REAL American History! {Smart Summer Challenge - Week 2}

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This week's theme for the Smart Summer Challenge is Government Week. In my years in school, I learned of the great Founding Fathers and the wonderful men they were. Recently, though, I've been taking college classes and am learning more of the true characters of these men - who they were and what they were about. I can tell you - if they were politicians today, they wouldn't pass the "holier than thou" bar by which Americans seem to measure our current governmental leaders. I don't like my children growing up thinking that everyone in power is morally perfect. I don't want them to feel that they must grow up never making mistakes. I want them to know that they don't have to agree with everyone all of the time, especially if the matter at hand is one near and dear to them. Our Founding Fathers sure as heck weren't all nice and friendly about forming the United States of America. They had very differing opinions and had to work hard to find a way to create a country in which the People were taken care of, yet free to live as they wanted.

So, my oldest and I are going to explore American History, particularly the Constitutional Convention, Civil War, etc. He visits the library on a daily basis because I won't let him use our home computer after THIS little incident. While he's there, I am planning on giving him a little homework-type assignment... a scavenger hunt where he will need to fill-in blanks and answer a few questions. Now, before you think he's rolling his eyes over this, I want to tell you that he's actually excited! Yeah, a 13 year-old is looking forward to learning some American History - I know!!!

His grade in History last year averaged out to a "D". It was American History, too. He hated it. He hated being, in his own words, "preached to about how good these guys were." Well, now he's going to learn the truth - the dirt on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington... all of them. And, along the line, I'll add in some of those important facts that he needs to know for school, too. The ones they test on that he didn't hear during class last year because he was busy making eyes at the girl next to him (gotta love adolescent hormones!)

I'll let you know how we're doing and some of the other activities I come up with as the week progresses. For the time being, check out this interesting posy on Don't Know Much.