One of my favorite things about homeschooling is that we have all the time in the world to do fun things at the drop of a hat.
We’re all history buffs around here so I try and find creative ways to fit a history lesson into whatever other things we’re working on. I love to incorporate historical facts with Bible truths for fun devotionals for my kids.
Awhile back, we had a Titanic Tea Party. I made them an invitation and had them dress up in their fanciest costumes. They all came upstairs and sat around the tea table and I handed them each a character card.
I put a picture of an actual Titanic passenger on one side and a short biography on the other.
A.C. was the nurse and stewardess, Violet Jessop. L.C. got her all fixed up in her nurse’s apron and cap.
S.C. portrayed Mrs. Sylvia Caldwell, a missionary who claimed to have heard a crew member say, “God himself could not sink this ship”, upon boarding the Titanic.
E.C. was American businessman, Benjamin Guggenheim. We all agreed that Guggenheim acted most heroically by refusing to take a place on the ship that could be given to a woman. He went down bravely and in his best clothing.
M.C. was Captain Smith. While the Captain made some bad choices that might have led to the Titanic’s demise, he ultimately did the right thing by staying with his ship and taking responsibility for the disaster.
C.C. thought it was pretty awesome to be John Jacob Astor, the richest man in the world at the time—until he found out that Astor, like the other men at the table, did not survive the sinking.
L.C. had studied the Titanic’s history previously so she was familiar with her favorite character, the “unsinkable” Molly Brown and her bravery in trying to convince those on her lifeboat to go back and look for survivors. Isn’t her dress perfect for the occasion? We found it at a yard sale last summer—love it!
They took turns “introducing themselves” and then I gave a lesson linking up the prominent passengers’ actions or attitudes with Biblical truths. It was a lot of fun and I think it got them thinking about issues like pride, duty, and priorities.
We used this set of Abingdon china that my mom gave me. I believe it was put out in the 1960s.
We love to use it for L.C.’s birthday tea parties, as well as whenever we have special guests. I figured the Titanic passengers would enjoy a little “Grape Kool-Aid Tea” and banana bread.
It was a great party and a fun learning experience. See the pretty doily under the bread plate? E.C. made that for me—I love it!
*Views and opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of PHSA.
