Journey to Excellence

I have been taking a crash course in U.S. History this summer. And I have loved it! It makes me realize how dry and boring my school history classes were when I was a kid and teenager and how I learned nothing! I don't know if Dawson and Brynne will learn anything, but we are going to have fun trying! I have learned more this summer than I ever thought possible, and the history of our country is an exciting thing! One of the things I am most excited about with this course is the Living Books we will be reading. I like to do these as Read-a-Louds so I can enjoy them, too. Here is what we will be reading (I have three more units to plan, so I will add to the list): Blood on the River by Elisa Lynn Carbona Yankee Doodle Boy by Joseph Plumb Martin The Captain's Dog by Roland Smith The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe The Slopes of War by Norah A. Perez O Pioneers by Willa Cather Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neih...

FINAL UPDATE (JUNE 2012): We completed our entire U.S. History course last month using the America: The Story of Us video series and the resources I had planned. We officially covered Episodes 1-9 which got us through the 1920's. We plan to use the remaining three videos when we study the World Wars in a couple of years. I just want to go on record as saying that I believe whole-heartedly that the use of this series with my resources would more than qualify your child for a full credit of U.S. History. And, it was exciting and enriching. Feel free to follow all of my lesson plans. You can see them all at this link: http://journey2excellence.blogspot.com/search/label/America%3A%20The%20Story%20of%20Us Update: America: The Story of Us is now available as an InstaStream through Netflix! We also had it available at our local library. If you didn't receive a complimentary copy, you won't have to pay the $30 for it! Many of us received a complimentary copy of "...