Jennifer Lambert

A Sacred Balance

Visit Us On FacebookVisit Us On PinterestVisit Us On InstagramVisit Us On Linkedin
  • Homeschool
    • Book Lists
    • How Do We Do That?
    • Notebooking
    • Subjects and Styles
    • Unit Studies
  • Travel
    • Europe
      • Benelux
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • London
      • Porto
      • Prague
    • USA
      • Chicago
      • Georgia
      • Hawaii
      • Ohio
      • Utah
      • Yellowstone and Teton
  • Family
    • Celebrations
    • Frugal
  • Military Life
    • Deployment
    • PCS
  • Health
    • Recipes
    • Essential Oils
    • Fitness
    • Mental Health
    • Natural Living
    • Natural Beauty
  • Faith
  • About Me
    • Favorite Resources
    • Advertising and Sponsorship
    • Policies
  • Reviews

© 2023Jennifer Lambert · Copyright · Disclosure · Privacy · Ad

Time Travel Unit Study

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

February 1, 2021 By Jennifer Lambert 5 Comments

I’ve always had a fascination with the possibility of time travel.

I read a lot about black holes and strange phenomena. Maybe it was a safety net to attempt to learn about the unknown and unexplainable when I felt my life was falling apart. I found refuge in books. I escaped into worlds that seemed safer than my own.

As a kid, I really thought I’d have more Bermuda Triangle issues than I’ve had in my lifetime. I even panicked a bit as I flew along the edge when I was 14 on a trip to Puerto Rico.

As an adult and parent to four children, I am coming to terms with my fascination with myth, legend, unexplained phenomena, and even new and experimental science. I am remembering my hobbies and loves of my childhood and youth and I feel safe to impart the appropriate parts on to my kids.

We watch a lot of movies and shows. I love having film night with pizza each week. We read lots of books in our homeschool. There is no such thing as twaddle. Everything has its place. I often include fun books in our morning read alouds to break up the seriousness and often tragedy of history.

I refuse to just leave it alone. We discuss and analyze and compare and contrast what we read and watch. I love cinema history.

Many of these shows and books flashback to 1989 or thereabouts – and I remember suddenly how I felt, what I experienced, how I lost so many parts of myself in the rush to grow up, trying desperately to live up to expectations and make money, to become successful and stifle who I am.

I often fantasize to the point of anxiety what I could say to myself if I could travel back to make corrections.

We laugh at the potential paradox in shows and books. We wonder how things would be different if history were changed.

Time Travel Unit Study

My kids haven’t seen or read all these in the list. Use discretion and preview for content.

Resources

  • Quantum Leap
  • Warehouse 13
  • Back to the Future trilogy
  • Star Trek VIII: First Contact, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek (2009)
  • Doctor Who
  • A Wrinkle in Time Quintet by Madeleine L’Engle
  • Arrival
  • Frequency movie and the show Frequency
  • 12 Monkeys
  • 2001: Space Odyssey
  • Planet of the Apes
  • Interstellar
  • Terminator series
  • Looper
  • Somewhere in Time
  • Kate & Leopold
  • The Lake House
  • About Time
  • The Time Traveler’s Wife movie and the book by Audrey Niffenegger
  • Peggy Sue Got Married
  • The Butterfly Effect 
  • Flight of the Navigator
  • Time Bandits
  • Click 
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  • Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
  • Austin Powers
  • Donnie Darko
  • Groundhog Day
  • Army of Darkness
  • Men in Black 3
  • X-Men: Days of Future Past
  • Doctor Strange
  • Avengers: Endgame
  • Deadpool 2
  • The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
  • All You Zombies by Robert Heinlein or the movie Predestination
  • The Time Machine by H.G. Wells and The Time Machine Teacher Guide and movie
  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
  • A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
  • Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
  • Kindred by Octavia Butler
  • 11.22.63 by Stephen King
  • Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
  • A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury
  • Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
  • The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov
  • Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy
  • The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams
  • Sphere by Michael Crichton
  • Four Past Midnight: “The Langoliers” by Stephen King
  • The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
  • Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
  • Outlander series and show by Diana Gabaldon
  • A Brief History Of Time: From Big Bang To Black Holes by Stephen Hawking
  • PBS Genius with Stephen Hawking
  • Scholastic Lesson
  • Space.com
  • The History of Time Travel

Do you think time travel is possible?

Share
Pin30
Share
30 Shares
You might also like:

Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: homeschool, unit study

Mice Unit Study

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

January 25, 2021 By Jennifer Lambert 7 Comments

My son loves books about mice.

I think I understand the attraction of anthropomorphic mice in adventure stories. I enjoy reading them aloud at bedtime.

When we feel small, powerless, invisible, and lonely, escaping into a magical world of talking mice with happy endings is a great way to cheer up as we experience their fun adventures.

There is catharsis and safety in lovely fairy tales. I’m so glad my children love to hear and read stories.

My son and I look forward to bedtime and another chapter about mice escaping and outwitting enemies, cats, and people, philosophizing about power and control and whether they even matter in the grand scheme of life.

He’s almost 11 this year and I cherish these moments together, reading and snuggling, and giggling over animal antics.

Mice Books We Love

The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail by Richard Peck

Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck

The Adventures of Henry Whiskers by Gigi Priebe

Poppy series by Avi, illustrated by Brian Floca NEW: Ragweed and Poppy!

Ralph Mouse (3 book series) by Beverly Cleary 

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo

Stuart Little by E. B White

Mouse and Mole by Joyce Dunbar

The Mouse Mansion series by Karina Schaapman

Chester Cricket and His Friends (7 book series) by George Selden

Rats of Nimh Trilogy by Robert C. O’Brien 

Redwall by Brian Jacques

Library Mouse (5 book series) by Daniel Kirk 

The School Mouse, A Mouse Called Wolf, and Martin’s Mice by Dick King-Smith

Geraldine Woolkins (3 book series) by Karin Kaufman

Mac and Cheese by Sarah Weeks

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Audrey Wood

Geronimo Stilton series

Word of Mouse by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein

Brambly Hedge series by Jill Barklem

Frederick, Geraldine, Alexander, Matthew, Tillie, Nicolas, The Greentail Mouse, and MORE by Leo Lionni

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie books by Laura Numeroff

Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Mouse’s First Spring by Lauren Thompson

Mousetronaut by Mark Kelly

Chrysanthemum books by Kevin Henkes

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

Maisy books by Lucy Cousins

Norman the Doorman by Don Freeman

Town Mouse, Country Mouse by Jan Brett

The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

Mouse Tales and Mouse Soup by Arnold Lobel

Angelina Ballerina books by Katharine Holabird

By Peter W. Barnes and Cheryl Shaw Barnes:

  • Marshall, the Courthouse Mouse: A Tail of the U.S. Supreme Court 
  • House Mouse, Senate Mouse
  • Woodrow for President: A Tail of Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
  • Woodrow, the White House Mouse
  • Cornelius Vandermouse: The Pride of Newport
  • Maestro Mouse: And the Mystery of the Missing Baton

Of course we love the animal tales from Beatrix Potter too!

