BJU Press Blog

history

An Experience That Changed Everything

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Civil War Experience

When I was about nine years old, my dad decided to take me to a local Civil War reenactment. I’m from a small town that’s famous for having one of the best reenactments around, drawing thousands of people every year. I loved history and had studied the Civil War, so my excitement for this trip rivaled that of going to Disney World.

I walked around taking it all in. Everything was just as I had read and expected it to be—men and women cooking over campfires next to their tents, sharing stories from the past; the sound of cannon blasts so loud that my ears hurt; soldiers in uncomfortable-looking uniforms carrying rifles with bayonets that made them taller than the men carrying them. It was all so epic.

Then I heard it. A man screaming in pain, or at least acting like it. I turned the corner and saw the medical tent. I froze. The pile of severed limbs covered in “blood” had probably been purchased from a novelty store, but they were all too real to my pre-adolescent eyes. A man in a once white, now crimson apron was wielding an instrument that looked a lot like my dad’s hacksaw. Then I noticed the “wounded” man surrounded by several other men holding him down. Young as I was, I could easily figure out what was going to happen next. The experience shocked me. What I had just witnessed was all I could think about for the rest of the day.

My entire understanding of the Civil War changed in an instant. It wasn’t as though I hadn’t read about the medical treatments of the time, but that was just words in a textbook that I quickly glossed over to get to the exciting battles. Now the realities of the war had become palpable for me.

Sometimes the only way to learn about something in a way that allows for true understanding is to experience it. In many cases, we think we (or our children) understand a topic only to find out that we really didn’t comprehend it at all. That’s why learning activities are so important. Actually experiencing something builds a foundation for learning that you can’t create by merely reading a book or watching a video. Not all activities and experiences need to be shocking like my example. In fact, most won’t be. But simple activities, such as this balloon craft, put skills taught in a lesson into a physical form and accomplish the same thing.

That’s why I always encourage homeschool parents to also purchase the Teacher Editions of BJU Press textbooks.  Parents typically don’t have time to come up with creative activities to reinforce each lesson. The Teacher Editions make this simple by including a large variety of activities for different learning styles.  The time you save in planning and the benefit to your child’s learning experience easily offset the extra expense.

Be sure to check out some learning activity ideas in the posts below.

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Our Distance Learning Teachers Have Quite the Character

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There wouldn’t be Distance Learning daily video lessons without our teachers. They’re the ones who generate the excitement, script the lessons, and bravely face the camera on recording days. How would you like to do all that? I didn’t think so—me either.

Sometimes because of all the seriousness of recording lessons, you only get to experience one side of these teachers’ multi-faceted personalities. So without further ado, let’s view a “different” side of three of our Distance Learning teachers.

Miss Jessica Ingersoll

As an elementary Distance Learning teacher, Miss Ingersoll enjoys many things, and near the top of the list is being your child’s teacher. Watch “Meet Our New Teacher” for some fun facts about Miss Ingersoll. See what similarities your child can relate to. You can view a sample daily video lesson for her courses at the links below.

Mr. Bill Harmon

As a secondary Distance Learning teacher, Mr. Harmon tackles the subjects your child (and you) might find difficult. His unique approach creates memories your family will never forget. Watch “Experiencing Chemistry with Dry Ice” for a sample of how he conducts scientific experiments on camera. And yes, in case you’re wondering, he’s this crazy off camera too! Take a look for yourself by viewing a sample daily video lesson for each of his courses at the links below.

Mrs. Debbie Overly & Distance Learning Families

Elementary Distance Learning teacher Mrs. Overly shares a funny anecdote about an early filming experience in “Homeschool Families Share About Distance Learning,” an interview style video from a homeschool convention. You’ll also hear from other homeschool parents and students about their experience with Distance Learning video lessons. Mrs. Overly is well known and loved by her students. She includes many demonstrations and hands-on activities in her daily video lessons to help your child learn. View a sample daily video lesson from each of her courses at the links below.

Your family has the opportunity to meet several different Distance Learning teachers and attend their workshop sessions at homeschool conventions this year. Follow our BJU Press Homeschool Facebook page for announcements about where the teachers will be.

Teaching About Inspiring Women from History

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Who inspires you? Maybe it’s the mom at your church whose children have all learned their multiplication tables with minimum tears, or your local librarian who always knows where to find that book. Everyone has a God-given purpose and sphere of influence during his or her lifetime. We each have a story—also called a biography.

Merriam-Webster defines biography as “the story of a real person’s life written by someone other than that person.” It’s not just the facts of birth, marriage, and death, but the in-between moments that make up the excitement in a person’s life story. Right now, your children are developing the gifts and abilities from God that they will use to impact their world.

Women’s History Month in March is a good opportunity to inspire them to grow and make a difference by teaching them about the following women who shaped history in their own unique ways. (Included throughout are links to resources for additional learning.)

Elizabeth Everts “Betty” Greene (1920–1997): Pilot and Missionary

Betty grew up in the Pacific Northwest and took an early interest in flying. In 1936, she earned her pilot’s license and soon began serving her country in the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) by delivering supplies and participating in military training exercises. Because of her advanced flying skills, she also was recruited to test aircraft at high altitudes. After World War II, Miss Greene used aviation to advance the gospel. Her trips took her to South America, Africa, and the Pacific to places that were hard to reach on foot. Today, the Missionary Aviation Fellowship, an organization that she helped found, continues to combine two things Betty loved—service to God and flying.

