Homeschool: Unit Six - Alexander Hamilton and early American History

My kids have been addicted to the Hamilton soundtrack since August.  We have literally listened to it EVERY single time we have been in the car for the past four months.  They know most of the words.  Even little Simon sings along with "I'm not throwing away my SHOT!" when he hears it come on.  Both kids have been asking questions about the meaning behind the different songs or what life looked like back then, so I decided to do a quick unit on the colonies and Hamilton to help them connect even more with the music they love.  

Look at those beautiful 5s that Olivia made!

We made silhouettes as an art project.  They were NOT easy and did not turn out that great. Win some, lose some.

We learned a song with the bells.  

The kids each chose a career from the colonial time period.  Nolan was a silversmith.  He talked about the different hammers he would use in order to get the different designs on his silver pieces.  

Olivia was a farmer.  She made a plow for her horse, wore a farmer's hat, and talked about growing her crops and taking care of her animals. 

We talked about the Boston Tea Party and unfair taxes.  We had our own tea party, though ours wasn't a protest.

We attempted to make johnny cakes and butter.  Neither turned out.  Oh well.

We made our own quills out of feathers.  We practiced writing with ink.  Since the ink was not washable, I held my breath the entire time.  Luckily there weren't any spills.  The kids liked it and had fun.

We also spent time analyzing Hamilton song lyrics and talking about different points of view.  Nolan and I discussed George vs George - King George vs George Washington - and how they both had valid feelings about the revolution.  We talked about the Loyalists and the Revolutionaries.  He had a hard time choosing which side he would belong to, because each side had valid arguments.  It was fun to expand on the music that they know so well and love and learn a little more about it.