I'm Ready to Learn | Journeys of Imagination | Hideaways in History | Animals and Their Worlds
 Children Around the World | The American Story I | American Crossing 1 | American Culture | All American I Set
All American II Set | The American Story II | High School American History | Adventures in the Sea & Sky
 Quest for the Ancient World Quest for the Middle Ages | Quest for Royals and Revolution

Full Program with Geography Resources - #AC1 - $550 Value for $449
Reduced Program without Geography Resources - #AC12 - $500 Value for $399
 

Wander Along American Trails . . .

Travel across the American land, learning about the history and geography of the U.S. Along the way, you’ll discover the cultures of Native Americans, watch colonial merchants and craftsmen, join revolutionaries fighting for independence, tag along with frontiersmen expanding the boundaries of the United States, and forge through new territory with railroad barons and pioneers who conquered the West.

As you journey along, you’ll make a lot of memories with another key part of this program -- the Time Travelers Activity series. With these helps, you’ll create three dimensional history scenes, assemble and play games, make pop-up art, and enjoy activities like making shadow puppets, five-pointed stars, and doubloons.

Resources in this program will capture your older student’s interest in “crossing” America. History books take you on the scene and share a lot of detail that will kindle your student’s imagination. Students will also enjoy delving into picture studies of several artists who captured the American spirit on canvas. There’s just so much here!

Features you'll love in the American Crossing Program Guide:

• Parent helps that are practical and help you “learn together” with your student
• 36-week schedule laid out so clearly, you’ll “open and go” every day
• Fantastic activities and related learning opportunities that are perfect for middlers
• Supply lists for activities that will help you plan your year
• Rating system that ranks the ease of use or supplies needed for an activity
• Click here to see a sample of this program guide.

Decide on Which Option is Right for Your Family!

The Full American Crossing Program
Your family will travel across the American landscape learning not only about history, but study state geography and facts as well. Many parents feel their student should encounter such material at some point in the middle grades, and this program offers just that opportunity. Together with the other resources, you are purchasing a truly complete program. We feel most parents will be happy with the integration we have planned and the effortless way they can accomplish including so much geographical study.

The Reduced American Crossing Program
This program might be a better choice if you have a student who needs to focus their attention on other areas of academic development and you'd rather bypass the state/geography study for now. It might also be a better choice if you have a student who is at the youngest end of the recommended age group and struggles a little academically. It may help to know that the state geography study isn't harder material, but it does add more content. Therefore, a student who needs to put time and attention into developing another portion of their academic life may be better off with a trimmer program.

American Crossing Resources

Highlights of the American Crossing Guide
AC1-101 - $70 - Free with Package Purchase
Click here to see a sample of this program guide.

Simple and Ready-to-Go!
You’ll find this program guide is laid out so simply - just open and begin! Each of your 36 school weeks is laid out to reduce your paperwork! Each week also includes activity ideas, geography and timeline work, important advice on how to teach concepts, web search ideas, and much more!

Supply List for Activities
By parent request, we’ve put together a supply list in your guidebook so you can plan your activities ahead of time, and gather any supplies (other than routine items) you need.

Student Independent Work Schedules
Each week, your student will have a schedule all their own to complete the work they need to do on their own. No more writing out “homework” schedules!

Rating System for Activities
Activities have a rating on their supplies & skill level so you’ll always know what will work for you.

History Resources
Discovery of America to the Road to Civil War

Native Homes | AC1-201 | $8
A fantastic look inside Native American tipis, earthen lodges, hogans, iglus, and plankhouses from across America. Discover a map of where different tribes lived, and how their geographical location and the local materials influenced the types of dwelling places they built. Discover how different homes were framed and the processes needed to prepare the building materials for use. Then, go inside the living quarters to see what furnishings were used and how they were arranged.

Life in a Pueblo | AC1-202 | $8
Trek into the landscape of the southwest and discover how native tribes lived, worked, farmed and cooked in pueblo villages. Learn more about their farming techniques, developed specifically for their distinct ecological environment, and how they handled irrigation. Travel with them as they trade their goods with other tribes and how times changed when the Spanish arrived on the continent.

Life in a Longhouse Village | AC1-203 | $8
Head over to the lands of the native woodland tribes, especially the Iroquois. Discover their land, in the east and their distinctive longhouse villages. Then, go inside a family compartment in a longhouse to see how the Iroquois shared their spaces, stored their goods and even cooked indoors. Finally, discover how their clothing, hunting techniques, and more were drawn directly from the timber- and game-rich forests of the east.

Colonial Crafts | AC1-204 | $8
Travel to a colonial town and see how early Americans made paper, guns, wooden goods, cloth, wigs, wheels, and barrels! Discover how all sorts of homemade and trade goods were created. See how a shoe was stitched by hand, how a cooper created a leak proof barrel, and how a wagon wheel was assembled. Learn how a blacksmith got his name, how a wig could be cleaned, and what material was used to make early American paper.

