Sailing the seas

For two weeks we have been learning the dates & routes of various 'early explorers' - from Leif Ericsson 'the Viking' to Henry Hudson from England.  In between were Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Ponce de Leon, Hernando de Soto, Ferdinand Magellan, Pedro Menendez, Vasco Balboa, Sir Walter Raleigh and John Smith.
We read a couple of fun chapter books:

• Pedro's Journal by Pam Conrad.  It was about a young boy hired on as Christopher Columbus' ship boy and the journey from August 3, 1492 - February 14, 1493.
• Who Was Ferdinand Magellan? by Sydelle Kramer.  This goes through the struggles of being given the opportunity to pursue his God-given dreams to find a route around the world.

During this time we created ships and sailed them across the Atlantic Ocean.  It was also fun to tell the kids I had been to St. Augustine, Florida where the very first settlement was built.