Curriculum Review: Social Studies

Social Sciences can be hard to pin down. They include everything from history to geography to civics to cultural studies. 

Like science, in grade school I wanted a class that would be fun, and one which wouldn’t take a lot of time.  I also didn’t have any extra funds in the budget. So I came up with my own things.

Knuffle Bunny’s adventures was my first attempt and I must admit I am super proud of how it turned out. In first grade we studied one continent each month, checking out books from the library and using a children’s atlas. About once a week we would write a letter from Knuffle Bunny as if he was visiting that area. Merry would draw a picture of something we had read about to go with he simple message. Sometimes she picked a landmark, other times a cultural celebration or a common activity.

Second grade we continued to focus on geography and culture, this time with Knuffle Bunny traveling the USA. We would spend one day learning about a state and the next writing and drawing.

Third grade was another curriculum hobbled together by me.  We used the American Girls books to learn about US History. In addition to the story books, I had also picked up many of the extras throughout the years at second hand stores mostly. We had  cook books, craft books, and even paper dolls to go with the studies. And I found a website that offered free printables for American Girl lap books. (https://www.freehomeschooldeals.com/free-american-girl-lapbook-templates/).

Third grade was also the year we joined a co-op so Merry had to double up on history. It didn’t go well. The co-op used “Story of the World” which may have been fine except they were using book 4, which was made for older elementary. Instead of using the entire book, Merry and I only read the one lesson from each week that would be being discussed. And because I found the text uninspiring I sometimes just summarize.

Needless to say, I did not try “Story of the World” again. In fact for fourth grade I was back to trying my own thing.  That year Charry was studying Oregon History using a workbook by Georgina Slinger. So Merry studied with her sister and made lap books to go with the different units, i.e. one for explorers, one for plants, one for counties, etc.

Then in fifth grade I wanted a curriculum that I could use with both girls and I wanted to start putting greater focus on history. That was when I discovered Notgrass. The text books were easy to read aloud. There were workbooks designed for younger kids as well as older. It focused on geography and culture as well as dates and documents. It checked all the boxes. So they did American History together.

Because of the success with Notgrass, in sixth grade we continued with the curriculum, and with doing the subject as a group. That year we used the Civics course. An unexpected benefit was learning about different holidays, like Veteran’s Day and Mother’s Day. Finding out not only what they celebrated but how they became holidays.

Seventh grade Merry was once again on her own, but since Charry was using the Notgrass high school world history, we decided to use the middle school world history. As a teacher I enjoyed the books better when I was only using one level but it still worked well for Merry.

Eighth grade we went with local history again, using the same Oregon History workbook that her sister had used. Honestly I haven’t found a more complete Oregon History curriculum, or any other Oregon History curriculum for that matter. It won by default of existing.

Then came high school, this was where I really wanted to make sure her education was well rounded and covered more than just names and dates.

Last year, ninth grade, we opted for North Star Geography rather than history. The reasons were twofold. One, I feel that having a good knowledge of geography makes history easier to follow. Two, this allowed me to once again combine Charry and Merry. For Charry’s final year of homeschooling it was nice to have them studying some of the same subjects and be able to work together on projects. The primary reason for choosing North Star was the student project that went with it. Over the course of the year they each made their own atlas, with maps they had filled in themselves. 

This year we will be back to using Notgrass. Merry will be doing American History. The curriculum is designed to also be used for literature and Bible classes but we are limiting it to the history aspect.

So long story short, it turned out I prefer simple one year curriculums rather than the popular 3-4 year rotational options. I don’t like using formal text books with younger elementary. And I like curriculum with a broad age range, so one text book but two different workbooks appeals to me. Even though I never found a “perfect” fit for social studies, I have been very pleased with each of the various things we have tried, except for “Story of the World” which was just a bad fit for us.

American Girl History, Addy (1864) and Samantha (1904)

Last week when we finished our Samantha unit I realized I never blogged about Addy.  That was because Addy was a hard era to teach.  Trying to explain why people would have slaves is tough.  That  and limiting our studies to just slavery is an injustice to the people and culture in America during the civil war.

 Charry is an avid reader so getting her to read the books was no problem.

 For her file folder she wrote a "feelings poem."  It was a simple list of the emotions Addy felt most in each book.  We talk about whether being free made her able to feel differently and if she still felt bad/sad after being free.
She also made a comparison book of Addy as a slave and Addy free.  We talked about what was better (better food and being able to learn to read) and what was worse (not being with her entire family.)
We then made Quilt Squares to tell a story.  We picked a story from the Bible because the Bible was very important to both slave and free.

Photography was all black and white during Addy's time so Charry made a black and white chalk drawing to decorate the front.

 We also used the Addy paper dolls and craft book (the Jacob's ladder was one of the projects) to round out the unit.

Our Samantha Unit had a lot more to it.  1904 was a time of change, women wanting to make a difference, and many inventions.  It was a more positive time to study.

