Slavery, Politics, and Volunteering

We finished out the week by adding a map of the underground railroad to Mane's school notebook, along with a page about Harriet Tubman, and another page about African Americans & women getting the right to vote.

This week we read:

When Esther Morris Headed West: Women, Wyoming, and the Right to Vote by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
I Could Do That: Esther Morris Gets Women the Vote by Linda Arms White
Vote! by Eileen Christelow, and some of
Don't Know Much About the Presidents by Kenneth C. Davis

Mane watched the Reading Rainbow episode featuring Follow The Drinking Gourd. This one was heavy. I have hesitated over and over again in introducing slavery and the civil war to her. It's always tough to know how to talk to our kids about the tough topics, but I also think it helps build compassion for others AND appreciation for one's own freedoms and comforts in life. Mane is still very wide-eyed about the topic. We're going to let it rest for now (after reading one more picture book about Harriet Tubman) while we follow the election and learn a little about George Washington. The topic of people getting the right to vote was a nice transition from one unit study to the next.

Friday night, for Halloween, Mane went with us (that's me, Mango, Vespera & Novio) and a group of students from North High to Feed My Starving Children, an organization that puts together food packets to send to starving children and families in other countries. They began the night with a video of children receiving the food, of children who were starving and are now healthy because of the food from Feed My Starving Children. Much of the food goes to Haiti, and Mane has 4 girlfriends who were adopted from Haiti. So, this was a special connection for her. She helped stack and box the bags after they were sealed. We weren't sure about the gluten content of the food. So, we kept her away from the actual food. It appears to be gluten-free, and I'm communicating with the organization about whether it really is or not. We all had a fantastic time working together, listening to music, packing & boxing as fast as we could. They have avery efficient method set up for getting everything done. The organization expects that in the hour they spend there, groups usually produce about one box of food bags per person. There were 44 people there Halloween night, and we put together 50 boxes! Once we cleaned up, the managers of Feed My Starving Children invited those who so desired to come and pray over the boxes of food and the children they were going to feed. I think we'll be going back there again. It's definitely a very practical and simple way to help people.