This year we are using The Mystery of History II. Brandon seems to be enjoying this curriculum more than all the other history curriculum we've used in the past. Dare I say, we've finally found the perfect history curriculum for us? Gee, it's only taken us 5 years of homeschooling to hit pay dirt!

Here is his Time Line. I followed the book's advice and just bought a package of historical figures. He really likes this method better. The time line will fold up to for an easy put away...say, under the couch...or you can hang it on the wall to work with it. I just leave it up on the wall.






















He has done a few little projects already this year. Nothing big but he has enjoyed them and I do feel confident that this is a curriculum he "gets" with very little necessary input from me. That kind of makes me sad because I love history and think I'd enjoy this study myself but at least I don't HAVE to help him which means he can do history even if I'm busy. I guess I could catch up and read the lessons in my spare time....LOL

Any way, here are a few of little things he has done along with his lessons:

When he studied the Dead Sea Scrolls he tried to duplicate the environment the scrolls were found in so you'd see how the salt preserved them. He boiled salt in water and left the paper in a tray of the salt water in the sun to evaporate. So, the paper ends up covered in salt crystals and stiff. Also by accident he found that it was also at least slightly fire proof! How about that?




Here he made a copy of the Apostle's Creed and then made the paper look aged by crumpling, soaking in strong tea water, drying it out and burning the edges. Around this time is when he discovered that the sea salt paper wouldn't burn. We then mounted it under self sealing plastic to put in his notebook.



This is a topographic map of Israel made of salt dough to remind him of the Salt Sea. The little flags are places where important things that he has studied so far this year have happened. It's not supposed to be quite so flour-y but we had a hard time with the dough sticking to us and not the cardboard. This was messy and not quite perfect but a nice break from the ordinary map worksheet.