For your first journal entry please write about diary...

Begin a diary for one of the people in Washington's army starting the day the troops marched in to Valley Forge. What rank did your soldier hold? Is he an adult or a young boy? Does he have a wife or mother with him? Where is he from? Have him tell about the war and the winter from the soldier's viewpoint. Pass the diary on to other members of your class so that they can continue the soldier's entries.

History lesson...

The author of The Winter of Red Snow, Kristiana Gregory, put in lots of details about life in Valley Forge in 1777 and 1778 from powdering wigs to making cakes with forty eggs. What are two or three things you discovered about life in the late 1770s?
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=1358

Can you imagine?

Abigail has sympathy for the American soldiers suffering at Valley Forge. She also mentions several times that she dislikes the Army and wants them to leave Valley Forge. What are some of the things the Army did that Abigail disliked?

Martha Washington's Great Cake (p.72)

Take 40 eggs and divide the whites from the yolks and beat them to a froth. Then work 4 pounds of butter to a cream and put the whites of eggs to it a Spoon full at a time till it is well work'd. Then put 4 pounds of sugar finely powdered to it in the same manner then put in the Yolks of eggs and 5 pounds of flour and 5 pounds of fruit. 2 hours will bake it. Add to it half an ounce of mace and nutmeg half a pint of wine and some fresh brandy.

Modern adaptation of recipe:
In making Martha Washington's famed cake, Mount Vernon's curatorial staff followed Mrs. Washington's recipe almost exactly. Where the recipe called for 5 pounds of fruit, without specifying which ones, 2 pounds of raisins, 1 pound of currants, and 2 pounds of apples were used. The wine used was cream sherry. Since no pan large enough was available to hold all the batter, two 14 layers were made and stacked (note: the original was one single tall layer). The layers were baked in a 350 degree oven for 1.5 hours. Should be iced with a very stiff egg-white based icing, flavored with rosewater or orange-flower water.


Check out the other recipes from George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens website at
http://www.mountvernon.org/learn/explore_mv/index.cfm/pid/289/.

Fraternizing with the enemy

There are several instances in the book where the Redcoats associate with Colonial Americans.  In what ways does this happen? How are Colonial Americans divided on the subject of "the Redcoats"?

Recipe: Onion Soup (p.36)

4 large onions
2 quarts milk
2 large scoops of butter
salt & pepper

Instructions:
1. Slice onions
2. In a small pot, mix all ingredients together until boiling. 
3. Reduce heat and cook until the onions are tender.
4. In tea cup, beat 1 egg, spoon a bit of hot soup into it, beat some more, then pour it back into the pot.
5. Cook 10 more minutes or so.  6. Serve with brown bread and baked apples.

Recipe: Eggnog

Non-Alcoholic - child friendly recipe http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/eggs-travagant-nog-682547/

Ingredients

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 cups milk

l cup half and half (or milk, for lighter nog)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 pint superpremium vanilla ice cream

       Instructions

1. Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk until it steams.
3. Pour some of the hot milk over the egg mixture and whisk (this keeps the eggs from scrambling), then scrape this egg mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the milk and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens a bit, about 10 minutes (or reads 165º to 175º on a candy thermometer).
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the half and half and vanilla extract, then pour the mixture through a strainer into a clean bowl.
5. Add the ice cream, and stir until melted. Cover and chill at least 1 hour, then stir before serving. Garnish with nutmeg. Makes 12 servings.

General George Washington

Based on Abigail Jane Stewart's journal, she met General George Washington several times.  How would you describe him?

What is the "Dear America" Book Club

The "Dear America" book club is a historical fiction book club that will focus on reading and discussing the Dear America and My Name is America book series'.  Each book is written, in journal form, from the perspective of a boy or girl living during a significant enent or time period in America History.  The book club will cover books ranging from the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Revolutionary War, the California Gold Rush to the Vietnam War. 

Parents and guardians are strongly encouraged to participate.  By talking with your children about these book, some times covering sensitive topics along with journaling, your child will gain valuable insight into American History as well as be able to reflect how the past influenced the present.

The club is for both boys and girls.

A "journal" will be provided for those children that participate.

We will meet the second Monday of each month unless scheduling conflicts arise. 

The target age group is 8-12. 

Questions, suggested readings, craft projects and recipes will be posted which correspond to the text. 

Copies of the book will be available for pick up at the Children's Room Reference Desk at the Palisades Library. 

The Winter of Red Snow: Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777

Summary

 

 

 

Eleven-year-old Abigail Jane Stewart, along with her family, friends and neighbors discover the joys and sorrows of war during the winter of 1777, when General George Washington makes camp at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.    In her journal, Abigail documents the birth of her brother, life with the soldiers, a sometimes silly General George Washington, as well as a generous and caring Martha Washington.

 

 

Winter of Red Snow