Thursday, August 1, 2019

Home School in the Woods ~ A Review


Over the years my children have learned so much from Home School in the Woods hands-on history materials. Through their History Through the Ages Timelines, Olde World Style Map Sets, Project Passport World History Studies, Time Travelers U.S. History Studies, Hands-On History Activity-Paks, Hands-On History Lap-Paks, Hands-On History Activity Studies, and A La Carte Projects students learn as they piece together their project. Over the past weeks my middle schooler has been working her way through Time Travelers U.S. History Studies, WWII. The suggested range for this specific Time Travelers study is grades 3-8. There are 25 lessons included. If you are looking for an alternative to normal textbook learning, look no further! Home School in the Woods has created activity-based studies designed to teach hands-on learning. 



The following lessons are included in the America in World War II Study:
  1. Ante Bellum
  2. Adolf Hitler
  3. War Before War
  4. Blitzkrieg-Dunkirk
  5. Project Day - 1
  6. The Battle of Britain
  7. The Turn East
  8. Pearl Harbor
  9. War in Africa
  10. Project Day - 2
  11. War in the Pacific
  12. Hitler's Fortress
  13. Market Garden
  14. The Bulge
  15. Project Day - 3
  16. Into Germany 
  17. Kristallnacht and the Camps
  18. VE Day
  19. Iwo Jima and the Atomic Bomb
  20. Project Day - 4
  21. Back Home
  22. And What Happened After?
  23. Project Day - 5
  24. Pulling Together the Lap Book

For each lesson there is written Text Pages that the student reads. Next, the student moves onto the Lesson Projects. An example of a Lesson Projects from Lesson 11 entitled, War in the Pacific:
  1. Penmanship "Words of World War II" (instructions included)
  2. Notebook Timeline (instructions included)
  3. Continue The Newspaper "Frontline News" (instructions included)
  4. Continue Map "Major Events in the Pacific Theatre (instructions included)
  5. On the Home Front (instructions included)
  6. Add to "On the Home Front" Basket: "Ration Books & Tokens" (instruction included)
  7. Lesson Projects Directions/Instruction and Examples (what to print out)
Penmanship is something that was introduced at the beginning the History Study. The Notebook Timeline was introduced in Lesson 1 and so the student is asked to continue to color and place more events on the timeline. In Lesson 2 the student put together a newspaper, Frontline News, and each lesson they continue to add to the newspaper. In Lesson 11 they are asked to add two new articles. You get the picture. Each lesson a new project is added. For Lesson 11 the student will make Ration Books. 


Here is a picture of some of the Student Lesson Text Pages.

Students start their journey by going back 20 years before WWII. 
"At this time WWI was just drawing to a close. In 1918 Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the
other Central Powers were forced into submission by the victorious Allied powers,
chief amongst them being Great Britain, France, Italy, and America."


Dictator Flip Activity


Hitler's Climb two Power


A Timeline of World War II


Timeline Close-up


Frontline News Newspaper


European Theatre Maps


Language Bingo


My daughters had SO MUCH FUN playing Language Bingo! 



The players have to use this translation guide in order to figure out if they 
can actually cover a space since all of the spaces are in other languages. 


War Time Words


For this specific project you are given the option of multiple different 
printing options. You can print the word on one side and the definition
on the other side. I chose to print the word and the definition on the same side. 
There was one other option, I do not remember what it was. 



Souvenir Pillowcase 


Wrapping it up.
"The horrors of the concentration camps had played out over and over...
The total death toll of the war is estimated to be around fifty million. WWII had left two 
major powers destroyed, Germany and Japan, buy had made two new ones, America and Russia...
After WWII the League of Nations had been formed to help keep order. Much had been lost
during the war, many tears had been shed, and the world would never be the same."

There is a PHOTO GALLERY of what all of the completed projects
are supposed to look like. This is very helpful. 


Home School in the Woods takes out the worry for you as the teacher. Helpful
resource lists, teacher keys, and Guide-at-a-Glance one-page guides will allow 
you to see exactly what your student needs to do. Everything that your student 
needs is clearly laid out. All project pages are pdf downloadable. The instructions 
are easy to follow and any supplies that are needed are minimal. 

My daughter that is working her way through this WWII study absolutely loves to read but for some reason does not remember what she reads when given a traditional history textbook. Over the years we have used Home School in the Woods and various other Lap Book related history studies in order to learn history. My daughter is very intrigued with this time period in history. She has read a quite a lot of historical fiction books on this time period. She has learned so much about WWII as she has been working her way through this Time Travelers U.S. History Study. She thrives on the hands-on interactive learning experience. 

Home School in the Woods also has a Blog which is another added benefit for both parents/teachers as well as students to reference. There is a great blog post on the newspaper Frontline News which relates to this WWII study. Another great blog post is on Using Time Travelers to Teach American History.

I would definitely recommend Home School in the Woods. If you are looking for an alternative, fun way to learn history that really STICKS, look no further! Be sure to check out all of the other reviews. Simply click the link below to read what other reviewers had to say about the many other Home School in the Woods materials that were reviewed. 


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