Looking for fun ideas for your homeschool this week? Give these a try.
February 13th – on this date in 1991, the original manuscript of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn was found. Read excerpts of this story aloud, or, if you have younger children, tell them a simplified version. Lash together a raft of sticks and thread, and float it in your bathtub.
February 14th – of course today is Valentine’s Day, but many other important things of note have taken place. For instance, on this day in 1920, the League of Women Voters was formed, which changed the face of elections and politics in the United States. Talk about the importance of the right to vote and why the nation wasn’t balanced until women were allowed that right, and how things are never truly in balance when any group is excluded from having a voice.
February 15th – It’s Galileo’s birthday! He’s the man who dropped a cannon ball and a small marble off the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and proved certain important facts about gravity. To celebrate today, talk about gravity, and practice dropping things of different weights off the porch or out of a second-story window—with supervision, of course! You can also make a layer cake to replicate the Tower of Pisa, and sing happy birthday to Galileo.
February 16th – in 1968, the very first 911 emergency line was established. There were difficulties and the program was not made nationwide until the 1980s, however. Make sure your children all know how to use 911. Talk about when to use it, when not to use it, and explain how it can save lives when used correctly. Post other emergency numbers near the phone and talk about when to use each of those numbers. Also make sure they know which neighbors they should use as emergency resources.
February 17th – in 1911, General Motors revealed their electric self-starting ignition for the Cadillac. People wouldn’t have to crank their cars to get them to start anymore. Talk about how far cars have come since they were invented, and take a minute to imagine a world with no cars. How would things be different? Maybe you and your family could try going without a car for a day and then talk about it.
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The Results of Going Unplugged
Find It Games Presents Pieces of History