History Pockets Plymouth Colony
We loved this product. We use it as an addition to our current curriculum, My Father's World. We liked the books and the word cards in addition to the other projects. I would recommend this product to anyone. 12x18 construction paper can be found at Millers Pads and Paper on line. Great hands on project with easy to follow instructions.
A little better than the other History Pockets
While the History Pocket books are great for making a book, they are a little boring by themselves. There is too much coloring and not enough learning. We have learned more by reading library books, the encyclopedia, watching an educational show, or talking about the subjects.
When we purchased these, I liked the idea. But, after wasting a lot of our homeschool day with the children coloring (by day 3, coloring had turned into scribbles) I decided to use these as supplemental activities. We read and do art projects. We talk about the subjects.
My kids liked their pilgrim puppets, the diorama of the room... and that is about it...
We have several of the HP products. Now, we let the kids chose which ones looked "fun", and skip the rest.
While it is nice to have a book to look at afterwards, I feel they do not serve a great purpose. (And they are a waste of printer paper and ink.) They are nice if you need a "work sample" for school, but I feel they are just "busy work". History can be learned in much more interesting ways.
Fun addition to our study of early American history
I used this with my children, ages 7 and 9, to supplement our study of the colonies. It is a fun, hands on way to learn about the different aspects of colonial life. There are eight chapters with simple projects to do in each, and a pocket to store the things in for each chapter. The eight chapters are Voyage to the New World, The New World, Building a Village, Home Sweet Home, The Family, Working in Plymouth Colony, Going to School, What Did the Pilgrims Give Us? The projects involve paper, cutting and pasting, some writing, coloring, diaramas, and a vocabulary page for each chapter/pocket. My only complaint is that some of the projects get pretty repetitive, lots of cutting and glueing. I have other History Pockets books and we will probably only use parts of them, rather than do all the projects in all the pockets.
I Liked It But My Student Didn't
I've been impressed by the content of the 3 "History Pockets" books we've used in our homeschool (Ancient Civilizations, Ancient Egypt, and Ancient Greece). I think they would be really helpful for visual and tactile learners. Unfortunately, my DD hated all the cutting & pasting involved. She found it to be busywork.
I would recommend the "History Pockets" to students who don't mind all the prep work involved in making the folders/lapbook.
Great addition to history curriculum -especially for kids that love crafts!
I used this to suppliment another world history curriculum with my kindergardener and 4th grader. My little guy couldn't do everything, but he enjoyed the things he did. They both loved it. They are proud of the "books" that they each made. I will try their other products.
