of this memorial to the 16th President of the United States started in 1914 and was completed in 1922. It is located on the west end of the Mall. The inside of the memorial is divided into three chambers: central, north and south. A white marble statue of President Lincoln sits in the central chamber. The Gettysburg Address, which Lincoln gave on November 19, 1863, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is in the south chamber. The 36 Doric columns on the outside of the memorial represent the number of states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death in 1865.

Daughters of the American Revolution Hall. We read about this and how they didn't let Marian Anderson sing in it, she went on to sing at the Lincoln Memorial with the Mall filled with people.

Washington Monument. Construction of this monument took nearly a century of planning, building and controversy. The first plans, which were dropped, because it called for a large equestrian statue of George Washington. After Washington's death in 1797, a memorial was discussed, only to be delayed again. Finally, in 1848, work started on the monument that stands today. After more fits and starts, the monument was finished in 1884 and opened to the public in 1888. The tapered shaft, or obelisk, is made of stone and is covered with white marble. The monument stands just over 555 feet. Memorial stones from the 50 States, foreign countries and organizations line the inside walls. The top of the monument, which you can get to only by elevator, provides a panoramic view of the city. We ALL know Ms. Smith DID NOT DO THIS!!! :)

Washington Mall. No Mar'Ria, this isn't the official shopping center of the United States. It is a 146-acre stretch of lawn that extends from the Potomac River to the Capitol Building. The area hosts political rallies, festivals and other events. Many of Washington's famous memorials and the Smithsonian's museums and galleries surround the Mall. The National Park Service maintains the grounds.

Tuesday

2010-04-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we went to Philadelphia, PA. Interesting fact: Shoes all over the world were identical until the nineteenth century, when left- and right-footed shoes were first made in Philadelphia? Apart from making right and left shoes Philadelphia is also know for the important role it played in forming our country! The site was first occupied by Native Americans. By the 17th century it landed in the "hands" of England. IN 1682 William Penn bought it through a grant from Charles II of England and names it Philadelphia, the “City of Brotherly Love.” It was the home of the Continental Congress and served as the American capital from 1777 to 1788. It was the capital of the new republic from 1790 to 1800, as well as the state capital (to 1799).

City Hall, was voted as one of America's Favorite Structures.

The Liberty Bell was cast in England in 1752 for the Pennsylvania Statehouse in Philadelphia. It is inscribed with the words, “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof”. The bell was rung on July 8, 1776, for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. It was hidden during the Revolutionary War and was re-placed in Independence Hall in 1778. The bell cracked on July 8, 1835, while tolling the death of Chief Justice John Marshall.

In 1976 the Liberty Bell was moved to a special exhibition building near Independence

Hall. Recently the hall was remodeled to protect the bell even more.

Independence Hall, historic building on Independence Square, downtown Philadelphia, in Independence National Historical Park. Originally constructed as the Pennsylvania colony's statehouse in 1732, the hall was the scene of the proclamation of the U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776) and was the meeting place of the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention.

For lunch we went and ate Philly Cheese Steaks, YUMMO!! One steak is 12 inches long, how many feet is that? Ms. Smith bought 2 steaks to take home to her sister. How many inches of cheese steak did I take home? How many feet?

Monday

2010-04-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

On Monday we went on a tour of Amish Country. The Amish choose to live a life apart from the English, what they call all non-Amish people. They don't have electricity, they wear clothes different from ours, and they don't drive cars.

Our first stop on the tour was an Amish museum, we got a chance to see how they live. This is a barn, isn't it HUGE?

This is a well that was hand dug. Above the well is how deep and wide the well is.

A blacksmith shop, this is where they make the horseshoes for their horses.

Because they don't have electricity they don't have a clothes dryer, so they hang their clothes out on a line.

Two Amish wagons.

How would you like to use this outhouse (restroom)?

A model of an Amish school.

This is how many Amish children get around.

A look inside an Amish school. All Amish children are required to attend school from the first grade to the eighth grade. Amish children do not attend public schools, but instead go to a one-room school house that is located near their homes. Each morning Amish children walk to school and spend the majority of the day studying. They learn the basics of reading, writing, and mathematics, just like other children their age. However, Amish schools also teach their children the things they'll need to know to succeed in their Amish communities. Amish girls will primarily learn how to be good wives and mothers. They are taught how to cook, bake, sew, quilt, clean, raise children, and drive buggies. Amish boys are taught how to manage finances, prepare the fields, use tools, and drive a horse and buggy team.

How would you like to spend all day in this desk?

Actual school, not just a model

Just like CTE the Amish have special classes for those who are mentally and physically handicapped.

Another Amish school, see the black stand in front of the school? This is their water fountain!

The Amish children are allowed to play volleyball, baseball (I thought you would like that Brandon) and hockey. They're not allowed to play football or basketball.

A group of Amish children playing volleyball.

The Amish on a hayride; Monday they celebrated Second Easter, a major holiday for them.

The Amish riding in a buggy.

Sunday!

2010-04-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we went to New York City; we visited Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Here are some interesting facts about Ellis Island.

