A Colonial Christmas - Hands-On Holiday Fun!

 We like to take the month of December each year for a little 'Christmas-schooling,' covering our major subjects while also adding in the joy and excitement of the holiday season!  As you know, we LOVE all things history, and this took us down the rabbit trail of Colonial-era Yuletide...

All of these photos depict projects from the Colonial Christmas unit!

I could spend several hours trying to dig up resources, but The Homeschool Garden has already done the work for me (and really, who has that kind of time anymore?).  They have twenty-five subject sessions, plus five different Advent studies, and you're sure to find a few that intrigue your family!  Each morning, we work together for about thirty minutes on a group study.  Fine arts, music, history, nature study, cooking, read-aloud, hand-crafts, Shakespeare, and art history are all included.

See a 'regular subject' session from The Homeschool Garden

TRY THE HOMESCHOOL GARDEN FOR FREE

The lesson plans are broken down into twenty-five bite-sized chunks, so that you can incorporate a little bit into each day.  There is also an advent calendar, for students to open the circle and find out what the day's activity is....however, we were never great at following instructions.  For our family, we took the entire curriculum and broke it into a five-day FUN week!  This 25-day session (or one week session, if you want to be a rule-breaker, too) covers: 

• history
• nature study
• read alouds (with a recommended reading list)
• hand-crafts
• baking
• poetry tea time
• life skills
• music & hymns
• art study
• artist study
• composer study
• copywork

A Colonial Christmas

The Advent session we are currently using is A Colonial Christmas.  The boys are all about history and the Revolutionary War era, so this one was their first choice for Christmas.  In this unit we covered:

• Thirteen colonies - history & geography
• Jean Leon Gerome Ferris - artist
• Rococo style landscapes
• Alfred, Lord Tennyson - poetry & copywork
• Bibical Advent readings - literature
• Tansy, candies, and ginger cake - baking
• Battle of Bunker Hill - history read aloud
• Garland, tin punch, and silhouettes - handicraft / art
• (3) Colonial Games + Advent calendar

You have the option of downloading the materials and using things offline, or logging into your account and accessing all of the lessons and materials digitally.  One advantage to going online is that a few of the activities have videos to accompany them.  Using The Homeschool Garden will provide you with a Charlotte Mason, family-style approach that allows you to enjoy learning alongside your teens!

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Looking for more holiday sessions?  Check out the Thankful unit (for Thanksgiving) or any of these four additional Advent sessions: Homespun Hallelujah, A Gentle Advent, Further Up Further In, or Jesse Tree.

Snag your copy of A Colonial Christmas!!

Stowaway + Antarctica

In our book, Nicholas journeys to Africa, South America, New Zealand...and furthest of all, Antarctica!

The southernmost continent, Antarctica sits almost entirely within the Antarctic Circle and has our geographic South Pole.  It is the least-populated, but the fifth-largest continent -- nearly twice as large as Australia!

Nearly 98% of the continent is covered by ice, most of which is around 1.2 miles thick.  It is the coldest, windiest, driest contient on Earth.  It's a polar desert, and yet, nearly 80% of the world's freshwater reserves are stored there.  That's enough to raise global sea levels by about 200 feet...which is why scientists are concerned with climate change.  

Many scientists work at research stations here, studying plants, animals, and weather.  Thirty-eight countries have signed the Antarctic Treaty prohibiting military activities, mineral mining, nuclear explosions, and nuclear waste disposal in the region.  This is the world's last discovered and inhabited region, and major world leaders want to work together to promote scientific research and protect the continent's ecology.  Currently, between one and five thousand people live at the research stations at any given time.

Our spine novel for this unit is:

• Stowaway   
• It is known that in the summer of 1768, Captain James Cook sailed from England on H.M.S Endeavour, beginning a three-year voyage around the world on a secret mission to discover an unknown continent at the bottom of the globe. What is less known is that a boy by the name of Nicholas Young was a stowaway on that ship.  Newbery winner Karen Hesse re-creates Cook's momentous voyage through the eyes of this remarkable boy, creating a fictional journal filled with fierce hurricanes, warring natives, and disease, as Nick discovers new lands, incredible creatures, and lifelong friends.

