keptwoman Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 DS will be doing Logic stage Ancients this year. I was planning to use a spine with extra reading from TWTM and other sources. The spines I were looking at were K12's Human Odyssey or Oxford Ancient Worlds. OAW makes me drool, but the price, ouch! Then I was reading a thread about textbooks vs living books and it really crystalised what I am thinking. I know HO is a text, and I'm assuming OAW is too? Is that right? I just want my kids to love history, I want it to be enjoyable and engaging. I don't much care if we miss bits, or if they don't know how to use a history text, because this child is very unlikely to ever need academic history, and if they are engaged, they will dig deeper and understand better anyway. Does that make any sense? I'm sure they can learn outlining without making history a drudgery to do so. So how do YOU make history fun and engaging. What books, approaches, activities, writing etc do you require? DD is easy, SoTW1 with the AB, extra reading and activities. Goodness I love SoTW!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 My DS did ancients last Spring (I pulled him out of ps in January) for 5th grade. We got books from the library, listened to books on CD, watched documentaries, and he came up with several research topics for which he independently collected material and designed power point presentations. He read Famous Men of Greece and Famous Men of Rome, different retellings of classical mythology, and several non-fiction books on Roman topics. He liked the following series of documentaries: Greeks: Crucible of Civilization, PBS Empires: The Roman Empire in The First Century, The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire series PBS Empires: Egypt’s Golden Empire (pts 1-3) The Rise and Fall of Sparta the last stand of the 300 We all do not like crafts projects or building models and this kind of stuff. His first project was a presentation about the battle of Thermopylae; is was fascinated by ancient military strategy. He learned a lot, I allowed him to completely follow his interests within the framework of ancient history, and he loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommybostic Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I just started homeschooling my son on Monday. We were doing some afterschooling before that. We are using SoTW1 also, along with Usborne's Internet Linked Encyclopedia of World History. It is an expensive book, but I bought mine second-hand on Amazon. I also use the Activity Book that is available from Peace Hill Press. It has some neat ideas. We also have the tests. (My son likes to have some sort of "grade," so the tests provide this for him.) Have you looked at the Activity Book? You can make a chicken mummy, and we did cave paintings on large sheets of brown paper with our very first lesson. Because we just started the homeschooling experience, I'm not adding a bunch of extra reading just yet. If there is some subject that he turns out to be very interested in pursuing, we will add extra reading for that. He loves the Usborne book. It has a lot of neat web sites to look at--virutal museums, etc. He also really likes the map work, but that may just be him. He likes to plot the places on his map, and then we talk about the areas have changed in modern times. As we go along, we will try to incorporate art and music. Yesterday we played outside for PE and tried to make a lean-to shelter in the woods behind the house (like the nomads--this is in the activity book, too.) In short, I guess the sky is the limit! Perhaps I am at an advantage because my son loves history so much already, but because it is in story format, it can be made VERY interesting. I forsee myself learning just as much as my son! Good luck to you. I hope you find this subject to be as fun as we do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Well, there are textbooks and there are textbooks. :lol: I posted in that textbook vs living book thread about feeling the authors excitement about the subject. like being part of a conversation. I think i get that from OAW and Human Odyssey. You don't get it from Kingfisher or Usborne. I'm not sure this is quantifiable. :lol: We find K12 HO and OAW very readable, a narrative. I wouldn't say the same thing about Kingfisher, for example. What my son loves the most is for us to read K12HO together and discuss. It does seem like the author is talking to us. I suppose you could get individual living books on each topic but I find K12HO very convenient for them all being together in one source. Right now we're using Kingfisher for those bare bones facts to write down on a timeline and then K12HO to flesh it out more and practice outlining. WE do that together so I don't think it has ruined history for DS. He was complaining about history (as did my friend's DD) when they were just outlining, reading, writing on their own (History Odyssey) w/out that human discussion component. Folks talk about their DC mostly doing History Odyssey independently but that doesn't work for my child....he thrives on the interaction, the discussion, making connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I just started homeschooling my son on Monday. We were doing some afterschooling before that. OH Mommybostic!!!! CONGRATS!!!! :001_smile::001_smile::001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommybostic Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Also, we still do the outlining, the timeline, etc., before we do the fun activities, and lots, lots, lots of discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommybostic Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 OH Mommybostic!!!! CONGRATS!!!! :001_smile::001_smile::001_smile: I want to say it's been much easier than I thought, but that's not exactly what I mean. It's not EASY. It is just more possible than I ever thought, I guess you could say. His attitude is better than I thought it could be, and the day absolutely FLIES by. I was worried we would be trying to fill gaps--HA! We are running out of time! It's the best choice I have ever made--my only regret, as I have said many times, is that I was such a chicken for so long. Sorry--no more thread hijacking! Back to history! I don't think the Usborne would stand alone by any means--it is a great supplement. Some would probably say SoTW is too young for an alomost-eleven-year-old, but he likes it, and frankly, so do I! