We are kicking off our American History units with the Colonial times. We did an introduction to American History with a small unit on Columbus, but this is our first official unit of a series of units that will span several months.

We officially kicked off our American History units with a unit on the Colonial Times. We have a mix of historical fiction, historical books, pictures books and activity books. We have a number of hands-on projects planned as well as a number of recipes to try.

Unlike our typical history units, this Colonial America History Block was fairy short in comparison lasting 1-2 weeks. I gathered together resources we already had from the last time we did this unit a few years ago. We didn't purchase any new material for this unit, but there ended up being a couple additions we didn't have the first time. We also omitted a few resources for the sake of time, and even then, we didn't get through everything we had.

This is the second time in just three years that I'm drawing the Mayflower for our American History unit for the time period 1600-1750's. For this chalk drawing, I'm using Sargent Art square chalk pastels. I'm drawing on our mobile chalkboard which I've since mounted on the wall. It's by the company Ghent, and we have had it for years.

We’ve sailed into a new unit. As requested by my 13-year-old, we are doing a Colonial America unit. It’s shorter than the one we did before and with fewer projects, but it’s been a cozy way to start our school year. .

This is our first drawing after painting our slate chalk board with chalkboard paint. After many frustrating chalk drawings, I finally decided it couldn't be any worse. Well, I'm really pleased with the results and really pleased with our first chalk drawing of this unit.

Today we are working on a chalk drawing inspired by the book "You Wouldn't Want To Be An American Colonist" by Jacqueline Morley and illustrated by David Antram and published by Scholastic. 'm using chalk pastels by Sargent Art on mounted chalkboards from Waldorf Supplies.

Today we are working on a chalk drawing inspired by the book "You Wouldn't Want To Be An American Colonist" by Jacqueline Morley and illustrated by David Antram and published by Scholastic. I'm using chalk pastels by Sargent Art on mounted chalk boards from Waldorf Supplies.

This rounds out a short unit on American history time period 1600-1700's. For this unit, we used living books as our curriculum. We supplemented with projects and activities I made myself or that were inspired by the books we read.

We completed our Colonial Times unit study from our American History unit. Some books were fantastic! Others were okay, but not worth owning. We did a number of activities inspired by three activity books, but if you had to just pick one, which would you choose?

This has been on my crafting bucket list for ages: dying fabric & yarn with natural plant dyes. We finally did it! It was both easier & harder than I thought.

When your handwork project matches your fruits and vegetables, you swoon with joy. It’s not a failure, if you learn from your mistakes. It’s called an experience. And we’ve had a lot of experiences this past week.

When doing a main lesson block, I look for a variety of books and projects for the children. For this unit, I set up our Harrisville Designs wooden loom for my 8-year-old daughter. Weaving is just right for a grade 3 student and it fit nicely with our American History unit that was primarily for my 12-year-old.

I need your help. I just released our Colonial Times Unit Study video on YouTube, and I’m questioning pretty much all our history resources for US History.

There’s something truly enchanting about seeing undyed yarn sink into a vat of natural dye and watching it change color. .

The other day, a friend of mine asked how I learned to do all the things in my homeschool. I told her I didn’t know how to do them, I learned alongside my children. I wish I knew all these things because one thing I still struggle with is impatience and wasting time.

This super simple, frugal hands-on project can be accomplished by anyone, even if you are not crafty or do hands-on projects. It's easy, fast and you and your children will have a sense of accomplishment when finished. It's hard to mess up this project, so rest assured, you'll be pleased when it's complete.

While reading Great Colonial America Projects You Can Build Yourself by Kris Bordessa, we were inspired to do our own version of a Colonial Times mop. The supplies are readily available and affordable and this project took hardly any time at all and produced hardly any mess!

While working on our history units, we decided to make a child’s sized broom. We found inspiration for this project from Kris Bordessa’s book Great Colonial America Projects You Can Build Yourself. Though ours was more complicated than the book, it was actually really simple.

Here's another project we're doing for our American History Unit. We got the idea from the book American Kids in History Colonial Days by David King. The project was pretty exciting to do and would make for an lively science discussion on liquids that mix versus ones that don't.

Did you ever wanted to turn left over candles into hand dipped tapers? You can either buy wax or upcycle an old candle. All you need is a deep pot for the wax, baker's twine, a pair of scissors and a burner. We used an old three-wick candle by Colonial Candles of Cape Cod sold by PartyLite. It has a nice light peppermint scent and a bright red color, both of which were retained when we turned them into new tapers.

Having had boys for 12 years of my motherhood journey, I never had the need to make these adorable rag dolls. My friend, Megan, taught our kindergarten co-op how to make them, and my five year old daughter loves them! In the tutorial you can see how simple, easy and fast they are to make. I'd like to make a few suggestions now that my daughter has been playing with them non-stop:

If you've never made playthings for your kids, this might be the perfect place to start. It's easy to make rag dolls, and what's great about it is that you don't need many supplies, and even old clothes would work perfectly for this project.

