Remember when I said that before I started homeschooling I was excited to share my love of science with my children?  Well…I didn’t have the same enthusiasm for history.  It was never my favorite subject in school–it seemed just lists of dates and names that I could not remember.

The History of Our Homeschool History Studies

Our first attempt at history was studying the Revolutionary War using a free Homeschool Share unit.  We read wonderful stories of the people and events, watched dramatizations of the action, and made period food and crafts.  No one had ever told me history was so interesting!

We continued immersing ourselves in historical time periods over the next two years.  It was still fascinating, but I found the need to simplify this year.  I was planning too much, creating an overwhelming workload for myself and listing more work than we could ever complete.  It was taking away the joy of our learning, and kept us from moving on and learning new information because I was waiting to complete all the things I had planned!

So this year, it’s a less-is-more approach.  I’ve made great strides in taming my tendency to plan too much.  It’s not to say we’re less interested or even that we’re learning less, but I’m planning less, we’re focused more on reading and narrating, with hands-on activities directed by my children with less work from me.

Not only is this more relaxing and joyful for me, but we’re moving through the periods at a reasonable speed, staying in tune with prime interest and learning and allowing them to see the connections between time periods!

Homeschooling History Take Two: Relaxed, Eclectic

I’m using Story of the World as our spine along with the corresponding activity guide.  So far we haven’t used many of the activity suggestions, but I use the book lists for extra reading and usually one of the maps for each civilization.  Using a spine text has simplified my planning.  The other must-have resource for me is All Through The Ages, a guide full of recommended living books to use in studying history.

Here’s our simple plan for history studies:

1. FOCUS ON READING:
   • We read a chapter in Story of the World for a basic understanding of events.
   • We read living literature to give us a deeper understanding.  And read…and read some more!
   • We watch videos for fun and educational value.  This can be anything from the hilarious Horrible Histories to documentaries on Netflix.
2. NARRATE:
   • My children narrate what they have gleaned from our reading.  (More details on our narration in just a minute.)
3. If time and ideas permit WE MAKE AND DO.  (I’ll talk more about how and what…just keep reading!)

A Note on Narrating

Narrating is simply retelling what the child has learned in their own words.  It’s a simple yet powerful Charlotte Mason technique.  The difference this year is how often I’m having my children narrate and how I’ve simplified the implementation.  We’re narrating nearly all of our history reading, so it is happening at least a couple times a week.   Recording them is simple: my daughter writes or types her own (we edit together when she’s done) and my son draws a picture then gives me an oral narration while I act as his scribe.  No searching for themed notebook pages or fussy to cut minibooks.  Just plain printer or notebook paper, filled with ideas bursting from their minds!

Our Hands-On History Learning

Our simplified plan doesn’t mean no hands-on learning opportunities.  I’m just more careful about which ones and how much it requires of me.  I’m not combing the internet and trying to orchestrate every hands-on learning opportunity I see.  I keep a tight reign on what activities I plan, keeping in mind what can be learned or reinforced by it, and how much time and effort it requires, both from me and my children.

What has worked well so far is a two pronged approach that facilitates hands-on learning without bringing back my overworked feelings:

1. For each civilization one of the books I choose is one with activities: games, crafts, recipes, etc.  For instance, we used the book Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors when studying Ancient Egypt.  I can choose hands-on ideas, or my daughter (who loves making things) can choose independent projects.
2. I allow my children’s ideas, and what intrigues them from the information, be my guide.  For example, it is common for my children to role-play our history studies.  One day they decided, on their own, to act out one of the Greek myths.  Now I’m happy to help them make simple Greek costumes from a white sheet (from the book Spend the Day in Ancient Greece).  I am confident a little effort on my part will enhance their reenacting, and this will in turn help them remember the stories even better.

That’s the how-to of our history studies.  There’s one more installment in the “How I Teach” series.  Join me next time when I put on the finishing touches: fine arts!

The “How I Teach” Series:

• Our Family and Philosophy
• How I Teach Language Arts
• How I Teach Math
• How I Teach Science
• How I Teach History
• How I Teach Fine Arts

Anne Frank is the face of the Holocaust for many people who have read her diary.  She was born on June 12th, 1929, so in participation with the June famous birthdays blog hop for iHomeschool Network I put together some ideas for introducing Anne Frank to your children.

Anne’s story puts a personal touch on the atrocities of the Holocaust.  Instead of just reading numbers that are almost too large to imagine, and hearing that even children died, your children are meeting one of those children.

A child who had the same hopes and dreams they do.

A child who lived in fear and hiding for two years.

A child whose story does not have a happy ending.

The sad ending may be the most difficult part to handle, but I think it is also what gives my children the truest connection to a story that should never be forgotten.  Fortunately there are wonderful books about Anne Frank’s life written for a wide range of ages.

The book titles are Amazon affiliate links, but I always give my honest opinion of products.

A Picture Book of Anne Frank by David A. Adler

This warmly illustrated picture book is a good introduction to Anne Frank’s story for elementary children.  The story also provides an overview of Hitler and the persecution of the Jews under his regime.  There is no sugar-coating of the atrocities, and there is a haunting painting of Anne and her sister frail near the end of their lives, but I believe the lack of real photographs keeps it easier to handle for young children.

