Category: Curriculum

Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books – 2nd Time Through

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Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books – 2nd Time Through

We are pretty relaxed/eclectic homeschoolers, but one subject we’ve continued to approach in a more orderly manner over the years is history. We start at the beginning of time and then work through all of history to the present day. Rinse and repeat!

As I’ve stated many times in past posts our main approach to learning history has been through reading living books. This has been a very rewarding way to learn history and has helped me and my kids have a more full picture of history, rather than just learning and regurgitating important dates.

This year we have also added in The Mystery of History as our spine. It’s been a nice addition for us!

This past fall we started the whole history cycle again beginning with Ancient History. And we just recently finished going through Ancient Egypt for the 2nd time. (Here are the activities we did and books we read the first time we studied Ancient Egypt four years ago.)

History Timeline

For the past four years we’ve put all significant historical events on our history timeline (we did this using butcher paper and having the kids draw the events on the paper.)

Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books
Having fun with our giant timeline on butcher paper

Since we started the whole history cycle again this past fall, I decided we’d change it up, so instead of drawing historical events on butcher paper, I bought each of the kids their own timeline book. They are really enjoying the timeline books so far!

Big sister (9th grade!) is actually taking world history (using this curriculum) at a local co-op this year, so she doesn’t typically join in on our read-alouds, but she IS doing the timeline book with her younger brothers.

Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books
Three different interpretations of King Tut
List of Ancient Egypt Read Aloud Books (2nd Time Around)

Here are the books we did as read-alouds for Ancient Egypt this year. 

The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt

The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone

Unwrapping the Pharaohs: How Egyptian Archaeology Confirms the Biblical Timeline

Tirzah

To find even more books, check out our book list from the first time we studied Ancient Egypt.

And here are our booklists for Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece.

Happy reading and learning!

 

 

 

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Early American History Book List

Early American History Book List

For purposes of this blog post, we’ll say Early American History covers the landing of the Pilgrims (1620) through the early 1800s.

Some key events that took place during these years include: the Pilgrims coming over from England and colonies eventually getting established, the birth of a new country and the Revolutionary War (and the French Revolution), and the establishment of our new country’s government (constitution and government).

There are so many books that cover this time period. We use mostly living books. I’m only including books we read but there are so many to choose from! 

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Reference Books/Biographies

We purchased many of the following through Beautiful Feet Books, specifically their Early American History packs, and Amazon.

A Child’s First Book of American History  by Earl Schenck Miers and illustrated by James Daugherty. This is a nice big book with big print and cool illustrations that focuses solely on American History. Good for all ages.

A Child’s History of the World by Virgil M. Hillyer.  A great overview of history. 

Picture Books

(These are best suited for the younger elementary years, but I read them to my older kids too!)

BenjaminFranklin by Ingri and Edgar D’Aulaire

George Washington by Ingri and Edgar D’Aulaire

The Fourth of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh

Winter at Valley Forge by James Knight 

GEORGE VS. GEORGE: The American Revolution as Seen from Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer

Shh! We’re writing the Constitution by  Jean Fritz

A More Perfect Union by Betsy and Giulio Maestro

Dear Benjamin Banneker by Andrea Davis Pinkney

A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley by Kathryn Lasky

Books for Later Elementary and Middle School:

The World of William Penn by Genevieve Foster

Poor Richard by James Daugherty

George Washington’s World by Genevieve Foster

Why Not, Lafayette by Jean Fritz

Pilgrim Stories by Margaret Pumphrey

Remember the Ladies by Jeri Chase Ferris
 

Turning back the pages of time booklet by Kathy Keller (This is a great booklet to have on hand.  It has lists of booklists on early American History.)

Historical Fiction:

Amos Fortune Free Man by Elizabeth Yates

Fearless by Elvira Woodruff (Not pictured. Also not specifically American history but takes place in England in 1700 – and so it was neat to read a book taking place at the same time in a different part of the world.)

Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins Forbes

Toliver’s Secret by Esther Wood Brady

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Latham

The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz (not pictured)

Phoebe the Spy by Judith Berry Griffin (chapter book for younger kids)

Matchlock Gun by Walt Edmonds (chapter book for younger kids)

Other Resources to Study American History

Chalk Pastel

Drive Thru History

Check out my other history book lists!

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Greece

Ancient Rome

Middle Ages

Reformation and Renaissance

And…  How We Do History – Textbook Free!

 

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Comparing the Reformation and Renaissance

We studied the Reformation and the Renaissance at the same time. While working up a list of all the books we used to learn about these time periods, I realized it might be helpful to note the differences and similarities between the two periods.

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Two different movements happening at the same time

While these two time periods happened simultaneously, they are very different from one another. This is a point that many know. However, if you are studying this for the first time with your kids, it may not be as obvious to you. The Reformation was a religious revolution, and the Renaissance was a secular movement and had to do with the revolution of ideas. The book that I leaned on heavily as a resource to understand these differences, and I highly recommend, is “How Should We Then Live?” by Francis Schaeffer.

Both movements followed the Middle Ages

Both the Renaissance and the Reformation followed the Middle Ages, a darker time of not as much growth.  The printing press did not exist in the Middle Ages, and books were not readily available. Literacy rates were below 20%, with mostly the wealthy having access to education and books. During the Middle Ages, people did not have ready access to Bibles to teach themselves scripture, or to other books to learn new things. This was soon to change during the time periods of the Renaissance and the Reformation.

The Renaissance – a secular movement, “rebirth” of ideas

The Renaissance and Reformation were both leaving “tradition” but did so in different ways. Renaissance, which literally means “rebirth” was a secular movement focusing on new ideas, music, art, philosophy, etc.   The Renaissance introduced us to the idea of humanism, that is man is at the center of his universe. Obviously, humanism is directly at odds with the Bible. This is one way the Reformation was markedly different than the Renaissance.

The Reformation – Gettings back to the basics of the Bible

Ultimately the Reformation was about getting back to the basics of what the Bible said. When we think of the Reformation, we often think about the Roman Catholic church splitting into Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. For me personally, when I think of the Reformation I picture Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to that door.  It’s important to note the Reformation already had stirrings for quite some time before this. My favorite book from the book list we used was Morning Star of the Reformation. It is about John Wycliffe who lived from 1320-1384 (long before Martin Luther!)

The Printing Press – a common denominator for both movements

While these time periods were very different from one another, they did have some similarities. They were both leaving tradition and both were heavily impacted by the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press around 1440. Below is a list of books we used to learn more about these time periods.

Book List

How Should We Then Live?

A Child’s History of the World

Trumpeter of Krakow

Morning Star of the Reformation

The Golden Book of the Renaissance

Columbus

The World of Columbus and Sons

Shakespeare Stories

Little Pilgrim’s Progress 

Pilgrim’s Progress Movie  (free on Youtube)

Martin Luther

Luther Movie

Joan of Arc Movie

Check out my other history book lists!

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Greece

Ancient Rome

Middle Ages

And, how we do history, textbook free!

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Homeschool Curriculum Picks for 2021-2022

Our Homeschool Curriculum Picks for 2021-2022

This year we have an 8th grader, a 6th grader, and a 2nd grader. Below are our curriculum picks for the 2021-2022 year.

This year I used Plan Your Year: Homeschool Planning for Purpose and Peace by Pam Barnhill while planning and found it to be helpful in organizing and prioritizing our goals for the year. As the kids get older, there are more opportunities for things to get involved in, and the ideas in this book helped me form a framework that has allowed me to see more clearly what activities to say yes and no to. 

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Curriculum Picks for 2021-2022

Curriculum Picks 2021-2022

8th Grade:

Handwriting:

Getty Dubay Handwriting – Calligraphy

Writing:

I take more of an unschooling approach to writing with this kiddo. She does write often on her own, mainly fan fiction. She also writes for her creative writing class at our new co-op. As a natural writer, she loves to write and does best when she does so in a real-life setting that has a purpose.

