Divided Hearts: A Civil War Friendship Quilt -- A Crafty Sundays Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in return for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. The links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Our country is divided right now. It is wearing on my heart. I usually try to ignore politics as much as I can. It keeps me more relaxed and at peace. However with everything going on right now and it being a presidential election year it is basically impossible to ignore. I have read articles about how our current politics are breaking up relationships--marriages, siblings, parent-child and friendships. This has not occurred before in our lifetime, but it did occur in our country. In fact our country had a civil war because of such differences. The Civil War divided families, neighbors and friendships. Perhaps that is what drew me to today's book. I feel we are in many ways at a similar point and finding a divide in our country. Today's book is Divided Hearts: A Civil War Friendship Quilt by Barbara Brackman.

Women in the Civil War

 

When we think about the Civil War there are a few women's names that pop in our minds like Harriet Tubman and perhaps nurses like Clara Barton and Louisa May Alcott. Today I am going to delve into the lives and accomplishments of other women in the Civil War that you may not have heard of. There were many women who worked on the homefront, fundraising, making uniforms, etc., but the women I am sharing about today did even more. The Civil War was a war that made it easier for women to disguise themselves as men and fight. In fact it is estimated that there were more than 400 women who did so. Some were discovered when injured or died and others never were. They were of different races and worked for the North or the South. Each had her own courageous adventure in the war. As with the other Women in Wars posts I will share books for kids to learn more about the women when I can. To begin this post I am going to share books that have multiple women in them. I have personally found Women in the Civil War by Kari A. Cornell and Heroism Begins with Her by Winifred Conkling extremely useful and used both as sources for this post. All of the women featured in this post are featured in these books or in the Famous Women of the Civil War by Peter F. Copeland which is a coloring book.

One Real American: The Life of Ely S Parker, Seneca Sachem and Civil War General

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Who do you remember from the Civil War history you learned about in school? You probably remember Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. You probably know a out Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. And of course President Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. But did you know Native Americans fought in the Civil War on both sides? Have you heard of Ely S. Parker? I know I hadn't until I read today's book which is so fascinating. The book is One Real American: The Real Life of Ely S. Parker Seneca Sachem and Civil War General by Joseph Bruchac.

Ships, Sea and More! Novels for Grades 5 and Up

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have to admit I have had these books sitting on my shelf for awhile. I keep meaning to review them and somehow other things jump in the way. Today I am finally going to share them with you! I am sharing three books today with you written for grades 5 and up. One is non-fiction from the Civil War time and the other two are novels. Are you ready to go on some adventures? We will definitely be on one with each of these books. The first book is Sinking the Sultana by Sally M. Walker. Have you heard of the Sultana? I hadn't but what an interesting and sad piece of history. 

Women Inventors

Each year for Women's History Month, I try to find books at the library about different women for Hazel to hear their stories and know the difference women play in history. This year one of our focuses has been on women inventors. I found nine women who invented something and have a book at about Hazel level written on them. Some of these books I have not read yet since they are requested from other libraries and have not arrived, so I am guessing a bit on the levels. I will share a bit about each women in this post: Ruth Wakefield, Grace Hopper, Gertrude Elion, Hedy Lemarr, Martha Coston, Stephanie Kwolek, Margaret Knight, Mary Anderson and Amanda Jones.

Exploring Lebanon -- Global Learning for Kids

This month we have joined the Global Learning for Kids in exploring Lebanon. I have to admit that I do not know much about Lebanon so this really was an exploration for me as well as for Hazel. Unfortunately I did not find many resources that are age appropriate for Hazel. Although the Middle East is part of Asia, we are separating it with North Africa into its own cultural month. Multicultural Kid Blogs has decided August will be Middle East and North Africa Heritage Month. I hope you will join us for it. Our exploration of Lebanon is a preview.

