Hands-On History For My Struggling Learner (with Project Passport)
Teaching my youngest son history has been a struggle lately.
He loves the stories.
He loves to hear about real-life in ancient times.
He adores the gritty details of battles.
He dreams of going back in time and being able to live like the ancients.
But lately, just hearing the stories hasn’t been enough to keep him on track.
He is struggling to retain the information.
He is getting frustrated with timelines that are challenging to read, and the names of civilizations that are easy to mix up.
What was once one of his favorite subjects has become something he avoids and refuses to learn.
Please know, I was compensated for my time and received curriculum samples for this review. As always, I only share products that I have found to work well for my family, in the hopes that they will work for yours as well.
I love history. His older brother loves history.
It is woven into almost everything we do, from art to science.
I really wanted to find a way to help him feel more engaged in his history lessons.
I knew I needed a curriculum that would incorporate hands-on activities and did the work for me (momma has only so much brain power left these days!). Beyond that, I didn’t really know where to start.
Then I discovered Home School In The Woods.
Hands-On History
Home School In The Woods is a history curriculum grounded in the “when” and “where” that timelines and maps provide (something my son needs to really understand the progression of history), but it doesn’t stop there. In fact, this is only a small part of this program.
What makes Home School In The Woods so special, is its primary focus on living the history through hands-on activities, 3-dimensional projects, drama, cooking, and living books (even audio books!).
As he progresses through the learning, my child is a traveler on a journey through a time period. Complete with a passport, travel itinerary and “stops” along the way, the program introduces historic events and ancient daily life seamlessly.
Home School In The Woods includes an entire World History Project Passport product line including:
- Ancient Egypt
- Ancient Greece (NEW)
- Ancient Rome (Coming 2018)
- The Middle Ages
- Renaissance and Reformation
History and The Struggling Learner
Because I was so impressed with the out-of-the-box approach, I decided to give the Ancient Greece Passport a try with my little guy.
He loves it. I love it.
Here’s why:
Culture Based Activities
My son and I both loved how the learning centers around the actual culture of Ancient Greece. Far from the standard approach of dates and political changes, the Home School In The Woods Passport includes “stops” for education in Ancient Greece, employment, medicine, and disease.
My son learned about the clothing of the time period, ancient farming, Greek medicine, and fables.
Additional Resources
One of my favorite parts of the program is the included list of additional resources. If I felt like my son needed a bit more time or a different approach in order to understand a particular concept, or if he was really enjoying a topic and wanted to stick with it for a while, I could simply refer to the list and choose another option. The additional resources include:
Non-Fiction Books
Literature and Biographies
Audio Books! (perfect for my dyslexic son)
Videos/DVD and YouTube
Music
I found this list to be invaluable. So often, as a mom of a struggling learner, I find myself having to take a curriculum and manipulate it to suit his needs. A huge part of my time is spent trying to find audio book and video options – something that was already taken care of for me by Home School In The Woods.
Hands-On Learning Is Much More Fun
By far, this is what makes Home School In The Woods such a valuable resource. In learning about Ancient Greece, my son made his own travel guide. This travel guide included recommended stops and activities, places to eat, and activities to enjoy. He wrote it as if he were creating a recommended travel schedule for his best friend.
He also colored maps, created articles for the “Greek Weekly” newspaper, sent “Wish You Were Here” postcards, learned about and observed star constellations and designed his own shield for battle.
This is how my son learns best – moving, creating, thinking, and immersing himself in the information.
We are moving into The Middle Ages next. My oldest son is taking a class this semester in Medieval History. Home School In The Woods will allow our entire family to participate and have fun with the subject.
If you are interested in learning more about this engaging approach to history, I have good news.
Home School In The Woods is offering a giveaway. One lucky winner will receive a set of 4 Project Passport CDs. If the winner lives outside the USA, he/she will receive digital downloads instead. Good luck and enjoy!