Get the ENTIRE UNIT in Twenty-Three Reads Bundle - for someone who wants a little bit of everything! 

It includes twenty-three unit studies covering a wide range of topics. Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student basic background information about the topic at hand. These studies are directed toward upper grades students, but some have resources for younger students so that the whole family can work together.

• There are photographs and illustrations, and we have also included primary documents when available.
• After this text, there are featured videos, which augment the background information and help make the topic more accessible for more visual students.
• You will also find a short list of reading books, including a featured novel that the unit builds upon.
• There are vocabulary words, places, and people to identify.
• Reading comprehension, critical thinking questions, and writing assignments are included.
• We add fun with hands-on activities and extra videos to watch that will bring the era to life.

Includes:

• Language Arts
• Finding Langston & the Poetry of Langston Hughes
• Geography
• Anne of Green Gables & Canadian Provinces
• Stowaway & Antarctica
• Julie of the Wolves & Alaska
• Blades of Freedom & the Louisiana Purchase
• The Avion My Uncle Flew & France
• History
• Zlata’s Diary & the Slavic Wars
• Freedom Summer & the Summer of 1964
• Treasure Island & Pirates of the Caribbean Sea
• Farenheit 451 & Types of Government
• Red Stars & Russia in World War 2
• The Great Gatsby & the Roaring Twenties
• The Long List of Impossible Things & Post-War Germany
• A Tale of Two Cities & French Revolution
• Witch of Blackbird Pond & Salem Witch Trials
• The World Made New & Early Explorers
• Stitching a Life & Jewish Immigration
• Life Skills
• Teetoncey & Lifesaving Skills
• Freak of the Week & Disabilities Awareness
• Island of the Blue Dolphins & Sailing
• Science
• The Science of Breakable Things & the Scientific Method
• Frankenstein & Human Anatomy
• Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation & Albert Einstein

Product samples:

• Teetoncey & Lifesaving Skills
• Finding Langston & the Poetry of Langston Hughes
• Farenheit 451 & Types of Government

Red Stars & WW2 Russia

In 1939, the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany, known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.  The treaty divided territories of Romania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland into German and Soviet sections in a plan for 'political rearrangement.'  

At this time, the Germans and Soviets were working together...both Hitler and Stalin invaded Poland, separately, and the Soviet Union invaded Finland during the Winter War.  However, when Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, and invaded the Soviet Union, in June 1941, they broke the pact.  

By this time, Stalin was confident that the Allies would eventually stop Germany, and decided to work with the Allied troops.  In November 1943, Stalin met with Churchill and Roosevelt in Tehran.  They planned a two-front war with Germany and discussed the future of Europe after the war ended.  By forcing Germany to divide their forces into a Western and Eastern Front, they had a better chance of ending victoriously.

The Soviet Union suffered tremendous losses, losing more then twenty million citizens and fully one-third of all the military casualties of World War 2.  After the war ended, there was disagreement about how to proceed with the future of Europe and the world.  This began a new era, the Cold War.

You may also be interested in these novel studies:  The Night Witches & Breaking Stalin's Nose.

Our spine read for this unit is:

• Red Stars  
• Twins Viktor and Nadya are twelve years old when Hitler's Germany declares war on the Soviet Union. With little notice, the city's children are evacuated on trains that are meant to take them to safety.  Shockingly, Viktor and Nadya are separated, and disaster befalls them both. As the terrible conflict rages, each embarks on a desperate race across snow and ice, struggling through the destruction in an effort to be reunited. Their chances are slim, but they never lose hope. In an original format--using the kids' diary entries, with historical photos, maps, and drawings throughout, this fictionalized account of the Nazi siege of Leningrad during the Second World War, this heart-stopping story of danger, courage and bravery emphasizes the power of truth and what it means to be a hero.

Get the ENTIRE UNIT in Twenty-Three Reads Bundle - for someone who wants a little bit of everything! 

