A Historic Ride
This week, in honor of the 55th anniversary of Rosa Parks historic bus ride, we took some time to study about 
the Civil Rights Movement and talk about being fair and treating all people with respect. We started our investigation by reading a wonderful new book by Jo Kittinger, Rosa's Bus. It is a picture book that tells the story of the Civil Rights movement while tracing the life of the bus. I think it does a great job of giving children the background they need to understand what makes Rosa's refusal important in a language and manner that they can understand and enjoy. The reading level listed for the book is ages 4-8 which I think is spot on but some parents may find the book too much for a young 4.
After reading the book, we talked about standing up for what is right even when it is hard. Given that Hanukkah is this week Froggy said that Rosa was like the Macabees who fought to be allowed to worship the way they wanted. I felt a need to point out that Rosa Parks fought back with hurting anyone unlike the Macabees. Froggy is used to being different than her friends but treated equally and fairly. We talked about how she would feel if she could not play with her friends because she is Jewish and they are not. Or how she would feel if she was told she could not play with certain other friends because they are "colored".
We have a rule in our house that you can call people names if they like it, like calling her Froggy. We explained this is called a nickname. But that if a person does not like the name you may not call them that ever! We had a long discussion that "colored" is a horrible mean name that lots of people called others because of the color of their skin and that they did not like and how important it is never to call anyone that.
the Civil Rights Movement and talk about being fair and treating all people with respect. We started our investigation by reading a wonderful new book by Jo Kittinger, Rosa's Bus. It is a picture book that tells the story of the Civil Rights movement while tracing the life of the bus. I think it does a great job of giving children the background they need to understand what makes Rosa's refusal important in a language and manner that they can understand and enjoy. The reading level listed for the book is ages 4-8 which I think is spot on but some parents may find the book too much for a young 4. After reading the book, we talked about standing up for what is right even when it is hard. Given that Hanukkah is this week Froggy said that Rosa was like the Macabees who fought to be allowed to worship the way they wanted. I felt a need to point out that Rosa Parks fought back with hurting anyone unlike the Macabees. Froggy is used to being different than her friends but treated equally and fairly. We talked about how she would feel if she could not play with her friends because she is Jewish and they are not. Or how she would feel if she was told she could not play with certain other friends because they are "colored".
We have a rule in our house that you can call people names if they like it, like calling her Froggy. We explained this is called a nickname. But that if a person does not like the name you may not call them that ever! We had a long discussion that "colored" is a horrible mean name that lots of people called others because of the color of their skin and that they did not like and how important it is never to call anyone that.
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