Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Hands and Hearts History Kits



In my email today I received an opportunity to share my thoughts about Hands and Hearts history kits. Have you seen them? You can view these kits at www.handsandhearts.com

I have to tell you, I am going to get a coupon for doing this review.

Why do I want a coupon for something I have already used, anyway?

Because it was JUST THAT GOOD.

I have a daughter who would just love to do these crafts. She wasnt big enough to help before. And my middle son, who has done these in the past, will love to do the Early American kit again as we begin our study of US History this June.

Our family has used:

We generally have used one a year as we have studied different SonLight cores. These really added the hands on that SL lacks. Its hard to pick one favorite. But if pressed, maybe it would be the Early American kit. I have a few favorite activities from the other kits as well.

Hands and Hearts does such a great job choosing doable activities for a wide range of ages and abilities in these kits. One of the simple and enjoyable projects from Early American History was the pomander. So simple, easy and kept little fingers busy and happy. Also kept the closet smelling nice!



Another great activity (this one from the Western Expansion kit) was the leather pouch. The pouch was pre punched to be sewn by little fingers. Every necessary supply was included. It was a great activity for building motor skills in a kindergartener and a darn useful pouch when it was finished.
Though we made this several years ago, my sons are still using these for odds and ends around the house- like marbles, nerf darts and the like!

I also want to mention the all time most amazing project of all, from the Eastern Hemisphere kit- Gyotaku. I wish I had pictures of this amazing activity. Hands and Hearts supplied us with a dead fish. We painted carefully onto the fish and pressed the fish to a piece of delicate paper. The imprint of the fish was left on the page and it was amazing. This traditional Japanese way to make a trophy of your fish was probably the coolest art project my kids had ever encountered. Though one of my boys was completely grossed out initially, he soon realised the fish wasn't going to be hard to handle or particularly stinky. I have framed these. They are that cool.

When we purchased the Ancients kit it was available with a Roman Coin. Though this sounded spectacular to me, we all gave up on cleaning it before the desired results were acchieved. Because my children were 7 and 4 when they did this kit, their greek vases were probably not the most amazing creations either. But they had a lot of fun, learnt to recognize the forms of greek pottery (or at least to acknowledge there were forms) and enjoyed painting something. The reliefs they made from plaster of paris are still displayed on our shelf though!

From the Western Expansion Kit, panning for gold was an extra for the additional student which I was glad I had invested in. This was one which kids can do for hours on a nice day outside.

I can not believe how many projects we have done over the years with these kits! I have two boys and I always bought the Aditional Student kit. I'd realy recommend that option in addition to the basic kit so that children each have their own keepsakes from your studies

. Without Hands and Hearts I have a nasty feeling we would not have accomplished half so much. it seems that despite my best efforts, when I try to plan a craft I forget some essential at the store. With Hands and Hearts History Kits this is not a problem because the Estes' family packs in everything you need, down to paper towels.

This business has blessed our homeschool. I can not recommend these kits enough!

Please visit Hands and Hearts.

If you use this link, you will get 15% off your purchase!