Mozi Esmé: Putting Together the Puzzle

If you’ve read our recent Puzzle of History post over at Heart of the Matter Online, you’ll know we’re tackling history a bit earlier than I anticipated in Miss Esmé’s academic career, thanks to her insistence on putting puzzle pieces together before I can sort out the border pieces for her.

Audiobooks and videos are my best friends! (My throat is a bit hoarse after reading through Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule yesterday.)

Here are some of our favorite resources:

The Mystery of History. Yes, Volumes I and II are available in CD format, and just perfect for the long drives we take every day. I love the inclusion of God’s purpose in the chronological format. Some of the topics may seem mature for an almost-5yo, but she’s picking up bits and pieces and amazing me with her spontaneous insights into the parallels between Julius Caesar's death and Christ’s death, for example. This is one of the few homeschool materials I’ve purchased for full price, and it’s worth it.
The Library. We’re working through American history after the Civil War using TruthQuest’s book lists (more on TruthQuest in a later review post). And I’ve been happily surprised at the number of audiobooks and videos available at our library. Esmé is just about through her listening of Little House in the Big Woods and ready to start on Little House in the Prairie. And complex books can be made palatable for little ones through video; e.g. I’d never attempt reading Sounder with Esmé, but the movie was just about perfect for her.
Books Should Be Free. More free audio books! You can get The Little Colonel here, for example.
Homeschool Share. Not audio, but always a favorite source of free literature extension activities and lapbooks, and they have a whole section on history.
Your Story Hour. These are longtime favorite audio stories for bedtime – and they have lots of history stories in kid-friendly format. We recently picked up their Clara Barton stories for free online.