Guest Hollow’s Jr. Early American History

Guest Hollow’s Jr. Early American History Curriculum is PACKED full of great books, videos, hands-on activities, recipes, and more to make early American history come alive for students! Our curriculum is designed to engage and inform in a way to help students retain and enjoy what they are learning.

Guest Hollow’s Jr. Early American History Curriculum (grades 4-8) tracks with our Little Kids’ Early American History Curriculum (grades K-3), and our High School Early American History Curriculum, so you can learn family-style, if you wish! We have a bundle where you can save 15% on all 3 levels!

Prerequisites: None
Approximate Daily Time Commitment:
1 hour depending on activities that are chosen

*Access to the online version of Guest Hollow’s Jr. Early American History Curriculum schedule is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed due to various potential circumstances.

I’d like to see the book & resource list!

Click here to see the required books and resources for Guest Hollow’s Jr. Early American History Curriculum.

Why choose Guest Hollow’s Jr. Early American History Curriculum?

Homeschooling with Guest Hollow’s Jr. Early American History is rich, fun, and flexible!

Students get to immerse themselves in terrific books and videos while also having access to a buffet of activities like historic recipes, maps, an optional Minecraft assignment, printables, language arts related assignments, art, crafts, and optional science activities that relate to some of the weekly topics or events.

We’ve put together an exciting year for ALL types of learners. Our customizable schedule makes it so you can plan with your student’s needs in mind. You aren’t stuck with just one way of learning history. You and your student will love the choices and the ability to focus on what is most appealing and/or important to your family.

Have fun learning history!

Guest Hollow’s Jr. Early American History Curriculum brings history to life!

Engaging Books & Materials

We’ve hand-picked books your students will love.

Our early American curriculum schedules in fiction and non-fiction books that will ignite your student’s love for history.

Free History Videos

Videos add a visual and sometimes musical component.

We scour YouTube to find the best educational videos to make history something to actually see & hear and not just read about.

Fun History Projects

We work hard to engage ALL types of learners.

You’ll find a buffet of projects and hands-on activities you can pick-and-choose from to help your students retain what they are learning like recipes, projects, art, games, and more!

Love Learning

Students and parents love Guest Hollow!

Our customers have shared over and over how Guest Hollow curricula has changed their homeschool and sparked a love for learning!

Click here to go to Beowulf’s Big Book of Early American History product page to see samples!

The curriculum comes with a textbook!

You get a beautiful 400+ page book in PDF format with your purchase of the curriculum: Beowulf’s Big Book of Early American History.

After your purchase, you can find it in your downloads. The textbook is used as a *spine book for the curriculum. *A spine book is used as a launching point (or backbone) for your studies.

Read about early American history in this fantastic and lavishly illustrated book full of true stories. There are tons of full-color photos, illustrations, cartoons, maps, and even some recipes, music, and poetry that help make history come to life! Greek and Latin roots help explain vocabulary in the text right as you read.

Beowulf makes history understandable, memorable, and fun!

Does this curriculum come with ____________?

✘ books?
No, you need to purchase the other scheduled history books separately. Learn more.
However, you do get access to a beautiful 400+ page PDF format textbook at no additional cost!

☑ a printable book list?
Yes. We provide a book list with a handy checklist to help you plan what you want to buy or borrow and in what format. We also let you know when each book is scheduled in, so you can arrange to check out books from the library before you need them!

☑ a schedule?
Yes. You get the same weekly schedule in 3 different formats: PDF, Microsoft Word, and online*. Just open it up and you are ready to learn!
*Access to the online version of the curriculum schedule is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed due to various potential circumstances on our end and yours including but not limited to various computer, device, and internet configurations.

☑ a supply list?
Yes. Recipe ingredients, art supplies, and more are listed at the beginning of your schedule week-by-week.

✘ a teacher’s manual?
No. The history schedule is all you need! There are some notes for the teacher included in the schedule.

tests?
No. There are no tests with this curriculum.

✘ a workbook?
No. However, there are lots of printables linked in the schedule in lieu of a workbook.

Click or tap to see a sample!

