Roles of the Family

This week we've discussed Native Americans and Early Americans. The children LOVE this topic every year, and I still haven't figured out why. They are intrigued by the feelings the Native Americans must have had when they saw those tall ships arrive. This year, the children were most interested in the roles of each family member. I noticed their interest, so we took some time to compare and contrast these roles. All of a sudden, hands shot up in the air and here are some of the hysterical comments I heard:

• "My mom doesn't do any of the cooking like the Native American moms!"
• "No one in my family cooks, we just get food from a restaurant."
• "My mom is always too tired to cook, so my dad does it sometimes."
• "My daddy is so strong, he could be a Native American warrior."
• "My daddy knows all the rules in our house, so he would be a chief."
• "Maybe my daddy is a Pilgrim blacksmith, because he has a lot of tools."

I really should write a book of all the things I hear on a daily basis. The amazing thing is how these children relate their daily activities to the activities of those who came before us. They also found it heartwarming that after all of the fear and confusion from the early years of the Pilgrims, both groups of people were able to put it behind them and come together to form a new community (at least for one day). I guess that's what America is all about!