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He bought the island of Manhattan for sixty guilders--about twenty-four dollars. I try to get Simon to understand that this was the greatest real estate deal ever. I'm a daughter of a businessman, always impressed by a savvy deal.
We go online and I find a map of Manhattan. I set up a this-for-that situation--this large island for that tiny amount of cash, barely enough to buy a Lego.
“Minuit was a smart guy--what do you think, Simon? You know, Grandpa was like Peter Minuit. When he was younger, he could sell anyone anything, and buy whatever he wanted cheap.”
“I think Peter Minuit was a mean guy. That wasn't fair. That wasn't enough money.”
I persevere: “But Minuit was brilliant. By buying the island, he secured some peace with the Canarsee Mohicans, at least for a while.”
“No,” says Simon, his brow furrowed. “It wasn't fair. If it's not fair, it's not smart.”
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
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Reading List
100 True Tales From American History by Jennifer Armstrong.
Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents by Mike Venezia. This is a series. Also check out all of Mike Venezia's other incredible books at his web-site.
Simon loves The Story of the World, Vol. I- IV, by Susan Wise Bauer. He listens to the audiobooks for many hours every day. They play in the background while he fiddles with Legos or does math.
www.theexaminedlife.org
Together with Toni Deveson, Claudia was one of the founding members of www.theexaminedlife.org , a net-based home-education support group for families teaching a secular curriculum in the Miami area. Claudia remains a very active participant. The group is inclusive, welcoming families of all faiths—or lack thereof, and all life-styles. The Examined Life runs a small enrichment co-op for children in grades 4-6. This year, the co-op is covering biology, art appreciation (nine painters), music appreciation (seven composers), history—the Renaissance and beyond, and Latin. All the portfolio-ready materials that Claudia and Toni have developed themselves are available for free at www.theexaminedlife.org , including a comprehensive 36-week enrichment curriculum for the above named topics, as well as the American history project covered in this blog. The website also has a bookstore that carries all the books necessary to teach the curriculum.
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