One of the things we do with each topic is to "mind-map" the Key Points of the topic at the beginning of our study. This is to share pertinent information and excite interest in the kids to do further study. The Key Points are best presented in a way that reinforces the theme. On the sails of a drawing of a ship for the Roanoke/Jamestown topic, by giving each child a kernal of corn for each Key Point in the Plymouth topic, or in whatever way you think will help them remember the information a bit easier. For this one we played a matching game of the 13 colonies and tried to place each colony in its correct place, then we did the mindmap/key points for each of those 3 geographical areas.
After the Key points are presented, then it's time for Inquiries. This is the fun stuff. There are inquiries about the topic in 8 different areas, math, language, science, social studies, art, music, etc. We do several as a group and then each child is encouraged to do as many as they would like to do. This is what determines the length of time we spend on any given topic.
This is Cambria doing research on the computer for one of the inquiries she has chosen.
This was one inquiry we did together. We laid out the dimensions of the little ship Discover (one of the three ships to bring settlers to Jamestown) on the lawn and sat within that area to read a book about Jamestown. It was amazing to see how small that ship really was (the reddish yarn you can see). I can't imagine crossing that Atlantic in that little craft.
Here are the two younger girls doing a replica of the Plymouth Colony. They made 21 buildings and using a map placed them where the colonists properties were and labeled them.
We also have a timeline that we put markers on of each of the topics and events we are learning about. Cambria drew this one.
This is our Liberty Tree. Each leaf represents an inquiry done or a theme book read. This tree is a great record of the things we have done in our study, I imagine by the time we are done it may well have taken over the entire wall. For each leaf on the tree the girls earn shillings to purchase things when the Yankee Peddler comes around. He/She is a traveling salesman with various tools/toys to purchase. No one knows when he/she will come, so they are busily storing up their 'shillings' and awaiting his/her arrival.
These are some of the theme books we used in our Roanoke/Jamestown study. It's sure nice to have a good library.
These are the ones we recently used for our study of the Plymouth colony. We are really enjoying our study this year. All the hands-on work is keeping the girls interested and having the subjects tied to the theme makes them much more palatable. I'll try to share more as we go along.
I have to acknowledge the hard and incredible work of the women who created and shared this EPIC Adventure, Karen Kindrick, Cynthia Black, Jeanne Bradley and Deena Ortiz. So much work has gone into preparing this for our use and I thank them for that. We are learning and loving to learn as we go.
How did my long waited-for baby girl turn into THIS girl? Wasn't it just yesterday that I was absolutely thrilled to be holding a baby girl after having 3 baby boys in a row? Wasn't it yesterday when she was going into Nursery for the first time? Or leaving me at the door on her first day of kindergarten?