Reading/Language Arts:

Last year, she finished all of the books in the Life of Fred Language Arts series.

We are doing a couple of different book clubs this year. This has been a great fit as she has been challenged to read books she wouldn’t normally read and also has the joy of getting to discuss them with others.

Math:

Life of Fred – Algebra: She’s still going strong with Life of Fred, and so we continue to use it.

Music:

Continued piano lessons

Choir and viola through a local music academy (this is new to us this year and has been a great addition to our schedule)

Visual and Performing Arts:

Participation in local theater productions..

This winter, she’ll be signing up for an online animation class.

6th Grade:

Handwriting:

Getty Dubay Handwriting

Writing:

We are continuing to use Writeshop which has been an amazing fit for this kiddo. It’s the perfect combination of fun and structure and we’ve really enjoyed using it. Writeshop includes grammar practice, presented in a colorful way. 🙂

We also do creative journal entries and have introduced some dictation this year (Dictation is when I read a few sentences from a book that he’s reading on his own and he has to copy what he hears into a journal.) Dictation is a gentle and natural way to practice spelling and punctuation/capitalization.

Reading/Language Arts:

Explode the Code – After many years, he just finished this series. 🙂

Book-wise, this kiddo usually has a good idea of what he wants to read. He spends a couple of hours a day reading, and these are some of his favorite series. 

Math:

Masterbooks math – This is our main math curriculum for this child.

Math-It – He does this once a week to stay on top of his math facts.

Making friends with numbers – We discovered this fun workbook this past summer and it’s been a great resource for extra practice with multiplication facts.

Music

Piano lessons 

Choir and recorder/drums/ukelele class through a local music academy.

2nd Grade:

Handwriting:

Getty Dubay

Writing:

Journal entries (very basic and as he wants to)

Reading/Language Arts:

Read aloud with me.

Independent Reading/Audiobooks 

Explode the Code

Math:

The Good and the Beautiful Math – I received this at a discounted price last year and he enjoys it so we’ve continued to use it!

Math-It: We use this for daily math facts practice

STEM:

Kiwi Crates  – Every month we get a kiwi crate in the mail and it is always a highlight for this kiddo. 

For Everyone:

**The following subjects we do together during our “morning time”. We generally do Bible and History every day, and then loop/rotate the other subjects. This helps me stay sane! 🙂

Bible:

Picture-Smart Bible – We are almost done with the new testament, and will be moving to the old soon.

History:

Living Books exploring U.S. History. We plot the major events on our timeline as we go.  Most of our books were purchased through Beautiful Feet Books – New Early American Intermediate Pack. We also got some from the middle and high school packs.

A Child’s History of the World by Virgil M. Hillyer and A Child’s First Book of American History by Earl Schenck Miers – Our history spines to read alongside the Living Books. 

**For a more comprehensive post on how we homeschool history check out this post: Homeschooling History Without a Text Book!

Science:

No Sweat Nature Study – It is mainly the younger two doing this.

Guest Hollow Anatomy – This has been a lot of fun so far. All three kids are enjoying it (I pick and choose from both the junior and high school curriculums.) We especially love the hands-on projects!

curriculum picks 2021-2022

Latin:

Getting Started With Latin by William E. Linney, though rather plain, has been a great fit for us. The pace at which the lessons move has worked really well. 

Art:

Living Art Lessons – The boys and I are working through this book. It is pretty much an open-and-go art program and we are really enjoying it.  We just finished up learning all about ‘lines’.

 

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Practical Ways to Stoke the Fire of Learning

Practical Ways to Stoke the Fire of Learning

And inspire your child to become a learner for life!

In her book “Teaching from Rest” Sarah Mackenzie references the quote, “Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.” She goes on to say “…but we must remember that a fire does indeed need to be lit, and then stoked, or else it will burn out.”

