Crafty history curriculum? Or any crafty type curriculum?

[ktgrok]

My 6 year old is always asking "are we doing a craft today?" I am NOT crafty,  and so usually the answer is no. I do supply plenty of paper, glue, scissors, crayons, colored pencils, markers, etc so she does color and such a lot. Recently she's done some origami. But as we research a curriculum for next year (1st grade) I'm wondering if there is anything that has crafts built in? We are Christian (Catholic) and don't want anything that teaches dinosaurs lived alongside people...otherwise I'm pretty open to suggestions. 

[SebastianCat]

Look into Homeschool in the Woods time traveler packs. Some of the material may be a bit advanced for a 6 year old, but they lay everything out and all you need to do is print it.

[abcmommy]

Winter promise is great for this but they do the dinos and people bit.  Im also catholic and we worked around it easily.

[ktgrok]

Thanks, I've never looked at the time traveler packs. I have drooled over winter promise a few times, and now I'll look again. 

[Farrar]

I would say read SOTW and instead of getting the AG (the crafts in there are mostly pretty meh - a few great ones, but a lot of dull ones) get some of the really good history craft guides out there and just commit to going through them. There are *so* many of them. Here's some examples - each of these imprints has others in their line, so one about "Rome" will also probably have one for "Greece" and one for "Egypt" etc.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Classical-Kids-Activity-Ancient-Hands-/dp/1556522908/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458693497&sr=1-1&keywords=classical+kids

 

http://www.amazon.com/Explore-Ancient-Rome-Activities-Experiements/dp/0979226848/ref=pd_sim_14_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1Z3JE8C8D7TPK6K06BH0

 

http://www.amazon.com/Spend-Day-Ancient-Greece-Activities/dp/0471154547/ref=pd_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1Z3JE8C8D7TPK6K06BH0

 

http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Greece-Activities-Experience-Kaleidoscope/dp/1885593252/ref=pd_sim_14_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=1Z3JE8C8D7TPK6K06BH0

 

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Ancient-EGYPT-Projects-Yourself/dp/0977129454/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458693589&sr=1-1&keywords=build+it+yourself

 

I especially liked the Build It Yourself books and the Kaleidescope Kids series for good crafty history stuff.

 

Alternately, if she'll be appeased by cut and paste crafts, there's always History Pockets. (Sorry, not a fan... but some kids like the contained nature of it all.)

[Meadowlark]

When I think of crafty, WInter Promise comes directly to mind. I have avoided it for that very reason. It calls to me though (isn't their stuff just beautiful?) and we may finally be at a stage (baby is 3!) that I can start doing some of that stuff again. 

[EmseB]

History Pockets? Mostly coloring and cutting, but could pass as crafty.

[Bay Lake Mom]

Have you considered Heart of Dakota? There are lots of small crafts to go along with the lessons. I highly recommend a careful evaluation of Winter Promise. I made that very expensive mistake last year. I felt that things were very disjointed. If you're considering it, spend a bit of time with the samples.

[ktgrok]

Have you considered Heart of Dakota? There are lots of small crafts to go along with the lessons. I highly recommend a careful evaluation of Winter Promise. I made that very expensive mistake last year. I felt that things were very disjointed. If you're considering it, spend a bit of time with the samples.

 

Disjointed is exactly the impression I have always gotten from their website. 

 

I haven't looked at Heart of Dakota...I don't want something that includes phonics, math, etc...and I seem to remember it does? I know I want to use AAR for phonics and CLE math. 

 

Edited: Oh, wow, it does look like what I want! I always discounted it as "too Christian" but that was with my agnostic Aspie....my little girl is totally different. I'm looking at Beyond, for a 1st grade year I think. I like that it covers American history. I'll definitely check them out at the upcoming conference here! 

Edited March 23, 2016 by ktgrok

[Holly]

I ordered a few Literature Pockets books for my 6 and 9yo DDs.  I'm hoping to get these ready-to-go ahead of time so they can do them somewhat independently.  They include crafts, mini books, and cut & paste type activities.  Some also include a bit of writing.  I'm hoping this will give them something to do when I'm working with my older two DC.

