[February 7th
marks the 150th birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder, one of
America’s most famous writers and a cultural voice who provided entry points
into American history for many many young readers (and then TV viewers). So this
week I’ve AmericanStudied a handful of texts and contexts of histories for
kids, leading up to this crowd-sourced post on where and how fellow
AmericanStudier got their childhood history—add your thougths in comments,
please!]
Responding to the American
Girl post, Irene
Martyniuk writes, “I
have much to say about American Girl dolls, in large part because of their role
in my nieces’ lives, but also my own. I’ve been to the Chicago main store
(it is now much smaller) and the NYC main store, and the Boston and Columbus
stores. I’ve seen theater productions at the first two and had meals
there. And I’ve financed or helped to finance their place in my nieces’
lives. I don’t want to reveal their stories—their dolls and their lives
are their own—but I can say that every penny and every experience has been
worth it. I’m willing to admit that perhaps I’ve simply drunk the
kool-aid, but to my mind, both of my nieces are strong, independent
people—voracious readers who appreciate their dolls on multiple levels.
The message of AG—that every girl is beautiful, powerful, and in control of her
own destiny may seem to be contradicted by the marketing strategies
(dress-like-me outfits, etc), but it works. I’ve seen it. It
works.
I
frequently ask my students about their AG dolls. I cannot say every
student exudes the AG mantras, but it is remarkable in much students remember
about their dolls and think about their stories. They not only learn
about history but they also see many historical moments through the eyes of
young girls—an approach which they may not get in school.
I’m
not naïve—I realize that AG and Mattel are all about the bottom line.
They are clever in the their marketing—retiring certain girls and their items,
creating on-line flash sales alongside different, story-only flash sales,
introducing a girl of the year every year on New Year’s Day, and making mini AG
dolls. The company wants to turn a profit and when the AG line quits
providing that, AG will simply disappear. But, as you suggest, the
outcomes of this marketing and far larger than simply collecting and playing
with dolls.”
On
a very, very different note in response to the same post, Catherine Proctor shares
this quite funny way to rank the
American Girl dolls according to their betchiness level.
Other
kids’ history nominees from fellow AmericanStudiers:
Rachel
Weeks Bright writes, “Horrible
Histories (magazines, books, and videos from
CBBC) and the Crash
Course US and World
History series (YouTube) are huge favorites with
my kids.”
Sarah
West nominates, “My history buff grandfather,
who was a reporter for the Washington Star and in the Marines during WWII. Mr.
Kirby's history camps. :) My daughter (age 12) is learning a ton about
Revolutionary-era history right now by being obsessed with Hamilton.”
Elizabeth
Duclos-Orsello shares, “In grad school I helped
develop and run architectural history and cultural
geography walking tours for K-3 students -- we
used the book Make Way for Ducklings to explore Boston Common, Beacon Hill, and the Public
Garden with all kinds of ‘I spy’ types of activities and quacking!” She adds,
“I offer it here because anyone can do it with their kids and the book-- I did
with my son when he was littler-- we still talk about it.”
Heather Urbanski writes, “I actually got my introduction to US Civil War
(and years preceding) via the very soap-y & only partly accurate
mini-series, North and South (both parts). But it got me interested enough in the
period to read more historical sources and do research reports on it for
school. And, of course, being a Philly kid, trips to the Liberty Bell (pre-Constitution Center) were required. As was learning about Billy Penn, and
standing under his
statue on City Hall when they used to let people
up there. That was when a bunch of elementary school kids learned they were
afraid of heights.”
Katharine
Covino-Poutasse shares, “As kids we listened to all kinds of audio books. I
remember learning a lot from different tapes about the Civil War and WWII. I suppose,
in hindsight, there may--possibly--have been some perks to the 'no tv' rule...”
Janice
Alberghene notes, “There's an age 10-14 bio of Claudette Colvin I really
like. If you are looking for suitable books for your guys, just go to the American Library Association's website. It's
fantastic. My parents hauled us to various historical sites. Check out the
Kennedy Library in Boston (after my time); google ‘local historical
associations’ and allow the search engine to use your current location;
make/bake a dish from the colonial era; when the weather gets better do Boston's Black Heritage Trail or Portsmouth's,
search internet for stores with old fashioned penny candy, see if any towns
near you will be celebrating bicentennials or tricentennials (I made my acting
debut in a school play celebrating the latter); have your kids search for the
oldest thing in your house or apt., or for something that has historical
significance; construct an hourglass or sundial with them, yada yada yada.”
Jan also remembers, “I was an exhibit in a historical field trip for
pre-schoolers in BHSU's day care. Reagan was visiting this very conservative
campus. The thirty or so of us protesting his visit were relegated to an area
some distance from the auditorium where he spoke. Frustrating, but we experienced
great comic relief when we saw a group of pre-schoolers with their teacher.
Their teachers situated the kids at a
‘safe’ distance from us, but we could still
see her point at us and hear her gravely inform the kids that we were
protesters.”
Vanessa King writes, “My daughter Anna loves
the show, Mysteries at
the Museum. Short little segments with audio and visual representations
of history. And she watches it with us and can ask us follow-up questions!”
Amy Ryan shares, “You've
probably already talked about the Magic Tree House books. I'd rather gouge my eyes out than read another
one, but they are so popular. They do introduce historical events and periods
in a really accessible way for kids. The author also has some more in-depth
study guides to accompany some of the books. They were among the first
chapter books both of my kids read.”
Next series
starts Monday,
Ben
PS. Any other
kids’ histories you’d remember and share?
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