Last week, I left you pondering these questions:

• Will this curriculum need some review time?

• Do I need to set aside time for semester tests or projects?

• For what else could I use that time?

I promised you some of my own answers. Let’s continue.

1) Will this curriculum need some review time?

Generally speaking, it never hurts to plan in some review time. Last week’s history curriculum example only used 28 weeks. This means that there are two extra weeks a quarter. If I choose to do nothing else, I can put a review week every 4-5 weeks or 2 review weeks at the end of every quarter. Review weeks allow for more time on concepts that were not fully grasped. They also have the advantage of building in make-up time in case something interrupts your schedule.

2) Do I need to set aside time for semester tests or projects?

I enjoy having a full week for the semester tests. Obviously the test does not take us a full week to complete, but instead of cramming it into a week of lessons, I schedule it for its own week so that the kids can study and be prepared.

As the kids have grown, I have also appreciated using the extra weeks for projects. I want the kids to know how to write research papers, so I often take the time at the end of the year to do an historical research paper. The kids enjoy studying an historical person or event of their choice, and I enjoy growing their writing skills without the pressure of getting history done too. If writing is not your preference, there are many other project ideas that can be completed during this time as well.

3) For what else could I use that time?

Not surprisingly, there are hundreds, or even thousands, of options. All you have to do is walk into Barnes and Noble or surf through Amazon to come up with all kinds of cool, fun, educational opportunities. Vacations (a.k.a. – Homeschool Field Trips) to museums or battlefields can bring history to life. This year we will be studying World War II, and I just booked us tickets to Hawaii. My son was quick to yell, “Mommy, we have to go to Pearl Harbor while we are there.” I just smiled and said, “Yep! It’s at the top of the list.”

One special thing that we have come to love doing as a family every year is a “Shakespeare Pause.” For two weeks every year, I plan no history, reading, or writing, and we take the time to read and enjoy a Shakespeare play together. At some point I might end up adding a project of some kind to this event, but for now I do not want to interrupt the sheer joy the kids experience reading a play all together. I struggled with reading Shakespeare in high school and college, so it excites me to see them beg for Shakespeare time. (If you are going to do this, I cannot recommend highly enough the “Folger Shakespeare Library.” They do an excellent job of including a summary of each scene and defining words and phrases as you go.)

Once you have decided on an overall plan for how to use each history week of the year, you are ready to actually start planning. Hang in there. Next time we will move into the nitty-gritty of the plan!

(P.S. – I can talk this out a lot faster than I can type it out, and I am always happy to arrange phone calls for those who prefer.)