Who Was Anne Frank? by Ann Abramson

This is a chapter book biography about Anne Frank written in 2007.  I did not enjoy the writing style of short choppy sentences or the pencil sketch illustrations, but I did appreciate much of the content.  This book provides a lot of information about the war and events happening throughout the region, and has more details than the other books I reviewed about restrictions placed on Jews.  The information on what happened after the Frank family was discovered hiding is less detailed and more cursory.

Anne Frank, Life in Hiding by Johanna Hurwitz

This chapter book biography written in 1988 has details about the actions of the Nazis and persecution of the Jews–personalized by telling what Anne went through during these events, from wearing a yellow star to going into hiding in the place she named The Secret Annex.  The illustrations are very detailed pencil drawings.  This book shares many more details on the difficulties Anne faced as an adolescent in hiding and her personal struggles.  It tells the story of Anne’s life after the Gestapo discovered the people in the Secret Annex and her family was sent to various concentration camps and about the publishing of her diary.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

This is the book through which the world came to know Anne so well.  It is a lengthy book of her diary entries beginning on her thirteenth birthday, just before her family went into hiding, and ending just before their arrest by the Gestapo.  In her own voice you read the emotional difficulties that were on one hand typical of a girl becoming a young woman but on the other hand amplified by the incredible stress Anne was under and the pressures of life in hiding.  It is Anne’s actual diary entries, so your personal relationship with Anne is even deeper.  There are details about her often difficult relationships with the other occupants of the Secret Annex, including Peter, the young man she grew to love.  I would say it is best suited for middle schoolers and up–children in the age range Anne was when she wrote her diary.  The afterword shares the story of what happened to Anne after her arrest and how her diary came to be published.  Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, edited by Otto H. Frank and Mirjam Pressler, is the newer version that contains entries that had been cut from the previous editions.

These next two books were both done in cooperation with the Anne Frank house and are filled with many of the same photographs of Anne’s life before hiding, the Secret Annex and the others who hid there, the people that helped them hide, and Anne’s diary entries.

Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary, A Photographic Remembrance by Ruud van der Rol and Rian Verhoeven

The primary text for this book reads like a story and centers around Anne’s life and diary entries, while also telling the stories of the Holocaust and war.  The photographs of people wearing yellow stars, emaciated prisoners, “Jews Forbidden” signs, food rationing coupons, and even the document listing the Frank family’s transport to Auschwitz bring a haunting reality to the text.  The book shares information about the concentration camps and heart-wrenching photos including children that were sent to the gas chamber and starving prisoners.  The book wraps up by telling of Anne’s death, the end of the war, her father’s life after the war (he was the only survivor from the Secret Annex) and the publishing of her diary.

Anne Frank: Her life in Words and Pictures from the archives of The Anne Frank House

This newer version includes a collection of color photos of the Secret Annex when it was refurnished for a film, extra details about Anne’s life in the prison camps from witnesses there with her, and additional concentration camp photos (including dead bodies being piled).  This book is a smaller size than the previous book, and is set up more like a scrapbook.  There are a few pages of text now and then, but it reads less like a story and more of the information is found in large captions for the photos.  Brief information about Hitler, the Holocaust, Germany and the Netherlands is included in a glossary at the back of the book instead of along with the primary story.

For our homeschool we’ll be learning about Anne as we study World War II, and I will keep the study of her life simple.  My children will read the books suited to their ages, we’ll go through selected pictures from the photographic books, and they’ll each complete a notebook page.  (There are two free versions at Activity Village, just scroll down alphabetically to her last name.)  We will step into this amazing story as deeply as each of my children can handle it and let Anne’s story touch our hearts. 

Hop over to learn about other fascinating people born in June from the bloggers of iHomeschool Network.

It is important to note the difference between history books and textbooks.  A history book tells true stories from the past, while a textbook focuses on facts, names and dates without room for the the story.  The distinction is so important to me!  I disliked history classes in school, probably because I’m just horrid at remembering names and dates.  I love a good story, though, and have been falling in love with history as I teach it to my kids using living books.  A company called Heritage History has this philosophy:

What we consider essential is not perfect retention of a particular set of historical facts and concepts but an abiding interest in history itself.”

Sign me up for that!  The more I homeschool the less I feel I learned in school, and the more I realize I can’t teach them everything that is valuable to know in all subjects.  I really have to focus on creating lifelong learners so that they will continue to learn and be curious their whole lives.

Heritage History collects historical books in the public domain and re-formats them for use with digital e-readers.  Hundreds of these books for young people are available for free to read on their website, but they also sell CDs with collections of books formatted specially for printing or reading on several different devices.  Titles are limited to only those with expired copyrights and therefore the time period covered does not extend beyond the early 1900’s.

There are two types of CDs offered:  one is a library CD that is a grouping of books on a specific time period or civilization, the other is a curriculum CD that can function as a stand-alone history curriculum because it includes the books plus maps, timelines, recommendations and accountability forms.  Heritage History also promotes using their books as a supplement to other history programs.

