The History of Christmas

I love learning about the history behind the things we take for granted. It gives an insight into aspects of our daily lives that we wouldn't even consider without the background information behind it. It's like stepping back and seeing yourself from the outside.

A fun thing to do at this time of year is to learn about the history of Christmas. We know and accept that it's the celebration of the birth of Christ. Even many people who are not Christian know that much, and while that alone is very important to many of us, unfortunately we don't usually know any more.

The actual date of Christ's birth is not recorded in the Bible or in any other ancient documents. It doesn't really matter what the actual date is, the important thing is that we are remembering. But if December 25th isn't Christ's actual birthday, then why do we celebrate Christmas then?


From almost the earliest days of Christianity, missionaries went out to convert the "heathen". But the people they went to convert weren't living in a religious void. They already had their own beliefs and traditions. While many were convinced of Christ, they had a tougher time giving up their pagan celebrations. The wise Christian missionaries, instead of demanding a destruction of their sacred festivals, turned them into Christian celebrations. The winter solstice was one of their bigger celebrations. It was the time when the days ceased to grow shorter and began to grow longer again. It was the promise of the spring to come. So the Christian priest substituted a pagan worship of the sun for the Christian worship of the Son.


To find out more check out these:

• History of Christmas and Santa Claus from the History Channel


• The History of Christmas


• History of Christmas and Its Symbols


• The Winter Solstice by Ellen Jackson
  

The First Thanksgiving Activities

It is generally the people who have the most trials that feel the most gratitude toward God. This was certainly the case of the Pilgrims. It was because of their heavy suffering of that first year that they felt such gratitude toward God that they took several days from thier urgent work to give thanks to Him and to celebrate their harvest.

Here are some activities to do with your kids to help them understand the pilgrims better.

1. Tell your kids about the struggles of the first winter for the pilgrims when over half the company died, the rest were sick and hungry and cold. As an object lesson bring out their "breakfast" of a few kernels of corn. That was all they had to eat most days.

2. Read books about the pilgrims like The Pilgrims of Plymouth by Marcia Sewell or Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness. Look for others at your library.

3. The pilgrims were protestant Christians who had very firm beliefs about God. Whatever your own personal convictions it is a disservice to them to not acknowledge their beliefs. Their beliefs were central to their actions. At the time of their first harvest William Bradford wrote, "And thus they found the Lord to be with them in all their ways, and to bless their outgoings and incomings, for which let His holy name have the praise forever, to all posterity."

4. Spend some time thinking about the blessings from God that you enjoy in your life and have your kids make a Thanksgiving tree of their blessings.

5. Make a pilgrim people craft.

6. Try some of these Thanksgiving printables.

7. The traditional Thanksgiving meal that we eat each year isn't quite what the pilgrims would have eaten. They did have turkey, but as for the rest it's a little different. They ate venison, lobster, fish, gourds and corn. There weren't any potatoes or sweet potatoes, green beans and absolutely no Jello. They didn't even have pie for dessert. The sweets they ate would have been very limited as sugar, honey, maple syrup, and molasses were scarce. There would have been very little in the way of dairy products as well. They probably didn't have fluffy rolls plastered with butter. Here's a recipe they might have had:

Hasty Pudding

• 1 cup yellow corn meal
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix cornmeal and 1 cup of water. Heat the other three cups of water to a boil in a sauce pot. Add salt to boiling water. Carefully stir in the cornmeal mixture and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring often. Serve it warm with a pat of butter and some brown sugar, maple syrup or honey.

7. The pilgrims played games at the first Thanksgiving with the Indians who came to join them. Try some out. They had foot races, demonstrated their prowess with the musket and the bow and arrow, held wrestling matches (you could try arm wrestling), and other feats of strength. The boys and men would have participated in the games while the women and girls did the cooking. Not fair, but true.

War of 1812

The war of 1812 is often forgotten by Americans. Yet it was very significant in our early growth as a nation. We had won the war for Independence in 1783, but our independence was still tenuous until 1815 when we won our independence over again.

