Project Passport Review

Have you ever wanted to go on an exotic vacation? Visit someplace exciting and experience the culture? Or how about travel back in time and witness events as they took place? We've had that opportunity to do just that the past few weeks.

Ok, maybe we didn't truly travel back in time, and, honestly, we haven't even left the house, but Home School in the Woods has made us feel that we've gone on a thrilling and educational journey through Project Passport World History Study: The Middle Ages. 

Home School in the Woods is a family business that was started as a way to make history real, understandable, and applicable. Using timelines and realistic illustrations as a foundation, they've created many resources to make learning history an enjoyable process. I, like Amy the driving force of the company, did not enjoy the boring textbooks in high school. It wasn't until we started our own homeschooling journey that I started to realize that learning history wasn't boring, but, in fact, could be quite interesting. I was excited to download this study and travel to the Middle Ages.

The download (also available as a CD) comes as a zip file. Once you open it, and see the multiple folders, click on the "start" file. At that point, the entire program will open in your browser, making it very easy to use. Instead of clicking through multiple folders, trying to bounce back and forth among the resources, everything is laid out as you need it.  

Using Project Passport is like taking an actual trip to a specific time period. The program is divided into 25 stops or destinations:

• Stops 1-3 Laying the Foundation
• Stops 4-7 Everyday Life
• Stops 8-9 Business
• Stop 10 Science & Invention
• Stop 11 Education
• Stop 12 The Arts
• Stop 13 Medicine & Disease
• Stops 14-16 The Church
• Stops 17-18 The Crusades
• Stop 19 Knights & Chivalry
• Stops 20-21 The Vikings
• Stops 22-24 Battles, Wars, & Conflicts
• Stop 25 Packing Up

The first few stops require a bit of work. What makes this study so well-done, also makes it so much work. Laying the Foundation is where you create many of the things you'll need for the trip: a realistic passport, a luggage folder complete with tag, a scrapbook of sights, a postcard rack, a newspaper, timeline, and more. This study is recommended for grades 3-8, but, as with many things, we adapted it to be used as a family project. That means that I was completing each step for a 4th grader, 2nd grader, and kindergartener. It required much paper and cardstock and even more preparation. Since we are doing the trip together, I printed certain things (souvenir cards, newspaper, Medieval cookbook, etc.) only once and keep it in a separate 3-ring binder to be used by all. Other things (timelines, maps, puppets, postcards, etc.) I printed a set for each child to be kept in their own binders.     

For each stop, there is a guide book text, which contains all the reading material for learning, and a travel itinerary, which gives thorough step-by-step instructions for the activities. A sample stop might be like this: reading text, adding snapshot moments to the timeline, writing a newspaper article or a postcard, and one or more other activities like playing a game or creating a souvenir craft. Another impressive feature at some of the stops is the audio tours, where the "tour guide" and background noises make you feel like you're really in Medieval times.    

I am amazed at this study. Truly. I have learned, after the first few stops, that we need to slow down to complete this. I had been trying to complete one stop a day, a few days a week. The problem is that along with the 3 older kids, my 3-year-old is usually with us as we're completing the lesson, and sometimes the baby is as well. It was taking well over an hour to get through the reading and activities. I'm sure we could fly through the stops quicker, but we've been enjoying expounding on the reading text while reenacting the Barbarian battles with toy army men and drawing out the feudal system on the dry erase board and  just sitting around and discussing various aspects about the time period. My little ones are soaking this up. We've skipped a few of the big activities for now, but fully intend to complete them all by the time we reach the end of our journey. 

Zac, 5 years: I like the activities. I can't wait to make the candy food-thingies (marzipan) that we're going to make!

Alyssa, 7 years: It's fun. I like making the castle, having the folder that holds our stuff, the passport, Technically, I like everything about it.

Jake, 9 years: It's cool. I like all the things that you make. I really like learning about the Middle Ages.

The only frustrating thing I have about this study is the breakdown of the PDFs. Because everything has very specific printing instructions (regular paper, colored paper, white cardstock, colored cardstock) each page is its own file. I understand that need for the "special" pages. The problem comes in when you have to print lengthy things like the timeline or newspaper. Because of the individual files, you have to open the file, print one page, turn it around, open another file, and print the back (yes, I "leap-frog" printed, but it still requires much work). To make things simpler, I would like to see those entire resources as one file so I can choose the double-sided printing option and my printer can do the work for me.

That issue aside, I love this program. The amount of information and the varying activities are astounding. Yes, it is a lot of work. Yes, it requires a lot of paper and supplies. But, yes, my kids are excited every day to learn history. And, yes, they are retaining the information and talking about it through the day. Yes, I can't say enough praise about this study. We will be taking another trip through history in the future, for sure.


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If you'd like to read more reviews of this study or see how other homeschool families used the Ancient Egypt and the Renaissance and Reformation studies, go to the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog. 

Wordless Wednesday 8/7/13

Knights & Nobles

I think my kids would live in Fairy Tale Land if they could. Kings, princesses, castles, knights, dragons, crowns, jewels - it's all just so exciting! That's why I knew they would find a study on knights and nobles intriguing.

