I'm teaching a co-op class this fall within our county's homeschool association. It has been several years since I've helped to facilitate a co-op class, (basically, since before my responsibilities with Classical Conversations increased) but my daughter was eager to play with dolls this fall, and I was happy to oblige. I coerced another mother to assist, and she graciously agreed. All that to say, our next six weeks will be busier than usual, but we're committed to having some educational fun !!
We are studying American History this year, so it seemed only appropriate to use the American Girl historical characters to supplement our studies. Each week in class we are briefly studying a different historical girl. We mark her location on a US map, and we mark her era of life on a timeline. Then, we discuss some elements from her book(s), and compare and contrast her to the other historical characters and ourselves. Finally, we complete a related craft. This part is probably the most fun.
For the first week, we discussed Kaya from the Nez Perce tribe in the western United States. Using tan felt, we whipped up these Native American dresses for our dolls and included some beaded accessories. The girls in the class did a far better job on their dresses than my sample one. I fully expected this.
The American Girl website has a Teacher's Link full of Learning Guides for book clubs. There's a wealth of information here.
P.S. Be prepared for several more American Girl posts over the next six weeks !! ;)
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