Learning We're Loving: This Day in History

I have a couple things in mind I'd like to share with you -- tools for learning,  if you will. And I don't mean just for the kids, either. Some are for big folks like us. I'm  helpful that way.

This one's really for both kids AND adults. Last month we discovered, and subscribed to, something called This Day in History from TJEd Online. This is a fantastically well-researched daily dose of what ends up being a springboard for discussion and learning. And the springboard is as springy as you want it to be. In other words, you do as much or as little as your audience has interest or attention span.

Basically, each day there's information about something or someone who's connected to that date in history. Today, for example, was the 55th anniversary of Rosa Parks' refusal to yield her seat on that fateful bus ride in Montgomery, Alabama. Yesterday was Mark Twain's birthday. You get the idea.

Along with the information, there's a picture or two, some links for further exploration, and prompts for discussion or further research. You could really follow some interesting rabbit trails, as "way leads on to way," (thanks to Robert Frost for that one), printing out word searches and heading to the library with book recommendations in hand ... or just stick with the basics and leave them hungry for more. (I'm a fan of not inundating children with more information than they ask for. If the eyes glaze over, we've gone too far.)

I think my kids are getting a fair amount of meaty learning out of this (we do it at the breakfast table, before or after Bible reading; yes, our breakfast time happens at a tortoise pace). And I KNOW I am!

Oh, and if you don't homeschool your kiddos, I could totally see doing this as a family dinnertime endeavor. Makes for tasty conversation.

And finally, I would tell you all this anyway, just because I'm excited about it, but in the interest of full disclosure, if anyone actually subscribes to the service and wants to mention my name, I think I get some sort of little reward. Somewhere between a lollipop and a new VitaMix. But lots closer to the lollipop. :-)