Take a look at a sample week from the online version of the schedule here. 

Take a look at a sample of the printable schedule here:

Download

Want to know how to use the Guest Hollow PDF Schedule or the editable Microsoft version of our schedule? Go here! (This page gives lots of insight as to how our schedules work!)

Have a question about printing your Guest Hollow schedule and materials? We cover that, too!

F.A.Q. for our Jr. Early American History Curriculum

Which level should I choose: the Little Kids’ level, the Jr. level, or the high school level? How do I use this with different ages?

This curriculum can be used for grades 4-8, although it may also be appropriate for some mature 3rd graders.

It may be more appropriate for SOME 8th graders to use our high school level with the middle school adaptations we suggest. Those suggestions can be found in the beginning of the printable high school level schedule. You should look at the booklists for both levels to judge which fits your student’s reading ability, time commitments, etc.

Another option for an 8th grader is to use the high school level BUT replace that level’s spine book (A Patriot’s History) with Beowulf’s Big Book of Early American History.

Crafty kids will appreciate the fact that the Jr. Early American History Curriculum has a LOT more crafts, art, and hands-on activity options than the high school level.

The easiest way to choose which level is to look at the booklists for the levels you are trying to decide between and see which books are most appropriate for your student. Please click on the following links to compare the booklists:

Little Kids’ Early American History Book and Resource List

Jr. Early American History Book and Resource List

High School Early American History Book and Resources List

Also, here are some differences between the Little Kids’ level and the Jr. level:

Little Kids’ (grades K-3) Level	Jr. Level (grades 4-8)
Easy crafts and hands-on projects are scheduled. There are project choices included that are more appropriate for younger children with less motor skills.	Crafts and projects may require more skill to make.
Easy readers are scheduled in to give young students optional reading practice.	Chapter books, graphic novels, and other longer books are included for the students to read.
The content is more gentle (with a few noted exceptions).	There may be more difficult topics mentioned in the content, such as more ‘conflict/violence’, etc.
Beowulf’s Early American History Adventure and Activity Book has been specifically tailored to be a gentle, easy read. The text is simple enough to be read by confident young readers (or read aloud by a parent). It is read once a week and has activities this age group enjoys such as easy drawing lessons, simple cut and paste crafts, mazes, dot-to-dots, simple writing (or telling) assignments, and coloring pages. The graphics are very kid-friendly.	The book for this level is Beowulf’s Big Book of Early American History. It is a 400+ page book with longer text that is read (sometimes) multiple times a week. There are no activities in it. It is lavishly illustrated but uses more period piece paintings, real photographs, more detailed maps, etc.
The videos are generally for the younger crowd: silly songs, simpler and shorter explanations, cartoons, etc. There are also fewer videos overall.	The videos are more appropriate for older kids. They may contain reenactment violence, etc.

Younger grades may need more parental involvement. You may also wish to read some of the books out loud or use audiobooks, especially for reluctant readers.

If you have any questions about placement after looking at the 3 booklists, you can always post on our Facebook History Curriculum page.

We strongly suggest that you view every item linked or used in this curriculum to make sure it meets with your approval.

Can you use Jr. Early American History with the other 2 levels (to learn family-style)?

Yes! They are designed to track together and cover similar topics and/or time periods during the same weeks. We call this teaching ‘family style’ or ‘multi-level’ teaching. When you start both curriculums at the same time topics will be presented in the same weeks. We also offer a bundle discount if you want to purchase all three curriculums at the same time.

You can see how the levels track together with the following chart.

Please note that every single topic, event, and person is NOT listed in the chart below. These are just VERY general topics for each week (that barely scratch the surface). These are very rich curriculums, and it would be difficult to list all the people and events that are covered. When it comes to the Jr. and High School levels (especially the High School level), if you don’t see something that is commonly taught in U.S. history mentioned in the chart, it’s still likely covered. ?
Some topics span across multiple weeks and that is not reflected in this chart (slavery, Native American studies/issues, etc.)

