(Disclosure: I was given these products to review and compensated for my time. All opinions are my own. I was not required to write a favorable review.)
This year, we are working our way through American History. I’ve told you before how we use chain-link learning to make our lessons span the ages, and today I want to tell you about how Homeschool in the Woods has made our history-based chain-link learning hands on for all ages.
Homeschool in the Woods has a wonderful history series called Time Travelers. These activity-based history lessons offer fun and meaningful projects that follow United States history. Who doesn’t like the idea of traveling back in time to actually LIVE what you are learning? While it isn’t exactly time travel, the projects and activities make it come alive!
What I would like to do for you in this review is take one lesson we did from The American Revolution Time Travelers CD and show you how you can use Time Travelers in your homeschool to bring hands on learning to multiple ages.
Let’s just start at the beginning – Colonial Beginnings, that is!
Homeschool in the Woods Time Travelers Series
as a Stand-Alone History Curriculum
The Colonial Beginnings chapter starts with a short, 2 1/2 page lesson, covering the beginnings of colonization in the Americas. Supplements that go along with the lesson are copywork, the beginnings of a lapbook that the children will continue to work on throughout the series, a timeline (I really liked this timeline compared to many I have used in the past), and a hands-on project making a Jamestown replica.
The lessons in Time Travelers are twaddle-free. You can easily read through them without losing the kids in the process. While I would not recommend using this as a stand-alone curriculum for upper grades, I do believe it is sufficient for elementary ages. It would also make a nice review for older students needing a refresher course.
For teaching multiple ages and using the chain-link learning concept, have everyone sit in on the lesson part and then have Junior High and High School students dig deeper on their own using books and online resources. Your younger students can work through the penmanship/copywork lessons while your older children research and prepare and then present and work through the time line, lapbook, and hands on projects with their younger siblings. This offers a perfect example of how multi-level learning works!
Homeschool in the Woods Time Travelers Series
as a Supplemental History Curriculum
The Time Travelers series also works well as a supplement to any history program. I really love our history curriculum, but I have a difficult time incorporating the younger children. Homeschool in the Woods gave us great hands on projects that utilized chain-link learning to introduce lessons to my younger students and reinforce those same lessons with my older children. I matched up lessons from Time Travelers with lessons from the older children’s history and then let the older children prepare the Time Travelers lapbook pieces and hands on projects as a way to solidify what they were learning and give the younger children an introduction to this time period in an engaging way.
As we’ve worked our way through American history, we have taken a slow, solid pace where I work mainly with my older children and then take a few days a month to share coinciding hands on lessons from the Time Travelers series with my younger children. This has kept their history lessons living and fresh without being too tedious and arduous for them. We are looking forward to diving into the Early 19th Century Time Travelers lessons in the new year!
If you are looking to add a hands on aspect to your history in the coming year, definitely put Homeschool in the Woods on your list! And please, take a moment to peruse the website and their Pinterest page! You will be inspired!
I am pleased to be able to offer a giveaway of
Time Travelers: The American Revolution
See the giveaway below, or if reading via email, click here to enter!
a Rafflecopter giveaway