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Winter Promise's first year American history curriculum is fabulous! It is very thorough on its own, especially with the added Native American focus resources.
BUT who can't resist adding a few extras here and there? We are finished with our WP journey with AS1. I have documented here the extra resources we used to enrich this already great material. You can also get a peek at some of the crafts and projects included in this curriculum. (Most of the photos-- excepting the lapbooks --show things that are a regular part of the package, and not extras that I added in.)
This page is in no way meant to detract from WP's own sales. I will not feature any of the titles from WP's American Story 1. Instead, I will be assuming that you are already using WPAS1 and are looking for additional, free resources to add to the program.
Have you organized your teaching guides? Here is a great blog post that tells how a mom arranged a whole year's worth of Winter Promise material into an organized system, ready to use all year long.
Will You Like Winter Promise?
You will probably like WP if you agree to most of these statements.
- Learning is best using living books.
- Hands-on crafts and projects are important for learning and for making learning fun!
- Gentle learning, done at a child's own pace is best.
- A notebook timeline is a valuable way to learn history.
- Notebooking helps students learn material and document their learning.
Winter Promise
Winter Promise is a literature based curriculum that fits well with a Charlotte Mason styled homeschool. A main difference between WP and other living books curricula is that WP incorporates crafts and hands-on projects right into the weekly schedules. In their own words, they offer "Literature, Activities, Memories."
If you are curious about Winter Promise curriculum, please visit the homepage and read some of the users' posts at the forum.
- Winter Promise Official Website
- Winter Promise Publishing offers themed homeschool curricula packages, language arts programs, and more.
- Winter Promise Forum
- Visit the forum for support and ideas.
Winter Promise AS1 Crafts
from weeks1-8
A major plus of WP AS1 is the great crafts! Here are simple crafts my 8 year old daughter made as part of the regular scheduled AS1 curriculum.
Log Cabin
Pueblo Village
Wigwam
Hopi Diorama
Hopi Diorama
Navaho weaving
Zuni Pot
Jamestown Model
Apache Wikiup
Week 2
The Vikings
- How the Vikings of Old Sought and Found New Lands
- This Country of OursPart 1, Chapter 1, written by H. E. Marshall.
This book is in the public domain. An engaging story of the Vikings' explorations of the New World. - How the Vikings of Old Sought and Found New Lands
- MP3 recording of the chapter.
- Vikings Printables
- This page is really neat! It has crafts, a model boat, and paperdolls! By the way, it's not in English, but it's easy to navigate.
- Viking Paperdolls
- Look on the left side column for Viking Paperdolls.
- BBC Vikings
- An online game and other interesting fact pages.
Week 3
Discovering America
- Stories of Columbus, Vespucci, and Cabot
- This Country of OursPart 1, Chapters 2-6, written by H. E. Marshall.
Follow the links to these chapters
2. The Sea of Darkness and the Faith of Columbus
3. How Columbus Fared Forth upon the Sea of Darkness
4. How Columbus Returned in Triumph
5. How America Was Named
6. How the Flag of England was Planted on the Shores of the New World - Stories of Columbus, Vespucci, and Cabot
- MP3 recordings of the chapters.
Draw Write Now
Draw Write Now, Book 2: Christopher Columbus, Autumn Harvest, Weather (Draw-Write-Now)
Amazon Price: $10.19 (as of 07/06/2009)
Used Price: $3.64
I bought the entire Draw Write Now set a couple of years ago. They are adorable handwriting (or dictation) and drawing books. Each page features step by step directions for drawing the picture. Then there is a sentence or two about what it pictured.
This volume features a section all about Columbus's explorations in the New World.
By the way, Book 3 in this series features Native Americans, North America, and Pilgrims. It's another good resource.
Week 4
Exploring the Americas
- Aztec Coloring Pages
- Great, realistic coloring pages of the Aztec civilization.
- Aztec Puppets
- Full color male and female Aztec puppet templates.
