Journey to Excellence

After an extensive American History study with Dawson this past year, my children's extreme interest in the United States, and the upcoming election (Dawson and I will also be studying Current Events and Government this year), I was excited to learn about the DVD offer from Learn Our History by Mike Huckabee. I knew that I would want to have a unit study on the Election, and even purchased one from Amanda Bennett , but I was still worried about my ability to adequately teach the ins and outs of the election to two third graders. Honestly, the electoral college, conventions, elephants, GOP, and right or left wing jargon leaves me confused! I was never taught what any of this means. Obviously being a part in electing our nation's leaders is the most important job any one of us will do as Americans, so being knowledgeable about the process is important! Although the DVD entitled "Election Day: Choosing our President" came at a cost of $9.95 plus shipping and han...

Only a homeschooler would have SCHOOL on a National Holiday like 4th of July. But, we are. Why? There are always such great unit studies and activities that come out for Independence Day, but we are always on summer break. Sure, we learn about these things during the school year. But, wouldn't it mean more to learn about it on it's anniversary? Now, this day will be fun, and won't even really feel like school (for the most part). We will count this as Day 4 of our 180 day school year. Here is what I have planned: Literature . The cornerstone to all we do is literature. I always try to mix in both non-fiction and fiction books. We will be reading ... Independence Day (Rookie Read-About Holidays) by Trudi Strain Trueit The Fourth of July (Wonder Books) by Kathryn Kyle Independence Day (Rookie Read About Holidays) by David F. Marx Hurray for the 4th of July by Wendy Watson Henrietta's Fourth of July by Syd Hoff Happy Fourth of ...

Dawson and I completed our study of American History by studying the 1920's. This next year we will be studying Current Events and U.S. Government. And then for his junior year we plan to study American History in the major wars: World War I, World War II, Persian Gulf War. Last night Rick and I watched the movie Flags of our Fathers directed by Clint Eastwood. It is the story of the photograph taken of the raising of the American Flag at Iwo Jima. Do you know the story? Do you know that the photograph was taken of six men putting up a replacement flag because a politician wanted the original flag for his personal collection? The photograph was not even of the men who placed the original flag. And, one of the men stated to be in the photograph wasn't even in the photograph. It was a big, fat mess, and a travesty to the men who fought in that incredibly bloody and devastating battle, and their families. What an incredible story that we all need to be told. The movi...

Only two more units to go, and I will wrap them both up in this post. (Well there are actually five left, but I only completed lesson plans through the next two.) This was as far as we were able to get in the series this year. We were at the end of our school year and Dawson was ready to move on to his unit-of-choice: knights. The next two units in the America: The Story of Us series were Episode 8: Boom and Episode 9: Bust , or better known as The Roaring 20's and The Great Depression. We spent three weeks combined on these two units. Our book for both units was The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I had never read this book before and I thought it was an excellent portrayal of the good and bad of the 20's. The symbolism was astonishing and meaty, and I recommend having your student do an essay on the symbolism in the piece. I wish I would have done that with Dawson. We watched both Episodes 8 and 9, did the discussion questions/video quiz fo...

The next unit in the America: The Story of Us series was Episode 7: Cities . We actively spent two weeks on this unit. However, we started reading our Living Book for this unit early when we gave up on My Antonia while studying Episode 6. We loved our book for this unit on the early Cities. We read City of Orphans by Avi. It did a great job of giving the reader the flavor of immigrant life during this time, the poverty they suffered, and tenament life. It was also a great story about the newsies of the time. The setting was in the streets of New York City and the Waldorf. Great book! We watched the entire Episode 7, did the discussion questions/video quiz for the episode and vocabulary words. These can be printed by going here . The Episode Guides are down the left hand column on the site. All "notebooking pages" are printed from Advanced World History Vol. 2 from Hold that Thought! All "America's Heritage" references are materi...

For History next year, Dawson will be studying Current Events first semester and then U.S. Government second semester. The presidential election is a PERFECT time to study these two events. This year we have done an exhaustive study on American History from the inception of our country to the 1930's. And now The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has opened up an opportunity to tie the two together!! For the entire month of September, with an easy registration, you can receive COMPLIMENTARY access to the Electronic Field Trip entitled "The Will of the People".   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 f...

