Beefing up the Prairie Primer

[happypamama]

Next year, I will have a youngish kindergartener, a third grader, and a sixth grader (and a newborn and a 2yo along for the ride), and since it's DD's last year in the early grades, I'm feeling really called to have one last childhood year for her. We recently acquired the Prairie Primer, and I feel like it's now or never for it with her. I think the boys will enjoy it as well.

 

However, I'm concerned that it's not enough history, especially for DD. I think we'll have fun with the activities and such, but I am looking for suggestions for supplemental books, specifically that would cover history for a sixth grader. (There may be some in the PP itself; I haven't had a chance to look through it much yet, but I would love personal recommendations.)

 

ETA: I should also add that my kids are, in general, history buffs. They've spent a lot of time in Gettysburg and experiencing living farms and such, so they're well-familiar with many of the traditional crafts and such that the Little House books mention, especially DD. So I really do feel like I need a bit more for them (but I want to do some of the crafts and all because the younger kids haven't gotten to do as much of that sort of thing as DD has). I guess I just want to add more depth for DD, so that she's not bored.

[SilverMoon]

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Edited July 12, 2022 by SilverMoon

[Murphy101]

I love the Prairie Primer and before long I'll be giving it our third go around with my younger ones.

 

My suggestion would be to either make a united states reading list (a google search should bring up several lists to choose from) to go along with it or get a light simple spine text to read along with it.

 

And relax. :)

 

The years we do prairie primer are all about enjoying a good book series, making food, watching animals, and generallly just enjoying it.

 

So what if ONE year is lighter on history? It'll be okay. I promise.

[Ellie]

I love the Prairie Primer and before long I'll be giving it our third go around with my younger ones.

 

My suggestion would be to either make a united states reading list (a google search should bring up several lists to choose from) to go along with it or get a light simple spine text to read along with it.

 

And relax. :)

 

The years we do prairie primer are all about enjoying a good book series, making food, watching animals, and generallly just enjoying it.

 

So what if ONE year is lighter on history? It'll be okay. I promise.

 

 

:iagree:

[happypamama]

So what if ONE year is lighter on history? It'll be okay. I promise.

 

 

This is a really good point, and I really appreciate it; it was just what I needed to hear. They aren't lacking in history knowledge, and we will be attempting more science and more writing next year (or at least, I hope we will). I'm also planning to put DD through a bunch of classics (I have a thread from a few weeks ago about must-reads for an 11-12yo), many of which are early American in nature, *and* I've never had a young 2yo and a newborn at the same time before, so I should be gentle to myself and DD. A bit of "coasting" in history is actually probably a good thing, since it's otherwise a pretty strong area for us.

 

The portfolio is probably my biggest concern (other than DD possibly being bored, but I think she'll enjoy showing her skills to the youngers, and she'll love the cooking parts), but really, I only need a handful of things to put in the portfolio, and I'm sure I can find stuff to put in it. Our evaluator is a good friend of mine, so at any time, if I'm concerned, I can chat with her about how to represent what we're doing.

 

Thank you. :)

[freeindeed]

I am doing Cadron Creek's Narnia unit study (Further Up and Further In) with ds9 this year. It's actually been pretty easy to tie in history. The guide has several ideas. And for the first time in my life, I know what The War of the Roses really was. :) You may be surprised by what you'll learn.

[Susie in MS]

Have you looked at the Topics Covered for PP at CC? This will show you, at a glance, all that is scheduled in the guide:

 

http://cadroncreek.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Prairie_Primer_by_Margie_Gray_Topics_Covered1.pdf

 

When we did FUFI- we added history.

When we did WBRM - we did NOT add history

Looking at PP- I really don't think I will be adding