As I began our studies this month of the Revolutionary time period I also wanted to cover the French and Indian war. Some of you may recall that we went to see Fort Dobbs a couple of weeks ago and started the conversation about that war. Being honest, this is a war that I didn’t know a great deal about prior to our studies. I’m sure it was probably covered at some point in my history classes but I didn’t remember much about the war. It is always a fun experience to learn alongside my children and one of the many benefits I’ve found to the homeschool experience.
This week we read the chapter from America’s Story that covered the French and Indian war and had a great meal time conversation about the war and its implications. My children already knew a bit about Cajun culture so they were very interested in the part about the Acadians being relocated to Louisiana. My son wanted to cook gumbo to go along with this new knowledge but we didn’t have the ingredients to we agreed to add it to the meal plan sometime soon.
In looking at project ideas for this month the children have chosen topics but not yet narrowed down their actual projects. Matthew will be studying Nathan Hale and Elizabeth will focus on Rachel Revere and how she helped her husband Paul Revere. I believe these topics will help them go a little deeper into the war and get an understanding that goes beyond the facts and dates. If you are looking for ideas for your students you could consider other notable names such as Benjamin Franklin or Abigail Adams. There is a great list of people and information here to get you started. You could also focus on home lives, the day to day life of a soldier, or the difference in how the war was viewed by a Loyalist and a Patriot.
We did a cute chalk pastel of the outlines of the original 13 colonies with a black cloud representing the impending war with England off the coast. They enjoyed that lesson though the lines on the map were a bit more difficult than some of the other chalk pastel lessons they have completed.
Elizabeth really enjoyed reading the Magic Tree House book Revolutionary War on Wednesday this week. It is a bit on the easy side for her reading level but she was able to tie in what was in the book with what she already knew about the Revolutionary War.
We watched an episode of Liberty’s Kids this week as well. We watched the episode about the Marquis de Lafeyette which was of particular interest since we had seen him being portrayed by a historian in Williamsburg last month. While we will not watch the whole series this month (there are about 40 episodes) we hope to watch one or two episodes each week.
Next week we will delve into the Revolution itself more thoroughly. We hope to go over a couple more chapters in America’s Story as well as some of the other books that we have. Matthew will be reading The Diary of Joesph Plumb Martin next week as well. One of our meals next week will be a typical meal for a Revolutionary War soldier.
I’d love to know what you did in history this week. Please feel free to share in the comments.
If you would like to join us on this journey through US History, join our mailing list and get access to our free library. Each month I’ll post a list of resources and ideas for the time period we are going to cover the next month. You can learn more in our post Our Journey Through History. Colonial and Revolutionary resources are currently posted.
When you sign up for our free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.
Our study of Sally Clarkson’s new book The Lifegiving Table starts tomorrow and I am so excited about this book and the message that she is sharing. We can use our tables to disciple our children and all of those that come through our homes. We can give them rest, nourishment, comfort and so much more. I invite you to join us on this journey as we study through the book. I believe it has the power to transform families. i will post in the facebook group tomorrow with our first assignment and on Wednesday I’ll have thoughts on the blog and in the group. To learn more or to join us in this study check out this post.
Finally, Not Consumed is having a great sale on their hymn studies. These are great ways to includes holidays and seasons into your studies while also focusing on God. We have used them in the past and really enjoyed them. Her missionary study (which we are using this year) is also on sale right now.
There is also a one day sale going on over at You Are an Artist. Everything is 25% off for Columbus Day.
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