Hands-On History with Creek Edge Press

I'm all about learning as much as possible through hands-on, get-in-there-and-get-your-feet-wet discovery and GOD's timing is always perfect.  One of the favorite activities in our homeschool group is the annual Mystery Dinner for the 7-th - 12th graders. This year's theme was a Medieval Mystery and all of the kids dressed up for their assigned roles.  My Senior was Lady of Acton, my Sophomore was Wife of the Head of the Royal Army and my Boy Scout was a Royal Jester.  There were also a King and Queen, Ladies-in-Waiting, Peasants, Royal Servants of all kinds, Bards, Musicians, Magistrates, Knights and Enemies of the King.  The fun night was as realistic as we could make the church Fellowship Hall be -- and the meal served was authentic, too!  The kids were even served Shepherd's Pie with no eating utensils -- but we didn't let them throw their leftovers on the floor!

Throughout the evening we shared educational highlights from the Medieval time period and taught games that would have been played back then like Chess, Nine Men's Morris and Fox and Geese.  Our Bard read a bit of poetry for the King's entertainment and the Royal Musician even played a song on her guitar.  The Royal Jesters entertained the entire party with jokes, juggling and feats of awe.  The Rose Window was glowing and the Shields were sparkling.  For a few hours that evening, we were as medieval as we could be -- and we laughed and enjoyed a great time together.

The Medieval Mystery Dinner was the perfect lead- in to our school year and gave us a great starting point to study something that has long fascinated my family -- knights and princesses and swords and shields!  Because we enjoy all things medieval (including a Renaissance Fair when we can find one), the Medieval World Task Cards by Creek Edge Press have proven to be quite a complement to our studies in a fantastic way!

So . . . what ARE Task Cards and how do you use them in real life?

Designed by homeschooling mom Amy Hilsman, the Medieval World Task Cards set is a K-8 course comprised of discovery-oriented (hands-on, go & find it for yourself) tasks that direct your children to investigate and  explore the Medieval World from the Fall of Rome through the Renaissance.  The Task Cards "provide a simple tool that pulls together the best of Classical, Charlotte Mason, and Montessori education."

Each set [SEE PICTURE BELOW] comes with a 19-page Teacher's Guide (which includes suggestions on how to best utilize the Task Cards, suggested Book Lists for your core teaching, an explanation of the tasks on each card and explanations to the students of how to get the most out of their studies) and 34 postcard size cards (printed on cardstock) -- one for each week of school.  Your child takes one card per week and does all of the activities on it.  It REALLY IS that simple!  Activities include encyclopedia research, map work, make a poster or collage, write sentences about specific people or events, summarize books or literary accounts and time line or century book creations.




These Task Cards are non-consumable -- my absolute FAVORITE type of curriculum -- which means they can be used over and over in your family.  Because the Princess and the Boy Scout have totally different learning styles, they worked through the cards at totally different paces.  The Princess spends MUCH more time on maps and illustrations than does the Boy Scout.  He'd much rather read the biographical accounts of historical figures -- and then act them out! Because of these differences, they were both able to work on their own time, in their own way, and share with each other what they were learning.  This is true Hands-on Discovery that I LOVE!

Here's a close-up of one of the Task Cards from our set:

How neat to study about Marco Polo and realize that he was a real-live person and not just a game you play in the swimming pool.  The Princess and the Boy Scout especially enjoyed studying about Russia {because their great uncle lives there!} and the Boy Scout liked the in-depth look at the Mongol Invasions. I liked the fact that they could both take their task cards and get started learning all by themselves.  Teaching our children to OWN their education is one of the most important things we can do for them.

You can purchase your very own set of Medieval World Task Cards for only $20 but don't forget to look around the site and check out all of the other wonderful task cards available.  You can set your children on a quest of DISCOVERY in a wide range of subjects from Chemistry to Art and Music with Grammar Reinforcement to boot!  We simply MUST put more geography in our day so Geography Task Cards -- here we come!



~~I was given the opportunity to use and review Medieval World Task Cards by Creek Edge Press as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.  The opinions stated are mine and mine alone.  I was not paid to share my thoughts and feelings with you. You can check out the Crew Review and see what other members of the TOS Homeschool Crew thought of   Creek Edge Press HERE.~~

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