Westward ho!

The past few months we have been studying the founding of America and the colonial period. Now that we finished that unit with an awesome trip to Colonial Williamsburg, where V-Man attempted to join the militia, we are ready to expand westward in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark!

I confess that until recently I had little idea who Lewis and Clark were. That happens a lot; either I had a really bad education or I daydreamed my way through school. Anyway, L & C were the guys selected in 1803 by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the country. After two years of traveling they found the Pacific... and gazed upon it with a wild surmise... nope, sorry, that was Balboa surveying Cuba, although Keats got it wrong on purpose -- the two-syllable Cortez worked better for that line.

(Don't have any idea what I'm talking about? I'll explain in another post. Or just read On First Looking into Chapman's Homer).

Finishing up our Colonial unit by making "quilts" for our journey west.

So, as introduction we've been reading A Prairie Dog for the President, which is a really cute story, and books about Sacajawea (I have momentarily subverted MM's fascination with Disney princesses and transferred her affection to Indian hero princesses). Sacajawea was the Indian gal who guided Lewis and Clark across the land.

Another area where my education has proved deficient is in our presidential history. The kids know all about George Washington, but then MM asked me who became president after GW returned to Mount Vernon.

Crickets.

Thank God for Google. In case you're wondering the same thing, it was the Federalist John Adams who took office in 1797, and then he was unseated by his political rival Thomas Jefferson in 1801. Want to hear a cool little trivial fact?

Both men died within hours on the same day -- July 4, 1826. Exactly fifty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. God bless America!

Here are some books we'll be using:  
Lewis and Clark for Kids: Their Journey of Discovery with 21 Activities

A Picture Book of Lewis and Clark

Lewis and Clark (In Their Own Words)