Homeschool in Woods Makes History Come Alive with Their Unit Study Series! (review)

I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.  All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.





Homeschool in the Woods offers 3 different series/collections: Timeline (a collection of historical timeline figures, for all ages), Time Travelers (U.S. history studies for grades 3-8) and Project Passport (world history studies for grades 3-8)

You may have seen our prior review of a Homeschool in the Woods Project Passport product, but today I wanted to share with you about one of their different series of products: Time Travelers U.S. History Studies: The Industrial Revolution through the Great Depression. It came to us during the period when we had put aside homeschooling, so this isn't so much a review of use, but a review of what you get in the study.

Like Project Passport, this history study is hands-on learning, to make history lessons FUN again, especially for tactile learners. This is the 6th study in the series, and it has 25 lessons that cover 70 years of history bridging the Industrial Era from Post Civil War to WWII (1870-1940), including the Transcontinental Railroad, the Indian Wars, the Gilded Age, Innovations & Inventors, Immigration, Growth of the Nation, People of Interest, the Progressive Era, WWI, the Roaring 20s, the Stock Market Crash, and the Dust Bowl.
The study has 2 components- Teacher's Pack and Student Pack.

The teacher packet includes a lesson plan that covers 5-10 weeks (depending on how long you want study to last), a one page Guide at a Glance (for you as the teacher to see upcoming topics and projects for each section), the full lesson texts, resource lists for all the projects (SO SO helpful to make sure you have everything before each section), and even some Teacher Helps, with more information and links, to help teach each section better. All of the pages are laid out to be be added in a 3-ring binder, so no worries about cutting off texts or graphics! 

One of the primary differences between this series and the Passport one, is how the downloads are handled. 

In the other series, you got the large file download, and could print everything out at ONE time, and then assemble different sections, as the lessons progressed. 

But with this download, you get a large zip file. Then when you extract the files, and then have to print out everything individually that goes with the lessons. BUT the lessons themselves are internet based,so you/your child has to actually click into the Lesson, go into the IE website and then have the option of downloading the different pages needed from there. This is VERY time consuming obviously. I like the idea of pulling the lesson from the website, and being able to look at photos in color, see added videos or hearing music/speeches from the lesson links, and for dyxlesics kids, it can be great to have a screen reader help with the lessons. But it is VERY printer heavy! For example Lesson 1 has 63 pages to download and print. For some this may be ok, but with us, we only have one printer, and that is a LOT of printing to have to do before and during each lesson! 

Overall, your child will complete 50 activity pages, that will require folders, tape,scissors, print outs and pencils/pens/crayons to color the different pages with.

The activity pages vary, but include Creative Writing, Factfile Cards, Cursive Penmanship Pages, Era Recipes, File Folder Games and Experiments.  Plus there are Notebook Timeline pages to complete. Your child will add important events and people cut outs to the time line pages, as they complete the study, to see the changes that occur over the years. These all fit in a 3 ring binder, so everything can be kept in one place, nice and neat. There is even a notebook cover with art for your student to color, to make the unit uniquely theirs. It will fit in the slip in cover of the 3-ring binder. 

In additional to the projects pages, there are also 12 lap book projects that also vary- the Route 66 game is not only informative, but fun to play! Th lap books all fit into file folders that are folded a certain way, and then items are cut out and added to them to create the different books, each focusing on a certain themes from the study.

Five "Project Days" are built into the lesson plan, so your child can have a day free from lessons to complete their current projects.The project pages feature not only direction pages (with photos to show how to put them together), but different masters for each of the projects, like photos and drawings. 
The projects can include 3-dimensional Projects  like making a replica of a Wright Brothers "Flyer" or creating a Penny Rug or YoYo Quilt, that give kids a hands on feel for the time period.  Plus there is a final projects for the course, that brings all the learning together, into Depression-Era Dinner, that is fun for the whole family (check out Amy's great blog post on the benefits of combining food and history) . So when your child gets done, they'll have a full study, and fuller notebook!
While we prefer the less printer heavy Project Passport, the Time Travelers series offers a lot of information in a short Unit Study. If your child loves lap books and activity pages, then they will LOVE the different activities offered. For my daughter, the amount of cutting and pasting was just too much. She would rather have projects to build for every unit, as she is more into oral presentations. But if your child likes lap book studies, they will LOVE this series!
Check out how my fellow reviewers were able to actually use the different series by clicking on the photo below:

if you are interested in the different Homeschool in the Woods unit series, be sure to follow them on social media, for special sales, info on new units and more:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homeschoolinthewoods Twitter: https://twitter.com/HSintheWoods Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hsinthewoods/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeschoolinthewoods/
Even if you don't purchase any of the studies yet, Amy's blog, Words from the Woods,  is an amazing source of historical info, like the History of Notre Dame, and teaching methods, like How to teach DIfferent Learning Styles. So be sure to check out her posts!