Imperfect Genius

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We were going to use Story of the World for history explorations this year, in fact I purchased the complete set for Ancient Times back in the Spring, but for many reasons I’ve decided not to go that route.

Instead, we’re going to use Ancient Civilizations History Pockets, geared towards 1st-3rd graders, as our spine this year. There are several versions of History Pockets offered, but I picked this one because we were already getting excited about doing ancient history this year and I wanted to stick with that subject.

This is such a neat product! It covers six ancient civilizations - Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, and the Aztec World. There is also a section at the beginning which serves as an introduction to the study of history and archaeology, called “What is History?”

Each section has maps, text, illustrations, reading and writing activities, and one or more craft projects. I am really impressed with the layout, it’s easy to use and the directions are clear. The text is written at an appropriate level for this age group, and the pages are uncluttered and easy to read, which is great for Mehalje.

But what has me the most excited are the crafts. I have come across so many resources for activity and craft projects about ancient history that it’s made my head spin. The majority of these are “how-to” books that offer suggestions, directions, and ideas, but do not supply materials.

I’m the type of person who really needs the whole kit and caboodle. I find it exhausting to go around gathering up popsicle sticks, milk cartons, and pipe cleaners. We have these things from time to time, but my children tend to use them as free-form art projects.

I’ve gotten in the habit of avoiding ANY books that try to sell me on the idea that the suggested projects can be “made using things easily found at home”. Without fail there is always an ingredient or item I cannot “easily” lay my hands on and that does not seem to exist anywhere within a 100 mile radius.

On top of that, I really have no patience for finding and gathering materials. When my kids were in preschool a hundred years ago, I was always the mom who forgot to bring copies of family pictures for the class collage. And despite the fact that I bought shoes on a regular basis, I never could find a shoebox when I needed one. I once found myself fretting about whether we’d be through a roll of paper towels in time to use the cardboard tube for the next day’s craft. Ah, forget it!

Needless to say, I am not very crafty unless I have the supplies laid out for me. Then I feel free to relax into creativity mode and really enjoy the project. This is one reason I enjoyed the Altered Book workshop I took at Womenspirit this past Spring - there were piles of materials just waiting to be used! So I am very happy that History Pockets gives me the majority of supplies needed to make the corresponding crafts for each civilization study. I can come up with scissors and glue, but beyond that, it gets ugly.

Evan Moor designed each section to be made into a pocket which will eventually contain all the other information and materials. But there is nothing which dictates that the book must be used this way. This is a neat idea, but we probably won’t use the pocket method because we have a history scrapbook that we’ll be pasting stuff into. That way her history studies will become a more permanent and continuous collection.

I’ve put a lot of thought into how Mehalje learns, and she particularly likes hands-on activities, but I tend to avoid art and craft projects because of the reasons I mentioned above. In addition to History Pockets, I’ve located a few other kits, such as treasure chests and excavation kits, that provide kinesthetic learning opportunities. By using History Pockets and a few other well-made products, I’ll circumvent my craft-phobia. She’ll get to enjoy these activities and I won’t spend a week dreading them each time.

She also gravitates toward movies and other visual media. So I’ve compiled an extensive list of documentaries and other films that are applicable to each unit. She really digs documentaries, even the ones found on Netflix written and produced for adults. Recently she’s watched Winged Migration, the Walking With Dinosaurs series, March of the Penguins, Prehistoric America, and several IMAX films, among others.

I plan to supplement each period study with lots of books, as she’s very into reading now. I’m slowly collecting books as they go on sale and making a list of ones available at our library. I’m striving for a balance of fiction and non-fiction related daily life, myths, customs, religion, inventions, tools, and symbology of these ancient civilizations. I also have many general resource books, such as the Kingfisher Encyclopedia of History and The Usborne Encyclopedia of Ancient History.

I’d love to add a visit to a good history museum or a tour of an archaeology site. She really enjoyed visiting the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh last year, it added a wonderful dimension and depth to her interest in nature and the prehistoric world. It’ll depend on funds and timing, but the year is young, so we’ll see!

Our Learning Approach to History
1) Arts, crafts and other hands-on activities
2) Documentaries and other visual media
3) Fiction and non-fiction reading selections
4) History journal with pictures and writing
5) Possible visit to museum or archaeology dig
6) Other explorations as her interests dictate

I’ll post the resources I uncover - videos, books, activity kits, craft projects, etc - as I gather materials for each unit. I look forward to sharing! I can’t tell who is more into this, me or Mehalje, as we’re both fascinated with ancient civilizations.

Tags: Homeschooling | Ancient History | Archaeology