Want to extend the lesson?

  • Literature Unit Study for Mouse Soup by Arnold Lobel
  • The Mouse and the Motorcycle FREE Lesson
  • If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Lapbook Printables
  • The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear Unit Study and Lapbook
  • Ellen Stoll Walsh Unit
  • Mouse Paint Preschool Fun
  • Norman the Doorman FREE unit
  • Stuart Little Unit Study
  • Mouse’s First Spring Kindergarten Literature Unit
  • Red Ted Art
  • Sight and Sound Reading

What is your favorite story book for this season?

Linking up: Anita Ojeda, April Harris, Marilyn’s Treats, Little Cottage, Create with Joy, LouLou Girls, Our Three Peas, Suburbia, Grandma’s Ideas, Grammy’s Grid, OMHG, Anchored Abode, Soaring with Him, InstaEncouragements, Ridge Haven, Girlish Whims, Fluster Buster, Ginger Snap, Ducks in a Row, Penny’s Passion, Crystal Storms, Debbie Kitterman, Slices of Life, Mommynificent, Chic Shoestring, Answer is Choco, Momfessionals, Katherine’s Corner, Simply Sweet Home, Lyli Dunbar, CWJ, Imparting Grace, Being a Wordsmith, Try it Like it, Everyday Farmhouse, Mostly Blogging,

Share
Pin13
Share
13 Shares
You might also like:

Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: book list, unit study

Vincent van Gogh Unit Study

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

September 21, 2020 By Jennifer Lambert 8 Comments

I have always loved Vincent van Gogh and his paintings. I am thrilled to share that love with my children.

I love teaching art history and about art even though I don’t consider myself a creative artist. See how we do art in our homeschool.

I would love to travel to southern France to see all the places he painted and walk in his footsteps.

We find it interesting all the different way to pronounce his name:

van-GOH (the most common in North America)

van-GOFF (in England)

van-GOKH and vun-KHOKH (which comes closest to the Dutch).

He’s one of our favorite artists.

As my kids get older and we revisit lessons every few years, we discuss mental illness and STI. We know that van Gogh suffered and committed suicide. He had tinnitus and other health problems like scurvy, perhaps epilepsy. Some speculate he may have contracted syphilis and certainly had mental health problems. We know that his brother Theo died from complication with syphilis.

The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don’t necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant…And we definitely added to his pile of good things.

The Doctor in Vincent and the Doctor – Doctor Who: Season 5, Episode 10

When we got to visit The Netherlands, we knew we wanted to see his paintings in person!

When we went to Keukenhof, the entire theme was Vincent van Gogh and there was a floral mosaic, a selfie garden, and static displays of his paintings.

The mosaic hadn’t bloomed yet in March. I’ll bet it was amazing!

We had so much fun in the selfie garden.

The static displays recreated the paintings and were absolutely magnificent!

We went to the van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. It holds the most van Gogh works.

Some favorites:

My son loved seeing the boats from his Art Ditto card game.

The kids got to see Sunflowers!

They were so jealous I had seen it the year before when I visited London for a conference.

My youngest daughter’s favorite is The Potato Eaters.

We were thrilled to see the Impressionist exhibit, including many van Gogh at the National Gallery when we visited London the next year.

van Gogh’s Self-Portrait and The Bedroom is at the Art Institute of Chicago and we loved to see it when we moved back to The States!

The goal now is to travel to New York to see Starry Night.

Art Projects

I allow my kids freedom of expression and making messes to learn and experiment and play with arts and crafts.

I love how my middle daughter made this scene out of Wikki Stix!

We drew sunflowers with chalk pastels.

We practiced drawing with pots of petunias and a still life of our breakfast table.

My girls have gotten very talented with watercolors, but we haven’t ventured into oils yet.

Resources:

  • Old Postcard reveals location of Tree Roots
  • Vincent and the Doctor – Doctor Who: Season 5, Episode 10
  • Loving Vincent
  • Vincent and Theo
  • Lust for Life
  • Leonard Nimoy in Vincent
  • Starry, Starry Night by Don McLean
  • van Gogh Lessons from the Museum
  • The van Gogh Gallery Lessons
  • van Gogh Unit Study Resources by SC Homeschooling Connection
  • van Gogh mini study by Homeschool Helper
  • van Gogh unit by Table Life
  • Simple and Easy van Gogh Unit Study by Royal Baloo
  • Vincent van Gogh Unit Study for K-2 by Enjoy the Learning Journey
  • Vincent van Gogh Artist Study and Activities by Life Beyond the Lesson Plan
  • van Gogh Unit Study by A Blessed Homeschool Life
  • Vincent van Gogh unit study by Adventures in Mommydom
  • World’s Greatest Artist study on van Gogh by Confessions of a Homeschooler
  • Charlotte Mason Picture Study Aid: Vincent van Gogh by A Humble Place
  • Meet the Masters :: Vincent van Gogh by Shower of Roses
  • KinderArt Paint like van Gogh
  • The Crafty Classroom oil pastel project
  • van Gogh’s Tree – Art for Children by Only Passionate Curiosity
  • Tea Time with van Gogh by Homeschool Share

Books

  • Vincent, Theo and the Fox: A mischievous adventure through the paintings of Vincent van Gogh by Ted Macaluso
  • Vincent and Theo: The van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman
  • In the Garden with van Gogh by Julie Merberg
  • Camille and the Sunflowers: A Story about Vincent van Gogh by Laurence Anholt
  • van Gogh and the Sunflowers by Laurence Anholt
  • Vincent’s Colors: Words and Pictures by Vincent Van Gogh
  • Vincent Can’t Sleep: van Gogh Paints the Night Sky by Barb Rosenstock 
  • L’Arc-en-ciel de Vincent / Vincent’s Rainbow: Learn Colors in French and English with Van Gogh 
  • Vincent’s Starry Night and Other Stories: A Children’s History of Art by Michael Bird
  • Vincent van Gogh Starry Night Dreamer by Alesandra Weekley
  • Katie and the Starry Night by James Mayhew
  • Katie and the Sunflowers by James Mayhew
  • Vincent van Gogh & the Colors of the Wind by Chiara Lossani
  • The Yellow House: Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin Side by Side by Susan Goldman Rubin

What’s your favorite van Gogh painting?

