Four Violet Reviews: Project Passport World History Study: The Middle Ages ~REVIEW

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It's Summer time and we have many short and not so short trips planned. I love to pack a little education in where I can as we travel. I feel like it makes the trip even more interesting and fun. Too bad I can't plan a trip back in time and learn along the way......or can I? A few weeks ago I was given the chance to Review Project Passport World History Study: The Middle Ages from Home School in the Woods. The downloadable version can be purchased for only $33.95 and if you prefer the CD it's only a tad more for $34.95 along with shipping and handling. Let me just say now that this probably is a completely different way to learn History then you are used to, but after a few weeks into your "trip" you will understand the process and the excitement on your Kiddo's face will be all you need to confirm that they are indeed learning far more then a text book alone can teach them.

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What we received was a digital History Unit Study that I could download. We Love Unit Studies and prefer to learn this way as much as possible. You also can get this study on a CD-ROM if that works better for you. It works well for both your Windows and Mac computer programs. Our Project Passport Study was geared towards Kiddos in grades 3 to 8, but it could easily work well for both younger and older Kiddos with just a few tweaks here and there. If you work on the Unit Study 2-3 days a week it should take about 6-12 weeks to finish completely, but it does depend on how many activities you and your Kiddos decide to do at each stop. They are going to have so much fun learning about old castles, Barbarians, Vikings, and so much more. They will be completing their Unit Study while notebooking/lapbooking and completing many hands-on activities like crafting, games, cooking, even writing for the The Medieval Times newspaper. Your Kiddo will need lot's of paper, card stock, a printer, art supplies, a folder, binder and a few other things that you probably just have at home. My download came to me as a ZIP file with filled with SEVERAL files included that were pretty well organized. But, there were sooooo many I was a little overwhelmed at first. :) Everything you need to have a successful "Trip" through the Middle Ages is right there for you. Everything from print outs, several audio files, activity ideas, instructions and itineraries. Don't worry there is a Special 3 page Travel Planner that breaks down the stops and gives you a snapshot of what type of activities you have coming up. There is a good amount of planning involved.

The whole idea behind the Unit Study or concept is that you are traveling back through time in an Era of your choice. As you make pit stops along your journey you get to experience History in a hands on approach. You will experience 25 different stops along the way during The Middle Ages Study. While your Kiddos are at each stop they will listen or read the lesson for the day and participate in several different activities. You are sure to find something for everyone to enjoy. You will find that not only are they more interested in the topic, but they are going to be more engaged in the whole learning process and actually know what it is that they are supposed to be learning. I've never been a big fan on the "learn all the right answers for the upcoming test and then forget it afterwards" routine.

So, what did I think? I Love the whole idea and I know it works. It engages and grabs hold of your child and causes wonder and excitement. But, it is a Ton of printing....one page at a time printing. I would rather pay more money for it already to be printed. People like me with printer anxiety, this could be a nightmare. Kaden is a facts only kind of kid....he thinks anything more is a time waster. So, with that said some of the beginning stops included bigger craft projects and sorting out papers and building really cool things like a postcard rack was not his cup of tea. I honestly was doing most of it by myself. :( But, did he love the activities and the facts? Yes, and he even played with some puppets we made that totally shocked me. :) We spent an hour at least 3 times a day. But, with the over stimulation with all the paper and craftiness we would sometimes have a little break in that hour. I love that it's at your pace, so you can take out parts, add parts, stretch the lessons out. It's yours to do what you want or need to. Would I recommend it? I would for sure if you are a family that doesn't mind going through a ton of paper. If you have kiddos that like hands on projects or if you are willing to be a little more hands on if need be. That is what I did, we needed to make a suitcase and he couldn't justify cutting up a perfectly good folder....(remember he is on the spectrum). So, I did it along side of him and we moved on to the next lesson. Would I use the Project Passport again? Yep, I sure will. Even though it's a ton of printing and a little overwhelming I think it is so worth it and I'm looking forward to the next Era....Kaden's choice too. I will probably do all of the prep before I involve him next time. He enjoyed the activities, especially the games and cooking. Like I said before there is so much to choose from...you want be disappointed.