History Unboxed: Explorer Unboxed Review
We were recently given the privilege of reviewing two of History Unboxed curriculum boxes, the Explorer Unboxed and the Powtan Unboxed from the American History Curriculum.
I really appreciate the knowledge and depth that this company showcases. Teaching history can often times fall flat, with an endless amount of names and dates. Facts can fall by the wayside in a way that doesn’t allow for conceptional understanding. For children, and honestly, some adults, history can feel dull and boring. In addition to all of this, the history some are given is often misconceptions, inaccurate, or single sided.
History unboxed addresses these issues in an authentic and engaging way. The team behind History Unboxed has classroom, homeschool, co-op experience. The boxes are designed in such a way that they are engaging for children’s in the different age groups they target. Through unique, hands on lessons, relevant crafts and activities, and engaging stories, History Unboxed takes the unit and brings the past to life.
One big area I work hard in my homeschool curriculum is providing my daughter with an accurate balanced history. We do not uphold historical figures and place them on a pedestal. I believe it is better to give facts and accurate information and allow my daughter to form opinions as she gets older. For this reason, balancing our units with own voice stories and tales fro all sides is important to us. In the explorer box, I was impressed that History Unboxed did not give a watered down version of Columbus or other explorers. They presented facts about the treatment of the Taino people as well as how they were kidnapped and forced into slavery. The Explorer Box also discusses they idea that Columbus “discovered” North America by bringing up the points that there were already millions of indigenous people living in North America, as well as the fact that Lief Erikson made contact with North America years before and there is evidence that the Vikings established settlements in North America in the 10th century. We appreciated learning about the Columbian Exchange, both the benefits and downfall of the European bringing diseases to the native people.
The hands on activities related well to what we are learning about with explorers. The lesson book included information about life on the ships as well as a hardtack recipe, compass activity, and knot tying game. My daughter and I had several conversations about what we thought life could have been like onboard the ship and how hard if would have been to sail for so long with no knowledge of where you would ultimately end up.
The Explorer Box came with the following resources:
A letter to students from Ava
A parent/educator letter
A comic and coloring sheet
A lesson booklet with activities and extended reading
A compass to accompany the compass activity
A knot tying game
A deck of 15th century playing cards
A pack of freeze dried bananas
We found the History Unboxed Explorer Box to be an enriching and engaging way to learn about some of the explorers and the age of exploration. Their American History curriculum begins in the Kingdom of Mali and learning about Mansa Musa as a way to bridge African, American, and Native American cultures. I’m very impressed with the content and quality of History Unboxed and we look forward to adding more boxes to our homeschool curriculum.
*We were gifted an Explorers Box for this post but all opinions are our own.
