This summer Alex read the "Addy" series of the American Girls books....including the 5 or 6 additional mini books, and fell in love.
We then took a family vacation to Philadelphia (setting of the books) and Alex was so thrilled to be in the same location of her new favorite character. Given the book takes place right at the end of the Civil War, we weren't able to truly revisit the areas, but we were able to locate Society Hill which is Addy's home towards the end of the series. Unfortunately, all our summer pictures were lost, so I have nothing to share :(
Currently Alex is finishing up the Kaya series, and as a special surprise- we took her to a POW WOW this Saturday to really be a part of the Native American culture. Here in Virginia we have an array of tribes. We visited the Chickahominy. This is one of the early Virginian tribes that had contact with the English colonists in Jamestown. It was a wonderfully enriching experience.
This year Alex's teacher says their theme will be the "America's", so I'm really hoping to pull in all the American Girls books and make a full year of it. If anyone has any resources they'd like to share, please do email me. Oh, we also attend an American Girls book club once a month at the local bookstore. There are about 8-10 girls who attend and bring their dolls. Alex does not have a doll and is saving up a quarter of the cost to purchase Addy.
Here are some pics from the Pow Wow..... when I get a moment, I'll add a link for one of the dancing/drumming videos.
and here's my little one- who has been given the name "Bright Star"......an appropriate match, I think.