Introduction

We are studying the 1700’s, and I am so deep in planning that I’m actually starting to have dreams that I live in colonial times. We are focusing on following the 1700’s chronologically, while also digging in on diverse perspectives within the colonial era. I see a lot of mamas in the Charlotte Mason world talking about how the use of old books often comes with derogatory and outdated terminology, and how they refuse to use such books. Referring to Native Americans as “savages,” black people as “colored,” mixed people as “mulattos,” etc. is not okay with me, but that doesn’t mean I won’t share it with my children. After navigating this for a couple years now, I’ve found my stance on the issue. Just like we don’t want “white-washed” history, we also don’t need history that erases the perspectives of white people-for better or for worse. The truth is that I would’ve been referred to as a “mulatto” in the 1700’s. I don’t need to try to erase that fact in the teaching of my children, especially when our identities are rooted in Christ and His Word alone. What I do, however, is ensure that I balance that perspective with the perspectives of African Americans and Native Americans. There’s a quote that says “History is dangerous, except when given in large doses.” This perfectly explains my stance. If I only include racist perspectives, that creates a racist ideology. But if I include all of the above- say, George Washington’s perspective, and the perspectives of Oney Judge (Martha Washington’s slave who escaped) or Pheobe the Spy (a slave girl who saved his life), then I’ve done my part in exposing my children to both “sides” of history. I don’t need to clean it up. My children can discern right from wrong; and it can lead to deep, meaningful discussions.

History is to be shared, not covered up or tied up with a pretty bow. History is the choice of man to follow Jesus and love people well, or not to, and live out the consequences of that choice. Watching men (and women) make mistakes, live double lives, say one thing and do another, is important. It gives us an opportunity to decide how WE want to live our lives. So, I’ll be including old books and new-from the perspectives of Native Americans, White, Black Americans and Africans. I’m extremely expectant. Keep in mind, our year is designed for a 4th grader and a 1st grader; and we are combining both girls for history. I pulled from Heritage Mom Blog’s booklist, as well as Without Doors Early American History and A Gentle Feast, Cycle 2 to curate my own history plan that works perfectly for our family. Before purchasing any of the following books on Amazon, PLEASE check Thriftbooks. It is often so much cheaper!

Our History Spine

For our History Spine, we are using A Child’s First Book of American History. Because we are only focusing on the 1700s, we are only reading Chapters 9 through Chapter 18, sprinkling these chapters chronologically throughout our year (shown below in the schedule). We will add picture books, biographies and other resources to make for a rich, deep year of American history.

Our History Biographies

We will be using quite a few biographies this year, some being chapter books and some being picture books. I’ll list them here.

Benjamin Franklin by D’Aulaire (longer picture book- may need to be broken up for younger ones)

Molly Bannaky by Chris K. Soentpiet and Alice McGill (picture book)

Dear Benjamin Banneker by Andrea Davis Pinkney (picture book)

Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots (chapter book)

A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Slave Poet (short chapter book)

George vs. George: The Revolutionary War as Seen From Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer (long picture book broken up into chapters)

Mumbet’s Declaration of Independence by Gretchen Woelfle (picture book)

Phoebe the Spy by Judith Berry Griffin (shorter chapter book)

They Called Her Molly Pitcher by Anne Rockwell (picture book)

A Spy Called James: The True Story of James Lafayette, Revolutionary War Double Agent by Anne Rockwell (picture book)

Black Heroes of the American Revolution by Burke Davis (chapter book)

Meet Thomas Jefferson by Marvin Barrett (chapter books)

My Name is James Madison Hemings by Jonah Winter (picture book)

The Escape of Oney Judge by Emily Arnold McCully (picture book)

A Free Woman on God’s Earth: The True Story of Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman by Jana Laiz (picture book)

Additional Picture Books We Will Be Using

The Village that Vanished by Kadir Nelson (This book mentions worshipping ancestors and should be pre-read to see how you would like to navigate as a family. There are only a couple times it’s mentioned and it’s very brief, so it could easily be removed or blacked out. The reason I chose this book is because it perfectly shows what it was like to have slavers come to African villages to capture young men and bring them to Europe or the Americas for the purpose of enslavement.)

Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The 4th of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh

Samuel’s Choice by Richard Berleth

We the People by Lynne Cheney

Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the Story of an American Feud by Suzanne Tripp Jurmain

Our History Schedule

I am delighted to share our actual school year schedule with you, in hopes that it blesses your family, and perhaps you won’t have to buy a history curriculum this year! We will do history 2x per week, reflected below. Each week, my 4th grader will be required to add something from our history lessons into her Book of Centuries. If you don’t know what a Book of Centuries is, it’s super simple. You can watch a short video on it here. Our book of centuries comes from Without Doors and is absolutely beautiful. You can grab it here.

Printed Plans

I wrote out the plans line by line below, but I thought it might be convenient to create some printables with everything written out per term. You can simply print these out and put them in a binder, order your books, and order a book of centuries. DONE!

Term 1 (first 12 weeks)—

Week One:

Lesson One: Chapter 9 of A Child’s First Book of American History, Narration

Lesson Two: Benjamin Franklin by D’Aulaire, Narration

Week Two:

Lesson One: The Village that Vanished by Kadir Nelson (shorter picture book), Molly Bannaky by Alice McGill, narrate both.

Lesson Two: Dear Benjamin Banneker by Andrea Davis Pinkney, Narration

Week Three:

Lesson One: Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Lesson Two: Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Week Four:

Lesson One: Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Lesson Two: Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots (read for 15 minutes), Narration

(Whatever is left to read in this book will be read by my 4th grader independently, or can even be added to bedtime reading.)

Week Five:

Lesson One: A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Black Poet (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Lesson Two: A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Black Poet, (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Week Six:

Lesson One: A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Black Poet (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Lesson Two: A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Black Poet (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Week Seven:

Lesson One: Chapter 10 of A Child’s First Book of American History, Narration

Lesson Two: George v. George: The American Revolution from both sides, Narration

Week Eight:

Lesson One: George v. George: The American Revolution from both sides, Narration

Lesson Two: George v. George: The American Revolution from both sides, Narration

Week Nine:

Lesson One: George v. George: The American Revolution from both sides, narration (we will not be finished with this book by this point; but after this reading, we will move it to our morning time later in the year in Term 3- but even if you stopped at this point in the book, it would be okay. Or, the child could read the rest on their own or during Week 11 in our “catch up” week.

Lesson Two: Chapter 11 of A Child’s First Book of American History, Narration

Week Ten:

Lesson One: Chapter 12 of A Child’s First Book of American History, Narration

Lesson Two: Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Narration

Week Eleven:

CATCH UP WEEK – Any reading unfinished goes here! This could also be an opportunity for you to finish George v. George if you like.

Week Twelve:

Exam Week (I will do a full post on how Charlotte Mason exams work, but here is a fabulous post on it in the meantime.) The exams will cover Ben Franklin, Molly Bannaky, Benjamin Banneker, Crispus Attucks, Phillis Wheatley, George Washington, King George, The French and Indian War, and The Boston Tea Party. Look how much we will have learned in only Term One!

Term 2 (second 12 weeks)

Week One:

Lesson One: Chapter 13 of A Child’s First Book of American History, Narration

Lesson Two: The 4th of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh, Narration

Week Two:

Lesson One: Phoebe the Spy by Judith Berry Griffin, narrate (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Lesson Two: Phoebe the Spy by Judith Berry Griffin, narrate (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Week Three:

Lesson One: Phoebe the Spy by Judith Berry Griffin, narrate (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Lesson Two: Phoebe the Spy by Judith Berry Griffin, narrate (read for 15 minutes),Narration

Week Four:

Lesson One: Samuel’s Choice by Richard Berleth, narrate (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Lesson Two: Samuel’s Choice by Richard Berleth, narrate (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Week Five:

Lesson One: Samuel’s Choice by Richard Berleth, narrate (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Lesson Two: Samuel’s Choice by Richard Berleth, narrate (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Week Six:

