Hands-on American History Lessons and Activities

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.

With products like The American Revolution and The Civil War from the Time Travelers U.S. History Studies, Home School in the Woods makes it easy to add hands-on history to our studies. We chose their The Early 19th Century unit study for our homeschool because that’s the time period we happen to be studying right now!

About Time Travelers U.S. History Studies

In the history lessons included with the Time Travelers series, you are going to let go of those textbooks and workbooks while you take your child on an adventure with hands-on projects that are included in every lesson.

This history curriculum is the most complete homeschool curriculum I have come across in terms of teacher guidance, organization, and lesson planning.

There is a LOT of information and material included in this curriculum, and at first, it did seem overwhelming after I downloaded everything. But once you read the introduction and tips that are included, it really becomes a very well laid out and easy to follow plan. Every step of implementing these amazing history lessons is set up for you. You literally need to print and go!

How It Works

Each lesson begins with a brief text to introduce the time period and key people and events of that era. This is followed by activity choices to reinforce the topic. You can choose to do all of the activities, or pick and choose ones that work best for your family.

In the parent guide, there are project pages that provide complete directions, a list of supplies needed, and illustrations to show you how the project should turn out.

Since this is a digital project that you download, there is a complete masters folder within the zip file that includes everything you need for all the printable projects. The best part is is that they are all organized with a letter-number system and each project will tell you exactly which master to print based on that system. It is so easy to find exactly what you need for every lesson!

One thing I really like about this unit study is that it incorporates writing and penmanship into every lesson. My kids definitely need this practice so I was really happy to see various writing practice pages from the McGuffey readers.

There are 25 lessons throughout the unit, but one of the culminating projects is a lapbook that the students will create. This lapbook includes projects that have been worked on throughout the entire unit study.

At the end of the unit study, the kids will get to have a “chuck wagon dinner” to bring the unit to a close. Students can invite family and friends over for an authentic meal set in the early 19th century. Don’t forget to dress up!

How We Are Studying The Early 19th Century

Since this is such a complete unit study, there is more here than we could possibly fit into each week. The way the lesson plan calendar is designed gives 25 lessons, and you do five lessons per week. Doing the history lessons at this rate would allow you to finish in five weeks.

We typically do not study history every day of the week in our home. Typically we’ll spend 2 or 3 days a week on history as we alternate it with science or other subjects. But the nice thing about this American history unit study is that you can modify it to suit your needs. I simply adjusted the calendar to extend the unit out over a longer period of time and it works out perfectly for us.

This does mean we are going at a slower pace, but I’m shooting for comprehension and memorable experiences that allow the information to stick with my kids. Spreading the lessons out over a couple of months allows me to really dig deep into each individual topic and supplement with some additional books for the older kids, as well as videos and websites to really enrich their studies.

American History Printable Projects

We’ve done a few projects so far and the kids and I have really enjoyed the hands-on aspect of learning about our American history.

Another thing that I like about this curriculum is the included timeline. I think it is important for kids to see how things progressed over time, and compare that with other events around the world that are happening at the same time. Not only are we using this timeline for this unit study, but the included timeline figures make a great addition to our world timeline that we’ve already started in our home.

The instructions are included to make assembly easy, and every lesson tells you exactly when to add something to the timeline.

In addition to the hands-on paper projects, you also have a chance to cook with your kids, do outdoor projects, and immerse them into the experience of living in that time period. One example is panning for gold.

Within one of the lessons, you will get complete instructions on how to set up a gold panning station. This correlates to a lesson where you learn about the California gold rush and the 49ers.

Hands-On History U.S. Election Lap-Paks

Home School in the Woods also offers a U.S. Election Lap-Pak that introduces your child to the United States presidential elections process through hands-on activities. With an election coming up this year, it can be a great way to make sure your children understand the process behind how a president is chosen.

We have not tried the lap-paks ourselves yet, but they are on the agenda for later this year!

Read even more reviews about all of the Time Travelers U.S. History Studies, Project Passport World History Studies, Lap-Paks, and more that are offered by Home School in the Woods. Click the image below to read more. You can also check out the Home School in the Woods blog.