A Chinese proverb states:
Tell me, I’ll forget
Show me, I’ll remember
Involve me, I’ll understand.
During our journey, all of our learning will be hands on, as well as eyes on, ears on and feet on.
Welcome to school on the road. There is no front office. No school cafeteria, desks, or P.E. uniforms. Also absent: tardy slips, grades, or bells.
We are on our way. National Parks, Civil War Battlefields, Museums, Cities, Farms, Small Towns, and Historical Monuments.
Places of great historical significance, places of immeasurable natural beauty, and places of quirky, uniquely American pop culture.
I will not be teaching alone. We have much to learn from the voices of the past. Courageous men, women and children who endured hardships, mistreatment, slavery or war. Those, who despite challenges, pursued the promise of a better life, a better country. Their innovation, creativity and perseverance will inspire our learning and growth. We stand on their shoulders. We will visit the places where they lived, stood, worked or bled. Read the words they wrote or spoke.
There will still be time for recess, but not the daily blacktop hopscotch, tether-ball, monkey bar predictability. Recess may be playing catch on the fields of an Iowa farm or hiking on trails in Yellowstone National Park.
The kids will be keeping daily journals. Books are as essential as gas.
Topics of Exploration:
WESTWARD EXPANSION
CIVIL WAR
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
US GOVERNMENT
NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY
JAMESTOWN
DUSTBOWL
WILD ANIMALS AND THEIR HABITATS
THE WORKING FARM
GEOGRAPHY
WEATHER
EVERYDAY MATH (BUDGETING, SALES TAX, MILES PER GALLON)
