Idaho Prospector Club

When I started hunting for resources to teach my own children about the state we now call home, I stumbled across a familiar name: Idaho Prospector Club.

My memory traveled to 4th grade. I could almost hear the whispers spreading our class conspiracy. If we asked questions, sometimes we could get Mr. Vaughn distracted telling stories instead of assigning homework.

I thought we tricked our teacher, but the joke is on me. My perception of school was homework and books. Now I realize it is much more. I was inspired in that class. Fuel was added to my already growing interest in history.

I remember how excited I was when our Idaho Prospector Club newsletters came. Sometimes they were printed on light green paper, sometimes yellow, and, if I remember correctly, even pink on occasion. A simple legal-sized paper folded in half pulled me into a story. It gave me a sense of belonging. I was in a club! I was learning about the land and people closest to me.

The roads I traveled with my family morphed into wagon trails in my mind. I imagined Lewis and Clark traversing the wilderness I sped across in my mother's Buick.

I don't see the big, round sticker that labeled me a 4th grade Idaho Prospector, but newsletters all the way back to 2003 can be downloaded and printed out. It isn't quite the same as getting something in the mail, but I suspect my children might enjoy being in this club as much as I did.

Written by Renae @ Life Nurturing Education