11/26/2024
Thanksgiving is a hot-button topic in the homeschool world. In one camp, there’s the hyper-conservative patriots who are busy preparing “Pilgrim and Indian feasts” to share with their friends. In the other camp are the hyper-woke gatekeepers cancelling anyone who refuses to cancel Thanksgiving. And then there’s our family, as usual existing somewhere in the messy middle without a lot of resources to guide us. 😅
So here’s what I’m doing this year: I’m providing my fourth-grader with two different sources; a book about the history of Thanksgiving published in 1999 (complete with illustrations of cherubic looking Pilgrims and Indians), and an article about the history of Thanksgiving published by the Potawatomi Nation. She’s reading them both and then talking with us about what she reads—What are the similarities in the two stories? What are the differences? What are the sources of both stories? Does the source matter? What makes a source credible or not? What does Thanksgiving mean to our family, and how should we observe it?
I don’t think my way is perfect. I think I have plenty to learn still, and so will my children when they are my age. But I do hope that when I expose my children to varying viewpoints, when I ask good questions, when I come from a place of curiosity and learning together—I hope I’m helping to raise critical thinkers in a world that increasingly values conformity. I hope I’m helping my children engage with the world in a way that is meaningful and good, and that will help them one day to be women who have conviction and feel purpose.
If that helps you talk to your kids about Thanksgiving, please use it. Carry on, mamas.
