After years of studying world history intensively (while inevitably reading American historical fiction and biographies on the side because we just couldn't help ourselves), two years ago we decided to actually tackle our country's history from start to finish in a more "formal" manner. Of course, "formal" doesn't mean much around here.... ;-) Mostly it denotes that we have a chronological outline to follow. However, it does not preclude tangents. We love tangents. Fortunately for us, (for many reasons), we live in the United States, and our country's history is relatively short -- so there is plenty of time for those interesting tangents!
Also fortunately for us, we have found fantastic guidelines and enrichment ideas in the American Story themed units from WinterPromise.
http://www.winterpromise.com/I discovered the WinterPromise company a few years ago when it first started, and I love it! It's exactly the type of curriculum I'd write if I was publishing one myself. ;-)
Actually, for many years, I've cobbled together just such a program for my own family. I've gathered what I consider the "best of the best" from many sources to make our learning interesting, thought-provoking, and fun. Now, WinterPromise does most of the work for me. Though, of course, being who I am, I can't resist tweaking things around a bit and adding this and that.
Still, WinterPromise is the only "curriculum" I recommend to homeschoolers who are not completely satisfied and excited with what they are currently doing. It's the kind of program that can be used in entirety or just in bits and pieces for enrichment. Plus, WP engages every learning style, and that element alone makes learning something all kids can enjoy!
So, as to American History, we began our journey in the fall of '07 with the explorers to the New World, and in May '08, we came to the end of our first homeschool year in a very long time (in other words, since the older kids were little...) that was focused on
American history. It was enlightening, and it was great fun. We have a lot of wonderful memories, pictures, and stories.
This past year ('08/'09), we spent September through November studying the election process in an in-depth manner to coincide with the landmark campaign and election of our first African-American president. In December, we spent some time on the Gold Rush days of California, and then when January arrived, we decided to detour a bit. I made a big commitment to become the official National History Day County Coordinator, and 5 of my kids chose to compete in various categories. In addition, I actively recruited homeschooled students from my drama groups to participate with us in History Day.
The National History Day competition encourages children (6th-12th grades, and in CA, 4th/5th grades, too) to learn to research and analyze history as they prepare different sorts of projects (papers, documentaries, posters, exhibits, websites, or performances) for their county, state, and even National competitions. There is a different theme each year, and this year's theme is "The Individual in History: Actions and Legacies." I ended up with 20 students participating in our county's HD event, and it was so exciting. The kids chose to study the following individuals in history:
Samuel Morse
Louis Braille
Joan of Arc
Laura Bridgman
Helen Keller
Elizabeth Blackwell
Gen. George S. Patton
Amy Carmichael
Sarah Emma Edmonds
John James Audubon
Janusz Korczak
Gen. George H. Thomas
John Hart
Prince Henry the Navigator
Do you know who all these people are?! Do you really understand the legacies they have left to this world? These kids certainly do!
Several members of our county's team made it to the Finalist level at the California State competition, and a couple won special awards, and my son Ben actually won the gold medal in the Historical Paper category and will be competing at the National level in less than two weeks!
So this past semester was given over to establishing our county's History Day program. A couple of my own kids' "individuals" fit into the time frame we had reached at that point in our history study... mid-to-late nineteenth century. My 9 yo's Poster was on Louis Braille -- though not American, he did have a profound effect on America with his Braille language via Dr. Samuel Gridley-Howe who brought the 6-dot system back to the U.S. to use at his School for the Blind (Laura Bridgman being the first student he taught using Braille's methods). Interestingly, Jim's group drama about Helen Keller meshed perfectly with his Louis Braille studies, and we were all surprised to learn there was a *lot* we didn't know about the famous "miracle" child.
My 11yo Ellie Rose did her individual drama performance on Elizabeth Blackwell, the first American woman doctor, so that fit in perfectly with our studies, as we came to realize more fully how difficult such pioneer work was in the second half of the 1800s. We also learned that there was more than one side to the whole women's rights issue and found that a fascinating tangent to explore.
Ben's paper carried us back in time a bit to mid-to-late fifteenth century Portugal and Africa where Henry the Navigator was carrying out his military crusades and sponsoring exploration expeditions. Through his research, Ben discovered (and then enlightened us to the fact!) that those expeditions were actually what directly led to the explosion of the Atlantic Slave Trade in Europe.
Shannon's individual drama focused on Amy Carmichael and her work with the children in India (especially the temple girls). Her research highlighted for us what it means to take a stand against the status quo (in this case, both the caste system of India and the "traditional" ways the European missionaries of that time interactede with the people of India) in order to do what is right and best for people in dire need.
Deedee's paper on Janusz Korczak, the famous Polish Jewish pediatrician who ran an orphanage in the Warsaw ghettoes during WWII and was executed alongside his children at the Treblinka concentration camp, also inspired us to really think about what it means to make a difference in this world. Korczak's many books on children's rights live on to proclaim to the world that children are people NOW and deserve respect and fair treatment.
I will continue to coordinate the History Day local contest each year, and my kids will continue to participate in various categories, but there won't be the same need to give it so much time as the county program is now up and running. Therefore, we can get back to the second half of our American History studies! I'm really looking forward to starting things off with a bang as we take two great road trips.
On our first trip, in July, we'll drive through the old Gold Rush cities and experience firsthand what we studied last December. Then in late August, we'll be driving back to Washington, DC. to drop Deedee off at George Washington University for her first year of college. We plan to stick around a while and see all the memorials and museums, soaking in all that glorious American history. We'll also head over to Colonial Williamsburg for a couple of living history days before starting back home (though I hope to make some interesting stops on our way back to California, too...).
As I have time, I plan to post some of the activities, websites, and books we use and love this coming year in relation to our study of American history -- picking up with the Civil War in September and carrying on through WWII by the end of May, if all goes as planned. I will *try* to do this on regular monthly basis! We will be using the WinterPromise American Story 2 as our core guide, with supplements from all over the place, including the following great website:
www.guesthollow.com/homeschool/curriculumPlease check back regularly if you are interested in updates on our progress, and feel free to comment or email with any specific questions you have about our studies.
Hope this helps or inspires someone else out there to wade into history with relish!
California State Finals Competition of National History Day, held the first week of May in Sacramento... 