[historically accurate]

Would lapbooking work for crafty? My youngest is good for crafts if she gets to paste something. You could do a Hands of a Child lapbook on her history topic.

[HomeAgain]

I have yet to find a crafty curriculum that is not "blue jello" crafts - i.e. things that take up an enormous amount of time or specialized resources for very little, if any, gain.  I've looked at History Unboxed as a supplement, but for now I'm building my own 4-day curriculum that works in a real activity, sit down work, and integrated science every day just so I know we have the ability to get up and move and do something other than bookwork.  If I plan it out, I can make it happen.  If not, I will be scrambling.

[theelfqueen]

What about giving her an art journalling class (Tangie Baxter offers Art Journalling for Kids) and then having her maintain a note journal? It would be more arts now but could develop to more noted as she gets older.

 

 

I've heard mention of an arts and crafts supplement for Mystery of History

[ktgrok]

As an example, she did this on her own this morning..her own idea. A chain of easter eggs (like paper dolls) and then a chain of easter baskets glued on top, for a 3D effect. She loves this kind of stuff. 

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

I would recommend either looking into Reggio-style provocations or something like ArtTango (free online studio art curriculum).

[smarson]

If you're interested in Beyond, I have a used copy of the guide I'm looking to sell~ :)  PM me if you're interested.

[Bay Lake Mom]

A note on Heart of Dakota - a lot of people use different choices for math and language arts.

[SilverMoon]

DD/5th is my hands on kiddo. She thinks it surely ought to be a requirement for any interesting subject. Some hands on ideas that have appeased her over the years are:

-handicrafts, embroidery, knitting, sewing, etc, plastic canvas was easier than embroidery at 6

-paper dolls - all sorts of accessories, back drops, and outfits to be made here - This one has yet to run out on this DD. We found some King Henry VIII and Shakespeare sets that she's very excited about working with for 6th grade.

-Scholastic paper craft books from $1 sales, she still vividly remembers something like Easy Make and Learn Projects: Human Body from her very early elementary days (paired it with one of the first human body encyclopedias ala TWTM 1st grade reccs) - Yes, they sure do seem like a colossal waste of paper and time, since they go in the trashcan after you've picked them up or stepped on them for the bajillionth time. But this kid thrives on them.

-hands on based science has been a HUGE favorite of hers, and its easier to arrange than hands on history

-acting out portions in a family play

-How To Teach Art to Children went over pretty well, as did the Discovering Great Artists series

-drawing during read alouds

-lots, and lots, and lots of sidewalk chalk

-making posters for 1760's jobs, or New Orleans holidays, or oxygen, or whatever she's learning about

She hasn't used too many scheduled programs though. Their higher middle ages set was on the top of my short list for her 6th grade until she declared she really, really wanted to focus on England, Ireland, and royalty for next year's history. At least her paper doll affinity buys me one easy hands on addition...lol.

Edited July 12, 2022 by SilverMoon

[Meadowlark]

We used HOD's Little Hearts and planned to use Beyond. I didn't like it AT ALL. The crafts to me were busywork and not meaningful. The rhymes, spelling...none of it struck me as quality. I wanted to like it SO badly. I've heard it vamps up starting with Preparing for I think for the younger grades, you're either going to love it or hate it, so consider carefully.

[ktgrok]

Silver moon, THANK You! Those are some fantastic ideas and right up her ally! She would ADORE paper dolls, I don't know why I didn't think of that!  And I think I could get her kits like that and let her do a lot of that on her own, no matter what we use. I may put a small loom in her Easter Basket too. 

 

She wants to do world cultures next year maybe (but isn't picky) and I love Sunlight in a lot of ways, but I do think she would want more crafts. I wonder ... think there are pinterest boards or something with crafts for Sonlight? 

 

Also, maybe I could make it so that once a week we have a craft day, and I could just use my google skills to find crafts about what we are reading about. 