I love projects that are educational and functional. A few years ago, this doll’s bed from IKEA broke when my boys ‘accidentally’ stepped on the particle bed insert.

These two apples just didn’t get eaten. Once they turn soft, no one likes them. But that’s okay. There are many things you can do with soft apples: make applesauce, apple pie or apple cider.

It is timely that our unit study on the Colonial Times, the voyage of the Mayflower and the first Thanksgiving nestled perfectly with this time of year. Reservations about the actual events aside, this pumpkin pie was delicious, easy and ties in well with our unit study.

I had the best of intentions when I bought pound after pound of fresh gala apples at the start of apples season. I wanted to make all kinds of apple deliciousness. We did manage an apple pie and some caramel apples, but then our apples rested at the bottom of the crisper for literally months....

Tortilla soup is a family fall and winter favorite because it's so warming, hearty and delicious. It's also super fast! Not only can you make the soup in about 30 minutes, while it's simmering, you can garnish the soup with cilantro, avocado, pepper jack cheese and fresh homemade tortilla chips.

This is a show stopping centerpiece that tastes great and looks amazing! Add drama and intrigue to your dinner party with this perfect-for-fall vegetable soup served in a pumpkin. It's actually easier than you'd think to make, is the perfect meal or appetizer for large groups and warms you to the bone on cold autumn nights.

Baking bread is a quintessential kindergarten experience in a Waldorf school. We take this tradition and bring it home. In this video, I'll show you a quick and easy recipe for making bread.

We are making our way through our Colonial Times unit study and finding a lot of inspiration from a few activity books we have. Today we are using a recipe from Colonial Kids: An Activity Guide To Life In The New World by Laurie Carlson.

There's nothing quite like fresh butter and there's no better satisfaction than being able to make it from scratch. And when children are able to do this, the thrill of making something like butter, turning a thick liquid into a solid and a thinner liquid is pretty amazing.

Did you carve a pumpkin this fall? I hope you saved those pumpkin seeds because you can roast them with a bit of salt and olive oil for a fast, tasty and healthy snack. Don't forget to reverse a few seeds to plant them next spring/summer and hopefully you'll have your very own pumpkin next fall!

Let me tell you about all the ways our colonial feast went wrong. If for nothing else to share how sometimes the best laid plans get derailed. Firstly, my mom has to cancel last minute because of an electrical issue at her home which required her to be present the entire time the electrician was there. This sent my 8-year-old daughter into such a melancholic mood she was disinterested in all I had planned going so far as calling the decorations that adorned the table “silly”. .

In a Waldorf setting, the Age of Discovery is presented in Grade 7 along with the Age of Exploration, Renaissance Biographies, Reformation Biographies, and European Geography. The Age of Discovery covers the explorers, such as Christopher Columbus, Vasco de Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, and the Hernan Cortez and Francisco Pizarro (who conquered parts of central and South America)

The Colonial Times along with the American Revolution and Civil War are covered in the US history block for grade 8, while Western Expansion is taught in a local history block in Grade 5. However, I brought this unit to elementary school as a unit study rather than a Waldorf inspired main lesson block. 

Our American Revolution Unit Study was completed a few times with unique projects each time. While some books (especially picture books) may be used again when a unit comes around again, often I collect some fresh books to inspire all of us. This unit was small and was a companion to the Colonial Times unit. Many of the projects may be used with either unit.

Upon entering adolescence, the Grade 8 student has a desire for stronger critical thinking and refined moral capacities. The ability to engage in critical thinking is a milestone marker of puberty. The Civil War provides a rich opportunity for student to discuss, examine conflict, freedom, justice, and human rights. By this age, students can understand social upheaval and national transformation.

When I started planning our American History units, I quickly found myself overwhelmed by the sheer volume of materials available. Everything looked to inviting and inspiring and I did something I do often, I overbought and over planned. Then I had to read our way out of the massive pile of books I had purchased! We did…slowly and over years.

California history including the gold rush make up this unit. It's a mix of biographies, historical fiction, resource books, kits and a 'how to draw' book. I think I'm most looking forward to the kit we got for panning for gold. We also really like the 'Who Was..." books for their simplicity, content and illustrations. No unit of mine would be complete without a hands-on activity and this unit includes a 'gold' excavation kit.

Our exploration of Alaska came about because my sister, Samiah and her family, moved up to Alaska in the fall of 2020. Once there, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and after surgery, it was discovered that it was an aggressive and fast growing brain cancer. As a family, we decided to visit her after she recovered from brain surgery but before she began her cancer treatment which included chemotherapy and radiation.

Ever learned the fifty states and capitals only to forget them? Try adding some games like Fast Track States and Capitals or, my favorite 10 Days Across the USA. If songs are your thing, you can try the states and capitals CD by Audio Memory. These catchy tunes will get you memorizing the states and capitals in no time!