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Home Learning and Vivid Vegetables Talks April 28

GREENSBORO – Author Rebecca Rupp will visit the Greensboro Free Library for two in-person programs and a potluck on Friday, April 28. Rupp is the author of over 200 articles for national magazines, on topics ranging from the natural history of squirrels to the archaeology of privies, and nearly 20 books for both children and adults. She blogs on food science and history for National Geographic.

At 10:30 a.m., Rupp will present “Support Your Child’s Learning at Home.” She will talk with parents about resources and methods for enriching children’s learning, as well as her experience homeschooling her own children through high school. She recently published an updated edition of her book, “Home Learning Year by Year,” a reference describing print and web learning resources for each grade level. While Rupp speaks to parents, Carol Reynolds and Emily Purdy will engage kids in art projects. Following the talk from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., everyone is welcome to share in a spring potluck and chat with Rupp in the library back yard.

At 1 p.m., Rupp will present her Vermont Humanities Council lecture “Wolf Peaches, Poisoned Peas, and Madame Pompadour’s Underwear: The Surprising History of Common Garden Vegetables.” She will discuss the stories behind many of our favorite vegetables, among them the much-maligned tomato and potato, the (mostly) popular pumpkin, and Vermont’s dynamic duo of kale and Gilfeather turnip. Find out why a lot of us don’t like beets, how a 17th-century pirate named the bell pepper, how carrots won the Trojan War, and how George Washington was nearly assassinated with a plate of poisoned peas. Rupp’s talk is sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council through its Speakers Bureau program.

In August Greensboro Free Library will host two more speakers bureau lectures, on home brewing and Vermont’s boat building traditions. For more information, contact the library at (802) 533-2531 or [email protected].

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