Britain had started fighting a war against Napoleon and while the US didn't get involved directly, we certainly favored the French if for no other reason than that they weren't the British. The war against Napoleon was long and expensive for all sides involved and it took a great deal of man power, which Britain was struggling to fill. As an answer to their shortages the British began to stop American merchant ships and forcibly impress sailors to serve in the British Navy, claiming that these sailors were British deserters. It is probable that some were just that, but most were either legitimate immigrants or native born Americans. The Americans put up with this reprehensible treatment for a very long time. Of course the government protested, but England still held America very much in contempt and continued on in their course, fearing nothing.

Finally it grew too much and James Madison, who was president at the time, asked congress to declare war on Britain. They did and the fighting began. First the Americans marched up to Canada, had some limited success and burned the capitol building in Toronto. But they were pushed back and the British began to have it all their own way. A great many of the battles were fought at sea, where the British out gunned and out manned the Americans many times over. The British also raided, burned, and pillaged towns all along the coast. But for a long time they avoided a land war, having learned at least that much. Finally in August of 1814 the British landed near Washington DC, marched on the capitol, met almost no resistance, and burned nearly all the government offices including the White House to the ground. That night a severe storm hit and the next day the British slunk out in fear.

But just weeks later their ships were sailing toward Baltimore, Maryland. The city of Baltimore determined to make a stand. The British had an attack by sea and an attack by land planned. They executed both and after lengthy fighting were unable to prevail by either strategy. The fort at the entrance to the harbor, Fort McHenry, withstood a bombardment unequalled in its time. Francis Scott Key witnessed the battle from a British Ship, where he had been detained, and wrote the Star Spangled Banner.

The British withdrew and made plans for yet another attack, this time at St. Louis. They hoped to gain control of the Mississippi River Valley, which would surround and cut the Americans off from the outside world. Andrew Jackson was given command of the American forces at St. Louis. He put the city under martial law and coaxed, cajoled and commanded until every able bodied man in the region was enlisted in his forces to defend the city. Black, Mexican, white, Indian, poor and wealthy all stood up together. Men poured in from Texas and as far away as Tennessee as well. Even so the Americans were outnumbered and they faced trained troops with undisciplined civilians. But Jackson picked the battle ground and entrenched his forces behind earthworks, with the river on one side and a swamp on the other. The British were forced to come at him head on. There were several battles over the course of a few days and the final and decisive battle was fought on January 5, 1815. The British, brave to the last, marched head on into volley after volley of fire. They were mowed down by the hundreds while Jackson lost less than thirty men. Again the Americans defended an entrenched position and aimed while the British attacked across open ground and only shot volleys in the general direction of the American troops. They hadn't changed their tactics since the Revolutionary War and their results were therefore the same.

Many people say this last battle was not important because it actually occurred after a treaty of peace had already been signed in Europe. However if the British had won, they would certainly have retained control of the Mississippi River valley and further, the treaty may not have been ratified. The Battle of New Orleans proved for good that America was not to be trifled with.

Additional Layers:

• Find out more about Dolley Madison, a truly brave and heroic person, and her role at the burning of the Capitol.
• Make a timeline of events during the war of 1812. Use wikipedia for dates to add.
• The History Channel did a great piece called The War of 1812. Check to see if your library has it or whether you can get it by inter library loan. It is well worth watching.
• Early in the war the people of Baltimore had violently protested the war, but when it came time to defend their homes they set to and beat the British. Discuss how circumstances can change our perspective on things (not just war or politics, but many things).
• Reenact the Battle of New Orleans. You need five pieces of paper labeled "New Orleans" American Entrenchments" "British Forces" "Mississippi River" and "Swamp". Have your American forces shoot and aim at the British forces while they just march madly into the killing fire. Doing a reenactment of a battle makes it forever memorable.
• Practice your aim by throwing balls or beanbags at a target.
• Just for fun listen to this classic song about the battle of New Orleans:

Bending Turkey Bones Experiment

Don't throw away all your turkey bones after dinner! Save a few to try this cool experiment. (It also works with chicken bones for anytime of year.) Gather a couple of pint jars (with lids), and some vinegar.

