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review

Why I Love History Related Games And Review Of Risk Take Over The World Game

February 8, 2025 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

History related games offer a wonderful blend of education, entertainment, and mental stimulation for both your learner and you.  Also, look at my page Kids History Games for more fun history game ideas.

They allow you to explore different time periods, learn about history in an interactive way, and challenge others and yourself strategically.

These games can deepen your appreciation for history and provide you with countless hours of enjoyment.

Why I Love History Related Games And Review Of Risk Take Over The World Game

Board games are available in a wide variety of historical periods like WWII, the Middle Ages, ancient peoples and places, and of course the American Revolution.

A really good historical game still manages to maintain some historical accuracy.

I am excited to share our experience playing Risk Europe from a mom and son (who loves anything Medieval) point of view.

I am also going to share 10 history related games that you might want to add to your gaming shelf to teach history and so much more.

From trivia games to tabletop role playing and strategy games there is something for every type of player and historian.

If you want to know what the benefits are of playing these types of games just keep on reading because I have a list of those for you too.

WHY I LOVE HISTORY RELATED GAMES

  • Immersive Storytelling: History games can transport you to different eras, allowing you to experience historical events from a unique perspective. They immerse us in rich narratives, where you can witness pivotal moments and interact with historical figures.
  • Educational Value: History games teach us about various cultures, civilizations, and periods. They provide an interactive way to learn about past events, political systems, and social structures. We gain a deeper understanding of history by engaging with it in a dynamic and engaging way.
  • Strategic Challenges: Many history games incorporate strategic elements that require making decisions that impact the course of events. They challenge critical thinking skills and force us to consider the consequences of our actions, just as famous historical leaders had to.
  • Sense of Adventure: History games often involve exploration and discovery. You get the opportunity to uncover hidden artifacts, solve puzzles, and unravel mysteries related to historical settings. This sense of adventure keeps you engaged and motivated to progress through the game.
  • Appreciation for History: Playing historical games has fostered a greater appreciation for the past. It teaches empathy for historical figures and gain insight into the challenges they faced. This appreciation enhances my understanding of the present and helps me make connections between the past and the present.
Why I Love History Related Games And Review Of Risk Take Over The World Game

Next, look at some history related games.

HISTORY RELATED GAMES FOR KIDS

10 History Related Games to Try

Playing historical games has fostered a greater appreciation for the past. It teaches empathy for historical figures and gain insight into the challenges they faced. This appreciation enhances my understanding of the present and helps me make connections between the past and the present.

Jumbo, Stratego - Original

  • Stratego is the strategic game where you challenge your opponents in the heat of battle
  • Your task is to capture your opponent’s flag while defending your own
  • Lead your men into battle, every move is crucial

Trekking Through History

  • A History Board Game For The Whole Family - Meet legendary people and join remarkable events as you try to see all you can before the clock runs out during family game night.
  • Journey to 108 Remarkable Historic Events - Each oversized card features original art, showcasing a real historical person or event on one side and its story on the other.
  • Created By Historians & Experts - This family board game was created alongside a team of experts to help choose the events and write the cards. Even history buffs will have lots of amazing things to discover.

History Channel Trivia Board Game Deluxe Edition

  • OFFICIALLY LICENSED - Created in partnership with The HISTORY Channel, the world's premier destination for historical storytelling since 1995
  • OVER 2,410 QUESTIONS - Spanning the entirety of human knowledge, from the big bang to today!
  • SIX DIVERSE CATEGORIES - Arts & Culture, Sports & Recreation, Science & Technology, Geography & Landmarks, People & Events PLUS the ALL-NEW 80s & 90s Category - So many different topics, there's something for everyone. Whether basking in the glow of victory or shouting "'I should have known that!", this game is a blast!

Ancient Knowledge Heritage - Strategy Card Game Expansion, Tableau Building Board Game

  • STRATEGIZE IN NEW WAYS: Ancient Knowledge is a strategy game in which you must build a game engine that will evolve over time. This expansion adds more to that strategy!

