My daughter is out of school this week for spring break and one day when we took my husband to his physical therapy, I decided that rather than wait in the office doing my Sudoku puzzles while my daughter fidgeted, I would take her to a Veterans' Memorial that is nearby. I had visited it the week prior and was taken with the displays and the vivid history that they depicted. Since it was a beautiful day, we got a nice walk and I got to sneak in a history lesson--and a little family history.
The memorial, located in Munster, Indiana, begins with the years leading to WWI and as you follow the path, year and event markers pave a timeline of the various conflicts. With each conflict, there are plaques with narratives, and for more information, you can push a button and listen to information about that conflict. The narrative explains the symbolism of each monument and gives more history.
I was very pleasantly surprised by her interest in each piece of history and as we visited each section, we talked about family members who were in or affected by each conflict. She was surprised to learn just how many members of our family had served. She didn't remember that the Edwin Dyer (from the photograph of the Dyer children) died from the residual effects of gas poisoning in World War I; that my uncles served in Korea and that one of them, whom she has met, was shot in that conflict; and that her grandfather served as a Navy Seal in Vietnam. This gave her a greater understanding of these facts.
Of course, it also made me greedy for more experiences like it. With time flying by and summer vacation looming (yes, it's only a month and a half away!), I thought I'd look at some other activities that might help to both keep her occupied, and develop her interest in history and in our family history. Maybe there's a child in your family (big or little) who may enjoy some of these ideas.
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