New Zealand and Her Rulers is the title of chapter 41. What a difficult chapter to read! We really dislike the parts of history in which people are treated unfairly. The Maori tribes really got the short end of the stick in their treaty with the British.
Making the Maori butterfly craft zing
The map work and coloring pages kept us busy. For the craft, we decided to check out the special butterflies (purerehua) the Maori made. Continue reading
For chapter 40, we came back to North America, mainly to Mexico. We read about the Alamo and Texas independence. The kids had already heard about Davy Crockett and the Alamo from books we have studied.
My son creating his flip book about Alamo
Ironically, there is a restaurant ten minutes from our house called Alamo. It looks just like the ill-fated fort. It burned down in the 2016 wildfires, but it has been rebuilt and enlarged since. Also, there is a “Davy Crockett mini-golf course” in our town, as well. We drive by it every time we leave the city to go to Pigeon Forge on the main roads. Continue reading
In chapter 39, we traveled to China. The kids were appalled by the greediness of the English merchants and the weak character of the Chinese who got addicted to opium. It was another opportunity to talk about smoking and illegal drugs, as well as the love of money.
Gluten free, vegan poppy seed muffins
We made poppy seed muffins for our craft. Since I had to go on a gluten free diet, I have been perfecting my gluten free baking skills. I like my creations, but my children do not. Oh well. More for me. Continue reading
Chapter 38 covered American tragedies: “The Trail of Tears” and “Nat Turner’s Revolt.” We have read about the Trail of Tears from other sources before and the children were familiar with the story. They still shuddered to think what that was like for the Native Americans.
“Girl, daughter” in American Indian Sign Language
My daughter was upset with Andrew Jackson for passing the Indian Removal Act. I reminded them that, incidentally, Andrew Jackson was one of the three presidents Tennessee has contributed to this nation. Continue reading
Chapter 37 took us back to Africa, troubled Africa, with two stories: “The Zulu Kingdom” and “The Boers and the British.” The kids colored the page with Shaka, the Zulu king. We also did the map.
Close combat African spear
For our craft, we worked on the small spear. We found it very difficult to staple the tip to the paper towel roll, but we made it work. Since I did not want to rush to the store to get silver spray paint, or make a mess painting the tips silver and waiting for them to dry, I decided to use sparkly, silver card stock I happened to have. Continue reading
Chapter 36 in Story of the World volume 3 covers the end of the slave trade. We were very happy the abolitionists succeeded in their worthy endeavor. We discussed greed and how the desire for more money makes people do horrible things.
Abolitionist Poster
For our craft, we made an abolitionist poster – a very basic one. Large construction paper instead of poster board. Where would I put a poster board? We already have too little wall space because we have so many windows. Besides, I could not even fit a poster board in their craft bins (which are rather large, mind you). Continue reading
Chapter 35 covers Mexican independence in two stories: the cry of Dolores and the Republic of Mexico. We stayed in history only. Lots of things are going on right now around our border with Mexico, but I did not want to get the kids too involved in it. I am so sick and tired of all the illegal alien situation in the US and the liberal media’s handling of the topic.
Paper flowers in the colors of the Mexican flag
As an immigrant myself, I did not have the option to cross a border by foot and get into the US. I had to get a proper visa, after a tough interview at the US Embassy in my country, buy an expensive plane ticket, and then wait my turn in the documentation line when it came to adjust my status from non-immigrant to immigrant. That’s the legal way to become a US permanent resident. Anyway.
Mexico is a great country with an exciting language, which we learn a bit here and there. Our neighbor to the south has a lovely culture and we need to study their history and how they came to be independent. We have great friends from Mexico, too. That’s all that matters. Continue reading
Chapter 34 took us to South America in order to meet a certain Simon Bolivar. The craft was edible and easy to make: arroz con leche. We used to make a lot of “rice with milk” when I was growing up in Romania, so it was a familiar dish to me.
Arroz con leche
The difference was the orange juice and the cinnamon. I have to say, I did not expect the orange juice to give it a nice flavor. It just did not seem right. Continue reading
Chapter 33 covered the end of Napoleon and the craft was really exciting. I had no idea it would be so easy to create our own snow globe with a soldier inside to represent the poor French soldiers trudging through Russia in the winter.
Snow globe soldier craft
We made sure the pronunciation of Napoleon’s name is different from that of Neapolitan ice cream. We love Neapolitan ice cream at our house and they asked me if it got named after Napoleon. That’s when I realized we needed to clarify some pronunciation. Continue reading
Lewis and Clark star in chapter 32. Oh, and Lewis’s dog, Seaman. My children love animals and they melted over the idea of this dog that came along during this expedition. In fact, he was the only animal to complete the trip.
Lewis and Clark diary out of construction paper, computer paper, and two brads.
When I looked him up online, he looks adorable. Well, the statues that represent him. Seaman was a Newfoundland dog and his fluffy tail and long hair make him very cute. Continue reading