It includes twenty-three unit studies covering a wide range of topics. Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student basic background information about the topic at hand. These studies are directed toward upper grades students, but some have resources for younger students so that the whole family can work together.

• There are photographs and illustrations, and we have also included primary documents when available.
• After this text, there are featured videos, which augment the background information and help make the topic more accessible for more visual students.
• You will also find a short list of reading books, including a featured novel that the unit builds upon.
• There are vocabulary words, places, and people to identify.
• Reading comprehension, critical thinking questions, and writing assignments are included.
• We add fun with hands-on activities and extra videos to watch that will bring the era to life.

Includes:

• Language Arts
• Finding Langston & the Poetry of Langston Hughes
• Geography
• Anne of Green Gables & Canadian Provinces
• Stowaway & Antarctica
• Julie of the Wolves & Alaska
• Blades of Freedom & the Louisiana Purchase
• The Avion My Uncle Flew & France
• History
• Zlata’s Diary & the Slavic Wars
• Freedom Summer & the Summer of 1964
• Treasure Island & Pirates of the Caribbean Sea
• Farenheit 451 & Types of Government
• Red Stars & Russia in World War 2
• The Great Gatsby & the Roaring Twenties
• The Long List of Impossible Things & Post-War Germany
• A Tale of Two Cities & French Revolution
• Witch of Blackbird Pond & Salem Witch Trials
• The World Made New & Early Explorers
• Stitching a Life & Jewish Immigration
• Life Skills
• Teetoncey & Lifesaving Skills
• Freak of the Week & Disabilities Awareness
• Island of the Blue Dolphins & Sailing
• Science
• The Science of Breakable Things & the Scientific Method
• Frankenstein & Human Anatomy
• Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation & Albert Einstein

Product samples:

• Teetoncey & Lifesaving Skills
• Finding Langston & the Poetry of Langston Hughes
• Farenheit 451 & Types of Government

Get the entire World War 2 Bundle!

Includes:

• 
  The Book Thief
• We Were There at the Battle of Britain
• Number the Stars
• The Winged Watchmen
• We Were There at Pearl Harbor
• We Were There at the Battle of Bataan
• Island War
• Red Stars
• The Night Witches
• Mare’s War
• We Were There at the Normandy Invasion
• Code Talkers
• We Were There at the Battle of the Bulge
• The Light Between Us
• We Were There at the Open of the Atomic Era
• A Merry 1940s Christmas

Product samples:

• We Were There at the Opening of the Atomic Era
• Have Yourself a Vintage Little Christmas

Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation + Albert Einstein

November 11, 1930 - The US Patent Office awards another patent to Albert Einstein, this one for the refrigerator.  The invention is not immediately put into production, and the patent is acquired by Electrolux.
Born March 14th, 1879, Albert Einstein is considered one of the greatest physicists and thinkers of all time.  In 1921, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the Law of the Photoelectric Effect.  He developed the Theory of Relativity, which is one of the two pillars of modern physics, and his mass-energy equivalence (E=mc²) is considered the world's most famous equation.  Today, the word 'Einstein' is equated with 'genius.'
Einstein was born in Germany, but moved to Switzerland in his teens.  In 1933, while visiting the United States, Hitler came to power in Germany.  Because Einstein was Jewish, he opted not to return to Europe, and settled in the US, becoming an American citizen in 1940.  Just before World War 2, he wrote a letter to President Roosevelt recommending that the US begin nuclear research, as Germany already had a program underway.  While he was against nuclear weapons, he supported the Allied troops in defeating Hitler.
At age 76, he passed away in Princeton, NJ after refusing a life-saving surgery.  He said, "I have done my share; it is time to go.  I will do it elegantly."  During the autopsy, his brain was preserved in the hope that future neuroscientists would be able to discover what led to his high intelligence.  However, as fellow physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer remarked at his memorial, what truly made him special was, "He was almost wholly without sophistication and wholly without worldliness. ... There was always with him a wonderful purity at once childlike and profoundly stubborn."

You may also be interested in Pi Day Fun!

