I have been doing a unit study with Olivia and Isaac about blindness and deafness. To try to explain the conditions, I blindfolded the kids and let them try to manoeuvre around the house. Then we went outside, covered our ears, and missed the noises that we are used to hearing. When Isaac's "light bulb" went off he said, "Mommy, you mean their eyes are broken? And their ears are broken?" I replied, "Yes, Isaac, unfortunately some people in the world are different from you and are not able to see God's world through their eyes or hear it through their ears. They have to learn to "see," "hear," and "talk" in different ways from you and I."
In learning about these conditions we read about the life of Helen Keller and her beloved teacher Annie Sullivan. We studied what Braille is and tried our hands at sign language. We even watched the movie The Miracle Worker. To have a real hands-on learning experience I scheduled a field trip to Ivy Green, the birthplace of Helen Keller. Olivia has long since wanted to visit Ivy Green as she has read books about the remarkable woman whom shares her same birthday.
An added blessing was having Granddad and Grandma join us on our field tip. During the time at Ivy Green the kids were able to see where Helen lost her hearing and sight (at 19 months of age), but where she also found how to communicate with others and learned how to "see," "hear," and "talk" in a new way (at 6 years old).


The cottage where Helen was born and her parents lived when Helen was a baby sits near to the larger home. This was the room in which she lost her hearing and sight. It is also the cottage that Annie Sullivan brought Helen in order to get her away from her family to really teach her.
This is Annie Sullivan's room in which Helen locked her in and she had to exit by way of the window.

The dining room in which Annie and Helen fought for many hours until Annie finally taught Helen to sit mannerly, eat from her own plate with a spoon, and taught her to fold her own napkin after completing her meal. Previously, she had walked around the table at each meal using her hands to scoop food off each persons plate.

Feeling of braille

The last time I visited Ivy Green was when I was as a Girl Scout around Olivia's age. I can remember standing in this same spot many years ago appreciating this as the place that Helen Keller learned to "see," "hear," and "talk" in a new way. This time I was able to experience it again through my children's eyes.

This is a memorial in honor of Helen by the Lions Club because of the work she did advocating for the disabled.


We were blessed with a beautiful warm day on the day of our visit to Ivy Green. I pray that my children will remember their visit and not limit their ways to "see," "listen," and "speak" to the world. Helen Keller's life is a wonderful example. May we all learn from her.
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Here are some of my favorite Helen Keller's quotes:
Life is either a great adventure or nothing.
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.
I can see, and that is why I can be happy, in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden. I can see a God-made world, not a manmade world.
Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived.
The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.
Do you have a favorite Helen Keller quote?