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Date Posted: 16:28:06 05/24/02 Fri
Author: Kris in TN
Subject: Why I like Patchwork Primers!

Hi all!

I just thought I would take the time to share what I like about Patchwork Primers even though we haven't even begun using it yet (we'll begin our school the 2nd week in July)! Our family lean towards an unschooling approach to homeschooling, but I have certain umbrella school requirements to meet, so I really need something to use as a spine for our school year. I need something to guide me and help me pick out topics for our children to be studying throughout the year.

I chose Patchwork Primers for several reasons -

(1) the lessons were not tied into specific books. I think this is important at the elementary level due to varying reading levels of children and because a child may not learn well from a book they do not want to read! Nothing inspires my children more to read than to let them pick out their own books on a specific subject.

(2) there is structure to the weekly plans, but it is arranged such that I can tackle each topic or activity in any way I see fit. I can make the study fit my children and our schedule for the week instead of having to fit my children to the study and what is required each day. For example, we can do 3 separate days of History or we can do all 3 days in one day if we want or need to.

(3) IMHO, the study covers the appropriate level of Am. Hist. for 2nd-5th graders. I think it is absolutely wonderful that I can cover a good portion of Am. Hist. in *ONE* year!

I plan on making lapbooks during the year to display/gather our work. We will make a small project for each week's topics in History and Science and at the end of each 6 weeks, we will glue or fasten our smaller projects into one lapbook folder. These will be easy to take with us to show the grandparents what we are learning or to read again in the car while running errands, etc. I will use Dinah Zike's Big Book of Books and Big Book of Projects to help me make these. Also, I can save these lapbooks each year and the kids will be able to look back on the work they did in previous years.

My plans for the next few years revolve around some great unit studies. I am trying to take a basic chronological approach to history:

2002-3: Patchwork Primers, Vol 1 (Indians - 1865)

2003-4: Prairie Primer & another book called Prairie Sampler (1800s)

2004-5: Patchwork Primers, Vol 2 (Inventions) for my younger son and "Where the Brook & River Meet" (Victorian Era - 1900s) for my daughter. My dd will also be doing much of PP#2 this year as her unit study covers many inventions, too. I feel this is chronological b/c we can discuss the Industrial Revolution at the same time.

2005-6: Patchwork Primers, Vol 2 (World Cultures) if it is done by that time.

I have ideas of what unit studies we'll be using after this and they include Learning Adventures, Trisms and Far Above Rubies/Blessed is the Man. I am just sooooo excited to have found Patchwork Primers, a great unit study which lends itself well to a modified unschooling approach to learning!

Kris

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