Review-Home School in the Woods

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

A few weeks ago we received the Time Travelers: The Early 19th Century U.S. History study from Home School in the Woods.

This downloadable product contains an interactive, project-based study that includes everything from a lapbook with interactive elements, to instructions for 3D projects and recipes, to reading material, songs, timeline figures and more-covering sixty years of history in twenty-five lessons. It’s a great way to bring history to life in a fun and educational way!

Now, I will be the first to admit, I am not a big project kind of gal. I have great intentions, but things just don’t tend to happen when there are a lot of elements involved.

However, the early 19th century is what we are studying next in history, and I am a firm believer that history is not just a bunch of facts to memorize. It needs to come alive for your kiddos, and this looked like a fun way to do it.

Also, I hadn’t really come up with a plan for history. I mean, I had lots of books and some activities lined up, but they weren’t organized. I was kind of dreading putting it all together-just because I knew it would be a lot of work.

So, here was my idea. I took a look at the study and realized it would be the perfect spine-giving us the reading and fun projects, and I could just add the things I already had in as we went.

And, knowing myself as I do, I decided to print off several weeks worth of materials ahead of time-no excuses that way!

Fortunately, I have a thirteen year old who loves putting stuff like this together, so we set to work.

I was pleasantly surprised to see just how organized this study is. There is a file for the readings, a file for the copy work, a file for the projects-even a master calendar.

All I had to do was print off the project list, and follow down the page-printing documents and gathering supplies as I went.

Did this take a while to do? You bet. Did I have fun spending time doing this with my daughter? Also, you bet!

As far as necessary supplies are concerned, we are a pretty crafty household, and I had most of the stuff I needed on hand. The only purchase I made was acetate sheets. You will want to make sure you have plenty of card stock in white and in various colors, as this is used a lot. Also, you will need file folders, three-ring binders, tape, and a hole punch. Scissors and a paper trimmer are also helpful tools. And don’t forget to make sure you have plenty of printer ink too!

If you choose to do the bigger projects (sewing, cooking, etc.), more supplies will be needed for those, but the supplies are clearly outlined in the weekly project guide. If you pre-assemble like we did, you will be able to create a list ahead of time of what you might need.

So to start, I began printing, while my daughter began assembling several of the interactive elements for her lap book.

We also prepped the 3-ring binders, including a master one for me. Then, we printed and cut some of the trickier elements for the little guys, making it easier for them to assemble when we get to those elements.

And, with my daughter already having some of hers assembled, she can help one boy, and I will help the other. This is fantastic, because it isn’t so much fun when two boys are asking for my help at the same time, the whole time!

While this study is marked for grades 3-8, we are using it with a second grader, an extra special 5th grader, and an 8th grader, so anything done in advance is very helpful.

So now we have several weeks of projects prepped and ready for easy assembly. Nice!

While we were assembling, I got a great look at the projects to come. I love that there is copy work straight from a McGuffey Eclectic Reader (how fun is that), and both my daughter and my youngest son got the biggest kick out of how with the first interactive element you could pull a tab and make it look like the ship blew up!

The readings are just a few pages long, but are informative and interesting. Plus they aren’t so long, that I can’t stick in a few of my own books as well. I like that.

I also like that my kids are being introduced to American songs and the history behind them. That is something I wouldn’t have thought to cover, and it provides them with an even richer history experience overall.

I will admit, we probably won’t be making a coonskin cap, or sewing leather together to make a book. But, my daughter and I are definitely planning which recipes we want to make-they look like so much fun (jam-filled cookies, anyone?)

In the end, you can really do as much or as little as you want with this study, and still have a rich history experience.

If you want to do the basics, it will all be good. And if you want to go big and sew your own quilt squares and have a chuck wagon dinner for your family, you can do that.

Or, you can end up somewhere in the middle like us. We are going to read about history, sing a few songs, build some amazing interactive elements, and create some fun projects. And we’ll learn a lot about the early 19th century in the process.

Now, due to it being an election year, I had planned to take a break from the 19th century in October and cover the election process. Because I liked the set-up so much of the Early 19th Century study, I decided to pick up the Home School in the Woods Lap-Pak: U.S. Elections which can be found here.

Once again, all I had was a few books set aside for this topic, so this lap-pak will be the perfect spine for our elections unit!

Want to learn more about the other types of projects Home School in the Woods has to offer? Here is your opportunity! Home School in the Woods is giving away a FREE copy of their Greek Life! File Folder Game. Just use the code TOSGameNight at checkout. No purchase is necessary!

You can check out more information about the Time Travelers U.S. History Study The Early 19th Century here. There are also several other units in the Time Travelers series-including The American Revolution, World War II, and more. The Homeschool Review Crew has reviewed several Home School in the Woods products, so I encourage you to visit the Home School Review Crew blog to read more reviews!