Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Start to our school year 2015-2016


First day of school photo :)


Last year we started out our school
year studying our local history and 
geography.  This year I decided to 
start by broadening that to our region.

We began the year with stories.
Two stories.
One story was to understand the 
history of our area by our 
ancestors as they traveled to
and about this land.  

The other story was to understand 
the native peoples that lived here at 
that time. We read The Birchbark House.
to gain the perspective of the Ojibwa.

How these two stories melded and 
intertwined with one another.

I feel strongly about bringing the 
children to the places we read about.
It gives them a deeper knowledge.
It gives them this essence of these 
places, people, and times that I cannot.

This is the story of a snapping turtle 
named Minn born in Lake Itasca
She eventually travels the length of 
the Mississippi river.
All the while an in depth discussion of
geography, history and nature.

We followed in Minn's footsteps.
Having our first day of school in 


It was a great field trip
even better because we brought 
grandma with us.

We swam and canoed in Lake Itasca.
Saw the largest White Pine!


We walked across the Mississippi.

creatures abound...like this pileated woodpecker

We biked, hiked and drove all the trails
through the park.

All the while we learned about 
people and geography from the past 
that shaped this area.

Burial mounds of sacred ground
the site of an ancient buffalo kill.
Explorers like Cass, Schoolcraft and Boutwell
Activists such as Mary Gibbs



We even ate at the old logging camp to 
know what it might be like...a lumberjack

We are continuing down river 
following the flow of the old Miss
I will keep you posted as to how 
far we may travel :)

until next time
~blessings

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