[RootAnn]

After dd#1, all my kids adored crafts. I was fortunate to have found someone who mailed me a craft kit each month (Shirley's Prepaid Crafts- sadly no longer available). When that went away, a boardie set something up, but she stopped, too.

 

Ds#2 is still a craft lover. He now sees and just completed his first cross stitch kit in 3 days. It is never enough, so I know what you mean!

 

I added crafts to WWE1 for dd#2 & 3 back in the day. I'll be recycling that and some Literature Pockets next year. And I'll continue to follow this thread for ideas. 😎

[mamakven]

Depending on developmental level, MBTP 4-5 might be perfect. It might be too easy though. It comes with a whole trunk full of crafts

[Chris in VA]

If you don't like the AG for SOTW, you can just pinterest any topic and you'll get a bunch of hits.

 

(She's darling, by the way.)

 

Here's just a general pinterest for SOTW 1, for example.

Edited March 24, 2016 by Chris in VA

[Lang Syne Boardie]

We loved Sonlight for early elementary. Some of my boys were typical SL kids -- all about the reading -- but some liked lots of activities and crafts as well as the books.

I used to add activity books to Sonlight -- the type that Farrar linked upthread. Laurie Carlson and David C. King come to mind as favorite authors.

 

For example: http://www.amazon.com/Colonial-Days-Discover-Projects-Activities/dp/0471161683

 

Also, if you are using CHOW with SL's 1st and 2nd grade cores, there are schedules floating around for correlating CHOW with SOTW, which makes it easy to use the SOTW activity guides along with your history reading.

 

I usually ended up with several of the following:

 

1. A Sonlight Core

2. Timeline figures to color and paste in the Book of Time (included with SL, or from Homeschool in the Woods)
3. Maps from SOTW AGs or MapTrek by Knowledge Quest (MapTrek has a CHOW integration chart on the website)
4. 2-3 history craft guides
5. Sometimes Dover historical paper dolls
6. Sometimes history toys, like a castle set
7. A lot of SL literature books have FIAR-like guides for free online, for making lapbooks or or other crafty stuff

Because I already owned and loved Sonlight, it was very, very easy for me to tack these things on. I'd rather do that, and do exactly what we're interested in on a particular day (without the lesson hinging on our crafts and activities), than feel obligated to use everything in a curriculum that includes or emphasizes crafts.

We also have plenty of arts and crafts supplies, and hands-on science. If they weren't into school-related crafts at any point, they could still do art for art's sake and get that creativity out.

 

 

Edited March 24, 2016 by Tibbie Dunbar

[Hunter]

Layers of Learning

 

http://www.layers-of-learning.com/

[ktgrok]

Layers of Learning

 

http://www.layers-of-learning.com/

 Before I even clicked I thought, "If Hunter recommends it, it must be good!"

 

And wow! I'm impressed!

[cowboyjunki]

ktgrok, were you able to download the first unit free?  I signed up for the newsletter but don't see any coupon code or download link....just curious if you had any luck!

[ktgrok]

ktgrok, were you able to download the first unit free?  I signed up for the newsletter but don't see any coupon code or download link....just curious if you had any luck!

 

Yes, the email with the coupon link went into my "promotions" folder in Gmail. Check there if you have gmail, or your spam folder maybe. 

[Alessandra]

We loved the Scholastic Easy Make and Learn, both simple and educational.

 

My favorite song esource is RR. For most subjects, there is a selection called supplemental resources, so you can get gets crafts just for the subject you are doing. Lots of activity books listed, plus Dover cut and paste books, Toobs (like mini animals for science or Jamestown settlers), kits of all sorts. I found that some of the great looking books had far more on a subject yuan we could ever do, while the cheaper books had a a diet projects that actually got done.

 

Websites like edHelper and Enchanted Learning usually have good assortments of printables.

 

We also liked Homeschool in the Woods, but your dd might be too young for it.

