A Community that Loves Kids!

The wisp of a girl fell down in front of me, fussed a little, but got up and ran on. Her mother commented, “Don’t you just love this surface?” Yes, I did like the soft rubber floor; in fact, I enjoyed everything about the read more

A Little Boy by Del Hart

I’m always interested in books about Pennsylvania so naturally I felt drawn to Del Hart's A Little Boy  about his childhood experiences growing up on a farm in Central Pennsylvania. I found not only a wonderful time capsule of a past era, but became read more

PA State Parks: Cowans Gap

The number of people at the beach on a Friday at Cowans Gap State Park in Fulton County, Pennsylvania surprised us. We had driven for an hour and a half to nearby Harrisonville, Pennsylvania, to look at read more

The Juniata Valley Quilters Guild Show

Quilting has been a part of our family as long as I can remember. As a child, I played under the quilt frame with my cousin while our mothers worked together on a quilt. As a teenager, I enjoyed watching my grandmother who lived with us make crazy quilts. In her old age by then and needing my mother to thread her needles for her work, she had already made read more

PA State Parks: Little Buffalo

One of many hats is substitute teaching. On one of the last days of school this past year, the fifth grade class had finished its planned activities so I taught a little Pennsylvania history.

“How many state parks can you name?”

Hands raised all over the room.

I pointed to a student. “How about you tell us one.”

“Hershey Park.”

“Well, that’s a fun place to go, but that's an amusement park not a state park.”

I received a few more wrong answers, but someone finally mentioned read more

Mexico, Pennsylvania: Then and Now

We have a popular ice cream store in our area. Everyone knows about Mexico Mart, where they sell huge delicious ice cream cones for comparative little money. Mexico Mart operates in a small town called Mexico halfway between Harrisburg and State College in Central Pennsylvania. I wonder how many people know the history behind Mexico, Pennsylvania.  I didn’t until my mother began to pull books out of her bookshelf while looking for a church directory I had asked for. read more

Children’s Book Fun-Grades 5-6

Bly, Stephen. Nathan T. Riggins Western Adventure series. Youth can immerse themselves in the culture of the old west in these cowboy novels. Descriptions of each of these books are at http://www.blybooks.com/series/nathan-t-riggins-western-adventure/.

Bly, Stephen. Lewis and Clark Squad series. This series set in modern day times features a basketball team who works together on the court and off of the court. Mr. Bly is our family’s favorite author, and this was our absolute favorite read-aloud. Read the titles of each book at http://www.blybooks.com/series/lewis-clark-squad/. read more