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Well, there are textbooks and there are textbooks. :lol: I posted in that textbook vs living book thread about feeling the authors excitement about the subject. like being part of a conversation. I think i get that from OAW and Human Odyssey. You don't get it from Kingfisher or Usborne. I'm not sure this is quantifiable. :lol: We find K12 HO and OAW very readable, a narrative. I wouldn't say the same thing about Kingfisher, for example. What my son loves the most is for us to read K12HO together and discuss. It does seem like the author is talking to us. I suppose you could get individual living books on each topic but I find K12HO very convenient for them all being together in one source. Right now we're using Kingfisher for those bare bones facts to write down on a timeline and then K12HO to flesh it out more and practice outlining. WE do that together so I don't think it has ruined history for DS. He was complaining about history (as did my friend's DD) when they were just outlining, reading, writing on their own (History Odyssey) w/out that human discussion component. Folks talk about their DC mostly doing History Odyssey independently but that doesn't work for my child....he thrives on the interaction, the discussion, making connections. argggghhh, I'm trying to talk myself OUT of OAW :lol: It's not working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommybostic Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 argggghhh, I'm trying to talk myself OUT of OAW :lol: It's not working. Can you find one used? I was skeptical about the Usborne book, but I saved a FORTUNE by buying a used one, and it's fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Congrats Mommybostic! I agree, SoTW is wonderful! This kid has already done it though, so I'm looking for the next thing as wonderful as SoTW, sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Can you find one used? I was skeptical about the Usborne book, but I saved a FORTUNE by buying a used one, and it's fine. I'm just looking at that, but I suspect the answer is no. And then, say I buy it and it does not thrill and engage DS. And in reading that will he have time to read all the other books I would like him to read?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I don't use texts or boxed curricula. I use a wide variety of books by single authors or small groups of authors and purposefully seek out differing voices to get different perspectives.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 I don't use texts or boxed curricula. I use a wide variety of books by single authors or small groups of authors and purposefully seek out differing voices to get different perspectives.... How do you go about finding them? Do you use the various reading lists (SL, AO, TWTM etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleopatra Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I'm using The Story of the Ancient World, part of the Guerber/Miller series. I find, for me, having a spine sorts out the timeline in my head, which helps me to teach my dd better. SOAW reads like a narrative and it is very engaging. I then add literature to this, trying to include good readable non-fiction but lots of fiction as well so my dd can get a feel for the era she is studying, ie. The Land of the Pharoahs, Famous Men of Greece & Rome, etc. ..... I also include biography pages, timeline, mapwork and as many projects as possible. So far this year she's excavated a tomb, embalmed a mummy, made papyrus ..... I get my literature from a few excellent lists: 1. Sonlight 2. Veritas Press 3. Classical Christian Homeschooling (1000 books list) 4. All Through the Ages - Christine Miller 5. WTM Before we start, I arrange the books chronologically so it is easy to match them to the period. Because my dd is grade 6, I have been getting her to write the occasional report. Usually if she's become interested in an historical person or period, she's happy to do it. But, like you, I want history to be fun and try to accomplish that as much as possible! It will be interesting to read what others are doing .... :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Togo Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Not trying to hijack the thread, but does anyone have suggestions for ancient history projects for older children, 8th grade? Dd is a hands-on person, but most project books seem to be geared for the elementary and middle school set. She's not a strong writer, so I don't want to drown her in writing; i.e. outlining, reports, narrations, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 This maybe a dumb question but did you check your library for OAW? My library has most of the volumes through interlibrary loan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I honestly love TWTM history. If my kids didn't read so slowly and so deeply I wouldn't have switched-but I switched to Ambleside--which is along the same lines as TWTM. If your kids can manage the reading load, I would stick with straight TWTM, it's pretty much darned near perfect. We've gotten the cities and cathedrals to cut out and build-definitely not a child's toy-it's precision cutting. Ancients--I'm forgetting exactly what we did in addition to the reading list. Apart from visiting museums, I can't remember exact projects right now but I'm zooped up on meds and lying in bed so perhaps I'll remember later. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avila Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Have you looked at Dorothy Mills' books? They are fairly secular and very engaging. They are narrative like SOTW, but they are more focused on social history, IMO. And they would be a lot cheaper than OAW. I do pull in the Kingfisher, Famous Men books, historical fiction, literature and biographies. I pull my extras in from Sonlight, WTM and Mother of Divine Grace reading lists, plus whatever cool stuff we find at the library. I have tried HO, but I end up tweaking it beyond recognition. :D And I like our history to be more story-oriented than straight WTM tends to be in the logic stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I don't think there is any need to buy all of the oxford books. First of all, you couldn't get through them all in a year. Each book has about 25 chapters. I am doing history a la WTM logic stage. I am also doing a parallel 'mythology' unit that runs roughly parallel to history. That allows my son do do all the 'fun' stuff he likes. Day 1: We use Kingfisher Book of the Ancient World for the list of 6 (or so) facts. These are written in sentence form. That is also when we find the place on