CHRONOLOGY - The Game Where You Make History

  • Think you know which came first – the invention of mayonnaise or decaffeinated coffee? Lincoln’s Gettysburg address or John Deere’s first plow? Test your knowledge with Chronology by Buffalo Games – the game of all time!
  • Build your own timeline of cards. Someone will read you a historical event from a card. You decide where that event falls in your timeline. If you are right, keep the card and your timeline grows. The first player to build a timeline of 10 cards wins!

WWII Historical Board Game of Epic Battles!

  • HISTORICAL EPIC: Step into the shoes of WWII commanders and engage in thrilling battles with Memoir '44, a unique historical board game featuring plastic Army men and authentic scenarios.
  • STRATEGIC CHALLENGE: Command infantry, paratroopers, tanks, artillery, commandos, and resistance fighters with strategic card play, dice rolling, and flexible battle plans for victory.

Sid Meier's Civilization: A New Dawn Terra Incognita Board Game Expansion -

  • EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN: Venture beyond the borders of your civilization with Terra Incognita, the captivating expansion for Sid Meier's Civilization: A New Dawn.
  • EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS: Dynamically construct the game board as you play, uncovering new environments and unlocking powers through sprawling districts.

History of the World

  • Marshall your forces and defeat your adversaries.
  • At the end of the game, only the player with the most points will have their immortal name etched into the annals of history!
  • Whoever can make the best use of their civilization’s unique attributes will position themselves to rule through the ages.

Risk Europe

  • MEDIEVAL RISK: Everyone knows and loves the game of Risk. Now, Risk Europe introduces an entirely new play experience with all new armies, weapons, territories, castles, kings, gold and more!
  • EXPAND, CONQUER, CONTROL: Your goal is to dominate Europe with the most territories AND you'll need to have scored 7 crowns in order to seal your victory

CATAN Board Game - Embark on a Journey of Discovery and Trade! Civilization

  • EXPLORE CATAN: Set sail to the uncharted island of Catan and compete with other settlers to establish supremacy.

Also, look at these other kids history games.

HISTORY GAMES FOR KIDS

  • American History Game Fun U.S. President Go Fish Unit Study
  • 18 American History Board Games Which Brings History to Life
  • The Benefits Of Using Games That Teach Geography | Review Of Scrambled States
  • French Revolution + Free Storming the Bastille Game
  • Ancient Greece Go Fish Game 
  • 10 Ancient History Card Games for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning
  • 15 World History Board Games Guaranteed to Make Learning Fun
  • How To Upcycle A Monopoly Game History to A Medieval Theme & Free Printables
  • 7 Fun Ways to Play Go Fish Egyptian Games for Kids

Finally, look at a review of Risk Europe.

REVIEW OF RISK EUROPE

Risk Europe challenges players to step into the role of a medieval king and rule feudal Europe by building castles, taxing subjects, expanding territories, and engaging in battle.

First let’s look at the technical information of the game…

  • Game Type – Conflict Game
  • Mechanics – Area Control, Dice Rolling Combat, Action Selection
  • Play Time: 2 – 3.5 hours
  • Number of Players:2-4
  • Difficulty – Moderate

The game is fantastic quality, including a very large game board ( 30” x 30”), 15 crowns, 4 armies with 35 Footmen, 12 Archers, 12 Cavalry, and 4 Siege Weapons each, 8 castles, 12 red dice, 32 King’s Orders cards (4 decks), 8 City Bonus tiles, 21 gold pieces, 40 silver pieces, 4 War Banners, First Player Marker, 4 reminder cards, 8 Crown cards, card box, and a game guide.

Why I Love History Related Games And Review Of Risk Take Over The World Game

Now onto our personal pros and cons of Risk Europe from each of our points of view.

Son- I like how easy it is to set up and learn how to play.

The board looks really cool and there are a lot of neat parts, and it doesn’t look cheap at all.

But it would probably be more fun with 3 or 4 players. I definitely want to play again and try other versions of Risk.

Why I Love History Related Games And Review Of Risk Take Over The World Game

I enjoyed that it was set in my favorite time period of history, I haven’t played the original so I can’t compare it to any other version.

