Just about anyone with a little girl has heard of the American Girl dolls that have been popular the past 20+ years.My own daughter received her first American Girl, "Bitty Baby," when she was six years old. That was followed by Felicity (1774), a spunky girl of Colonial days in Williamsburg, Virginia ... and then Samantha (1904), described as "a generous and loyal orphan growing up in Victorian times." Accompanying these was an on-going birthday subscription to the American Girl magazine.
My passion, besides politics, is American history ... and what I liked about the American Girl dolls was the fact they were historically correct as far as clothing, furnishings, and the accompanying books that taught the history of that particular doll's time period ... in an entertaining way, of course.
My daughter and her friends loved them and would get together with their dolls. One of the dolls would travel with us ... and Felicity even made a trip to Williamsburg when we spent a family vacation there ... a hands-on field trip vacation enjoyed by all. Felicity, in her period dress, fit right in.
An article out today, American Girl Values, in the American Conservative Union Foundation newsletter, called attention to these toys that often teach more American history than today's public schools:
Yet there is much to like in the American Girl phenomenon. At a time when U.S. public schools have ceased teaching real U.S. history, substituting instead blatant indoctrination in ethnic and sexual victim thinking, the American Girl dolls teach girls what it really was like in America in the past. The dolls represent a variety of ethnic heritages, and each is from a different, important period of American history.SWAC Niece spent the 4th of July weekend in Staunton with her American Girl doll, Kit ... and that brings up the new movie that has hit theaters, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, a story that "tells the life of Kit who is growing up during the Great Depression and is plunged into poverty when her father loses his job."
What? Teaching the Great Depression through play? That's what the American Girl dolls are all about.
We will be heading to the theater to see the "Kit movie" just as we all watched the previous movies: Samantha: An American Girl Holiday (2003); Felicity: An American Girl Adventure (2005); and Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front (2006).
My little girl is all grown up now but her American Girl dolls are carefully tucked away, along with their high-quality accessories, to someday pass along to her daughter. We still enjoy the movies, and we enjoy contributing at Christmas and birthdays to SWAC Niece's accessories for her dolls. And I am still on the email list to receive updates on new dolls, movies, and other happenings.
Much as the Little House books taught history in an entertaining way, so it is with American Girl.
2 comments:
When I was growing up, I loved the American Girl series. I had Samantha, and I had all of the books in the series (Felicity, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha and Molly).
American history should not be shied away from in public education, in fact, it should be embraced. We should not be afraid to teach our children about the pride of those who strived hard for our country.
I totally agree that we should not shy away from American history. In fact, I believe students should know the background information about their own country before being taught world history.
American Girl dolls are an entertaining way for children to learn.
Samantha is a favorite at our house, too. Thanks for sharing.
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