Happy COLUMBUS DAY!

I hope you all are enjoying your day off today!
Let's take a moment to remember Christopher Columbus....

Check out this BrainPOP video about Columbus!
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/famoushistoricalfigures/christophercolumbus/

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue!


Here's another video about him (made by National Geographic for kids)
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/history-kids/christopher-columbus-kids/

Many Europeans believed that the world was flat when Columbus was alive.  Columbus's goal to reach India in his travels (that is why he called the Native Americans "Indians").  But he landed in the Americas instead.  Everyone makes mistakes, and some mistakes can often lead to good and unexpected things!

To learn more about his life check out this site:
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/c/columbus.shtml

There are also many cities in the United States named after Christopher Columbus.  How many can you name?

More about Columbus (with activities)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/famouspeople/christopher_columbus/
and a game about Columbus called "Walk the Plank"
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/games/walk/walk_columbus.html

Columbus's biggest ship, the Santa Maria, was less than 23m long!