Mom- I like the fast pace of the game, quick turns for each player but overall the game is pretty long, it takes longer than monopoly.

 I enjoyed trying to work through strategies to stay ahead. I agree that it would be more fun with a larger group but learning to play is probably best with just a couple people.

All in all we both agreed if you are looking for fun family or co-op game with a historical theme Risk Europe is a great option.

For the size, quality, and number of parts for the game it is also a great price point.

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: games, hands on history, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, history, review

Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved)

November 19, 2018 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have an awesome online homeschool high school poetry movie or class to tell you about. Also, look at my page How to Homeschool High School for more great tips and resources!

When my boys entered the high school years I admit feeling intimidated to teach poetry.

An online homeschool high school poetry class with no teaching involved sounded pretty good.

Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved)

Besides fighting my sons’ perception that poetry is too emotional and for girls only, I struggled with the humdrum way I was taught poetry in high school.

I was given this product for free. All opinions are my own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind. When I do accept a product it’s because I’m giddy to tell you about it. Read my full disclosure here. Now on to the fun!

High School Poetry

When I saw that Literary Adventures for Kids had an online homeschool high school Poetry & a Movie literature course, I couldn’t wait to get started on it with my third teen.

Movies, an online self-paced course, and a hands-off approach to teaching the Poetry & a Movie literature course piqued my interest. My son not so much.

However, by using this course I’m so tickled that I’ve been able to ignite my son’s interest in poetry.

This course has easily become one of my favorites and must-haves for teaching high school teens poetry.

Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved). When I saw that Literary Adventures for Kids had an online homeschool high school Poetry & a Movie literature course, I couldn't wait to get started on it with my third teen. Click here for this fun high school course!

Overview of Poetry & a Movie

Let me back up first and give you a bird’s-eye view of this super course:

  • it’s self-paced and online
  • there is no physical product and my high school teen loved to pick up and go at his leisure
  • the literature course has 10 units
  • it is a study of the master poets and their poetry
  • it is a study of the poetic devices or literary elements
  • videos are scattered throughout
  • it has a grammar component
  • it’s designed to give your teen the broad strokes of literary elements so there is no overwhelm
  • you can purchase the books used in the course or borrow them from your local library
  • a movie suggestion is included for a unit end celebration
  • there is flexibility to use this course as a full high school credit, one-half of a language arts course, or enrichment

Although studying literary elements is the foundation of poetry over prose, I couldn’t take that usual approach with my son. 

Another roadblock of high school programs is that most use a textbook method.

My son is an auditory learner.

Online Literature Course for Homeschooled Teens

You know my struggle through the years with him because taking notes doesn’t work well with him.

I need to blend different styles of teaching to fit his need to learn in a way that appeals to him and make this course a challenge. 

Taking information in through audio works extremely well.

The Poetry and a Movie course uses an eclectic method of teaching by combining video, text, and real books. Win!

Besides searching for courses that match his learning style, I had to overcome his perception that poetry is not manly.

If you have boys you know what I mean. Challenge on.

Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved)

Instead of picking up another boring textbook about literary devices and beginning there, the course begins with a series of videos about what is poetry.

I won’t ruin the videos for your kids, but I heard a chuckle or two from my son.

Poetry and Living Books for Teens

Using the living book in the course that is suggested as a spine or frame for this course is what my son loved.

Remember, a spine is normally a living book that is the foundation on which a course is built.

That is another win for the course because real books should still be used in high school.

Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved)

Now that I had my son hooked on the course, the next step was to choose a master poet that would help my son let go of his negative perception of poetry.

Before I tell you what I did, it’s important for your teen to cover the master poets in order.

If this is your middle or high school teen’s first introduction to the beauty of poetry, don’t skip ahead like I had to do.

I was tickled to see Edgar Allan Poe listed as one of the master poets.

We moved right to his poems first because my son needed to understand that poetry is not just about love; poetry is about real things in the world like cruelty, war, nature, despair, and friendship.

Because the powerful words of Poe were the first ones that inspired me, I was almost sure his words would not make my teen yawn. It worked.

Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved). When I saw that Literary Adventures for Kids had an online homeschool high school Poetry & a Movie literature course, I couldn't wait to get started on it with my third teen. Click here for this fun high school course!
 #homeschool #homeschoolhighschool #poetry #onlinehomeschool #highschoolteens

Next the unit moves on to helping your teen define literary devices by using video to teach them and giving examples.

At this point, your teen will set up his poetry notebook.

Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved)

Poetry, Literary Elements, and Trivia are the tabbed sections in the notebook.

Teaching Teens about Literary Elements

Guide your teen to help him set up the tabbed sections because they give your learner a way to break down learning into meaningful and fun parts.

After all, learning poetry should have an organized approach so as to not miss one tiny detail.

The teacher in me needs to be sure my son comes away from high school with a foundation in literature and appreciation for figurative language and not just analytical writing.

The trivia section in the notebook helped my teen to see that poetry is lively, upbeat, and challenging.

I mentioned before that this course uses many different teaching styles, but it equally incorporates different homeschool approaches.

Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved)

The study of poetry is both a classical and Charlotte Mason feature.

Charlotte Mason touts studying one artist or composer for a while.

Studying one master poet thoroughly is the same approach in this course.

Instead of quickly shifting focus, poetry requires lingering on words and digging deep for the intentions of wordplay by master poets.

After my initial fast forwarding to a point in the course to hook my kid on poetry, we benefited from staying focused on one poet for a considerable length of time.

Mastery is also a unit study feature and that was one huge benefit for us in this course.

Living Books and Online Poetry Study

Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved)

Having a culminating activity like watching a movie together or having teatime with your teen keeps it fun. 

Of course I didn’t dare mention teatime to my boy, but popping some popcorn and lighting the fireplace before a movie made it memorable.

Although the course is designed so that your teen can learn independently, don’t miss out by not reading the poems together. Poetry is supposed to be read out loud.

Mentoring your teen doesn’t stop in high school.

If you want him to appreciate figurative language and rhyme, then he needs to hear your voice.

I enjoyed reading the poems out loud with my teen, but you don’t have to.

Another benefit of the program is that he can read it along side the narrator on each video.

I have to admit, my voice was no substitute for the narrator reading “The Tyger” by William Blake. Your teen will love listening closely as the poem is read to him.

Although you can use the course for writing lessons, my goal was to use the time to kindle my son’s appreciation for poetry.

 5 More Things You Should Know About Poetry & a Movie

One/  The specifics of the course are the introduction, the master poets which are Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Blake, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Langston Hughes, William Wordsworth, William Butler Yeats, Dylan Thomas, and Robert Frost.

The last section is a Final Project writing essays.

Two/  You will need to determine beforehand how much credit you will assign to your teen.

Of course this depends on how extensive you want to use this online language arts course.

Third/ Each poet has been planned for a month-long study. Because I wanted to get the flavor of the course, we initially skipped around as I explained earlier.

Now, my son prefers to cover one master poet in-depth.

Four/ There is unlimited access to the course and I see this as a huge savings. 

If you don’t know by now, curriculum for older kids is more expensive.

We’re preparing teens for adulthood and curriculum shouldn’t just impart knowledge or rote facts; it should stir a teen’s mind to be included in the bigger picture of life after high school.

Teaching a teen how to think using poetry as an analysis cements beautiful thoughts in our kid’s mind and reciting poetry is a memory aid to use into adulthood.

You don’t want to miss covering poetry and it’s especially fun when there is no stress planning.

In addition, this course can be used in a few different ways to get your money’s worth.

The master poets and literary elements can be introduced in middle school.

In high school, use the course again, but fold in the grammar and essay components for high school credit. It’s a two-fer.

The best part is that you can use this with all of your younger kids. What a deal for a course that is prepped and ready to go.

Five/ Literary Adventures for Kids is owned by a homeschooling family. Y

ou know how much I prefer curriculum prepared by a homeschooling family because they get it when we need curriculum easy to teach and that appeals to a variety of learners. Another win for me.

