As many of you may know, this year marks the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.  A local historic park is hosting a traveling exhibit about Lincoln, with many reproductions of personal effects.  It sounds pretty cool, and we are going this afternoon.

In preparation, we watched the PBS documentary by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.  called Looking for Lincoln .  It was SO good.  The reality of what I was taught in school and Lincoln the man are so different.  History in school has really glossed over some really unsavory beliefs that he held–but at the time, he was a middle of the road man–but NOT who he is portrayed as today.  If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.

I watched with my girls, and while there were a couple parts in which the word “prostitute” was used(passed over their heads), the content was very appropriate for my 6.5 year old and 10 year old.

Of course, being PBS, there are a lot of resources at the website for educators and interactive activities that you can do with your children.