History

History, what a comprehensive subject! There is so much content to cover! Being that we use the classical method, my children are all learning about the ancient world. Specifically, Ancient Greece. All children from 9th grade to 2nd grade are on the same time period. I love it! I also really enjoy the fact that they look at history in a chronological order based on the Bible. Rather than having each subject learning independently, we incorporate "secular" History with God's word. I think this is so amazing how the light bulbs go on after connecting the two. Tapestry of Grace is a wonderful curriculum which executes this perfectly.
This week after studying various events and people the previous weeks, we are learning about the Persian Wars, Peloponnesian War, reading Aesop's fables, and the Olympics. My older daughters will write two summaries on the wars. They are also reading the Iliad and The Adventures of Odysseus. We have also watched the History Channels' The True Story of Troy. This week the children began working on our history pockets - Ancient Greece. These pockets are so fun to make and have so much knowledge within them! Everyday we do a little in each pocket. We will finish up these pockets next week when we learn about Alexander the Great!
If your children are home schooled or not, I highly recommend making or buying their own Timeline Book. This can be a purchased one or a 3-ring binder you can make yourself. This book allows the children to "see" history as they learn it! It becomes a reference for them in the future and is continuously being added to. There are many companies out there that make pre-printed figures for your child to color. We just bought a packet and it was well worth the price!
History encompasses so many other subjects; Bible, Writing, Geography, Art History, Music History, Literature, Language. Therefore it is to an extent the core of most of what we do. Other than Math and Science, History must be a priority if you are to teach HIStory. I hope you have as much fun as I do in this subject. If you have any ideas please share! (For example, in the next period we will be studying the Middle Ages and the kids will be doing all sorts of activities like dressing up as kings and queens, knights, acting out a Shakespeare play and lots more! We also can't wait to study Prairie times. We love Laura Ingalls books and we already have the bonnets and dresses. Oh the field trips we'll take!)