Home School in the Woods - Project Passport Renaissance and Reformation - {TOS REVIEW}

One of our latest reviews is from a really neat company called Home School In the Woods. The product we have been reviewing is Project Passport World History Study - Renaissance and Reformation.

Home School In the Woods was founded by a family of six - and yes they do live in the woods. They truly run a family business and both parents and children are involved in every step of the process, from researching, writing, drawing to customer service. It's quite remarkable.

As I said we have been using Project Passport World History Study: Renaissance & Reformation
and we have been really enjoying it.

History is one of our favorite subjects. We love reading and listening to historical stories. Jam is going to be studying the Renaissance and Reformation period this year and we have a lot of living books lined up for him to read. So when we were offered this program I thought it would be a great introduction for him. It's actually been a project we decided to work on together. It's suggested for grades 3-8 and so I did have to help Captain a little as he is only 6 but he works at a higher level than is usual for his grade. Jam is starting 9th this coming school year and he thought it would make a fun introduction to his future studies that we have planned.
The product itself comes as a CD or download, we were sent the download. After I downloaded the product I saved it on my hard drive. When you open the file there are 4 different folders.

The first thing I did was click on the PDF file. Where I found another set of folders.

Each other folder contains similar lists, so it's a good idea to click through them all to become comfortable with the content of each folder. Doing this makes it easier to understand the program once you understand where the information is stored. I read the introduction which explains all the preparations. Gathered my supplies, folders, and started printing. The preparation took me a little longer because each of my kids wanted to work independently so I printed everything out three times.

I had never used anything from Home School In The Woods before but I had read great reviews and so was very excited to get started. The first thing I noticed is how much information is given. There is a lot of activities, suggested craft products, and lap books. We have used lap books before and since Jam is getting older I asked the kids if they wanted to do them this time since it is listed as optional in the lesson plans. They all voted not to do them, so we actually skipped this part of the program. Project Passport Renaissance and Reformation is organized like a travel itinerary. The kids really liked this and Captain liked making his passport. Each section is divided into 'stops' or destinations in a journey. You visit different time periods / events in history as if you are on an organized tour. The teachers notes / lesson plans are put together like a travel itinerary and very easy to follow. When you are preparing your lesson materials there are specific instructions. As you can see below it's really easy to follow. The program tells you what to print and on what kind of paper to get the best looking finished product. I love the layout of this course. You can either print everything at once or each 'stop' at a time so it's really flexible.

We have been using this over the summer, and it can be easily fit into that time frame. However there is a lot of information and it could easily be made longer. Especially if you are working with younger students.

I bought a selection of colored paper and card stock for this project. I have a huge supply of glue and white paper and card stock, crayons, pencils, and glue sticks. I provided the kids with their own folders and I even prepared a folder for me, where I kept all of the itineraries and the material I printed in advance in there. I nearly didn't print out the reading for each stop however, I am so glad that I did. It made it so easy just to read while the kids were working on their projects.

This is definitely a hands-on program and there is lots of ideas to add to the atmosphere and desire of learning.
There are so many project ideas. My kids love art and they loved all of the projects involved. Boo especially liked drawing with chalks.

My kids really enjoyed listening to the 'audio tours' it was really good to play them while the kids were working on some other activities.

The crew have been working on Ancient Egypt and Middle Ages as well as Renaissance and Reformation so their is SO much to learn about these products!

Make sure to follow the company on social media.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homeschoolinthewoods
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HSintheWoods
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hsinthewoods/
Google +: https://plus.google.com/b/109711152019235885312/+Homeschoolinthewoods/posts




Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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