I was given the opportunity to review a Heritage History CD and chose Early America because that is the time period we are already studying.  The CD contains the book files as MOBI (for the Kindle), EPUB (for devices like the iPad) and also pdf (so you can print them).  I am trying to avoid using reams of paper and loads of ink, but needed both the other files for my daughter’s Kindle and our iPad.

Loading the Books onto Multiple Devices

The CD arrived on a day my husband (better known around here as Mr. Tech Support) was working one of his 24-hour shifts.  I placed it on my desk figuring to wait for his assistance; my usual routine with technology is to wait for Tech Support.  You can read about my technology phobia here.  Later in the day I was struck by the desire to figure this one out for myself.  Perhaps I’d had too much coffee.

I sat down with my multiple electronic devices (that could cause hives all on its own!) and popped in the CD.  Very simple instructions are available right on the CD case and on Heritage History’s website.  Ten minutes later I had books loaded on the iPad.  Can I just pause for a moment to say that the iBooks interface with the wooden bookshelf is so cute?  I love the attractive visual, and though it was a new program for me I quickly figured out how to open books, check the table of contents, and bookmark pages.

I texted Mr. Tech Support that I was now the technology guru of the house.  I was totally impressed with myself, but really it’s a testament to the super-easy-to-follow instructions.

How We’re Using Heritage History

Our main history curriculum is the Early 19th Century Time Traveler’s History Unit from Homeschool in the Woods.  I chose it for the general schedule of topics, top-notch printables and hands-on activities, but planned to supplement heavily with living books.  We’ve been working through the unit, but finding the living books is not always easy.  Our town’s library is small so I make frequent use of inter-library loan.  One problem is timing my requests so I have it in our home by the time I need it, but not too early or I’ll have to return it before I’m done.  I am also limited in the overall number of books I can request.  I’m trying to keep our budget low so buying a lot is not an option.   Heritage History is filling a real need in our homeschool and has simplified my life.

I began American History Stories by Mara Pratt as our read aloud for history.

It is a four-volume set covering American history from early explorers to the end of the Civil War.  I am delighted with this selection!  It’s so enjoyable I decided to back up and pause our other program as we read from the beginning to refresh our memories from when we started studying American History last year.  Mara Pratt’s writing style is very engaging as a read aloud:  she draws us in and makes us feel as if we’re watching the story unfold before our eyes.  Here’s an example as she talks about the Pilgrims on the Mayflower arriving in Plymouth Harbor in December:

Now, it seems rather cruel to leave these wanderers out in the cold storm; but we must for a few moments, while we hurry over to England to learn what had happened there to force these men and women across the ocean at this stormy time of the year.”

My kids are enthralled!  They are listening like they do to exciting books like Treasure Island.  They stop me to ask questions or share their feelings.  You should have seen their faces when I read about the missing colony at Roanoke!  We had studied that colony but it didn’t hit their emotions the way it was presented last year.

With my new-found technology guru status I also loaded up my daughter’s Kindle.  I printed the book summaries from the CD and allowed her to pick any books in green (everything is color-coded so you know what reading levels the books are).

Ten minutes later she had a dozen new books on her Kindle which made her one happy girl.

My ten-year-old daughter’s opinion:  She was very excited that there were illustrations (most of the free books we were loading onto her Kindle did not contain the original illustrations).  She has been reading through America First, a collection of “100 interesting and romantic incidents from America’s history.”  My daughter’s quote: “the stories are told very nicely in a straightforward way and are easy to understand.”  She is enjoying America First for quick reading, as each chapter can stand alone as an interesting story.  In fact, it prompted her to begin writing a historical fiction story about a girl on the Mayflower.  I was thrilled that already right on her Kindle are several history books she can use for research on this time period.

The Early American CD is a library CD, not a curriculum CD.  I enjoy hands-on learning and interesting ways to narrate what they’ve learned (minibooks, notebook pages, unique writing assignments) so using another main curriculum for activities, printables, and other suggestions along with reading quality literature like the books from Heritage History works well for me.  I can see this being a part of our history studies for years to come.  This one CD has over 80 books for reading levels up to high school–at a retail price of $19.99 that is only a quarter per book, not to mention that each book is available in multiple formats!  There are books I can just imagine my son loving when he is older that cover military history and inventors.  It’s an economical choice–both financially and in terms of space on our already-full bookshelves.

Check it Out for Yourself:

The Heritage History website is full of information–lists of all their books, their library and curriculum CDs, more on their philosophy and even suggested courses of study.

If you decide it would work in your homeschool, Heritage History has a special offer for my readers.  Until December 31st you can get the Early America library CD (regular price of $19.99) for FREE with the purchase of any of their curriculum CDs (regular price of $24.99).  Simply add a curriculum CD and the Early America CD to your shopping cart and enter the discount code SCHOOLRM at checkout and the cost of the Early America CD will be deducted. 

I received the CD for free for the purpose of reviewing it.  These opinions are my honest thoughts after using the product in our homeschool.  As an affiliate I receive a commission from Heritage History when you use the discount code.