Author Archives: Donna Coulson
Day five – Appomattox Court House
First off, I’d like to explain that Appomattox Court house is not a courthouse. It is a town that is the county seat of Appomattox County. This is important because if Grant would have asked Lee to meet him at the courthouse, Lee would have assumed he was going to be arrested and tried … Continue reading
Day Four –Confederate Relic Museum and Greensboro, North Carolina
In 1896 members of the Daughters of the Confederacy founded a museum in Columbia, South Carolina. The point of the museum was to do two things. First, to keep and protect the history of the Confederacy and second, to help the history of the Confederacy to become a part of the whole history of the … Continue reading
Day three- Fort Sumter and a kayak trip!
Fort Sumter was built in 1829. It is an island at the mouth of Charleston Harbor, and perfectly positioned to defend Charleston from invaders coming from the Atlantic. The island is man-made. They sunk 70,000 tons of granite plus bricks from local plantations to create the foundation of the island. In April 12th at 4:30 … Continue reading
Day two- Boone Hall, Gullah Culture, walking tour of Charleston and Old Slave Market
This morning dawned partly cloudy, very warm and humid. I, however, was sleeping at the time! We had an 8:45 start to our day today. We started out at Boone Hall. This is a plantation with amazing history. The original plantation house was built in 1681 on 500 acres that was granted to John Boone … Continue reading
Day one of the 2013 Teaching American History Grant Trip
I’ve been up since 2:30 am this morning. We hit the airport in Denver by 3:30. The good thing about that horrible time of the night is that there was no waiting at security! We flew first to Chicago and then transferred flights and ended up here in Charleston, South Carolina. Thirty teachers plus … Continue reading
I was robbed!
The snow is melting. The sun came out today and miraculously the prairie has lost the eight inches of cold white that had covered it. The larger drifts have shrunk, now there are only about two to three feet of snow in front of the house, covering most of the driveway. It sounds as if my hopeful … Continue reading
Spring Blizzards and Warm Thoughts
I’m snuggled in tightly at home today, though it is a Tuesday and my students are sitting in their seats. We are in the midst of a spring blizzard and all the highways are closed, keeping me from being there with them. The powers that be decided not to call off school, even though the … Continue reading
A Writer’s Blessings
I did a book signing at a book fair and chili bash the other night at the school where I teach. I have told my students that I’ve published a book. and several staff members and a few parents have already bought Mountain Time and read it. It never stops humbling me when someone tells … Continue reading
Love is All Around
I hope you had a warm and love-filled Valentine’s Day. I enjoy the day, and especially so when I can celebrate it with fifth graders. Don’t you just love those little Valentines, filled with silly jokes and funny pictures? I loved being a teacher this week because I had a valid excuse to buy a box of Valentines and … Continue reading
Jellyfish
Last summer, we had the great fortune to be able to snorkel at Buck Island Reef National Monument near St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. Buck Island snorkeling is really great. There’s a kind of canyon of rock and coral that you can snorkel over. The park service has added markers on the sea … Continue reading
