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About the product/service:
As part of the Homeschool Review Crew I received a free download of HISTORY Through the Ages Project Passport World History Study: Renaissance and Reformation from Home School in the Woods. This is one of a series of unit studies that also includes Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and the Middle Ages. Ancient Rome will be available in 2018.
This download includes text to read, audio tours, a timeline that you create, a newspaper, postcards from Renaissance figures to their families, a lapbook, and instructions for over 50 projects and activities including art projects and baking, as well as information about additional resources which will add to your studies.
What are the pros of this product?
Since there are many different projects as part of this study, there is bound to be something to appeal to all students. I would think, though, that the hands-on aspect would be the most appealing to most. It's always nice to be able to create something to show that you've learned something. Because most of the work is organized into a three-ring binder, it will serve as a nice way to display all the hard work the student has done. I know many people really love lapbooks, but this includes even more. I think this is a perfect fit for families with kids who love to cut, paste, color, etc., instead of just sitting down with a book, reading, and testing.
What's not to like?
Here's where it gets tricky. Like I said in the pros, if you are one of those hands-on, lapbook-loving people, you'll likely love this! For the most part, it's hands-on all the way. Though there is some reading, and there are audio tours, it's basically a project-based study. True confessions here; I am not one of those people. I didn't love doing all the prep work that goes into this sort of thing, and my kids don't really like doing things like this enough to justify all the work. (When they were younger, they were more into these things, but now that they are older, they would rather do mostly reading.) Also, for me, I was totally overwhelmed by all there was to do! There are a lot of things to print out and organize that honestly had my head spinning for a bit. I am lost when things aren't totally laid out for me sequentially. I realize I am probably totally in the minority when it comes to this, though, so if you are a hands-on, organized type, you'll probably be just fine. :)
What I am trying to say is, for most people, I don't really see any cons. If you're like me, however, and prefer just to have a book in your hand and go one page after another, you might be a bit overwhelmed at first. If you have kids who love hands-on projects like lapbooking, it is probably worth the effort. If they aren't really into it, you might not want to use this resource. I suggest you really just check out the website before making your decision. The photos and descriptions will be a huge help to give you an idea of just what it's all about.
The Crazy Mom take:
Like I said above, it took me a while to get it all figured out. Once I had it all straight in my head, I realized that it's actually laid out in a totally organized fashion. It's all quite orderly; I'm just a little slow. :) It does take a bit of time upfront to get everything all printed out and organized. Maybe a couple hours, not a huge amount of time. I'm just glad I did it over the weekend and didn't wait until school time thinking I could just jump right in.
I decided to use this with my son as we needed something for history for the second semester. I chose this time period because my daughter is also doing the Renaissance period this year, so I thought we could coordinate. Since my son is more into just reading, I have been doing the reading with him, having him listen to the audio tours, and having him glue the figures on the timeline and help put together the laptop projects. My daughter is doing the coloring and drawing and writing for the newspaper. My daughter is also more interested in the other projects so she is doing most of those. I'm not sure if we'll continue to use this curriculum after the review period or not. At first, I was quite sure I wouldn't, but I have to admit it has grown on me since I have it all figured out now, and most of the prep work is behind me. We shall see!
Here's just a sample of what we've done so far:
What's the bottom line?
$33.95 Download/$34.95 for the CD
I am going to give HISTORY through the Ages Project Passport: Renaissance and Reformation 4 out of 5 smileys!!! :) :) :) :)
Check it out!
http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com/renaissanceandreformation.html
See what my fellow TOS Crew members have to say @
http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/history-through-the-ages-project-passport-world-history-study-homeschool-in-the-woods/
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*The Smiley System:
:) I can't really recommend this product.
:) :) :) This is a good product, but isn't right for everyone.
:) :) :) :) Most homeschool moms will find this useful.
:) :) :) :) :) This is great, and I would recommend it to anyone!!!
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