CC Cycle 3 Hands-On History Projects utilizing Homeschool in the Woods

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As we made our way back to Classical Conversations this past year, I was hoping to find some quick hands-on history projects for my kids that would require little to no preparation. As a busy full-time working, homeschooling mom, time to spend on projects need to be carefully evaluated. Homeschool in the Woods have an “A La Carte Projects” option, which are a collection of hands-on history easy to do projects, where you can choose according to the time period you are studying. These projects require minimal materials and preparation. All you need is cardstock, printing paper, and of course a printer, as these are digital products, making it easy to archive in your computer, and keeps spending costs low.

A La Carte Project 1: “The Bombing of Pearl Harbor”

On week 18 of our cycle the sentence goes: “On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, causing the United States to join the Allies in World War II” (I can hear the tune in my head, and only a fellow CC mom would know.). “The Bombing of Pearl Harbor” A La Carte project, deepens a bit into the infamy of that day with some history on how President Roosevelt delivered his speeches over the radio. Hence, this project is making a 1940’s style radio mini lap book and attaching the information inside like a sort of flip book.

My 7 year old son did this one as he was always singing that history sentence. I had him go over the instructions himself and then he set to work on it. It’s a good idea to have your children go over the instructions themselves as they will grasp better the way the project needs to be done.

The best part was to color and cut the radio.

He had to get some help with putting together the content because I didn’t print the pages the way the instructions read, so we had to put them together, a page behind another in order and then stapled them, so make sure you follow the printing instructions of which page needs to be printed on the back of another page. Nevertheless, it worked out for him and we were both pleased with the end result.

Project duration: 20 minutes Materials utilized:

1. Printing paper
2. Copies of the project -follow the instructions well on how to print them.
3. Colored pencils
4. Scissors
5. Stapler

Student Satisfaction: 100%

Busy mom’s productivity score: 100%

A La Carte Project 2: “The Lewis and Clark Expedition”

On Week 6 the history sentence goes like this: “In 1803, the purchase of Louisiana from France prompted westward exploration by pioneers such as Lewis and Clark and Congressman Davy Crockett.” (A tune in my head again…)

The lap book content explains how Lewis and Clark planned their trip, how long it took them daily to paddle upward stream each day, and their journal recordings of the nature study they did along the journey. Two versions of the lap book can be made: one with the projects’ content attached inside, and another with copy work lined paper glued inside, where they can copy the history sentence or additional information into it.

Both, my 9 year old daughter and 7 year old son, enjoyed coloring and cutting the lap book. They appreciated the fact that it was a concise project, and I, of course, couldn’t have agreed more.

I assisted them with putting together the paddle that moves inside and out, which gives the effect of Lewis and Clark boating down the river. They truly enjoyed that!

 

Project duration: 20 minutes Materials utilized:

1. Printing paper
2. Copies of the project 
3. Colored pencils
4. Scissors
5. Glue

Student Satisfaction: 100%

Busy mom’s productivity score: 100%

A La Carte Project 3: “The Trip West in a Covered Wagon”

The West Ward Exploration brought along quite a bit of planning on behalf of the pioneers. The content includes supplies brought along, when they would make the trip, explanation about the make of the covered wagons, how did the pioneers crossed the rivers, which natives they met as they traveled Indian territories, and why did people move west.                Homeschool in The Woods A La Carte Projects The Trip West in a Covered Wagon All the content is glued behind the 3D laps you see above. Flip the top of the covered wagon up, and the supply list is there, flip the other flaps down, and the rest of the content is found. A very neat and creative lap book idea!

My 9 year-old and 6 year-old girls enjoyed coloring, cutting, and pasting with this A La Carte Project lap book/notebook.

 

Project duration: 30 minutes Materials utilized:

1. Printing paper
2. Copies of the project
3. Colored pencils
4. Scissors
5. Glue

Student Satisfaction: 100%

Busy mom’s productivity score: 100%

A La Carte Project 4: “The Jamestown Replica”

My 9 year-old daughter appreciated more this project since having been in first year of Essentials of the English Language (Intensive English program which is part of Classical Conversations), we covered more history about the initial English colonies that settled in America.

We teamed up in coloring and cutting. This project had more detail involved, so I find it more geared towards older 8 year-olds and above.

This 3D replica required some team work and more assistance from my part, especially when cutting through the curved tabs on each section. A tip when cutting: mark with a different color pencil the areas where folding is required because the instructions are outside the margins of the cutting lines.

Above is “Jamestown” with the gates closed, and below with the gates open. Don’t you think this is adorable?

 

Project duration: 70 minutes Materials utilized:

1. Printing paper
2. Copies of the project
3. Colored pencils
4. Scissors
5. Glue (we also used tape)
6. Toothpick

Student Satisfaction: 95%

Busy mom’s productivity score: 90%– Just because this one actually required more time, nevertheless, it is still an easy project with little requirements.

A La Carte Project 5: “The Orchestra”

Of course, every year in Fine Arts a time period is covered and also the orchestra (anyone hearing The Orchestra Song in their head besides me?) This file folder display of the orchestra includes a practical study of the instruments included in each period as music evolved. The four periods included are The Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern, and with each chronological study the kids can see how the orchestra grew in instrumentation.

My two oldest worked on coloring a side of the orchestra pages and helped cut and paste the pockets onto their corresponding area. It is neatly organized by numbers, so they place the corresponding numbered instrument into its matching pocket.

On the below picture the are displaying the way the orchestra is set up in the Modern Period (Cycle 3). The pocket in the bottom right corner is the title holder. A page is included, which lists by number, the instruments in each time period as reference.

Project duration: 45 minutes Materials utilized:

1. Printing paper
2. Copies of the project
3. Colored pencils
4. Scissors
5. Glue

Student Satisfaction: 100%

Busy mom’s productivity score: 98%

Thoughts on the A La Carte Projects:

Each of the A La Carte Projects come with detailed and easy to follow instructions, including images for easy reference. They are part of bigger unit packages, but I believe that having the option to individually purchase the projects is a big plus to prevent overwhelm on most of us busy working, homeschooling moms, allowing us to just choose what we exactly need for our personal homeschool curriculum resources. There are many to choose from, and Homeschooling in the Woods is currently working on adding more on the near future. The benefit I find is that these projects are non-messy, require little preparation, and each project takes on average, less than an hour to complete, depending on complexity and parent assistance.

Take a look at their A La Carte Products and you will find a great list of amazingly affordable hands-on projects to complement your studies.

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