- The Men Who Found America
- This is a great book in the public domain written by Frederick Winthrop Huchinson. It has 12 engaging stories about explorers: Columbus, Balboa, Cortez, Pizarro, De Vaca, De Soto, Raleigh, Pocahontas (not sure how she's an explorer!), Hudson, Champlain, Joliet & Marquette. The ones in italics are the ones I chose to read to my daughter. These stories really bring the explorers to life and tell a lot of details that I'd never heard before. I strongly recommend these!
Week 4 Extra Book
I added this book here on this webpage when I'd pulled it down off the shelf to read. I kept thinking it would get better and could offer a raving review. It didn't.
This is a Sonlight title, and it was given to me as a homeschool hand-me-down. A big thumbs down! We plodded through the whole thing. Although it does offer a lot about Incan culture, it's a confusing book with riddles to decipher and strange behaviors on the parts of the main characters -- all two of them. It's got a decidedly spiritual side (Incan worship of Sun) that was not enjoyable for us either. Altogether this one is not a good choice. The freebies at Mainlesson.com are a so much better investment of your time.
Secret of the Andes (Puffin Book)
Set in the Andes Mountains, young Cusi learns the secrets of his Incan heritage.
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
Explorers Lapbook
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New World Explorers
New World Explorers CD (Time Travelers History Study)
Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
Week 5
Establishing Colonies
- About Sir Walter Raleigh's Adventures in the West
- This Country of OursPart 1, Chapter 12, written by H. E. Marshall.
This chapter recounts Roanoke and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. - About Sir Walter Raleigh's Adventures in the West
- MP3 recordings of the chapter.
- The Pilgrims
- This Country of OursPart 3, Chapters 22-23, written by H. E. Marshall.
22. The Story of the Pilgrim Fathers
23. The Founding of Massachusetts
These chapters recount the Mayflower landing at Plymouth, Samoset,and Roger Williams.
(Librivox has not yet released audio recordings of these chapters.) - The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers in New England -- A Poem
- This poem by Felicia Dorothea Hemans (1793-1835) emphasizes the Pilgrim's desire for religious freedom.
Week 7
Colonial Life
- Richard of Jamestown
- by John Otis. This novel was written to explain to children what daily life in the colonies was like.
- Richard of Jamestown
- MP3 recording of this novel. My 8 year old daughter listened to this novel over the course of one afternoon as she sat and did crafts. She loved it! It has a lot of historical fact -- Captain John Smith, relationships with Native Americans, Roanoke, and daily colonial life. A very quaint and wholesome story!
- Colonial Life
- This is a good site for your child to explore and learn about daily life in the Colonies, before the Revolutionary War. It's an interactive site with questions and a mystery to solve.
- Ruth of Boston
- Another novel for children writen by James Otis. In this one, you learn about the life of girls in Colonial America through an engaging story. Download a free MP3 audio file of the entire book for recreational listening.
- Colonial Food and Diet
- Scroll down to #9 Colonial America for fun fact sheet about Colonial foods and another PDF of easy, Colonial recipes to make!
Week 7 Extra Book
History Pockets: Colonial America, Grades 4-6+
Amazon Price: $10.19 (as of 07/06/2009)
Used Price: $7.88
This is one book I can recommend! Evan Moor's materials are always quality! This volume is no exception. Whether you like lapbooking or notebooking or just want some extra printables, this is the book for you! Easy, easy, easy! Copy and go!
Colonial America Lapbook
Relying heavily on the History Pockets title above and the Scholastic Easy Make and Learn Colonial America book that is part of WP AS1, we made this lapbook. At the end are the notebooking pages that go along with Colonial America. Some are from the WP program, and others are from History Pockets.
Books We Added for the Revolutionary War
We are currently studying the American Revolution. This is a notebooking page we designed to help us keep track of the various terms for all the different groups of people involved in the war. The visual representation is much more effective than a simple vocabulary list.
