History that Makes You Think

As we all know, history is written by the victor, or pretty much anyone who cares to write it.  In some cases it comes down to us from sources that can never be verified, and aren't the most reliable.  For this reason, I love any kind of resource that helps children think about what they're learning in a more objective way.  Just because it's written as truth doesn't mean it's actually true.  Just because it's in the history books doesn't mean it's true.  It's good practice to get into researching to verify the facts before you take it as a fact.

Plymouth Rock is a perfect example of what I'm talking about.  Everyone (or, at least until I moved to Texas, I thought it was everyone) knows the story of Plymouth Rock.  The Pilgrims disembarked from their boat and stepped gently down onto Plymouth Rock.  I've heard a variety of stories on how it happened, including the first man to step on the rock falling off the rock and to the ground because he still had his sea legs and wasn't used to land.  The question remains, is that how it really happened?  Where's the truth in this story.

In Jean Fritz's book Who's That Stepping on Plymouth Rock? that issue is very much brought to light.  As it turns out the story of Plymouth Rock was first mentioned by a 95 year old man by the name of Thomas Faunce.  His father knew some of the First Comers, and when the townsfolk asked if it was a landmark, he verified that it was.  Of course, we're now left to trust the word of a 95 year old man that didn't even know the First Comers personally.  For all we know his father was a tiny babe when he met the First Comers himself.  The story could have been made up for a good children's tale.  It's entirely possible that the story of that first step on Plymouth Rock never happened at all, especially considering no one seems to know who that first person was to step off the boat and onto the rock.  Was it John Alden, as his family said it was?  Was it Mary Winslow, as her family insisted?  From the sounds of it, neither of them were on the first boat to shore, and from much of my research, the women stayed on the boat at first while the men cleared the land and prepared homes for their families to live in.  Doesn't that leave a lot of questions?  Isn't it strange that neither of the families that insisted their relative was the first knew of the story to begin with before Elder Faunce told of it?

In all fairness, to say that there's a lot of reason to doubt the story of Plymouth Rock, there also has to be acceptance that it could, in deed, be true!  It's entirely possible that the First Comers stepped onto the rock when they first arrived, though it doesn't seem the most logical thing to do.  A rock as large as Plymouth Rock is described to be would be difficult to climb up onto when arriving in shore in the small boats they would take out to drop everyone to land.  There were surely more logical places to put to shore.  Then there's the curiosity that there seems to be no written record verifying the story.  Still, even with all of this, it can't be doubted that the story is entirely possible.  There's no evidence to out and out disprove it.  It's all based on the fact that it wouldn't be the most logical decision to land at Plymouth Rock.

Of course, to small children it sounds completely reasonable.  The Mayflower just sailed up to the shore and the tall boat was just the right height for everyone to step right off onto the rock.  I remember when I was small that's how I thought it all must have happened.  I'd never thought of the reality of running the boat ashore.  I never thought that they wouldn't do that, but would instead send a smaller boat to make land.  Given my childish ignorance, I had no reason to doubt this story.  It sounded so wonderful and fantastical.

At some point I'd known a lot about Plymouth Rock.  I know my family went out to Plymouth Plantation at one point.  Supposedly I've seen the rock myself, but I don't remember it.  I'd heard the rock was moved around and broken.  I'd heard a whole bunch of stories, most of which I don't even remember anymore.  It seems like, for a rock, Plymouth Rock has a lot of history.

So, what about this book?  I'd say it's a fantastic read for anyone who wants their children to stop and think about history.  I mean, what if this whole fuss was made over a rock that was really nothing more than just that, a rock?  What if no one stepped off onto the rock at all?  Is history real if there's no evidence, record, or verifiable account of what happened?

More importantly, does it even matter whether the Pilgrims stepped off onto the rock or not?  Does the history mean as much as the symbol itself?  It may never have been touched by the Pilgrims (though, there is every chance that they sat on it, touched it, leaned on it, or something) but today it stands for something more.  It's a monument of it's own right, a landmark.  That giant rock, through all of it's trials, stands for something.  It's a mark representing those who came before us and a reminder of the sacrifices they made to arrive in this "new world".  It's a reminder of all of their struggles.  It's a reminder of freedom, in so many ways, as that's what they traveled to America to attain.  Isn't that almost more important than knowing whether the Pilgrims ever set foot on it at all?

