I absolutely love history. So does my middle kid. But my youngest doesn't love history yet, despite my best intentions. History time sometimes even prompts a groan. But when I showed her that the world history box I'd just received was a set of hands-on activities and crafts, her face lit up and she couldn't wait to see the projects involved! Hats off to Sonlight for creating an out-of-the-box hands-on World History 1 activity set that nicely supplements the other history reading we've been doing this school year! It is just perfect for the elementary crowd.
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this product and I was compensated for my time in preparing this post. All opinions are my own.
I didn't need to worry about how to incorporate the Sonlight Hands-On World History activity box in our homeschool lessons. As we read about a subject in our history picture books, I also picked up a relevant activity bag to make sure we get to it too.
The big box has most supplies we need to do projects. For example, the box has the construction paper in just the right color, a sheet of glue dots, clay, a paper cup, and crafting glue. These "extra" supplies are not always easy to just pull out of a drawer in the kitchen. These necessary supplies are separated into bags with a clear label to indicate which project they are for. I can go to the big box and grab the supplies bag we need for our project and be ready to go.
When it's time to put the project together, the teacher's manual has step-by-step directions for us, as well as clear illustrations to perfectly match the materials we've been provide with. I really like how clear the teachers manual is as it also gives tips for success along with the directions. The only difficult part of the projects was waiting for glue to dry so we could play!
The manual also has text to be a basic introduction for each project. For example, the Trojan Horse project summaries the tradition, and the chariot project compares their means of transportation (and racing!) to our lives. This history connection lets me take these project and seamlessly incorporate them into our current learning.
The Sonlight Hands-On World History 1 activity box that I received focuses on ancient history. This means there is a general archeology kit (to pan for artifacts in our own yard), supplies to make a cuneiform stamp, an Ancient Egyptian board game, a few different Ancient Greek and Roman activities, a Mongolian Yurt, and a Chinese dragon puppet project. It's so nice that there is a variety of types of activities!
My daughter spent hours making the playing pieces for the Ancient Egyptian Senet game. The kit provided oven-bake clay so the playing pieces would be permanently shaped. She make the pieces just right and then is still very satisfied as we revisit the game: she knows it is her own creation.
Notice the cardboard platform? That is so the Greeks can "hide" before they jump out and surprise the Trojans!
When we made the Trojan Horse, she was disappointed that it was not hollow so we could hide our own people inside of it. So, she made a cardboard platform for her tiny people to hide on as they awaited their chance to ambush the people of Troy! (Look at the picture I took of it to understand just what I mean!)I love how she thought of that and found a solution that let her recreate the story from history!
We have not yet done all the activities, but as we continue through ancient times, we'll have more hands-on projects to slip into the schedule to help bring world history to life.
Sonlight provides so many engaging resources for history, incorporating picture books and novels into the learning process. Hands-On World History 1 takes "living history" to a new level by giving my daughter a physical project to represent what we've learned this year.
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