There indeed is a balance between pushing your child too much and not pushing enough, and keeping the fire stoked is part of that balancing act.

In this post, I lay out some practical ways you can stoke the fire.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Practical Ways to Stoke the Fire

Recognize the spark.

Before you can stoke the fire in your child’s learning, you have to first recognize what sparks their interest. For some children, their interests are much more obvious. If it’s not so obvious, ask yourself: What motivates them? What types of things do they get excited about? If they had loads of free time, how would they spend it? Consider the ways they are “smart”, as that likely could shine a light on what their interests may be. 

Provide resources and opportunities.

The easiest (and cheapest!) way to provide resources is using your local library.  Find books on the topics of their choosing.  Show them youtube videos relating to their interest. Are there classes (online or in-person) they can sign up for that will help them grow and learn more? Are there simple things you can buy (or find for free) that can cultivate their learning? 

Ex: Some kids love taking things apart… You could find old appliances/computers for them to do so.

Provide time.

Allow time in your schedule to give them space to explore, wonder and create. What does your day look like? Is it scheduled to the hilt? If so, consider paring back a little to give margin so they have more breathing room to explore and dive into their interests. More time also allows for more conversations that can cultivate a culture of curiosity and wonder. 

Help them set goals.

Goals give us something to shoot for.  It can move us out of a place of laziness/complacency to action.  Are there goals you can set with your child to help them grow? A goal could be as simple as completing a project related to their interest or taking a class to grow their skills. 

Expose them to a variety of subjects and topics.

I think this point is especially important for those kiddos whose interests aren’t as obvious.  By giving a buffet of learning, we can see what interests stick. During Covid, we started to hike more as a family.  My son, whose previous interest (for YEARS!) was weather, became very interested in maps, hiking, geography, and state parks as a result. 

Tie it into the other subjects when possible.

Now, this is obviously not always possible. But when you can, tie their interests into other subjects.  Are they interested in cooking? Then find out what foods they ate in different periods of history and what they eat in different parts of the world. Minecraft (or any building activity)? Have them create builds related to what they’re learning.  Drawing/art? They can draw pictures related to what they’re learning about history/other topics (Chalkpastel.com is great for this!)

You get the idea.

Give them opportunities to teach others what they know.

In his book, Passion-Driven Education, Connor Boyack refers to this teaching of others as the protégé effect. The protégé effect is an idea introduced by Roman philosopher Seneca.  Seneca said, “While we teach, we learn.”

This could be teaching to younger siblings, or family members, or friends. It could be formal or informal. The point is when you teach something you learn it on a different level. It propels you to a place where you really know and own the information.

Ask what they would like to learn about.

This is simple, but you could just ask your child what they would like to learn about.  Chances are you already know, but you may be surprised! 

Books I recommend related to this topic:

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Life of Fred Algebra (We still love Life of Fred!)

Our daughter just started Life of Fred Algebra,

and it’s probably her favorite subject.  This is a big deal since the math tears flowed freely when she was young. We are thankful that she continues to love Life of Fred Math. Algebra has been integrated into Life of Fred since the elementary books (introduced in bite-sized amounts and then building from that), which has made the transition to Algebra pretty seamless.

Life of Fred Algebra

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).
Before we began using Life of Fred,

I had the stance that we’d stick with “Fred” as long as it continued to work for us.  Since my last post on Life of Fred, she’s completed the Pre-Algebra series, which includes three books: Pre-Algebra Physics, Pre-Algebra Biology, and Pre-Algebra Economics.

Life of Fred Algebra She thoroughly enjoyed the combining of pre-algebra with other subjects (well maybe not physics as much, though it did stretch her brain a bit!)

I thought pre-algebra might be a time when we weaned off of Fred, but surprisingly she enjoys it even more now.  She hopes to go all the way to Calculus.  You go, girl!

However, I don’t suspect Life of Fred will be the math curriculum of choice for all three of our kids.

