Kortney Garrison

Homeschooling With Ease

  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Follow the Drinking Gourd

24 February 2015 by Kortney

Oh, about a month ago I picked up an early reader from the library called The Drinking Gourd.  I didn’t have any real plans for the book.  Just thought *our* early reader might pick it up, and we could do a little something for Black History Month.  Well, it sat on the shelf all month long…until the toddler found it this morning.

Follow the Drinking Gourd

We read the book, and Nicolas was just taken with the story.  He asked if there was a movie of the book.  The first thing we found was a sing along version of the song.  Then we found a Reading Rainbow segment featuring the Drinking Gourd book by Jeannette Winter…whose work we love (the illustration above comes from her book).  Then we found a longer version narrated by the Penguin Movie Guy–that’s what the littles call Morgan Freeman.

All these stories made Nicolas start thinking.  He said he was unsure he’d try to escape if he were a slave.  He doesn’t like the idea of breaking the law.  So we talked a little about unjust laws.  And I started telling him what I could remember of the powerful anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.  In the back of my mind, I was also thinking about the amazing Smithsonian article I read yesterday about the shameful history of segregation in Portland.

Nicolas asked if we could find the music for “Follow the Drinking Gourd.”  He wants to play it on his homemade banjo!

Share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: books and such, teaching our own

Comments

  1. Barbara says

    24 February 2015 at 9:38 pm

    Oh Nico, I love you and all your thoughts.

  2. Karen Edmisten says

    25 February 2015 at 4:18 am

    Love that book, and love the conversations you had!

Click to Subscribe

Archives

wonder

Our life in the Jungle

Categories

(with words) 50 days of Easter 100 Days of Soul Rest 300 before 40 adventures books and such celebration daily life GWS keeping advent learning all the time show your work teaching our own The Wonder Project thirty-one days this bright world what we eat

natural Building

Some links on this website are affiliate links. That simply means I will receive a referral commission if you choose to purchase something through the link. Thanks!

Kortney Garrison © 2021

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.