When it comes to making the decision to review products, I am very mindful. I get requests from all sorts of companies to review various products, but I only accept when I feel they are products we would really use and from which we can benefit. I do not want to overwhelm my girls or myself with too many products, just for the sake of reviewing something new. Earning referral fees is a consideration for me only in the sense of what I can then donate to the Lowe Syndrome Association in honor of my nephew...I do not blog for profit for myself.
So, when I was contacted about reviewing materials from BrimWood Press, I investigated the products before I accepted the offer. I also discussed the decision with my girls to make sure they would be on board. I was pleased with what I read on the BrimWood Press site, and the girls were willing to give it a try. We liked the idea that this is a history curriculum built around a story, and since we love historical fiction in our house, this seemed like a good fit!
* What Every Child Needs to Know About Western Civilization, which is the "textbook" portion of this curriculum package.
* Color the Western World, which is an over-sized coloring book, with pages that correspond with the major time periods touched upon in the story and textbook.
Some useful facts to know about this curriculum:
* The curriculum is meant to be an overview of Western Civilization, not an in-depth study. As was described in the introduction of What Every Child Needs to Know About Western Civilization, this is a "jet plane" approach, rather than a "wagon train" approach to history. The objective is to help kids place historical events within a larger framework of major events that have helped form Western Civilization.
* The curriculum ONLY deals with Western Civilization...it makes no pretense of going any further than that.
* The main text, What Every Child Needs to Know About Western Civilization, serves many purposes. It is the teacher guide book, containing much more information to expand the Calendar Quest story into a complete lesson; it also serves as a student workbook; plus it contains the "Hats of History" cards that are used throughout the lessons, stickers that are used on the "Hats of History" cards, and components for games used in the lessons.
* The "Hats of History" cards correspond with each of the lessons in the book, and are used as a memory tool for learning about the major time periods covered and the order in which those time periods occur.
* The lessons are set up in such a way that each chapter in the Calendar Quest story corresponds with a lesson. There is a final wrap-up lesson that is a review of what has been learned, includes a game, and encourages reflection.
*This curriculum is intended to be used in a rather fast-paced manner. In fact, it is suggested that an average of one lesson per day be completed for each of five days per week, so that the program is finished within four weeks time. (A few lessons are given a two day stretch...there are 16 lessons in all.) The text does say that a "less aggressive schedule" can be used, but the author does not recommend trying to incorporate this curriculum with any others. It is meant to be a stand-alone curriculum to complement and enhance other history learning.
My thoughts about this curriculum from an "unschooling" perspective:
* We have found that the suggested pace would be MUCH too fast for our taste. Since we do not normally use formal curriculum, the notion of lessons that must be completed within a certain time frame does not suit our learning style. We are moving at a more relaxed pace, yet still completing the lessons. I am reading aloud, and we are using the workbook for discussion points. We have been completing the accompanying map work and the "Hats of History" cards together. The girls are working as a team to complete the Color the Western World coloring book (they've been doing this while I read aloud).
* I like the "History in a Nutshell" portions of the text. I find that these sections are concise presentations of necessary information to flesh out the story in Calendar Quest. The facts coordinate with stickers to place on the "Hats of History" cards, and with the images that are in the coloring book. The information from the "History in a Nutshell" section can be summarized to match up with the stickers on the back of the "Hats of History" cards, and thus a nice reference is created to look back on. The cards can then be placed in chronological order to create a form of timeline to represent the story. This has all been an appealing project for my girls :)
* I also like the "Thinking Like a Historian (for older students)" sections of the text. This offers an opportunity for older learners to think a bit more critically about the information presented, and carry it through until the end of the story.
** I feel that while this curriculum could be approached in a very structured manner, as designed, it can also be tweaked and tailored depending upon your own needs and learning styles so that it can work for most anyone!
What the girls have to say:
* Jenna (age = 12) told me she likes the story and the coloring book. She said that she likes that the girl in the story has braces ;) She also thought it was neat that the kids time travel in a refrigerator box!
* Lauren (age = almost 11) told me that she really likes the Calendar Quest story line; she appreciates that it is history, humor, and fiction combined. She also specifically mentioned that she liked the guinea pig in the story, Pinky, and she also thought time travel in a refrigerator box is a unique aspect of the story :) Lauren feels that it is fun to color the coloring book, and she likes the "Hats of History" cards. She said that she likes how the story progresses through history, and she thought the "jet plane" idea of going through the major periods of history was a good one.