Daniel Boone: | AC1-205 | $17
Delve into the life of this brave pioneer and enjoy looking at the marvelous maps, drawings and illustrations that will lead you along the way. Study the French & Indian War, trails, turnpikes, and the Great Wilderness Road. Take to the road with Daniel Boone and visit Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri , all the while traveling the trails that Daniel Boone blazed. Best of all, stop into other early American events such as the Revolutionary War and the Continental Congress as experienced by men like Boone. You won't want to miss this expedition!

Colonial Tools & Gadgets | AC1-206 | $8
You'll never be able to guess the uses for some of these items. See all sorts of unusual items colonial Americans used, and how they impacted colonial life. Take an up-close look at items like shoe scrapers, belly warmers, spiders for cooking, mustache cups, and even a ruggle. There's a lot to learn here about how the colonials managed with simple tools and the things they found in their new environment.

George Washington for Kids | AC1-207 | $15
Follow the life and career of the Father of our country through his life on a plantation, on the battlefield, and in the White House. Find out how he cheated death and created an army out of a collection of men once called a "motley crew." As you read, you'll also have a chance to complete some fun activities, such as designing a recruiting poster, making a general's uniform epaulets, or creating a commemorative sword.

The U.S. Constitution and You | AC1-208 | $7
Learn more about the basics of American government with the illuminating illustrations in this easy-to-grasp book. Learn about the three branches of government, the election process, adding amendments and more.

Going Along with Lewis and Clark | AC1-209 | $12
You’ll feel as though you’re really there, as this volume offers beautiful pictures of places along the Corps of Discovery’s path. See their tools, supplies, trade goods, and much more! Actual pictures highlight landmarks such as Pompeys Pillar in Montana, Decision Point on the Missouri River, and Fort Clatsop in Oregon. You'll also get to take a look at memorable things about the trip, seeing a picture of the prickly pear cactus that tormented the men's feet, or Clark's signature carved into rock. You'll really feel like you were there!

Minn of the Mississippi | AC1-210 | $12
Follow the adventures of a turtle as he makes his way along the Mississippi River, learning about the geography of the land that borders this mighty river and discovering facts about the biosystem it supports.!

The Railroad | AC1-211 | $8
See inside the belly of an “iron horse,” and see how steam power drives the engine. Follow the growth of the railroad across America -- see how land for the track was chosen, how tracks were laid down, and how obstacles like mountains and ravines were handled. Then, discover how problems like derailing, Native American attacks, and communication were solved. It will all help you to see how the growth of the railroad affected American history and the opening of the west.

Boomtowns of the West | AC1-212 | $8
Find out how towns sprang up overnight, and what businesses thrived in the West. Get a birds-eye view of a western town main street, and see how events in the west such as the gold rush and the growth of the railroad took it from a small street to a bustling town. You'll get to take in actual pictures of towns built so quickly that half its residents lived in tents, and get to know some of the odd goings-on that often occurred in frontier cities.

Westward Ho! | AC1-213 | $23
Great stories of the opening of the west, including tales of frontiersmen like Jim Bridger, John Colter and Kit Carson. Read exciting stories of narrow escapes, brave deeds and heroic acts that created legends and started the stampede toward the west coast.

The Tale of Narcissa Whitman & | AC1-214 | $17
a Faithful Story of the Oregon Trail
Head across country on the trail to the Oregon territory, taking on the challenges of traveling miles upon miles through country plagued by harsh weather, hostile native tribes, and challenging terrain. As you go, you'll encounter the men who opened and explored the west, including trappers and mountain men who mapped the country and led wagon trains to the west coast. You'll also learn about the many trails leading west, and the types of people who left their lives in the east to make the journey. You'll need to know what supplies it took to embark on the trip, and what it took to make it in the west once you arrived. It's a great pilgrimage you won't want to miss.

Escape to Freedom | AC1-215 | $7
Follow the story of two slaves and their bold escape! See pictures of the dangers they faced as they made the tough decision to risk everything for a chance to be free.

Life on a Plantation | AC1-216 | $8
Endure the sweltering heat of a southern summer, and see how a plantation (and its slaves) worked and was farmed. Saunter through a plantation, taking time to encounter the many different buildings essential to independent living in the south. Then, encounter the culture African Americans were able to establish in spite of the conditions in which they lived and the constant threat of being whipped, dying young, or being sold and separated from loved ones.

A Rootin'-Tootin' Good Time with Adventure Reading

Naya Nuki | AC1-301 | $ 7
After her capture by an enemy tribe, a young Shoshoni girl makes a thousand-mile trek home.

