Social Studies Scope & Sequence

Our first year of homeschooling we spent Megan's entire year learning about the discovery of America, about Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci and what it was like for the explorers aboard the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa María.. We spent plenty of time talking about those earliest conditions and experiences as explorers and the native cultures collided in the new world.

Our second year we focused on the Jamestown, the Mayflower, William Bradford, and Plymouth Rock. We learned motivations, the hopes, and aspirations of those who were brave enough to set sail for the new world in the 1600s. We talked about the living conditions, and the conditions and challenges those early settlers faced.

Our thirds year we talked about European contest for North America and the establishment of the original colonies and the beginnings of governments. We talked about Religious persecution and political conflicts continuing up through the French and Indian War.

Our fourth year we talked about the growing tensions between the established colonies and tyranny of the British Government. We introduced the great icons of American History including Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and many others. We learned about the Minutemen and the Sons of Liberty and the struggle against an oppressive government and the ensuing struggle leading to the establishment of the American Government.

Our Fifth year we will study the establishment of government in the United States of America. We will study The Declaration of Independence, The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We'll learn about motivations and debates surrounding these documents and the men that forged them. We'll discuss the Mount Vernon Conference, the Grand Committee, and Annapolis Convention leading up to the Constitutional Convention and we'll dive into reading The Constitution and The Amendments in the United States Bill of Rights.

Through the course of the entire five years of elementary school she was studying a state every month using Which-way-USA by Highlights which was provided by her Grandparents. This is the Geography portion of her education in US History.

In Economics we do Lemonade Day. Last year was our first year for this and we will continue to make this a part of the curriculum. Lemonade Day is a National Program will both private and government sponsorship. The kids will complete a workbook and do projects in order to form their own business which they will then launch and run for a single day and then report their success and evaluate and changes that would like to make in order to be more successful next year.

In Middle school and High School the focus will broaden from the US to encompass the entire World as they will learn about a different continent each year and the history and culture of those countries.