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Children can understand the civil rights movement

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Black History Month is a great time to explore the lives of people who have shaped our country's history. You can support what your children are learning about at school by gathering a few books at home about people who made their mark.

“I Am Rosa Parks” by Rosa Parks and Jim Haskins is the first-person account of a girl who refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. She sparked a bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., during the time of segregation. This book is easy to read and makes this famous person accessible to children. The illustrations by Wil Clay depict the courage and dignity of this woman who was instrumental in the civil rights movement.

Take your children on a public bus ride, which can be a very different experience from riding their own school bus. You can talk about what it would be like for your children if they had to give up their seat just because of the color of their skin.

Ruby Bridges was the young girl who made the national news being escorted past angry protesters into an all-white school in Louisiana by Federal Marshals in 1960. She has written a wonderful book for children called “Through My Eyes” containing photographs of her experiences and her own interpretation of the events unfolding before her. When she saw all the grown-ups around her as she was taken inside she thought she must be going to an important school like college. This book makes the civil rights movement personal and easier for a child to understand.

Ask your child to tell the story of his or her first day of school. Discuss how this was different for Ruby. This is a good time to talk about how to make new classmates feel welcome at school.

“Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” was written by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Bryan Collier. It is the story of the famous civil rights leader. The pictures are done in collage and give a mosaic feel to the different times of his life.

You can make a collage with your child of your family history. Take photos and newspaper clippings and photocopy them so you don't destroy the originals. Let your children cut the copies and make a collage. Let them present the collage at dinner and tell the story of their artwork.

“A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman” by David A. Adler is about the famous slave who helped other slaves escape through the Underground Railroad. The illustrations by Samuel Byrd are graceful and poetic.

You can make a quilt like the ones used to guide slaves to freedom. Cut squares of fabric scraps and teach your child how to sew a simple straight stitch. Draw pictures on the fabric of the places around your house to create a map and sew the pieces together. A good rule of thumb is to cut two pieces for every year your child is old. For young children, use a large embroidery needle and help them by holding the pieces of fabric while they sew.

Biographies give children a glimpse into other places, situations and lives. Giving our children a wider world to live in is what reading is all about.

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