Aspire and History prep: the "what," "why," and "how" of it all

Prep for tomorrow:  history and Aspire.

As I read "Aspire," I am struck by ways I need to improve my communication. Hmmm...there has got to be some kind of fun game about "communication."  I know!  The "chubby bunny" marshmallow game: the Goob (14) is planning on attending so I like to liven it up a little with some humor.  (He found out we have a donut and hot cocoa (it is 6 am) and decided it was for him :)!)

I was thinking about history from the perspective of what, why and how.  First, the "what."  Quite simply,  I realized that I was really lacking in modern history, which fell into place with our four year rotation through history:
-ancient
-medieval through renaissance
-American revolution
-Civil-war through modern
The cool thing?  I know more about the others because I have gone through them!  The reality :)?  Truly laughing out loud: this is the first year in 12 years that I have covered this period on purpose.  The reality.  And somehow my kids are just fine :).

Slow down.  Relax.  Do what is most important.  Have fun with it and then enjoy the moment!

Second, the why.  I am sure you have heard the phrase: "If you do not learn history, you are doomed to repeat it."  C.S. Lewis put it this way:

Most of all, perhaps we need intimate knowledge of the past. Not that the past has any magic about it, but because we cannot study the future, and yet need something to set against the present, to remind us that periods and that much which seems certain to the uneducated is merely temporary fashion. A man who has lived in many place is not likely to be deceived by the local errors of his native village: the scholar has lived in many times and is therefore in some degree immune form the great cataract of nonsense that pours from the press and the microphone of his own age.

So when I prep for the love of learning version of history--our "time machine"-- the way I select the material from what I have read for my personal studies is to consider: what do I want my kids to learn from and resonate with and apply?  I try to ask several versions of the following questions during class:
--what would it have felt like to do... or to be... or to have this happen to you?
--what would you have done?
I want it to shape their little hearts, which leads to the next point:  how.

I like to make it as interactive as I can, again considering the "Multiple Intelligence" concept by Howard Gardner.  Games, videos, art project, food,...I want them to feel like they were there and evoke some of the emotions an eye-witness may have felt.  Excellent historical material helps: Bauer, Hakim, library books.  These are all my favorites to turn to first to make the history to come alive.

Bauer has some great "study helps" in her companion activity books, although those can get overwhelming to me.  I tend to get mired down in the quantity. Normally I plan for three or four ways to help them immerse themselves, start with my favorite (or save it for last) and then be okay adapting to the moment, allowing myself to discard one or more if they are done. We have all been there.  The eyes wander, the bodies wiggle (more than usual)...you just have to decide if it is worth the energy to pull them in to the topic or recognize if you are approaching the dreaded ZPD.

Most of the time, giving them that one more glimmer of feeling and association is worth it to me but I am learning more and more when not to push it.

Ideas:
--build something with blocks or legos (last week it was buildings inspired by our online tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture)
--cultural food
--dances from that time period (we did some slavery revival type music and moved to it, trying to express how we felt.  Do it with your kids.  You will be amazed at how wonderful it is to relax and get past how stupid you think you look.)
--"art study": you take a piece of art that reflects on the time period (like the one above) and let them observe it for one minute. Then you take 2-10 minutes (depending on success) for them to comment on lighting, imagery, emotion,...anything.  I am always amazed at the depth of response they come up with if you give them long enough.

I like to give them chances to bring something to share: like come up with a circus act when we talked about PT Barnum and his circuses.  If they don't have enough historical context to come up with something beforehand, I will ask them to either draw a picture or "turn and teach" someone near them something they learned about that day.

Acting out what you just learned is also a great way for the kids to make it personal.

That is the point of learning history, not so you can regurgitate it for some test.  So you can feel empathy for others, learn from their mistakes, resonate with people that are so different from yourself yet so real in their humanity that you weep for them, cheer for them or seek to emulate them.

What is your end goal in teaching history? Once you have successfully answered this question for yourself, you will know what questions to ask and what material to select.  Once you know the answer, you will find opportunities for teaching moments all over.  I know that I want my children to be excited about learning and be changed in their hearts by their interaction with the people in the past.