Famous Artists & Picture Study Notebooking Pages
Share
Pin43
Share
43 Shares
You might also like:

Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: art, homeschool, unit study

Hawaii Unit Study

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

September 14, 2020 By Jennifer Lambert 2 Comments

We lived in Hawaii for three years. We loved it.

But we realized we were temporary, other, haoles in Paradise, and it wasn’t our land. Looking back, I realize there was so much more I could have learned, done, thought.

My girls were very young and I can make amends now as we learn about the history and culture of Hawaii. The kids don’t even remember it.

Our Travels Around Hawaii

  • Big Island Hawaii with Kids
  • Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
  • Maui with Kids
  • Oahu with Kids
  • Honolulu with Kids
  • North Shore with Kids
  • Kaneohe with Kids
  • Our Kaua’i Weekend
  • Our Ni’ihau Day Trip
  • Makahiki – Thanksgiving in Hawaii
  • Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

My son chose the place of his birth for our homeschool geography fair.

We still had a lot of Hawaiian items from when we lived there.

He was so happy to talk to people about his birth place!

Hawaiian history and culture is complicated. We watched the news and social media with trepidation as the National Guard moved in on protestors at Mauna Kea for the site location of the Thirty Meter Telescope. We agree with Native Hawaiians and feel love and aloha in our hearts for them and their land. Some books may seem offensive to people unfamiliar with Hawaii and colonialism that has affected these beautiful islands and people.

Book List:

  • Spell of Hawaii by A. Grove Day
  • A Hawaiian Reader by A. Grove Day and Carl Stroven
  • Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula by Nathaniel Bright Emerson  
  • Hawaiian Antiquities: Moolelo Hawaii by David Malo
  • Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory by Anwei Skinsnes Law  
  • Light in the Crevice Never Seen by Haunani-Kay Trask
  • Kue: Thirty Years of Land Struggle in Hawaii by Haunani-Kay Trask
  • From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii by Haunani-Kay Trask  
  • Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen by Liliuokalani
  • Princess Ka’iulani: Hope of a Nation, Heart of a People by Sharon Linnea
  • Waikiki: A History of Forgetting and Remembering by Gaye Chan and Andrea Feeser  
  • Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands by Gavan Daws 
  • And the View from the Shore: Literary Traditions of Hawai’i by Stephen H. Sumida
  • Lost Kingdom: Hawaii’s Last Queen, the Sugar Kings, and America’s First Imperial Venture by Julia Flynn Siler
  • Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism by Noenoe K. Silva
  • Captive Paradise: A History of Hawaii by James L. Haley  
  • The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai by John Tayman  
  • Blu’s Hanging by Lois-Ann Yamanaka 
  • Moloka’i series by Alan Brennert 
  • Honolulu by Alan Brennert  
  • Hawai’i One Summer by Maxine Hong Kingston  
  • Waimea Summer by John Dominis Holt 
  • Hawaii by James A. Michener
  • Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell  
  • Blue Skin of the Sea by Graham Salisbury  
  • Ancient History of the Hawaiian People by Abraham Fornander
  • Hawaiian Mythology by Martha Warren Beckwith
  • The Legends and Myths of Hawaii by David Kalakaua 

Keiki (Kids) Books:

  • How the B-52 cockroach learned to fly by Lisa Matsumoto
  • Too Many Mangos by Tammy Paikai
  • Moon Mangoes by Lindy Shapiro
  • The Goodnight Gecko by Gill McBarnet
  • Beyond ‘Ohi’a Valley: Adventures in a Hawaiian Rainforest by Lisa Matsumoto
  • Aloha is… by Tammy Paikai
  • Good Night Hawaii by Adam Gamble
  • Hawaiian Ocean Lullaby by Beth Greenway
  • Hush Little Keiki by Kim Vukovich 
  • Where Are My Slippers? A Book of Colors, The Magic Ukulele, This Is My Piko, and others by Dr. Carolan
  • A is for Aloha by Stephanie Feeney and Eva Moravcik 
  • Hawai‘i is a Rainbow by Stephanie Feeney
  • Limu the Blue Turtle and His Hawaiian Garden by Kimo Armitage
  • The Musubi Man: Hawaiʻi’s Gingerbread Man by Sandi Takayama
  • Animals Sing Aloha by Vera Arita
  • Surfer of the Century by Ellie Crowe
  • Island Toes by Christin Lozano
  • Ohana Means Family by Ilima Loomis
  • Ordinary Ohana by Lee Cataluna
  • Grandpa’s Mixed Up Lū‘au by Tammy Paikai
  • Honey Girl: The Hawaiian Monk Seal by Jeanne Walker Harvey
  • Peekaboo the Poi Dog by Wendy Kunimitsu Haraguchi
  • Girl’s Day in Hawai’i with Yuki-chan by Tokie Ikeda Ching
  • Boy’s Day in Hawai’i With Yuki-chan and Grant 
  • Shave Ice in Hawaii, 1-2-3 Saimin in Hawaii, Slippers in Hawaii and others by BeachHouse Publishing
  • Tūtū Nēnē: The Hawaiian Mother Goose Rhymes by Debra Ryll
  • Pig-Boy: A Trickster Tale from Hawaiʻi by Gerald McDermott
  • Pono, The Garden Guardian by Dani Hickman
  • Pele and the Rivers of Fire by Michael Nordenstrom
  • Naupaka, Hina, Maui Hooks the Islands, and Pele Finds a Home by Gabrielle Ahuliʻi
  • Tammy Yee books

Activities:

  • watch Moana
  • watch Lilo and Stitch
  • watch Elvis in Hawaii movies: Blue Hawaii; Girls! Girls! Girls!; Paradise, Hawaiian Style
  • Attend a Hawaii Luau or make Hawaiian foods
  • Listen to Israel Kamakawiwoʻole music
  • Learn to play ukulele
  • Learn to surf
  • Make a lei with real or silk flowers, paper flowers, kukui nuts, or candy

Resources:

  • Craft Knife
  • Time 4 Learning
  • Ben and Me
  • Homeschool Helper Online
  • The Homeschool Mom
  • Adventures in Mommydom
  • Compass Rose Homeschool
  • The Island Below the Star by Homeschoolshare
  • Starlight Treasures
  • Hawaii for Kids video
  • Lilo and Stitch Movie Study Guide $
  • Moana Educational Resources
  • Moana Party
  • Volcano Resources

Hawaii is magic. It is paradise. We left a piece of our hearts in the Islands.

USA State Study Notebooking Pages
Share
Pin23
Share
23 Shares
You might also like:

Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: geography, Hawaii, state, unit study

Constitution Unit Study

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

September 7, 2020 By Jennifer Lambert 11 Comments

I want to teach my kids US history, government, citizenship.

I don’t want the US government curriculum to be nationalist, fundamentalist, or evangelical.

