Mystery of History – Take 2

I first discovered the Mystery of History curriculum years ago in a Timberdoodle catalog. I was looking for something that would include biblical history as well as world history. This curriculum has not disappointed us!

Joseph Cookies

Matthew and Kelsey with their Joseph coat cookies – picture taken April 2006

Ancient Egypt cake

A lesson about the Nile – picture taken May 2006

Volume One takes you from Creation to the Resurrection. My favorite parts of this curriculum are the lessons, the activities, and the timeline. When reading the lessons, you almost feel like Linda (the author) is right there with you, telling you the stories. Each lesson has at least three suggested activities, with age appropriate lessons for each age group, younger, middle, and older students. And the timeline!

World History Timelines
World History Timelines

We put together our timeline on a project board that could be folded up and stored away when we weren’t doing school work. This is the timeline the kids created from Mystery of History Volume One.

World History Timelines
World History Timelines

The kids made their own timeline figures based on the description provided in the book. For each week of lessons, Matthew would create two of the timeline figures and Kelsey would do one.

World History Timelines
World History Timelines

These figures are from Mystery of History Volume Two which spans from the Early Church through the Middle Ages.

World History Timelines
World History Timelines

Volume Three covers The Renaissance, Reformation, and Growth of Nations.

World History Timelines
World History Timelines

So our three completed timelines cover from creation until 1707!

I was really hoping that Volume Four would be completed before Matthew finished school, but Volume Four is still in progress of being completed. Looks like Kelsey and I will be working on that timeline together!

One of the really nice things about this curriculum is that even though we have gone through all three volumes in the past, Kelsey and I are starting to go through them again. This year we are working our way through Volume One and have been able to do some things we didn’t do the first time through. Like go to the Rosicrucian Museum!

We plan on using Volume Two next year which makes one less thing for me to have to purchase for school for next year. Yay! The catalogs have already started arriving so I will be making decisions on some other subjects soon.

What is your favorite history curriculum?

May Day Baskets

According to Wikipedia, "May Day was celebrated by some early European settlers of the American continent. In some parts of the United States, May Baskets are made. These are small baskets usually filled with flowers or treats and left at someone's doorstep. The giver rings the bell and runs away. The person receiving the basket tries to catch the fleeing giver. If they catch the person, a kiss is exchanged." When we first moved into our neighborhood, the kids and I thought it would be fun to make May Day baskets and put them on our neighbor's door knobs. These made quite an impression! Our neighbor's loved them, so we have continued the tradition every May since then. They never have rung the door bell, but have quietly placed the May Day basket on the door knob, then they run away so they won't be caught.

This year, I looked through Pinterest for some May Day basket ideas. We saw a couple of ideas that would work, but adapted them for what we had on hand.

To make these May Day baskets, you will need:
berry baskets
flower foam
glue
craft sticks
cardstock
buttons
spanish moss
scissors
flower templates
ribbon
a couple of willing helpers... :)
First, we glued the flower foam to the bottom of the berry basket.
Use a flower stencil to trace the flowers onto cardstock
Then cut out the flower shapes.
Homemade iced coffee is always appreciated by a hard working crew... :)
We added some spanish moss to the berry baskets.
This stuff is really messy!
Ribbon was added to each basket so they could hang from the door knob.
Buttons were glued to the center of some of the flowers, then all the flowers were glued to the craft stick.  We added six flowers to each basket by gently pressing them into the flower foam.
I found a cute May Day printable on Pinterest to add to each basket.
Doesn't it look great hanging on a door knob? :)
The kids were up at 6:30am yesterday to deliver all of our May Day baskets. They have such a fun time doing this! Have you ever done May Day baskets for your neighbors?