This week we are discussing Social Studies, History, Geography, and Science. If you have missed the past two weeks of the fair, you can find my entries with links to the other entries below:
January 2 – Playing With Words: The Language Arts
January 9 – Discovering Patterns: Mathematics, Logic, and some Science
History
I am just going to highlight a couple of the history programs we have used. If I covered everything, we would be here forever…literally. I am a history and geography junkie. Probably because I didn’t get to study it much when I went to school. So now my poor child gets hit with it at every angle. Good thing he enjoys it!
Mystery of History -This has been one of our favorite history products thus far. We love how the stories are written in a way that it is easy to learn and understand. We also like that we can do as little or as much as we want to in other activities. We have done some lapbooking with this in the past, as well as mapping activities. I had another program that I had purchased earlier that we have been using as a spine, and we love. But Chandler has requested that we use these books as well. He just really enjoys the way the author, Linda Lacour Hobar, writes and shares the stories of HIStory.
TruthQuest- This program is great if you want to use Living Books in your homeschool. We enjoyed our jaunt with this program. We just got bogged down in all of the many different books that were recommended by the curriculum. And quite often, we had a hard time finding a lot of the books in our library. So we would have to find many alternatives and other resources to round out our studies. I did really appreciate having a jumping off point to know what I should cover. We did well with this program, but I had to exert too much energy at the time to make it work. Not to say that it is a difficult program to work with at all. I just didn’t have the time at that time in my life to continue with that pace. If you like digging and researching, then this program will be a great fit for you. I honestly wouldn’t mind working with it again when I have more personal time.
Biblioplan- I originally got this curriculum a few years ago in order to have a great way to line up the Bible with our history lessons. We really enjoyed it and I liked that I could pick and choose what we used from the schedule it provided. It did rely on other sources for a spine. But overall it was an enjoyable experience. I know that they have been working to improve things and make them even better over the past couple of years. I believe that there are several incorporating it into their high school programs now. It is a good, solid program and if you are looking for a program like this, then you will be very happy with Biblioplan.
Living History- We have been using these books for the past 2 years. The author has written these history books, from an LDS perspective. We have really enjoyed seeing quotes from church leaders about the events of history. The author has written both world and American history texts. We used The World Before Christ (Ancient History) Volume 1 and The World After Christ (Modern History) Volume 1, last year. This year we are using United States History, Volume 1. The books serve as our main spine, but they are also filled with supplemental suggestions, such as books for further reading, and movies to watch that coordinate with the history lessons. I have been able to get most everything quite easily, and I really appreciate that. The texts are written on a higher reading level and are spiral in their approach. We will be studying The World Before Christ and The World After Christ, Volumes 2 next year. It will take us back to creation and add to what we already learned last year. Then we will repeat another volume of American History, and then finish our high school years with Volume 3 of The World Before Christ and The World After Christ.
Science
Last week, I shared with you what we are currently using in our home for Chemistry and Physics. This week, I just want to highlight our favorite science program that we used last year.
Last year, Chandler wanted to study Zoology. He didn’t get to study much in that way before we started homeschooling, and he has always had a love for animals. He briefly toyed with the idea of becoming a zoologist or an entomologist as he loves studying bugs too. So, being the good mom that I am, I got him the series from Apologia, Exploring Creation with Zoology 1, 2. & 3.
Yes that is right…we did all 3 volumes in one year. The fast pace made it more grade level appropriate and Chandler had a ball. We also did several projects while using the books as a spine. It was a very successful year in science and I had a very happy boy. We had tried the General Science course prior to last year, and we just didn’t enjoy it as much as we did the zoology series. I highly recommend it if you have an animal lover in your homeschool. It is a great series.
Be sure to check out these other great posts about history and science in the Virtual Curriculum Fair:
Science and Worldview by Beth @ Ozark Ramblings
Nature Study as Science by Christine @ Crunchy Country Catholic
Virtual Curriculum Fair Week 3- Social Studies and more Science by Leah Courtney @ The Courtney Six Homeschool Family
Curriculum Fair–Exploring Our World by Angie @ Petra School
Paths of Exploration by Jen @ Forever, For Always
Learning Geography at Our House by Jessica @ Modest Mama
Mapping Out Our Social Studies by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
The Fascinating World Around Us by Cindy Horton @ Fenced in Family
More Heart of Dakota Praises by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun
Our History by Melissa @ Grace Christian Homeschool
Playful US Geography for First Grade by Pam @ Everyday Snapshots
Heart of Dakota-The Fine Details-Part 3 History by Lynn @ Ladybug Chronicles
Exploring Our World Through History & Science by Brenda Emmett @ Garden of Learning
Two History Must-haves by Letha @ justpitchingmytent
Learning About The World Around Us by Laura O from AK
Social Studies and Science – What do we do? by Joelle @ Homechooling for His Glory
History Chronologically and with Living Books by Debbie @ Debbie’s Digest
Why History? by MissMOE @ Homeschooling While Living the Life of Easier
Exploring Our World by Christa Darr @ Fairfield Corner Academy