I’m not sure when many Americans began equating white Republican Jesus with the white male president, right wing government officials, and media, with removing or reducing social programs, but that’s not my religion.

I want unbiased materials and we’re leaning more and more towards secular curriculum to get the true picture of history.

On September 17, 1787, the Founding Fathers signed the most influential document in American history, the United States Constitution.

As we approach Constitution Week, September 17-23, here are some fun educational materials available at no cost to homeschoolers.

A More or Less Perfect Union is a three-part PBS series hosted by Senior Federal Appeals DC Circuit Court Judge Douglas Ginsburg. The series features 17 Constitutional experts weighing in on hot button topics around the document that governs those who govern us.  It aired earlier this year and is schedule to re-air on public television on Sept. 13 at 9 p.m. ET. It is also available on Amazon Prime and PBS.org, if you are a member. It can be watched for free now. It is best suited for high school level students.

Imagine having a discussion with George Washington and Ben Franklin today. Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg sat down with each historic figure to discuss the Constitution, what succeeded and what failed, slavery, education, and even air conditioning and deodorant! Meet the Framers are fascinating, educational and entertaining conversations that shouldn’t be missed.

Judge Ginsburg worked with izzit.org, an online teacher resource, to develop civics educational materials to teach about the Constitution.   The materials include a week-long course on The U.S. Constitution & Black History, a 16-minute teaching unit, Becoming Equal Under the Law, and a number of Teachable Moments (short video clips designed to encourage discussions).

For younger students, the Pups of Liberty series (The Boston T-Bone Party  and The Dog-claration of Independence) are delightful.

A new teaching unit on the First Amendment is recently released.

This is all available to educators at no cost!

Constitution and Government Resources

  • Zinn Education Project
  • Bookshark Constitution unit study (must input an email address to receive)
  • Sonlight Election Day Unit Study (must input an email address to receive)
  • Election Unit Study from My Little Poppies
  • US Constitution Unit Study from The Homeschool Mom
  • Constitution Unit Study from HEAV
  • Constitution Lesson Plan from Homeschool Lessons
  • Constitution Day Unit from DIY Homeschooler
  • Constitution Week Lessons from Homeschool.com
  • Constitution Copywork and Printable Activities from Homeschool Creations
  • Preamble to the Constitution Copywork from Cynce’s Place
  • Preamble to the Constitution File Folder Game from The Wise Nest
  • US Constitution Lapbook from Homeschool Helper
  • Constitution Writing Activities from In All You Do
  • US Constitution Lesson Plans from The Clever Teacher
  • Celebrating the Constitution from Hip Homeschool Moms
  • ConstitutionFacts.com
  • iCivics
  • US Government Unit Study from Our Journey Westward
  • Unit Study: American Government & Elections from Home Schoolroom
  • United States resources from The Homeschool Den
  • My 4th of July unit
  • My Revolutionary War unit
  • Liberty’s Kids
  • Schoolhouse Rock!
  • Schoolhouse Rock!: Election Collection
  • This is America, Charlie Brown
  • Animaniacs: Season 3, Episode 75 (The Presidents Song)
  • Elmo the Musical: First Monster President

Favorite US History Books

  • A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
  • A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki  
  • An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz 
  • A Black Women’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross 
  • An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz  
  • A Disability History of the United States by Kim E. Nielsen  
  • A Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski  
  • Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen
  • A History of US: Eleven-Volume Set by Joy Hakim
  • Life: Our Century In Pictures by Richard B. Stolley
  • The Century for Young People by Peter Jennings

Should we revise or rewrite our constitution to better suit our society?

Share
Pin72
Share
72 Shares
You might also like:

Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: history, homeschool, unit study

Labor Day Unit Study

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

August 24, 2020 By Jennifer Lambert 5 Comments

Labor Day is not just the official end of summer.

Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United States.

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday. Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday.

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.     

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Because we have suffered, and we are not afraid to suffer in order to survive, we are ready to give up everything — even our lives — in our struggle for justice. We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have been forced to live. We shall endure. When a man or woman, young, or old, takes a place on the picket line for even a day or two, he will never be the same again.  

Cesar Chavez

Topics for Discussion

  • The Modern Labor Rights Movement
  • The Power Of Agitating & Organizing
  • Child Labor
  • Minimum Wage
  • Maternity/Paternity Leave
  • The Gender & Race Wage Gap: Glass Ceilings
  • The US Economy Runs On The Backbone of Exploited Black Labor
  • The Effect of Exploitative Migrant Labor On Families

Resources

  • Have we forgotten the true meaning of Labor Day?
  • Why Do We Celebrate Labor Day? by History.com
  • Labor Day Lesson Plan from PBS Media
  • Beyond the BBQ by Miss Humblebee
  • Labor Day Unit from Homeschool.com
  • Labor Day Activities from Time4Learning
  • 36 Labor Day Activities for Kids from Homeschool Superfreak
  • Labor Day Resources from Homeschool Helper Online
  • PreK Labor Day Resources from Simply Kinder
  • Labor Day Emergent Reader from The Barefoot Teacher
  • Printable Labor Day Lesson by Create by Faith

Book List

  • Click, Clack, Moo by Doreen Cronin
  • The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt  
  • I Like, I Don’t Like by Anna Baccelliere 
  • Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story by Paula Yoo 
  • How Mamas Love Their Babies by Juniper Fitzgerald 
  • Brick by Brick by Charles R. Smith Jr.
  • Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America by Carole Boston Weatherford 
  • Kids on Strike! Susan Campbell Bartoletti
  • Kids at Work by Russell Freedman and Lewis Hine
  • Growing Up in Coal Country by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
  • Breaker Boys: How a Photograph Helped End Child Labor by Michael Burgan
  • Which Side Are You On? The Story of a Song by George Ella Lyon 
  • The Golden Thread: A Song for Pete Seeger by Colin Meloy  
  • Brave Girl – Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel
  • Fannie Never Flinched: One Woman’s Courage in the Struggle for American Labor Union Rights by Mary C. Farrell
  • On Our Way to Oyster Bay: Mother Jones and Her March for Children’s Rights by Monica Kulling
  • Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop
  • Lyddie by Katherine Paterson 
  • Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson 
  • Bread and Roses: Mills, Migrants, and the Struggle for the American Dream by Bruce Watson
  • Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin
  • The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child by Francisco Jiménez
  • Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull
  • Dolores Huerta: A Hero to Migrant Workers by Sarah E. Warren
  • Side by Side/Lado a Lado: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez/La Historia de Dolores Huerta y César Chávez by Monica Brown  
  • César Chávez: A Triumph of Spirit by Richard A. Garcia and Richard Griswold del Castillo
  • Roses for Isabella by Amy Córdova and Diana Cohn
  • Joelito’s Big Decision/La Gran Decisión de Joelito by Ann Berlak 
  • Me and Momma and Big John by Mara Rockliff
  • Undocumented: A Worker’s Fight by Duncan Tonatiuh  
  • ¡Si, Se Puede! / Yes, We Can!: Janitor Strike in L.A. by Diana Cohn
  • Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968 by Alice Faye Duncan
  • A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter by Fredrick McKissack and Patricia McKissack
  • The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
  • Civil Rights Unionism: Tobacco Workers and the Struggle for Democracy in the Mid-twentieth-century South by Robert Korstad

