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Mary G
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| Posted: Dec 28 2005 at 8:10am | IP Logged
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This again from Bitner's Homeschooling -- Take a Deep Breath -- You Can Do This discusses teaching history:
One way to make history more personal is to do genealogy with your children. Start now and as soon as some of your ancestors turn up during important historical moments, write them into the lesson. Stories of the Civil War are more and more meaningful when your own relatives were there. In my family, a woman whose kin fought for the north married a man who fought for the south. Which side did she take? How did she feel about this problem? How did it affect her relationships with various people? ...
Imagine a relative in Ireland during the famine. Will she stay and wait it out, or will she come to the US? If she stays, she is likely to die. Many did. How would that change your life? If she stayed and lived, you might be in Ireland instead of in Kentucky."
This is such a simple idea but the richness of it makes the mind boggle -- what added depth would this idea bring to a history lesson? Of course you can do many things with hisotry,b ut this really struck my fancy. You can also play "what if" games -- what if our relatives came earlier, later? What if they had stayed east of the Mississippi instead of coming across to California?
Pretty cool, huh?
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MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Dec 28 2005 at 9:21am | IP Logged
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Mary,
My AP U. S. History teacher incorporated family history into our curriculum. We had a Turn of the Century party, where we each came dressed as our ancestor in 1900 and told his/her story. Mrs. Bortz dressed as her ancestor, William, who was shanghaied from an Irish dock while inebriated, and woke up bound for the USA! Mrs. Bortz won a history teaching award for her ideas about incorporating genealogy into history classes.
I love genealogy...my kids know all about Sebastien, our Alsatian ancestor, and Frank, the railroad gang boss, and Robert, the telegrapher in Belgium, WI, a town full of Luxembourger immigrants (and, yes, Luxembourg, WI, was a town full of Belgian immigrants...it's a sad tale of bureaucratic errors).
Great quote!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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TracyQ
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| Posted: Dec 29 2005 at 11:22am | IP Logged
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SO true! This sounds like a great book, Mary! Do you find it to be worthwhile to own?
Thanks for this idea! I think we'll use it! 
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Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
 homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
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Mary G
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| Posted: Dec 29 2005 at 3:59pm | IP Logged
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Tracy:
Her book is a great and interesting read. I'm finding lots of "duh" moments -- she has three kids (one with ld problems which is why she first started hs'ing) -- one graduated (AND got married  ), anohter in college and one set to go.
Here's a link to her website for other info: Terrie Bittner.com.
ENJOY!
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MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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TracyQ
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| Posted: Dec 30 2005 at 12:14pm | IP Logged
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Thank you, Mary!
I love reviewing all kinds of homeschooling books. I just ordered two books, one for Geography, and this one, and got free shipping from Amazon. Thanks again!
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Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
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4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: Quote about HIstory