Our 10-year-old son prefers a more structured math curriculum, with repetitive problems laid out in a sequential manner. That is not how Life of Fred is designed. While he still enjoys reading the Life of Fred books for fun, he will likely use something else as he advances in math.  This year he is using MasterBooks math which is working out well.  Our youngest is only 6 so the verdict is still out on him!

My daughter grasps math concepts fairly quickly which is why I think Life of Fred still works well for her.  The quirkiness factor of it also continues to remain an attractive and novel quality.

We are even trying out the Life of Fred Language Arts

books this year which have ALSO been a hit!

Life of Fred Algebra

Fred has pretty much been a BIG WIN for us.

I highly suggest checking any of their books out if you’re needing something outside the box for your kiddo. If your child likes the concept of Life of Fred, but needs extra practice, they also have extra books with practice problems. 🙂


You can also find the books here.

 

 

 

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Middle Ages Book List

The Middle Ages span the years from (roughly) 500-1400 AD. It’s the millennium that bridges ancient history with modern history. 

The Middle Ages were characterized by everything from lack of literacy (only a small percentage of people could read or write) to the building of the most magnificent cathedrals and castles, to the writing of the Magna Carta (which initiated the idea that everyone needed to yield to the law, even the king.)

Here is a list of books we read to learn about the Middle Ages, and a few extra that we hope to read the next time around (we do history in cycles, so we will be circling back to the Middle Ages in a few years!)

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).
Reference Books

Middle Ages

The Magna Charta by James Daugherty- Written in a narrative style, this book is jam-packed with information about the Magna Carta,  a historic document that influenced government moving forward. My history lover enjoyed this one! However, t’s a bit of a dry read (for a non-history lover.) Good for ages 10+.

A Child’s History of the World by Hillyer.  A great overview of history.

How Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer – This is not specific to the Middle Ages, but includes one chapter devoted to the Middle Ages and I highly recommend reading this book alongside studying history with your kids to give you a better foundation of the history of Western Culture. If you want a broad picture of history from a Christian worldview, this is THE book to read.  It starts with Ancient Rome and moves on to the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation, and beyond.  Considering the times we are living in, I think this book is more relevant than ever. 

Time Traveler  Usborne (this is a family fave!)

Leif the Lucky by Ingri & Edgar D’aulaire – Leif, a Viking who lived in the 900’s , was a Norse explorer (his family was known for settling Greenland.) Exploring was more of a characteristic of the Renaissance but because his life fell during the time of the Middle Ages, I’ve placed this book here.  Great illustrations and good for younger kids.  

Castle and Cathedral – both by David Macaulay

Atlas of World History Also, Usborne!

Usborne Encyclopedia of World History

Look Inside a Castle (Usborne Look Inside) For younger children (not pictured)

Literature:

Middle Ages

Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli – A short novel about a boy who is sent away to become a knight, but he loses use of his legs and therefore dream is squashed. A story of bravery and character.

Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly – This takes place near the end of the middle ages in Poland.  It was a captivating historical fiction story of a famiy who has a great treasure and must keep it hidden for the safety of everyone. It gets into the wrong hands and things take a wild turn.  Gives a good depiction of the danger of living during this time.  

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park- My daughter read this on her own but enjoyed it.  Takes place in 12th century Korea. 

Crispin: Cross of Lead by Avi – Another book my daughter read on her own.

Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray- Newberry Honor Book. Set in 13th century England, this book follows the adventures of a young minstrel boy, Adam. This book stays true to 13th century England.

Beowulf by Michael Morpurgo- An easier take on the classic.  This was perfect for a first run-through of the story.  We highly enjoyed this read.  

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman (not in picture) – An easy read that will captivate your young learner. Highly fictitious, but fun and still gives a feel for what the middle ages were like.   

Books for Next Time Around

Middle Ages

Hawk and Dove Trilogy by Penelope Wilcock

Pendragon Trilogy by Stephen Lawhead- We tried the first book of this trilogy as an audio read-aloud, and while my husband and daughter enjoyed it, it was too intense for my 10-year-old, so I recommend it for older readers.    

