GIFT to THE NATION - Free resource from Colonial Williamsburg

~~~ Just a few days left to access this great resource!!!

We used it earlier in the month and learned a lot! There are also all sorts of free games and activities available in the kids section - HERE!

The Will of the People

from the Electronic Field Trip Series

One of the most bitter presidential campaigns in U. S. history is part of a surprising lesson for a 21st-century student. Thomas Jefferson explains how negative campaigning, partisan politics, and contested elections have been part of our political system since the earliest days of the republic. Read more

Complimentary access from Sept. 1–30, 2012

Colonial Williamsburg’s Gift to the Nation in this election year of 2012 offers students an opportunity to interact virtually with historical characters and provides teachers with unique resources to engage students in the study of citizenship and our founding democratic principles.

Statistics from the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress indicate that academic performance in history for grades 4-8 (the targeted group for Electronic Field Trips) has declined substantially over the past few years. By providing this electronic field trip without charge to schools and home school families, Colonial Williamsburg demonstrates its commitment to halt that decline.

The Electronic Field Trip, “The Will of the People,” examines the presidential election of 1800, one of the most bitter in U.S. history, and provides a surprising lesson for a 21st-century student. Thomas Jefferson explains how negative campaigning, partisan politics, and contested elections have been a part of our political system since the earliest days of the republic.

• Available online 24/7 from September 1 to September 30, 2012
• On-demand video streaming over the Web
• Email Thomas Jefferson
• Interactive online games
• Downloadable resources, such as the teacher guide and program script (PDF)
• Comprehensive lesson plans

We hope you’ll take advantage of this unique opportunity to bring this exciting, relevant program into your school or home!

~~~~You are required to register in order to view these, but the form is simple and quick and I think will be well worth it!

 Gift to the Nation | Colonial Williamsburg's Gift to the Nation:

2012-2013 Education Plan COMPLETED!!!

We are on our summer/fall book break and I have taken some time to get things reorganized before starting our fall session. I think that I have arrived at the point where we have made the final decisions for the majority of KM's lessons for the next three sessions. AS ALWAYS nothing is set in stone, but each year I feel more comfortable and end up changing less things throughout. I take a lot of time researching and organizing in the beginning to help us feel comfortable and to allow our year to flow.

I will also continue to update the Home Education Through High School Resources page so be sure to check it out!!!

KM's Education Outline

Summer '12 – Spring '13 Sessions 

ELA - Literature & Writing

Classic Fiction including - Little Women, Frankenstein, Yearling, Ethan Frome, Wrinkle in Time, Animal Farm, & Adventures of Huck Finn ~ additionally we will be watching various cinematic versions of each of these when applicable. 
Glencoe Literature Guides

Steck-Vaughn G: Language Arts, Writing
Reading Section from - Steck-Vaughn Complete GED Preparation 

Math

^{Hands on Banking For Teens - Summer Only 
Applying Algebra - Fall - Spring}

Science

Chem Prep Unit 1 of GPB Chemistry Video Resources - Summer Only

Chemistry (Science) 

Various Chemistry related videos which will be listed - HERE 

Social Sciences – U.S. History, Current Events & Geography

A History of US Books 5-9

Story of the US DVD

U.S. History – Basic Not Boring

CNN Student News

Election Study - iCivics Resources

Will of the people - Virtual Field Trip

Health & P.E.

What Do You Stand For? For Teens: A Guide to Building Character 
Bowling
Tennis
Ice Skating

ExerBeat

Electives

Milady's Standard Cosmetology with Theory Workbook & Practical    Workbook

Youth Group

Volunteer Work

Chess Club 
Teen Advisory Group 
Shakespeare Theatre Group

Japanese from Zero!
Japanese 1 - GPB Resources 

Essentially this would be KM's 10th grade year if she were in traditional school.  KM's lighter Summer Schedule - 

and her Fall - Spring Schedule

GIFT to THE NATION - FREE Access to The Will of the People from Colonial Williamsburg

The Will of the People

from the Electronic Field Trip Series

One of the most bitter presidential campaigns in U. S. history is part of a surprising lesson for a 21st-century student. Thomas Jefferson explains how negative campaigning, partisan politics, and contested elections have been part of our political system since the earliest days of the republic. Read more

Complimentary access from Sept. 1–30, 2012

Colonial Williamsburg’s Gift to the Nation in this election year of 2012 offers students an opportunity to interact virtually with historical characters and provides teachers with unique resources to engage students in the study of citizenship and our founding democratic principles.

Statistics from the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress indicate that academic performance in history for grades 4-8 (the targeted group for Electronic Field Trips) has declined substantially over the past few years. By providing this electronic field trip without charge to schools and home school families, Colonial Williamsburg demonstrates its commitment to halt that decline.

