George Washington's Breakfast.

Have I mentioned how much I love our history curriculum? I think history might be all of our favorite subject. We use Early American History published by Beautiful Feet Books. The curriculum itself isn't all that great, in my opinion. It is Christian based and while that is not BAD, it's just that in this case it seems to be a little contrived. BUT the books...the books are fantastic. My kids just love them all. They love the stories and are both really learning.


Today we read the book George Washington's Breakfast by Jean Fritz. It was just kind of a fun little book of fun facts about Washington to follow up on our main study of him and the Revolutionary War. The book is about a quizzical little boy named George who wants to know more about George Washington, specifically what he ate for breakfast. If he found out exactly what he ate, his grandmother promised to make it for him.
We find out at the end that George Washington's breakfast consisted of 3 hoecakes and 3 cups of tea every day. Kind of a humble breakfast for the father of our country, right?
Hoecakes are basically little cornmeal pancakes. The name "hoecake" comes from the original way they were prepared. Turns out they were actually fried on an actual garden hoe over a fire.
I decided we needed to make our own hoecakes to try them for ourselves.
I got out the box of Jiffy cornbread mix and followed the recipe directions for corn pancakes/waffles. I'm sure these are a little different than actual hoecakes, but it worked for our purpose.


Oh, and I didn't fry them over the fire on a hoe. The kids thought that would be really gross. I used a cast iron pan instead. :)


The verdict?


One thumb up, one thumb down. But Jake would say anything was "gross" even if he actually liked it. And Megan likes everything. I loved them! But I love corn bread.
Anyway, it was a fun little activity. I love being able to bring our lessons into our real life.