This is what I love about history books like this.  It makes you think.  It opens things up for discussion, which I think is far more important than memorizing facts and knowing quirky bits of history.  It gives a family something to talk about (especially if they share the book together) and a chance to reflect on how history is created.  It's a chance to discuss whether a symbol people can take pride in and be inspired by is more valuable than knowing the truth of a matter.  Isn't that almost what religion is about?  Having something to have faith in rather than looking for the hard facts that support the story?  Is there really anything wrong with something that fills people with so much hope (in the case of religion), national pride (in the case of Plymouth Rock), and love?  Is there really any harm in something that brings families together?  Is there any harm in something that encourages thoughtful discussions and educating their minds?

Maybe I'm looking into this more deeply than most people would care to think.  Maybe I'm looking for lessons that go far deeper than the author ever intended.  Perhaps she was just trying to record some interesting facts about a point in history that so many children (at least in New England) learn about.  Even so, I think it's wonderful to look at it as so much more.  Why not use everything as an excuse, as a reason to expand your mind?

In the end, what are my personal thoughts on Plymouth Rock?  Personally I think the Pilgrims never set foot on it.  It's too unlikely that they would choose that spot when better ones could be found.  Given only one man had ever heard the story, it's hard to back it up with any degree of truth, so I have to wonder if he just made it up, or perhaps his father did.  Maybe, just like with playing telephone, the story got mixed up somewhere along the way.  We can never know the truth.  However, Plymouth Rock now stands as a symbol more than a historic landmark.  That giant rock was undoubtedly a fixture in the landscape when the Pilgrims landed.  It's something they would have seen every day as they worked and lived.  It's lasted the test of time, a little worse for wear because of the meddling of others.  It's broken, cracked, and cemented back together, and yet there it still stands.  Doesn't that kind of match our national history?  We've been broken and fractured through civil war and political divides, yet in the end, we're still together as one nation. In a way, it's like each and every one of us.  People make up their minds about us, and as a result we end up a little battered and broken, but in the end we're still there, bearing the scars of our past, looking on to the future.  Hopefully, like the rock, we'll all be looking forward to a peaceful future where we can spend time with our good friends (in the rock's case, a few seagulls) and ride out the rest of our days in happiness.

Today's History Lesson

My daughter has finally found a love of history!  It's inspired her to read!  Yesterday I mentioned that my daughter had come home to read Sam the Minuteman.  Today she asked if there were any more stories about Sam.  Unfortunately, there are none that I know of.  We decided to take a step further and branch off into other books about the time period.

Today we searched my daughter's book shelf and found a couple of books that she might find interest in.  She decided she wanted to learn more about what life was like for someone like Sam.  Right now she's reading about what girls did in colonial times.  We found that in If You Lived in Colonial Times.  She's found a couple things in that book that she wants to know about in that book.  I have a feeling this is going to inspire a whole lot of learning about history, which is extra exciting for me.  This is a subject I care a lot about.  On top of that, If You Lived in Colonial Times has plenty of information broken down into nice, easy segments.  My daughter can pick and choose what she's interested in finding out about at any given time and only read the parts she feels like learning about.  It's an excellent way for her to find something that's interesting to her.

I have to say, I really like this series.  The kids only have three books from it that I know of, but I'm thinking we may have to try and find more.  I know they have a whole number of books, some of them overlapping in time periods a good deal.  It seems like a good way to give just enough information on a period of history to encourage curiosity without going into too much detail.  The focus on daily life and normal things also makes these books a great supplement to other books about similar periods of history.  It's a great help for our history lessons, and I love it.

I'm thinking since we're working with colonial history and the American Revolution, it might be time to start looking into other books that would inspire my daughter to keep reading.  The American Girls have Felicity, which is about colonial times and the American Revolution.  I'm sure we could find those books at the library.  I though we had them, but apparently we don't.  I'm sure the library would have at least a few more books that may be of interest, though from everything I hear the Killeen Library doesn't have the greatest selection when it comes to American history, at least beyond Texas.  Still, it's one more adventure that can come out of all of this history love.  Perhaps we're going to have to make weekly or bi-weekly trips to the library.

Crafts for Kids

In the last box of goodies my aunt sent us I found a wonderful book.  It's called Pioneer Crafts, and as you can imagine, that's just what you'll find inside!  It couldn't have come at a better time!  With the weather being so cold and miserable, the kids and I haven't had much time for outdoor fun.  Instead this might give us some new projects to work on.

