For Teachers and Parents: Click below and then scroll down for information and free materials


Historians Young and Old (some with rabbits)

Marcia Mayo

History Just for Kids is a place to share ideas for helping children understand that history is about real people in real places and it not only happened in the past, it's also happening right now. If you have a site you love or an idea you'd like to share, let me know and I'll include it.

You can contact me at marciamayo@yahoo.com or at 678-628-4193.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Children's Necklace Painting Today at Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon, GA


Children can paint a design on clay necklace to make their own gorget that the Native Americans wore 1000 years ago

See:
http://www.nps.gov/ocmu/index.htm



https://www.facebook.com/events/158066414318160/

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

There's Still Time for Your Child to Attend Summer Camp at the Atlanta History Center

Atlanta History Center summer campers explore the past and the world around them through enriching and engaging activities. Join the fun with games, stories, crafts, and outdoor expeditions as well as interactive exhibitions. With new themes each week, campers enjoy a variety of hands-on, immersive camp experiences all summer long.

Full Day Camp fees are $225 for members; $275 for nonmembers.

If you’re looking for our summer writing camps at the Margaret Mitchell House, click here.

If you have questions, want to learn about weekly session themes, or require additional information, please contact the Summer Camp Coordinator at 404.814.4018.

PRE-SCHOOL CAMP

Adventures in History
This camp is for children ages 4-5

July 30-August 3


Your curious little one will love discovering history in a camp designed just for them. Campers spend the day exploring subjects they love, including farms, trains, houses, animals, and more, through fun games, stories, and arts and crafts. In the afternoons, campers have time to rest and play under the caring supervision of our educators.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CAMPS

From Pilgrim to Patriot
June 11-15
This camp is for ages 6-11



During the summer of 1787, 225 years ago, our Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution of the United States. Join us for this top-requested camp and explore the captivating Colonial era, the riveting Revolutionary War, and the fascinating formation of our nation.

Follow that Food
June 18 -22
This camp is for ages 6-11



Noodles are from China and tomatoes from South America – so why are they known as traditional Italian food? Trace the history of your favorite foods during this fun week full of culinary sleuthing, with a heavy pinch of cooking and taste-testing thrown in for good measure.

The States of the Union
June 25- 29
This camp is for ages 6-11



How did the states get their shapes? Travel through 50 states in 5 days exploring the history, geography, and fun facts of these United States of America. You will be amazed how much you can learn and how fun it will be, from sea to shining sea.

Weird History
July 9-13
This camp is for ages 6-11



Back by popular demand - join us for an all new and even weirder week full of crypto zoology, ancient aliens, and historic blunders and hoaxes. Explore the weird and wacky side of history!

Art through the Ages
July 16-20
This camp is for ages 6-11



Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art? Address that age-old question by taking a journey around the world and through time. From cave paintings to cameras, Renaissance to Realism, New York to New Guinea, campers create fun cultural art projects using a variety of media.

Legendary Empires
July 23-27
This camp is for ages 6-11



Empires like the Romans, the Egyptians, and the Aztecs often had amazing mythologies behind them. Uncover the history of the world’s great empires, and discover the myths and legends that are still a part of our culture today.

Let the Games Begin
July 30-August 3
This camp is for ages 6-8



As the 2012 Olympic Games get underway, get into the Olympic spirit by exploring the Games’ nearly 3,000 year history. Try out ancient sports, discover modern heroes, and participate in your own Olympic Games.




Registration Forms:
Please click here to complete the registration forms online or download them here.

Hours:
Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Students not participating in extended childcare (see below) may be dropped off after 8:45 AM and picked up between 3:45 and 4:00 PM.

Each week concludes with a special Friday afternoon event featuring a display of campers’ projects!

Extended Childcare:
8:00 – 9:00 AM and/or 4:00 – 5:00 PM daily ($25 additional charge per session)

Please note that children cannot be dropped off before 8:00 AM and must be picked up promptly by 5:00 PM. Regrettably, due to staffing considerations, we have to impose a late charge of $1 per minute (due at pick-up) if a child is not picked up on time.

Lunch:
Lunch may be purchased for the entire week from Chick-fil-A at the Coca-Cola Café at a cost of $36.25 per camper. Alternately, children must bring bag lunches each day. Two snacks will be provided daily.

Cancellation Policy:
No refunds will be made for cancellations less than two weeks prior to the start the selected camp. Any cancellation or change made more than two weeks before your child’s first day of camp carries an administrative fee of $25; if you withdraw your child before this two week deadline you will receive a refund less the $25 fee.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Tell Me a Memory: Summer's a Great Time for Sharing Family History

Whether it’s spending a month at Uncle Al’s chicken farm or a week with extended family at the beach, summer is a good time not only for making new family memories but also for sharing the ones you already have. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing a riveting game of Go Fish around the kitchen table or getting brain freeze from ice cream churned on the back porch, kids, parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and if you’re lucky, great grandparents are all available to share family history.

Family history is important for everyone. Children learn about connections over time and how some things never change, grown-ups in the middle get the chance (and the captive audience) to ask the questions that, at some point, will be pondered too late. And elders have the opportunity to pass on their legacy and their “things just aren’t as good as they used to be” reflections.

But there can be pitfalls. Great Aunt Betty may not be able to remember, Grandpa may ramble, and sweet Little Frankie may prefer to bonk his sister on the head with his sticky spoon rather than sit still for yet another long story.

As a former elementary teacher and a current grandmother, I’ve experienced (and been guilty of) most of the problems listed above. So, I’ve come up with some general guidelines and helpful hints for making this summer’s family vacation a truly memorable one.

  • Plan ahead but don’t over plan. Packing a few old pictures and/or relics could be helpful but a suitcase full of dusty photo albums might cause a mass exodus into jelly-fish infested surf. Remember the primary reason for families to share time and space with each other is to make new memories, not to ruin old ones.
  • Keep it quick and specific. Have everyone name a favorite toy or a time when they got hurt. You might want to agree on one quick topic each evening during dinner and then go around the table. It’s okay to take a pass. A forgetter may remember later.
  • Make sure to include the kids in the telling. They have memories too, and they especially enjoy telling grotesque stories about injuries, often embellishing the number of stitches or just how far the broken bone stuck out of their arm.
  • Keep it upbeat. Family gatherings are not the venue for bringing up the time Aunt Sylvia disappeared for a week and a half, unless it’s already family lore that she was kidnapped by aliens.
  • If it’s going well, let it continue. Memories beget more memories and an initial destination having to do with a time you got in trouble at school can often lead you down some great side streets and a few interesting back alleys. I do need to say here that this particular topic will almost always make school-aged kids clam up. If their parents aren’t already aware of that exploding toilet science experiment that was totally misunderstood by their teacher last fall, children have enough sense to know that a booth at the Cracker Barrel might not be a good place to bring it up.
  • Parents: make sure you tell your own tales and not those of your children. You don’t want to embarrass your offspring, no matter how old (or guilty) they are.

Before you know it, your vacation visit is over and everyone is sunburned and ready to sleep in their own beds. But the trip was a great one, one you will want to remember. A good way to end this time might be to document the memories while they are still fresh, perhaps in a journal or on the mat surrounding a great photo, with each person recording his or her own thoughts or recollection. Scribbles by preschoolers and Great Grandmother’s handwritten note will become precious mementos before too many more summers happen by.

Below are some links that could be helpful in thinking about how to generate and gather family memories this summer. But remember: Don't overdo it. After all, you're on vacation.

Questions to Ask


Fifty Questions for Family Interviews

Questions for Kids to Ask

Click on the cover to order - also available in Kindle