Early American History

29 Shares

This year, along with our Astronomy for science, we are also doing American History with our mini co-op of 3 families!! We are using a combination of resources for our study, so I wanted to list what I’m finding here on the blog as a resource…as always, please let me know when you find any other cool resources to add to this list!! I have gotten some great ideas from so many of you!!

Curriculum

Beautiful Feet American History — I am mostly using this as a booklist to read good, living books through our year with American History

A Living History of Our World – I am using this “text” as our primary text for the school year. It has easy to understand chapters that are written to compare to a Charlotte Mason style living book. This text is easily used with the different age groups I have, so that my 4th grader AND my 1st grader can listen and understand. (I also really like the student journal that you can purchase in addition to the “text.” I am using the notebooks with each girl.)

Online links & resources & ideas

We watched this short video on youtube to get a better visual of the Vikings and their ships
Postcards from Leif Erikson: we used this site to print (free) postcards. We wrote postcards from Leif to his father Erik telling him all the things he was seeing in the new land!
We played “If I Were An Explorer, I would take…” and went around the circle of children. Each child had to think of a different item they would need to take with them if they were going to be an explorer. Then, additionally, as we went around the circle, each person had to remember what all the previous kids were taking as well!! I think the kids enjoyed this…we ended up taking a compass, suitcase, clothes, food, weapons, a blanket, a shovel…and maybe a few other things I’m forgetting. 🙂
We also discussed the Pros/Cons of being an explorer! The kids came up with really great lists for both sides of the story!
Viking Paper Dolls – this site is in another language, but if you scroll down you will see the vikings!
a fabulous Explorer’s Unit Study that I found online!! I got many of my group ideas/discussions from this unit study!

{our list of Pros/Cons to being an explorer!}

Homeschool Share has several great lapbooks and unit studies to go along with explorers and vikings, here are a few:

Viking Adventure – great chapter book or read aloud, unit study and lapbook!
My Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather was a Viking – unit study
Explorer Unit – for upper elementary/middle school kiddos – lots of notebooking pages, projects and explorer cards to print

{the postcards our kids wrote – from Leif to Erik}