Homeschool Opportunities at the Salem Museum
We are happy to work with our local homeschool learners to bring history to life. We provide field trips and classroom visits to local co-ops. We welcome families to the Museum for visits, tours, and our special homeschool programs listed below. To learn more, contact Hunter Haskins at Hunter@SalemMuseum.org or 540-389-6760.
Homeschool Days at the Salem Museum
Students are invited to explore local history of the Revolutionary War this school year. Learn interesting stories from our past, and get to hold pieces of history in your hand!
Each program will be held on the second Tuesday of each month, Younger Learners at 11:00am & Advanced Learners at 2:00pm. Each program will include an hour of hands-on history instruction, an activity, and time to get to know other students.
Each month will focus on a different topic of life in Colonial Virginia and the Revolutionary War. From local heroes to daily life, students will learn about the local contributions to the Revolutionary War and Virginia.
RSVP Required. Call 540-389-6760 or email Hunter@SalemMuseum.org to register.
Colonial Fashion, August 12- Men and women dressed very differently 250 years ago! Feel the different materials they used and even get to try on various garments like they would have worn.
Andrew Lewis, September 9- Salem’s “hidden hero” will be brought to light! Learn about the man who settled Salem and twice secured Virginia’s freedom.
William Fleming, October 14, Surgeon, Soldier, Patriot. We will cover the life story of a little known figure that was important to many early conflicts in America.
Native Americans in Virginia, November 11- As with all areas of the United States, the Roanoke Valley began with the Native Americans that lived here for generations, long before the Europeans arrived. Discover the history of the local Totera Town site and important relations between the Colonists and the Natives of Virginia!
The Life of a British Soldier, March 10- TV shows and movies have spread many myths and inaccuracies about the British soldiers who fought in the American Revolution. Jeff Briggs will present little known facts about the British Army in general and the British soldier in particular. He will explain the uniform and equipment worn and used by the British soldiers.
Trades in Colonial Virginia, April 14- Have you wondered what jobs people had in Colonial Virginia? Come discover what they made and how they spent their time.
Colonial Food, May 12- Make a dish to share (Mr. Channell will give you ideas) and we will celebrate the end of the school year as we learn about the foods the Founding Fathers would have eaten!
Teen Homeschool Literature Course
There are a lot of great works of literature that are best understood in their historic contexts. There is so much we can learn about peoples and the history of the world through great writings and their analyses. This once-a-month class will delve into more context and help students develop skills to properly analyze historic works of literature.
How It Works:
- Read the book!
- Attend the Monthly meetings
- Third Wednesday, 4pm
- Discuss book with Garrett and special guest (Each lesson will be taught with a male and female instructor to ensure proper safety protocols as parents drop off their teens)
- Pizza and Movie after class discussion
- Garrett knows adaptation quality or literary themes
- Hunter knows film history/theory
Class also includes a field trip to the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton
RSVP Required. Contact Garrett Channell, Garrett@SalemMuseum.org or 540-389-6760, to learn more!
Beowulf, August 20- We begin our British Literature unit with the oldest known work in English. Read about the Vikings who would later occupy Britain.
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, September 17 Field Trip to American Shakespeare Center September 18- We will read the most well-known of The Bard’s plays. Discover the origin of this romantic tragedy and experience it at the Blackfriars Playhouse.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, October 22- The birth of science fiction comes in 1818 with Mary Shelley and a writing competition. Learn the story of Victor Frankenstein and how Hollywood depictions of The Creature are wrong.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, November 19- We conclude our British Literature unit by learning about British contact with African Tribes in the late 1800s. Meet the members of the Igbo clan Umuofia and how their lives are changed by the arrival of the British.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, January 21 on Zoom- Our American Literature unit begins with this coming-of-age novel set post-Civil War.
Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes, February 18 on Zoom- Read the debut novel of a Harlem Renaissance leader. The tale of a boy in rural Kansas during the era of Jim Crow.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, March 18- The classic novel of the Roaring ‘20s. Discover the disparities of old vs new money during the boom of the 1920s.
Big White Fog by Theodore Ward, April 15- Learn about the Works Projects Administration during the Great Depression. This play will discuss the Black experience from the Roaring ‘20s to the Great Depression.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, May 20- We conclude with 1950s science fiction. An era of pulp magazines and endless possibilities of what the future could hold, both good and bad.