AND
It teaches us amazing lessons!!!
This year we have spent a lot of time studying the History of The United States of America!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE teaching and learning all this great stuff...
We've also been enjoying reading some mighty fantastic American Girls books.
We finished up the series of Felicity...
Felicity Merriman is a spirited 9 year old girl who lives in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1774, just before the Revolutionary War. She is one spirited little girl who'd rather be out riding her horse than doing any "sitting down kinds of things"... Fantastic series!!!
Love the historical content and the conversation starters between my kiddos and I...
definitely worth your time...
I would highly suggest doing them as a great read aloud! You won't be sorry. :0)
We are now in the midst of devouring Kaya...
"Kaya" is short for the Nez Perce name Kaya'aton'my'...which means "she who arranges rocks." Kaya and her family are Nimiipuu, known today as Nez Perce Indians. Kaya is an adventurous girl whose deep love for horses and respect for nature nourishes her spirit. She learns some hefty lessons that have been great for my kids and I to discuss...one that is just perfect is the lesson of thinking of others before thinking of ourselves. You'll want to know how she "earned" the nickname "Magpie"... so go grab the books and sit down for a good read with your kiddos!
We also had some eye-openers when we discussed the limited food they survived on...a good winter's meal would consist of dried deer or elk meat, dried fish and dried berries...
one of our little ones piped up with just how grateful she is that she wasn't born in the "Old Days"...
They were also delighted that we don't have a "Whipping Woman"...
the whipping woman would whip and punish ALL the children when ONE would do wrong!
Wow, that seems a bit harsh, but I'm willing to bet they didn't have much of a problem with disobedience! My kids eyes were wide open when we discussed this one! ;)
I can't imagine having such a horrific job...I'd never be able to line 'em all up and proceed with whippings! I'd be all teary-eyed and weepy...so not the job for me!
I love to have my kiddos "experience" as much of the life others have lived and one key part are the foods they enjoyed (or possibly more correct would be to say the foods that sustained life for them) I have cause to doubt that they may have actually enjoyed what they morseled.
Well, this morning, just after a little lesson on Mary Ludwig ~ also known as Molly Pitcher (a heroine during the Revolutionary War) ...we decided to whip up some JOHNNY CAKES. Now, I do have to say that I think they could have truly enjoyed this tasty little recipe...just imagine a cornbread pancake...the kiddos ate 'em up, almost down to the last crumb! (Even yummier when you add just a smidge of butter and syrup!)
Yesterday, we sampled some jerky, berries and nuts...although it tasted pretty yummy, we decided eating it day after day after day after day might become a little boring! We're pretty spoiled with all the choices we have for food.
I LOVE that our kids are learning and understanding that people (AND children) had to work for and preserve the foods that would sustain them...I love that they see "pickyness" really wasn't an option. If you were hungry enough, pulling the bark back from a tree and savoring a little "tree meat" was a common occurrence.
I have so many yummy things to share with you.
Possibly one of the funnest things we do each month is our END OF THE MONTH GEOGRAPHY PARTY!!! How I LOVE a good party!!! My next post will be our about our Passover Feast ~ Israel, being our Geography Choice of the month! These are such a fantastic experience for not only the kids, but for the Moms as well! We are able to sample a variety of offerings from each country we study. Some are much yummier than others...some not so much! But what an amazing bonus to our school days!
IF I've failed to mention this...
I thought I'd throw it out there for all to hear (or read)...
I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING MY KIDS!
We have so much fun together,
we learn amazing things,
we explore,
we create,
we experiment,
we laugh and gasp together...
Life has to be fun when it's filled with one wonder after another!
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