Calling all homeschool historians, geographers, artists, and treasure hunters! Here’s something new to search for in your pockets this month: the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site “America the Beautiful” quarter, just out from the U.S. Mint.
If you’re looking for a fun and easy way to include some interesting geographical and historical facts in your homeschool schedule (as well as a little motivational treasure hunting), you can’t do better than to keep an eye on the “America the Beautiful” quarters series. This commemorative series began in 2010 and each year five new designs are issued featuring national parks and other historic sites in the U.S. states and territories.
The latest quarter commemorates the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Alabama, and it has just gone into circulation:
The Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Alabama commemorates the heroic actions and achievements of the famous Tuskegee Airmen. The term “Tuskegee Airmen” pertains to both men and women of diverse nationalities. They were composed of nearly 1,000 pilots and more than 15,000 support staff (including navigators, bombardiers, and mechanics). The site preserves five historic structures used during primary flight training in World War II. (U.S. Mint)
The Mint has a remarkably comprehensive set of free lesson plans available for the whole America the Beautiful series — you could make quite an American history course out of them. And the Mint also has a very nice simple album for this series — just the thing to get some educational treasure hunting under way. 🔍
What numismatical discoveries have you and your students been making in your homeschool this Orion Term? 😊
❡ Come, here’s the map: The America the Beautiful quarters are a great tool for teaching about geography. Locate each park and each historic site in your homeschool atlas, and spread out your whole collection on atlas plate 35, the map of the entire United States. 🗺
❡ Explore more: These quarters are great for teaching history, too. For an illustrated overview of the history of World War II, in which the Tuskegee Airmen fought, turn to pages 386–405 in your homeschool history encyclopedia. ⚔️
❡ Explore more: The Mint has a great introductory page on the history of United States circulating coinage that would be just the thing to use with your young homescholars. Why not study it with them, or ask them to read it and narrate the main points back to you to show what they’ve learned. 💰
❡ Make it a tradition: Why not pick up a roll of circulated quarters at your local grocery store or bank each week and invite your students to go through it around the kitchen table. A whole world of historical and geographical discovery awaits them. 💰
❡ Cabinets of wonder: This is one of our occasional posts on the educational value of collections and collecting for homeschoolers. Add your name to our free weekly mailing list and get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox all through the year. 🗞
