BF Modern American & World History Term One Review....

After finishing our first term of the 2015-2016 school year, I thought I'd give an update on the Beautiful Feet Modern American and World History study we're using.   Part way through the term, I gave an introduction/overview of the program.  Since, we finished up the term on lesson twenty-seven.  I originally scheduled history three days per week, hoping to finish the term with lesson thirty-six.  However, the assigned readings are very long so I had to split some of the lessons over two days.  At this point, it looks as though the study may take more than one school year to complete unless we add history a fourth day per week.

So far, the books have been wonderful!  We've read five books in their entirety, including: Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt, The Perilous Road by William O. Steele, a Frederick Douglass substitution, Carver: A Life in Poems by Marilyn Nelson, and Theodore Roosevelt by Genevieve Foster.  We've also read assigned chapters of A Child's First Book of American History by Earl Schenck Miers.

As noted, I did substitute one book.  The BF study uses Narrative in the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass.  However, after reading aloud the Preface and a Letter, I could see the kids were not ready for it.  After a bit of research, I opted to substitute Frederick Douglass Fights for Freedom by Margaret Davidson.  I think Douglass' original Narrative... is fabulous, but I felt it was more suited for upper middle school or high school.  The kids will definitely be reading it at some point down the road.  For now, Davidson's book was a good fit!

Here is a narration Riley wrote after we read Frederick Douglass Fights for Freedom...

Frederick Bailey was born in February 1818, no one knows the exact date, he was a slave.  Frederick wanted to be free.  He decided to run away to the north.  Frederick disguised himself as a sailor and got aboard a train.  He rode the train to New York.  He found a safe house there.  While in New York, Frederick got married.  He and his new wife moved to Massachusetts.  Frederick changed his last name to Douglass to be safe from slave catchers.  He was an abolitionist.  He fought for freedom for the millions of slaves that were not free yet.  He and his wife Anna, and their five children, ran a safe house on the Underground Railroad.  Frederick gave many speeches against slave owners and even talked to President Lincoln.  He died February 20, 1895.  He was seventy-seven years old.  

The kids are not loving A Child's First Book of American History.  However, I think it does a great job of filling in the gaps.  It's sort of a spine book and Daugherty's illustration are a treat.  Across Five Aprils is still my favorite with Foster's Theodore Roosevelt falling second.  We learned a great deal about Roosevelt from this Initial Biography.  I highly recommend it and am thrilled to see Beautiful Feet bring it back in print!

Overall, the study is going well.  History is still the kids favorite subject.  Below are a few more samples of their notebook pages....

Today, we are back from break, starting term two with The Wright Brothers, Pioneers of American Aviation by Quentin Reynolds.  I haven't done much reading on the Wright brothers and am looking forward to learning more about them :)