MAF biography of Betty Greene

“The Seattle Times” obituary

Betty Greene: Flying High

Sandra Day O’Connor (1930– ): Justice of the Supreme Court

A graduate of Stanford Law School, Sandra’s accomplishments reveal not only her well-trained mind but also an admirable gracious spirit as she chose to rise above the social barriers placed before her. Mrs. O’Connor served as an attorney and then the first woman majority leader of the Arizona State Senate before President Ronald Reagan appointed her to be the first woman Supreme Court Justice in 1981. Throughout her career, the Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor made decisions based on careful research and consideration of a ruling’s impact on our country. Since retiring from the Supreme Court, she has increased awareness of American civic education by starting the iCivics online learning platform for students.

History.com biography of Sandra Day O’Connor

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, video interview

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896): Writer and Social Reformer

Harriet’s famous father, Lyman Beecher, presented his children with unique learning opportunities that shaped their worldview and enabled them to defend their beliefs. She married young and had several children. But she had a gift. Her use of writing proved a valuable tool for sharing Christian truths during a time when women’s opinions were often overlooked. It also allowed her to earn money to support her family. Mrs. Stowe’s most famous work is Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which incorporates first-hand accounts of the mistreatment of enslaved people. Published as a novel in 1852, it stirred up a great deal of controversy. But Harriet was not afraid to shed light on the social evils of her day. After the Civil War, she continued to support the equal treatment and education of all people as human beings created in God’s image.

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s life

Biography for Kids

Johanna “Anne” Mansfield Sullivan Macy (1866–1936): Educator

Limited eyesight didn’t stop Anne from being motivated to learn. She graduated from Perkins School for the Blind as valedictorian. Miss Sullivan’s impact on the world of education started with one student—Helen Keller. Anne homeschooled her deaf-blind student, teaching her to communicate by spelling on the hand. Her outside-the-box methods of individualized teaching brought respect from other teachers and helped to broaden education for people with physical limitations.

Primary sources about Anne Sullivan

Anne Sullivan Macy online museum

Video with Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller

What woman from history would you add to this list?

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World Studies Textbook for 7th Grade

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Personally, I love history. It was my favorite subject when I was homeschooled. That’s why I’m so excited about our new seventh-grade World Studies book for 2017. This history book is gorgeous and is written in an engaging narrative style. But most importantly, it treats the subject from a biblical worldview.

What’s Covered

World Studies completes what our Heritage Studies 6 (world history textbook) began. After catching students up on ancient history, it covers the Middle Ages through the modern period. It focuses on the contrasting cultures, economics, and governments of major civilizations during those time periods.

This book tells the fascinating tale of the nations from a biblical worldview. Students learn to think biblically about justice, power, citizenship, and the environment as they watch the peoples of the world grapple with these same issues.

For example, your student will learn about the Spanish conquest and colonization of Latin America. This narrative is riddled with abuse of power and failures of justice such as the denial of citizenship to Creoles. On page 136, students are challenged to apply Scripture in evaluating Spain’s treatment of Creoles. So your homeschool student will not only learn about the stuff of world history, but he will also learn to think correctly about world history.

How It’s Covered

The narrative text carries the book. Throughout the book, engaging photographs, maps, and timelines help to tell the story. The margins include guiding questions and definitions to lead the reader to identify key ideas. And sidebars, especially the ones called “Historical Perspectives,” help students develop critical thinking skills from a biblical worldview.

The text is engaging, the layout is gorgeous, the perspective is biblical. I hope you’ll take a look at a sample of the World Studies Student Text by visiting the product page and clicking on the “Look Inside the Book” icon. I’ve also recorded an overview video of this new textbook for our BJU Press Homeschool YouTube channel. Take a look below.

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An Activity for Making History Memorable (Printable)

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You never know when a fun little activity might become one of your child’s favorite memories. And what mother wouldn’t be pleased if one of her child’s favorite memories turns out to be about learning something new?

Recently I sat down with Michelle Jarrell, one of our Distance Learning teachers, to talk about the file folder games that she developed for one of her classes. As we were talking, I couldn’t help but remember something I did when I was a kid. One day I got into the filing cabinet where my mom kept all the homeschool supplies and pulled out the laminated file folders she used to teach numbers, colors, and shapes. There were labels where the shapes and numbers went, and each piece had Velcro on the back. Now I laugh about the fact that at the time I was more fascinated by hearing the ripping sound than by putting the shapes where they belonged.

Mrs. Jarrell’s file folder games give a visual and hands-on element to heritage studies, which can be a not-so-visual and hands-on subject. A bit like lapbooks, file folder games focus on specific lessons rather than on broad overviews. And, they’re a lot of fun to make and to play.

In her class, Mrs. Jarrell gives her students the option to add four to six dates to the master timeline that she designed. Here’s how you and your child can put together your own master timeline from AD 1000 to 1800.

Master Timeline Activity

Things you will need

  • Three file folders
  • Hook-and-loop fasteners (like Velcro®) or adhesive putty (like Sticky Tack)
  • Tape
  • Glue
  • Master timeline activity (printable)

Directions for timeline

  1. Print out the master timeline activity.
  2. Open all three file folders and line them up, side by side.
  3. Tape the folders together to make a single sheet approximately three feet by one foot.
  4. Cut out the timeline strips and glue them onto the folders, starting with 1000 at the top.
  5. Cut out the date and event tiles.
  6. As a review or as your child encounters new events in the history textbook, have him stick each tile where it belongs on the vertical timeline using tape, adhesive putty, or a hook-and-loop fastener.