Poetry Study for Homeschool High School

Poetry & a Movie may be a good fit for your family:

  • if your child needs multiple approaches to learning
  • if your child prefers using real books instead of a textbook
  • if you want to foster independence with your middle or high school teen, but want your child to have a framework to follow
  • if you fear teaching poetry and want to learn alongside your teen
  • if you prefer an online self-paced course over a physical product
  • if you need a course prepped and ready to go with minimal teacher planning

Bottom Line: I’m extremely delighted with Poetry & a Movie and any apprehensions I had that my teen son may find poetry only a girl’s subjects has been put to rest. Hearing him repeat part of the poems he learned as he goes through his day is a proud mama moment.

I am so pleased with this course and I just can’t think of anything that needs to be changed.

I would highly recommend it if you have a teen that needs to learn outside the box, but don’t have time to prepare a unit study.

Poetry & a Movie is a keeper in my home and I plan on going over it again both as a standalone course and to use as a review tool. 

I look forward to seeing my son build on the foundational skills he learned in this poetry course. This has been a rewarding experience and has helped my son enjoy learning to write and read poetry!

Thanks to Literary Adventures for Kids for this excellent product to serve the homeschool community!

Go on over and give it a look see. I’ll know you love it as much as I do!

How to Purchase It.

Product Name: Literary Adventures for Kids – Poetry and a Movie

Website: Literary Adventure for Kids/Hide the Chocolate
Grade Level: 7th grade and up Note: There are products for your younger kids too.
Type of product: These is an online course. No physical product will be shipped to you.

Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved). When I saw that Literary Adventures for Kids had an online homeschool high school Poetry & a Movie literature course, I couldn't wait to get started on it with my third teen. Click here for this fun high school course!

Also, you’ll love these other helps for high school:

  • 54+ Fun Books Turned Movies to Spark a Love For Reading
  • Best Homeschool High School Literature Suggestions For Teens
  • How to Choose the Best Middle School Literature And Favorite Resources
  • How to Choose the BEST Homeschool Middle and High School Language Arts Curriculum & Options
  • Modern U.S. and World History High School Literature
  • 3 Beginner’s Tips: Homeschool High School Literature
  • Homeschool High School Literature Guides
  • The Ultimate Guide to Poetry for Multiple Ages (For the Intimidated)
  • How to Easily Add Poetry to Your Homeschool Subjects

Hugs and love ya,

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Graduate a Homeschooler, Homeschool Curriculum Review, Homeschool Teens _ From Teen to Graduation, How To - - -, Product Review, Teach Homeschool Language Arts Tagged With: high school, high school literature, homeschoolanguagearts, language arts, languagearts, livingbooks, middleschool, poetry, product review, review, teens

Video Based Homeschool Art (No Teaching Involved)

May 12, 2016 | 6 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Homeschool Art @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

I just couldn’t resist showing you a few more art lessons that Tiny did from Atelier Homeschool Art.

Also, check out his beautiful tropical bird art lesson that he did earlier.

Video based art lessons have been a nice change this year because we have used book based curriculum in the past.

I’m loving the part where I don’t have to teach.

Tiny learned about how the Greek put their art on everything and then he did a lesson about the Olympics.

Also, there is an art lesson about positive and negative space and how to create mirror images, which I found fascinating.

Also, he did some opt art.

He found it pretty cool using hexagons to cover the page and then pick the colors though he tried to stay with the more abstract look and colors.

Homeschool Art (For the Non-Artsy Homeschooled Kid)

Look at this snippet about the videos.

All Atelier art lessons are presented on video, and reinforced by lesson plans.

Not only are the videos a rich source of creative ideas and inspiration, it also clarifies the objectives, materials, techniques and procedures of each lesson.

Abundant instructional coverage, as well as that of students in a virtual art class performing the lesson and displaying their finished artwork, consistently produces exceptional student results and learning, regardless of the art background of the parent teacher.

You can try a free preview of the curriculum by clicking here.

I have a review coming up soon, but just had to tell you about this if you’re considering art curriculum for next year.

How do you fit art into your day?