The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson

Middle Ages Chalk Pastel Art

Middle Ages

My youngest, age 6, enjoyed doing medieval chalk pastel art as his primary way of learning about this time period (there may be one or two Renaissance time period pictures in there too!)  He is definitely a kiddo who learns through activity and this was a great way for him to learn about the Middle Ages in an age-appropriate way.  

Check out my other history book lists!

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Greece

Ancient Rome

 

 

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Homeschool curriculum picks 2020-2021

Our Homeschool Curriculum Picks for 2020-2021

We actually started on this school year in the beginning of August (with a two-week break in September as we explored Custer, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons)

Like I say every year, none of this is set in stone, but it is our plan for the year for now. 

We now have three readers in the house, which is super exciting.  And wow, does it make a difference!

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

Curriculum Picks for 2020-2021

curriculum picks 2020-2021

7th Grade:

Handwriting:

Getty Dubay Handwriting

Writing:

I’m kind of winging it for my daughter’s writing this year.  I’ve gone back and forth with the idea of unschooling writing for her, signing her up for a class, or doing a more rigorous curriculum.  The fact of the matter is she has high aptitude for writing and some of her best writing has come when she is not prompted.  With that being said, if I do feel we need to beef up her writing requirements, I will probably use Bravewriter Writing Projects.

Math:

Life of Fred – She’ll be finishing pre-algebra and moving into algebra this year.  Life of Fred continues to be an amazing fit for her.

Reading/LA:

Life of Fred Language Arts

Becuase Life of Fred Math has been such a great fit, we decided to try their lanugage arts books. They are technically for high schoolers but from the reviews I read, many said they used them successfully with their middle schoolers, so we thought we’d give them a try. So far so good! 

Independent reading – 1 book per month from a list I made for her on top of all the other reading she does (she’s a re-reader, so most often I’ll find her in a book she’s already read!) 

Other:

Spanish -using Duolingo 

GamED Academy 

Typing.com

Piano lessons

Sketching 

5th Grade:

Handwriting:

Getty Dubay Handwriting

Writing:

Journal Entries using writing prompts.

Writeshop – This writing curriculum is more structured than what we’re used to, but so far it has been a good fit for this particular kiddo. It’s gentle and not too intimidating, and covers many different genres.  And as a bonus – it includes a colorful “fold-n-go” grammar practice. 

Curriculum Picks 2020-2021
Fold-n-go grammar packet for lesson 2
Language Arts/Reading:

Explode the Code – He’ll be finishing book 8 this year.

Independent reading on own – we decide books together.  

Math:

Masterbooks math – We needed a change for math this year, and heard a lot about Masterbooks, and so far it’s a great fit!  This kid needed more structure and review than Life of Fred offers. 

Math-It – Math facts practice

Extra workbooks for practice such as this one.  

1st Grade:

Handwriting:

Getty Dubay

Writing:

Journal entries (very basic and as he wants to – I don’t push it!)

Reading:

Read aloud with me (separate from the older kids as his books skew younger)

Independent Reading/Audiobooks (this kid listens to a  LOT of audiobooks!) Now that this kiddo has started reading, there’s no stopping him!

Curriculum Picks 2020-2021
Reading while eating breakfast 🙂
Language Arts:

Explode the Code

Math:

Masterbooks

Math-It

Math Games

For Everyone:

Bible:

Rotating between:

A Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos

Picture-Smart Bible -An especially great choice for picture-smart kids!

Memorizing various passages of scripture (we’re working on 1 Corinthians 13 right now.)

Literature:

Lots of reading aloud! 

History:

Living Books exploring Renaissance to Early U.S. History. We will be plotting the major events on our timeline as we go.  

Curriculum Picks 2020-2021
Some timeline highlights from the Middle Ages

A Child’s History of the World by Virgil M. Hillyer – Our history spine to read alongside the Living Books.

