The Roaring 20’s, The Depression, and WW2 In Our Homeschool
It's been a busy month in our homeschool. In Heritage Studies (aka Social Studies/History) we've taken a trip back in time to the 1920's, The Depression, and World War II.
This is a difficult time period to explain to young minds. The atrocities of ware, and the helplessness of the Depression can leave some bleak impressions.
We've learned about the awful dictators of the times. How the stock market works. What happened on the home front. The holocaust. The dust bowl. And changing values.
I find these periods in history to be particularly interesting. So much changed in our culture and industry in such a short time (relatively speaking).
The curriculum we're using, BJU Press, has chosen an excellent facilitator for this course. Mrs. Walker (who we've had for many courses) makes history come alive and Heritage Studies has become my daughter's class. We've even switched our normal schedule around so she can start the day with Mrs. Walker and learn all these great things.
The unit is pretty complete as is but we've been encouraged to delve deeper along with my daughter into the changes that came on in the world during this time. Most of our curriculum are the BJU Press resources but we supplement with books and videos.
I have a simple list of some other resources we use. Just for reference sake my daughter is in the 5th grade.
American History Resources
The Great Depression
- Timeline of The Great Depression from PBS American Experience: If you want to put together a timeline for the Great Depression here is a good one to follow.
- [easyazon_link identifier=”0898210992″ locale=”US” tag=”mommybabytool-20″]We Had Everything But Money[/easyazon_link]: My daughter is currently glued to this book. This is an out of print publication from Reiman publications. There are several in the series that are equally as good. It's full of stories from the past during the time of The Depression.
- U.S. History The Great Depression: Lovely site full of historical information.
- Great Depression Lapbook: What's a homeschool study without a lapbook? This simple one by A Hands of a Child includes a timeline, covers the New Deal, the stock market crash, famous people, and more.
- What's a Unit Study on the Great Depression without Great Depression Era Recipes?
- Youtube has a ton of videos on the Great Depression. Do your careful search.
- Kit Kittredge American Girl Doll Movie. This is a kid friendly movie about a young (9ish) age girl and what her family went through during the Depression.
World War II
- The Pacific War Museum in Texas There are also lesson plans that correspond with the displays so if you're in town be sure and partake!
- Japanese Internment Camps : Okay I'm dating myself here but back in the early 90's the Wing Luke Museum had a very informative exhibit on the Japanese Internment camps during WW2. If you're in Sacramento the California I AM museum has a long running exhibit on the Japanese Internment.
- Victory Gardens: Perfect for this Spring. During the war people were encouraged to provide their own fruits and vegetables. Victory Gardens sprouted up all over. The Living History site has a lot more farming information than just during the 1940's but it's a good start.
- Smithsonian Within These Walls Exhibit: Go to this page and scroll down to Go Back in Time Web Activity. This covers more than just the 1940's but it's a fun online activity for learning about life back when.
- Make a Victory Garden. We'll be gardening this spring as usual but just in case you want to make is specifically a Victory Garden the Smithsonian has a Victory Garden PDF which includes a list of WWII era veggies to plant (we'll be planting these also).
There is so much more on the topic of American history from the 20's to WWII but this little list aught to keep you well busy!
Linking up with the Virtual Curriculum Fair