Women in World War I

 

Today we continue our Women in Wars Series and focus on World War I. Since I'm American and it is National Women's History Month I am going to focus on mostly American women. The changes in the world affected the roles of women in the war. In the Revolutionary and Civil Wars some women disguised themselves as men to fight. This would not have been as easy to get away with during World War I and there military roles for women now. In 1901 the United States established the Army Nurses Corps and in 1908 it established the Navy Nurses Corps. They

Women in Wars -- Introduction-- Women's History Month

 

As I thought about Women's History Month I knew I wanted to really touch on women in history that may be forgotten. Today women are members of the Armed Forces, but not that long ago they were not allowed. I decided I would focus on women who played important roles in wars. This month I will share about women in the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and the two World Wars. Today I thought I would start with some women who fought wars before America was a country. I have focused on the legend of Mulan in the past. She is one of the women who reportedly disguised herself as a man to fight in a war. Then there was the Greek goddess, Athena, who was the goddess of war, as well as the Amazons, the race of women warriors in Greek mythology. Even the Aztecs had a warrior goddess, Itzpapalotl. Then we know of Joan of Arc and how she led the French army through battles. And we shared about Artemisia in the past. Today let's talk about some of the other women you may not have heard about that fought in real wars and battles. As I started researching women in wars I found The Book of Heroines: Tales of History's Gutsiest Gals by Stephanie Warren Drimmer. All of the women, goddesses and legends mentioned in this post are featured in this book. This book is one of the sources for my entire post. I will list others that I used to find out more about the women and share books for kids when possible. (Note: I have not checked out these books but found them searching my local library website and Amazon.)

Women in World War II

 

Today we are going to look at some of the American women who made a difference during World War II. Women's rights had progressed between the two world wars as well as progress in technology. By World War II women were pilots. Computers were introduced to the mix. And of course there were the nurses and spies. Once again my go to book is Heroism Begins with Her by Winifred Conkling. I will be sharing additional sources as well as books (mostly children's) about each of the amazing women I will share. 

Board Books for Presidents' Day with Craft & More Book Round-Ups

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Happy February!! With February comes so many different things from Valentine's Day to Presidents' Day and more! I thought we would kick February off by sharing two new board books that are perfect for Presidents' Day. When I was young, I remember getting both Abraham Lincoln's and George Washington's birthdays off. At some point they merged into Presidents' Day. Of course, if you look at the history of Presidents' Day it was begun to celebrate George Washington's birthday. Hmmm, somehow Abraham got forgotten there. Anyway, with both of their birthdays this month, I am going to share books about both of them. Both books are written by Patricia A. Pingry, and both are board books, so they are perfect for your youngest book lovers! Let's start with The Story of George Washington. These books are recommended for ages 2 to 5.

Black History Month: Learning about Thurgood Marshall

Congratulations to Rebecca, Natalie and Michele for winning the Baker's Passports Little Bites!

February is Black History Month! Carter G. Woodson, an American historian, started Black History Week in 1926. He chose a week in February to honor the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. To me Black History Month really starts with Martin Luther King, Jr,'s birthday. Multicultural Kid Blogs is hosting a blog hop which I am participating in, and I wrote the introduction post for the MKB blog. This year is the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. To celebrate this, the theme of Black History Month this year is Civil Rights in America. (Source) However MKB has decided to extend this to Worldwide Civil Rights. Throughout February I will look at different people, events and more of the Civil Rights Movement and some ways I am introducing it to Hazel. Today we are going to look at Thurgood Marshall.

NAACP Leaders (Source: By New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer:
Al Ravenna [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

Now I knew Thurgood Marshall was the first African American Supreme Court Justice, but I did not know his role in the Civil Rights Movement. I happened to take a book out of the library on Thurgood Marshall and read it to Hazel. The book, A Picture Book of Thurgood Marshall, by David A. Adler is a wonderful book to introduce younger children to Thurgood. Marshall.

Thurgood Marshall was born on July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland. He was named after his grandfather, Thoroughgood Marshall. His grandfather was a freed slave who served in the Union army during the Civil War. Thurgood shortened his name in the second grade because he did not like writing the long name, Thoroughgood. As a child, Thurgood was a trouble maker. He often was punished in school. The principal punished him by sending him to the basement of the school with a copy of the United States Constitution. He was not allowed to come back to class without having a portion of it memorized. Before he graduated, Thurgood said he made it through every paragraph.

His father, William, worked as a waiter. He enjoyed reading about trials and went to watch them in the visitors gallery whenever he could. William Marshall was the first African American to serve on a Baltimore grand jury. William taught his sons to debate and to prove whatever they said. He also taught his sons to be proud of themselves and their race. Thurgood's mother, Norma, was an elementary school teacher. She believed in hard work and a good education. She sold her wedding and engagement rings to help pay for Thurgood's law school expenses.