The Electronic Field Trip, “The Will of the People,” examines the presidential election of 1800, one of the most bitter in U.S. history, and provides a surprising lesson for a 21st-century student. Thomas Jefferson explains how negative campaigning, partisan politics, and contested elections have been a part of our political system since the earliest days of the republic.

• Available online 24/7 from September 1 to September 30, 2012
• On-demand video streaming over the Web
• Email Thomas Jefferson
• Interactive online games
• Downloadable resources, such as the teacher guide and program script (PDF)
• Comprehensive lesson plans

We hope you’ll take advantage of this unique opportunity to bring this exciting, relevant program into your school or home!

~~~~You are required to register in order to view these, but the form is simple and quick and I think will be well worth it!

 Gift to the Nation | Colonial Williamsburg's Gift to the Nation:

Immense Praise for Joy Hakim’s A History of US

I have previously reviewed Joy Hakim's Story of Science series and since I was so enamored by her writing, I bit the bullet and bought the 11 volume set A History of US for KM to use for her U.S. History studies. AM I EVER GLAD I DID!!! I had planned on glossing over the content so that I could figure out when I would need to order additional reading material and movies from our local library to supplement and ended up not being able to put the book down! I am no history buff, but this book captured my attention and I literally couldn't put it down.

I love that she points out what our family calls "duh" moments, things that when you are reading you think why doesn't every textbook take this approach. "When Leaders say something is all right, most people agree, without thinking for themselves." p.113

Hakim has a way of writing that just captivates and inspires you to want to keep reading. The story unfolds as if you are in a time machine looking down on what is going on. Her writing flows in an engaging and thought provoking way, as she constantly asks you to analyze and question what is being said in a conversational manner. She manages to cover even some of the more gruesome facts without getting graphic, which makes this a perfect multi-age resource.

Hakim challenges the reader to question history and emphasizes that "No one knows what happened in the past - at least we don't know the whole story"..."You gather pieces of information and try to discover how they fit." p. 9 

When I was in school I was never taught about anything before the Jamestown Settlement. Sure we were taught about Christopher Columbus sailing across the ocean blue in 1492, but they never mentioned all that went on from one point to the next, it was basically as if they left out the 16th century all together! In Hakim's text she is truly telling the story of US, beyond the United States, in direct relation to how the Americas were formed. Begining back with Beringia she has the audacity to discuss how there are actually no "NATIVE" Americans as we all came from somewhere else. She delves into the formation of settlements in the Central American islands, the Spanish conquests of Mexico and also defends the Indians, repeatedly making note of the "arrogant European" behaviors.

My favorite quote has to be - Looking back, today, it seems as if people and nations were acting just like silly little kids. Each one saying "My religion is better than yours." p. 139

I have only read the first volume, but I have already absorbed more information from this book than I did in my entire college semester of U.S. History. I highly recommend this series as a first rate, informative, intelligent text that will surely make a history lover out of the most resistant person.

I will be getting Volume 2 off the shelf as soon as I finish typing this!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~UPDATE --- We are nearly done with Book 5 at this point. KM and I are still totally engaged in this series. I love how every angle and point of view is touched on, so that you can get a feel for what life was really like for not just the rich, but the poor and the inbetweeners as well!!!

You Tube Monday - Horrible Histories - Animated Series

After last weeks post, I got lots of questions about the animated version, but all I could find online was this intro and one clip. You can however purchase the DVD set on Amazon  and not only is it worth the money, you can usually resell it and get your money back when you are done.

You Tube Monday - HORRIBLE HISTORIES - The 4 Georges: 'Born 2 Rule'

We have loved all the horrible history books and KM really enjoyed the cartoon version, but we were floored to find this BBC skit version. I don't like that it is all out of order and random, but when you are looking for a specif topic these are great little tidbits.

U.S. History Lesson Plans - Screenshots

As I have gotten a number of emails after posting the resources that we have used for our U.S. History study from people asking about how we implemented it I figured the easy thing to do would be to take screenshots from the Homeschool Tracker program to show exactly what we are doing and here they are --

Just a few notes --- We have all reading and worksheets assignment due on Wed, but we tend to spread them out over the course of the week which allows for extra flexibility in our schedule. Some experiments, activities and movies are listed on Mondays so that KM and DN could work on or watch them together, as they are both following the same time line, but DN is not using the Story of US textbooks at all. We take a two week book break in March - starting this next week - but KM decided that she wanted to keep watching Liberty Kids during this time and so that is why there is two weeks of just the show listed. The "Book 2 Part 3" references are based on the break down used in the Assessment Book and has worked really well for us. I will be adding additional historical movies and documentaries on things like Lewis and Clark, Westward expansion etc. as they come along in the Story of US series. I had been trying to read ahead, but just have not had time to do that so I get a general idea and plug in something ahead, but for the most part we read a section together and then once I know what it is fully covering I will look up on netflix or in our library for corresponding and relevant materials. Hope that makes sense. I am more than happy to answer any questions anyone has, but it is really helpful to others if you leave them in the comments section!