Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Home School in the Woods



I received this complimentary product through the 
Homeschool Review Crew.


Over the past weeks my daughter has been working through a study on the Civil War with Time Travelers U.S. History Studies from Home School in the Woods. This hands-on learning study is intended for grades 3-8. The curriculum pack contains 25 lessons and ideally can be completed in 5-10 weeks. I received a download zip file of the material. Don't be overwhelmed when you first open up the files because there is a lot of them. They are neatly condensed into four main folders. The pdf folder is the main folder that will be used. The Menus folder will only be used a couple of times. I will be honest there is A LOT of printing involved in these packs but it is well worth it. Over the years we have completed many Home School in the Woods Lap-Paks, Activity-Paks, Timelines, A La Cart Projects, Bundles, and Studies and have loved them all. What I love so much about Home School in the Woods is that it is an interactive hands-on activity based curriculum. After reading each lesson your student works through activities that help to reinforce what your child has read. This makes history come alive and STICK!

There are two main components besides the lesson text: the notebook and the lap book. The Lesson Project Pages will tell you what will go into the notebook and what will be included in the lap book. They suggest storing completed lap book activities in a folder until it is time to assemble the lap book. I have always placed completed activities in the lap book as we go. There will be some activities that will not go into the notebook or the lap book due to being three-dimensional. 

This Civil War curriculum contains the following activities:
  • Timeline
  • Notebook Activities
  • Lap Book Activities
  • Games
  • Civil War Recipes
  • Penmanship Pages
  • Factfile Cards
  • Creative Writing
  • Crafts
  • Newspaper 
  • Three-dimensional Projects
  • Maps
  • Sewing
  • Reading
  • More...
The lessons included in the Civil War study are:
  1. Slavery in America
  2. Slavery in America Part 2
  3. Advancing towards an Abrupt Stop
  4. Fort Sumter and the Union Blockade
  5. Project Day 1
  6. Bull Run
  7. The Merrimack and the Monitor
  8. The Peninsular Campaign 
  9. Antietam 
  10. Project Day 2
  11. Fredericksburg 
  12. Gettysburg and Vicksburg
  13. Frederick Douglass
  14. The Gettysburg Address 
  15. Project Day 3
  16. Wilderness to Petersburg
  17. Sherman's March to the Sea
  18. The War Comes to and End
  19. The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln 
  20. Project Day 4
  21. Before, During, and the Aftermath
  22. Reconstruction...Another War?
  23. Project Day 5
  24. Pulling Together the Lap Book
  25. Wrapping up the Unit with a Civil War Jamboree!
Taking a look at some of what is included in the study...

Here my daughter is putting together a "Routes of the Underground Railroad" map. 
There were 9 points on this activity. Point 4 says, "There were often discreet signs that a
house was safe for fugitive slaves. A lantern hung on a hitching post, painted
bricks on a chimney, or possibly a quilt hanging on a clothes line could signal that the 
house was safe or where to go next." 


My daughter had so much fun Making this Safe House Lantern. 
It was quite the experience hammering a nail through a can
in order to make holes. 


The trick was trying to keep the can in place while hammering the nail
into the pattern. We used two wooden pieces to hold the can in in place.


This constellation of the North Star helped guide slaves in the right direction. 


This activity, Library of Leaders, helps students get to know some of the 
famous Civil War leaders. Each of the twelve men represented include a four
page biography which includes both information on their personal life 
and political and war contributions.


There is a great map of the Decisive Battles to the Course of the Civil War. 


This activity took a LONG TIME to complete. These are Factfile Cards.
There are three types of cards: History Makers, The Civil War Soldier, and Civil War Vocabulary.  
These help students learn many of the important Civil War terms and people. 

History Makers...
Clara Barton
"A nurse whose service for the Union earned her the title 'Angel of the 
Battlefield,' she came to found the American Red Cross in 1881." 

The Civil War Soldier...
bushwhackers
"Runaway soldiers who banded together and stole for 
local civilians." 

Civil War Vocabulary...
sawbones
"The nickname for doctors."




Factfile Cards completed!


The Liberator
The Liberator published by William Lloyd Garrison was an abolitionist 
newspaper that was in circulation from 1831 until 1866. 
In Garrison's first issue of The Liberator, he stated, "I do not wish to think, or speak,
or write, with moderation...I am in earnest—I will not equivocate—I will not excuse—I
will not retreat a single inch—AND I WILL BE HEARD."



Here is what a lesson looks like. Lessons are 2-3 pages in length. Home School in
the Woods does a great job of packing a lot of information into the 25 lessons. 
The text is grade appropriate and easy for the student to understand. 




Each lesson includes a Lesson Projects page. Detailed instructions for 
the projects are listed. They also list the pages that you need to print
out from the pdf downloads along with all of the supplies that are needed. 




My daughter is working on the activities for Lesson 12. 


The finished activities are really pretty neat. When you open up the 
medicine flaps there is information about medicine during the Civil War era.



Here is what the finished lap book looks like. 


I absolutely love Home School in the Woods and would definitely recommend all of the products on their site to fellow homeschoolers. My Fellow Crew Members reviewed many of the various Home School in the Woods curriculum. Be sure to click on the link to see what they had to say about each of the reviewed products. 

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