This week's set of lesson plans did not happen on Study America Saturday because yesterday Brynne and I were celebrating a day of all things The Secret Garden . Hope you weren't checking your computer all day for the lesson plans for Episode 6 (somehow I think you might have better things to do.) But, we're here now. So, let's go ... We have finally moved past pre-Civil War and Civil War to Episode 6: Heartland .   We spent four weeks on this unit. Our living book in this area was a real DUD! In fact, about three-quarters of the way through it, I slammed it shut and said, "We are done! I am so bored reading this!" I had high hopes for a book by Willa Cather. (We were going to read O' Pioneers by Willa Cather, and after reading reviews decided to switch to My Antonia . Maybe the other was better.) I wish that I had a recommendation for you, but I don't. If you have a book from this era that you can recommend to my readers, PLEASE leave...

You might have thought I had given up on my lesson plan post for "America: The Story of Us". But, I haven't! We were traveling and recovering from traveling for the past three weeks. But, today I am back and ready for the next installment. You now find us on Episode 5: Civil War .   We spent five weeks on this unit. Again, it was just too good and rich to wrap up in three weeks. And we spent several days watching one of my absolutely favorite miniseries from when I was a teenager. We read two books about this period: The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick (a 2012 Newberry Award winner). We really enjoyed this book. It had a lot of historical facts that brought the time period alive, but it had the vibe of Huck Finn. I recommend this book for some fun, informational reading. The second book we read was Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson. I saw this book by chance on the list of 2012 Sequoyah winners, so picked i...

To start off our wrap-up this week, I have to first announce that my daughter, Kyndal, made the varsity football cheerleading squad and competitive squad at her new high school! She has cheered off and on since kindergarten. After all these years she can still throw a round off, back handspring, back tuck. She said it about killed her, but she did it. She was one of 18 chosen out of 40 girls. Pretty good for a student new to the school. She's always been a shining star! I didn't have any doubts she would make it. When she wants something, she just goes and gets it. So proud of you, Kyndal! Can't wait to see you in action next year. We weren't doing back tucks here at home this week, but I am about to flip with excitement that we are getting so close to the end of our school year! We are counting down the days until we are finished with grammar, writing, copywork, math (have I mentioned, say, a thousand times how much I am loving Math Enhancement Programme for Brynn...

If you have followed Journey to Excellence for any length of time, it is no secret that our year has been permeated with our American History studies. Over a year ago, many of us home educators received a complimentary DVD series from The History Channel called "America: The Story of Us" . Since we typically shy away from textbooks when it comes to Dawson, I knew that I wanted to use this series as the spine for our American History studies this year. So, I got to work. I spent ALL SUMMER last year watching each video and planning Dawson's lessons for the year. I have never been more in love with American History as I am right now, and it is ALL because of the prompting of that amazing dvd series! There are twelve episodes, each 45 minutes long. The graphics and sound effects are AWESOME! They are lively, interesting, and so easy to watch! What I really love about them is that they touch on some aspects of history that I have NEVER learned about, instead of j...

Some accidental American History occurred this week for Eli and Brynne. While in Pensacola, Florida, on Spring Break, I took the kids to tour Ft. Barrancas. According to the National Park Service, "European colonization, American expansion, and threats of invasion led to the building of coastal forts along the northern Gulf Coast. Situated on the bluffs (barrancas) overlooking Pensacola Bay and the gateway to the outside world, Fort Barrancas served as the lock on the gate from potential foreign invaders." "The forts of Gulf Islands National Seashore span almost 150 years, from the Spanish colonial Bateria De San Antonio (1797) to the World War Two-era Battery 234. This reflects the historic value of the anchorages at Pensacola Bay, Florida and Ship Island, Mississippi. Most striking among these are the American Third System forts: Fort Pickens, Fort Massachusetts, Fort Barrancas, and the Advanced Redoubt, all of which saw action during the Civil War." ...