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I don’t know about you, but history was not my favorite subject during my elementary, middle, and high school years. Rote facts, heavy textbooks…not my cup of tea. You can imagine my surprise, then, when we began homeschooling with Sonlight. History wasn’t boring anymore. Now there was context around major events in history. Even fictionally, how might this time in history have affected people’s lives? Such adventure and insight! It’s easy to make history come alive with Sonlight books!
I’m beyond thrilled to be partnering with Sonlight Curriculum for the 2018-2019 school year as a Sonlight Ambassador. After using Sonlight from the beginning of our children’s formal education (6 years & counting!) and loving it, Sonlight has provided me with HBL E, Science E, LA E (including optional supplements & handwriting), and an art elective, for our school year. I look forward to sharing with you as we learn throughout the year. All opinions are 100% my own.
American Revolution
I gotta go backwards really quick to Sonlight’s HBL D, the level we used last year. It was last year, while learning about the American Revolution (Revolutionary War), that I realized just how much Sonlight books were very obviously and vividly helping make history come alive for me and my children. Drawing from my own education, I could not have told you even a fraction of what I learned from these books!
From the Boston Tea Party to British occupation in New England (literally enemy soldiers living among the colonists), these books draw the reader in to what life must have been like during the American Revolution. And, while Paul Revere is often the one “revered,” we learn about other pivotal patriots during that period of time as well.
Johnny Tremain (Boston Tea Party & American Revolution/Revolutionary War)
Toliver’s Secret (Revolutionary War)
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (after American Revolution)
Civil War
North vs. South. Union vs. Confederate. That’s about all I could tell you about the Civil War, prior to this school year. Seriously. I went to highly ranked public schools. I’m sure I was taught more than this? Maybe? Maybe not? Either way, these two books make history come alive for the time period surrounding the Civil War.
Across Five Aprils – This story follows a family through the years of the Civil War. Both North and South pull them in different directions, and this book details how the war affected the family in so many ways. Sorrow! Elation! Scarcity of coffee due to rising prices! The timeline of the end of the war and President Lincoln’s death was a big surprise to me…a mix of hope and despair. What an amazing read!
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Set in the post-Civil War South, this book is an emotional read. When reading aloud to my kids, I try to put some inflection in my voice based on the characters. This book gives me pause. Sometimes, I need to stop reading for a moment and explain. Why is this character speaking this way? Why is this character acting this way? It is difficult, and it is necessary. I am grateful for the questions and conversations and sensitivity that this book has brought to the surface.
Engineering Feats & Human Will
The Great Wheel – Marvels of engineering don’t appear in a day. Covering major feats of industrial engineering, European immigration, differing levels of wealth, and the inherent risk in all categories, this book places the reader into the lives of those building the world’s first Ferris wheel. A lot can be accomplished through sheer determination and will. The book also explores doing the job you’re expected to do in life vs. doing the job that enriches your life.
Moving to the American West
Little Britches – Romantic stories of “moving west” have been told throughout the history of the U.S. Growing up playing The Oregon Trail, however, I learned that it wasn’t all fun and games. This autobiographical account of moving west in the early 1900s shows what it was like to move from city life to working the open land. New friends, new challenges, and a lot of growing up to do.
Make History Come Alive with Sonlight’s Literature Based History Curriculum!
Goodbye to boring, dry, traditional textbooks. Hello to historical fiction and other great literature that immerse you into the various time periods of history!
It’s not just social studies class anymore with a big history book. It’s Sonlight’s quality literature program at every grade level. From younger children (preschool and elementary students) to older children (middle schoolers and high school students), Sonlight’s literature based history curriculum introduces literature selections connected with relevant historical events that allows students to gain a deeper understanding of the world and its people.
Sonlight often uses a history spine and then sprinkles in the best literature they can find to really bring history alive. With literature there’s no more memorizing facts and figures or being bored by tedious class lectures. Instead, literature brings history to life with personal stories and characters that allow students to relate to the different time periods and gain an appreciation for literature. It also develops their critical thinking skills by helping them look at literature from multiple angles.
Not only is literature based history curriculum fun, but it’s also quite educational too! History becomes real and relevant to the students as they are able to see how literature and events from different time periods intertwine. Doesn’t that sound like a fantastic way to learn about ancient history, the middle ages, world history, American history, and modern times?
As a veteran homeschool mom (and public school graduate), I have found that this literature-based approach, using real books, is the best way to learn about historical events. Sonlight does the heavy lifting, by curating a huge variety of great books for each grade, even at the high school level.
Although Sonlight excels with their full history curriculum options, the engaging literature doesn’t stop there. Sonlight offers a complete curriculum in all subject areas, including language arts.
Featuring done-for-you lesson plans, they’ve got you covered with discussion questions to foster great conversations. Encourage critical thinking. Talk about character traits. Utilize Sonlight’s timeline figures to help visualize what was going on during a certain time period in different parts of the world. Sonlight really has it all in their homeschool curriculum!
Sonlight’s literature based history curriculum helps students gain a deeper understanding of the world, appreciate literature, and develop critical thinking skills. I’ve learned more about history (and especially American history), by reading Sonlight books to my kids, than I learned in all my years of school. That’s amazing! What about you? Are you ready to check out Sonlight?
Use this link to help track your Sonlight Moments!