1. First, wash the bones off until they are clean of all the meat. Let the kids try to bend them (or break them) and note how strong they are.

2. Put a bone in each jar. Cover one bone up with water and the other bone with vinegar. Make sure to label the jars so you keep track of which is which. Now you just let it sit for at least a week.

3. Carefully remove the bones and rinse them off with water. Let the kids try to bend them again and watch what happens!

The bones will bend. The vinegar reacts with the calcium carbonate in the bones, resulting in tiny bubbles that rise to the surface. These bubbles are the carbon leaving the bone. Essentially, the calcium from the bones is being taken out. Calcium gives bones strength, and without it, the bones can be bent right in half.

Now that you've seen what will happen if your bones become calcium deficient, go drink a glass of milk!!

Hawaii's History

Many centuries or perhaps millenia ago people arrived in Hawaii. Historians and archaeologists believe they came by way of the islands in the South Pacific, originally from Asia, but the truth is that no one knows for sure. Individual kingdoms were set up on each of the main islands and though from time to time one kingdom would attempt to conquer their neighbors, none were successful until 1810.

The islands were discovered by Europeans in 1778. True to human nature the more technologically advanced European nations wished to subjugate and control Hawaii for their own power and profit. Finally England supplied the King of Oahu, Kamehameha, with guns and moral support which Kamehameha used to take over the neighboring islands, uniting them into a single kingdom. Kamehameha was now in a position of subservience to England, not in name but certainly in fact. He owed them. Hawaii was under British "protection".

In 1820 Protestant Christian missionaries arrived from England and the United States and in a few decades nearly all of Hawaii had become Christian including the monarchs. Then the British and French began to fight over control of the Islands. There were some internal rebellions. The government changed from a absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy and perhaps they might have eventually worked out their problems, but a few years later in 1874 Hawaii declared that it would trade exclusively with the US. Perhaps they thought that a nation espousing freedom would be more kind.

US business men flooded into Hawaii, quickly controlling the economics of the island, which is to say, everything. These American businessmen, no longer wishing to control from behind the scenes, overthrew the monarchy on January 17, 1893. At first the US government feebly protested and president Grover Cleveland strenuously objected, but the businessmen in far off Hawaii refused to act and the Senate didn't care enough to send a military force to deal with the problem. Cleveland's successor, William McKinley, was all for annexing Hawaii to the US in spite of the objections from the Hawaiians themselves. On Feb 22, 1900 Hawaii was officially annexed to the United States. Hawaiians never have liked it much though and as a step toward a return of their independence they nearly unanimously voted for state hood following WWII.

As a territory their governors and other officials were appointed by Washington DC, but as a state they could elect their own government. The US has taken a hard line on secession, especially since the Civil War, and the secessionist movement in Hawaii has faltered over the years especially as they have a large population of non-natives who have no desire to leave the United States.

Additional Layers

• Make a timeline of Hawaii's history.
• Discuss with your children whether you believe what happened to Hawaii is right and what should have happened and what should happen now. Dig deep and ask the why questions to get to the heart of the matter.
• Discuss with your children whether a state should be allowed to seceed from the Union and why or why not.
• Discuss whether a people who have been treated badly in the distant past (none of the people alive now were there then) should be recompensed or treated differently.
• Learn about some cool Hawaiian cultural icons, like hula dancing, surfing, mumu's (truly hideous shapeless dresses), lava lavas (a sort of short skirt that men wear, but cool, like in the way a scottish kilt is cool), outrigger canoes, ukuleles, and shave ice (Matsumoto's in Haleiwa, North Shore, Oahu).
• Ancient Hawaiian religious practices involved a strict set of rules called Tapu and also human sacrifice. Learn more about their religious beliefs.
• Hawaii has it's own pop culture including singers like the great Israel Kamakawiwo'ole "IZ". He died several years ago, but will forever be an icon in Hawaii. Don't ever ever dis on IZ in front of a Hawaiian. Listen to some if it with your kids, it's truly beautiful music.

