When the kids were 6 and 4 we signed up with a local group that commemorates the local battles from the War of 1812. We now also are members of a French & Indian War re enactment group as well. Being re enactors has brought history to life for us, & for the many visitors we get to talk with at each event. Experiencing what is what really like in Colonial days, including sleeping in canvas tents, cooking over a fire, carrying water for the troops, wearing wool dresses in the hot sun, & watching my husband and son out on the battlefield has been incredible for our entire family. We've been able to visit forts and historical sites all across the Northeast & go inside in the evenings when they are closed to visitors to participate in English country dances or listen to bagpipers as the sun goes down over the fort walls is just like stepping back in time. Our family likes to "live out" our lessons. We may visit historical places, speak with people who have a connection to a time or place, eat foods from the time and location, or recreate an event. We often incorporate books, internet-based activities and movies into our lessons as appropriate. We always try to connect our family's life to the lesson we are learning so that our children feel the impact from something that may otherwise seem distant. We also have a timeline posted so that whenever we learn about something that can be pinpointed to a date, we write it on our timeline. This has helped our girls make connections in our lessons across subjects and locations of events.įor example, we recently read one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books.
As we read, we compared her experience to when we lived on a farm last year. We went to a farm where we could participate in reenactments of the time period, including churning butter, making candles, and pumping water. At home, we cooked and served a meal appropriate for the period. This week, the girls and I are sewing aprons. In the spring, we will plant a vegetable garden and visit the Wilder home. We discussed the differences in farming and daily life from then to now. We made other comparisons to our current life in a bigger city. What brings history alive for my children is simply connecting it to their own interests. My oldest is very interested in political science and current events, so for him, history becomes exciting when he sees the context behind the headlines. We have lively discussions about how historic ethnic divisions in Iraq impact that country now, or how politicians quote (or misquote) the Constitution to suit their agendas. We watch or listen to news commentary and historical documentaries from a variety of worldviews.
We ask each other probing questions - the other night we listened to an NPR report on the history of civil rights in Mississippi and he asked me how I thought I might react if I were one of the white students enrolled at a college when a first black man was attempting to enroll. He and his sister create Jeopardy! games or flash-card quizzes to remember important facts, and design presentations for their cooperative class, blending their interests in current technology with the assigned project. We also read a lot and watch old movies for fun. For my youngest, her interests center around the arts, so we do readers' theater, visit art museums (online and in-person), and incorporate historical fiction into our studies.
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