 

Also, check out Waldorf materials for crafts that are more like handiwork and Klutz's Chicken Socks books for regular crafts. One thing my kids enjoyed was more free form crafts. They made dioramas of favorite stories and used toy figures. It was all very basic, but imaginative. Finger puppets (significantly cheaper than full sized ones) or homemade puppets are good for telling stories, language development, and also for developing fine motor skills for handwriting.

 

I wouldn't discount unscripted crafts. I think children learn a lot from them, even though the actual products can be frankly quite awful, lol. At least for us, ymmv.

Edited March 25, 2016 by Alessandra

[Ellie]

KONOS can be crafty, if you choose the activities which involve crafts. :-)

[cowboyjunki]

Yes, the email with the coupon link went into my "promotions" folder in Gmail. Check there if you have gmail, or your spam folder maybe. 

got it!  Man, that drives me nuts!!!!!!!

[Carol in Cal.]

I second the Classical Kids books.  Lots of great ideas there.

Also, there are great archeology kits where the kid does a 'dig' and pulls artifacts out, then can paint them authentically and recast the crumbled sand to make other ones in the included molds.  DD did an Egyptian one, and it was one of her favorite history activities.

 

Also, if you want crafty, experimental science, you could use Awesome Ocean Science--the experiments in it are more crafty feeling than most, and you could have her present her results with pictures and such in a lapbook format.

 

Discount School Supply has great craft supplies for this age, and the catalogue has lots of great ideas for how to use them.  We especially liked the doilies for make-your-own Valentines, and the large, clear plastic ornaments that pop open--you can fill them with pompoms and glitter or paint the insides, and then close them up once they are dry.  Great gifts. 

 

The best introduction to fiber kits I know of are from Magic Cabin Dolls. 

 

After working for 3 1/2 years in a parent participation preschool, I have great respect for the value of having lots of good materials around and letting kids experiment with them.  Or not so good materials, LOL--I'll never forget the time that my daughter was inspired by a large flat box with a cut out to make a pretend TV, and then made a remote out of a piece of heavy cardboard that she wrapped with duct tape.  She was about 5, and I was vaguely horrified that a TV was the result of her creativity, but she was inspired by her materials at hand.  If you're studying ancients, for instance, long strips of paper might inspire making scrolls.  Model Magic might inspire classical looking beads.  One thing I think is a good idea is to get little blocks of wood or little wooden boxes and encourage her to sand and paint them, so she starts doing more substantial crafts that can lead to carpentry later on.  I've seen things like that at Michaels.  I imagine that Hobby Lobby might have those as well if you don't have a Michaels nearby. 

 

 

Edited March 25, 2016 by Carol in Cal.

[Hunter]

I'm seldom impressed with new and shiny, but I really like both Layers of Learning and Wayfarers. When finished, I predict these curricula will blow some older ones out of the water. Not because they are new and shiny, but just because they ARE better. In my opinion.

 

Both of these curricula can be just downloaded. No special software to read them. The authors have made sure the files load properly and don't lag and freeze.

 

The authors are prolific writers with just the right amount of OCD; they have both accute attention to detail AND the big picture. And the authors are in the trenches with big families of their own.

 

Wayfarers is more literature based. Layers of Learning is more hands on.

 

I have the first 2 years of Layers of Learning and see that the last volume for year 3 has just been added. I'm waiting for a reduced price for all of year 3, before purchasing it.

 

I use LoL like an eBook encyclopedia and reference book.

 

Does anyone NEED Layers of Learning? No! Is it nice to have? Yes. It is. It is a nice eBook reference set, no matter what else you are using, especially if you can't have hardcopy reference and need digital instead. And if you are looking for crafts and hands-on, it covers that superbly.

 

It looks like I'm moving soon into a tiny place. I don't have much now, but will need to keep everything super super minimal long-term. I'm going to splurge on finishing purchasing LoL as it is finished. I haven't found anything better for digital reference. I seldom use the craft stuff myself, but think that part is very well done.

[~Laura~]

Not a full curriculum, but I've used American Girl books as supplement to US history. Not the chapter books, the informational books. They also have an accompanying craft book and cook book. Here's the link to one of the books and here is a link to a craft book.