Chalk Pastel classes that go along with our history cycle

Curriculum Picks 2020-2021
Viking Helmet lesson

**For a more comprehensive post on how we do history check out this post: Homeschooling History Without a Text Book!

Science

No Sweat Nature Study – This continues to be a favorite, especially for my younger two, and gives me a reprieve. 🙂

Weekly Science Co-op with friends

Language:

English from the Roots Up – I got a used copy of this book to save a few bucks!

Music:

S.Q.U.I.L.T. – I love how this curriculum is open and go.  And even though I have a music background it’s nice to have something that’s already prepared.

Other:

Kiwi Crates (we switch between Kiwi, Tinker, Atlas, Doodle and love them all!)

Curriculum Picks 2020-2021
Kiwi Crate on the Human Body

These our our curriculum picks for 2020-2021.  They are bound to be tweaked at least a bit, but this is the plan for now!

 

 

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How We do History – Textbook Free!

If asked as a child what my least favorite subject was, I might have said history. And if I had to describe how I felt about history as a child, I’m sure the words dry, boring, and pointless would have come to mind! (with the exception of the Holocaust which I have always been interested in)  

I actually got my only “C” ever in Western Civilizations in college. 

The material was just so “foreign” to me (seriously no pun intended!)  But truly, though I would PORE over my textbook for the class, the material just would not stick.  It was painful.  Can you relate?

Fast forward to now.  Would you believe history is one of my favorite things to learn about with my kids?  Probably because I’m right in there learning with them, for what feels like the first time!  If you’ve ever been in a Classical Conversations community, they refer to this as “redeeming your education.”

I personally find textbooks dry. Even the best of them. And the homeschool community has some wonderful ones to offer (I’ve not personally used these but have heard great things about them – Notgrass, History Revealed, and Mystery of History come to mind.)  Maybe I will use them someday, but for now, we are enjoying not using a curriculum (and we’re learning lots!)

Here’s how we do history – textbook free!  

History Textbook Free

This post contains affiliate links and purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you.) Thank you for your support.
We Love Living Books

Reading living books together, especially ones that deal with history has ignited a love for history in me. And there are just so many living books to read! If you need book ideas, two of my favorite books for finding living books are Honey For a Child’s Heart and Books Children Love.  

History Textbook FreeBeautiful Feet Books is also a fabulous place to purchase living books.  They have them categorized by grade level and time in history, and also author sets.  We have a few of their sets and LOVE them.  The D’aulaire set is especially a favorite as the illustrations are phenomenal.History Textbook Free

We also have Genevieve Foster’s Collection which is JAM-PACKED with historical facts (if you have an information lover!) History Textbook Free

Beautiful Feet Books also offer teacher guides, for parents who want that.

So far I have booklists of living books for history for Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome.  

We Use Interesting Spine Books

Our main “spine” book is a Child’s History of the World.  It’s written in an engaging way and helps fill in the gaps (that will inevitably be there) and makes sure we don’t miss any big events of history.  We also base our butcher paper timeline on dates from this book.

I love that all of history is on one giant timeline that the kids have created themselves. (If the idea of a giant roll of butcher paper scares you they make blank timeline books – this one is an example.) It really helps them to see how each event is just a snapshot in the big picture of time.  And that history DOES repeat itself.

History Textbook Free
My son retelling us about the Barbarians (in a dramatized voice!) invading Rome after drawing it on the timeline.

There’s something about drawing what you’re learning that really makes it stick in your brain!  And it’s especially wonderful for picture-smart kids!

We also use Usborne books for a spine.  Love Usborne! Our favorites are Time Traveler and The Encyclopedia of World History. History Textbook Free

Incorporating Technology

We’ve been incorporating more technology into our learning this year, especially with history.

Some of our favorite resources include:

History Textbook Free
My 5 year old’s chalk pastel drawing of the Colloseum.
  • Story of the World – I included this with technology since we only use it on audiobook.  We love Jim Weiss as a narrator and save this for the car! (hubby loves it too!)

