Navajo Interactive Museum

Since the next leg of our trip is all about Native Americans our first stop was to explore the Navajo Interactive Museum.  Since there was not a lot of information online I was not sure what to expect when we arrived.  While planning our visit I found the workbook by Evan-Moor History Pockets Native Americans,  it contains nine different tribes within the book including the Navajo of the Southwest.  The activities within this book are very short but cover a lot of topics that lay a great foundation to build on for future lessons.  When we arrived we were asked if Jaxon wanted to be a detective during his visit and of course that sparked his interest immediately.  We were then escorted to a theater where we watched a short video on the Navajo Indians and their beliefs on how they entered through four worlds before settling here.  It was a great introduction for Jaxon to understand their spiritual beliefs.

As we entered the museum we were overwhelmed with the well placed displays all set up in one large circle.  We were in such awe at the exhibits we were not sure where to begin.  As we did not want to miss one single thing it was wonderful to have the worksheet to guide us.  We began our journey in the center of the museum where there was a Hogan set up that you could enter.  This gave Jaxon a great opportunity to see what life might have been like to live in one as a family.  

Inside the Hogan was another short film showing how the Navajo Indians wove their beautiful rugs from start to finish.  This was an amazing new concept to Jaxon and I wanted to make sure he could appreciate how much hard work went into making these gorgeous rugs so following our visit we read the book The Goat in the Rug by Geraldine.  This book begins with a two page spread showing all of the tools that are needed to craft a rug and then tells the story of a Navajo Weaver named Glee 'Nasbah.  I highly recommend this book as it is a wonderful addition to the study of the Navajo rug making.

Upon our exit of the Hogan we found a small table where we made ourselves comfortable to begin answering the questions on the museum of mystery adventure.  

Located through out the exhibit there are signs perfectly placed as pictured below giving you clues to the answers to complete your mysteries of the museum.

Upon leaving the museum Jaxon turned in his page and got a prize for completing the entire expedition.  

Once we arrived at the hotel that evening we followed up by reading A True Book The Navajo by Andrew Santella and by completing the workbook projects for The Navajo of the Southwest located in the Native American history pockets.

Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration

Jaxon's First grade study of Immigration took us on our journey to Ellis Island.  This was another trip inspired by Jaxon's "Time for Kids" Social Studies curriculum.  I decided when planning this trip to split up the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island so we could take our time and do both Junior Ranger Programs and not be in a hurry.  Honestly,  the last thing I wanted to happen was for all of us to be exhausted and not enjoy the exploration.  That ultimately was the best decision we made by the end of our day on Ellis Island I couldn't wait to get back to our hotel and relax.  I could never imagine doing it any other way now.  

I would like to first discuss the Junior Ranger Program.  If I could go back and do things differently that would be the one thing I would change.  I attempting to be prepared printed the Junior Ranger Booklet at home.  Which I printed immediately after booking our trip in March.  The Junior Ranger Book I printed was at least ten pages long and by the time we had made it to the third floor we were exhausted, hungry and could not easily find any of the answers.  Once we completed the third floor questions we took a break and went and grabbed lunch in the cafeteria. We then returned to the last two pages which was all located in the main entrance area.  After still having major difficulty finding the answers I opted to go to the ranger desk and ask them how many pages needed to be completed.  When I questioned the ranger he notified me that the Junior Ranger book I had printed was out of date and meant for teachers use.  The now Junior Ranger Program was two pages.  So lesson now learned going forward I will always visit the ranger desk prior to beginning our day.

One of the reasons that I always try to print the Junior Ranger Book out ahead of time is so that we can do as many of the pages ahead as possible.  This helps us lay a strong foundation for our trip and allows us a little more time to enjoy the monuments at a more relaxed rate.  On this trip we were only able to complete the first page before arriving.  The entire packet is designed to be completed at particular exhibits.  Below is an example of one page of the packet.  I then went to plan b and organized our entire day by floor and exhibit which made it much easier while traveling through the museum.

In preparation for our trip we utilized BrainPOP Jr.'s short video on Ellis Island. If you have never heard of BrainPOP Jr. you absolutely need to look into it.  We pay $1.99 a month to have unlimited access to their app.  BrainPOP Jr. has six different categories science, health, reading and writing, social studies, math art and technology.  Within each of these are subcategories with endless subjects full of short educational videos that appeal to children.  There are times I can explain the same topic to Jaxon over and over and he still just stares at me completely lost.  This is when I pull out BrainPOP Jr. and all of a sudden a lightbulb comes on in his head.  There are times when he is honestly just tired of hearing my voice and that is completely understandable.  For this reason I try to incorporate all forms of education in his curriculum including educational movies and videos.

The page below was the only time I assisted Jaxon in writing in his Junior Ranger Activity Book.  I knew that this would be a huge challenge for him to sit down and write his own manifest so I interviewed him as if he was entering a real legal inspection and wrote all his answers below.  It actually made for a fun change of dramatic play during our tour of Ellis Island.

We also took the children's audio tour while on Ellis Island.  My first suggestion is to bring the children their own headphones.  They do not come with headphones and the rooms are small and can get quite loud.  We actually went back to the audio tour counter and asked if they had any we could borrow due to the volume of noise in the rooms.  The audio tour was absolutely perfect for children, a mouse who lives on Ellis Island takes you on a journey to meet some of his friends and explore their journey to the new world.  

Another great feature of the audio tour is it is enjoyed at your own pace.  Each room the tour leads you to has a plaque on the wall and the children just follow the mouse footprint numbers when they are ready to begin.

Once we had completed our Junior Ranger Program and our audio tour I took Jaxon on a more personal tour of Ellis Island.  We wandered the American Immigrant Wall of Honor in search of my Great Grandfather's name.  My Great Grandfather had traveled to Ellis Island from Belgium to start a new life for his family in America.  I wanted Jaxon to understand that Ellis Island is a historical landmark for many reasons and it is personal to every person who has had an ancestor pass through.  For if it was not for our ancestor's coming to America to start a new life we would not be here today.

Jaxon came to Ellis Island with very little knowledge or understanding of the concept of immigration and coming to america.  For a young child to learn history is one goal during most National Monuments but, to understand a concept of how we all came together to become what is now the United States of America is a little more difficult.