Frontiersmen Unit

This past week the kids all came down with colds. As a consequence we did a lot of reading aloud and a bit less of the hands-on type stuff. We've been studying Appalachian music and decided to study some of the early frontiersmen in more depth.

We spent a lot of time reading about Daniel Boone (one of the first to cross the Appalachian Mountains and one of the men to create the Wilderness Road) , Johnny Appleseed (who planted apple seeds through out the "West" -- Ohio Valley region) and Davy Crockett (left). We also learned about the Alamo since Davy Crockett died there at almost 50 years of age.

The Alamo Mission, where the pivotal battle took place during the Texas Revolution. Texas proclaimed its independence from Mexico and drove the Mexicans out, but then the Mexican army marched in to re-claim Texas.

The kids really enjoyed watching the 1955 Disney movie about Davy Crockett.   While this series is not known for its historical accuracy, it gave the kids a flavor of the times and a springboard for more discussions. LD and DD both said they "LOVED" it!

We made origami raccoons, in honor of Crockett's coonskin hat! You can't tell in the picture, but the heads pop out a bit and can move.  DD went on to make an entire family of raccoons!

 

 We're reading a wonderful novel called The Sign of the Beaver.  It's about a boy who is left on his own in a frontier cabin (in Maine) while his father goes to fetch the rest of the family. The boy has to live on his own and soon has some encounters with Indians...  Going along with this book, the kids are helping me make some moccasins.

Finally we have plans to make a Daniel Boone lapbook offered free from Dynamic Two Moms.

We also hope to see a bit of the Wilderness Road state park (Martin's Station, the last fortified fort for supplies before settlers made their way across the Appalachian mountain) and to make it to Davy Crockett's birthplace cabin in the next couple of weeks. Hooray!