In 1925 Thurgood went to Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He joined some African American friends who did silent protests against segregation while in college. He also met Vivian Burey who was a student at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1929 Thurgood and Vivian married. In 1930 Thurgood graduated from Lincoln University with honors. He wanted to go to law school and in particular he wanted to go law school at the University of Maryland. The University of Maryland was an all white school and did not admit him. He went to law school at Howard University in Washington D.C.

At law school, Thurgood discovered that law was what he always wanted to do with his life and devoted himself to his studies. One teacher he had was Charles Hamilton Houston. Houston worked at the NAACP and was the first African American to win a case before the United States Supreme Court. He taught Thurgood and all his students to use the law to fight segregation and discrimination. Thurgood graduated law school in 1933 and opened a law office in Baltimore. Then he began working for Houston and the NAACP.

Source: Thomas J. O'Halloran, U.S. News & World Report Magazine
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

In 1935, Thurgood Marshall one his first case against segregation. He and Houston argued for the right of Donald Murray to be admitted to University of Maryland Law School. They won the case and Donald Murray became the first African American to be admitted to the law school that Thurgood Marshall had once been denied access. In 1938 Thurgood Marshall became chief lawyer for the NAACP. In 1940 he argued and won his first case before the United States Supreme Court. He won twenty-nine of the thirty-two cases he tried before the Supreme Court. His most famous victory was in Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. This was the court case decision the made all the schools desegregated.

In 1954 Thurgood Marshall stopped working to stay home to care for his sick wife, Vivian. She had cancer and died in February 1955. Later that year Thurgood Marshall met Cecilia Suyat. They married and had two sons.

Source: See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Thurgood Marshall continued to fight segregation and became known as Mr. Civil Rights. In 1961 President Kennedy nominated Thurgood Marshall to be a judge on the United States Court of Appeals. It took almost a year for the Senate to approve his nomination. Four years later President Johnson appointed him United States Solicitor General, the government's top lawyer. His nomination was approved in just one day. Then on June 13, 1967, President Johnson nominated him to be a justice on the Supreme Court. He became the first African American Supreme Court judge. He remained a Supreme Court judge for twenty-four years. He retired in 1991 because of poor health. Justice Thurgood Marshall died on January 24, 1993. He was eighty-four years-old. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Source: By Okamoto, Yoichi R. (Yoichi Robert) Photographer
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

 Sources: Wikipedia and A Picture Book of Thurgood Marshall by David A. Alder

 Some other books to check out (some I have looked at and some I have not):

 Civil Rights Movement Books that have Thurgood Marshall in them:

Justice Thurgood Marshall played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement in America. Some say his victory in Brown versus the Board of Education Topeka, was what many African Americans needed to truly start fighting for equal rights. He is just one of many who played significant roles in fighting for equality. I hope you will join us as we explore others as well and check out all the great posts shared here to learn more about Civil Rights Movements worldwide. 

We have not done any activities or lessons, however here are some around the web you can try:

• Coloring Page from Enchanted Learning
• Lesson Plans from Read Write Think (mostly for older students)
• Thurgood Marshall Makes a Difference Lesson/Craft from Crayola
• Many lesson plans, activities, power point presentation on Teachers Pay Teachers and some are free!

Multicultural Kid Blogs is sponsoring a blog hop in honor of Black History Month. Please visit the participating blogs below to learn a bit more about the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement worldwide. Join the discussion in our Google+ community, and follow our Black History board on Pinterest! You can also share your own posts about Black History below. 
 

Participating Blogs

Crafty Moms Share

Multicultural Kid Blogs

Africa to America

Discovering the World Through My Son's Eyes

Kid World Citizen

Sugarfoots

All Done Monkey

Travel the World & Through Time with Books -- Summer Reading

Disclosure: I was sent these books free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As always I am providing links to the book for your convenience.

Do you remember how the world opened up to you when you began to read? Books seem magical. They can transport you to different lands and different times all while you are sitting in your comfortable reading nook. The books I ma sharing today do this. They take you to different times and places and three of them are historical books. 

Two of the Big Six: John Lewis and A. Philip Randolph #blacklivesmatter

As I thought about who to do next for our Black Lives Matter Series I realized I should do John Lewis since he passed away this weekend. He was last of the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement to die. As I did my research I realized that A. Philip Randolph was as well so today I am going to share about both of them. The Big Six were Martin Luther King, Jr., James Farmer, John Lewis, A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young. They were instrumental in the planning of the March on Washington in 1963. 