Some of these projects are a little familiar.  There's wood working, mostly whittling sticks.  There's also a piece on carving soap, something I did when I first learned to use a Swiss Army knife in Girl Scouts.  It gave me a real respect for those little tools to this date.  Until recently I had one everywhere I went.  There's also candle making, basket weaving, and doll making too!  These were all things I got to do in Girl Scouts and really enjoyed.  I guess I didn't really stop to think how much my kids are missing out by not having exposure to these things!  I was so spoiled with a great Girl Scout troop!  I was also disappointed with my daughter's Girl Scout troop.  They seemed to lack any kind of ambition in comparison to the things my troop did by their age!  I hate to say it, but that's part of the reason I didn't bring her back for another year.  It seemed like she wasn't doing anything at Girl Scouts but getting into trouble.

Other crafts in the book include things I wouldn't have thought of on my own, but really probably should have.  There's a tutorial on making tin lanterns, something that might be especially fun to do with preparing for the possibility of power outages in the future.  It never hurts to be prepared.  There's a project for making a balancing acrobat that looks pretty fun.  There's a tutorial on making your own moccasins, something I think my daughter would love!  They have instructions for silhouette portraits, making a loom, loom weaving, and dying.  My favorite project, the one I'm most looking forward to doing with my daughter, is the crazy quilt.

When I'd first heard about crazy quilts and all these random scraps of fabric I had a very different idea in  my head.  I'd thought they meant making a quilt that's just random scraps of fabric put together at random, fitting the pieces wherever they'd manage.  I thought we were talking crazy angles and legitimate wackiness.  I had no idea they were anything like what the book describes them to be!  I always thought those were just called "patchwork quilts".  Who knew?  I'm looking forward to buying random fat quarters and things so we can have a variety of fabrics to work with.  I'd feel a little silly using fabrics that don't have a story behind them, since that was part of the tradition, so we're going to use the fabric for things like doll clothes and use the leftover hunks of fabric for the quilt.  There's a lot of fabric left over when you make fashion doll clothes!

I'm really loving that book and I can't wait to work on some of the projects in it!  I might just be inspired to cut up some cereal boxes so we have materials to weave some baskets!  Maybe we can get all kinds of crazy and use cases of soda to add some variety and even more color to the mix!  Who says you need fancy craft supplies!  We've got some great stuff that can be recycled in our own home!

Made For Trade, Enhancing Learning with Family Games

Years ago (it seems like forever) my mom got this game for my sister and I at a company called Learning Express.  The game was called Made for Trade.  I don't know if the company still exists, but that game has stayed with me forever.  I still remember all the days I used to play it with my sister!

As the game starts out, you're an indentured servant that is working off your passage to America.  I think there's some description in there about real indentured servants, but I don't remember for certain.  Then, once you've served out your time as an indentured servant, you make your way around the board trying to become a successful merchant and trader in the new world.

While I don't remember the game being incredibly historically accurate, it did help foster concepts of life in "the new world" back in the colonial era.  I think it would be a great addition to any lesson on colonial America.  It's also a great way to get back into family time, something that I know has been lacking in most American households!  What better way to both educate your children and spend some great family time together?  It can also be a lot of fun for older children to play alone, as my sister and I did.  I honestly don't think I ever remember my mother or father playing with us, but we did play with friends.

I think for many families they associate board games with being "bored".  I remember my boyfriend joking, "That's why they call them board games, because they're boring!"  However, his mood has since changed.  Board games are now starting to become things we do when we're bored and want to have some family fun.

Having done a little research on the game, I've found one wonderful piece of information!  The game is good for 2-6 players, which is more than your standard American board game, which is only good for up to four players.  With a family of five, it would be difficult in the future for everyone to sit down and play, not that it matters now as the baby is much to small to get in on board games!  My older son is a bit young for it as well, as it's recommended for ages 8 and up, but it's still nice to think of the future of our family when shopping, and for recommending games to other people with larger families.

On Amazon I've seen a variety of reviews, some good, some bad.  It seems the majority of the bad reviews have come from the company the product was ordered from, and not necessarily Amazon.  One of the reviews listed it as not being fun and very heavy-handed on history, but I don't remember that at all.  I remember loving the game and wanting to play it all the time!  I've also read that the directions are hard to understand, but I believe I was 10 when we got the game and my sister and I were able to understand and play the game without much help at all.  However, there was also some positive feedback from families that loved the game as my sister and I did.  I think it really depends on the family.

I'm looking forward to getting this game again to share the experience with my daughter.  It will be interesting to see if I still love the game as much now as I once did, and how my daughter takes to it.  Christmas is right around the corner!  I'm not going to say anything about knowing for certain, but that game was on my daughter's Christmas list...and I do believe I heard rumor on the breeze that she just might find one under the tree this year!

Explaining Rebellion

My daughter asked me the other day why the colonies rebelled against England, and why England reacted so severely.  She didn't think it was fair that the British soldiers could knock on any door, day or night, and demand to be housed, fed, and have their wash kept without offering anything in return.  She didn't understand why anyone would allow that to happen.