Labor Day movies

  • Norma Rae
  • Blue Collar
  • North Country
  • Harlan County, U.S.A.
  • Matewan
  • Salt of the Earth
  • Silkwood
  • The Pursuit of Happyness
  • Cesar Chavez
  • Bound for Glory
  • The Grapes of Wrath
  • On the Waterfront
  • Measure of a Man
  • The Wages of Fear
  • The Organizer
  • Metropolis
  • Newsies
  • Erin Brockovich
  • 9 to 5
  • Working Girl
  • Tootsie
  • Support the Girls
  • Made in Dagenham
  • Mr. Mom
  • The Company Men
  • The Hudsucker Proxy
  • Glengarry Glen Ross
  • Outsourced
  • Swimming With Sharks
  • Boiler Room
  • Night Shift
  • Horrible Bosses
  • Office Space
  • Trading Places
  • The Proposal
  • Picnic

I learned the value of hard work by working hard.

Margaret Mead

How can you support workers?

No one really cares what you post on social media or clapping or being honored at a parade or event. Workers need and want tangible rewards for doing what they do – better conditions, higher pay, protections for illness or injury, security. Respect their dignity.

Make sure you tip well. More than 20%. Don’t be insulting or rude. Service is a very difficult job.

Gifts for the services you use and appreciate most. Keep in mind that most workers can technically only accept gifts equally up to $20 or less. Don’t embarrass them or put them in an awkward position. A gift card, a homemade treat, a caffeine drink, a token is much appreciated.

Vote. Protest. Support public officials, government agencies, and private organizations who protect wage workers and their benefits.

Speak up and teach. Our kids need to see us fighting injustice. They need to know we are not silent and complicit.

Remember the history of Labor Day!

Share
Pin70
Share
70 Shares
You might also like:

Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: homeschool, labor, unit study

Japan Unit Study

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

June 8, 2020 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

We love learning about other cultures.

We review history and geography each cycle/year and assimilate our learning with current events.

I want to learn real history along with my kids, not just an American perspective.

Japan Unit Study

Topics

  • Feudalism
  • Samurai
  • Imperialism
  • WWII
  • Anime
  • Technology

Book List

  • Born in the Year of Courage by Emily Crofford
  • A Pair of Red Clogs by Masako Matsuno
  • The Samurai’s Tale by Erik C. Haugaard
  • A Samurai Castle by Fiona MacDonald 
  • Black Belt
  • The Drums of Noto Hanto
  • The Inch-High Samurai
  • The Samurai’s Daughter
  • Sword of the Samurai
  • Three Samurai Cats
  • The Origami Master by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer
  • Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers by Gloria Whelan
  • The Invisible Seam by Andy William Frew
  • Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
  • A Carp for Kimiko by Virginia Kroll
  • The Old Man Mad about Drawing: A Tale of Hokusai by Francois Place
  • Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun and Shipwrecked!: The True Adventures of a Japanese Boy by Rhoda Blumberg
  • Kazunomiya: Prisoner of Heaven, Japan 1858 by Kathryn Lasky
  • The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck
  • So Far from the Sea by Eve Bunting
  • Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul Choi
  • So Far from the Bamboo Grove and My Brother, My Sister, and I by Yoko Kawashima Watkins
  • Hiroshima by Laurence Yep
  • Passage to Freedom and Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki
  • How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina R. Friedman
  • ALL THE BOOKS by Allen Say
  • Japanese Children’s Favorite Stories by Florence Sakade

Movies

Use discretion. Some of these films are just ridiculous.

  • Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa
  • The Last Samurai
  • 47 Ronin
  • Godzilla
  • Pokémon
  • Dragon Ball Z
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!
  • Death Note
  • Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli
  • The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
  • Grave of the Fireflies
  • In This Corner of the World
  • Lost in Translation
  • Black Rain
  • The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
  • The Wolverine
  • Unbroken
  • Pearl Harbor
  • Hacksaw Ridge
  • Letters from Iwo Jima
  • Flags of Our Fathers
  • Windtalkers
  • Emperor
  • Midway

Resources: Printables, Units, Lessons

  • Confessions of a Homeschooler
  • The Homeschool Mom
  • Happy Homeschool
  • Unlikely Homeschool
  • Living Montessori Now
  • Homeschool Share
  • The Momma Knows
  • Homeschool Den
  • Snowden
  • Happy Brown House

We would love to visit Japan someday!

Country Study Notebooking Pages
Share
Pin56
Share
56 Shares
You might also like:

Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: Asia, geography, history, homeschool, Japan, military, unit study

Asian Pacific American Resources

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

May 1, 2020 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

May is Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month. 

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental in its future success. Check out this teacher resource page.

It’s a great month to focus our studies, our reading and watching materials on Asians and Pacific Islanders. But we shouldn’t just limit our learning about other cultures to one month out of the year!

Often in our curriculum, the white narrative dominates and I must be diligent to seek out sources and materials to honor all cultures and peoples.

I try really hard to teach my white children about other cultures, about immigrants, and the experiences of people not like us. Sometimes, it’s uncomfortable and that’s where the learning happens. I love learning along with my kids!

I update our studies every history cycle, adding more inclusive material to our lists each time. Lots of book lists and more here:

  • China Unit Study
  • Japan Unit Study
  • Korea Unit Study
  • Vietnam Unit Study
  • India Unit Study

We lived in Hawaii for three years. We loved it.

But we realized we were temporary, other, haoles in Paradise, and it wasn’t our land. Looking back, I realize there was so much more I could have learned, done, thought. My girls were very young and I can make amends now as we learn about the history and culture of Hawaii. The kids don’t even remember it.