Note: There are a few sections in the high school level that don’t match the other two levels perfectly (like a book about the Alamo) due to timing differences in the spine book. The 3 levels still track as far as the main time period when this occurs.

Science topics in the Little Kids’ and Jr. levels are not listed here. See the individual curriculum product page FAQs for those topics.

	Little Kids’ Early American History Curriculum (grades K-3)	Jr. Early American History Curriculum (grades 4-8)	High School Early American History Curriculum (grades 9-12)
Week 1	Leif Erikson, early America	American before the Europeans, the Age of Discovery, Leif Erikson Native Americans are studied throughout weeks 1-14.	European discovery, exploration, and early colonies
Week 2	Columbus and European discovery	European discovery of America, Columbus and other early explorers including Spanish exploration	European discovery, exploration, and early colonies
Week 3	The mystery of Roanoke Colony, more discovery and exploration	The first English and French settlements, Roanoke Colony, Jamestown, the Iroquois	European discovery, exploration, and early colonies, Roanoke Colony
Week 4	Pilgrims in England and Holland, Pocohontas and Jamestown Colony	Jamestown and other early settlements, the Mayflower and the Pilgrims	Jamestown and other colonies, the Mayflower and the Pilgrims
Week 5	Pilgrims and the Mayflower, the Tulip Bubble in Holland	More colonies are planted, more about the Pilgrims	More colonies, Salem Witch Trials
Week 6	The first Thanksgiving, Squanto, life in the Plymouth Colony	William Penn, Salem Witch Trials, more colonies, Mary Jemison, King Phillip’s War, Bacon’s Rebellion	William Penn, Salem Witch Trials cont., more about the colonies
Week 7	The French and Indian War, Benjamin Banneker, stories set during this time	Pirates, more about the colonies, the French and Indian War. Benjamin Banneker	The French and Indian War
Week 8	Life during colonial times, Stamp Act (taxes) and the Boston Massacre (sanitized), Benjamin Franklin and his amazing inventions	The French and Indian War, Stamp Act, Boston Massacre	Stamp Act, Boston Massacre, Alexander Hamilton
Week 9	Benjamin West, Paul Revere, life during the American Revolution, Boston Tea Party	Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere, the beginning of the Revolution	Boston Tea Party and the beginning of the Revolution, frontier life
Week 10	The Declaration of Independence, John Hancock, John Adams, life during the American Revolution	The Declaration of Independence, the Revolution	The Revolution
Week 11	Samuel Adams, life during the American Revolution, horses as a mode of transportation	More about the Revolution, Lafayette, Benedict Arnold	The Revolution, Lafayette, Benedict Arnold
Week 12	George Washington, a new nation	The end of the American Revolution, Noah Webster, Justin Morgan and his horse, a new nation	A new nation, slavery, Articles of Confederation
Week 13	The Constitution	The Constitution	The Constitution, Northwest Ordinance, etc.
Week 14	Daniel Boone and the wilderness, Alexander Hamilton	George Washington, Northwest Ordinance, Alexander Hamilton	Ratification, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton
Week 15	Johnny Appleseed, Daniel Boone	Daniel Boone, Westward movement, yellow fever in America, pioneers, issues of the new nation	Issues of the new nation
Week 16	Sacagawea	Dolly Madison, John Adams, pioneers, Jay’s Treaty	John Adams, Jay’s Treaty, issues of the new nation