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

 

6 CommentsFiled Under: Homeschool Curriculum Review, Product Review Tagged With: art, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, product review, review

Homeschool Writing Program For Middle and High School Students

August 8, 2014 | 8 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I often hear that the fun in school stops at the middle and high school grades, but I have not found that to be true. Being selective in our choices for homeschool writing programs has been one way that we have avoided middle and high school monotony.  Also, look at my page homeschool middle school and how to homeschool high school page for more fun tips.

So when I heard about Fortuigence, which is an online writing course, I was thrilled to try it.

However, knowing that I will be moving in just a few weeks though, I invited Jasmine as a guest blogger from Ponder the Path to review Fortuigence/Writing Rock Star for us, because I just didn’t want to pass up the opportunity for you to know about this wonderful homeschool writing program. 

Before you read her helpful review below though, I wanted to let you know what makes a curriculum wonderful to me.

Homeschool Writing Program

(Jasmine was given a free copy of Essay Rock Star.  She was compensated for her time.  Her opinions and my opinions are our own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind, because it does not mean any company will get a rave review.  However, if I accept a review it’s because I am excited to tell you about the curriculum.  This post also contains affiliate links.  Read my full disclosures here.)

As I homeschool longer I get more vocal about avoiding companies that invade the homeschooling market because we are a large educational niche for some companies

 Not all, but a lot of companies are not really bringing any real value or help to our children or to us as the teachers. 

Neither do they understand the paramount role parents have as teachers.  So I try to actively seek out companies like Writing Rockstars whose students are mostly all homeschoolers, value our role as educator and create their products specifically to suit our needs.

I think you’ll see what I mean when you read Jasmine’s review.

Homeschool Writing Program For Middle and High School Students

What do GMO’s, (genetically modified organisms) rock stars, and mind maps have in common?

All three were part of a recent homeschool writing curriculum my daughter worked on this summer!  Maddie will be entering the 7th grade this fall and had never done any formal writing before. 

When the opportunity came up for her to try Essay Rock Star she was excited to take her first online course.

Choosing an Online Writing Course

After choosing one of the four Essay Rock Star classes, Maddie was signed up with her own account.

This may not seem like a big deal to most, but to a 12 year old girl this was a big deal. 

She was able to log in to her class on her own and receive emails directly from Ms. I, as her teacher is affectionately called.

I decided it would be best if Maddie took the Essay Rock Star: Expository Essay class. 

In this class, Maddie learned to write an essay that explained a specific subject or topic. 

Maddie had heard me talk about GMO’s before and knew basically what they were. She wanted to find out more about them and thought that they would make an interesting topic for her essay.

Other Essay Rock Star classes include: The Personal Statement, The Persuasive Essay and The Textual Analysis.

Working Through the Essay Rock Star Writing Lessons

When Maddie first started the course, I sat down with her and walked her through the “classroom”. We went over how to work through the class, where to turn in assignments, and how to complete the lessons.

Each of the 7 lessons has a video for the student to watch. 

In the video, Ms. I walks the student through each step in the writing process. After watching the video, the student then reads through the lesson or can choose to listen to the audio version (great for different types of learners!).

There are several learning aids included in each lesson that the student can either save or print out and put in a notebook. These items are great to keep on hand for future student writing assignments. 

Some of the ones that we thought were particularly helpful were: “How to Write a Strong Introduction and Conclusion” and the “Revision Checklist”.

organizing writing content

After watching the video, reading the lesson, and printing or saving any of the extra learning tools, Maddie would work through each step of the writing process. 

For instance, one of the first steps is the brainstorming process. 

Ms. I shared a great tool for brainstorming called mind mapping.  She shared a link to Bubbl.us which is an online software tool that allows you to create pictorial mind maps and save them as images.

This was one of the funnest parts for Maddie, as she could visually see how her ideas fit together.

And the software allows you to move ideas around and create or delete ideas as needed. 

You can get very detailed with your mind map, or just create the main points for your essay. We will definitely continue to use this tool in our writing assignments.

Personalized Writing Lessons

One thing that stuck out to me as Maddie went through the writing process, was the willingness of Ms. I to work with her students right where they were and teach them in a personalized way. 

