the Raven's schoolhouse

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Thank you to my new friends at the Sam Houston Schoolhouse Day Camp.

Today, we talked about birds and raptors. But here I show the skeleton of a bat to illustrate just how truly delicate wings are—lots of tiny bones.

We were in a pavilion on the site of the Historic Sam Houston Schoolhouse located nearby.  

As their website notes, "At the age of 19, Houston decided to teach school...Sam had only spent six months in formal schooling, but, like his contemporary, Abe Lincoln, he taught himself, including reading Latin and Greek. He memorized much of the 24 books of the Iliad. You could say he was a self-motivated, classical scholar!"

"The one-room log schoolhouse, built in 1794, is named for Sam Houston, who was the schoolmaster there in 1812." 

Young Houston also spent his formative years with the Cherokee and became known as "Colonneh" (pronouned Ka-lanu'), the Raven.

Ergo, it was a pleasure talking about birds at the schoolhouse site of the Raven, 202 years after he did. 

Teacher's desk. Today's lesson: birds of prey

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