Homeschooling Notes: Folk Tales

Teaching Paul Bunyan, John Henry, and Fearsome Critters

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I just finished teaching a course “American Folk Tales” at the Mountaineer Homeschool Hub. We mostly go there so my kids can meet other kids, and I volunteered to teach some courses to make sure we could get together some kids in their age range (4-7).

The class met for an hour on Friday for six weeks. The idea was that each day we’d cover a story or two then have a related activity.

In keeping with the spirit of folk tales, I never read them a story. I told the story, based on what I could remember, sometimes blending elements of different versions I’d read or adding my own details. For visuals I drew or taped pictures on a big easel pad and brought a map of the US.

For anyone interested in doing something along those lines, I’ll describe the topics and activities, with some resources for versions of the stories.