In this intensive and immersive session, teachers will acquire the skills and tools necessary to teach their students using works of art through an engaging and meaningful dialog.

I don't care what you say: my day was better than yours! I am richer, more satisfied, and more joyous after immersing my daughter in baptism for the forgiveness of her sins...

We have accomplished one of our greatest goals of parenthood...

We didn't do this alone. My daughter has some amazing Christian friends who support her like crazy. She has some incredible Christian mentors who have waited patiently for the day she would make this monumental decision. She has a family who has prayed for her to choose obedience to the Gospel and God's plan of salvation. If you had anything to do with encouraging her along the way, I sincerely thank you.

Our task is not complete: we must continue to support this beautiful soul.

Today, we are introduced to a man named Ethan Allen.  Allen and his Green Mountain Boys are a part of history because of a sneaky attack that resulted in the conquest of Fort Ticonderoga on May 10, 1775.

(LIBERTY) BELL WORK

How many candles would be on Ethan's cake, ​this year? Birthday:  January 21, 1738

How many words can you make from the letters in his name? E  T  H  A  N      A  L  L  E  N

Do the Math ​Find the sum of the letters of his name, ​using the scale below. ​A = $.01, B = $.02, C = $.03, D = $.04, E = $.05, F = $.06, G = $.7, H =  $.08, I = $.09, J = $.10, K = $.11, L = $.12, M = $.13, N = $.14, O = $.15, P = $.16, Q = $.17, R = $.18, S = $.19, T = $.20, U = $.21, V = $.22, W = $.23, X = $.24, Y = $.25, ​Z = $.26 ​Quick Write What is your definition of success? ​

On Target Write the target number in the "bull's eye". In the 20 other open sections of the target, write equations to equal the target number. Today's number is 10. For example, if the target number is 36, the student may write expressions like the ones here (right): 6 squared 2 x 18 3 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 72/2 3 x 3 x 4

Art Appreciation Analyze the engraving shown below.  Check out the details.  Notice the caption, as well. What do you notice? What do you think is happening? What caused the scene in the engraving? What might happen after the scene shown? What does this piece make you wonder? Flag The flag of the Green Mountain Boys is still in use today as the flag to represent the Vermont National Guard. Fancy Words Vs. Simple Words Ethan Allen's writing may be difficult for some of us to understand.  His vocabulary was clearly full of longer and fancier words than we use today.  Contrast the videos below and discuss which is more important - sounding smart by using fancy words or being understood without trying to sound smart.  Is there a balance? Artillery Marking Let's notice the markings on the cannons in our classroom. Artillery Marking Activity File Size: 51 kb File Type: docx Download File

Controversial Methods The Green Mountain Boys did not want the New York authorities to control their land.  Some of their tactics were controversial, even harsh.  They rebelled against New York land surveyors and anyone else who wished to take over their land.  They gained a reputation for chasing settlers with New York grants out of their houses, stealing their belongings, and making things very uncomfortable for people they considered the enemy. In one case involving a man who was sympathetic to New York, the Green Mountain Boys tied a man to a chair and tied the chair to a tavern sign.  They left him there for hours. ​What do you think about the tactics of the Green Mountain Boys? Liberty's Kids, etc. Discussion Quote Ethan and Benedict both wanted to be in charge.  Each wanted recognition for capturing Fort Ticonderoga.  They ended up working together, but they resented each other for not yielding. ​Here's a quote we can discuss: Jigsaw and Geometry The teacher will assign you to study one section of the Fort Ticonderoga website to explore as a Jigsaw activity.  After you meet with your study group, you will return to your table team to report about the things you learned. After that, here are three Geometry and Measurement pages to help you appreciate the shape of the fort from a flying viewpoint. Ticonderoga Geometry and Measurement.docx File Size: 372 kb File Type: docx Download File Preservation Where was America's first preservation project? What was one of the first locations for historical restoration in the United States? Two hundred years ago, the Pell family had the vision to rescue the ruins of Fort Ticonderoga.  The video below explains more.  The video in the lower right shows the real Stephen Pell showing off his fort.

Incorporating art in your classroom curriculum can enhance student outcomes in many areas including communication, interpretation, inference, visual literacy, and knowledge acquisition.

