November 17, 1997
"The Snows of Winter"
by Diana Waring

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Dear Friends, Greetings from the brrrrrrish-cold of Detroit, Michigan! We have been joyously observing the first snows of winter across the Northern Plains these past several days from the warm comfort of our travelling family-mobile. Wish you were here to ENJOY it too!! (Though my friends in warmer climes may think I've lost my mind...) Seeing that this is the month of November, with its Pilgrims, pumpkin pies and all the trimmings, I thought it would be highly appropriate in the next few columns to consider the study of history as taught in the homeschool family . This week we'll look at how to make history jump off the page (as opposed to causing your students to doze... in the page), and next week we'll consider some ideas for studying the American holiday of Thanksgiving so that it comes ALIVE! for your family. First, think back. So many of us had such harrowing experiences during history class - so painfully boring that it caused tears, a class so tedious that you resorted to toothpicks in your unsuccessful attempt to stay awake, tests that made no sense because you couldn't keep the dates straight ("Lemme see, was that 1066 or 1660?"), and an abject sense of confinement in a class you couldn't see the sense of. ( My husband's history teacher threw chalk at them when they fell asleep.) When we consider teaching our own children this same subject, we need to ask, "Isn't there a better way to do this?" Good question!!!! What we need to do is bridge the gap between a dry, lie-on-the-page fact and a vivid, living, this-is-incredible story of real, flesh and blood people. Not only is this possible, it is critical! - if you want to give your children a more thorough, more valuable experience in history than you had, you must bridge the gap. One of my simple "rules of thumb" in bridging this gap is to use the five senses as much as possible. 1. See it: read a good book, look at a picture, watch a documentary... 2. Hear it: listen to someone read a book, listen to a story tape, listen to music... 3. Taste it: cook up a recipe from a the time period or civilization you are studying (one of my favorites is Greek!!!)... 4. Smell it: if you pusue rule #3, you will probably get a thorough sense of smell along with the taste (just remember not to burn it!)... 5. Touch it: build it, search out the texture and touch it, sew it, craft it, grow it... Perhaps, this is most clearly stated in my introduction to *History Alive! Through Music - America*: "History is our very own front row seat in the theater of human events. Here we will see the unfolding of amazing triumphs and dismal failures, the rise and fall of powerful empires, royalty and peasantry, explorers and settlers, struggling pioneers of the arts and sciences... all played out in vivid detail against breath-taking scenery. Why then do most students perceive history to be dull, dusty and without relevance to their lives? Perhaps it is "our" approach to the subject! Consider these different ways of describing a person: "Oh, he's 6 feet tall, weights about 175 pounds, has brown eyes and hair, works in an office and tells jokes." "Oh, him! He's the funniest guy in the office. He can tell jokes that'll make you laugh till you cry! And that only encourages him to do more. Once you meet him, you'll NEVER forget him!!" The first description could have come from a police report and leaves little more than a sense of the average, unremarkable man. The second description gives no physical data, but this man would certainly be recognizable in an office, and even more importantly, you would probably remember this man for the rest of your life. In the study of history, we need to bridge the gap from mere dates, names and places to a living, experiential comprehension of the people and events of a given period. This comprehension of real people living through actual events in history gives us an anchor of tradition and heritage; as well as providing a safeguard in the 20th century from mistakes and abuses of the past. How, then, do we make history come alive? Susan Schaeffer Macauley, in her book, *For the Children's Sake*, writes of "living books" - for instance, biographies and autobiographies of real people living through historical events and telling of their responses to these events. "Living books" are an excellent means of communicating vividly an authentic sense of history, making the student feel like "you are there." One of my personal favorites is the "Little House" series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. You can almost taste the cornbread, smell the campfire, feel the bone-chilling cold and hear the wolves howl. This is exactly the kind of "authentic comprehension" we want to offer our students." Quoted from the introduction to "History Alive Through Music - America" (published by Full Quart Press) copyright 1990 by Diana Waring The ONE thing we must never do is to simply hand our student a textbook and say, "Here, honey, read the next chapter and answer the questions at the end." Do you know why? Because history textbooks have been "freeze-dried!" All of the interesting, tasty, palatable, "good stuff" has been taken away and all that remains are dry, tasteless, unpalatable, boring facts. Diana's guaranteed prescription to bring this home to you: Go to the cupboard and take down a jar of Instant Coffee. Put one tablespoon of that freeze-dried wonder into a coffee mug. Open mouth, tilt mug toward your tonsils until aforementioned tablespoon of waterless coffee hits your tastebuds. Close mouth. Swallow. Enjoy! Now. Was that an enjoyable experience? Is that something you would care to repeat every day? NO???? Then take my advice - the resources are there! Do not rely on waterless, freeze-dried, textbookish history. Rather, search out delightful "living books" for your children, watch a video, listen to some music, cook a recipe, build a fort, plant a garden... And make history come ALIVE! Blessings,   Diana Return to the List of the BOTCW Columns

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