We are only onto Page 6 of our workbook and have already learnt so much. I laugh because even though I am a school teacher, learning about American Geography and History is new to me so I’m enjoying this as much as my son.
In today’s lesson, we practiced some labeling, inserting mapping symbols and Atlas research. I’ll say it again. Invest in a good atlas. We are waiting for Atlas number 3 now.
The activities in this workbook are well thought out and progress very well for my son but having a prior knowledge of American History and Geography would definitely make things so much easier. For us, we need go back and learn about the French and Indian War as well as the Revolutionary War; which brings me to the reason for this post.
In my research on finding a way for my son to want to learn about the Revolutionary War, I came across these great 20-30 minute videos. They are really great and both my boys, 8 and 12, enjoyed watching the story. It has just the right amount of conflict without being scary or bloody. The series has a total of 40 episodes following 3 children growing up between Boston Tea Party in 1773 to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1789.
THE BOSTON TEA PARTY
THE INTOLERABLE ACTS
UNITED WE STAND
LIBERTY OR DEATH!
MIDNIGHT RIDE
THE SHOT HEARD ’ROUND THE WORLD
GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
BUNKER HILL
POSTMASTER GENERAL FRANKLIN
WASHINGTON TAKES COMMAND
COMMON SENSE
THE FIRST FOURTH OF JULY
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
THE TURTLE
ONE LIFE TO LOSE
“CAPTAIN MOLLY”
AMERICAN CRISIS
ACROSS THE DELAWARE
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
SYBIL LUDINGTON
LAFAYETTE ARRIVES
THE HESSIANS ARE COMING
VALLEY FORGE
ALLIES AT LAST
HONOR AND COMPROMISE
THE NEW FRONTIER 1779
NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT
THE GREAT GALVEZ
IN PRAISE OF BEN
BOSTONIANS
BENEDICT ARNOLD
CONFLICT IN THE SOUTH
DEBORAH SAMSON — SOLDIER OF THE REVOLUTION
JAMES ARMISTEAD
YORKTOWN
BORN FREE AND EQUAL 1781 – 1783
THE MAN WHO WOULDN’T BE KING
GOING HOME 1786
“WE THE PEOPLE”
There are plenty of episodes on YouTube or you can purchase the DVD’s through Amazon. The Liberty Kids Website has extra links too that the kids can interact with, such as colouring pages, games and so on.
There are also so many great folks out there who have made wonderful lists of resources available so please check out their blogs too. I was particularly impressed by the collection from Cross and Quill Media.
We will continue to watch the series as a way of helping us learn about land divisions, migration and USA history.
This is also a perfect example of Project Based Learning. We started with simple mapping and now we are so interested in American Independence. Let’s see where tomorrow will lead us…..
Happy Homeschooling.
Rowena & Kane.