| Craft Projects |
| Many of the crafts for the Josefina unit can be found in the Josefina Craft book. |
 Serape - This was a great craft for our homeschool group. We had 2nd–6th graders, both boys and girls. Each one was unique. We chose to make the serape. If you are interested in the shawl or sash, directions for these can be found in the craft book for Josefina. (See the Coordinating Books and History Curriculum section) To make the serape, simply have your child hold their arms out straight. Measure the length from one wrist to the other. This is how big your cut of fabric will be. You could certainly make the sleeves shorter if you preferred by not measuring all the way to the wrists. Keep in mind that even if you measure to the wrist, the sleeves will not end up being that long when they let their arms down. Choose a fleece fabric and purchase in the length measured. When home, fold the fleece in half with right sides together. The fold will be where you eventually cut the hole for the head. Pin the sides, leaving approximately ten inches near the fold on both sides—these will become the arm holes—don’t pin or sew these spaces. Next, stitch up both sides with a simple stitch, leaving about 5/8 inch margin. Last, cut a boat neck hole at the fold; make sure to measure well so your hole is in the center of your serape. Our kids wore theirs all the time—a great project!
Serape |
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 Stamped Leather Kit - This is another fun project. With a few pieces of prepared leather, some leather stamps, and a mallet, your child can make a unique and personal piece of art. Below are links to some kits, both for a class and for individuals. Be sure to check out the link for Cub Scout leather stamps. Also, ebay is a great place to find unique stamps. |
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Leather Kit |
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Leather Stamps |
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 Many scout supplies to choose from.
Scout Stamp Supplies |
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 Information for making the moccasins with felt and the corn husk dolls with real husks can be found in the craft book for Josefina. For something a little more authentic, you can purchase a moccasin kit. Also, we were unable to find real corn husks but instead used a raffia paper product. This is paper raffia that is twisted very tightly. If you untwist it, it will be about the width of a corn husk. This worked out even better, as the price was great and I was able to select different colors to better represent the skin tones of my children.
Moccasins and corn husk dolls |
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Information for making the coil pot can be found in the craft book for Josefina. My older children were able to do the weaving loom much easier than my younger children, however, all of them preferred the knitting hoop. Links for both can be found below.
Coil pot, weaving loom, knitting loom |
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Lap Loom |
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 This is a very simple and fun way to knit. You can even find free tutorials - if you need them on YouTube.
Knitting Hoop |
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| Drawing Books |
| These books are very helpful in teaching children how to draw. You do not need to be an artist to teach from these books. Additionally, I have found many uses for these books beyond the Girls of American History curriculum. |
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 This complete set of eight books has been a wonderful resource for our family. We have used it with nearly every history curriculum over the years, as well as with many of our science curriculums. My children have often used it on their own as well. **This item is available on multiple websites for different prices - please see the links below.
Draw Write Now - Complete Set
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Draw Write Now - Complete Set |
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 Excellent resource includes instructions for drawing a lamb, horse and more animals. **This item is available on multiple websites at different prices - please see the links below.
Draw Write Now Book 1 |
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Draw Write Now Book 1 |
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 Excellent resource includes instructions for drawing Native American Indians, long houses, teepees, pottery, cradleboards, many animals and more. **This item is available on multiple websites at different prices - please see the links below.
Draw Write Now - Book 3 |
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Draw Write Now - Book 3 |
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 Book five includes pictures of Mount Vernon, George Washington, and “Don’t Tread on Me.” **This item is available on multiple websites at different prices - please see the links below.
Draw Write Now - Book 5 |
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Draw Write Now - Book 5 |
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| Coordinating Books and History Curriculum |
| These books are helpful if you want a deeper study into the history of early southwestern America. |
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 The History Pockets line of books is a wonderful resource. They fit very well with nearly any history you may be doing, as they cover a wide range of time periods. You can choose to only the parts that suit you or all of it. These are great for a wide age range of children. Supplementing the History Pockets with good non-fiction books makes for a wonderful history compliment to the Girls of American History curriculum. **This item is available on multiple websites at different prices - please see the links below.
History Pockets |
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History Pockets |
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 This teacher guide is now out of print. It is not necessary to have this guide for the use of Girls of American History. It does offer vocabulary suggestions, discussions questions and some compare and contrast questions. These can often be found on ebay.com.
Josefina Teacher Guide |
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 This is an excellent resource to go along with the Girls of American History curriculum. This book is no longer in print, but can be found on ebay.com
Josefina Craft Book |
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 This is an excellent resource to go along with the Girls of American History curriculum. This book is no longer in print, but can be found on ebay.com
Josefina Cook Book |
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 A fantastic lapbooking curriculum full of history. This is an excellent resource to learn more about the early 19th century time period.
Time Traveler's History - Early 19th Century |
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 This book series is wonderful and spreads the course of many historic events. Pictures shown are examples and may not coordinate with the specific timeline of this unit. Daughters of Faith series. This is an excellent series of books based on the lives of real historical young women. Highly recommended.
