Don't Know Much About History...

Resources that have influenced how we study history:

When I began homeschooling 20 some years ago, I was introduced to Konos. I will tell you that I found it overwhelming, but I am so thankful to have had that put in front of me- it jolted me out of the "school at home" mentality very quickly. After our first year of homeschooling, I used it as a resource to add books, movies, and activities in to our studies. "Back in the day", I did not have a computer with the many resources now available at my finger tips- and believe me, Konos has as many worthy resources listed as a google search will turn up!!

Beginning the second year of homeschooling with a newborn in my arms, I was looking for something that was a bit more couch friendly- as in do school while sitting on the couch. I found the perfect fit! Literature based studies from Beautiful Feet Books. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed these study guides.

We used the California History Study Guide for our first venture in to Beautiful Feet. We had such a nice time!! And this Ohio girl learned much that had been left out when I was learning history- to me CA did not appear on the scene until the Gold Rush. Oh! How I was mistaken/misled.

The next year we moved on to BF's Early American History Study. We used the grade 4-6 guide and the K-3 guide to accommodate the ages of my daughters.This curriculum also provided our first experience in notebooking- the guide includes putting together a history notebook.

*One slight disclaimer on both of these- as Catholic homeschoolers, we have supplemented both of these resources. Neither gives a very well-rounded Catholic perspective.

While I don't exclusively use either of these resources today, I often refer to them and use them as guides when choosing literature to go with our studies or looking for a hands-on activity.

Moving on to today: 

I have mentioned a few times that Nicole from Journey to Excellence inspired our studies this year. Just as I was writing this, Nicole posted a blog titled Giddy for History. This links all of her posts using America,The Story of Us videos as a base for their history study. Her links also contain great book suggestions and other learning ideas.

I also have a friend who shared her very detailed lesson plans with me- she has an amazing talent for spotting worthwhile resources.

Our "method": 

First I check my binder. I have the lessons plans from The History Channel's website for the Story of Us printed and hole punched in a binder. Behind each section, I have included Nicole's plans and my friend's plans. This gives me a jumping off point. I search my library for their books suggestions and video suggestions- then I check Netflix for any videos I was not able to find at the library.

Before we dive in to any study seriously, I break out a text book. I have used this approach for years, but this year I did not have a text on hand- a comment from a blogger friend (thank you, Tiffany!:)) prompted me to go looking and I was able to borrow a book from my sister. Thankfully she had a copy of From Sea to Shining Sea: The Story of America, a great resource, on hand.

I read this myself to make sure I am up to speed on the topic and share an occasional excerpt with my boys. 

Now we begin. 

My favorite way to begin any study is with picture books! Not all picture books are created equal- some are... well childish. But a good picture book will capture the interest of a child/person of any age. 

Recently, we began our study of the Revolutionary war with George Vs. George (Harrington Harmonies is having a give away of this book right now). 

We are working our way through the causes and events of the revolution using Liberty!: How the Revolutionary War Began that I shared not too long ago. (I love this book!!)

And then there is this book from my boys' favorite series. I am so thankful that my library carries so many of these. 

Somewhere in all of this reading we sit down and watch the video from the America: Story of Us  (blue ray on sale for $16.99 right now) that applies to that time period. This is obviously a new edition this year, but we have enjoyed videos as a part of our study since VHS was IT. Even years ago, I was able to find Reading Rainbow videos, Ken Burn's civil war movies, National Geographic documentaries and more at the local video store or library.  It is fun to make a real event of movie time and pop some popcorn... your kids will think you're great! :)

Historical Fiction is a must: 

I forgot to mention this when I first posted. I hate to make this even longer, but historical fiction can not be left out!! When we begin a study of a new time period, we also choose a read from the historical fiction section. I try to pace our reading so that the book lasts during our study, but I usually can't resist a plea for one more chapter. ;) There is no end to the lists of wonderful books out there. Bethlehem Books and and Beautiful Feet Books are two great resources. 

