The Old School Monday BIG book about Important People in American History!

Hello Vintage Moms!

Lisa C. here. OK, so FINALLY I am feeling head-clear enough to write this post. (Darn cold)

I am very excited about this project, as you all may know from the intro I gave it last week. I got the idea from checking out the blogs of strangers who are "following" this blog. (Aren't YOU curious who these people are?) Seems like most of them are fellow homeschool moms in other states who must like what we do and check this blog for ideas and inspiration. ; ) So it was awesome to randomly visit a mom's blog and follow the link to her daughter's blog, and find this adorable project, which was the inspiration for this book idea!

The theme is Important People in American History! So each of your kids can select one (or more!) Important People whom you have studied in your family schooling this year. It can be an American who was/is important to America, or to the world, like Carrie Nation, Barak Obama, Henry Ford. It can be a non-American, like Christopher Columbus or Sacagawea, who were instrumental to the shaping of our country. Let the kids choose, and that will help them be excited about the project--give them some possibilities (great way to review the people you have learned about this year) and then ask them "Who do they want to be?" in this book.

Then each child--your family can do one page all together if you prefer--should gather facts about this Important Person:

MY NAME IS:

IT IS THE YEAR: (choose a date important to this person's role in history)

I LIVE: (say if the person is not from America, but also give the location(s) important to this person's role in history)

I AM: (here is where you briefly tell the person's role, or job, or what was going on around him/her at this place/time in history, and/or what he/she was doing about it)

I AM CHANGING AMERICA (or the world) BY:

ONE IDEA I WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW IS: (talk with your kids about the beliefs and values of this person in relation to their role in history. Choose either a direct quotation of this person, or help your child summarize a belief or value that has come through in your studies.

Older kids can write more--that is up to you, Mom, but every American at least needs a completed facts sheet. *Don't make this part beautiful--we will be re-writing it on the book pages we make together--just get the facts, ma'am. ; )

Make sure you and your kids look at a picture of your chosen Important Person(s) before we meet to make the books.

Then when we come together, each child/family will get a big piece of paper for each Important Person they have prepared for. Moms, you will be responsible for cutting out a face hole in the upper center of the page, suitable for your child's face. (I will do my best to remember to bring a box cutter/utility knife, but if anyone else has one please bring it so this goes as quickly as possible.) Then your child/ren can draw/color/paint/glue stuff, etc. around the face hole to make it look like a portait of your Important Person that is just missing its face. We will put your "facts" about the Important Person on this side, probably at the bottom of the page, but how is completely up to you and your child/ren!

When all the pages are finished, we will punch holes in one side and use ring clips to hold all of them together in a book. The idea is that when we read the book, each child can open the book to her page, insert her own face in the hole, and narrate her page as if she were that Important Person!

But wait, there's MORE!

On the BACK side of your child's Important Person, we are going to do the same thing--except now the page features YOUR child!!!! Your child will illustrate that side as a portrait of him/herself--and complete "the facts" for him/herself! Do you see the message this sends, that Every one of us is/can choose to be Important to America, and the world? (those of you who are doing this project as a family. . . well, you figure out how to make it work. ; )

Is this not going to be cute or WHAT? And can you SEE the kids getting to all show their book together at the Author's Fair? Please everyone, let's!!!

We will all make the book together at the next OSM, which will be April 26, at our new time of 2:00 p.m.

Please bring the following:

1) your facts sheet for each Important American you would like to add to the book (and even better if you get the "facts" for your child too, for his/her side!)

2) your Monday box, including whatever medium your child will want to illustrate his/her page with. This is important, since we don't want to waste time with kids waiting to use supplies others are using.

*Moms, you can be as creative with this part as you want! Do you want to use buttons, fabric, yarn, etc? Bring it! Just be sure to bring your glue, too! ; )

*I will bring the big paper.* We will illustrate and assemble our pages while we are all together, and hopefully if we start right at 2:00 there will be time for glue to dry enough to do both sides.

Are you excited? (Ok, somebody please pretend to be!)

Questions? Please post them as a comment here, so others can benefit from it and my response.