Our spine read for this unit is:

• Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation    
• Charlie Thorne is a genius.  Charlie Thorne is a thief.  Charlie Thorne isn’t old enough to drive.  And now it’s up to her to save the world…  Decades ago, Albert Einstein devised an equation that could benefit all life on earth—or destroy it. Fearing what would happen if the equation fell into the wrong hands, he hid it.  But now, a diabolical group known as the Furies are closing in on its location. In desperation, a team of CIA agents drags Charlie into the hunt, needing her brilliance to find it first—even though this means placing her life in grave danger.  In a breakneck adventure that spans the globe, Charlie must crack a complex code created by Einstein himself, struggle to survive in a world where no one can be trusted, and fight to keep the last equation safe once and for all.

Get the ENTIRE UNIT in Twenty-Three Reads Bundle - for someone who wants a little bit of everything! 

It includes twenty-three unit studies covering a wide range of topics. Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student basic background information about the topic at hand. These studies are directed toward upper grades students, but some have resources for younger students so that the whole family can work together.

• There are photographs and illustrations, and we have also included primary documents when available.
• After this text, there are featured videos, which augment the background information and help make the topic more accessible for more visual students.
• You will also find a short list of reading books, including a featured novel that the unit builds upon.
• There are vocabulary words, places, and people to identify.
• Reading comprehension, critical thinking questions, and writing assignments are included.
• We add fun with hands-on activities and extra videos to watch that will bring the era to life.

Includes:

• Language Arts
• Finding Langston & the Poetry of Langston Hughes
• Geography
• Anne of Green Gables & Canadian Provinces
• Stowaway & Antarctica
• Julie of the Wolves & Alaska
• Blades of Freedom & the Louisiana Purchase
• The Avion My Uncle Flew & France
• History
• Zlata’s Diary & the Slavic Wars
• Freedom Summer & the Summer of 1964
• Treasure Island & Pirates of the Caribbean Sea
• Farenheit 451 & Types of Government
• Red Stars & Russia in World War 2
• The Great Gatsby & the Roaring Twenties
• The Long List of Impossible Things & Post-War Germany
• A Tale of Two Cities & French Revolution
• Witch of Blackbird Pond & Salem Witch Trials
• The World Made New & Early Explorers
• Stitching a Life & Jewish Immigration
• Life Skills
• Teetoncey & Lifesaving Skills
• Freak of the Week & Disabilities Awareness
• Island of the Blue Dolphins & Sailing
• Science
• The Science of Breakable Things & the Scientific Method
• Frankenstein & Human Anatomy
• Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation & Albert Einstein

Product samples:

• Teetoncey & Lifesaving Skills
• Finding Langston & the Poetry of Langston Hughes
• Farenheit 451 & Types of Government

Progeny Press with Emerging Readers {Review}

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.

It's not often that I get to hang out with littles anymore, but when we visited my favorite little nieces recently, we took the opportunity to teach them about where we live by using the Wagon Wheels Study Guide from Progeny Press.  Progeny Press has over 100 different literature guides to choose from across all grade levels.  Wagon Wheels is for students in 1st-3rd grades.

We received an instant download of the Wagon Wheels Study Guide.  To complete the literature guide, we needed a copy of the book and a student dictionary. The guide took us one entire day to complete, as it was the only thing we focused on for that day -- I like to do Fun Fridays.  When used as part of the regular school year, this study guide should take about a week. 

We read the book together, taking turns reading aloud as they are just starting to read.  Then we worked through the questions aloud and completed the after-you-read fun activities!  The older one worked on the additional written activities later on her own.

The study guide opens with a synopsis (which helps mom), information about the author, background information on the setting of the story, and pre-reading activities. These activities are designed to help set the scene for the study, and help the student picture the scene.

Each section of the guide covers multiple chapters, including these elements:

• Vocabulary – This covers vocabulary words and basic dictionary skills. Various tasks are assigned for learning the new words.
• Questions - This section consists of straightforward questions about the events in the story to test reading comprehension.
• Fact or Opinion - This section teaches students to differentiate between what is a fact and what is an opinion, which is a concept easily applicable to our modern climate.
• Compound Words & Crossword Puzzle - These two sections dig into reading skills and grammatical concepts in a fun and engaging way.
• After-You-Read - With a recipe, some songs, and other activities, this section takes a deeper look at the pioneer life.