I wish I could say we incorporate tons of amazing activities, but we don’t.  We HAVE done that at times(check out these awesome Hands-on Activities for Ancient Egypt), but usually, we stick to what I mentioned above.

Incorporate how your children learn when possible!

Since all children have different strengths/smarts, consider their strengths when deciding how to teach and present material.  A picture-smart child would enjoy drawing what they are learning.  A body-smart child might enjoy re-enacting a scene from history.  A music-smart child might connect to the material by listening to music from that time in history.  Etc. etc.  You get the idea!   

I would be remiss if I did not mention that my kiddos LOVE Horrible Histories.  They are a little more “edgy” and filled with tons of facts (that you may or may NOT want to know) but your kids will learn about history from reading them! That can not be disputed. 😉

So that is how we do textbook free history!  As you can see we are very eclectic in our approach.
What is your favorite history resource? 
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Why We Love Life of Fred Math

MATH. For some, it makes their heart go pitter-patter. For others, it can cause a near heart attack. Usually, you either love it or hate it.

Personally I have always loved it. Yup, math nerd here.  🙂

However, in our early years of homeschooling, there were lots of tears surrounding math. Mainly caused by the timed math tests that were part of our curriculum.

It appeared our daughter, and oldest child, did not share the same love for math that both my husband and I have.

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Then, when she was in 2nd grade we were introduced to Life of Fred. It was interesting, different, and felt more like reading a quirky novel with math sprinkled showered in.

Our daughter LOVED it. It was her glass slipper (it fit just right.)

Life of Fred Math

I learned that some parents used it as their sole homeschool math curriculum though most saw it as only supplemental.

Being the former teacher turned homeschool mom I was, we used Fred as a supplemental curriculum for a few years. There was no way something that enjoyable could be enough.

In fact, this is the first year we are using Fred as our sole math curriculum for our daughter. And for her, it is enough.

Our boys also use Life of Fred. For our 9-year-old we use it to supplement lots of math facts practice and Teaching Textbooks (another popular math curriculum among homeschoolers.)

And for our 5-year-old, well, I hadn’t planned on starting Life of Fred yet, but he begs for it. So what’s a mom to do?  A stark contrast from what we experienced when my daughter was in kindergarten.

For our daughter, it’s not always smooth sailing and sometimes we do get stuck. That’s when we find a YouTube video or practice some kind of problem. In fact, this just happened last week when she was learning about discrete variables. We watched a YouTube video together, talked about it, and then she was good to go.

Life of Fred Math
She finished the elementary and intermediate series and is moving on to Pre-Algebra!

So how does Life of Fred work?

The kids read a short chapter or have it read to them (usually just a few pages) and then answer some questions.  Since they are actual books and not workbooks, answers are written in a separate notebook.  So if using for than one child, you can use the same books!  Typically, one chapter is done a day.  Sometimes we skip a day, and sometimes a few chapters are done all at once.  And quite often I will just find a kid reading them for fun. 🙂

In summary, this what we LOVE about Life of Fred:
  • We replaced tears with laughs.
  • No drill and kill (though they do have practice books for kids who might need more practice) so great for kids who don’t need that
  • Fun and quirky storyline (these are books my kids will read under the covers at night!)
  • Integrates other subjects in with math
  • Kids enjoy it and see math as fun
  • Not a budget killer
  • Great for creative kids
Other things to consider:
  • Life of Fred is not for everyone.  Thankfully there are many math curriculums out there to choose from.
  • Some kids might be frustrated by its quirkiness and/or may prefer straight-up math problems.
  • You don’t need to be a homeschooler to enjoy these books.  I’ve recommended them to a few friends who have kids in brick and mortar schools, but their kids just love math, and they’re looking for something extra.
Where to find Life of Fred books:

We’ve bought them on Amazon and Rainbow Resource.  You may also be able to find on homeschool swap sites, or eBay.


 

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