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

Maya Angelou

Our Hawaii Travels

  • Big Island Hawaii with Kids
  • Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
  • Maui with Kids
  • Oahu with Kids
  • Honolulu with Kids
  • North Shore with Kids
  • Kaneohe with Kids
  • Our Kaua’i Weekend
  • Our Ni’ihau Day Trip
  • Makahiki – Thanksgiving in Hawaii
  • Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Reading List

  • I love Amy Tan. Joy Luck Club and all her others! I think I’ve read them all.
  • Jhumpa Lahiri is another jewel. I love her books! The Lowland and The Namesake are great!
  • Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong
  • Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng  
  • Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
  • Home Remedies: Stories by Xuan Juliana Wang  
  • This Is Paradise: Stories by Kristiana Kahakauwila
  • Frankly in Love by David Yoon
  • Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy by Kevin Kwan 
  • Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford 
  • Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
  • White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht
  • Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong  
  • On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous: A Novel by Ocean Vuong
  • The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston
  • A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara  
  • Ask Me No Questions by Marina Tamar Budhos
  • Bamboo People and Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins
  • Born Confused series by Tanuja Desai Hidier
  • Tashi and the Tibetan Flower Cure by Naomi C. Rose
  • Candy Shop by Jan Wahl
  • Hannah Is My Name by Belle Yang
  • Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet by Sherri L. Smith
  • Two Mrs. Gibsons by Toyomi Igus
  • American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
  • Grandfather Counts by Andrea Cheng
  • The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland
  • Everything Asian by Sung J. Woo
  • Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story by Paula Yoo 
  • A Step From Heaven by An Na
  • Apple Pie 4th of July by Janet S. Wong
  • Project Mulberry and A Single Shard by Linda Soo Park
  • Under the Blood-red Sun and Island Boyz: Short Stories by Graham Salisbury
  • Little Cricket by Jackie Brown
  • Fresh Off the Boat by Melissa De la Cruz
  • Beacon Hill Boys by Ken Mochizuki

I believe in exposing young children to other cultures and getting them familiar with differences so they don’t feel uncomfortable. The first time I had Asian food, I was twelve! I don’t think my parents did a good job on some aspects of my education.

Activities:

Dine out at an Asian restaurant and try new foods. Research before you go so it’s not an expensive waste since the flavors and presentation are very different than typical American food. Some foods are very spicy to a white palate used to bland food!

Learn to cook Asian food! Sushi, stir fries, and soups are easy first steps.

  • Lettuce Wraps
  • Slow Cooker Asian Pork Ribs
  • Cashew Chicken
  • Easy Stir Fry
  • Easy Lo Mein
  • Easy Fried Rice

Visit an Asian festival to learn more about the culture and support immigrants.

Go to museum exhibits on Asian art.

How do you celebrate Asian Americans?

Share
Pin14
Share
14 Shares
You might also like:

Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: Asia, book list, history, unit study

Earth Day Unit Study

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

April 20, 2020 By Jennifer Lambert 2 Comments

It’s our 50th Earth Day and we’ve been watching the reduced carbon emissions while in quarantine.

Perhaps Mother Earth wanted to heal Herself?

I remember being a child growing up in the 1980s and learning about Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! But it never seemed to really catch on. It just wasn’t a dire issue and my county/city didn’t offer weekly service. No one wants to pay for something extra that doesn’t directly affect them.

I want to do better as a family now, but it’s really hard when the eggs come in styrofoam and so many other grocery and takeout items are in lots of unnecessary packaging.

We clear up the trash at our neighborhood ponds and backyard creek regularly. We feed the birds. It seems so little.

Our country is behind many others in earth stewardship. We are vast and huge and populous and no one really seems to care about climate change or protecting the environment.

When we lived in Germany for three years, we separated our waste into refuse, organic, and recycling every week.

We have curbside recycling service every other week now in our suburb of Dayton, Ohio.

But is recycling all we can do?

I want my kids to be better stewards of the Earth since it’s our only home and we must take good care of it for future generations.

Earth Day Unit Study

Ideas

  • Gardening
  • Recycling
  • Reduce waste
  • Try to go plastic free for a period of time. It’s really hard!
  • Reading about nature, natural history, environment, climate change, earthjustice
  • Clean up trash in your yard, a local park, local waterway
  • Feed the birds in your yard
  • Go on a nature walk or hike
  • Plant native trees, bushes, plants in the yard
  • Watch nature documentaries

We did a small focus on female environmentalists:

  • Anna Comstock
  • Rachel Carson
  • Dian Fossey
  • Caitlin O’Connell
  • Patricia Medici
  • Kay Holecamp
  • Jane Goodall
  • Wangari Maathai
  • Isatou Ceesay
  • Evelyn Cheesman
  • Eugenie Clark
  • Katherine Olivia Sessions
  • Sylvia Earle
  • Greta Thunberg
  • Jennifer Mather
  • Jenny Graves
  • Kimberly Stewart

Tips to celebrate Earth Day from home:

  1. Get outside. Your backyard is an outdoor living room and safe place for pets and kids to play. Science proves spending time in your family’s yard is good for your health and well-being, and so important today as everyone looks for creative ways to stay well while being confined to the home. Researchers have found that people living in neighborhoods with more birds, shrubs, and trees are less likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and stress.
  2. Make the outdoors a family project. Take your loved ones outside to assess your space. What’s working well? What could be improved? What can you plan to do together in your backyard? Anything needing to be cleaned up? Make a plan to expand or spruce up your yard.
  3. Connect kids to nature. The environmental education program resources and activities, based on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) principles, give kids the prompts they need to have fun learning about and exploring the nature and science in their own backyards.
  4. Know your climate zone. Learn about climate-zone-appropriate plants, the importance of pollinators, and how backyards can support local wildlife. Conduct a plant inventory to determine what’s currently thriving in your backyard. Match that up against the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map to determine the best types of turf, trees, shrubs, and plants for the climate zone. 
  5. Keep pollinators in mind. Your yard is an important part of the connected ecosystem providing much- needed food and shelter for pollinators, such as birds, bees, butterflies, bats, and other creatures. Select a variety of plants that will bloom all year long. The Audubon Society’s database can help determine which birds will be attracted to which plants for unique regions so you can make good choices about what to plant. 
  6. Plant, prune, or mow. Staying confined to home base doesn’t mean gardening and yard work have to stop. Order garden supplies online or have them delivered from a nearby nursery. Mow the lawn and trim bushes. Research shows people who gardened for at least 30 minutes a week had lower body mass indexes (BMIs)—a measure of body fat—as well as higher levels of self-esteem and better moods overall. They also reported lower levels of tension and stress.

