Adding a spark to history

[threeturn]

We are using Adventures in America for history. I needed open and go so in that regard the curriculum is perfect. My daughter loves the read aloud selections so far. So we really don't want to change curriculum, but we are lacking a bit of a spark though. My kids LOVE Elemental Science because of the experiments. I would like to add more of a hands-on or activity element to the history but I need to do it in a way that doesn't add tons of work for me. For example, they would love to do narrations with puppet characters but creating them would mean lots of work for me since they are so young (when I say "they" I really mean the 6yo -- the 4yo just tags along when he wants to). Ditto with lapbooks or involved crafts. With the toddler I just don't have the time or energy.

 

I am not sure how to change it or tweak it to help liven it up for us. There was a great thread here earlier this summer about how people adapted curriculum to suit their needs instead of being a slave to it. Wish I had bookmarked it.

 

Sorry if I am not articulating well. I guess I am not totally sure what I am looking for.

[She Reads a Lot]

Hi!

 

We're doing Am History this year with my second grader. I found these interactive 3-D maps on the Winter Promise page, found them on Amazon for cheaper, and ordered them. Here's the link:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Interactive-Maps-Easy---Assemble-Concepts-/dp/0439241146/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315067692&sr=8-1

 

Now there's a decent amount of cutting out of pieces, which my 7 year old isn't ready for, so I end up doing that part. But he *loves* having a map where he can move the little ships around (we've done the Vikings, Christopher Columbus, and Cortes/Coronado so far).

 

So maybe this could add some interest to your days? I'm anti-crafty, so that's as much help as I can be re: crafty/hands-on stuff.

 

HTH,

christina

[Alte Veste Academy]

If you get a few activity books, you can pick and choose when to add on. I like to add on when my energy level is high and our pace of life is slow.

 

Here are some good ones for American history.

 

Steve Caney's Kids' America (check your library)

 

The U.S. History Cookbook (You have to eat anyway, right? Might as well make it part of school. Two birds and all that...)

 

These books are also good supplements for young kids. A little history, a few recipes.

 

Do you have any historic music? That spices things right up around here. My kids love Colonial Fair. I'm bummed at the selection of Ancient music. Can't wait for the Middle Ages.

 

I also liked to match up handicrafts with history (pottery for Native American studies, quilling and embroidery for colonial times, knitting for the Revolutionary War, quilting for pioneers and Civil War, etc.). Your dd6 might love this and even your ds4 could do basic embroidery with a safe needle.

 

Also, if you search my user name and American history, you will come up with embarrassingly long lists of resources for art, handicrafts, music and other go-alongs. We tend to overdo things. :tongue_smilie:

 

Love your blog, by the way. :)