State History!

First, a random tour of my state history growing up.  I grew up mostly in Ohio except for the three years I lived in Kansas during which Kansas history was in the curriculum.   Kansas history includes  Wyatt Erp, western towns, outlaws like Jesse James, and wagon trains.  There is rarely a dull moment in Kansas history.

Wyatt Erp

When I started teaching grade school I was in Georgia and was required to teach Georgia State history.  I had been in Georgia a year, had learned about Kansas history growing up, and had spent most of my life in Ohio.  Needless to say, I quickly learned about the Cherokee Indians, the Trail of Tears, the importance of the Fort Pulaski in Savannah and the history of the state flag.

Fort Pulaski

 Now I am teaching my children Ohio history which honestly, I know little of as you can see.  But, luckily I am a creative home educator and am plowing ahead. This is what I have learned along the way.

I discovered the Ohio Historical Society. which is a great site to visit to locate historical places in Ohio to visit. I also found the book  A Guide to Historic Houses in Ohio.  I checked the book out from the library.




I bought these simple coloring books with many facts about Ohio.   They are for grades PK-7.  They are very simple, but I think they cover a great deal for the price. 

The option for learning Ohio history is a lap book.  Hands of a Child has one.  Here is a review with pictures of that lap book.  When I had less children, I completed this one, and the kids really enjoyed it.

Front of book

Inside of Ohio Ebook

Lastly, I found this little Ohio ebook for $1.  I downloaded it to see what it was about before posting.  It is about 10 pages long including a cover page and the last page that discusses other items on their site.  It is a nice little book for the price.  You can print it multiple time for many kids.  You put together a simple lap book on card-stock with it.  It includes places of interest, symbols, a map, and flag information.

If you have any ideas for Ohio history please put them in the comments.  Since I don't believe Wyatt Erp has much connection here, I would love to learn some more.
~Becky

Learning the top 50 words!

A balanced reading program consists of phonics and sight words.  I have found it helpful to review sight words with my beginning readers.  I have included a file that has the 50 most used  words in the English language.  By teaching your student these words you will help them to be successful readers.

You can also use this list to track progress.  Use a different color pen and see how many words your student knows every 5-8 weeks.  It is exciting to track the progress of your student.  This is a great work sample to keep throughout the year. 

Hope this is helpful!
Becky