Week 17	The Lewis and Clark Expedition	The US expands, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Sacagawea	The US expands, the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Week 18	The War of 1812 and the Star-Spangled Banner, Thomas Jefferson	The War of 1812, Thomas Jefferson, Madison	The War of 1812, Madison
Week 19	Pioneer life	Tecumseh, Santa Fe Trail	Various events and politics of the nation
Week 20	A story set in Vermont in the 1830s, Davy Crockett	Monroe, Missouri Compromise, Osceola, Santa Fe Trail	Monroe, Missouri Compromise, Santa Fe Trail, various issues of the nation, Erie Canal
Week 21	The Alamo and Texas	Adams, Andrew Jackson, the Alamo, Erie Canal	Adams, Andrew Jackson, Texas
Week 22	A story about Swedish immigrants, Samuel Morse	Van Buren, Samuel Morse, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Donner Party	Van Buren, 2nd Great Awakening, Misc. topics about the nation and life during this time
Week 23	The Oregon Trail, the Gold Rush, Chinese immigrants during the Gold Rush	Gold Rush, Oregon, California	Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Oregon, California, Gold Rush
Week 24	Frederick Douglas, bison	Frederick Douglass, Bison, life on the prairie	Alamo, late Antebellum Period
Week 25	Buffalo Bill, The Pony Express	Pierce, Buchanan, the beginning of the Civil War, the Pony Express	Pierce, Buchanan, late Antebellum Period, Donner Party, Andrew Carnagie
Week 26	Abraham Lincoln, the Underground Railroad	The Underground Railroad, John Lincoln Clem, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln	The Underground Railroad, heading toward the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln
Week 27	The Civil War, Clara Barton	Clara Barton, more about the Civil War	The Civil War
Week 28	The Civil War, the tall tale of Paul Bunyan, a story of a slave who joined the Union Army	Gettysburg, Ironclads, the Civil War	Gettysburg, Ironclads, the Civil War
Week 29	Cyanotypes, a story European immigrants	Homestead Act, the end of the Civil War, Lincoln’s assassination	The End of the Civil War, Lincoln’s assassination
Week 30	Moving out west (westward expansion), cowboys	Reconstruction, Johnson, P.T. Barnum, John Wesley Powell, black heroes of the wild west, cowboys	Reconstruction, Johnson
Week 31	Little House in the Big Woods, Transcontinental Railroad, Chinese immigrants working on the railroad	Grant, Farmer Boy or Little House on the Prairie, The Great Chicago Fire, Transcontinental Railroad, chinese immigrants, Cochise	Reconstruction, Transcontinental Railroad, Grant
Week 32	Little House in the Big Woods, the Homestead Act, pioneers raised chickens	Hayes, Nez Perce, Levi Strauss, homesteading, Farmer Boy or Little House on the Prairie	Hayes, Pony Express, life in the American west
Week 33	Little House in the Big Woods, Thomas Edison	Sitting Bull, Farmer Boy or Little House on the Prairie, Chinese Exclusion Act, Garfield, Cleveland, Harrison	Indian related issues and conflict, Hawaii added as a state, Union response to Chinese
Week 34	The story of Princes Ka’iulani and Hawaii became a state, the Blizzard of 1888	Hawaii, the Blizzard of 1888, life on the prairie in the late 1800s	Life after Reconstruction, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, industry
Week 35	Life on the Prairie in the late 1800s, Helen Keller	McKinley and the Spanish American War, Hellen Keller	The Gilded age
Week 36	The Statue of Liberty, a story that shows how things changed from 1710 to 1810 to 1910 to modern days	Life in the late 1800s, near the turn of the century	Cleveland, moving toward a modern America

