I've dubbed this Magellan week at our house. It's actually been our week to talk about lots of explorers, including Columbus, but Ferdinand Magellan and his voyage around the world is the story that has grabbed the sweet girl's attention. We've read about it in Story of the World, traced his voyage (several times) on map and globe, read a picture book biography about him, done coloring pages, and yes, even listened to the Animaniacs' zany take on his journey by watching their "Ballad of Magellan" on YouTube.
This morning the sweet girl told me she'd actually dreamed about being on one of Magellan's ships. "It took us a long time to find India...I got bored," she told me.
And this evening, while we were cleaning up after dinner, she kept racing around declaring she was the lieutenant who made it all the way back to Spain on the very last ship. We proceeded to have this impromptu exchange, a Magellan-era interview (though I kept picturing it with microphones...)
Sweet Girl: I'm home! I'm home! I made it!
Me: Wow! You were gone a really long time!
S: Yes, it was a very long journey! We only have one ship left!
M: What happened to Magellan?
S: He died in the Philippines.
M: I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm glad you made it home safely though. Why did it take such a long time?
S: (pondering) Well...it's a really long trip.
M: Did you finally get to India?
S: Yes!
M: I guess the ocean was really big.
S: Yes, it's really, REALLY big. Here, I'll show it to you on the new globe I'm making!
(she then races to her room and returns with the globe)
S: See? (pointing to the Pacific) It's REALLY big.
M: Wow, much bigger than we thought it was! What did you call that ocean?
S: The Pacific, because it seemed so calm after we got through this river in South America!
M: The Pacific! What a nice name for an ocean.
2 comments:
Enjoying all your Magellan updates! :) Alas, I never quite shared Bilbo's passion for maps, but despite my lack of geographical skills, this seems like it would be a really fun topic of study! (I'm sure I studied it once but it's been a looong time...)
I'm actually discovering a newfound love for geography. I always lamented that I never learned it well in school ~ it just never seemed as *exciting* as I wished it would. S. seemed born with her daddy's innate sense of direction and love of maps though, and I've been determined to really teach geography in interesting ways (and tied to history is one of the best ways for me, history buff that I am!). The result is: she's loving it, and I'm learning a ton myself.
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