Usually at this point we do some hands-on projects: 

We have been sorely lacking in these this year. Some of our most memorable learning happens through doing. My girls built a wattle and daub wall with some friends that for years I would hear that the wall was still standing in their backyard- in spite of serious efforts to knock it down. While no such projects have happened this year, Mark checked out a book from the library that should get us going on some projects for our civil war study. His has got several projects post-it noted. 

The great thing is that projects can be very simple- just a food from the time period or measuring out the size of a civil war submarine in chalk on the driveway. Anything that makes history tangible. 

That can also be just playing: 

Mark reenacting the French and Indian War/Civil War with James- depending on when you asked them the war changed ;) . 

Documentation: 

This comes in different forms depending on the year. Some years we have done lapbooks- some notebooks. Some years if we just get through, it's good enough! 

This is a sample from one of my boy's K-3 history notebook. 

This year we have been using the Hands-On History Guides from Scholastic. This is Paul's completed notebook page that he filled out. 

For James (9yo), I typed up the answers to the above page. He put together the page and then glued the answers under the correct question. This serves as sort of a quiz and also a study guide after it is complete. 

For right now, documentation comes after we have read, watched movies, discussed, and just spent time with a subject. I don't give my boys the work and say "go to it". Generally, I sit down with my older two boys (14yo & 12yo) and we discuss the notebook page or project to be completed for their notebook. They brainstorm answers while I write them on our white board. When they are satisfied that we have all the information, they can choose what they want to include on their page. I am not interested in what they can produce, I am interested in whether or not they have an understanding of what we have studied. Their completed pages then become a study guide for them to review. 

*another disclaimer- because I know a few "in real life" friends read my blog, I have tried to not mention this as much. One of my boys has fairly serious learning difficulties. This dictates how we proceed with our learning. If that was not an issue, I might be more likely to make documentation a more independent process. 

Additional Resources: 

I love things that my boys don't even know are suppose to be educational. 

A main resource is our library's audio books section- cd's and downloadable books. 

Mark listened to this last night. 

And field trips!!- experiencing history first hand brings the subject to life. 

Panning for gold.

Not always my favorite resource, but much enjoyed by my boys- 

iPad apps- this is Civil War: 1863 and my boys love it! The thing I love about apps is that you usually get a pretty big bang for your buck. The $1.99 I spent on this has provided a lot of entertainment. I prefer the interaction of a board games... but I'll cave when need be. 

And finally... 

Sometimes, you just have to go with their motivation. My boys have been bugging me to dig deeper in to the Revolutionary War. Their fellow homeschooling cousins studied the Revolutionary War last year and Mark, in particular, was quite put out that we did not know all the cool things that his cousins did about the war. Now we are full tilt in to studying the Revolutionary War and... Mark has become obsessed with the Civil War!! What's a mom to do? I wanted to hold him off, but in the interest of feeding his interest, I thought it might be best to provide some material for him to dig in to... 

I was saving this- not any more. ;) 

And then he became interested in Robert E. Lee, so we checked out every book the library had on him and purchased this- 

And ordered this on Netflix- 

AND- this was suppose to be surprise for when we finished our Revolutionary War study and were starting our Civil War study- 

He found it and was so excited that I did not have the heart to tell him he had to wait to open it up. 

Shhhh! Don't tell Mark!! This is for when we actually do begin our Civil War "study"- 

I don't often purchase expensive games and toys to go with our studies. These just happened to come along at the right time on sale. I have also tried to build our "guy game" supply. To combat the perceived lack of video games around here  (the system that the boys' cousin handed down to them went bust), I want them to have games that they enjoy playing.

That turned out a bit longer than planned. Once I start rambling, ya never know where it's going to go... :)

FYI- 

I love this post at Harrington Harmonies on creating unit studies using "SPINE". It's brilliant and much more succinct than this post! :)  

Linking to: 

Total side note, but if you want a good case for board games: