I distinctly remember learning about cardinals in fourth grade.  I already knew they were my grandma’s favorite bird.  And my parents had paintings of them next to old barns. 

Really old barns.  I hid a thimble on these picture frames during delightful games of “Hide the Thimble” with my dad while we waited to go to church many a Christmas Eve.

However, in fourth grade I learned that they were Indiana’s state bird.  Riveting. 

High school was another highlight in that my government teacher, Mrs. Grabinowski, painted a picture of history in motion – pregnant with depth and continuous change.  Literally a machine of humanity working towards the sustaining goal of a democratic government.  Freedom.

I found myself running for class elections.  I think I thought vice-presidency might land me my first date.  It didn’t. My date came two years later in the form of a crass boy throwing peanuts at us during a hockey game, batting his long eye lashes at me and sauntering down the coliseum steps a pair of jeans I later inherited. 

I married that boy.

My voting was spotty in early adulthood, especially when we moved across country and across the world.  I didn’t really start to care about getting out to mark my opinion, until I had the supreme task of taking my children with me to the polls.  I wanted them to see me caring about where I lived.

Now that voting was more difficult with nursing babies in tow, it stirred up this desire in me to show how important democracy was. 

This year I had hoped to be teaching my kids about Indiana’s birds and other state-ish things —  not to mention learning the 50 Nifty United States song where I had the supreme pleasure of embarrassing myself singing this lyric back in grade school.  After all, Asher is in fourth grade.  Isn’t that when kids are forced encouraged to learn about the state they live in?

Alas, Classical Conversations doesn’t introduce the study of our democracy and it’s people until cycle 3 – that is next year.  To mean this means we have enough to memorize. 

We will study you next year, my country. 

Until then, I find myself gathering my resources – not just pinning them. 

The one I snagged today? 

It’s worth $30 but it is free until August 28, 2013. (Click on the patriotic picture to get your FREE resource!)

Great Homeschool Conventions will be hosting an incredible offer on behalf of their partner NCLL. 

I’m also collecting other great state side resources in preparation for next year from Little Passports.   Monthly packages about each state. 

Little Passports World Edition: 1 year at $10.95/month

Don’t forget to head on over to GHC and this month’s freebie,  Understanding the Constitution:  Ten Things Every Citizen Should Know About the Supreme Law of the Land. 

What was your introduction into history?

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