Any fees earned from Amazon affiliate links and BrimWood Press affiliate links on this blog will be donated to the Lowe Syndrome Association in honor of my nephew {he's a super special little boy!}.
Please see here for a more complete disclosure statement.
We received:
* Calendar Quest, which is a work of historical fiction telling the story of how the calendar we use every day came into being. The story moves through 14 major time periods, from ancient Sumer to 20th century America, following the journey of two young children along with Father Time.* What Every Child Needs to Know About Western Civilization, which is the "textbook" portion of this curriculum package.
* Color the Western World, which is an over-sized coloring book, with pages that correspond with the major time periods touched upon in the story and textbook.
Some useful facts to know about this curriculum:
* The curriculum is meant to be an overview of Western Civilization, not an in-depth study. As was described in the introduction of What Every Child Needs to Know About Western Civilization, this is a "jet plane" approach, rather than a "wagon train" approach to history. The objective is to help kids place historical events within a larger framework of major events that have helped form Western Civilization.
* The curriculum ONLY deals with Western Civilization...it makes no pretense of going any further than that.
* The main text, What Every Child Needs to Know About Western Civilization, serves many purposes. It is the teacher guide book, containing much more information to expand the Calendar Quest story into a complete lesson; it also serves as a student workbook; plus it contains the "Hats of History" cards that are used throughout the lessons, stickers that are used on the "Hats of History" cards, and components for games used in the lessons.
* The "Hats of History" cards correspond with each of the lessons in the book, and are used as a memory tool for learning about the major time periods covered and the order in which those time periods occur.
* The lessons are set up in such a way that each chapter in the Calendar Quest story corresponds with a lesson. There is a final wrap-up lesson that is a review of what has been learned, includes a game, and encourages reflection.
*This curriculum is intended to be used in a rather fast-paced manner. In fact, it is suggested that an average of one lesson per day be completed for each of five days per week, so that the program is finished within four weeks time. (A few lessons are given a two day stretch...there are 16 lessons in all.) The text does say that a "less aggressive schedule" can be used, but the author does not recommend trying to incorporate this curriculum with any others. It is meant to be a stand-alone curriculum to complement and enhance other history learning.
My thoughts about this curriculum from an "unschooling" perspective:
* We have found that the suggested pace would be MUCH too fast for our taste. Since we do not normally use formal curriculum, the notion of lessons that must be completed within a certain time frame does not suit our learning style. We are moving at a more relaxed pace, yet still completing the lessons. I am reading aloud, and we are using the workbook for discussion points. We have been completing the accompanying map work and the "Hats of History" cards together. The girls are working as a team to complete the Color the Western World coloring book (they've been doing this while I read aloud).
* I like the "History in a Nutshell" portions of the text. I find that these sections are concise presentations of necessary information to flesh out the story in Calendar Quest. The facts coordinate with stickers to place on the "Hats of History" cards, and with the images that are in the coloring book. The information from the "History in a Nutshell" section can be summarized to match up with the stickers on the back of the "Hats of History" cards, and thus a nice reference is created to look back on. The cards can then be placed in chronological order to create a form of timeline to represent the story. This has all been an appealing project for my girls :)
* I also like the "Thinking Like a Historian (for older students)" sections of the text. This offers an opportunity for older learners to think a bit more critically about the information presented, and carry it through until the end of the story.
** I feel that while this curriculum could be approached in a very structured manner, as designed, it can also be tweaked and tailored depending upon your own needs and learning styles so that it can work for most anyone!
What the girls have to say:
* Jenna (age = 12) told me she likes the story and the coloring book. She said that she likes that the girl in the story has braces ;) She also thought it was neat that the kids time travel in a refrigerator box!
* Lauren (age = almost 11) told me that she really likes the Calendar Quest story line; she appreciates that it is history, humor, and fiction combined. She also specifically mentioned that she liked the guinea pig in the story, Pinky, and she also thought time travel in a refrigerator box is a unique aspect of the story :) Lauren feels that it is fun to color the coloring book, and she likes the "Hats of History" cards. She said that she likes how the story progresses through history, and she thought the "jet plane" idea of going through the major periods of history was a good one.
I would say that using the What Every Child Needs to Know About Western Civilization curriculum from BrimWood Press has been a success for us, even though we generally shy away from curriculum :)
Any fees earned from Amazon affiliate links and BrimWood Press affiliate links on this blog will be donated to the Lowe Syndrome Association in honor of my nephew {he's a super special little boy!}.
Please see here for a more complete disclosure statement.