What topics are covered? Do you have a scope and sequence?

We don’t have a scope and sequence written up, but you can get an idea of many of the topics covered in Jr. Early American History by looking at the curriculum booklist and looking at the table of contents for Beowulf’s Big Book of Early American History. The following chart may also be helpful:

Here is a chart that roughly matches the main topics for each week. Not every single topic is listed. These are just general topics for each week (that barely scratch the surface).
Please note that the related science topics may be as simple as a single video or more involved like a book and/or activities.

Week 1	American before the Europeans, the Age of Discovery, Leif Erikson Science related to the history topics this week: How to make a compass, walruses, glaciers, sunstones
Week 2	European discovery of America, Columbus and other early explorers including Spanish exploration Science related to the history topics this week: Cod, Eratosthenes and the circumference of the globe, ocean in a bottle experiment, coral reefs
Week 3	The first English and French settlements, Roanoke Colony, Jamestown, the Iroquois Science related to the history topics this week: The uses of corn by the Iroquois, the Columbian Exchange, trade winds, whales
Week 4	Jamestown and other early settlements, the Mayflower and the Pilgrims Science related to the history topics this week: malaria, why we can’t drink ocean water
Week 5	More colonies are planted, more about the Pilgrims
Week 6	William Penn, Salem Witch Trials, more colonies, Mary Jemison, King Phillip’s War, Bacon’s Rebellion Science related to the history topics this week: how indigo is grown and processed
Week 7	Pirates, more about the colonies, the French and Indian War, Benjamin Banneker
Week 8	The French and Indian War, Stamp Act, Boston Massacre Science related to the history topics this week: Leyden jar
Week 9	Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere, the beginning of the Revolution Science related to the history topics this week: Tea
Week 10	The Declaration of Independence, the Revolution Science related to the history topics this week: Creating invisible ink, hygiene in the 18th century
Week 11	More about the Revolution, Lafayette, Benedict Arnold
Week 12	The end of the American Revolution, Noah Webster, Justin Morgan and his horse, a new nation Science related to the history topics this week: Colonial healthcare
Week 13	The Constitution Science related to the history topics this week: Using herbs as dye
Week 14	George Washington, Northwest Ordinance, Alexander Hamilton Science related to one of the history topics this week: maple syrup
Week 15	Daniel Boone, Westward movement, pioneers, issues of the new nation Science related to some of the history topics this week: The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, grow a potato plant experiment, how to estimate measurements without a ruler, using the 3 sisters method to plant corn, beans, and squash
Week 16	Dolly Madison, John Adams, pioneers, Jay’s Treaty Science related to some of the history topics this week: The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, bees, how cheese is made
Week 17	The US expands, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Sacagawea Science related to one of the history topics this week: The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, mosquitos, epilepsy, the Newfoundland dog
Week 18	The War of 1812, Thomas Jefferson, Madison
Week 19	Tecumseh, Santa Fe Trail
Week 20	Monroe, Missouri Compromise, Osceola Science related to the history topics this week: Great Salt Lake
Week 21	Adams, Andrew Jackson, the Alamo, Erie Canal Science related to the history topics this week: How was soap invented?
Week 22	Van Buren, Samuel Morse, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Donner Party Science related to the history topics this week: How to make bread with no yeast, invention of the telegraph, how to tell time without a watch
Week 23	Gold Rush, the Oregon Trail, California Science related to the history topics this week: Panning for gold science experiment, How is gold different from pyrite?, animals on the Oregon Trail
Week 24	Frederick Douglass, Bison, life on the prairie Science related to the history topics this week: bison
Week 25	Pierce, Buchanan, the beginning of the Civil War, the Pony Express
Week 26	The Underground Railroad, John Lincoln Clem, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln
Week 27	Clara Barton, more about the Civil War Science related to one of the history topics this week: cotton
Week 28	Gettysburg, Ironclads, the Civil War Science related to the history topics this week: Make a pinhole camera, light, tintype photography
Week 29	Homestead Act, the end of the Civil War, Lincoln’s assassination
Week 30	Reconstruction, Johnson, P.T. Barnum, John Wesley Powell, black heroes of the wild west, cowboys Science related to the history topics this week: tin can and string “telephone” to see how sound traveled over the Transatlantic cable
Week 31	Grant, Farmer Boy or Little House on the Prairie, The Great Chicago Fire, Transcontinental Railroad, chinese immigrants, Cochise, Custer
Week 32	Hayes, Nez Perce, Levi Strauss, homesteading, Farmer Boy or Little House on the Prairie
Week 33	Sitting Bull, Farmer Boy or Little House on the Prairie, Chinese Exclusion Act, Garfield, Cleveland, Harrison
Week 34	Hawaii, the Blizzard of 1888, life on the prairie in the late 1800s Science related to the history topics this week: Make frost in a jar, ice experiments
Week 35	McKinley and the Spanish American War, Hellen Keller
Week 36	Life in the late 1800s, near the turn of the century

How many weeks are in this curriculum?

There are 36 weeks in this curriculum.

How long do I get access to the material I purchased?

You can keep your files forever, if you save your initial download!