A week-long professional development session that will introduce teachers of all subject areas to the methodology and process of teaching from works of art. Incorporating art in your classroom curriculum can enhance student outcomes in many areas including communication, interpretation, inference, visual literacy, and knowledge acquisition. In this intensive and immersive session, teachers will acquire the skills and tools necessary to teach their students using works of art through an engaging and meaningful dialog.

Located on the northeast corner of the Bentonville town square and a short walk to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 21c Museum Hotel Bentonville is a 104-room boutique hotel, contemporary art museum, cultural center and home to The Hive restaurant, led by executive chef Matthew McClure.

What can you expect to see when you visit 21c? Nothing expected, that’s for sure.

Upon arrival, you’ll be greeted by two dramatic pieces-Orange Tree, a large-scale sculpture, and Making Change, Fleetwood Cadillac limousine covered in thousands of coins. From there, explore the current exhibition; dine next to BuzzKill, an immersive installation at The Hive; or get swept up in A Sudden Gust of Wind, our site-specific installation.

The guest rooms and suites are spacious with high ceilings, large windows and a decidedly residential feel, providing a comfortable respite from the thought-provoking art and activity that fills the museum galleries. Outfitted with custom-designed furniture, comfortable beds, plush robes and Malin + Goetz bath amenities, we hope you’ll feel refreshed, restored and ready to explore.

“THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated."

Art Appreciation

Liberty's Kids Independence Day Let there be no mistake:  the big July holiday is not called Firecracker Day, and it's not even called July the Fourth.  As I believe that words matter, the title of this national holiday is Independence Day​.  Why? Created Equal? The writers of the Declaration of Independence including some interesting verbiage up front - that "all men [all mankind] are created equal".  Though many struggled to include Africans in "all men", they knew they could not get the support of the entire Continental Congress. Years later, in 1861, our nation fought a Civil War to gain the freedom of the slaves and the outlawing of the slave trade.  Still, it took another century for all races to gain equal rights in the United States, and we still face many issues of racism in our country, some of which have caused controversy, especially in the southern states where slavery was so prominent. Monumental Destruction What a feeling it must have given to see that statue of King George come toppling down!  ​More recently, people have defaced and destroyed monuments and statues around the country, claiming they are offended by what the monuments represent. ​Get ready to discuss this topic.  We may not make any conclusions, but we want to have an honest discussion while considering all sides of the issue.

I Declare The Break-Up Letter The Declaration of Independence is about the biggest break-up letter ever.  It wasn't exactly like a girl breaking up with her boyfriend, but it was 13 colonies breaking up with their mother country. Watch the video here to see what the adoption of the Declaration might have felt like.  Then, for a little fun, see this break-up letter in music form with a special Music Appreciation​ - Too Late to Apologize. Celebrate! John Adams believed Americans would celebrate the second of July with parades and fireworks.  It turns out he was right about the celebration, but wrong about the date.  Explore some celebration information on our Celebrate Good Times page devoted to Independence Day. Word Wise We're going to find many words and phrases in the document that are unfamiliar to fourth graders (and even some adults today).  Be ready to write some of these down as we parse the meaning of the Declaration of Independence. Music Appreciation Here are some songs to help us celebrate our freedoms while working on reading fluency: Best Day of My Life ​​Born Free ​Building Better Worlds ​​Firework ​Flesh and Bone ​One Voice

When in the Course of Human Events

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

    He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
    He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their     operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
    He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people         
        would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to 
        tyrants only. 
    He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of 
        their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. 
    He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the 
        rights of the people.
    He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative 
        powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining 
        in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
    He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for         
        Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the 
        conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
    He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary 
        powers.
    He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of 
        their salaries.
    He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat 
        out their substance.
    He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
    He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
    He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by 
        our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
    For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
    For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the 
        Inhabitants of these States:
    For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
    For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: 
    For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
    For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
    For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary 
        government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for 
        introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
    For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our 
        Governments:
    For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all 
        cases whatsoever.
    He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
    He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. 
    He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation 
        and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous 
        ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
     He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to 
        become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. 
    He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our 
        frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all 
        ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.