I was impressed at the material covered and pleased at the diversity of activities provided.   The study guide is challenging and encourages students to think about the story concepts, how they have applied in history, and (in our house) how they apply to our current climate.  The 'Fact or Opinion' section helps facilitate a discussion on those concepts and how to differentiate between the, and the 'After You Read Activities' section allows for further study on the pioneer setting of the book.

Something I appreciate about these study guides is that they are interactive.  If we weren't working as a family - if I had my child working independently - he could type his answers directly into the PDF.  This allows me to save paper by not having to print it all out, which is very nice!  There were a few sections, like the drawings and crossword, however, that could not be done in the interactive format.  The study guides come with a separate answer key for quick and easy grading by parents.

Other study guides available at the lower elementary school level include: The Drinking Gourd, Frog and Toad Together, Keep the Lights Burning Abbie, Sam the Minuteman, and more!

See what others are saying about Progeny Press at the Homeschool Review Crew!

The History Behind Thanksgiving Traditions - Unit Study

Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends, food, and tradition. People gather with family and friends on the fourth Thursday in November to enjoy a traditional meal and to give thanks for life’s many blessings.  But where did this holiday originate?

Pilgrims & Indians

We all know the story of the Mayflower and the First Thanksgiving - held 400 years ago this year - and the relationship that developed between the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indian tribe.  It had been a long year since the ship arrived in 1620, and the colony was very grateful to be doing so well with the help of Massasoit and his people.  Read more about the First Thanksgiving here.

Prior to the colonists arrival, the Native Americans already had a tradition of celebrating the fall harvest.  Thanksgiving falls under a category of festivals that spans cultures, continents and millennia. In ancient times, the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans feasted and paid tribute to their gods after the fall harvest.  Thanksgiving also bears a resemblance to the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot.

As the colonies grew, colonists continued to give thanks with the autumn harvests.  No official holiday was declared, however, until Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving to be held in 1863, at the height of the Civil War.  He asked all Americans to have God “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.” 

A Holiday is Born

From 1863 to 1939, the holiday was held on the last Thursday in November.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up by one week that year, in an attempt to boost the economy with holiday shopping, and in 1941 he officially made Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.  This officially gave most people a four-day break from school and work!

Turkey & Pumpkin Pie

Did you know that lobster, seal, and swans were served at the first Thanksgiving?  Historians believe that many of the foods were prepared in the Native American way because the Pilgrims did not have an oven.  Turkey may or may not have been served back in 1621, but we know that they didn't have many of the tasty desserts from today, because they had no sugar!

In many American households today, the holiday centers on cooking and sharing a bountiful meal with family and friends.  Turkey, corn, pumpkins, squash, nuts, and cranberry sauce are foods that represent the first Thanksgiving. 

Beginning in the mid-1900s, the president has “pardoned” a Thanksgiving turkey each year, sparing it from slaughter and sending it to a farm for retirement. A number of U.S. governors also perform the annual turkey pardoning ritual.

Holiday Activities

Volunteering is a common Thanksgiving Day activity.  In the spirit of giving, many communities hold food drives and host free dinners for the less fortunate.  Many families host a Thanksgiving meal, complete with gratitude activities around the table. 

Parades have also become a big part of the day in cities and towns across the United States.  The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924, and today New York City’s parade - with its performers, floats, and marching bands - is the largest and most famous, attracting millions of spectators along its 2.5-mile route, as well as an enormous television audience.

Our spine reads for this unit are:

• I'm Thankful for My Family
• Thanksgiving Traditions in Boston
• Who Pardoned the First Thanksgiving Turkey?

Access the entire unit in the History Behind Our Holidays unit study bundle!

Includes eight American holidays. Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student the holiday’s history and customs.