Four Square Writing Method

The four square writing method is a simple format for helping kids to expand upon their writing, add details, and stay organized. So many young writers struggle to develop well-written stories, essays, and descriptions. This method utilizes a simple graphical organizer to take kids step by step through the process. It can be used for any type of writing project from a simple paragraph to a story or even a persuasive essay.

The four squares can be used a variety of ways. A simple one to begin with is the sequential method. The center square contains the topic or main idea, then each subsequent box lists the bits of the story in the order they happen. For example, the main topic may be "How to build a snowman." The boxes may say: 1-- Roll three snowballs to form the body, one large, one medium, and one small. 2-- Stack them on top of each other with the biggest one at the bottom, the medium one in the middle, and the smallest one on top. 3-- Gather a scarf, a hat, a carrot, 2 sticks, and some rocks. 4-- Place the scarf around the neck, the hat on top, the carrot for the nose, sticks for arms, and the rocks to make a mouth, eyes, and buttons.

Another simple way is to put the main idea in the middle, and then add details about it in the four surrounding boxes. For example, "Why I love winter." 1--The snow sparkles and makes everything look clean. 2-- I get to go sledding with my friends. 3-- Mom always makes hot cocoa for breakfast. 4-- I get to build snowmen. This is the basic method for creating a 5 sentence paragraph. For older students, it can easily be adapted into a 5 paragraph essay with the center as the topic, and the four boxes as each supporting paragraph.

The third way I use this writing prompt is also important for helping kids think through writing in a detailed way. The center is still the topic, and the 4 boxes represent who, what, where, and when. The topic may be "My vacation to the ocean." 1--Who: My whole family went to the coast. 2--What: We went camping and explored the beach and the tide pools. 3--Where: We stayed at a campground on the Washington Coast called "Kalaloch." 4. When: We got to spend 10 whole days of August there during our summer vacation.

The graphic organizer can be used for just a few words, complete sentences, or even whole paragraphs, depending upon the level and ability of the writer. Once kids have mastered getting the basics down inside the graphic organizer, they are ready to put their organized ideas down on paper. Teaching them connecting words like "First," "another example," "In addition," or "To summarize," becomes important as they transfer their basic ideas from the 4 squares to their writing project.

Here's a printable Four Square Writing Organizer for you to try.

American Government

The most basic understanding of the Constitution of the United States is an understanding of our form of government. It's not a concept that can be taught to kids without some visual aids. Fortunately these are not difficult to make yourself.


Get four pieces of paper or notecards and write:

• President and Vice President
• Supreme Court
• Senate
• House of Representatives

Now on different colored paper or with different colored ink write the functions of each of the three branches on new slips of paper.

• Signs or Vetos Laws, Receives Foreign Dignitaries, Gives Pardons
• Decides on the Constitutionality of Laws, Defends the People From Attacks on the Constitution By Lawmakers or the President
• Makes New Laws, Declares War, Ratifies Treaties, Budgets Money and Collects Taxes

Now have your kids match up the two sets of papers. How much help they need will depend on what they've been taught before about this subject and how much your family discusses politics around the dinner table. My eleven and twelve year olds got it right, and the younger kids learned this stuff for the first time.

Then I gave the kids pictures of these people to match up with the offices. They made some mistakes there, but this was not a test, it was a chance to learn. I got pictures of the president, vice president, and supreme court off the Internet and printed them out. Then since we live in Idaho, I chose our Idaho senators and representative and printed out pictures of them as well.

