Status
Available
Publication
(1970), 98 pages
Collection
Library's review
Originally published in a homeschool support group newsletter in February 2007.
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One of the first homeschooling books I read was "The Well-Trained Mind." I liked the classical method, especially the chronological history. However, as I considered the history schedule, I didn't like the idea of my
Simply . . . Stated, written by two homeschooling moms from Kansas, takes a Charlotte Mason approach to studying the states by using living books. The bulk of the curriculum is a reading list for each state, organized by region. The books include beginner readers, picture books, children's biographies, juvenile fiction, and some nonfiction. The topics range from history, geography, social issues, and slice-of-life stories.
While reading about the East Coast states, we relived the founding of our nation. We saw the hardships of slavery and the Civil Rights movement when we read about the South. The Plains States stories taught us about the perseverance of the pioneers. Stories of the West included Native American tales and information about wildlife. Washington State included a book about Mount St. Helens.
The curriculum offers a brief instruction guide with a list of supplementary materials, extra learning activities, a recommended 4-day weekly schedule, and a planning calendar.
We did one state a week, starting on Flag Day in June 2004 and finished the summer of 2005. During the first week, I read "America: A Patriotic Primer" by Lynne Cheney to him as an overview of the United States. Then, we started with the East Coast and worked our way west.
I used "The Usborne First Book of America" to provide an overview of each region and "Rand McNally's Kids' U.S. Road Atlas" to take a closer look at the state we were studying. We would also find the state on our U.S. wall map. Then, using a black line map from "Uncle Josh's Outline Maps CD-ROM," I'd help my son find the capital city, and he'd place a star sticker on the outline map. Then, I'd draw the major mountain ranges and major bodies of water on the map. We hung these outline maps on our family room wall for future reference, one region at a time.
We spent the rest of the week reading books. We also made recipes for each state from "The United States Cookbook." It contains some great recipes, but all three of us decided we did not like grits. As supplements, we also used the "Highlights Which Way USA?" series and played "Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego?" board game.
We had a great time learning about various people who shaped our nation and about ordinary people who lived and worked in each state. The King County Library System owns most of the books listed in the curriculum. If your family enjoys the literature approach to learning, this curriculum will work for you. (currently out of print)
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One of the first homeschooling books I read was "The Well-Trained Mind." I liked the classical method, especially the chronological history. However, as I considered the history schedule, I didn't like the idea of my
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son not knowing about the United States until he was in third grade. So, I looked for a simple overview of the United States that we could do for kindergarten and found "Simply . . . Stated."Simply . . . Stated, written by two homeschooling moms from Kansas, takes a Charlotte Mason approach to studying the states by using living books. The bulk of the curriculum is a reading list for each state, organized by region. The books include beginner readers, picture books, children's biographies, juvenile fiction, and some nonfiction. The topics range from history, geography, social issues, and slice-of-life stories.
While reading about the East Coast states, we relived the founding of our nation. We saw the hardships of slavery and the Civil Rights movement when we read about the South. The Plains States stories taught us about the perseverance of the pioneers. Stories of the West included Native American tales and information about wildlife. Washington State included a book about Mount St. Helens.
The curriculum offers a brief instruction guide with a list of supplementary materials, extra learning activities, a recommended 4-day weekly schedule, and a planning calendar.
We did one state a week, starting on Flag Day in June 2004 and finished the summer of 2005. During the first week, I read "America: A Patriotic Primer" by Lynne Cheney to him as an overview of the United States. Then, we started with the East Coast and worked our way west.
I used "The Usborne First Book of America" to provide an overview of each region and "Rand McNally's Kids' U.S. Road Atlas" to take a closer look at the state we were studying. We would also find the state on our U.S. wall map. Then, using a black line map from "Uncle Josh's Outline Maps CD-ROM," I'd help my son find the capital city, and he'd place a star sticker on the outline map. Then, I'd draw the major mountain ranges and major bodies of water on the map. We hung these outline maps on our family room wall for future reference, one region at a time.
We spent the rest of the week reading books. We also made recipes for each state from "The United States Cookbook." It contains some great recipes, but all three of us decided we did not like grits. As supplements, we also used the "Highlights Which Way USA?" series and played "Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego?" board game.
We had a great time learning about various people who shaped our nation and about ordinary people who lived and worked in each state. The King County Library System owns most of the books listed in the curriculum. If your family enjoys the literature approach to learning, this curriculum will work for you. (currently out of print)
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