History: Grades 5 and up
EduScraps - U.S. History 1920-1939
Author: S.A. Crooks
Publisher: First Fruits Publishing
For more information or to order: www.firstfruitspublishing.com

Scrapbooking is a popular hobby enjoyed by many families - now a homeschool mom has taken her love for scrapbooking and given us a meaningful way to study history.  The EduScraps series currently features three volumes: U.S. History 1900 - 1919, U.S. History 1920 - 1939, and U.S. History 1940 - 1959.  It is nice to see a history program that focuses on the early 20th century!  The books are comb-bound so they lay flat for easy viewing and photocopying.  The author provides a brief introduction explaining how to use the guide, and a list of supplies you will need to get started.  The materials required are those one would typically use in scrapbook albums.  If you already enjoy scrapbooking, you'll probably have most of the supplies you need already on your shelves. 

We were sent the volume covering 1920 - 1939 for this review.  This volume has seven lessons each covering two to three years and taking one to two weeks to study, depending on how many activities and pages you want to complete.  It took reading through the guide a couple of times to understand how I would use it with my children.  The lessons are divided into five sections: Fast Facts & Inventions, Activity Ideas, Reproducible pages, and Layout Ideas.  The meat of the program is in the Fast Facts and Inventions.  Here the author lists historical events that she has chosen to highlight in her page layouts, reproducible and activity suggestions.  She recommends each child create a Timeline of Inventions so they get the "big picture" of this period of history.  The Fast Facts encompass things like, the average price of items, people born this year, interesting trivia, inventions, presidents, changes in our laws, wars, sports and more.  Next come the Activity Ideas.  Designed for multiple grade levels, there are a variety of activity suggestions from vocabulary lists, research and writing to drawing and listening to music from the period.  Most of the activities are interwoven with the scrapbooking content and an Activity Planning Sheet is provided for each lesson to help you organize your study. There are no daily lesson plans; instead you are free to pick and choose what activities to complete on your own timetable.  One of the sections on the planning sheet is for listing items to get from the library, however there are no book suggestions provided.  Of course, you could track down books yourself, but having a list available as part of the curriculum guide would be very handy.  Reproducible worksheets and samples of page layouts follow the Activity Ideas list.  My kids enjoyed looking at the work of other students and we really appreciate the color photos!  Many of the items you will use on your pages are provided (in color) in the back of your book to be reproduced for each of your children.  EduScraps easily lends itself to group learning.  In a co-op setting, students can share supplies and be inspired as they see how others have designed their pages.

If you have a student who enjoys having a more hands-on or creative outlet for their learning, you might want to give Educational Scrapbooking a try.

Making the Grade: B+
Cost: $18
Value for your homeschool dollar: 9
Reviewed by Cindy Prechtel, Editor