the map and (if I get timeline together) when timeline happens Day 2: He reads corresponding chapter from "Human Odyssey" and writes a narration on a part he finds interesting. He usually rereads his list of facts from day 1 and finds something that corresponds. That allows him to write about somthing he finds interesting. Sometimes we go to the library and are able to find a single topic book and use that instead. Day 3: He picks another section of Human Odyssey from the same chapter and he writes a one point outline. It needs to be about 6 paragraphs long. I sit with him while we do that. Along with that: his brother is in year 1 of SOTW. I try very hard to have them reading about the same thing in different books. It has been very easy, so far, with the Kingfisher book and Human Odyssey. That allows me to continue using the SOTW Activity Book. We do things I didn't do last time around and sometimes repete things that were a lot of fun. DS1 is very happy to do it with his little brother. Now, the Oxford books come in with our 'mythology' unit. We are doing deeper reading on Egypt, Old Testement, Greece and Rome. We spend 8-10 weeks on each. For that, we read the Oxford history books, as well as lots of other reading. He does more narration and outlining from these. It has it's own section in our history notebook. I only got the Oxford books on Egypt, Greece and Rome. It was much cheaper, lol. I decided it made more sense to get the books we really wanted and would really use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 When I first started homeschooling, I pored over every homeschool catalog I could get my hands on. I searched for library lists and archived lists online, etc. I talked to people and jotted down book suggestions. My library had a terrific online catalog system for research and I was able to find tons of titles that I could use. I kept lists that I used with my older son so that I could look over them, cull, cut, and use at least some again with my younger son. And I still attempt to research as much as I can. Online has gotten better. My library has installed a worthless system, making research there almost impossible now.... I also love to shop bookstores. I used to never pass up a discount bookstore, library sale, etc. If I see books at a yard sale, I stop. So I also collected quite a few books at home, most of which I was able to buy at discount. I keep those organized by subject so that I can pull them whenever I'm ready to cover that subject again.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 My son is reading SOTW on his own. I do read from our history encyclopedias, so I do use "spines" to introduce a history topic, timeline, etc. (and we keep a timeline, too). So I don't mean to be misleading, but what I meant was that I've never used a textbook such as you'd see used in public school and I've never used one of the big history programs that are often spoken of here such as MFW, MOH, etc., etc.... I do use a lot of the WTM recs for doing mapwork, reports, outlining, etc., but I don't strictly follow the SOTW activity guide and never have. (I do use their book lists, though!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I've seen some absolutely beautiful lapbooks done by older children related to ancients' subjects and these help to break writing into manageable chunks.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 We have always used living books from the library and history is my kids' favorite subject. My ds went back to PS this year in 8th. This is the first year the ps kids have really had an actual history class. DS is the only kid who loves the class and is getting a 99 right now :) We used Trisms History Makers in 6/7th. Right now for ds13 (7th) we are using Trisms DAW (which is the ancients). I can't stand history textbooks - I have not seen them all, but the ones I've seen..... boooooring. Real books, historical fiction, PBS documentaries, History Channel shows, etc, etc.... it's been great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 This maybe a dumb question but did you check your library for OAW? My library has most of the volumes through interlibrary loan. Yes. Sadly as they are a US product, our libraries don't have them and if they did they would likely be reference section which is only marginally useful. I honestly love TWTM history. If my kids didn't read so slowly and so deeply I wouldn't have switched-but I switched to Ambleside--which is along the same lines as TWTM. If your kids can manage the reading load, I would stick with straight TWTM, it's pretty much darned near perfect. I had a good look at TWTM book list yesterday and SL and HO and a few others. It was interesting to note how often the TWTM booklist is reflected in the other ones. So I've bought Human Odyssey because I was able to get it cheap and they would post to Australia, and I've made a reading list that looks engaging and we will see how we go. I really want him to head off on bunny trails if he desires so I don't want to uber plan. I also like someones suggestion of getting the OAW books on the cultures we will spend more time on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamee Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Not trying to hijack the thread, but does anyone have suggestions for ancient history projects for older children, 8th grade? Dd is a hands-on person, but most project books seem to be geared for the elementary and middle school set. She's not a strong writer, so I don't want to drown her in writing; i.e. outlining, reports, narrations, etc. Don't know if this would suit your daughter, but my boys went crazy over it. I recently got them Art of the Catapult. Perhaps there is something in here that may interest her. I also have found these to be pretty good: Projects of Ancient China, Projects of Ancient Egypt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 Don't know if this would suit your daughter, but my boys went crazy over it. I recently got them Art of the Catapult. Perhaps there is something in here that may interest her. I also have found these to be pretty good: Projects of Ancient China, Projects of Ancient Egypt. Those look great, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamee Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Those look great, thanks! You're welcome. My son just brought me a Lego modle of one of the slings. For the "Projects of" books, there are several for different time periods and even people too (Da Vinci's porjects.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.