Colonial Unit Study + Resources

0
279

I’m slowly incorporating more and more of Charlotte Mason’s concepts into our homeschool and in doing so I learned Charlotte Mason did not recommend Unit Studies.

Bummer.

Though we had never actually done a unit study, they sounded totally fun and I was looking forward to planning one. Apparently, Unit Studies try to correlate every possible school subject around a specific theme thus “forcing arbitrary connections.” After reading more about it, I tend to agree.

But I learned Charlotte Mason did correlate history, geography and literature for the same time period. So, using that as a jumping off point I created a Colonial Unit Study for my third grader using living books, crafts and other resources that I think are naturally related. I’m still calling it a “Unit Study” for simplicity’s sake.

Third Grade Colonial Unit Study

Beautiful Feet Books Early American History Curriculum

First, we used the Beautiful Feet Books Early American History Semester 1 Pack as a spine for our Unit Study. We really love this curriculum and even though it is intended for younger children, I was able to easily adapt it to my 9 year old third grader by having her read the Beautiful Feet literature independently instead of me reading them aloud to her as intended.

My daughter read: Pocahontas; Jamestown, New World Adventure; Pilgrim Stories; Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims; and The Pilgrims of Plimoth which are all a part of the Beautiful Feet curriculum. I wanted to spend a little more time exploring the early Colonial period so we paused here with the curriculum (the next book on the list was The Courage of Sarah Noble which jumps to the year 1707) and we focused on other living books and resources for the early Colonial time period.

Resources I Added In

Books:

The World of Capt. John Smith by Genevieve Foster

This living book not only about Capt. John Smith specifically, but also what went on in the world around him from his birth to his death. It reminds of The Story of the World and I’m debating whether I like it better than The Story of World. I think I do. We did not read it cover to cover; I picked out the chapters that were related to the Colonies. If I would have known about this book earlier we would have read it cover to cover. It’s a history book in and of itself. There is The World of George Washington also in the series and we will definitely be getting it, too.

The New Americans: Colonial Times by Betsy Maestro

This living book is beautifully illustrated. I read it aloud and we studied the maps in it.

You Wouldn’t Want to Sail on the Mayflower by Peter Cook and You Wouldn’t Want to Be and American Colonist by Jacqueline Morley

The You Wouldn’t Want to Be Series is super cute, informative, and reminds me of comic books. My daughter read them aloud and loved them.

Geography:

Pin It! Maps: Early America Map Set

I held off on buying Pin It Maps because they are kinda big (space is an issue in my home) but I’m glad we got them-they are awesome! The Early American Map Set comes with four different maps and flags for all of them; American Indians and Early Settlements, French and Indian War, Thirteen Colonies, and the Revolutionary War. We spent around 2 hours assembling the flags then my daughter went to town labeling and identifying locations and events. We will use these maps as we continue learning about American history.

Crafts:

History Pockets: Life in Plymouth Colony

We love History Pockets! My daughter knows how to cut and paste, obviously but she still enjoyed the hands-on activities. Besides paper folders, construction paper, crayons, and a printer no outside resources are needed (you will need to make copies).

Colonial Kids: An Activity Guide to Life in the New World by Laurie Carlson

I’m not a crafty mom (this is why I like History Pockets so much) so I was hesitant to purchase this book. But, I bought it used and I’m happy I did. The crafts are not overwhelming at all. We did not complete every craft but we did make sailor knots, drew flags related to the time period, churned butter, drew a hopscotch with chalk, and dyed shirts with onion skins. This book not only contains crafts but also a surprising wealth of information related to the time period.

Colonial Fashions Paper Dolls by Tom Tierney

Colonial Fashions is a high quality paper doll book. It also explains each of the fashions and their history in tremendous detail.

Music:

Hesperus’ Colonial America Album

This is a traditional ensemble of “the spirited sounds from across the sea to the shores of the new land.” With an Amazon Prime membership I was able to download the Amazon Music App and stream it for free! I’d randomly play it from my phone to our bluetooth speaker during school time. The music is beautiful and we really feel transported to the Colonial days when we listen to it.

We had a ton of fun exploring the Colonial Period with our first unit study and I can’t wait to plan more.  You certainly don’t need ALL this but I hope it gave you some ideas for your own Colonial Unit Study. If you have a second grader learning about the Colonial Period, the Beautiful Feet Curriculum and the History Pockets would probably be plenty.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here