Friday, May 28, 2010

1001 Ways to Celebrate America

1001 Ways to Celebrate America 1001 Ways to Celebrate America by Greg Godek

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm always on the lookout for fun things to do with my kids. I spotted this little book for $1 at the Scholastic Warehouse last year and decided to see if there were any good ideas in this one.

I went through this book with a pencil to remind myself what I wanted to come back to with my kids. Some ideas:
  • Get photocopies of documents from Ellis Island ancestors
  • Take cookies to the fire station and donuts to the police station
  • Read the writings of Abigail Adams
  • Play Monopoly, Life and Scrabble
  • Have the kids draw pictures of the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bells, the American Flag, and an eagle. Hang them with pride.
  • Learn about the Erie Canal
  • Learn to make fried chicken
There are also some cute lists of American couples, baseball stars, classic American phrases, songs, books, TV shows, inventors, etc. There were some parts where I think the author confuses true Americana with Walking Down Memory Lane. But this was worth the $1 I spent and the hour I took to read it. A fun way to gear up for the summer patriotic holidays.

Book 46 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge, Book 28 of 50 for the New Author Challenge, Book 22 of 50 for the RYOB Challenge, Book 36 of 55 for the Countdown Challenge (2001)

Source: Purchased

1 comment:

nanamoo said...

I love the passenger list you gave me for John Stoker and family when they came to America. For some reason I hadn't thought about it in the "patriotic" sense. You can bet you'll be seeing it this Fourth of July though :)
Great idea!