Home School in the Woods Review

Hailey has been studying United States history this year and we have both had a lot of fun and learned so much.  With the presidential election coming up I knew I wanted to add some information about the election to our studies.  I was so excited when we were given the chance to review HISTORY Through the Ages Hands-on History Lap-Pak: U.S. Elections from Home School in the Woods.  We have used Home School in the Woods before and really enjoy their products, so I was super excited to get started!!

The U.S. Elections lap-pak will take you and your child through the election process.  You start out by learning the definition of election and move on to understanding the different kinds of government that there are.  Some of the other topics covered include:

• The Three Branches of Government
• Suffrage
• Caucuses and Primaries
• The Presidential Campaign
• Election Day
• The Electoral College
• Inauguration Day

as well as many other topics that pertain to the election.

There is a 24 page booklet that you print for your child that covers the lessons.  You will also receive the lessons on audio, so you can just listen to the lessons rather than read them.  Along with the booklet, there are 21 different lapbook projects to be completed.  These hands-on activities really help your child to remember what was learned in the lesson.  You will also receive very detailed written directions as well as pictures to show you how each activity is put together.  I really appreciate the visual of how to put each project together since I need to see it in order to understand what I am supposed to do.

The U.S. Elections lap-pak is for children in grades 3-8, but it could certainly be used with older children, as I have also learned a great deal from the projects we have created.  When you purchase the lap-pak you can choose between a downloadable version or a CD.  Either way, you will be printing all of the materials, so keep that in mind.

So, here is how we have been using HISTORY Through the Ages Hands-on History Lap-Pak: U.S. Elections:

I started out by printing all of the project directions for myself.  Then I printed the first several lessons as well as the booklet.  You will need a variety of colored and white paper as well as colored and white cardstock to print the lapbook projects on.  We are putting the lapbook together as we complete the activities, but you can also store all of your work, until you have finished it all, and then put the lapbook together at the end.

Each day that we do one of the lessons we read the section in the booklet about our topic for the day.  Hailey did some of the reading, but for a 4th grader I found I had to stop her often to explain what she was reading.  So, for us it works best for me to do the reading so I can pause and make sure she understands what we are talking about.  Then, for each lesson there is a lapbook project to complete.  Usually Hailey will work on coloring it or cutting things out while I read.

Here is a sampling of the some of the activities Hailey has worked on:

We learned about the American Experiment which explained how the U.S. government was formed.  It took ideas from the Greeks, Romans, and English, and used those ideas to create a new kind of government.

Hailey learned about the different people we vote for- the president, vice president, senators, and representatives.  This project has a wheel that turns and for each elected office the requirements for the person running are explained.

Hailey learned about the three branches of government- legislative, executive, and judicial.  She learned what each branch is responsible for.

Another lesson was about how the candidates are chosen and we learned how caucuses and primaries work.  It is really neat to be working on all of this and learning about how all of the election process works, while we are seeing things happen in real time with the election.

We have not finished the lapbook yet as we are only about half way through the projects.  Here are some pictures of what the lapbook looks like so far:

Cover

Inside

Inside with the 2 side flaps open

Inside, under one of the flaps.

Here are some pictures of what the finished lapbook will look like, just to give you an idea of all of the amazing projects that are included:

We have enjoyed working on this election lapbook so much!  I love the hands-on activities and feel that we just learn better that way.  It’s great to read the information, but when you then make a fun project to go along with what you are reading it is much easier to remember what you have learned.  One day when Rich came home from work he asked Hailey what she had learned about during school.  She got her election lapbook out and proudly showed him what she had done so far.  She was able to explain everything she had worked on, which is exactly what I want her to be able to do.

Hailey’s opinion of the U.S. Election lap-pak– “It was a lot of fun to make all the projects.  I liked being able to color and make things about what I was learning.”

I love, love, love the hands-on materials made by Home School in the Woods and I would highly recommend this U.S. Elections lap-pak as a great way to teach your children how the election process works.

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Early American History

Continuing along in our studies of American history we talked about the first English settlement in North America.

Hailey learned it was on Roanoke Island (in 1587), which is off of the coast of what is now North Carolina.  A group of colonists built forts and houses.  The Croatan were a friendly Native American tribe about 50 miles from where the colonists settled.  After they were there for about a month their leader, John White, left to go back to England for supplies.  He left everyone behind, including his family.

John White was not able to return until 1590.  When he got back all of the colonists and their houses were gone.  There was one clue, the word “Croatan” carved on a tree.  No one has ever figured out what happened to the colonists.

In this activity, Hailey made a mini-scroll book, from the Colonial America Easy Make and Learn Projects.  The first 3 pictures on her scroll depict what happened when the colonists arrived and when John White left.  The fourth and fifth pictures Hailey drew and wrote about what she thought could have happened to the colonists.  The last picture shows what happened when John White returned and found everything gone.

Jumping ahead, we also talked about how different it was for the pilgrims when they arrived here in America.

Using printables from The Pilgrims, the Mayflower and More Easy Make and Learn Projects, we learned that in the Old World (Holland) the pilgrims had houses to live in, shops to go to, roads, cities, and towns.

When the arrived in the New World (America) what they found was very different.  We talked about how hard it must have been, and if people would have made different choices had they known how hard it was going to be.

The hands on activities like these are what Hailey really enjoys doing!  I find that she remember the material better when she has created something to go along with what we are learning about.

Native American Study

As we work along in our study of US history, we spent a lot of time learning about the Native Americans.

We learned about some of the main tribes that were here in the US and where they were located.  Hailey made different representations of the tribes and placed them on the map where they lived.  Then we did a more in depth study of each of the different groups of Native Americans.

When we studied the Northwest Indians, Hailey made a Totem Pole.  Hunter decided he needed make one too, so he had fun joining us for this activity.  It was very interesting to learn how the totem poles told a story and showed the family’s lineage.  They were a way to document a family history.  (Totem Pole Printable)

When we studied the Southwest Indians, Hailey weaved a basket.  She decorated the basket after she finished weaving it, but apparently I didn’t take a picture of that.  We learned how they weaved the baskets so tightly that they could even carry water in them.

Hailey learned about how the Plains Indians hunted buffalo and then used every part of the buffalo for something, being sure not to waste anything.  She made a “buffalo skin” and then drew pictures on it of the different things they used the parts of buffalo for.

Next she learned about the Northeast and the Southeast Indians.  She made a wigwam and we learned about who lived in the wigwams.

The Indians who lived in the wigwams would build a frame and cover it with bark and hides.  When they moved, sometimes the wigwam would stay and sometimes they would roll up the covering and take it to the new location.

Another thing the Native Americans lived in was long houses, so Hailey made a representation of a long house.

She learned how several families lived together in the long house.

Hailey’s finished long house.  (From Northeast Indians Easy Make and Learn Projects)

We both learned a lot and had fun too!

Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue…

Hailey is studying US history this year and we are both absolutely loving it!  We are using Sonlight, and I have to say this is the first time I am not even considering switching curriculum.  I love the books we read together and we have both learned so much!  Since Sonlight does not offer a lot of hands on activities I do add those in, as Hailey loves doing those too.

Back when we were learning about some of the explorers who came to America, we studied Christopher Columbus.  In addition to reading books about him, Hailey worked on a map that showed the route Columbus took when he landed in America.

This is her completed map (from an activity book called Interactive 3-D Maps: American History).