You know that being an American is more than a matter of where your parents came from. It is a belief that all men are created free and equal and that everyone deserves an even break. Junior Ranger ProgramThe first Junior Ranger program my daughter completed was the one for kids ages 5-8 at the Harry S. Truman Historic Site in Independence, Missouri. We are lucky to live relatively near the site, making it possible for us to complete the program in person, but they also accept submissions by emailing them through a web form. This link also includes the two program guides for the Junior Ranger program: one for kids who are 5-8 years old and 9-12 years old. Because my daughter is a bit on the young side for the program, we decided to print the guide at home, so we could take our time in completing it. I loved that it included the virtues of Harry Truman, and the section explaining what virtues are was effective in helping my daughter think more deeply about her own values. Although she is still young, she enjoys learning new words, so she was excited to learn the included vocabulary. I'm not sure how much of the vocabulary she will retain, but at least she has been introduced to these concepts, even if they are a bit abstract. One of the activities included a rebus story about how Truman made a choice to be honest with his father about why he was late; I thought that this story resonated with my daughter and was presented in a kid-friendly way. She loved guessing the images in the rebus puzzle story, and it held her attention throughout the activity. The discussion questions about honesty were an excellent jumping off point for my daughter, and I liked hearing her thoughts. There were two other word puzzle-based activities that were a bit hard for her, but she tried hard and learned some new words, so I counted them as complete. She liked the maze and draw by number activities as well, but she didn't care very much about comparing the White House to the Truman Home. I think that the activities will be more engaging for older learners, and I liked that they set up our expectations for the visit to the Truman House. For more information about the Junior Ranger Program, please check out my previous blog post here. Field Trip TimeAfter moving to Missouri, I found myself more and more interested in Harry Truman and his presidency. His presence is a bit unavoidable in Independence, but I like seeing the signs marking his personal history. I am certain that I was much more excited about visiting his home than my daughter was, but she still enjoyed herself. We plan to cover more of the local Truman-related attractions in future posts.
talk about trip Please feel free to post any comments or questions below. I would love to hear about your experiences in historic Independence if you have them. Now that we have officially welcomed autumn, I thought that it would be an excellent time to introduce this next mindfulness practice called Everything Changes. One of my biggest goals for this year's homeschool is to actually use Lynn Seddon's Exploring Nature with Children curriculum on a consistent basis (not an affiliate link). This practice of reflective observation has been a helpful addition to ENWC. This week's card is also from the Mindful Kids' deck published by Barefoot Books (my affiliate link). The following is a simplified version of the back of the card. With my own daughter, we tend to complete this exercise outside in order to observe the nature around our home, but it's perfectly possible to practice inside.
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I'm Heidi, the lead teacher for Stone Bridge Academy. We are a homeschool serving one fabulous student. This blog occasionally uses affiliate links, which means that we will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only link to products or services that we use and love in my family. These commissions allow me to continue providing helpful content here. Thank you for your support.
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