Our Favorite Frugal Elementary Homeschool Curriculum for US History - Hands On

Summary:  3 FRUGAL resources and curriculum for homeschooling elementary American history.  #homeschoolelementary #homeschoolhistory  This post may included affiliate links to products that we love and have used or would use in our own homeschool. Please see my disclosure policy.

Are you looking for resources to teach American History to your kids?  

At BJ's Homeschool, we used a combination of living literature, hands-on projects, and short history lessons to study about our country's history.  We had three favorite resources to help us do just that...

Today, I would like to share our 3 favorite homeschool elementary history curriculum and resources that we loved. 

1. "History and Me" - a creative workbook with hands-on activities 
2.  the Little House on the Prairie series, with craft books 
3.  US History 5 - from Oak Meadow homeschool publishers

We began our studies, with the book "History and Me", when my daughter was in 3rd grade..

1.  History and Me

History and Me, by Education.com offers a great way to introduce US History to your kids, and it is frugally priced at less than $8.00. Through this book, your kids are introduced to US history by learning about the people in it.

History and Me is divided into four sections:

1.  She's so Cool - Women in History

2.  American Heroes

3.  Presidential Potpurri - Famous Presidents

4.  Tracing your Roots - an introduction to studying family history

The first section includes short biographies of famous women in our history, and also gives practice in reading comprehension skills, and learning about biographies.

The second section includes short lessons on Alexander Hamilton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Susan B. Anthony,  Martin Luther King, Jr. and many more.  I like how it uses word scrambles to help with retention in this section.

In the third section about our Presidents, your kids are introduced to historical time lines, with cut and paste activities used to make them.

The last section involves interviewing family members, to begin to map out your family's history.

Education.com also offers 15,000 free printables, which include fun activities, worksheets and online games.  Just click here, to reach their extensive list of printables.

After studying the lessons in History and Me, we moved on to focus on the pioneer days, with the series of novels -- "The Little House on the Prairie" that is so popular, and so wonderful.

My friend Meredith also offers more fun audio based history resources here at Pop the Popcorn - Learn about the American Revolution.

2.  The Little House on the Prairie Series

Scholastic offers the The Little House Series, as I am sure you already know..but we were lucky to get most of our books from the library.  

While reading them, we enjoyed My Little House Crafts Book , and had lots of hands-on fun with their craft ideas.  

Gerdine B. also offers many related activities here - under Pinterest Activities, as does in her blog, the Proverbs 31 Woman ----- with her Little House in the Big Woods Activities. 

Then when my daughter was in 5th grade, we were ready to cover U.S. history in more depth,  and found a wonderful course, from Oak Meadow Homeschool Publications.

3.  US History 5 by Oak Meadow

Oak Meadow - Fifth Grade 

This was a complete course that my daughter loved, with charming lessons full of interesting facts, giving a good solid overview of our country's history.  

These were coordinated with lots of hands-on projects and fun to read living literature books as well.

Oak Meadow offers courses in English, Social Studies, Math, and Science for grades K - 12.  They can be purchased as a bundle or, from 4th grade on, just one course at a time.  

They are all hands-on, project oriented courses, and we loved using them for English and History, starting in 4th grade.

These US History lessons included information that young children would want to know, such as family life, toys and children's clothing, along with the important historical facts of US History. 

The Living Literature books included:

-The Story of Harriet Tubman
- Ben and Me
- Sarah Mortan's Day 
- Christopher Columbus
- and four more.

And I loved how it encouraged my daughter's critical thinking!  

My friend, Meredith offers 20th Century History Resources that Your Family will Love.   

My friend, Amy offers more resources on Early American History you might like to read about, too.

For more quality and frugal ideas for elementary curriculum:

My friend from 7 Sisters Homeschool also offers an extensive list of quality Elementary Curriculum Resources here - Favorite Homeschool Curriculum for Elementary Grades.

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled from preK through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school & college and wrote - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.   She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting. 

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Our Homemade Course in Video Production

Summary:  Homeschool high school electives can include the fun of video making.  Here is how we made our own homemade course, including #homeschoolelective curriculum and more. #homeschoolinghighschool is so much more than just core studies. This post may included affiliate links to products that we love and have used or would use in our homeschool, and click here for my disclosure policy.