Blood on the River | AC1-302 | $7
A captivating telling of the story of Jamestown and the challenges faced by these early settlers.

Calico Captive | AC1-303 | $7
A young woman is abducted during the French and Indian War and forced to march into Canada.

Regina Silsby’s Secret War | AC1-304 | $ 8
An American young woman finds an interesting way to help the cause of the Revolution.

Fever 1793 | AC1-305 | $ 6
Yellow fever rages through the streets of Philadelphia, the capital city of the young United States.

The Captain’s Dog | AC1-306 | $ 6
Travel along in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery, told from the perspective of Lewis’ dog, Seaman.

The Ballad of Lucy Whipple | AC1-307 | $ 6
Lucy’s life changes when she moves to a California mining town in the west!

Jip: His Story | AC1-308 | $7
The orphaned Jip befriends an old man and faces issues such as slavery and personal loyalty.

Bandit’s Moon | AC1-309 | $ 6
An orphan is swept off by banditos and gets into trouble galore while searching for an older brother during the California Gold Rush.
 

Bible Study Resource

Christian Character Traits for Kids | AC1-401 | $19
American heroes are often known for a particular character trait. Meet Americans who exemplify a particular character quality and how you can develop that character trait in Christ. Consumable.

Art History: Picture Study

Early American Painters Picture Studies | AC1-501 | $29
Meet three American painters whose work is outstanding and memorable -- John Trumbull, Gilbert Stuart and Thomas Cole. Students will learn about each artist by looking at included full-color reproductions of their work and learn to appreciate it with interactive picture study activities and questions. A painting reproduction example is shown.

Crossing America Geography Resources
 

Kids Learn America | AC1-601 | $13
Delightful stories, geographical facts, and cultural practices fill every page of this wonderful resource. State by state, you'll get to drop in across America, learning key facts about each state, its capital, its products and industry, and other fun things along the way. Mnemonic memory devices help kids learn each state's capital city, too!

Time for Kids: Our 50 United States | AC1-602 | $18
Each of the states is profiled on full-color pages; each one features a topographic state map with major cities highlighted. A brief history of the state is covered, along with information about important industries and agriculture. Each state has a fun "Did You Know?" fact, and gives some clues about a "Mystery Person" with ties to the state. Information about each state's postal code, capital, nickname, population, land area and state symbols are also included in this volume. Plus, you'll find out about other U.S. lands in American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and of course, Washington, D.C. This resource is excellent at making connections between a state's history and the nation as a whole.

State Study Worksheets | AC1-603 | $19
A set of worksheets for all of the states on which the student can map cities and landmarks, and collect other information.

Outstanding Activity Resources

Time Travelers Activity Series & Text | AC1-801 | $149
Marvelous teaching text combines with oodles of activities in this incredible CD series. Produced by Homeschool in the Woods, we have gathered a series of four activity sets for you to enjoy this year. Just a sampling is pictured here.

Printable activities include paper crafts, dioramas, game boards, three-dimensional art, notebooking, and fictional newspapers. There’s also additional craft projects, vocabulary and recipes. You’ll find activities about explorers, colonials, revolutionaries and the new American nation. Crafts like Pirate Panoply, Battle Blitz and The Conestoga Wagon will engross students and offer a wealth of possible projects!

With this CD, you can print out several copies of craft projects for a number of students, OR you can save a lot of effort and expense and purchase our ready-made student pack, which is an optional add-on listed below.

Price Above Also Includes a BONUS! Printed Text
Lesson text and project directions have been printed for you to save you time and make working with the CDs easy! Each week’s lessons and projects together in an easy-to-use format. Several hundred pages of instruction and text.

Optional and Recommended!

Time Travelers Student Pack AC1-802 $59
This 200+ page student pack includes a set of most of the projects in the Time Travelers CDs, copied onto plain paper, acetate, cardstock or other papers. You can print these projects yourself directly from the CD, but this saves you a lot of time, effort and costly supplies. There are about 200 pages worth of activities, card stock models to make, games to assemble and play and more. You’ll need one per student.

What Do I Need to Complete the Learning?

Timeline Building Resources!
Include these for each student:
Timeline Figures
Timelines in History
Old Style Map Set

Consumables for Additional Students
If you intend to school two students, be sure to add an Additional Student Set #AC1-901 - $38, which includes consumable item #’s AC1-401 and AC1-603; also add the optional resource AC1-802 if you’re using it, plus any timeline resources such as figures or “Timelines in History.”

