Enjoy History with Home School in the Woods - Review

History is a subject that can either be interesting or boring.  I always looked at it as a bunch of books with way too many dates to remember.  However, if presented right History can be very interesting and fun.  My son oldest loves history period, no matter how it is presented, but the rest of the kiddos not so much.  Home School in the Woods does an excellent job at making History not only interesting but fun as well! We are learning about the Roman/Middles Ages time period this year so being able to review the Project Passport World History Studies was right on time for us.  Of course, we chose to try Project Passport: The Middle Ages project first!  This has been the perfect hands-on history add-on to our history lessons.

What is Home School in the Woods

Home School in the Woods was founded by a homeschool mom during her own homeschooling years.  She wanted to make history fun for her children so they created some timeline figures and the rest is history.  Get it History.  HAHA!  It is now run by the entire family mom, dad, and their four (now grown) children.

Home School in the Woods is a hands-on history company with a ton of different history projects that will capture your child's full attention! 

What we Received 

We received a link to download the full Project Passport: The Middle Ages.

How Did We Use it

When we first received the link I had no idea where to start.  If I can be honest it was very intimidating and overwhelming.  However, after some encouragement and tips from some other moms, we were able to jump right in.  I am not a tech savvy person so I believe that had a lot to do with me being overwhelmed in the beginning.  Once we got past that obstacle my oldest daughter and I decided that she would take the lead on this with my three younger kids being the ones that will work on it.  Of course, I was available to guide and help when needed. In fact, I did all the printing and my oldest daughter read through the instructions and helped the younger kids work through the hands-on activities.

The Middle Ages Project takes you on a trip through history during the Middle Age time period.  It is broken up into 25 stops. Throughout the different stops, they learn about the Barbarians, everyday life, business, Science, education, the arts, medicine and diseases, church history, the Crusades, knights, battles, wars, and more.  

Before each stop, I printed off everything that was needed for that stop.  My oldest daughter reviewed the itinerary which basically told her what would be covered during that stop and what was needed.  The following day she would take the younger kids on the trip. 

Our Thoughts

My 15-year-old daughter said,

"This curriculum is an interactive, hands-on, history supplement. We are taking a trip through the Middle Ages. The itinerary was my best friend, it is your plan for your trip: where you will be visiting, how long you’ll be there, who you’ll meet up with etc. So many cool things will be done to ensure that your child is having fun but also retaining what is being taught. Not to mention the cool projects such as the Scrapbook of Sights, and making the luggage. Travel tips were given to use to make sure the materials we don't have we can get ahead of time to make the lesson go more smoothly because nothing is more annoying than to get in a lesson and then realize you need to go to the store to pick up a few items. So that is really helpful to read beforehand.

We did a few things differently from what was recommended. For instance, instead of using an actual folder for our suitcase we used a file folder which we punched holes in and glued pockets onto.

For our timeline, we went with the page by page version rather than the accordion fold version either of which will suffice. This curriculum puts a whole new spin on history and is very fun I even enjoyed teaching it and I am glad my mama trusted me to take the lead on this. We all loved the projects and even remembered what was taught which is the primary goal, in my opinion.

I recommend this to other homeschool families who love history and are looking for something new or to those who are struggling to make history fun and interesting. I love this approach to history and can't wait to travel through the other time periods."

Mom thoughts

Despite what I thought when I first opened that link I really have enjoyed this hands-on approach to history.  I am so glad that I did not give up on it.  It is very parent intensive.  There's a lot of printing, and putting together.  However, if you have an older child, they may love to take on this task.  The extra steps required from mom are totally worth it when I hear the excitement in their voice while working on the different projects, or the sparkle in their eyes as they listen to their older sister read to them, and the way all of them worked together and helped each other out.  It was priceless.  My oldest daughter really took great joy in being in charge of this.  If you have an older child that may be too old for this let them participate by overseeing the projects and keeping everything organized.  This is recommended for kids in grades 3-8 and I would say ages 9-13.

I absolutely can not wait until we are finished with this one so that we can try their newest Project Passport World History Studies: Ancient Rome.

I know I have already told you that Home School in the Woods has a ton of other amazing products, well now is your chance to read all about them.  Click the banner below to read what other moms on the Crew reviewed and how much it blessed their family!

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