I am often asked about the unit celebrations that we do for history.  Just like visiting Colonial Williamsburg, which brings history to life, so do unit celebrations.  Encouraged by our history curriculum, Tapestry of Grace, this becomes a time to celebrate the fun and hard work in the course of our history studies.  Although book work and writing are excellent means of learning, they only engage part of the brain.  Adding fine arts, movement and role-playing, cooking and eating foods of the era, dressing up in period clothes do more than appeal to the various senses. They also engage the other part of the brain, which enhances the learning experience.  For more information on engaging the different areas of the brain to maximize learning, I highly recommend the book, Brain Based Learning.

     Hosting unit celebrations for extended family has also created a stronger bond in our relationships, as they come to understand the benefits of homeschooling.  We have more support for homeschooling from extended family than ever before.  If we no longer had unit celebrations, my husband, children and extended family would revolt!  lol

     I've had a number of moms say they want to do a unit celebration exactly like we do.  Then there are others who say they could never do it.  However, I do not encourage anyone to do it exactly like us.  Instead I encourage them to focus on their interests using their strengths.  Believe it or not, I find sewing therapeutic, so I enjoy sewing costumes.  I used to sew costumes for the children's choir and I learned a lot of tips on how to think outside the box while creating costumes.  Therefore, for me, sewing costumes is an exciting challenge.  I spend hours pouring over period pictures and modern day patterns, researching to simplify yet make the biggest impact.  Also, my kids won't do this without me, so I dress up with them.  It's been a lot of fun!  

     Although TOG often suggests specific details on certain unit celebrations, we often go our own route.  My kids usually pick their favorite character from the period we have studied to reenact for the unit celebration.  Then we plan how to represent that character.  With each unit, I ask them to do a little more in the way of writing, speaking and memory work.  Also, I try to focus on the theme of the era and incorporate that into the unit celebration.  

Here are the eras we have recreated to date...

We have portrayed an Ancient Egyptian family...

My daughter and I portrayed Hebrews while my son portrayed a Phoenician trader of purple dye during the time of the early Greeks (which are prior to the Ancient Greeks)...

We've portrayed Ancient Greeks...

We've portrayed Ancient Romans...

We've had a Medieval Feast...

We've portrayed the Renaissance...

We've portrayed Native Americans during the establishment of the Thirteen Colonies...

We've portrayed the American Revolution... 

We've portrayed the Napoleonic Era...

We portrayed pioneers during the era of Manifest Destiny...complete with bloopers!

We've portrayed historic figures from the Crimean War and the Civil War.

During the Gilded Age (1876-1900) my son portrayed a cowboy, my daughter portrayed Anne of Green Gables, and I had a dual role.  I portrayed a French dancer who had stepped out of an Impressionist painting of Pierre Auguste Renoir and Hawaiia's last reigning monarch, Queen Liliuokalani.