Recommended Website:
KewlCartoons.com: Liberty’s Kids
Age Range: 7-12 (Aspects may appeal to all ages.)
Note: I only reviewed the Liberty’s Kids cartoons at the site. Parents, as ALWAYS, should preview the site to determine if the content is suitable for their own children.
ClickSchooling subscriber Annette M. Hall suggested this website that provides 5 episodes of the historically based cartoon series “Liberty’s Kids” – free for viewing! When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu of cartoon shows on the right side of your screen. The menu contains a vertical scroll bar. Use it to scroll down the menu until you see the “Liberty Kids” icon. Click on it, and a menu of 5 shows appears. Click on any show and the cartoon will begin to play.
What do cartoons have to do with history? Plenty. The primary goal of the “Liberty’s Kids” animated television series was to provide 7-12 year olds with an engaging look at the years 1773-1789 in American history. Although the series ended, it has recently been resurrected via The History Channel. (More about that in a minute.) The original cartoon series has a companion website with learning extension ideas and activities for kids and educators. You can visit that site here: http://www.libertyskids.com/
That site also offers this description of the cartoon series:
“Through the eyes of two young apprentice reporters named Sarah and James, viewers of Liberty’s Kids will go on adventures in search of the real stories of the American Revolution. Sarah is a proper British girl right off the ship from England and James, a fifteen-year-old apprentice, sees things from a cocky colonist’s perspective. They meet famous historical figures such as George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. Although the setting is Colonial America, Liberty’s Kids’ characters find themselves in the middle of a revolution that confronts issues that still fill the newspapers today — gun control, downsizing government, lower taxes, freedom of the press, and race relations.”
Annette M. Hall, who recommended today’s website, is a fan of the show. She wrote, “My son is a visual learner and we have used previous episodes of Liberty’s Kids as a starting point to discuss the American Revolution, its causes and how life was lived during that period of our nation’s history.”
Annette is the owner of the homeschool website LocalHS.com. Recently, she was contacted by the creator/producer of The Liberty Kids show who explained that beginning Wednesday, February 27th, 2008, The History Channel will air episodes of Liberty’s Kids Monday – Friday 7:00 am to 7:30 am and Saturday 7:00 am to 8:00 am.
This is only a test marketing of the show. The History Channel needs to know that this is the kind of programming parents want for their children. Annette advises that you tune in and watch, then contact The History Channel and let them know how much you and your children enjoy the program. If the show does well, the producers are prepared to create more episodes highlighting other historical eras in American History such as the Civil War, pioneer days, and the Gold Rush.
Annette said,
“The History Channel is not advertising the show. It is supposed to air during the timeslot of ‘Modern Marvels’ but I’ve searched both online and on my Cable directory and nothing has been listed about Liberty’s Kids. When I asked the producer about it he said that The History Channel isn’t going to list it. I have set my cable to record during the time slot mentioned. As more information becomes available, I will post it on my website at: http://localhs.com/reviews/libertys_kids.asp.”