Lesson One: Chapter 14 of A Child’s First Book of American History, Narration

Lesson Two: They Called Her Molly Pitcher by Anne Rockwell, Narration

Week Seven:

Lesson One: Chapter 15 of A Child’s First Book of American History, Narration

Lesson Two: Chapter 16 of A Child’s First Book of American History, Narration

Week Eight:

Lesson One: A Spy Called James by Anne Rockwell, narration

Lesson Two: Black Heroes of the American Revolution by Burke Davis (read 2 of the stories, narrating between each one)

Week Nine:

Lesson One: Black Heroes of the American Revolution by Burke Davis (read a couple of the stories, narrating between each one)

Lesson Two: Black Heroes of the American Revolution by Burke Davis (read 2 of the stories, narrating between each one)

Week Ten:

Lesson One: Black Heroes of the American Revolution by Burke Davis (read 2 of the stories, narrating between each one)

Lesson Two: Black Heroes of the American Revolution by Burke Davis (read 2 of the stories, narrating between each one)

Week Eleven:

CATCH UP WEEK (Take this time to finish up any readings that didn’t get finished. This could be a time where you could read more of Black Heroes book, since we are stopping it here.

Week Twelve:

Exam Week– This exam will cover The Declaration of Independence, Phoebe the Spy, Samuel’s Choice, The American Revolution, Valley Forge, Molly Pitcher, and the Black Heroes you chose to cover from the Black Heroes book. You may also want to gently review on books read in Term 1 as well.

Term 3 (last 12 weeks)

Week One:

Lesson One: Chapter 17 of A Child’s First Book of American History, Narration

Lesson Two: We the People by Lynne Cheney, Narration

Week Two:

Lesson One: Meet Thomas Jefferson by Marvin Barrett (read aloud for 15 minutes), Narration

Lesson Two: Meet Thomas Jefferson by Marvin Barrett (read aloud for 15 minutes), Narration

Week Three:

Lesson One: Meet Thomas Jefferson by Marvin Barrett (read aloud for 15 minutes), Narration

Lesson Two: Meet Thomas Jefferson by Marvin Barrett (read aloud for 15 minutes), Narration

Week Five:

Lesson One: Meet Thomas Jefferson by Marvin Barrett (read aloud for 15 minutes), Narration

Lesson Two: My Name is James Madison Hemings by Jonah Winter, Narration

Week Six:

Lesson One: Chapter 18 of A Child’s First Book of American History, Narration

Lesson Two: The Escape of Oney Judge by Emily Arnold McCully, Narration

Week Seven:

Lesson One: The Escape of Oney Judge by Emily Arnold McCully, Narration

Lesson Two: Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the Story of an American Feud by Suzanne Tripp Jurmain, Narration

Week Eight:

Lesson One: A Free Woman on God’s Earth by Jana Laiz, narration (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Lesson Two: A Free Woman on God’s Earth by Jana Laiz, narration (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Week Nine:

Lesson One: A Free Woman on God’s Earth by Jana Laiz, narration (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Lesson Two: A Free Woman on God’s Earth by Jana Laiz, narration (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Week Ten:

Lesson One: A Free Woman on God’s Earth by Jana Laiz, narration (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Lesson Two: A Free Woman on God’s Earth by Jana Laiz, narration (read for 15 minutes), Narration

Week Eleven:

CATCH UP WEEK (Finish any unfinished readings and prepare for exam week!)

Week Twelve:

Exam Week (Exams will cover The Constitution, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison Hemings, Oney Judge, Elizabeth Mumbet Freeman.) You also may want to cover a few things from Term 1 and Term 2.

Narrations- Oral and Written

After each reading, I simply ask my student(s) to “tell me back what I just read.” I often try to say it differently to switch it up, like “So, tell me Crispus Attuck’s story” or ” What did you hear me read about Molly Pitcher?” Once my student has fully fleshed out all of her thoughts, I will then ask follow up questions to draw a bit more out. These questions may sound like:

“And then what happened?”

