Hannah's Reading Room

  This post contains affiliate links.  I receive a small commission if you purchase from my links.  Every purchase helps keep this blog going.  With the movie now out,  I HEARD THE BELLS , this is a wonderful unit study to either add to the watching of the film or just to do a hymn study with.  The story of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the writing of this hymn are sure to stick in your student's minds. Learn about the tragic circumstances that led Longfellow to write this beautiful hymn.  Compare and contrast different belfries.  Go on a field trip to find church bells in your town. Have a bell pepper taste testing, learn about the reasons church bells have rung throughout history. There are many subjects included in this curriculum.  There is a reference to the Civil War, as that is in a verse that is normally removed from the song.  I hope you will find this study helpful for you and your students. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Singing!

  This post contains affiliate links.  I receive a small commission if you purchase from my links.  Every purchase helps keep this blog going.  We have been having such a great time using this Christmas Countdown each day.  It is the first thing my students do each morning.  It is so fun to see what they write each day.  They are making beautiful keepsakes while practicing their writing. For each prompt, there are supporting questions to help get the ideas flowing. If you are seeing this post and it is not Christmas time yet, you can still add it to your wishlist on my  Teachers Pay Teachers Store .  As always, thank you for stopping by and Happy Writing!

© Hannah Babiak/Dreamstime.com "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not,  when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." - Henry David Thoreau " Walden, or Life in the Woods " © Hannah Babiak/Dreamstime.com The Delavan Memorial Arboretum is a beautiful spot in Delavan, Wisconsin that I love to go to.  It is beautiful any time of year and has a lot to offer.  I am always surprised at how many local people don't even know it exists.  There are lovely walking trails, a lake for fishing or kayaking and a wide variety of trees.  There are benches for bird watching an arbor for outdoor weddings and scenery that changes from week to week.  It is located at 440 North Terrace St. in Delavan, WI.   © Hannah Babiak/Dreamstime.com The arboretum is located along the northeast shore of Lake Comus which is a great place for fishing, canoeing  or kayakin

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.  I receive a small commission if you purchase from my links.  Every purchase helps keep this blog going.  © Hannah Babiak/Dreamstime.com This past week, my friend and I took a road trip to  Woodstock, Illinois   to see what we could discover on a very cold, blustery, winter day.  Because of the freezing temperatures, we didn't plan to spend much time outside, just mostly photographing from the car.  We found a lot of neat things, so come along as I share some of my favorite things we saw.  As usual, you may purchase any of my photos by clicking on the copyright link underneath each photo. © Hannah Babiak/Dreamstime.com We weren't quite to Woodstock yet when we found this adorable Christmas tree farm.  I believe we were in Harvard, IL at this point and the  vintage Ford truck almost buried in the snow says, "Wild Pines" and has a Christmas tree in the back all covered with snow.  We loved the teal color and it reminded me of