"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
- George Santayana
A Thomas Jefferson Education: A Week in History
Our children and I had the opportunity to review A Thomas Jefferson Education: A Week in History over the last several weeks. This is an online subscription that "provides correlated cross-curricular resources anchored in historical events for each day of the year."
There is enough information in "A Week in History" that you could easily use this as your sole resource for your history curriculum. Not only that, but I believe it will be an excellent resource that will help make history come alive for your child. We live in a day and age where we have such great resources on-line that sometimes we just don't need a textbook anymore.
To give you an idea of what "A Week in History" is all about, let me share with you what is included in it. Rachel DeMille has put together a weekly email for you that includes pictures, historical facts and links that correlate with something in history for each day of the year.
By continually exposing our children to history, I know we are helping to shape today and our future. As Gustave Flaubert once said, "Our ignorance of history makes us slander our own times."
Equally as important is that Rachel has not altered history to make it politically "correct" according to society's fluctuating standards. I commend her for keeping the facts as they are--good or bad. It will not help us in any way to "rewrite" history. We can learn from what worked, what didn't work, what were atrocities and what were blessings.
How it Works
Each week you receive an email with information and links for events that happened during those dates in history. This allows you to plan ahead if you like, or...if you're like me, you just sit down and start learning alongside your kids. You also have the option to sign up for free Daily Inspire e-mails as well.
To give you an idea of what "A Week in History" is all about, let me share with you what is included in it. Rachel DeMille has put together a weekly email for you that includes pictures, historical facts and links that correlate with something in history for each day of the year.
By continually exposing our children to history, I know we are helping to shape today and our future. As Gustave Flaubert once said, "Our ignorance of history makes us slander our own times."
Equally as important is that Rachel has not altered history to make it politically "correct" according to society's fluctuating standards. I commend her for keeping the facts as they are--good or bad. It will not help us in any way to "rewrite" history. We can learn from what worked, what didn't work, what were atrocities and what were blessings.
How it Works
Each week you receive an email with information and links for events that happened during those dates in history. This allows you to plan ahead if you like, or...if you're like me, you just sit down and start learning alongside your kids. You also have the option to sign up for free Daily Inspire e-mails as well.
How We Used It
Our children are young (ages 7, 5 and 2 1/2) so although I believe they benefited from this subscription, I do feel that an older child would gain even more because there is an incredible amount of information given each week. However, I love how it's set up because you have the freedom to keep it as basic or as in-depth as you would like it.
Mostly what I did was read to the children certain facts that Rachel shared, as well as showed our children the pictures. One of the days gave information about the Leaning Tower of Pisa and it was suggested that the children construct their own 3D leaning tower. Since I have a couple of Lego lovers on my hands, this was the perfect project for them to do. Initially my son said he couldn't do it, but then I reminded him that those architects were able to build that tower and why didn't he just give it a try.
And he did. Here are the results:
Mostly what I did was read to the children certain facts that Rachel shared, as well as showed our children the pictures. One of the days gave information about the Leaning Tower of Pisa and it was suggested that the children construct their own 3D leaning tower. Since I have a couple of Lego lovers on my hands, this was the perfect project for them to do. Initially my son said he couldn't do it, but then I reminded him that those architects were able to build that tower and why didn't he just give it a try.
And he did. Here are the results:
Final Thoughts
- As parents, especially homeschooling parents, we can't do it all without feeling overwhelmed before long. How wonderful is it to have a great resource such as "A Week in History" where all of the work has been done for us?
- The site is conservative and I never felt concerned about links or information that was shared. If something might be too graphic (e.g. the story of Anne Frank) the parent was encouraged to check out the links ahead of time so they could discern what was appropriate for their child.
- I love all of the photos--they definitely grab the kids' attention (and mine!).
- These daily "lessons" require no prep on the parent's part (can I hear a shout out for that?) so you can just sit down with your kids at the computer and start learning.
- The content is searchable by date, topic and key word, and the whole year’s archive can be accessed by subscribers at any time.
I can tell Rachel has invested an immeasurable amount of time into this program so for .33 cents a day I can safely say you will get your money's worth out of it.
Click on the link below for a sample of "This Week in History".
Click on the link below for a sample of "This Week in History".
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Disclaimer:
As a member of the TOS Crew, I received
this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions
are mine.
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