Homeschooling allows amazing freedom for on-site learning. Have you considered using the green metal historical markers that are scattered throughout Kentucky as an instructional resource for your homeschool? There is even a free online historical marker database that identifies and helps to locate these quick glimpses of our history. The searchable database is maintained by the Kentucky Historical Society[1]. Some of the markers remember people and their accomplishments; some commemorate past events; some explain the significance of the place. The Kentucky historical marker program is an initiative whereby individuals propose a topic and location for a new marker. If the Kentucky Historical Society determines that the proposal is important to serve the public history of the state, a marker will be produced and unveiled in a ceremony. Afterwards, the hope is that passersby will stop, read the information on the marker and become better informed about our history. Sometimes the information on a historical marker may be surprising.
For example, Marker #2298 is located in Jefferson County at
the intersection of Kenwood Drive and Kenwood Hill Road by the Little
Loomhouse. On the back side of the sign this is written: “Happy Birthday to You- Mildred Jane Hill and Patty Smith Hill, noted
kindergarten & music teachers, had a summer residence on Kenwood Hill, known
as Hill House. In 1893, the sisters published the song, 'Good Morning to All.' During a birthday party held in the Little Loomhouse, Patty suggested that the
words be changed to 'Happy Birthday to You.' It’s one of the three most popular
songs in English”[2].
The Hill sisters were both kindergarten teachers, the daughters of a
Presbyterian minister. They taught school and Sunday School. Patty Hill made a
significant impact on early childhood education. She taught this at Columbia
University in New York.
How can you use a stop at this historical marker to expand
your homeschooling experience? Start by having the students read the
information on the marker. Ask them to paraphrase what they read. Are there any
words they do not already know on the sign? These become new vocabulary words
for the week. Do a simple math problem to discover how many years it has been
since the song was first written. There is a riddle in the sign: “Happy
Birthday” is ‘one of the three most popular songs in English’. Can your
students guess what the other two songs are? This becomes an internet research
project. Can your students sing “Happy Birthday”? Can they write the rhythm of
the song using simple musical notation? Can they play it on a recorder or
another instrument? This is a music lesson. Perhaps one of your students wants to become a teacher.
Patty Hill would be a great person to research. She even designed some huge
blocks for kindergartners to use to learn cooperative play etiquette. So, if
one of your students likes building with Legos, for example, this may be of
interest (even though it is not on the marker). Finally there is the potential for developing map-skills. Can your students find the
location of the marker using a street map of Louisville? Take a picture of your
students standing next to the sign. Start a homeschool journal in which you
record the markers you visit. Note their location, the marker number, and a
summary of the information on the sign. Paste in a print of the photo you took.
Count the hours for history, reading, math, music and geography.
By Lesley Barker PhD.
No comments:
Post a Comment