‘Why do you think she made that choice?”

“Is he/she someone you would look up to? Why?

The follow-up questions are where you can get creative and go as deep as you would like within that 20 minute time frame. However, do hold your tongue when it comes to directing their narrations UNTIL they’ve gotten all their thoughts out. It is not as important that they know what YOU want them to know as it is that they know what THEY HEARD.

The question of, “What if they tell it back incorrectly?” often comes up. I am still learning the art of narration, but from what I’ve learned, we want to make sure we don’t critique their narration. Narration is the means by which we process almost every reading in our homeschool, so we need them to see it in a positive light! You will have to get creative on how to correct them gently without sounding critical. For example, you may say, “okay, my turn to narrate!” And you can narrate back what you read to them using the correct information. Once again, make sure this is done in a gentle, fun way! You can also model narration for them a few times at the beginning of them understanding what narrating is; and once you are finished, you can ask, “What would you add? What did I leave out?” This will also help you as the mother-teacher realize just how complex the skill of narration is! It’s important to note that dates and specifics aren’t nearly as important as the main ideas. An incredible book to grab over the Summer to learn more about Narration is Know and Tell by Karen Glass.

You may also decide that you would like to do a weekly written narration. These become important to include by 4th grade, to translate what the student is orally narrating down onto paper. This is often referred to as notebooking. I have an entire post on this beautiful creative process. Written narration packs a powerful punch in your homeschool, as it lumps composition, handwriting, spelling, and drawing into one simple activity. Not only that, but you can store their notebooking pages in a beautiful binder and use it as a portfolio of sorts for that child (and you!) to look back on for years to come. Some have their “notebooking days” on Fridays, and they allow their children to pick one thing they learned from the week (history, science, what have you) and do a notebooking page on that. For our family, I’m hoping to make a laminated weekly checklist for my 4th grader to keep up with on her own. It will have things she must accomplish daily, such as “read independently for 30 minutes”, and weekly, such as “book of centuries entry” and “written narration on something from your learning this week.”

Additional Thoughts

So other than reading great books, narrating back what we’ve learned, and adding some dates into our Book of Centuries, is there anything further we could do to make the 1700’s come alive for our children? Well, I’ll be utilizing Cycle 2 of A Gentle Feast Morning Time for our Morning Time. This Morning Time curriculum pulls artists, composers and poets from the 1700’s. Hearing the music and the poetry, and seeing the paintings from our specific time period will make it come alive even more. It also includes, Bible, folk songs, tales, and hymns, so that you’re entire morning plans can come from this one curriculum!

In addition, our science this year will pair with our history, as we will be using Ben Franklin’s Book of Easy and Incredible Experiments. So not only will they be reading about him in history, but also following along with an easy version of his experiments! I am also obsessing over Benjamin Banneker, who was a black mathematician, astronomer, almanac author, wooden clock inventor, layout designer of the city of Washington D.C, and surveyor of the 1700’s, I’m trying to find a way to implement him into our science plans for the year. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could make our own almanac as a family? Or design our own pretend city? My brain is constantly geeking about homeschooling. I’ll keep you posted and do a whole future post on our final Science plans.

In Conclusion

I highly suggest purchasing your books a little early, so that you can pre-read them over the summer and fall in love with them the way I did! It allows you to determine if there’s anything you may want to leave out, explain, or add in to your history plans.

I’ve never shared in totality what we’re using for history before, and I have to admit- I’m more excited than ever to see you guys blessed by it! I have pre-read almost all of these lovely books, and know that they are FANTASTIC. I am currently reading A Child’s First Book of American History, and I believe it will do nicely as our spine. Not perfect. I haven’t found a PERFECT spine. Truly, it acts as more of a backdrop to all the rich biographies anyway. I can’t wait to see how you decide to use these plans to enhance your homeschool. Please comment below if you have any further questions, and let me know if you use this booklist or even the entire plan. We have all summer to prepare and plan- let’s have the best year yet, friends!