Once you’ve downloaded the schedule to your computer or device, you are licensed to use the downloaded copy forever. Make sure you download, save, and back up your items immediately after your purchase! You can click directly on the links in the schedule from a computer or other device and can use your materials with younger students years later.

2 Years to Access Additional Downloads & the Online Schedule*

Additional downloads (after your initial purchase) and access to the online version of the schedule are provided as a courtesy and are not guaranteed due to various potential technical and business (and life!) circumstances. It is our intention to continue to provide access for a period of 2 years from the date of purchase. After the 2-year period, you will have the opportunity to repurchase your access at a substantial discount.

Please note, if you have problems, we have a liberal policy of providing extra, free access for unusual circumstances (at our discretion). Just contact us: guesthollow@memorableplaces.com.

*Access to the online version of the curriculum schedules and additional downloads is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed due to potential various circumstances on our end and yours including but not limited to various computer, device, and internet configurations.

Will you accept a purchase order from a charter school?

Yes, on a case-by-case basis depending on the amount of paperwork they require and the bureaucracy that needs to be navigated. 😉

Can I resell, share, or redistribute my Guest Hollow purchase(s)?

No, you may NOT resell, share, or distribute any of Guest Hollow’s digital products (or printed out copies of our digital products) which includes but is not limited to schedules, workbooks, printables, and other materials.

Our materials are licensed for a single family’s use only. You may print out as many copies as you reasonably need for siblings or others living in your home.

Please contact us if you wish to use our materials in a co-op or school: guesthollow@memorableplaces.com.

Can I use Guest Hollow materials in a co-op or school?

Yes. Every family in a co-op needs to purchase a copy of our materials (one item per family). We offer a co-op discount. Contact us for information about the discount.

Schools need to contact us for school pricing and payment options.

Contact us at: guesthollow@memorableplaces.com.

Can I buy a physical copy of this curriculum?

No. We only offer a digital version at this time. You can print out your materials at home or have them printed via a printing service.

I have book and reading related questions: (reluctant readers, how to save money on book purchases, Do I need to use all the books?, etc.)

Please see the F.A.Q. on the Jr. Early American History Book and Resource List page.

Is this curriculum Christian or secular?

We are Christians, but Guest Hollow’s Jr. Early American History Curriculum is not intended to be a “Christian resource”. However, there may be infrequent (or what we consider to be) minor references, notes, or links to resources that mention Christian ideas, values, or sectarian topics even in our secular/non-religious/neutral curriculums.

All the books scheduled in Guest Hollow’s Jr. Early American History Curriculum are secular. If you want some Christian books to sub in or add, you can always check out the Big Bad Beautiful Booklist -History Edition for ideas!

Christians and non-Christians should preview the scheduled books and all other resources such as videos, etc. to make sure they are compatible with your beliefs, philosophies, and values.

After I purchased my curriculum, I noticed that it’s now discounted 50%. What’s the deal with that?

After purchasing a curriculum, you’ll see that the item you just bought shows that it is discounted 50% in our store. The reason you are seeing this is because we give you the opportunity to repurchase the schedule and your downloads at a substantial discount before they expire (2 years from date of purchase).

Please note: You do NOT need to repurchase your schedule in order to use the files you originally purchased and downloaded. You can use your downloaded schedule forever and can click on the links just as you can the online version of the schedule. You just won’t have access to any updates after your online access expires.

Why does access expire? Every year we go through all our curriculum schedules and update broken links and/or replace books that have gone out of print. This is a very time-intensive process that keeps our curricula up-to-date. Your repurchase helps fund this process and provides you with a schedule that has all the new additions or changes.

You need to repurchase your access BEFORE it expires in order to get the 50% discount due to the way our “membership” software works. If for some reason you miss the deadline, let us know why. We may give you a coupon code for the 50% off at our discretion.

*It is our intention to provide access for a period of 2 years, however, access to the online version of the curriculum schedules and additional downloads is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed due to potential various circumstances on our end and yours including but not limited to various computer, device, and internet configurations.

I have another question…

We are happy to answer your questions!!! Just email us at: guesthollow@memorableplaces.com

You’re invited!

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