Colonial America

Putting together our colonial america book for the week.

Stencil art time

Cats and stars

Animals hearts and his name

Rope Bed

For History today the kids learned about Rope Beds from Colonial Times.

Here's Eric hammering holes.

John is lacing his rope through his bed frame.

Eric lacing his rope through his bed frame.

John sewing his mattress.



Eric all done.

John all done.

They even learned where the phrase "Sleep Tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite" came from.

Colonial America History pockets

We started out Colonial America history pockets this week. It was an interesting experience to put the first pocket and cover together. I had no idea it would take 2 pieces of construction paper for each. I didn't know they were so big. When I saw the dimensions I was lost for a bit. LOL. But I finally figured it out and the kids to working on it. Now I'm worried about the durability of the pocket and such. Its only made of construction paper. I hope it survives my boys. LOL

Mayflower wrap up

For a Wrap up the Mayflower unit study this week the kids pu together a lap book. It was our first one.

Lots of pictures the ship it self as well as one of Pilgrims and some written in facts and hand drawn art.

They really enjoyed it.

May Flower Books

Yesturday the boys made a Mayflower book. (This came from the History Pockets on Colonial America) They colored a big picture of the Mayflower.

The book consisted of a cover made of construction paper, then an information page with Mayflower facts, then a journal page where they wrote about a day on the Mayflower, then the big ship.

This was really cute.

History

We started out using Story of the World for our History. But that has since changed. My boys have hated Story of the World from the begining. I have tried. We used the stories and activity book, but they dreaded History everytime. I even tried the stories on CD. Still didn't work. So, we are now using Homeschool in the Woods history program. It is a very affordable, hands-on and fun History program. Its full of info as well as tons of activities. And it all ends with a lap book. How awesome is that?
We will also start using History pockets for some more fun History projects. And thanks to a wonderful homeschooling mom, Confessions of a Homeschooler, I am hoping to start using her Expedition Earth Goegraphy curriculum real soon.

Note booking

Since we are all an artsy type family and love hands on stuff we have started note booking some of our activities and such. In History we notebook our maps, people, etc. For those of you who don’t know what note booking is, it is a lot like scrapbooking, just for kids. It is a great way for them to express themselves through art and a wonderful way to display what they have done.

Our Lessons

We are trudging along with our lessons. Even through the summer. Our medieval times unit is coming along slowly. I had to make changes to it already. We haven’t even assembled anything in our lapbook and I’m already making changes. Lol. We started reading Adam of the Road together but we all found it extremely boring, despite the activities that went along with it. So, we put that aside for A door in the wall. Which is working well for my oldest. My youngest will start reading A tale of castles & battles soon as the book arrives from paperbackswap. It’s an I can read level book so it’s perfect for him. He will also read Knights of the Round Table for Literature. My oldest will also be reading an Eye witness book Arms & Armor and Swords: An artist’s devotion starting next week. I have also ordered a couple medieval coloring books for the boys that I think they will really enjoy! For Science I have ordered George's Secret Key to the Universe from Amazon for my oldest. My youngest will be reading The planets in our solar system for his Astronomy and Dolphins for his Oceans unit. For Language Arts my oldest will be continuing with A door in the wall and my youngest will start his new language lessons, next week hopefully. He will be doing Learning Language Arts through Literature, The Red book since he’s a bit behind on his language skills.
I have to figure out when I can work in a William Shakespeare unit study sometime before February. In case I haven’t mentioned this before, our “school” year is from February to February. We do it this way because we usually get our income taxes back in February and that’s when we purchase any items we need for the year. We can’t really purchase much during the year. I know its different but it’s what works for us.

History Channel

The History Channel is offering free DVD's to schools and homeschools. The DVD they are giving away is a copy of their series, America: The History of US. The offer is only good through July 1st! http://classroom.history.com/america-dvd/event/form
Theres also links after you finish filling out the form where you can sign up to receive newsletters, show information and updates.

Story of the World

We are currently using Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise, volume 2: The Middle Ages. This is our first actual “curriculum” to use for History. Before I started using it I just picked a topic they we’re interested in and created a unit study about it. It worked for the most part, but its good to have a guideline to work it now. My closest friend was using it with her kids. Mine find the actual reading extremely boring. We are hoping to try the CD’s soon. But the activity book provides a good spine, occasionally some good activities and some good reading suggestions. My boys and I do enjoy the map work though. I also use some other resources to make up for their History. Thematic units, History Pockets, internet and just about any books or info I can find and of course whatever my husband and I come up with. It seems to be working so far.
We are also hoping to start using Horrible Histories and Pagan Crusades with our History lessons.