This week we began our exploration of the continents. This journey will take us well into spring as we discuss each continent and several countries within it.
We began our discussion by talking about the seven continents and identifying the one we live in—North America! Within North America, there are many countries, including our own, the United States. The United States comprises 50 states. We identified Ohio, the place that we call home.
We discuss indigenous peoples of each culture we visit throughout our Social Studies curriculum. We talked about the Miami Tribe, also known as the Myaamia, who once inhabited the Oxford area and the Cherokee Nation of America.
Traditionally when we take attendance at our morning meeting, we use the language of the country we are discussing to say “here.” We now include a choice of here, present, or “ahani” (pronounced “ah-hah-nee”), Cherokee for “here,” when taking attendance.
The children can explore many works on the shelves about landmarks and monuments, North American animals, geography, flags, artifacts, and wooden blocks printed with the Cherokee syllabary. We have also included materials that are specific to the state of Ohio. These works will remain on the shelves for two weeks until we move on to our next country.