"Think of it this way," I told her.  "England is like a parent, and the colonies are like the kids.  The colonies are very far away from England, so they really can't keep a very good eye on what's going on.  Imagine living with no parents around to tell you what to do and you could do anything you wanted.  What do you think you would do then?"

"Well," she responded thoughtfully, "I would go look for a parent to be in charge.  Kids can't rule everything, you know!  That wouldn't be a good idea."

I put on a thoughtful face for a moment, "Let's just pretend that there are no parents around anywhere, and try as you might, you just can't find one.  What would you do then?"

"So, I could do anything I want?" she asked with that questioning look, almost as though she thought it were some kind of test.

I nodded, "Anything at all.  After all, there's no parents around, so you couldn't even get into any trouble."

"Yay!" she shouted.  "Then I would eat all the yummy food I wanted whenever I wanted.  I would go to bed whenever I felt like it.  I would play all day, and maybe watch some TV!  I would play with lots of other kids!  I would be crazy!"  She got up and ran around the room about ten times while shouting this out.

I couldn't help but laugh at this.  She was being pretty silly.  Still, I had to turn it back to the lesson and away from the craziness.  "That's pretty much what the colonies did.  They didn't have a parent looking over them to tell them how to act or what to do, so they kind of did their own thing.  Much like kids, each of the colonies got their own personality and did things their own way.  Much like kids, some still lived the way their parents wanted them to, even though the parent wasn't there to make them do it, and other colonies, like New England, really got their own idea of how things should be run and sought to find a better way."

She seemed to think about this, and then she asked, "But what does that have to do with dumping tea off the boats into the water?"

"Well," I said, pausing for dramatic effect, and because I know it keeps her interest, "when England realized that the colonies were doing their own thing, they realized they had to do things to make sure the colonies still knew who was the boss.  They also wanted to make more money off the colonies, so that the colonies couldn't get too rich and contend with British power.  As a result, they started taxing the colonists.  They were taxed on sugar.  There was the Stamp Act..."

Before I could finish my speech, she broke in with, "They were even taxing their tea!  They wanted to make everyone pay the king for everything, didn't they?"

I nodded, "Pretty much.  Taxes on a population is one way to make sure the people know who is in charge, who makes the rules, and who they have to answer to."

"But that's not fair!" she broke in again.

"I know," I responded, "But that's why they wanted to have their own representation in Parliament.  If they had someone to speak for them in Parliament, then they would have a chance to speak for their own rights, to help make the laws that governed them.  It's like when you and I sit down to solve problems together, or what chores you have to do, so you have some say in the rules you have to follow."

She nodded, "That would be fair."

"But," I said, "Parliament listen, so the colonists felt they had to do something about their unfair treatment.  So, pretending there's no parents around still, what would you do if some parent from far away started insisting that you give up some of everything you got, just because that parent was making sure you were safe and no one could hurt you from very far away.  Instead of caring for you themselves, they just sent some teacher or babysitter to watch over you and all the kids in the whole town...and to collect their tax?"

"I wouldn't give the parent anything!" she cried.  "That's just not fair!  The parent isn't really doing anything for me.  I'd rather just give it all to the person in charge.  That would be more fair."

"The colonists didn't think it was very fair either," I said.  So instead of complaining about it, they decided to do something about it, something that would cost their parent country a lot of money, possibly even more money than they had managed to tax from that colony with all of their other crazy taxes."

She smiled, "They had to do something about it!  They had to make that bad parent England listen to them because they weren't being fair!"

"Exactly!" I exclaimed, "But England didn't like it very much, so they decided the colonies couldn't be trusted.  They needed to show that they were there, watching everything the colonists did.  That's why they sent all the soldiers, so they could keep an eye on the people and keep them in control.  How would you feel if a parent came in and found out that you weren't doing what you were supposed to while they were away, so they were now going to watch you, or have you watched, every moment of the day.  You couldn't even sleep without being watched! If you didn't follow every rule exactly, you would be punished by being put in time-out for hours on end!  You would have a very strict bed time and wouldn't have time for as much fun as you would like."

"I would just totally ignore that parent," she said, acting it out by crossing her arms, turning away from me, and sticking her nose straight up in the air.  "It wouldn't be right.  That parent is mean and I don't have to listen to a parent like that!"

I smiled, "That's rebellion!  That right there, not doing what your told for whatever reason, but especially when you know it's wrong!  That's why the colonies rebelled!  That's why they threw the tea in the harbor!"

