The idea for an American history road trip was sparked while we were traveling last summer through Utah and Colorado. We were learning physics, geology and history during our tours of dams and national parks. We noticed that the sights we were seeing on vacation were often field trips for local school children. Thinking about Shayna going into 5th grade which focuses on US history, I recalled my family’s 1976 Bicentennial trip of historical sites in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Williamsburg. I decided then that we had to go live American history. With our small taste of learning while on vacation I realized there are multiple teaching opportunities on the road. So, we are taking the first weeks of the school year to road school with an emphasis on American history.

Needless to say, how to organize a 12 week trip around the country with a focus on history is incredibly daunting. To give the trip some type of structure and direction I decided to design the trip in an historically chronological fashion. So we will be starting in the North with Native American history, then will make our way to the East Coast for Colonial history and then south for Civil War and Civil Rights.

The adventure officially starts Monday Aug. 14th. See you on the road!