added to the timeline

Today we talked about what it means to live in this country and we added some important dates to our timeline.  We added the birth of the nation and George Washington, then my daughter wanted to add the making of the Liberty Bell because they rang it when they read the declaration.  I had forgotten that but she remembered.  I think it's a good thing we've been using Liberty Bell stamps.  Then she wanted to add the year the Star Spangled Banner Flag was made so we did that.  It really made an impression on her at the Smithsonian.  If you ever get a chance to see that you really should, it was quite memorable.  Then, we sang "Happy Birthday" to our country.  I think it was a fitting way to end our study and the children thought it was fun.  The timeline is a great way to discuss history because they can see how it relates to things that they know.  Of course Ancient Egypt is so far away they have trouble relating to that, but seeing how far away it is still helps them understand it.  And then my daughter surprised me by explaining that if people were living in ancient Egypt they would put the rich people in the pyramids and they would then be dead.  I'm not sure she's getting all of it, but some stuff is sticking in her brain.  We may need to do some review next week.