The 1930s is a fun era to study with your kids. It’s something many of our grandparents lived through and tell stories of.
Many things were set up societally for us during this time period. Side effects from laws enacted during that time period are still being felt now, so I want my kids to understand this time period or at least get an idea of what happened then. So, I set up a Depression Era Simulation for kids, and they went through it and had a blast.
First we read aobut what happened then, how so many people couldn’t afford to pay for their houses, they had borrowed too much money during the ‘20s when everything looked great, and now they were kicked out of their houses. So, they made houses out of whatever they could find, fabric scraps, newspapers, random wood scraps. It wasn’t known what they’d use.
After talking about the houses for what seemed like forever to me, the kids were fascinated by it. We made our own report on what it would be like living in our very own Hoover house. Doesn’t mine look great? I forgot to say originally, I based it vaguely off the President’s Day craft idea I found.
I still need to work on the kids understanding right to left progression on their writing, but they are getting better at expressing themselves.
This was the part that really cracked me up. The size of their forks to their bodies is hilarious. I think the fork is almost the same size as them.
Come back tomorrow for part 2 of our Depression simulation and then check out Depression Era movies.
I’m gonna link up over at All Things Beautiful.
They are PITCH forks don’t ya know :). I am always fascinated by the stories my husband’s grandmother tells, and the stories my great-grandma used to tell. Neither lost their homes, but they all had a very hard time simply because there was no money to make. Neat lesson!
Of course, why didn’t I see that?
I LOVE being right behind you in history. You come up with all the great ideas and I can just use them right away. LOL
I liked it much better when I was right behind you on these things. How am I supposed to steal ideas from you?
I think this is a good reminder that, as bad as the economy is right now, it can still get worse!
That’s for sure!
It always fascinates me to think that US went through such a difficult time without society completely falling apart.
It does me too. They went through so much, and everyone for the most part pulled together.
About how long does it take to play the dice game?
It will depend on the personality of the kids and the number of kids. With my three kids in a homeschool situation, it took between 10-20 minutes. I think in a classroom with around 20 kids it would take longer as you have to wait to have room to take your turn.