Biographies of Black People for Grades 3-5 -- Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

It is January and that means Multicultural Children's Book Day is coming. This year it is scheduled for January 31, 2020, and I will be cohosting it so be sure to tune in then to see all the amazing books shared. Today I get to share three books from Capstone Editions. This collection of books share a look into the lives of three black Americans that you may or may not have heard of but are perfect books for the upcoming Black History Month. They are all recommended for grades 3 to 5. We will start with Ona Judge Outwits the Washingtons: An Enslaved Woman Fights for Freedom by Gwendolyn Hooks and illustrated by Simone Agoussoye. 

Women in the American Revolutionary War

 

Happy International Women's Day!! It seems like the perfect time to do our second post for Women in Wars--our focus for Women's History Month this year. Today we will focus on the Revolutionary War. During the time of the Revolutionary War women were not even considered for military service. There were some roles that women were able to play for the military units. Wives, mothers and daughters of some soldiers would go with the military units and do the cooking, sewing and clothes washing for the men and they would get to sleep in a tent and get food. They were called camp followers by some and General George Washington called them women of the army. Women also helped with the care of injured soldiers. They served as nurses and were considered civilians. They received no military status or benefits and no medical training. They did jobs like feeding and bathing the patients as well as cleaning the beds and emptying the bed chambers. They were paid only about $2-$4 a month and often got ill from the soldiers. 

Easter Around the World: Guatemala

As Easter is approaching, I started wondering how it was celebrated differently throughout the world. I know every church seems to have its own way of doing it as well as every family, but I wondered what traditions were out there. I have close friends who are Greek Americans and gone through many Easter seasons with them. At some point I will share some of their traditions.

The first thing I discovered is that the different celebrations seem to also incorporate Holy Week. Holy Week is the week starting with Palm Sunday (one week before Easter) until Easter. The special days differ a bit but the major ones include Palm Sunday (the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem), Good Friday (the day Jesus died), and Easter Sunday (the day Jesus rose from death).

Flag of Guatemala

Today we are focusing on Easter and Holy Week in Guatemala. Guatemala is a country in Central America. It borders Mexico, El Salvador, Bolivia and Honduras as well as the  Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Guatemala has had many different types of government including Mayan rule. It also had a Civil War being fought from 1960 to 1996. Since the Civil War it has had economic growth and elected a new president in 2011. Nearly all of its residents are Christian with only 1% following the indigenous Mayan faith. During Colonial times Roman Catholic was the official religion, but in recent years Protestant religions have been popular with nearly one third of residents being Protestant. (Source)

Source

The first thing that peaked my interest in Easter in Guatemala was a book we found at the library called Sawdust Carpets by Amelia Lau Carling. The book is written by a Chinese woman who grew up in Guatemala. One of her fondest childhood memories was the sawdust carpets or Alfombras de Acerrin made for the parades re-enacting Holy Week or the procesiones. The most famous of these occur in Antigua, Guatemala. The author remembers a trip to visit her aunt, uncle and cousins that lived in Antigua one Semana Santa (Holy Week). In the story she describes seeing the neighbors making the beautiful colorful sawdust carpets and even helping a neighbor with one. The neighbor gives the leftover materials to the children so they can make their own. They design and make one just as the procession is beginning. The young narrator tries to stand in the way of the procession so their special carpet will not be ruined. The neighbor steps in to explain how each carpet is an offering to life. They then watch the procession and see the different floats with statues portraying the story of Holy Week. There are bands who follow each float playing music to set the mood of the float. Overall the day is exciting and sad all rolled into one which seems like a wonderful description of Holy Week to me.

Source: By Municipio de Patzún (Municipalidad de Patzún)
 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

We also researched some more of these sawdust carpets by reading about Semana Santa in the Fiesta! series Guatemala. This book describes Holy Week or Easter as the most colorful and biggest fiesta in Guatemala with Antigua having the best festival. During this time planting is done and Indians ask their gods to give them a good harvest. The week however is very solemn. The stores close and there are long religious rituals. Antigua was the capital when the Spaniards ruled and the traditions date back to that time, so this is why it has the biggest festival.

