My Very First Freebie - A Back to School History Freebie

Today I'm really excited to bring you something I've been working on for a long time - almost a year, in fact, off and on. And, in the spirit of homeschool mommy solidarity, I'm offering it totally free! It's my great big giant master reading list to accompany all four volumes of Story of the World, designed for Grammar Stage grades 1-4. This is something I keep in my curriculum planner for quick reference when I need to know what books to pull from for nightly read-alouds or writing exercises, what it bring to the library with me for reference, and what I check every time I get ready to make a book purchase. It's quick, it's easy, and it's (fairly) thorough. 

Download it here.

Last year, because it was our first year homeschooling, I had not yet discovered the Story of the World Activity Book and all the awesome resources it contained. Published by Peace Hill Press to supplement the study of the Story of the World series by Susan Wise Bauer (author of The Well Trained Mind), the Activity Books contain discussion questions, map work exercises, coloring pages, hands on projects, and loads of extra reading suggestions, all broken down by chapter to make your life easier. It's wonderful and really helps round out our history studies.

But I had not yet discovered that. So last year I did it all myself. All our reading and projects came primarily from other lists I found online, such as Classical House of Learning, IrishMum's excellent resource list on Airskull, and all the various rabbit holes Amazon has to offer. I also pulled from various Pinterest boards and good old fashioned Google searches, as well as projects I had done over the years in school or Girl Scouts, or just came up with on my own. It was a fantastic year and history has been our favorite subject, but it was also a lot of work! A whole lot of work. And keeping up with what books I should hunt down and in what order and from where became a challenge, because I was drawing from so many sources. 

And so my mega-checklist was born, complete with check mark columns for books we already have and books the library already has, so I don't purchase things I can already access. And when I took the plunge and acquired a copy of the Story of the World Activity Books this spring the list grew even bigger! Now it contains suggestions for every single chapter of all four volumes, geared toward Grammar Stage students in grades 1-4. The Activity Books themselves contain more suggested reading than I chose to include because I tried to pare it down to just what would be useful to my kids, who are all 7 and younger. If you're looking for resources for an older child you really must pick up the Activity Book, it is truly an invaluable resource!

I'd recommend only printing the pages for the volume you're currently using and printing it double-sided. For example, we're starting Volume 2 this year, which covers the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and printing on both sides of the page means there are only 4 pages taking up space in my planner or library bag. Far more compact than lugging the whole Story of the World Activity Book to the library with me! And if anyone would prefer an editable spreadsheet version that you can actually check off, just hit the "Contact Me" button and let me know! I'd be happy to email you a copy of the file! 

And a note of caution to the overwhelmed or overachievers: this is NOT intended to be a list to be completed! This is not a "to do" list. Think of it, as one mom said, as a buffet. Pick and choose what looks good to you, what your kids may like, what your library has available, and what you actually have time to read. It's a compilation of sources you can check when you have the time and want to delve deeper. Did we read everything on the a Ancients list last year? Not by a long shot! Did we even read half? Hah! We read maybe 10-15%, and that not even dispersed very evenly. We read most of the suggestions for the Greek chapters, but only a story here or there for Babylon or Assyria. Some chapters I around Christmas I was exhausted and we just read Story of the World and nothing else! Do I feel bad we didn't get through more material? Not even for a moment! So use this as a starting point, a springboard for helping your students really immerse themselves in the world and times you're learning about. Relax and enjoy your homeschool year!

***UPDATE!***

I completely forgot to mention that I decided to add a unit on King Arthur and Arthurian legend between chapters 3 and 4 of SOTW vol. 2! So if you spot the books for chapter 3.5 in the Medieval & Renaissance section, that's where my kids will be studying Arthur. You can do the same, scatter those books in throughout the year, or skip them entirely - it's up to you! But for us, pausing to study Arthur and his knights seemed like a good idea, since SOTW doesn't even mention him. The imagery of the egalitarian Round Table, the sword in the stone, Merlin in all his bearded mystery and power locked away by the sorceress Nimue, the Lady of the Lake holding Excalibur aloft over the waters, and Arthur slain and being carried on the magical barge to Avalon...these are part of the fabric of the Western imagination and something with which I want our kids to be familiar. They're as important (or perhaps even more important) to our culture as Beowulf and Robin Hood.

~ Krystal

Confession: I am OBSESSED with my planner

I have a confession to make. I am absolutely OBSESSED with my planner. In fact I'm obsessed with all the printables from Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus. I may actually have a fan girl crush on Tina. She's cheery, encouraging, down to earth, and as fanatical about organizing and color as I am. Plus her 7 Step DIY Homeschool Curriculum Planner is so customizable that you can't fail to create something utterly beautiful AND useful. The kicker? It's totally FREE. There are paid options, like the 2-page, color coordinated calendar spreads (only 99¢) and fancier cover options. She even has planner sets already preassembled, all you have to do is download and hit print! But I opted to pick and choose which forms I wanted so that it would be exactly what I needed, in the colors I love. It. Is. Perfect. I can't wait for our school year to start next month so I get an excuse to use it every single day! Did I say I'm a little obsessed?

I also follow Tina's blog, where she covers homeschooling, organization, and life in general. I never tire of reading what she has to say, it's like listening to a girlfriend. And the advice and experience of more seasoned homeschoolers is always appreciated.

But back to my planner...

I'll admit I did not follow Tina's recommendations to have it coil bound. I opted for a 3-ring binder because I know myself. I know I can be indecisive and will keep tweaking this thing until it truly is absolutely perfect. Besides, Tina keeps throwing me curve balls by releasing more great printables  that match just so perfectly and are just too pretty to pass up! I suspect Tina would understand, since she's all about doing what works for you. Next year, perhaps, I'll coil bind it, after I've had all year to decide what forms and in what order work best for me. 

But then again, I may just keep the binder because that allows me to add to it all year and keep a pencil bag full of my beautiful PaperMate Ink Joy pens inside!

Behind my pencil bag filled with my lovely colored pens, I've got a mission statement (to remind me what our long term goals really are here), Goals For the Year (for short term goals), and my Teacher's Schedule. 

Then starts my divider sections. One for record keeping, including Tina's fantastic, all in one page, full year Attendance Record and this year's Curriculum Resources planning sheet. 

Then comes my calendar section, which starts with a beautiful one page overview of the 2014-2015 School Calendar that matches the covers of my planner, followed by a 5 year Holidays list for reference, and finally my beautiful blue 2014-2015 school year 2-page spread of monthly calendars. The 99¢ was completely worth it for all the beautiful blues, greens, and purples. I absolutely love it. 

After that is my lesson plans section, using Tina's 180 page multi-student layout. There are spaces pre-made for three students, which is perfect since I have three kids! I've gone back and forth for paying for the prettier color version, but have decided for now this is fine for me.

Then I've added a section for resources, where I keep my library list, materials lists for various subjects, Tina's Memorization Work planning sheets, her field trip planning sheets, and Curriculum Planning sheets to get a head start on next year. This section tends to be a catch-all for things I reference frequently. Then I have a section just for notebook paper so I don't have to track it down when I need it. 

And front and back, Tina's beautiful covers, along with a little coordinating washi tape I've been covering everything with lately! Done - my beautiful, perfect planner! Absolutely in love with it! Thank you, Tina!