We use Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World series for History. The 4 volumes of the series are supposed to be covered in 4 years, but we'll probably do it in 6. It's hard not to get stuck in some time periods. We are getting close to the end, though.
Tonight I decided to read ahead a bit to our next chapter: the Russian Revolution. Somehow this sounds strangely relevant:
Lenin tried to tackle the problems of Russian poverty in a new way. To make sure that the rich people of Russian didn't own all the land while the poor people had none, the Communist Party decided that all of the land in the whole country would belong to the government! The government would allow people to use the land equally. Instead of individual Russians building business, making money, and perhaps forcing other Russians to work for little pay, the government would own and run most of the business - not just the electric and water company, but hospitals, school, grocery stores, bookstores, and even hot dog stands. [Hot dog stands in Petrograd? - ed]
This new way of living, "communism," was supposed to make sure that the government, instead of a small group of powerful people, had control over Russia. But who was in the government? That's right - a small group of powerful people, Lenin and his followers!
And look at how well that worked out for the Russian people! This will make for some great discussions, though I probably shouldn't scare my kids by comparing Lenin with Obama, Pelosi and Reid.
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