What have I told my children about Thanksgiving?

That it involved real people with real dreams coming to a world where real people with real dreams were already living. One of my favorite resources is the evolving work of the good people at Plimouth Plantation (www.plimouth.org). The work they do in tandem with native people to educate on the biculture reality of the 'New World' is heartening. I encourage a click of the link at top right to hear from Shirely Highrock. Shirely High rock is a Wampanoag elder (native name Green Water) who works and educates visitors at the Wampanoag homesite at Plimouth Plantation. The book above is one of my favorites. The story is told through the eyes of a native child and an English child. It is a book done at Plimouth, and the story is told with sensitivity. It's an accurate, good first book for children.

I've tried to emphasize to my children the truth that harvest festivals and gratitude are universal experiences shared by people everywhere. I can speak the truth to my children of what is and what was at the same time I acknowledge the blessings in our lives, and the amazing abiltiy of humans to test the waters of their dreams. Accepting the reality of America's begining doesn't mean that we cannot at the same time give thanks for our family and friends.



This book, subtitled Voyage of the Ship's Apprentice & a Passenger Girl, is beautifully photgraphed. It shows acurate hand made and hand dyed period costuming. The rich colors of the clothing is a great contast to our old images of the English in black & white and buckle shoes. As an additional treat, it has a photo of one of our hsing moms (C) with one of her homeschoolers (D or C, I don't recall, somebody let me know) as a infant when they worked as interpreters at Plimouth several years ago. (Double click the photo for an enlargement: you can see the cute babies much better, and also the fact that none of the English have buckles on their shoes. :)) Here:


I also highly recommend Mayflower 1620: A New Look At A Pilgrim Voyage. It is respectful of both the Wampanoag as well as the English. It tells the story of the Mayflower crossing, with maps, and includes a thoughtful passage about the Wampanoags entitled, An Established Nation. Worth a read, and sensitive to the needs of young children.