{"id":2094,"date":"2018-03-08T15:42:20","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T15:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thewanderingrumpus.com\/?p=2094"},"modified":"2021-03-05T15:31:53","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T15:31:53","slug":"5-ways-to-celebrate-womens-history-with-your-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewanderingrumpus.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/08\/5-ways-to-celebrate-womens-history-with-your-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Celebrate Women’s History with Your Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the mom of 3 young girls<\/span>, I try to provide my girls with experiences, role-models and support to both honor women from our past and also seek out women in their lives NOW who exemplify equality, leadership, creativity and empathy so that my girls will be among the women leading the future – both in big and small ways.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, I\u2019m sharing 5 ways to celebrate and learn about women\u2019s history (and women\u2019s present & future) with your daughters AND sons.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Since we live in Nashville, I\u2019m also sharing an easy and fun Nashville specific experience for each. I would love to hear how you participate in Women\u2019s History with your kids!<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Women\u2019s Suffrage\u00a0<\/b><\/h1>\n

New Zealand was the first country to allow <\/span>women to vote in 1893. <\/span>In <\/span>Sa<\/span>udi Arabia<\/span> women were first allowed to vote in December 2015 in the <\/span>mun<\/span>i<\/span>cipal elections<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The United States finally began allowing <\/span>women to vote in 1920, after the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.<\/span> U.S. woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change of the Constitution. <\/span><\/p>\n

I love talking to my girls about prominent women in the suffrage movement and the importance of voting, protesting and marching for things they believe in. I often take them along to local marches or to meet with legislators to initiate change and empower their voices. I take my girls with me at least once a year to our state legislature to talk to our representatives about issues important to us.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Nashville Experience:<\/b><\/h2>\n

Tennessee played an integral role in the women\u2019s suffrage movement in the U.S. – \u00a0In 1920, Tennessee was the final and deciding vote to pass the proposed 19th Amendment to the Constitution. This vote hinged on an 11th-hour change of heart by state legislator Harry Burn thanks to a powerful letter that his <\/span>mother<\/span><\/i> wrote to him encouraging him to vote yes! And so he did \u2014 thus allowing women in America the right to vote!<\/span><\/p>\n

Native Nashvillian, Anne Dallas Dudley, the founder and first president of the Nashville Suffrage league, rallied up thousands of women during that vote, and her efforts were not only instrumental on the local level but on the national level as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Visit the <\/span>Tennessee Women\u2019s Suffrage Monument<\/span><\/a> at Centennial Park featuring Anne Dallas Dudley and four other women who worked for women\u2019s equality. The piece, created by renowned Nashville sculptor <\/span>Alan LeQuire<\/span><\/a>, was commissioned by the Tennessee Woman Suffrage Monument organization to commemorate the importance of Tennessee\u2019s pivotal role in granting women the right to vote. Or try the Nashville Sites<\/a> Women’s Suffrage Tour<\/a> online or in-person!<\/span><\/p>\n

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2. Women in Science<\/b><\/h1>\n

According to Discovery Magazine<\/a>, \u201c<\/span>Three percent of tenured professors of physics in this country are women. Nonetheless, a woman physicist stopped light in her lab at Harvard. Another woman runs the linear accelerator at Stanford. A woman discovered the first evidence for dark matter. A woman found the top quark.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Research and share women in science with your kids. Find materials and activities around science topics that interest your kids – one of our favorite publications,\u00a0Bravery Magazine<\/a> has an issue about Astronaut Mae Jemison, find your local Girls Who Code<\/a> organization or look for STEM and STEAM programs at your schools and universities.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Nashville Experience:<\/b><\/p>\n

Thanks to Nashville\u2019s world-renowned universities, medical centers and research institutions, opportunities for women and girls in STEM are flourishing – and with local organizations like<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>T.W.I.S.T.E.R.<\/span><\/a> (Tennessee Women In Science, Technology, Engineering & Research) at The Adventure Science Center, there are tons of ways to get your kids involved in science and technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

In March each year, visit <\/span>Brain Blast<\/span><\/a> and join Vanderbilt scientists including Dr. Rebecca Ihrie and Dr. Laurie Cutting, among others, to learn tons of fun stuff about brains and talk to some of Nashville\u2019s best scientists. You can spend your morning touching a real brain, playing cool science games or building a neuron, among much more! (Edit: In 2021 Brain Blast is online)<\/span><\/p>\n

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3. Women in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement<\/b><\/h1>\n

From Rosa Parks and Josephine Baker to Soujourner Truth and Harriet Tubman, women have been profound leaders in the civil rights movement throughout history and today. \u00a0Learn about them, share their stories with your kids and how they have created change. Last year, my oldest daughter was struck by the Rosa Parks bus exhibit at the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis<\/a>. Check out the U.S. <\/span>Civil Rights Trail <\/span><\/a>\u00a0spanning 15 states or research some of these powerful women online.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Nashville Experience:<\/b><\/h2>\n

A leader in our nation\u2019s civil rights movement, Diane Nash was a prominent figure in Nashville\u2019s lunch counter sit-ins and other civil rights protests across the country. In 1960, three weeks after she asked then-mayor Ben West on the steps of City Hall if he felt it was wrong to discriminate against a person solely on their race, several of the city\u2019s lunch counters began serving African Americans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, you and your kids can visit the <\/span>Downtown Library Civil Rights Room<\/span><\/a> where you can learn about Nash and other women and men who were leaders in the Civil Rights Movement. You can sit at the symbolic lunch counter and read the Ten Rules of Conduct carried by the protesters during the sit-ins and examine the timeline of local and national events. Also, the Civil Rights Room overlooks the intersection of Church Street and Seventh Avenue North, where nonviolent protests against segregated lunch counters took place. You can also walk from the library to Woolworth on 5th<\/a> for lunch and continue your exploration of the Nashville sit-ins.<\/span><\/p>\n

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4. Women & Books<\/b><\/h1>\n

My middle daughter participated in a book club around the young readers edition of I am Malala<\/em><\/a>, my older daughter did the same with A Wrinkle In Time<\/a><\/em>. My youngest brought home She Persisted<\/a><\/em> from her school library and we read it together (her favorite is American Prima Ballerina Maria Tallchief). There are so many books available with strong female protagonists to share with your daughters AND sons – and many that highlight women change-makers around the world. A few of our favorites include: <\/span>Little People Big Stories<\/span><\/i> series by Various Authors, Strong is the New Pretty<\/em> by Kate T. Parker\u00a0<\/span>and Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls<\/em> by Elena Favilli and <\/span>Francesca Cavallo.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nashville Experience:<\/b><\/h2>\n

Head over to <\/span>Parnassus Books<\/span><\/a> – a women-owned Independent Bookstore – or simply visit your local library where you can read books about women\u2019s history, leaders and change makers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And, check out some incredible books for your kids written by local Nashville Women authors such as <\/span>Kristin Tubb<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Rebecca Green<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Ann Patchett<\/span><\/a> & <\/span>Ruta Septys<\/span><\/a>!<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Women in Local Business<\/b><\/h1>\n

I believe we should teach and model for our kids the benefits of supporting locally-owned and also women-owned businesses all around the world. Find out the women-owned businesses in your area and take your kids to support them. Teach them about the women who lead some of your favorite shops, restaurants and businesses – find out what these women are doing and how they are helping your local economy. Also, seek out women and locally-owned businesses when you travel with kids.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Nashville:<\/b><\/h2>\n

Here are a few of our favorite women-owned businesses here in Nashville that you could include in a day out with your kids whether you live in Nashville or are visiting Music City: <\/span><\/p>\n