Additional Layers:

• Talk with your kids about politics and current events over the dinner table or while driving in the car. They should not only know that your agree with a particular person or idea, but why. There is nothing that affects our lives so intimately as the type of government we live under. It's important and it's squarely and definitely the role of the parent to teach this to kids. If you leave it to the schools, you kids will be taught to follow some elses tradition and not yours.
• Make up an imaginary bill proposed by your state senator or representative and explain what happens to it along its road to becoming a law. Talk about vetos and the 3/4 rule for the representatives and senate to override the veto. Talk about committees and debates. Talk about what happens if the Supreme court decides a law is unconstitutional.
• Compare the United States form of representative government with other representative governments like Britain's or Canada's.
• Compare a republic with monarchy, fascism, communism, socialism, democracy, anarchy or other forms of government. Talk about the definitions and what life under these types of governments has been like in the past.
• Hold a mock debate for an imaginary or real proposal using parliamentary rules with a chairman, asking permission to speak, raising hands to vote aye or nay, and so on.
• Hold a mock family court and decide on an issue.

Printable Magnet Unit Book

Click here for a printable unit workbook on magnets for elementary aged kids. It includes some of the magnet projects and experiments from other posts and also some new activity ideas and information. Pick and choose what you want to do, or go straight through and do it all. Have fun!

Learning to Draw

Drawing is a skill everyone should learn. It's easy to teach your kids and like other art projects kids will never feel like it's an assignment.

There are formal drawing programs that help you guide your kids to the skills they need. My favorite is Draw Squad by Mark Kistler. It teaches cartoon style drawing specifically, but the concepts taught apply to all types of drawing. The cartoon style appeals to kids and because it's simpler than realistic style, cartooning is easier for kids (or any beginner) to succeed with and have great results.

Kids are ready to learn drawing when they have developed their motor control through writing for a year or two. The exact age will depend on the child, but most kids can be successful with recognizable drawing by about seven or eight.

For lots of extra practice I love "How To Draw" books. They come in varying levels of skill. They all teach children to take a whole figure and dissect it into simple shapes and lines in order to create the complex whole. These books are often very inexpensive and can be found to appeal to your child's particular interests. A child that really loves drawing will learn on their own given the proper instruction books and even a child who doesn't get that into it can learn the basic skills of drawing.

Joining the Great Conversation

The Great Conversation refers to the body of learning that we as humans have accumulated through our writing. It includes all the great works that have come to be known as "classics". During the first eight years or so of a child's formal education they spend their time absorbing facts and growing a frame of reference of general knowledge of the world so that when they are in high school they are ready to join in the great conversation.

Through the centuries learned people have read and studied what their predecessors believed and thought and then they expanded on or revised those thoughts and passed them on to the next generation. To be fully engaged in human society we need to know where the things we believe and the things that are condensed in text books came from. If we do not we are very easy to fool and lead astray.

Help your kids by encouraging and assigning them to read great literature from the past and present. Everyone has different lists of great literature and no list is definitive. You should choose a few great works from each major time period: ancient, medieval, renaissance/colonial, and modern. You do not have to understand or even have read it previously yourself in order to guide your child through the great works. There are many guide books to help you, like Cliff's Notes and others.

Read the literature at the same time as your student then use the guide books to help you discuss the meanings. If you've never read the classics before you might want to start with something short and simple. For example, though the Iliad is really a great adventure story, it gets a bit bogged down in details and plus it's written in verse rather than prose, which can be difficult. An easier beginning might be Plutarch's Lives of the Greeks and Romans. Choose a couple of chapters like Solon and Lycurgus and compare and contrast the two. It sounds tough, but modern translations are very readable and with a guide book it shouldn't be overwhelming. Another good option for ancient literature are plays. They are by necessity short and therefore not as difficult as an epic.

Part of joining the great conversation means leaving your mark on the body of literature as well, so each thing you read should be accompanied by a writing assignment. The guide book you choose will have discussion and essay questions that are appropriate. Be very critical of the essays your student presents. Demand they use good grammar and defend their positions adequately.

Your goal is not to produce a person who can manage in today's competitive job market, but someone who controls their own destiny in whatever they pursue because they have the knowledge, skills, and discipline necessary. You want to produce a person who thinks and analyzes rather than merely accepts.

You don't need to exhaustively read all the classics, a few during each year of high school would be adequate. There is no rule that says once a person is through with formal education they must stop learning. There will time for more later.