Ellis Island, a small island in New York Harbor, is a U.S. National Monument.Ellis Island served as an immigration station from 1892 to 1954.
More than 12 million immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island. Roughly ½ of all Americans have at least one ancestor who passed through here.
Ellis Island, originally about 3 acres, has been enlarged to 9 times its initial size. The earth used to make the island bigger came from New York City subway tunnels as well as other sources. How large is it now? How can we find out?

Ellis Island

After the immigrants had gone through Ellis Island they took a ferry to New Jersey where they could board a train to begin their lives in different parts of the country.

This is the ferry that Ms. Smith took to Ellis Island and then the Statue of Liberty, New York City is in the background.

Ms. Smith waiting for the ferry, I am NOT a happy camper; boats, water, and Ms. Smith are not happy campers! :)

Lamp post on the dock waiting for the ferry. There are 4 post and 2 lamps on each post. How many lamps are there in all?

My Mom riding the ferry, I could take an pictures of myself because I was turning green from riding the ferry!

A picture of New York City from the ferry.

This graph shows the amount of people who visited Ellis Island each year it was open. Each person equals 5,000 people, so a half of person is worth 2,500 people. The blue people represent whites and the red represents blacks.

Some young immigrant girls protesting child slavery. When many of these families came over they didn't have any money so all of the family members had to work, even the children. Some bosses made the children work long hard hours, not even letting them go home. Just like with slavery those who decided to fight against this injustice were treated very poorly.

Can you imagine looking out of this window; excited about your new life and the new friends you will meet, but sad about the life and friends you left in your old country?

A note and picture that an immigrant left on the wall during his or her stay on Ellis Island. Look at that picture, I think it was probably a boy, what do you think?

Look at their faces, what inference can you make about them?

A cool New Jersey sign, Cory this might help with your report.

A cool map of the state of Texas, Isabeau this might help with your report.

A cool California sign, Brandon this might help with your report.

Sunday started Scottish Week in New York City, they had Scottish bagpipe players at Ellis Island. What country were the bagpipe players from?

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty was built by French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, with the help of tons of workers working ten hours days, seven days a week for nine years!
The statue was finally finished in 1884 and presented to America on July 4th. It didn't arrive in the United States until many months later though, because all 350 individual pieces of the statue had to be packed into 214 crates for the long boat ride from France to New York.
The name of the island that the statue was rebuilt on is Bedloe Island; the island is now called Liberty Island and is only accessible by ferry.
The Statue of Liberty celebrates her birthday on October 28th.
Visitors must climb 354 stairs to reach the Statue of Liberty's crown.
There are 25 windows in Lady Liberty's crown.
The seven spikes on the Statue of Liberty's crown represent either the seven oceans or the seven continents.
The Statue of Liberty weighs 450,000 pounds (204, 100 kilograms).

New York City
When we finished touring Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty we drove to New York City. It was VERY busy and Ms. Smith had to practice patience!
Still practicing patience! :)
We sat in traffic from 4:00 p.m.-6:45 p.m., how many hours did we sit in traffic?
Picture of New York City!
Arlo can you read the note? :)

On September 11, 2001 our country was attacked when 2 planes flew into the World Trade Center Towers both towers fell because of the attack, another plane flew into the Pentagon, and the last plane crashed into Shanksville, Pa. Below are three pictures the first is of what the Trade Towers looked like before the attack and the last are what it looks like now.

Stay tuned, I'll post pictures from my adventures today very soon! :) I hope you're having a great Spring Break, I miss you guys! :) :)

**P.S. I got most of my facts from www.kidzworld.com. **

Two Days Late!

2010-04-05T06:58:00.000-07:00

We've been so busy that I've forgotten to post my pictures! It's been so much fun exploring things trying to find interesting facts for you guys! Below each picture will be an explanation of it, read each one carefully (Are you FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS? :) you'll never know when I'm going to throw some math facts in! (I don't know why this is underlined!) Word Search: Find all of the contractions in this post and write the two words that make it up.

Just a cool picture of some barns.
An Amish man working in fields. There are 4 horses and each horse has 4 legs, how many legs are there in all? Solve this two ways using pictures and words!

An Amish buggy, with someone driving it! :) Remember how I said that they don't use cars? Well this is their version of the car, it even has windows.

Let's all guess who this picture is for, ISABEAU! I saw this and my first thought was that you'd love it!

Mar'ria this is a very far away picture of the Washington Monument, I promise I will get a better one!

Once again Mar'ria a poor picture on the U.S. Pentagon, I promise to get better ones! This is where the head military leaders from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marines work.

Tonight I will post even more pictures.

Just Arrived!

2010-04-02T18:19:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys!

It took 14 hours and 860 miles but Ms. Smith made it! I drove half way on Thursday and half way today. Yes, Travis that means I did stop and spend the night somewhere. Can anyone tell me how many hours and miles I drove each day? Just remember that with addition or multiplication we are putting things (groups) together and with subtraction or division we are taking things (groups) apart. I will post pictures from Washington D.C. tomorrow, I got some nice ones for you Mar'ria!

Love you guy!

Ms. Smith!!!

Let's explore together!

2010-03-29T19:26:00.000-07:00

This week Ms. Smith is going out of town for spring break. Everyday I will post pictures from my adventures, interesting facts, and pieces of trivia! Join me everyday to see what I am up to, you never know what you might learn!