For instance, Maddie had decided to write her paper on GMO’s. 

She did some research for her essay.  Because she had outside sources she had used for the information in her essay, Ms. I showed her how to cite her sources at the end of the paper.

This was not in the original lesson, but was taught when it was needed.

Maddie learned so much in the process of the course and it offered me a break in teaching. 

It also gave Maddie a different learning perspective.  

She enjoyed the independence of learning on her own and receiving feedback for each lesson. 

Writing Program for Middle and High School

She now has the knowledge to work through each step and complete an expository essay on her own.

I look forward to seeing her build on the foundational skills she learned in this writing class. This has been a rewarding experience and has helped her enjoy learning to write!

You’ll also love these other tips:

  • 3 Ways to Choose the BEST Writing Curriculum (for a Growing Homeschool Family)
  • Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved)
  • How to Rock Creative Writing When Homeschooling (when you don’t feel like THAT creative mom)
  • Modern U.S. and World History High School Literature
  • A to Z List: Middle and High School Homeschool Electives
  • Cursive Matters; Handwriting Style Doesn’t + Free Resources
  • Should I be Teaching Spelling to my Homeschooled High Schooler?
  • 5 Creative Ways to Boost Handwriting in Older Kids
Product Facts At A Glance

Product Name: Essay Rock Star: Expository Essay. In this course, students learn to write an expository essay. The expository essay is the most common essay form that is often assigned in high school, college, and in the workplace. The purpose of an expository essay is to explain or inform an audience objectively about a specific subject.

Website: Fortuigence.Com

Type of Product:  Individual essay courses and a longer course with multiple essays.  Each essay takes approximately 4 weeks to complete.  The courses are a combination of pdf and video content.  Ms. I provides personalized feedback throughout the process!  I like the fact too that your child can receive high school credit even during the middle grades.

Age: Middle School to High School, but can be used by an advanced writer.  The 1:1 tips also makes it a great curriculum for writers who dread the process.

Jasmine

  Air Force wife, homeschooling mom, herbalist in training, quilter, soapmaker, all around homesteader…yup, that about sums it up!  You can find Jasmine at Ponder the Path.

Homeschool Writing Program

8 CommentsFiled Under: Homeschool Curriculum Review Tagged With: composition, high school, high school literature, homeschool highschool, homeschoolhighschool, language arts, languagearts, middleschool, onlinewriting, product review, review, teachingwriting, writing

Hands On History Kit–South America Unit Study

October 31, 2013 | 35 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

SP @  Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Art In History Kit

When I was planning our hands on activities for our South America unit study, I realized that not so many were fun and age appropriate.  So I was tickled when we got a chance to play with review a fun hands on history kit from Art in History. We chose the Incan empire food vessel kit.

So you know how Tiny got his mom’s lack of art creativity, but it has never hindered us from schooling on the wild side when we set out for an art adventure. The Incan Empire Food Storage Vessel kit helps all novice and expert art adventurers alike because it contains everything you need in one sweet box for each child.

Here is what came in our kit:

  • A replica of a jar from the Incan Empire.
  • Paintbrush, sponge, paint pallet, acrylic paint pods AND
  • FREE lesson plan with background information on the Incan Empire.
World History Ancient Egypt - King Tutankhamun Tomb Frieze (1333- 1324 BC) Middle Eastern Studies - Omani Majmar (100-Present) French Revolution - Limoges Style Tabatiere (1769-1324)
American History Mission of San Antonio De Valero - Alamo Fresco Tiles (1718-1793) American Revolution - Colonial Teapot (1763-1788) English Colonial - Slipware Plate (1650-1800)

 

With so many choices of art projects for world history and American history plus the fact that we can have another excuse to study history longer made us excited about this craft.

We spent several days poring over the lesson plan and tying it in to what we learned so far on our South America unit study.  It is hard to focus on the background information with all the art and craft supplies waiting for Tiny’s itching little hands.

Even though the lesson plan didn’t come with questions and answers or vocabulary words, I am glad because the teacher in me would have been tempted to have him complete all of that before we started.  If you tend to be relaxed on the days you do hands on projects like I am, then you will like the background information provided in the lesson plan and can use it as a read through.

