All posts by Danielle Huddleston

World History ~Middle Ages 8th grade

I did buy a Simply Charlotte Mason curriculum for our Middle Ages study but ended up not using it.

The book list was good but did not cover all the world, mostly Europe.

And the reading plan did not fit my boys reading style. It had you read small amounts from several books instead of reading one book all the way through.

I ended up buying a PDF overview of the middle ages that had a few worksheets and tests to go with all the books I was having them read.

I have just not found a good way to grade reading and find tests easier to grade.

But again it was mostly European history.

Then I became somewhat obsessed with finding books that covered different parts of the world during that time.

I will share what I found and also a curriculum that seems to cover it all.

These are some of the books we got that covered Europe. The Cathedral and Castle book and movie by David Macaulay were again so good. We have enjoyed his books and the movies made from them. My oldest son really liked these books by Winston Churchill on A History of the English-Speaking Peoples.

They were suggested by another blogger Nicki Truesdell.

The White Stag was recommended by the Charlotte Mason Curriculum and is about Attila the Hun.

Mansa Musa and the Empire of Mali was a good book to introduce my boys to the greatness of Africa during this time.

The Golden Age of Islam was going on at this time as well and had a huge impact on the history of the world!

Arabian Nights was written during this time as well!

My boys were not into the Beduins’ Gazelle, it is a love story which they both gagged at but it does give you a glimpse into the life of a Beduin at that time.

The Walking Drum is definitely more my boys speed. Lots of action but I love how Louis Lamour talks about how advanced the middle east was at that time.

The Usborne book on the left was a great resource for what was going on in the world at that time.

I do wish I had gotten a newer version which is called “Medieval World” but this still gave a great overview that was diverse.

The Silk Road book was nicely written even for me to read to my 6yr old. And it has projects you can do at that time.

So if you are studying the middle ages and want to cover some of the big things going on hopefully that will give you a starting point.

This is what I laid out after looking into a lot of different information for studying next time.

Week 1-2
Europe, Vikings
Week 3
Africa, Mansa Musa
Week 4
Middle East, Islam. Banu Musa
Week 5
Asia, Khan, Silk Road, Marco Polo, Confucianism, Mongols
Week 6
North and South America, Cahokia, Incas, Toltec’s

We liked to watch the Crash Course to World History videos on youtube with John Green as well.

He is not a Christian perspective but he does cover what was going on all over the world.

I did find the Masterbooks Curriuculum “The World’s Story 2” covers this time frame and does seem to cover it all which was so nice.

I am not sure why so many of the other programs did not.

Maybe I was just looking in the wrong places.

Ha

Have you found a diverse curriculum you like?

Week 12

We tried out the local swimming beach for the first time this year and the kids loved it. Apparently I didn’t take any pics of kids actually swimming though. ha He always tries to make the dog pose if he see’s me taking a pic. So far I have only killed some things so I am calling this a win.

Will need to tweak some things for next year though.

I am hoping to have two raised beds in this spot next year. This reminds me that I need to make something with those blackberries I froze.

After seeing a bunch of worms on the ones in the fridge last year, I made sure to freeze soak them and freeze them this year.

Then I will make them into something because, gross.

My youngest son is perfecting his barreling walking skills, this has to count as an elective right? I love walking outside and seeing lots of things growing.

I don’t enjoy all the bug bites that come with it…

Hopefully now that the dry heat of summer is setting in I can still keep these plants alive!