Making things, doing arts and crafts, and photography were always big in our homeschool. And into the high school years, too.  One year, my daughter wanted to try her hand at video-making. 

Nature Study Activities for Teens - and How to Make them into a High School Elective

Summary:  Homeschooling high school does not often include #nature study.  But there is no reason not to, and we made it into an easy #homeschool highschool elective. #homeschoolhighschool #homeschoolhighschoolelective #naturestudyforteens  This post may have affiliate links to resources that we used or would like to use in our homeschool.  Please see my disclosure policy.


We are all crazy about birds in our house.  

Often, we spent a lot of time identifying birds, learning to distinguish their calls and making bird feeders when my daughter was young.  But can we still do that in high school?  And can it count as an elective?

Birdwatching Nature Study - Simple Unit Study, Favorite Bird Books for Kids, and more.

Summary:  Birdwatching is a great way to get started with nature study for your kids.  This includes tips for birdwatching, books, a simple unit study, and more.  This post may included affiliate links to products that we love and have used or would use in our homeschool, and click here for my disclosure policy. #naturestudy #homeschoolelementary #unitstudy

Are you kids so wanting to be able to play outside?  Do they miss doing nature study from last summer?

How about putting out a bird feeder, and watching for wild birds from the coziness of your warm living room?  

Today I'd like to share how we did birdwatching in our homeschool, starting with having fun birdwatching:

- Bird Photos to Identify
- Elementary Bird Activities
- Birding Unit Study 

- Science Experiments

- Holiday Bird Count

- Birdwatching Books

- Art Lessons on Birds 

We started birdwatching very early on in our homeschool.  When my child was a toddler, she noticed the birds from her bedroom window.  We enjoyed watching local birds that would fly by, or land on a tree, or sometimes on our deck.

We made a peanut butter feeder, just from a large pinecone and peanut butter, and a strong to hang it with.  You could use a toilet paper roll, too.

Then, we put up a feeding station, one for the suet, which the wild birds especially liked, and one for the bird seeds.

Below are photos of common birds seen in our country.  You may enjoy identifying these with your children.

1.  Bird Photos for Identification

Pileated Woodpecker (left) and Downey Woodpecker

One day we were blessed to see a hummingbird on one of our bushes....

In the winter we saw robins....

Canadian Robin

2.  Elementary Bird Activities

We were always on the hunt for birds.  

We watched for them, looked them up together, and discussed what they liked to eat.  At the library, we found books on bird nests and baby birds.

The next year, we started using Golden's Guide to Field Identification - Birds of North America

3.  Simple Unit Study on Birdwatching

Having a bird feeder nearby, and watching the comings and goings there, can be a great nature study and unit study activity.  

Math can be done just  by just adding in some bird count activities.  You could even report your findings to the FeederWatch site.  That touches on science, reading, and even math, for recording and reporting your stats to the site.

Moving the Bird Feeder Experiment

One year, we decided to move our bird feeding station from the side yard to the back, where we could see the birds better. This led to a great math and science activity, involving three steps:

Three Steps to Experimenting:

1.  Make a hypothesis - First we estimated how long the birds would take to find the new feeder location
2.  Collect your data - Then we tabulating how many came to the new feeder each day
3.  Do your analysis - Then we analysed our data, to determine if our hypothesis was correct.

It took over a month for all the birds to find the new location!  

Our hypothesis was wrong.  But my child was learning and using the scientific process, while developing a love for nature. 

For Older Birders

Nature journaling can become the science and art component.  

Sometimes we even joined in with  Cornell's Feeder Watch.  We enjoyed doing that each year, just by counting the number of different birds that came to our backyard feeder. 

Your older birds may just love joining in an organized bird count, and below is more information on that.

Holiday Bird Count

In December, each year, you probably hear about the Holiday Bird Count.  

This is an organized count of the number of birds found in your backyard, or your designated area.  It is sponsored by the Audubon Society, and provides vital information to help protect birdlife habitat.  

We watched from our feeder and from our neighborhood, keeping stats on what we saw.  As my child grew older, she became to scribe, and would submit the data herself.  

