shawthorne44 Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Ok, we just finished up the first four years of the History cycle. I have a shelf of books for a year of American History before we start the second history cycle. DH just reminded me that we need to shoehorn in Texas History now. I don't have a problem with that, but I'm caught flat-footed. We like the format of a spine book or two, with many other books as read-aloud and some activities. My Texas History experience exemplifies why DD is homeschooled. I don't remember the elementary-school version. But the middle-school version was horrible! We spent three months on the Spanish explorers. three weeks on the Alamo, including watching the movie, and three days on the civil war just before school ended. He made an exciting subject sooooo boring. DH won a state-wide Texas History contest for his diorama. He won the contest for accurately showing the peacock general dressed in a skirt running away, and it was later pulled from display for the same reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 (edited) Wee Girl and I had fun with Texas history last year, but before I offer suggestions, what age are we talking about? And actually, why do you need to do Texas history? It isn't a requirement for Texas homeschoolers, nor to attend a Texas public university. Well here's some book suggestions anyway since I can't suppress myself: Texas Tomboy by Lois Lenski, about the 1950s Drought; Up the Trail From Texas, a Landmark history by folklorist J. Frank Dobie; Walk the World's Rim by Betty Baker, about the disastrous Narvaez expedition; and The Boy in the Alamo by Margaret Cousins. These all have positive reviews from my girls. Another suggestion: everything being shut down of course makes the obvious field trips less doable, so maybe this is a good time for very local field trips, and a focus on the history of your particular town. I took an informal class once on my own city's history through the present day, and honestly it's the only Texas history I've really retained well. Edited October 12, 2020 by Violet Crown 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Many of my friends like "A Gentle Tour Through Texas History." 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted October 12, 2020 Author Share Posted October 12, 2020 Why are we doing it? Well, I guess I could say it is DH's requirement. He was born in Dallas and might be a Texan before an American. Since DD is in 5th grade, and he's never requested anything that we weren't already doing, I am going along with it. I'll buy all these books. That gentle guide looks like an ideal spine. I look forward to doing field trips. We did one long weekend in San Antonio (pre-lockdown) that will be hard to top. We lucked into watching three wedding ceremonies from one water taxi trip. DD was enchanted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 1 hour ago, shawthorne44 said: Why are we doing it? Well, I guess I could say it is DH's requirement. Good enough! Heaven knows we do far weirder subjects for that reason. 😄 Glad you got in San Antonio! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted October 12, 2020 Author Share Posted October 12, 2020 1 hour ago, Violet Crown said: Good enough! Heaven knows we do far weirder subjects for that reason. 😄 Glad you got in San Antonio! DD declared it the prettiest city ever and she wants to live there as an adult. Of course, she's seen maybe 5 cities. We did a walking tour there that was awesome! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 Neither dh nor I are native Texans and I didn't know that schools spend two years on Texas history until my cub scout troop did it 4th grade. I had dd write her final paper on Sam Houston in her 7th grade composition class and that covered a lot of territory. We've also visited the San Jacinto Monument and Museum and Washington on the Brazos in addition to the Alamo and Austin. They're open with social distancing now so that is a possibility. You'll get another bite at the apple in middle school so I'd just do what you can now with whatever your library has on hand. The one thing I might cover is the Texas pledge if that's important to your dh. That left me flabbergasted as a carpet bagger the first time I heard it. There's no such thing in Pennsylvania. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted October 13, 2020 Author Share Posted October 13, 2020 The Texas pledge floored me too. I lived in Minnesnowda until I was 8. I look forward to actually learning some Texas History. I think the books mentioned in the first two posts will do for this go-around. Well, and another book that jumped into my Amazon cart all on its own. We will probably skip doing another Texas History study and just include stuff here and there. I am well-traveled internationally, less so domestically and embarrassingly un-traveled within Texas. So, we'll look into places before we visit them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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