 I decided to have Charry do more writing, including her first typed report.  After she managed to get the title typed out I took over typing.  It was a learning experience for both of us, and one I don't plan on repeating this year.  Maybe next year after we work a bit more on organizing ideas.

We also worked on comparisons.  She drew out what visiting was like then vs. now.  This was extra humorous to me because at the time we were visiting Grandma's yet Charry had no idea how today was any different.  Once we pointed out a few differences she caught on and finished the project.

 She then colored the states, well at first she didn't color the ones that weren't states but colored everything else, including Canada and Mexico.

 The Samantha "Just for fun book" was a lot of fun.  She ran off with most of the activities before I had a chance to snap a picture.  And the papers dolls were used as a reward if she finished math early.

So two more done and only 4 more to go, we are half way done!  

American Girl History; Kirsten 1854

Kirsten was my favorite American Girl when I was growing up.  I loved looking through the catalog at her painted wooden furniture and even wore my hair in braids like hers.   So it is not a big surprise that Charry's Kirsten unit was a huge success!  The books aloud us to explore so many different aspects of immigration, prairie life and travel in 1854.

We started by talking about Sweden and how hard immigration was.  Charry decorated an envelope like a trunk and then had to "pack" what she would want to bring.  Then I reminded her the entire family had to share the trunk, she made more clothes.  Then I reminded her they had to bring everything, pots, silverware, blankets, etc.   She made dishes and blankets, and she was able to see the "trunk" get fuller and fuller.

We talked about the type of things that families found important enough to bring, traditions and keep sakes.  Then we used an idea from "The American Girls Club Handbook" and made our own painted wooden spoon.

Next we talked about language and communication.  Charry was able to copy a poem (that I found here) in Swedish and then in English.  She had fun making her letters "fancy."

We talked about ways to communicate with someone you couldn't talk to.  Charry made a picture book of one page picture reports on what happened in each book.

Her favorite part was using the stickers.

Next we talked about on of my favorite parts of the Kirsten books, Saint Lucia Day.  And I had Charry make a wreath for her doll's head.

Charry did a short report on bees and how they make honey.

and made "how news travels" flash card

But I think her favorite part was playing with my Kirsten paper dolls.  I did have to laugh when I saw the very first thing she did with them was sort the outfits by book.  This is especially funny to me because that is what I use to do also.

And so our Kirsten unit has come to an end.  It took us about three weeks to read the books and complete all the different activities, so do not attempt in one day (or even one week.)

So here is the finished project:

Front Cover: Kirsten and her log Cabin

Back Cover: MAp of the U.S. with Kirsten's journey marked in red

Middle: All Charry's hard work 

American Girl History, Josefina

The title of this post should be, "American Girl History, Fail."  Because I did a lousy job.  While Felicity was exciting and reminded me of growing up, reading in Grandma's attic.  Josefina was unfamiliar and hard to find simple lessons.  That and I kept calling her "Josephine."  Eventually Charry stopped correcting me.

We did manage to do a few lap-book activities.  Charry drew Josefina's portrait on the Ranch.  And we talked about the areas that are now America but use to be part of Mexico, Including New Mexico where Josefina lived.   And Charry made Spanish vocabulary cards.  A pretty pitiful lap-book.

 The other thing we learned from the Josefina books was how they made cloth.  Charry practiced some weaving of her own by making potholders.

In the end Charry read the books, we talked about each of them and she learned a few things about life in 1824.  I wasn't able to do as much as I had hoped but we have to move on.  Luckily 1854 and Kirsten is much more inspiring for me.

(oh and you might notice the lack of a new doll outfit, I miss placed my patterns I already have the fabric so as soon as the patterns turn up...)

American Girl History: Felicity

So this year I am doing something I have wanted to do since I was probably 7 when I read my first American Girl book.  We are studying history using the American Girl books. Back when I was a girl there were only three American Girls, Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly.  Now there are 12 plus at least half a dozen "American Girl of Todays"  As a homeschool mom of an avid reader the series is a dream come true.  Each of the historic characters has a set of six books which cover about two years of history.  And each books ends with a "Peak into the Past" which takes a deeper look at some of the history mentioned in the story.  It was a simple matter of picking which aspects of life during that time I wanted to focus on and googling for more information.    

 First she read the book:

Then she showed what she learned:

Her final project was wonderful.  I am very proud of her.  

 I use to scoff when I looked at templates for lap books and they were just fancy ways to fold paper.  Now that I've tried make a lap book I see the value of a bunch of fancy ways to fold paper.  A few of Charry's lessons turned our to just be written reports

 We ended the three week unit by making a colonial style dress for Charry's doll.

 By "we" I of course mean my mom, although I helped.

 Charry did some sewing on her own.  She made a pin cushion as a thank you to grandma.

All in all I consider this unit a success.  We had fun.  Charry learned who the patriots and loyalists were.  Her doll got a new outfit.  And I am excited to start studying Josefine and 1824 on Monday.