Today I am talking about history. I am not an expert but just desire to share what works for us as we have gone through so much trial and error in this area. Isn't that what so much of raising children and home educating is about? Trial and error and finding what fits for your unique family. So at this point here is what is working for us in the history department.
We are currently taking a look at ancient Greece but I think this type of plan can be followed for any era in our study of history. We started out by borrowing Drive Through History Greece from a friend. This series is very informative, written with an integration of christian and secular history and entertaining. I hope to add these to our library this summer. Then the children completed our Europe Geopuzzle for a refresher on where Greece sits in the world.
After our video and puzzle introduction we began reading through A Child's History of the World and completing many of the supplementary funsheets and activities. Donna Young has a great suggested schedule for reading through a Child's History of the World. We also search you tube videos related to our course of study. We found a video on The Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the children drew notebook pages and copied or wrote their own narrations. They have also completed other notebook pages and writing assignments as they have arisen for example, the Trojan Horse.
We have also been working our way through the book Draw and Write Through History Greece and Rome. Both A and E(9 and 10) have been enjoying these books. A draws the pictures and then narrates to me everything he knows on the given topic and E either writes her own narrations or practices her cursive with the copywork provided in the book. For our family this series is wonderful and if we miss something this either fills in the gaps or summarizes our readings.
Another addition to our studies is the reading of Cobblestone/Cricket Magazines. On there website you can order back issues of their magazines, check it out, the topics are endless. This had been hubs favorite way to hear us studying history when he is around. The magazines have great pictures and stories. Many times I have ordered the issues that focus on what it was like to be a child in the time era we are studying.
One last note, we always include an afternoon read-aloud on the era we are studying. For Greece we are reading Theras and His Town and for Rome we will be reading Detectives in Togas. Also E daily reads a biography on a famous America and journals about her readings.
So there ya have it, our history method in a nutshell. I like to keep it simple and interesting bringing in different modes of media when possible. Let me know if your family does anything similar or if this has been helpful to you. Blessings!
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