Learning Classical Conversations History Sentences with LEGO
Monday, November 18, 2013 at 5:00AM
It's no secret how much we enjoy learning with LEGO in our homeschool.
These bricks speak to my son in a way nothing else can.
I had no doubt we would be able to incorporate LEGO Learning with our Classical Conversations homeschool work.
Perfect.
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Each week Grant memorizes a history sentence for the Classical Conversations memory work. Sometimes he will notebook about the history sentence. Other times he will copy the sentence in his Pre-Scripts book and complete an art lesson in the same book.
Last week, however, it was time to pull out the LEGO bricks for history.
The history sentence to be memorized was:
"In 1789, the French Revolution began when citizens stormed the Bastille and fought for the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Later, during the Reign of Terror, the artisocrats' heads were removed by the guillotine."
I'll share with you how we approached the history sentence throughout the week.
Music
Music is the EASIEST way to get these history sentences into my son's head. We listen to the Classical Conversations Memory Work CD and also use the awesome Cycle 2 app on our iPad.
Grant does these things at least twice a day - in the car, when I'm folding laundry, etc... It's easy to play the music and it's amazing to me how much the kids enjoy these memory work tutorials.
Written Work
I purchased the PreScripts history sentences. This book has been a lifesaver for me!
Grant traces and copies the history sentence and then completes the art lesson that goes along with the sentence.
I HIGHLY recommend any of the PreScripts books.
LEGO Creations
This week Grant had the idea to create the storming of the Bastille for his weekly presentation.
Grant was already a bit familiar with this because we've been listening to The Story of the World Audio CDs.
We researched the event in our Kingfisher History Encyclopedia and then he got to work!
Building something like this takes time, so I read Les Miserables (a CC recommended read aloud) while Grant worked.
{My 12 year old decided to listen in at the same time... so while she isn't in Foundations and was "busy" with her Challenge work, she learned about the French Revolution and heard Les Miserables that day, too. Bonus!}
Grant will ALWAYS remember the Storming of the Bastille because he invested so much of his own time into this awesome creation.
Notice the prisoners that were in the Bastille at the time. Grant also chose to put King Louis XVI in the Bastille (although he wasn't really there when it happened).
Still, he was using LEGO to represent a significant event in history - super cool in my book!
It reminds me of last year when he decided to build LEGO landmarks with a set of flahscards we had purchased from Target.
LEGO is just plain awesome. Don't you agree?
If your child wants to start using their bricks in this way, I recommend a couple of basic brick sets. I've found that the themed sets (character sets) are fine to have and play with, but having an Ultimate brick set and a set of historic minifigures is ideal.
{Be sure to also check out my LEGO gift giving suggestions for your own LEGO lover!}
How do your children learn their CC history sentences? I'd love some other creative ideas to make our homeschool more interesting!
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Reader Comments (4)
This is awesome! I love this idea. What a great hands on way for the visual and kinetic learners to get it! Great job! You have inspired my to buy my 5 year old (almost 6) son legos for Christmas. It will be his big present. I'm hoping the dog doesn't chew them all up!
Love it! Ben is using the LEGO mini figs with his Viking ship for his CC presentation tomorrow. :-) They help to bring history to life! I'm sure he will add a few of his own facts. ;-)
Ummm... can I just come cozy up to your beautiful fire?! It looks like Grant had a blast learning about the French Revolution! I have two girly-girls, so we don't really do Legos, but Mary has re-enacted the Battle of Tours with the Beast (from Beauty and the Beast) as Charles Martel. Ha! So, really, how about that fire? ;)
LOVE, LOVE this Mary!
Love your sentence too because that is *exactly* what we are moving on to,the French Revolution and is our next unit study! I will probably be using the Tale of Two Cities, but I have to show Tiny this. He loves Legos.