Toliver's Secret by Esther Wood Brady
When her grandfather is injured, 10-year-old Ellen more...0 points
Can't You Make Them Behave, King George? by Jean Fritz
This humourous biography of King George III introd more...0 points
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, Lynd Ward
Johnny Tremain, a young apprentice silversmith, is more...0 points
Phoebe the Spy by Judith Griffin
Someone is planning to kill George Washington, and more...0 points
Revolutionary War On Wednesday (Magic Tree House 22, paper) by Mary Pope Osborne
The Magic Tree House whisks Jack and Annie back to more...0 points
Weeks 8-12 Free American Revolution Resources
- American Revolution Paper Dolls
- Drawn by a homeschool mom, these free black and white images are great for narrating, play, lapbooking, or notebooking!
- The Darkest Hour-Trenton and Princeton
- Washington's Crossing the Delaware. We read this chapter from This Country of Ours. I felt that the story is important enough to emphasize with a bit more detail.
- The Story of a Great Crime
- I added more about Benedict Arnold. I love these chapters from This Country of Ours.
- Free Independence Day Notebooking Pages
- A freebie from Notebooking Pages.
- FREE Pocket Constitution by MAIL
- Wow! The Heritage Foundation will mail you a pocket sized Declaration of Independence and Constitution for free! This would be great for a lapbook. Too bad I'm all the way in China.
Time Traveler The American Revolution
The American Revolution CD (Time Travelers History Study)
Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
Used Price:
Amy Pak from Homeschool in the Woods is a creative genius! This CD is a thorough unit study. If you are looking for a lapbooking and/or notebooking supplement for the American Revolution, this is a great bargain! Here is a blog that shows a completed lapbook created with this CD. WOW! It's wonderful!
Liberty's Kids Videos
Visit Kewl Cartoons for free online viewing.
Liberty's Kids - The Boston Tea Party (Vol. 1)
Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
We all know that the Liberty Kids cartoons are great educational entertainment.
Don't miss the chance to view some of these episodes online for FREE at Kewl Cartoons
Looking for More Living Books?
If you'd like more living book recommendations to enrich your study of US history, here are 2 options.First, look at the list of Scott O'Dell award winning books. And then order some curriculum catalogs and see what various retailers recommend.
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Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
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Scott O'Dell created The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction in 1982 with the purpose of encouraging writers of historical fiction. His hope was to engage young readers in history through fantastic living books that bring the past alive. Scott...
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Catalogs for Homeschoolers
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Looking for free homeschool catalogs? Scan this page for all the best catalogs out there -- most are just a few clicks away. Then watch your mailbox because the fun will start pouring in! image credit
Winter Promise AS1 Crafts & Notebooking
from weeks 9-20
Philadelphia diorama...
paul Revere's ride m...
American Revolution
Iroquois diorama
Iroquois diorama
Iroquois diorama
Iroquois diorama
Philadelphia noteboo...
Sauk Diorama2
Pequot 4 seasons1
Pequot 4 seasons2
Pequot 4 seasons3
Pequot 4 seasons4
Pequot 4 seasons5
mosaic pequot dioram...
salt dough medalions
making mask
sprite with mask on...
sprite with mask
MASK and book
making travois
making travois
plains indians travo...
plains indians travo...
letter from Presiden...
letter from Presiden...
letter from Presiden...
Putting letter from...
letter from Presiden...
American Revolution Lapbook
As we studied the Revolution, we made minibooks about what we learned. It turned into a HUGE lapbook!
Weeks 13-15 Extra 50 States Study
As each state enters the Union, we add a page to our 50 States notebook.We also used resources from Notebooking Pages.com USA Notebooking Pages set.
- Online 50 States Game
- Learn the 50 states with this fun online game!
- 50 States Notebook
- Loads of resources for a 50 states notebook. Our own notebooking template is linked here.
- Salt Dough Maps
- Sprite made a salt dough map of a state of her choice. She chose Alabama.