Daughter's of Faith Series |
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 Also available on Kindle or ebook.
Daughters of Faith Series |
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 This book series is wonderful and spreads the course of many historic events. Pictures shown are examples and may not coordinate with the specific timeline of this unit. The American Adventure series is an excellent series of historical fiction. Although fiction, it captures historical events and time periods well and in an exciting and entertaining way.
American Adventure Series |
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 This book series is wonderful and spreads the course of many historic events. Pictures shown are examples and may not coordinate with the specific timeline of this unit. The My America an excellent series of historical fiction. These books are written for ages as young as seven year old. The font is bigger and there are far less pages than some of the other series below. **This item is available on multiple websites at different prices - please see the links below.
My America Series |
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My America Series |
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 This book series is wonderful and spreads the course of many historic events. Pictures shown are examples and may not coordinate with the specific timeline of this unit. The Dear America series can be called an “older sister” to the My America books. These books are also very well written, educational and entertaining. Suggested for children nine years old and older.
Dear America Series |
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 This book series is wonderful and spreads the course of many historic events. Pictures shown are examples and may not coordinate with the specific timeline of this unit. The My Name is America ca be called an “older brother” to the My America books. These books are written from the perspective of a boy during the specified time period. Also entertaining and educational. Suggested for children nine years old and older.
My Name is America Series |
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 Several Excellent Books about the Alamo.
Books about the Alamo |
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 Great book and series.
The Battle of the Alamo |
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The Battle of the Alamo - A Graphic Story of the American West |
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| Field Trips |
| This is by no means an exhaustive list. Please take the time to search your area for places that fit the study and would appeal to your children. The list below indicates field trip suggestions that can be done in any part of our country (some longer driving may be required), as well as field trips listed by area, if I have first-hand knowledge of great field trip locations. If you have a suggestion you would like to share, please send me an email. |
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 Go horseback riding as a family or with your school group.
Anywhere in the US - Horseback Riding |
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Another fun field trip would be to visit a place where you can make your own clay pottery. If your children are too young for that, you could visit a paint your own pottery shop.
Make Your Own or Paint Your Own Pottery |
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| Education Vacations and Day Trips |
| US: If you don’t live in the southwest, you might consider an education vacation. The below mentioned attractions are only a handful of what is available. |
 Visit the Alamo
Southwest US - The Alamo |
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 Here you can visit many museums, take tours, take in the history and enjoy the cuisine.
Old Town Albuquerque |
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 El Rancho de Las Golondrinas living museum
El Rancho de Las Golondrinas |
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 A very affordable nature center with regular activities.
Friends of the Rio Grande Nature Center |
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 Enjoy hands on tours, museums and more.
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center |
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| Josefina Books |
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 Josefina set of six readers, required for the Girls of American History curriculum. These books can also be found often at used book stores, your local library and ebay.com.
Set of Six Josefina Readers |
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 Repackaged from the original set of six books. The first book is a combination of the first three books, book two is a combination of books 4-6, and the last book in this new set is a fun reading, "choose your own adventure" book.
Josefina Beforever Book set |
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 This book is filled with historic information about the Southwestern United States during the time of the early 19th century; how people dressed, what they wore, what they ate, how they played and so much more. Truly an excellent resource, and strongly suggested for the Girls of American History curriculum. These books are often found on ebay.com.
Welcome to Josefina's World |
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 This book is not required for the curriculum. This is an additional book filled with several related short stories about Josefina.
Josefina's Short Story Collection |
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 This book is not required for the curriculum. This is an additional reading book, meant for pleasure reading. This mystery book is meant for the 4th-6th grade reading level.
Josefina Mystery - Secrets in the Hills |
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Josefina Mystery - Secrets in the Hills |
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 Josefina mini doll and book.
Josefina Mini Doll and Book Set |
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 This kit invites girls to have fun with Southwestern fashions from the 1820s. The Josefina paper doll comes with 11 beautiful outfits and 73 accessories, plus a paper doll of Josefina's sister Clara. The kit opens up into two pretty scenes. Girls can decorate them with punch-out houswares, furniture, and even animals for the courtyard. All clothing and décor attaches with reusable sticky dots, so girls can recreate scenes again and again. They can choose a story starter card to act out a scene inspired by Josefina's books - or dream up their own adventures for Josefina and Clara
Josefina Play Scenes and Paper Dolls |
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Beforever Josefina Doll and Book |
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Josefina Magnetic Mini World |
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 Includes Craft, cook, theater and paper doll books.
Josefina Pastimes Book Set |
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| Lapbook Templates |
| Lapbooking can be an excellent way for children to use multisensory techniques to further comprehend their reading. |
Free American Girl lapbook templates on homeschoolshare.com
Free Lapbook Resources |
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Additional Lapbook Resoucres and Information |
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Additional Lapbook Resoucres and Information |
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 Lapbook template available in ebook format, printed or CD
Knowledge Box Central |
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