Books:

  • The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
  • Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
  • Girls Who Looked Under Rocks: The Lives of Six Pioneering Naturalists by Jeannine Atkins
  • Heroes of the Environment: True Stories of People Who Are Helping to Protect Our Planet by Harriet Rohmer
  • The Table Where Rich People Sit by Byrd Baylor
  • Thunder & Lightning by Lauren Redniss
  • The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Brian Mealer
  • The Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation by Richard Bauckham
  • A People’s Curriculum for the Earth: Teaching About the Environmental Crisis
  • The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature by David Suzuki
  • How to Read Water by Tristan Gooley
  • Unbowed by Wangari Maathai
  • Around the World in 80 Trees by Jonathan Drori
  • Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness by Dr. Qing Li
  • The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
  • Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
  • The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich
  • Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
  • The Story of General Dann and Mara’s Daughter, Griot and the Snow Dog by Doris Lessing
  • American Primitive and Devotions by Mary Oliver
  • Barkskins by Annie Proulx
  • The Cost of Living by Arundhati Roy
  • Back to the Garden by Clara Hume
  • The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
  • The End of Nature by Bill McKibben – The first book on climate change!
  • An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It and An Inconvenient Sequel by Al Gore
  • The Ethics of Climate Change by James Garvey
  •  The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
  • Junk Raft by Marcus Eriksen
  • Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea & of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists & Fools Including the Author Who Went in Search of Them by Donovan Hohn
  • Walking the Wrack Line: On Tidal Shifts and What Remains by Barbara Hurd
  • Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin
  • Under the Sea Wind and Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
  • The Everglades: River of Grass by Marjory Stoneman Douglas
  • The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan
  • Love Letter to the Earth by Thich Nhat Hanh
  • Turtle Island by Gary Snyder
  • Changes in the Land:Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England by William Cronon
  • All Our Relations by Winona LaDuke
  • Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  • Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality by Robert D. Bullard
  • Trace: Memory, History, Race and the American Landscape by Lauret E. Savoy
  • Rooted in the Earth: Reclaiming the African American Environmental Heritage by Dianne D. Glave
  • Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors by Carolyn Finney
  • Slow Violence and Environmentalism of the Poor by Rob Nixon
  • Savage Dreams: A Journey into the Hidden Wars of the American West by Rebecca Solnit
  • Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner
  • Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster by Mike Davis
  • The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power by David Yergin
  • Ill Nature: Rants and Reflections on Humanity and Other Animals: Meditations on Humanity and Other Animals by Joy Williams
  • The Control of Nature and Annals of the Former World by John McPhee
  • Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez (he’s one of the greats!)
  • Wolf Willow: A History, a Story, and a Memory by Wallace Stegner (and all his books!)
  • Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard (and all her others!)
  • anything by John Muir
  • Flight Behavior and everything by Barbara Kingsolver
  • Our Only World and all the things by Wendell Berry
  • Climate Justice by Mary Robinson

I have been in love with the sky since birth. And when I could fly, I wanted to go higher, to enter space and become a “man of the heights.” During the eight days I spent in space, I realized the mankind needs height primarily to better know our long-suffering Earth, to see what cannot be seen close up. Not just to love her beauty, but also to ensure that we do not bring even the slightest harm to the natural world.

Pham Tuan, Vietnamese astronaut

Videos:

  • The Lorax
  • Fly Away Home
  • Jane’s Journey
  • Gorillas in the Mist
  • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
  • The Secret of NIMH
  • Ferngully
  • Rio
  • Fox and the Child
  • Free Willy
  • Whale Rider 
  • Planet Earth docuseries
  • Erin Brockovich

Resources:

  • How to Be Sustainable at Home
  • Gardening unit study
  • Seeds unit study
  • 40 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint by Kyndra Holley
  • Global Weirding with Katharine Hayhoe on YouTube
  • What a Coronavirus-like Response to Climate Crisis Would Look Like
  • 11 Ways to Retrofit your Landscape & Lifestyle With Permaculture Principles
  • Sandra Richter – Ecology and the Bible podcast
  • Moms Clean Air Force
  • We Act for Environmental Justice
  • Youth Climate Leaders
  • Earth Day Freebies from the Frugal Homeschooling Mom
  • Earth Day Activities from Homeschool Scientist
  • Earth Day Challenges from iHomeschool Network
  • Earth Day Activities from Homeschool.com
  • Earth Day Printable from Homeschool Super Freak
  • Earth Day Lesson Plan from Homeschool Academy
  • Earth Day Activities from Homeschool Curriculum
  • Earth Day Lesson Plan from The Homeschool Mom
  • Rock Your Homeschool Earth Celebration
  • Earth Day Activities from Homeschool Den
  • 123 Homeschool 4Me Earth Day Activities

How do you celebrate Earth Day?

Linking up: Welcome Heart, Anita Ojeda, April Harris, Marilyn’s Treats, Create with Joy, Mostly Blogging, Mary Geisen, Little Cottage, LouLou Girls, Our Home, Our Three Peas, Grandma’s Ideas, Worth Beyond Rubies, Soaring with Him, InstaEncouragements, Ducks in a Row, Girlish Whims, Fluster Buster, Ginger Snap Crafts, Suburbia, Heartsie Girl, Penny’s Passion, Katherine’s Corner. Crystal Storms, Debbie Kitterman, Slices of Life, CKK, Ridge Haven Homestead, Anchored Abode, Life Beyond the Kitchen, Chic on a Shoestring, Answer is Choco, Momfessionals, Simply Sweet Home, MareeDee, Fireman’s Wife, CWJ, Kris and Larry,

Share
Pin40
Share
40 Shares
You might also like:

Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: Earth Day, unit study

Teaching Black History

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

February 28, 2020 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

It’s hard to teach my white kids about Black history and Civil Rights in America.

But I won’t shy away from what makes me uncomfortable.

I can’t just begin in the 1960s with Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Act. I can’t just teach about this in February: Black History Month.

The fight for civil rights began long ago and continues today.

No one really wants to discuss the creation of the idea of race surrounding the colonization of Europeans to the New World.

Pioneer days are lauded as an exciting time when white Europeans claimed Manifest Destiny and took land from the Natives who had lived in America for hundreds of years. Theses times are glorified in skewed history books with white saviors “evangelizing and rescuing people of color from themselves and their savagery.”

The Civil War didn’t end slavery. It made slavery illegal, and other later court decisions made Jim Crow Laws and segregation illegal, but discrimination and stereotypes in the media, schools, and our own homes uphold racism.

The Ku Klux Klan was and is hateful toward anyone who is not a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.

This is hard and necessary history to teach my white children who have been mostly oblivious in their sheltered lives. It’s hard history for me to revisit and enlighten myself so I understand true American history.

I share articles from social media and the news that are important about current events to my teens so they understand that racism is unfortunately still alive and well in the world.

Civil rights are human rights.

It is my duty to learn and teach anti-racism. All year round and not just one month each year.

Studying Black American History Year Round

Our favorite history texts:

  • A History of US: Eleven-Volume Set by Joy Hakim
  • Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen
  • A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
  • Story of the World, Vol. 1: History for the Classical Child: Ancient Times by Susan Wise Bauer
  • Story of the World, Vol. 2: History for the Classical Child: The Middle Ages by Susan Wise Bauer
  • Story of the World, Vol. 3: History for the Classical Child: Early Modern Times by Susan Wise Bauer
  • Story of the World, Vol. 4: History for the Classical Child: The Modern Age by Susan Wise Bauer
  • Life: Our Century In Pictures by Richard B. Stolley
  • The Century for Young People by Peter Jennings

Topics for Discussion

I know this is an incomplete timeline. We discuss issues as I learn about them and we read about them in our studies.