ONE OF OUR COORDINATING LA PROGRAMS:
4th Grade “Solving the Mysteries of Grammar” Program
5th Grade “Building a Great Paragraph” Program
6th Grade “Painting Word Pictures” Program
7th & 8th, HS 1, and HS 2 Programs

A Math and Science Program
You may want to consider Saxon, Math Mammoth, or Horizons Math, the programs that we offer.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding this Program

I LOVE the look of the Time Travelers resources -- but are they really worth the price?
Yes, yes, YES! There are so many wonderful things to make and do in this four-CD set. Not only can you make and assemble models of various American landmarks, but you can create games, fill-in old world style maps, and discover layers of period costumes in easy-to-assemble layered "books." It's the sheer variety of projects that will keep your student coming back for more. Not only are there paper projects galore, but there's also recipe ideas and other craft and research projects for your family to explore. Best of all, this price includes what amounts to a wonderful history text -- hundreds of pages recounting early American history to add to your other history resources in this program. It may help to take note that most of our other programs at this level include a set of resources that are roughly in this price range; this is just different because it is an all-in-one resource that appears more pricey. Finally, we've given you a fantastic discount on this program. In addition to your guide discount, you're getting $30 more off your set. It's a built-in discount that sweetens the deal!

How does the American Crossing coordinate with the American Story 1?
These two programs are designed so that you are working on the same concepts on the same week. This means you can complete joint activities from time to time, perhaps share some adventure reading, and visit landmarks as a family knowing you are working on the same concepts and periods in history.

What is the difference between this program and American Story 1?
The American Crossing is designed specifically for fourth through seventh grade students, whereas American Story 1 is designed to meet the needs of first through third grade students. Compared to American Story 1, American Crossing has a higher level of content, more abstract concepts, more work requirements, and a greater proportion of text-only books. While there are still many illustrations, the pictures tend to require more base knowledge and be less concrete than those found in the American Story 1 book selection. The American Crossing also spends a lot of time connecting American events to the geography that influenced that event. This requires the student to have a little more maturity to understand and make sense of these connections. As always, we've included great activities, but here again, more art skills and other fine motor skills are required to successfully complete the heart of the program. By contrast, the American Story 1 spends more time on books that tell straightforward stories, stressing simple events and people to help young learners master the basics of early American history in a way that connects well to their maturity level and learning strengths.

Can I purchase and use only American Crossing for students between 1st grade through seventh?
As you'll see in the question above, there are significant differences in the goals and approaches used by these two early American history programs. While it may seem easy to use American Crossing for all these ages and simply require less of a younger student, the themes and concepts covered often require more maturity to grasp, and thus enjoy. This problem won't really disappear by using less of the resources. Your younger student will benefit far more from having books and materials that are right at their level, and designed to help them learn and retain important facts. We strongly encourage you not to pursue this option, as we feel your young student would most likely be "left behind" in their learning.

Can you tell me why I shouldn't just use the American Story 1 for all my students, including middlers?
Again referring you to the first question above, we'd like for you to really understand that your older students are going to benefit most from learning the material in a way that is right at their level. American Crossing offers material that will encourage your student to connect up facts and use them to evaluate people's motivations, historical movements, and other abstract concepts along the way. Also, there is no independent work in American Story 1 -- something that must be a part of your older student's learning experience. Finally, the books in this program are really going to interest your middle-grade student.

How can I best combine all of my students using your American resources, then?
If you have several students, we'd probably encourage you to complete both programs. We also offer another great option for families. We offer the All-American Set, which includes a good mixture of books from both programs so that younger learners are less-likely to be left behind, and older learners are still challenged. This program comes with a separate guide book which is a blend of the other two and is more expensive, of course, than either of the programs alone. This option will work fairly well if you've got students who are a blend of ages. It may not be a great option for families who have students whose ages are at the extreme lower and upper ends, such as a family with a 1st and a 6th grade student, who would more likely do better having their own sets of resources.

I'd love to have my Jr/Sr High student join our study -- is this possible?
We do offer an add-on set that will allow your junior or senior high student to complete the American Crossing with some additional resources for a complete upper level experience. This American History High School Add-On Set includes an Older Learner's Guide for American Crossing 1, A History of US, Volumes 1-10, and Painless American Government, all for $199. The older learner's guide includes substitute independent study schedules, so your student can keep track of their own work and still have American Crossing assignments on the same independent work planning page.

I’ve already got a few of the items in the package. Can I still get the package price and leave them out?
We love to offer our package prices to our parents to help them purchase a great program with a great discount. We do, however, have to sell all the items in the package in order to honor the discount. Usually the discount outweighs the value of the resources you might already have. If not, you can choose items individually to build your program, but remember the purchase of a themed program package ensures you also get free shipping, another discount you’ll want to take into account as you look at your total purchase.

How do the Language Arts coordinate with this program?
We have several language arts programs that coordinate with our American Crossing program. “LA 4,” “LA 5,” and “LA 6” have a reader set right at their respective grade levels to enable students to experience comfortable reading growth. They also include creative writing suggestions for your student to complete that coordinate with their main study. You can link to any of these programs in the section above these questions.