The kids and I have been having a hard time following any history curriculum.  It seems like there are too many names and dates and too little hands on experiences.  We find ourselves yawning.  So, we put the curriculum aside and decided to do some living history.  We’ve just wrapped up the American Revolution and are now learning about Sacagawea.  The book we used was mostly about what her childhood might have been like, with a few chapters at the end about her travels with Lewis and Clarke.  The book discusses basket making, salmon spawning, leather working, fire starting, and other skills that are fabulous to work into a homeschoolers day!  We watched a great video on the life cycle of salmon, and I may pick up some salmon to cook over an open fire, or even try drying into jerky.  Kaia was most interested in leather working.  So, we got some scraps and she created different types of pouches.

She made a simple circle pouch:

And Leif helped me make one for him:

Then Kaia did a flap style purse out of some buffalo skin:

She and I both love how this one turned out!

They also worked in a full afternoon of playing in their teepees, ‘hunting and fishing’, and trading with the tababone (“white face”).

We wrapped it up with a fish craft:

Next week, basket weaving, fire starting, and a documentary about Lewis and Clarke!