Pretty soon it was her data.  If you are interested, they also have a Backyard Bird Count, which goes on periodically throughout the year, too.

For winter birding, there is the Great Backyard Bird Count in February. 

This became a tradition in our home, each year.  We saw, identified and counted hundreds of birds, such a joy to discover some of God's creation.

Adding in some great books about birds can then easily complete your unit study.

Books for Young Birdwatchers

  For Little Birders

Birds, Nests and Egg

How Do Birds Find Their Way

Bird Log 

For Elementary Birders

Birdhouses You Can Build in A Day

Backyard Birding for Kids

Beginning Birdwatcher's Book - with 48 Stickers

Peterson Field Guide for Backyard Birds  

Would you like to add art to your birdwatching unit study?  Would you like to have your kids learn more about specific birds, and do art at the same time?

Art Lessons for Birders

Have you ever seen the frugal art lessons offered by Tricia Hodges, a long time homeschooler?

These video art lessons from Chalk Pastels.com are taught by a master artist and include the following birds:

• owl
• cardinal
• goldfinch
• hummingbird
• chickadee
• robin
• sandpiper
• bluebird
• Bonus! baby bluebird and bird nest

Click here for more information, a free sample lesson and more.  

Would you young birders enjoy studying leaves?  My friend, Misty offers a Leaves Unit Study that I think they would enjoy.

And Kristin shares a Bird Unit Study on Kristin Moon Science.

Birdwatching provided so many learning opportunities, and built a love of nature in my daughter, that has continued through the years.

My friend, Sarah, shares Learn About Birds with Free Resources at Freedom Homeschooling.

What are you favorite things to do for nature study?  

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled from preK through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school & college and wrote - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.   She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting. 

Want to stay in touch?

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Copyright, Revised 2024
All Rights Reserved

Our Favorite Frugal Resources for Hands-On Science Activities - Elementary

Summary:  Fun frugal and hands-on resources for elementary science to your kids.  #homeschoolscience #homeschoolelementary This post may included affiliate links to products that we love and have used or would use in our own homeschool. Please see my disclosure policy.

Are you looking for science studies for your elementary kids that are fun and hands-on?   

Learning from hands-on experiences was the best way to go for my daughter.  And she loved learning the scientific process by actually doing it.

An Interview with a Homeschool Mom

Summary:  This is my interview by the homeschool blogger at Faith and Good Works, sharing how we homeschooled our child through the years, and then how we helped her get into college with her homeschool transcript.  #howtohomeschool #meetahomeschooler

Good morning all!  Have you ever been over to the Faith and Good Works blog?  

I had the opportunity to be interviewed for their blog series - Interview of a Homeschool Mom, which they are offering every month this year.  Check it out!

What a great way to get to know other homeschooling families, and find one of two blogs to follow, that fit your own family's homeschooling style.

I am pleased to share and be interviewed today, to give your more of an idea of our homeschooling experience, and why and how we choose this path for our daughter.

As you know, we started when my kidddo was 4, and continued all the way through high school.....Here she is at 4, if you haven't seen this one yet....I just had to share, as she is still my "baby"....

She is the the one on the left, in the row of standing little ballerinas....She loved that class!

To read more about our journey, and details that I don't usually get time to share here, please click here.  

I hope that this series at Faith and Good Works encourages you, and that it might add a little spice to your Monday, while you do the important work of homeschooling your precious kids.....

Are you homeschooling a high schooler this year? All the details that you need to plan your high school at home are here.

Homeschooling High School with College in Mind - 2nd edition, 
Amazon 

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, highschool, 
college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition,   She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting,  and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

Want to stay in touch?

Subscribe, Pinterest, Facebook 

No spam ever.  

Just encouragement for your homeschool in your inbox. 

Copyright 2020 @ BJ's Homeschool

All Rights Reserved

BJ's Guide to Homeschooling High School - You Can Do It!

Are you homeschooling high school, or thinking about it for next year?  Homeschooling high school is really not so hard.

Looking back, I pulled together some planning resources for the high school years, for Credits, Curriculum, and Transcripts.....