Weeks 13-16 How our Government Operates
Free Resources
- Kids in the House
- Learn about the US House of Representatives!
- Pictures of the Documents
- Coloring pages representing the three branches of government!
- National Archives
- Download-able & printable images of our country's three main documents -- Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights (and other amendments).
- Constitution and Bill of Rights Notebooking Pages
- These are some pages I made for our own study. You can use them too!
- White House Papercraft
- A paper model (tiny) of the White House.
If You Lived With The Iroquois Lapbook
I designed this lapbook to go along with If You Lived With the Iroquois. The printables are all available for FREE at Homeschool Share where there areover 25 minibook templates to accompany this book. There are also notebooking pages as well.
Click on the pictures to see more detail or to see the rest of the set at Flickr.
Weeks 17-20 Jefferson, The Louisiana Purchase, & The Lewis and Clark Expedition
- Monticello
- Official link of Jefferson's home.
- Jefferson Memorial
- Learn how Jefferson is honored at this memorial.
- Lewis and Clark
- This is the website strongly recommended by Winter Promise in the teacher's guide.
- Printable Lewis & Clark Route Map
- A wonderful free map -- one blank and one with notes.
- Printable Map of the Louisiana Purchase
- A free map to print and use. We labeled the states inside the Purchase.
- American Trail
- This is an old radio show (back in the days before TV). These recordings are in the public domain. There is one about Lewis and Clark free for the listening.
- Frontier Fighters
- Another old time radio show. Look for the program pertaining to Lewis and Clark. These make for good review since they tie together many of the facts we studied about the Expedition.
Note -- this one begins with Sacajawea's husband beating her. Lewis and Clark come to her rescue. Preview this to make sure that it's okay for your family.
Schoolhouse Rock -- Westward Expansion
Schoolhouse Rock - Elbow Room
Lewis and Clark Lapbook
Many of the minibooks are from the free lapbook at Homeschool Helper Online.For the cover, Sprite used coloring pages found here.
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Lewis & Clark DVD
Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
Amazon Price: $22.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
This is a really good video. Admittedly, my husband and I enjoyed it more than our nine year old daughter. But it did hold her attention better than the Revolutionary War series.
A Great Introduction to Morse Code
Weeks 21-36 Extra Online Learning
- Morse Code
- We printed out this page to add to the Make Your Own History Notebook.
- A History of Western Union and the Telegraph
- A nicely done PDF with history and lots of photos. This goes through the history of the telegraph and who still uses it today.
- Teepee Fact Sheets
We printed these neat diagrams and added them to the timeline notebook.- Oregon Trail Slideshow
- This PDF slideshow is wonderful! It takes you on a photo tour of the Oregon Trail from Independence, MO to Oregon City, OR. Very well done; we learned a lot!
Look for the link to Power Point Presentations: The Oregon Trail (it has been converted into PDF). - Jacob Lawrence's Painting Forward
- This is a great tie in with the Harriet Tubman study on weeks 35 & 36. This painting shows Harriet Tubman forcing the scared slave onward toward freedom. More of Jacob Lawrence's work can be found here.
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Your Chance to Speak
Comments?
Suggestions?
Questions?
This is your chance to speak.
LilliputStation wrote...
I'm glad to see your oppinion of Secret of the Andes was similar to ours. I started reading it to the kids because I had also heard great things about it. They BEGGED me not to make them finish it. I did read the rest because I thought it might get better, but it did't. I did learn a few things, but I wouldn't recommend this book either.
Posted June 06, 2008
BilingualMom wrote...
Thank you for such a long and informative lens! We just started AS1 and are loving it. I'm very glad for the additional recommendations. Looking forward to more of your work :)
- Sarah
Posted May 20, 2008
by Jimmie
Hello! I am a homeschooling mom who loves to teach and learn. I love the flexibility of Squidoo lenses for showing off our homeschool projects. Bloggi...
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