Explore the U.S. Lifesaving Service
Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor compensated in any other way.
We reviewed a new e-book from Rebecca Locklear called Exploring the U.S. Life-Saving Service 1878-1915: 17 Student Workshops with 120 Activities. This was such a neat book and we learned a lot! I would love to have this in a hardback book!
First off, I read this aloud to my kids. They all found it interesting but my 9 year old son loved it! He especially enjoyed all the stories of peril and bravery. It was funny because after describing the life of a life saver he was ready to join up. He was deeply disappointed to learn they no longer were around.
These lifesaving men led an intensively hard physical life. We mainly focused on Life at the Station. They were only allowed 1/2-1 day a week liberty (in good weather) and one lady whose dad was a lifesaver said she saw her dad one day a week until she was 12 years old!
Their lives were heavily regimented and each day was spent in doing something that helped them become better at their jobs. It was hard physically and they were expected to he in top physical shape and had to pass fitness exams. Drills were practiced regularly. My son loved this part! He thought it would be AWESOME to have lifesaving as a job. I thought it sounded amazing AND dangerous lol.
How we used the Lifesaving Service book…
We had actually never heard of this group of mean before this book! But they saved thousands of lives in the years they patrolled the beaches.
One neat part we studied was the food they ate. They were responsible for purchasing their own food with their money so they were very frugal. Wild game was a HUGE part of their diets. We did this fun activity where we matched descriptions with the pictures of each animal.
Another fun thing we did was a skit called “The Bird We Didn’t Eat” by Rebecca Locklear. This was hilarious but brought out the stress the men were under and how they might relieve some of it.
There is just absolutely tons of information in this book! And you can do so much with it for your children’s homeschooling. There is history of course but science, culture study, survivor skills, music, art and more!
We are currently working on the survival skills section and songs! My kids love both. Some of the songs are “Buffalo Gals”, and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. There is a glossary of terms used at the end also.
Rebecca wrote this book in part because her great-grandfather was a lifesaver for 15 years! She has a blog where you can sign up for emails & her newsletter and get all kinds of great ideas for enhancing your teaching!
Don’t forget to check out what our other reviewers thought at the link below!
