Opinions on Homeschool in the Woods Project Passports please?

[Chey]

Hi guys! If you have used any of the Project passport units from Homeschool in the Woods could you please tell me your thoughts/pros/cons on what you used?

Also is anyone secular that has used these units before and found it to be too much to edit the religious aspects out? We're a secular family but don't mind using christian based curriculum if we can edit around it enough. 

Thanks for any input!

[HomeAgain]

We bought one of their Time Travelers packs.  We're doing SOTW 3 this year and I thought they'd be a nice addition (colonial, revolution, early 19th century).  Well, we had more than enough resources for colonial so I didn't buy that.  I did purchase the one on the Revolution.  It was..........well, not what I was expecting.

One of the lessons was built around a story told by Richard Wheeler in God's Mighty Hand: Providential Stories From History.*  It portrayed the Native Americans (no tribes are given, they are only called Natives or Indians), it portrayed them as simpletons in fear of George Washington and how God must protect him.  It felt racist and demeaning. I was not happy with any of the lessons, to be honest.  The projects were fine for the most part, and I used several to supplement better lessons I created around historical documents.

I knew it would be religious, I didn't know how exactly it would play out.  I figured I could do some light editing.  No.  We dropped their lessons entirely and I don't think I'll be buying more.


*just a note: Abebooks has this listed as Christian Fiction.

[Chey]

1 hour ago, HomeAgain said:

We bought one of their Time Travelers packs.  We're doing SOTW 3 this year and I thought they'd be a nice addition (colonial, revolution, early 19th century).  Well, we had more than enough resources for colonial so I didn't buy that.  I did purchase the one on the Revolution.  It was..........well, not what I was expecting.

One of the lessons was built around a story told by Richard Wheeler in God's Mighty Hand: Providential Stories From History.*  It portrayed the Native Americans (no tribes are given, they are only called Natives or Indians), it portrayed them as simpletons in fear of George Washington and how God must protect him.  It felt racist and demeaning. I was not happy with any of the lessons, to be honest.  The projects were fine for the most part, and I used several to supplement better lessons I created around historical documents.

I knew it would be religious, I didn't know how exactly it would play out.  I figured I could do some light editing.  No.  We dropped their lessons entirely and I don't think I'll be buying more.


*just a note: Abebooks has this listed as Christian Fiction.

 

Well that right there definitely stops me for getting any of the Time Traveler Units .That's not cool. My family has quite a bit of native blood/ancestry so something like that is a pretty big turn off in our case. Thanks for pointing that out.

I don't mind prep work/we like craft and such so that would of been no issue for me.

Perhaps I'll just buy the timeline packs that are only $6-$8 and use the rest of the $160 I would of spent on the bundle for more kits and resources or something. Or just get the Egypt Unit only and see how we like it. At least for just the World History Units.

Edited February 23, 2019 by Chey

[mykidsrmyjoy]

I am using Project Passport Medieval Times right now with DDs 9 and 7. Overall, we have enjoyed it. There are A LOT of activities and projects that can be done. We usually do three "Stops" a week and stretch them over four days. I spend about an hour or so on the weekend printing out and prepping what we'll need. 

The other units may be different, but the Medieval Times one doesn't focus as much on historical events as it does on the culture and daily life of that time period. We have learned quite a bit about castles, knights, serfs, pilgrimages, towns, etc. but only touched on major historical happenings and people. There is a very detailed timeline with probably 25 figures/events that we do each week, so I thing my girls are probably seeing the big picture with that. I don't think PP would be a good stand-alone study for an older child, but I think it would be a very good supplement to a more traditional approach to history. I am only looking to expose my girls to an overview of the time period right now and it has certainly accomplished that.