You know, like the saying goes...Lions, Tigers and Bears....... But really, if you have these 3 tools, an understanding of high school credits, curriculum, and transcripts, then you have all that is needed to start your high school journey....with confidence.

First of all, let's talk about high school credits.

1.  Assigning High School Credit

You probably saw my post on credits last week, but in case you didn't, here is a bit about that.

It is not that hard to assign high school credit. 

There are the...................1.  the Textbook method

                                             2.  the Hours method

                                             3.  the Mastery method

This post explains each of them, and all of the work that your teen does can earn high school credit.   

This includes courses that you make yourself, volunteer and paid work hours, internships, time spent reading, etc.  

We did a lot of different kinds of learning, and all of it counted.

Secondly, let's talk curriculum.....

2.  Curriculum Search Resources

First, we started with our favorites from middle school.  I wanted to keep whatever was working  best for my daughter.  For example, we used SOS for math in middle school, and just continued with it for most of high school.  That was a no-brainer.  

My daughter was a big part of this process.  Together, we searched the internet, our favorite blogs and homeschool catalogs, and talked with our homeschooling friends, to find new ideas.  


Here are my favorite resources for your search:

------ There is a great CURRICULUM DIRECTORY at Let's Homeschool High School

This curriculum directory for high school is the most complete one I have ever seen!  And it includes TONS of links, too! 

------ THE CURRICULUM CHOICE

This site is full of curriculum reviews, written by a team of authors (me, too!) who have used the curriculum, at home with their families.  There are reviews of curriculum such as Tapestry of Grace, IEW for literature and writing, Oak Meadow, a number of Charlotte Mason options, and tons and tons of many more reviews, too. 

 At BJ's Homeschool, we used a combination of faith based and secular resources.  My book on homeschooling high school has lots more information on curriculum and how to meet the college's entrance requirements, if your teen is headed that way.

So we looked for things that fit my daughter for her basic high school courses. But what exactly are high school core studies.....

3.  High School Core Studies

Core studies are just the basic high school courses, in math, english, social studies, and science.

What your choose for core studies is most often up to the individual homeschool family.  

Most states do not list what is required for a homeschool diploma. 

If you are unsure of this, just check with your local homeschool organization.

Now that you have resources for finding your curriculum, and you understand what core studies are.  You are ready to search for your own high school curricula.

But before we ordered anything, we spent time talking about my teen's special interests. These influenced our choices for core studies and also became her high school electives!

4.  High School Electives

What is your teen passionate about?  How do they spend their time, when they have free time?  What are their gifts?

My daughter wanted to learn about film making, and also had an interest in political science.  So we did some video making that one of her homemade electives. She learned how to make her own videos, and entered them in various contests.  Then we did a course in Government for one of her social studies requirements.

The beauty of homeschooling high school is that you get to build and nurture your teen's interests and help them to discover their strengths.

Now that we finished talking about curriculum, core studies and electives, let's talk transcripts...

5.  Making your High School Transcripts

Volunteering is a great leadership building activity and colleges love to see this on their applications.

Compiling your transcripts is really not that hard!  

Really! 

Above is a post on that, with a list of what is needed to be on your teen's transcripts.  And if you would like a little help to put them together check out my book below,  which has printables and help for course descriptions as well.

High School was my favorite time, of all of our homeschooling years.  Watching my daughter blossom and grow, during the teen years....That was priceless!

After helping my homeschooled high schooler get into each of the colleges she applied to, I wrote this frugal guide:

Homeschooling High School with College in Mind - 2nd edition 

Paperback and Kindle are on Amazon 

Paperback is at Amazon $11.99

For more info: Homeschooling High School with 

College in Mind - 2nd Edition

Have you seen my facebook group called 

Homeschooling Through High School?

 Homeschooling Through High School 

Join us!

Let's chat about:

choosing curriculum 
high school electives
assigning high school credit
making transcripts, how to get started
long range planning tips

writing a college essay
preparing for college writing 
freaking out!

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, highschool, 
college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition,   She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting,  and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

Want to stay in touch?

Subscribe, Pinterest, Facebook 

No spam ever.  
Just encouragement for your homeschool in your inbox.

Copyright, all rights reserved, BJ's Homeschool 

Thanks for respecting my copyright, 2020