Teaching kids true history rather than glorified myth is important to me. One reason for homeschooling is I can give my kids a well rounded perspective, many different cultural views, and they can learn from history; the good and the bad. It’s good for them to know that there are many sides to every story and to always delve deeper to find out the truth. So much of history is written by those who won wars or could afford to publish; those who had reason to make themselves or their group of people sound heroic. And it’s not something that only happened long ago! In today’s media the exciting, dramatic stories are shared, those that pay more for publicity are shared, but so many others we never hear about. Again, our kids need to learn to be subjective, dig for truth, and make informed decisions, never taking anything they read or hear at face value.
I grew up only ever hearing the happy story of pilgrims in their funny hats and buckled shoes and what a wonderful harvest feast they had with their Indian friends over plump turkey and pumpkin pie. It wasn’t till I was an adult I found out Thanksgiving was a holiday that did not even begin until Sarah Hale, a well known writer, petitioned for the holiday some 200 years later! Now I ask, why is it a secret that pilgrims did not actually dress all in black with shiny shoes, nor did they feast on big fat turkeys like the one pardoned each year? Why is it so terrible to know that she loved the idea of a day of thanks derived from some brief mention of shared meals found in old letters and she felt it would bring her country together in troubled times? That is a wonderful story and nothing to hide! I do love the idea of Thanksgiving, it’s a wonderful occasion to celebrate and show gratitude. However, there is no reason to teach our kids a fairytale and never share the truth. I think it’s also good to share the Native American’s side of the story and why they choose this to recognize this holiday as an annual day of mourning. Lets begin with this generation and show them truth. Maybe they can better learn from it that way.
Following is a list of great books that dispel myths about the Thanksgiving holiday and some related reads.
Some related activities featured in these posts:
- Top Four Ways to Raise Grateful Kids
- Historical Fiction Books for Kids
- Best Pie Crust Ever
- 2 Ingredient Mini Pumpkin Pies
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Make some extra time to read with your kids this week.
Books that teach the true history of Thanksgiving
List of kids books about Thanksgiving
1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving (National Geographic)
T is for Turkey: A True Thanksgiving Story
Tapenum’s Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times
The Wampanoag (A True Book: American Indians)
Sarah Morton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl (Scholastic Bookshelf)
Mayflower 1620: A New Look at a Pilgrim Voyage
Thank you for joining me for What to Read Wednesday.
Click here to see a complete list of What to Read Wednesday book topics. This is a great resource for planning themed unit studies or for encouraging your child’s current interests!
A great list of books! I can’t wait to read some of these with my boys.