To make the carpets, local people make big stencils of birds, flowers, and religious symbols. They first lay down plain sawdust onto the wet ground. Then they use their stencils and colored sawdust to make the designs. They also embellish the carpets with flowers, pine needles, and fruit. To reach the middle of the designs without messing up what is already done they have raised pieces of wood to walk upon. These are made before Good Friday. The procession beings very early. Riders, dressed as Roman soldiers call for the death sentence of Jesus. Floats carry the figures of the Virgin Mary and Saint John as well as the effigy of Jesus. The men who pull the Christ floats are allowed to walk on the stenciled shapes on the street. They wear purple until 3 p.m., the time Jesus died on the cross. They carriers then change their clothes to black until Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday is a day of joy with music and dance. (Source: Fiesta! Guatemala by Grolier International)

Source: GuateRob at en.wikipedia [CC-BY-3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

The largest float requires 80 men to carry it. They are switched every 10 to 15 minutes so the procession can require more than 2500 carriers. Women carry the float with the Virgin Mary on it. It is an honor to be a carrier and often it is passed down through generation to generation of a family. Incense is lite before the procession starts and the streets fill with spectators as well as carriers and smoke and scent from the incense. (Source)

Source: By Jialiang Gao www.peace-on-earth.org (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

The entire procession sounds like a perfect way to celebrate Easter. I hope some day to actually see it. I wanted to do a craft with the idea of sawdust carpets using colored sand, but we have not had time yet. If we do make one, I will be sure to post pictures here. How do you celebrate Easter? What are some of your family's traditions?

For a great first hand experience of the flower carpets in Antigua, check out World Travel Family's post Flower Carpets in Antigua Guatemala.

Be sure to check out:

• My Easter craft and book round-up
• My Lent round-up 
• Easter in Ethiopia
• Easter in Sweden 
• Legend of the Sand Dollar (an Easter Story)
• Easter in Spain, Portugal and France
• Easter in Ukraine and Russia
• Multicultural Easter Books
• My Easter Craft Round-Up
• My Easter and Lent Pinterest Board
• My Multicultural Pinterest Board

Thanksgiving and Sarah Josepha Hale

Have you entered my giveaway for 4 Christmas DVDs yet?

Have you ever heard of Sarah Josepha Hale? I know I hadn't, however I had heard and memorized something she wrote: "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Sarah Hale was an American author and editor. She was also a mother and wife and she is responsible for our national holiday--Thanksgiving. I know you are probably thinking what do you mean she is responsible for Thanksgiving, because that is what I was thinking when I saw this book at the library, but she is the reason we have a national holiday.

Sarah Hale By painted by James Reid Lambdin (1807-1889)
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Fun Facts about Cinco de Mayo

It is hard to believe it is already Cinco de Mayo. This year of course is so different than other years since many of us are living with stay-at-home orders but I thought it would be fun to talk about Cinco de Mayo. But first do you know what Cinco de Mayo actually is? I think most people know or realize that the words Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for May 5th, but most do not know why it is a holiday. Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexico's Independence Day. Mexico's Independence Day is September 16th.

Chapter Book Extravaganza! Beginning Reader Through Young Adult Part 2

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own or Hazel's. 

Yesterday we started our chapter book extravaganza. We shared the first group of books for ages 5 to 12. Today we are going to get through the rest of them. As I mentioned yesterday, most of these books I have not finished (some Hazel did) so we will be providing limited reviews. Hope you enjoy them and find some new books to read!!

Tulsa's Greenwood District -- The 1921 Tulsa Racial Riot and a new YA Historical Fiction Novel

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Today I am going to share a young adult novel set in 1921 in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Do you know about Greenwood? Perhaps you have heard of it as the Black Wall Street? Or maybe have heard of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot? Before I share the novel with you I thought I would tell you about Greenwood and the Tulsa Race Riot. 

Black people arrived in Oklahoma with the Native Americans on the Trail of Tears. Some were slaves and some were freed. Some of these Black people became citizens of the Native American nations. After the Civil War, due to the negotiations between the U.S. Government and the Native Americans land some of the Black tribal citizens were granted large parcels of land. As a result some of the Blacks welcomed other Southeastern Blacks and were able to form dozens of all-Black towns in the region. In fact in 1890 Edwin McCabe met with President Benjamin Harrison to try to get the Oklahoma territory turned into an all-Black state.