Why has Sharon Gibson from Homeschool Legacy created a Once-A-Week unit study on knights and nobles and many other topics? Well,  a unit study is a comprehensive way to learn about a topic. In order to fully understand all aspects about it, you immerse yourself in it and apply that topic to all subjects - science, language arts, literature, math, history, Bible, music, art, etc.. This method helps you learn more, retain it longer, and have fun while doing it.

Since this is a once-a-week study, you study it - yep, you guessed it - once a week. All the planning has been done for you. There is a lengthy list of books and videos at the beginning of each week's plans that corresponds to that week's topic. The list is in numerical and alphabetical Dewey decimal order for you to easily find the books from the library. Also, even if your library doesn't have those certain books, you can use the Dewy Decimal numbers to find the proper section where like books can be found. The suggested study schedule is to read the chosen books daily, complete your regular studies 4 days a week, and only this unit study 1 day a week, along with another day for a complimenting field trip and family movie/game night. A typical unity study day will consist of a family devotional, the chosen reading material, and any accompanying activities. 

Each week is broken down into specific topic:
Week 1 - Castles
Week 2 - Kings & Queens
Week 3 - Knights
Week 4 - Life on a Manor

We didn't completely hold true to the once-a-week part. I admit it. We cheated. But I couldn't possibly tell my little ones (6, 4, 2) that they couldn't learn more. They very much enjoyed learning about castles, royalty, and life during medieval times. Jake (6 yr) has recently fallen in love with the game of chess. Not only did he learn that the game originated during the Middle Ages, but it was interesting to note the name of the pieces and compare them to the rank and power of those living during that time period. Another game that the kids have really taken to and is also from this age is marbles. It's interesting to learn just how far back some things date. We learned the meaning of the rhyme "Blackbird Pie." Have you ever wondered why 1) the cook baked birds in a pie for the king, and 2) why the birds didn't die? Yeah, me too. Now I know, but you'll have to get the study to find out! {grin} We even practiced juggling like a minstrel. (Oh, how I should have taken video, especially when my 4 year old attempted to juggle hotdogs. That was . . . interesting.)

It's really neat when our regular activities are supplemented by what we are learning. Jake learned about archery with his dad when they went hunting. He loves using his own toy bow and suction-cup arrow to shoot around the house, like Robin Hood. There is also a lesson on the armor of God in Ephesians 6. Our pastor just did a sermon on that last week, which complimented our study well. Using those times when life meets learning really helps cement the knowledge in your mind. To me, that's what homeschooling is about, incorporating learning into our every day life. I love when I can say, "Hey, this is just like what we talked about . . . " and delve into the subject more.

Of course, our absolute favorite activity was constructing our very own castle out of Legos. (I know, not surprising in the least.) You should have seen Jake's face when I suggested making one. That boy is obsessed with his Legos, and he was very excited to make it a family affair. As we were all sitting there, surrounded but thousands of pieces, laughing and having a good time, Alyssa (4 yr) said, "This is a family day for sure!" We're still adding to it, but it's already pretty cool with a working draw bridge, mote and crocodile, turrets, throne room, and dungeon. Oh, yeah. Any study that incorporates Legos is a winner.  

These unit studies are good for not only school, but for earning badges for Boy Scouts, American Heritage Girls, and 4H as well. There are directions for a working catapult (much simpler than this one we made) a recipe for making butter, and many other activities that can be completed for credit.

My kids greatly enjoy hands-on learning. I am determined to use unit studies more this year. These from Homeschool Legacy are fun, cover a wide-range of activities, can be used with multiple ages, and are meant for the entire family. Of course, this is only a 4 week study. If you want to dig even deeper into the topic, there are plenty of book titles listed that would easily help you find information. My kids would sit and listen to me read all day if we could. I especially appreciated the living book choices. Reading a book that is above their heads gives us the perfect opportunity to stop and explain and learn even more. We talked about the origin of last names, how Jesus is the King of kings, monks, the Plague, and so much more, just from reading. Sure, it takes a lot longer to finish a book, but our goal is not to see how many books we can knock out in a year. Our desire is to teach our children and give them a well-rounded education. One of my favorite discussions was about peasants and money. The children wanted to know if we are rich. At first, I had to chuckle. We are not rich. Or are we? We have a roof over our heads, drawers over-flowing with clothes, pantries full of food, way too many toys, gadgets and frivolities . . . a loving family, a merciful Saviour, a future in Heaven . . . We noted just how much we have and how many people in other countries have so little. Jake said, "We should go there and give them money. I would give them all my money!" Alyssa chimed in, "Well, I would give them a penny." Then Zac, my crazy energetic 2 year old quipped, "I would give them my hair."

I think we have some more teaching to do.


This specific study is best for grades 2-12 and costs $15.95. Remember, there are many other once-a-week studies available from Homeschool Leagacy as well. You can read reviews about Knights & Nobles and the other choices on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog. 

* Disclaimer: I received this study in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.