We did an oral narration after we read through it because I wanted our focus to stay on the delight of doing something hands on. After we read it together, I made sure too that Tiny had some kind of idea of how to plan his design which is geometrical for the Incans. Hands on History Kit - Incan Empire South America

The 12 page free lesson plan (wow) has an ample amount of information in it including a color map and color samples (thank you) of how to paint the jar.  Next time when I get a kit, I will hold back the art part of the kit and use the free lesson plan to build our unit study so Tiny doesn’t know about about the art. We stalked our mail man on this one, but I will keep it a secret next time because I didn’t know the free information would be so very helpful in building my unit study.

Discovery Through Creativity

If you wanted to build a more in depth unit study from the free lesson plan received with your kit, you could use the information in several ways:

  • locate the Incan Empire on the map for geography;
  • prepare a vocabulary word puzzle with some of the terms for language arts;
  • create more hands on activities like a quipu (a special knotted string) for art history;
  • focus on understanding the areas like Cuzco and Machu Picchu for history;
  • include some science on understanding the spread of disease like small pox which was introduced to the Incans from the Europeans; and
  • I could see some nature sketches because the Incan people liked to use natural landscapes and simple forms on their pottery.

Regarding the art part of this kit, I loved the fact that the kit comes with the acrylic paint colors that would be used in that time period. Each pod is just the right amount to complete the project and believe me Tiny had to paint it several times or just so until his standard was met.

Warm tones of brown and sepia make up this kit and if you look  at the website, for Art in History you can see that other appropriate colors for that time in history are matched up to to each product.

Of course, you can never go wrong with step by step painting directions too. We need them at our house, but you are probably more artsy than we are.

Hands on History Kit  for Unit Study History Kit

I do like the fact that I was not scrambling to locate all of our art products or pulling buckets tubes of paint that have either gone bad or having to buy new ones because I didn’t have the “right” color in the house at the moment. Just a dab will do you on paint as we have learned over the years so the paint pods are just the right amount and size.

Incan Food Storage Incan Food Storage

The tips such as using a rubber band around your jar and sketching your design first on paper, I found very helpful.

Tiny made his own pattern on paper first too, which consisted of diamonds, circles and lines. Then instead of line drawing on the jar, he painted free hand onto his jar. He didn’t want to use the rubber band or pencil lightly on the jar because it “it might mess it up” according to him.

Our children have different standards for their work at different ages.  And, I have found that the delight is in the process of learning, creating and doing it his way.

But isn’t that what counts? When they are delighted with the end project. (Don’t tell anybody, but Tiny actually put some food in there to see if he could get it out.)

Interdisciplinary Learning – What?

I have to let you know one more thing which has the unit study loving teacher in me excited and that is Art in History has expansive teacher’s guides for unit studies. You know unit study providers which has content laid out can be limited at times. It can be daunting to plan and why reinvent the wheel when we can spend our time doing something else we enjoy. So that is why I am tickled about this new company because their unit studies are laid out in a 4 – 5 day lesson format.

Check out the teacher’s guides at Art in History that are for an in-depth unit study.

This project is a big hands on hit in our home.  Here are some of our other hands on projects too.

Negrinho a Dessert From Brazil

Salt Dough Map

How to Make an Easy Roman Shield & Free Set of Wings

Product Facts a Glance

PLEASE NOTE: All historically correct paint colors are included with purchase of
Artifact(s). Paint colors may vary depending on monitor variations.

Product Name: Incan Empire Food Storage Vessel

Website: Art in History

Prices: $9.95. Plus shipping/handling

Type of Product: Physical Art project kit for one child.

Customer Service: I had a question about their products and my question was quickly answered  by customer service.

Social Media Links:

Facebook

Twitter @artinhistory

Pinterest

YouTube

Hugs and love you

2012Tinasignature Should Homeschool History Be Covered in Chronological Order?

 

 

 

35 CommentsFiled Under: Giveaways, Hands-On Activities, History Resources, Product Review, Sponsored Posts Tagged With: hands-on, review

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