Today was a state-wide Furlough Day, so only one lesson was assigned: to study what it means to take a holiday, or a day off.
Since this week had the Columbus Day holiday, I decided to tell them about Columbus. The kids did a little art project making pictures of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria from cut-and-paste ship hulls, and hand-drawn masts and sails (I showed them a picture online of what the ships may have looked like). Then, I showed the kids how to fold paper hats that are similar to an Old World ship captain's hat. Ahoy, Matey!
The way I taught my kids about Columbus was different than the way I was taught in school. I focused on him as a Tradesman and Explorer who was curious and wanted to find better routes across bodies of water, and NOT as the Discoverer of our continent, the way I learned it in Elementary School because this is actually WRONG! He did not make it to mainland North America at all; it was the Bahamas and South America he "discovered," according to Spain. Later, he also explored more of the Caribbean and South American coast. He was NOT the first one there, like I had learned in Elementary School - the Vikings had actually already been there before him. Then, we talked about how the natives had been there for centuries before him, and how he mistakenly called them Indians, because he thought he had landed in India!
Honestly, I don't think Columbus Day should be celebrated as a holiday at all. I suppose it makes sense to keep it as a retail holiday, since Columbus was in the industry of selling goods and trying to find the best prices around the world. But to have the day off? Hmmmmm, doesn't make sense to me. I think it would make better sense to have an Einstein holiday, or Newton holiday instead.
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