We went on there to talk about different ways that the "bad parent" could have handled it so that the colonies would have been more understanding.  It was a lot of fun to discuss things from history in a way that's so easy for my daughter to relate to her own life.  She thought it was a lot of fun, and learned a lesson on how things relate, even if they don't at all seem the same!

A Focus on American History

As much as I've been trying to go with child-driven learning these days, I've come to realize that sometimes I've got to inspire and encourage more than I realize I do.  Again, I have to thank my wonderful aunt for reminding me of this.  She knows I'm one for all of these great ideas and ideals, but sometimes my dreams and reality do not always intertwine.  My wonderful aunt has been an incredible inspiration, and has truly helped me realize that sometimes child driven learning means helping your children remember how to explore, have interest, and otherwise be engaged by the world around them.  I may need to hold my daughter's hand on developing a few interests before she'll take wing and want to fly herself.

One of the things I've wanted to work on for some time now was American history.  As much as I know world history is important and everything, we do live in America, and there are some wonderful accomplishments made in this country that are often overlooked or glazed over in modern American schools.  Would you believe I know several people who think "the shot heard around the world" was during World War II?  Some have never heard of the Boston Tea Party or the Battle of Lexington and Concord.  Even more have no idea who John Adams and Thomas Paine are.  Several of them are under the belief that all Samuel Adams ever did was make beer.  Slavery is considered a dirty word and many of my friends don't know anything about it other than it happened.  It seems the fact that slavery was a large part of what made the South so successful and made such an impact on the economy in this country isn't worth mentioning.  No one seems to remember the cotton gin, nor who Eli Whitney even was.  Even if they do, they often don't know what kind of impact that one invention made on the country as a whole.  Many people think of Ben Franklin as simply a kooky inventor and don't realize the influence he made on politics both in this country and during his time in France.  Furthermore, no one seems to know about the origin and impact of the railroad on the colonization of the rest of the country.  It seems many people find these details unimportant.  However, many of these people can tell you about Greek and Roman mythology, the history of Ancient Egypt, and often times a good deal of medieval history.  While I do think it's wonderful and important to know the history of the world, it seems like the history of the very country we live in is glazed over as though it were unimportant.  Yes, this country may be young in the grand scale of nations, but there are so many inspirational men and women throughout American history (just look at Rosa Parks!) that we could learn from.  Isn't the history of the nation in which we live important?  Shouldn't our children be expected to know at least as much as anyone passing the citizenship exam would have to know?  After all, if it's so necessary for an immigrant to know, we should all know that information as well.  I'll admit, if I had to take the citizenship test, I just might fail!  That's not something I'm proud of.

So when I got the Liberty's Kids book in the mail from my aunt, I had to admit, I was thrilled!  The book we received was Freedom at Any Price.  I cracked open the cover upon receiving it (the only book of the batch I didn't let my kids run off with before I could take a decent look) and saw some names that made my heart overflow with joy, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, William Dawes, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock.  The dates of the story run from March of 1775 to April 19, 1775, which means this book will lead up until the midnight ride and the Battle of Lexington and Concord.  I have to be honest, I couldn't wait to dig into it, and I was very tempted to pre-read it so I'd know what to expect when my daughter and I read it together.  I'll also be honest, I couldn't make her wait until I had the time to read through it myself.  We've started reading it already.

I had forgotten how much an education without history is lacking in depth.  Yes, we've gone through classic children's stories, but we haven't really touched upon much history.  We tried to go through the American Girls books with Meet Josephina, but my daughter very quickly lost interest.  I guess she wasn't much interested in a Mexican-American girl from a time well before our own.  However, she's eating up this Liberty's Kids book.  I'll have to see if I can track down more!  Still, I didn't even stop to realize that she had no concept in her head of things like slavery.  We went to the Liberty's Kids website and watched a bunch of their Now and Then pieces, which she thought were rather interesting.  We sang Yankee Doodle, all three of us, though my older son wasn't sure he was terribly interested in singing.  I'm starting to realize why I like history so much again!  I've even learned a little information from all of this!  (Did you know tooth paste in the 1700s was made of crushed bricks?)

I have to say, I think I've finally found a way to inspire my daughter to have a love of history, just like her mom.  I feel really confident that we're not starting with the farthest removed point, and we're at least starting with a time when the people in that era and this one had enough in common that she can start to connect some of what they've done to our own life.  She can really understand it without giving me that look that tells me she thinks I'm completely out of my mind!  I think we've finally done it!  We're starting this whole thing off, and better still, she gets to learn a little bit about why this country is what it is today, and exactly how far we've come as a nation!