  • Colonialism
  • Enslavement
  • Underground Railroad
  • Harriet Tubman
  • Fugitive Slave Act
  • Nat Turner
  • Abolitionism 
  • John Brown
  • Dred Scott
  • The US Civil War. See my unit study.
  • Emancipation Proclamation
  • Juneteenth
  • Reconstruction
  • Freedmen’s Bureau
  • Black Codes
  • Jim Crow
  • Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
  • 14th and 15th Amendments
  • Ku Klux Klan
  • Tuskegee Institute
  • Ida B. Wells sued the Chesapeake, Ohio and Southwestern Railroad
  • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
  • Plessy v. Ferguson
  • Woodrow Wilson orders physical re-segregation of federal workplaces and employment
  • Marcus Garvey and UNIA
  • Great Migration
  • Harlem Renaissance
  • East St. Louis massacres
  • Red Summer
  • Tulsa Race Massacre
  • Tuskegee Airmen
  • Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
  • Jesse Owens wins four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin
  • Negro League Baseball
  • Jackie Robinson
  • Brown v. Board Of Education
  • Recy Taylor
  • Emmett Till
  • Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
  • Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
  • Little Rock Nine
  • Sit–in Movement 
  • Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
  • Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
  • Freedom Rides
  • James Meredith integrates Ole Miss
  • 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, bombed
  • Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964
  • Freedom Summer and the “Mississippi Burning” Murders
  • Selma to Montgomery March
  • Malcolm X
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965
  • Black Power
  • Fair Housing Act of 1968
  • MLK Assassination
  • Shirley Chisholm Runs for President in 1972
  • President Jimmy Carter appoints Andrew Young to serve as Ambassador to the United Nations
  • The Bakke Decision and Affirmative Action
  • Jesse Jackson and People United to Save/Serve Humanity (PUSH)
  • Oprah Winfrey Talk Show
  • Los Angeles Riots
  • Million Man and Woman Marches
  • Colin Powell becomes Secretary of State
  • Barack Obama becomes 44th U.S. President
  • Civil Rights Extensions
  • Black Lives Matter
  • Colin Kaepernick

February 1976: Black History Month is founded by Professor Carter Woodson’s Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History.

November 2, 1983: President Ronald Reagan signs a bill creating a federal holiday to honor MLK.

January 20, 1986: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is first celebrated as a national holiday.

Resources and Reading List

I prefer to read works written by Black people about Black people. Some other books we’ve read and discussed, but they had problems.

  • The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones
  • 1619 Project online
  • 1619 Project Teaching/Reading Guide
  • The Native Americans Who Assisted the Underground Railroad
  • Racial Equality Tools
  • Frederick Douglass
  • Langston Hughes
  • W.E.B. Du Bois
  • Zora Neale Hurston
  • James Baldwin
  • Maya Angelou
  • Alice Walker
  • Toni Morrison
  • Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • Ibram X. Kendi
  • A Black Women’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross
  • An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz
  • The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty
  • And Still I Rise: Black America Since MLK by Henry L. Gates and Kevin M. Burke
  • Unseen: Unpublished Black History from the New York Times Photo Archives
  • Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and the Black American Dream by Blair Imani
  • Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson
  • A Child’s Introduction to African American History: The Experiences, People, and Events That Shaped Our Country by Jabari Asim
  • Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves by Glory Edim
  • Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson
  • Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry
  • One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
  • Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
  • The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
  • Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
  • Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
  • Logans Series by Mildred Taylor
  • Books by Angie Thomas
  • Biographies about former enslaved people
  • Biographies about Civil Rights leaders
  • Raising Antiracist Kids by Local Passport Family

Anti-Racism Books

Some of these are on my list to read. Some I’ve read and liked or disliked. It’s frustrating when white people write about anti-racism from a place of socio-economic power and white savior stance.

  • I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
  • The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone
  • Black Theology and Black Power by James H. Cone
  • I Bring the Voices of My People: A Womanist Vision for Racial Reconciliation by Chanequa Walker-Barnes
  • The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby
  • Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US by Lenny Duncan
  • White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
  • Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
  • Waking Up White: and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving
  • White Awake: An Honest Look at What It Means to Be White by Daniel Hill

Movies

Obviously, some of these are not for young children. Use discretion.

I love movies and I love using movies to teach history and culture. Spike Lee, Ava DuVernay, and Jordan Peele have great films.

  • The Princess and the Frog
  • Amistad
  • 12 Years a Slave
  • The Color Purple
  • Sounder
  • Ruby Bridges
  • 4 Little Girls
  • Remember The Titans
  • Ali
  • Marshall
  • Selma
  • Malcolm X
  • 42
  • Hidden Figures
  • The Help
  • Fruitvale Station
  • When They See Us
  • 13th
  • Mississippi Burning
  • Red Tails
  • Tuskegee Airmen
  • Loving
  • Straight Outta Compton
  • Get Out
  • Us

Music

I love music and I love the rich history that African Americans have brought to our musical repertoire. See how we learn about music.

  • Spirituals and Folk Songs
  • Jubilee Singers
  • Barbershop quartets
  • Blues
  • Jazz
  • Soul
  • R&B
  • Rap
  • Hip Hop

The removal of racist songs from children’s music programs is long overdue.

Celebrate Black composers, singers, and musicians throughout history.

Field Trips

We live in Ohio and we’re learning local history along with world and US history.

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati

Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati:

Underground Railroad Walk in Springboro, Ohio:

Quilts often were maps for the Underground Railroad.

It’s important to revisit history lessons again and again. I learn so much while researching to teach my children Truth.

I’m constantly revisiting my upbringing and the stereotypes I was washed in during my Georgia public school education. I want to do better. I want to do better teaching my children.

How do you teach Black History?

You might also like:

  • Celebrating Diversity
  • Our Souls are the Same Color
  • Love Your Neighbor
  • Nonviolence Unit Study
Famous African Americans Notebooking Pages
Share
Pin31
Share
31 Shares
You might also like:

Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: civil rights, history, unit study

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 7
  • Next Page »
Suggested ResourcesRakuten Coupons and Cash Back

Archives

Popular Posts

10 DIY Gifts with Essential Oils10 DIY Gifts with Essential Oils
Natural Remedies for HeadacheNatural Remedies for Headache
10 Natural Remedies to Keep on Hand10 Natural Remedies to Keep on Hand
Henna Hands CraftHenna Hands Craft
Homemade Turkey Divan CasseroleHomemade Turkey Divan Casserole
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT