How to Get My Children Interested in African American History
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Professional storytellers can successfully excite children with African American history.Alli Harvey/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Visit African American children's museums or African American storytelling events at the local public library. Experienced storytellers often incorporate hands-on craft activities to complement the stories. - 2
Attend live dramatizations of African American historical events.Alex Wong/Getty Images News/Getty Images
Go to see live dramatizations of African American historical events with your child for a more immediate experience of history. Larger-than-life characterizations evoke interest, curiosity and discussion. - 3
Attend festivals honoring African American legends, such as the Louis Armstrong Jazz Festival.Mario Tama/Getty Images News/Getty Images
Attend festivals honoring African Americans, such as the Louis Armstrong Festival. Share anecdotes of the honoree to pique your child's interest. For example, jazz musician Louis Armstrong loved red beans and rice, and he often signed his letters, "Red Beans and Ricely Yours." - 4
Celebrate African American holidays.Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
Celebrate the African American holidays. Kwanza, a seven-day family-heritage celebration begins December 26th. On each of the seven days, families light the kinara, a special candle holder with symbolic red, black and green candles. Many Kwanza parties include African-oriented games, drumming and folk tales, concluding with a harvest feast.
Martin Luther King's Birthday is a federal holiday and celebrated in January. Read and discuss excerpts of King's "I have a Dream" speech with your child. Create a "I Have a Dream-board" with your child. Using poster board, glue, scissors and magazines, help your child cut out pictures to glue in a collage that represents her vision of her dreams. - 5
Integrate puppets and props to engage your child in African American historical stories.Comstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
Tell an African American folktale at bedtime to create a nightly ritual your child will look forward to. Add character voices, puppets or music to make each story distinct and interesting. - 6
Explore African American historical sites with your child.Spencer Platt/Getty Images News/Getty Images
Explore African American historical sites with your child. For instance, in New York City you could visit the graves of unknown African American slaves that were found near City Hall and were memorialized as a monument. - 7
Acknowledge twenty-first century black history, including the first African American president.Eric Thayer/Getty Images News/Getty Images
Acknowledge twenty-first-century black history, which brought United States the inauguration of its first African American president, Barack Obama. Ask your child to give an impromptu presidential speech. Applaud her efforts and implement similar activities when sharing stories of other notable African American achievements.
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