I love to keep track of ‘what happened on this date’ events. When I taught, I added one or two events to my morning calendar activity to give us an event to discuss related to history and the math of how long ago it took place. Since then, I check events monthly as a way to keep inventions, statehood, and quirky moments in my mind, just for fun.They also work as a great filler when you have 5 minutes as you wait for lunch, recess, being called to an assembly, etc.
Monthly celebrations as well as events provide small pieces of our history in a nutshell. They stimulate discussions of why and how as well as who which can lead to research/further investigation and reading on their beginnings.
Examples:
July is Read an Almanac month. Pick up an almanac to use as meal time conversation starters.
August is Inventors month. Look up the top 100 inventions or catch the History channel program.
September is Classical Music month. What is ‘classical music’? Listen to a selection.
October is Diversity month. What does ‘diversity’ mean? How can we personally celebrate diversity?
November is Peanut Butter Lover’s month. Who do you think created that idea? Why? What are some of the current allergy problems related to peanut butter?
You get the idea. You can follow my mealtime conversation starters in the Edmonds Patch, online each month.