•  Introduction
•  Valentine’s Day
•  St. Patrick’s Day
•  Easter
•  Mother’s Day
•  Father’s Day
•  Halloween
•  Thanksgiving
•  Christmas

In addition to text, there are featured videos, which augment the background information and help make the topic more accessible for more visual students. You will also find a short list of reading books and fun hands-on activities!

Product Samples:   Valentine's Day & Christmas Traditions

Christmas Around the World with Techie Homeschool Mom {Review}

We like to take the month of December each year for a little 'Christmas-schooling,' covering our major subjects while also adding in the joy and excitement of the holiday season!  One of the boys' favorite ways to do this is through various 'Around the World' activities.  The online unit study from Techie Homeschool Mom provides lessons in geography, culture, and old-world craft activities in a new-world (digital) learning environment...

Peek inside the Christmas Around the World unit, and see how you can snag online unit studies for FREE!

What is an online unit study?

Online Unit Studies integrate multiple subjects for multiple ages of students. Students access websites and videos and complete digital projects.  The parent just needs to gather supplies for hands-on projects and register for online tools; no additional books and print resources are needed.

The units are designed for children mid-elementary to middle school age who can read and navigate the Internet on their own.  The units are self-paced, and you have access to it for life!

The Christmas Around the World bundle includes:

• Christmas in Ghana
• Christmas in Germany
• Christmas in Sweden
• Christmas in Japan
• Christmas in Mexico
• Christmas in The Philippines
• Christmas in France
• Christmas in Australia
• Christmas in Russia
• Christmas in Brazil
• Project: Christmas Feast

You can go here to check out the “Christmas in France” preview lesson.

Since we had already studied Japan this year, during the Summer Olympics, we skipped down and started with this country.  The Japan unit includes:

• Where is Japan? - basic geography & culture
• About Japan - interesting facts
• Christmas in Japan - video about traditions
• Project - hands on craft making gift wrap

Some of our other favorite projects from other countries were making the heat engine (this recreates the Christmas Pyramid) in Germany and baking Pryaniki (spiced cookies) in Russia.

For January, we're already planning to complete the Chinese New Year and Martin Luther King Jr units.  For families who really love this set up and want a unit study for every holiday, be sure to snag the discounted Holiday Bundle, which studies the history and customs of popular holidays by exploring online resources and completing hands-on and digital projects.  

Check out the Holiday Bundle and preview St. Patrick's Day.

History, Science, and Technology Education

You'll find more than holiday units, however.  Some of our other favorites (we may or may not have gone a little nuts with picking these up, since one of my sons really gravitated toward them!) include:

• Famous Inventors
• Famous Artists Bundle
• ...and the gigantic 10-in-1 Mega Bundle, which includes
• Solar System
• Ancient Egypt
• Ancient Greece
• Ancient Rome
• Famous Artists Vol. 1
• Famous Artists Vol. 2
• Famous Inventors
• Famous Birthdays
• All About Elections
• Christmas Around the World

Our son's favorite unit, however, was the Graphic Design with Canva course.  This one isn't just for kids -- if you're doing any graphics for a blog, small business, or otherwise, it's a good beginning course to help you navigate the platform and create amazingly beautiful graphics!

The course covers:

• Basics of graphic design
• Typography
• Colors & Images
• Composition & Layouts
• Careers in graphic design

Check out a Lesson Here!

TRY TECHIE HOMESCHOOL MOM FOR FREE

For Parents

There are two courses available that I find incredibly helpful for parents, especially us older ones who are fumbling our way through an educational world that has gone digital, when we grew up on pen and paper!  

The Guide to Digital Student Projects includes step-by-step video tutorials for creating projects that fit with any lesson plan. Your family will learn to create:

• … Illustrated Quote Graphics
• … Online Crossword Puzzles and Word Games
• … Vocabulary Word Clouds
• … Quiz Game Apps
• … Virtual Newspapers
• … Time Travel Journals

Check out the Time Travel Journal preview here

The Guide to Digital Homeschool Organization will help you simplify and synchronize digital learning, plus develop a simple method to organize all your digital homeschool resources.

TRY TECHIE HOMESCHOOL MOM FOR FREE