For years I confused Daniel Boone and Davey Crockett. I’m not really sure why, but in my mind, they were both similar, they were both from Tennessee or Kentucky and I could never remember which one was from which. They both were frontieresy (yes, spell check that is a word) and of course, lived at the same time period. Then I watched a video from Colonial Williamsburg on Daniel Boone and learned just how wrong I was. When we studied Kentucky for our geography lessons, I, of course, had to pull in a mini-history lesson with Daniel Boone.
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Inspiration for our Daniel Boone lesson
I found this fabulous book, A Picture Book of Daniel Boone by David Adler (one of my favorite picture book history authors). As I was preparing a lesson all about exploration and some kind of vague frontier activity, I got an email from Colonial Williamsburg with their “Primary Source of the Month,” Daniel Boone’s surveying equipment. I knew what our Daniel Boone lesson was going to be.
A model of Daniel Boone’s surveying equipment as done by Batman. The string is used to measure a distance, the compass is used to ensure you are heading in just one direction.
Supplies for our Daniel Boone craft
foam board or cardboard, yarn, brad (I used some like this for our craft, so I didn’t have to also make an arrow), paper/cardstock, markers
Putting together your Daniel Boone craft
Prep work (this saved time for me since we were doing this in a co-op setting with young kids, if you have older kids, or are doing this at home, you can let them do this part): cut two pieces of foam approximately 4 inches by 6 inches, and a piece of string about 2 feet long, from the cardstock, cut a circle and an arrow shape
Step 1: Put a large amount of glue on the top of the first piece of foam board (I have lots and lots from the boys’ birthday party last year). Place the second piece of foam board on top. This makes it nice and thick like Daniel Boone’s actual tool.
Step 2: Take the piece of cardstock and write the compass points on it.
Step 3: Punch a hole in the middle of the circle and put the arrow on it using the brad.
Bonus points if you have time to color the rest of the case or paint it.
Subtract points if the boys automatically start demonstrating how you can swing it above your head like a weapon.
Not that anyone I know would do that……….. Not at all………..
I’m gonna link this over at All Things Beautiful and A Mommy’s Adventures
More Early American History
Great! I don't know anyone who would do anything like that either! Ha!
Did they go surveying afterwards? 🙂
If by surveying you mean did they smack each other on the head with their new equipment, than yes they did.
lol at your comment, Ticia! Maybe I'll let my kids try this in a couple years =)
I wonder if you ended up with a negative number in the end of this activity, but it does look good!
Oh, very neat. What a cool craft!