plain jane Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 My kids are studying Ancients this year. I ditched TOG and decided to with K12/WIAT series with gr5 and SOTW1 with my younger. I'm looking to purchase some TC courses for that time period. I've picked out the high school level history one for my kids but found a coupon (that had come in the mail) for a buy 2 courses, get 1 free. :hurray: I'd like to get a couple courses for myself (history themed) Help me spend some money- which 2 other courses should I get? My oldest is gr5 so I don't think we're quite ready for the SuperStar High School Student one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 The courses by Vandiver are great, but they are about ancient literature (Homer, greek myths). I'm subscribing to hear what history courses are recommended :bigear:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plain jane Posted October 18, 2011 Author Share Posted October 18, 2011 The courses by Vandiver are great, but they are about ancient literature (Homer, greek myths). I'm subscribing to hear what history courses are recommended :bigear:. Oh yes! I have 2 of her courses- The Odyssey and The Illiad of Homer. I've been listening to her talks as I read the books. They are great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Oh yes! I have 2 of her courses- The Odyssey and The Illiad of Homer. I've been listening to her talks as I read the books. They are great! :iagree: I own those also. I imagine this series would be a real snoozer for kids though. ZZZZZZzzzzzzz :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 (edited) Which cultures are you interested in? Bob Brier's courses on Eygpt are terrific and IMO are quite accessible to young kids; I'd go with Great Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt (12 lectures), because the 48 lecture course is a bit long and detailed unless you're really really into Egyptian history (DS and I watched both courses, and we were pretty ready to move on by the 60th one!). John Hale is our favorite TC professor of all time, and he has a course on the archaeology of Greece & Rome, but it really is about the archaeology rather than the history. Really interesting, though! We also really liked his course on the Greek & Persian Wars, but that's probably more detailed than you want. If this is for you (not the kids), I'd maybe go with Greece & Rome: An Integrated History of the Mediterranean, since that covers both cultures. Definitely avoid Origin of Civilizations — it's boring, scattered, and I found several factual errors. Generally I find the reviews to be a pretty accurate indicator of the quality of the courses. I always make sure to read the negative reviews, because sometimes people rate a course poorly simply because the professor didn't teach the topics the reviewer would have liked to see, or someone didn't like the professor's voice, or whatever. (E.g. we love Garrett Fagan, his courses are really insightful and just packed with information and analysis, but he has a mild stutter and some people rated him poorly for that, which I think is unfair.) In general, though, I'd look through the course descriptions and see what looks interesting to you and then go by the ratings. ETA: If you're wanting to use a BOGO free coupon, you'll want 2 courses that are similar in price, so I'd probably suggest getting Robert Garland's Greece & Rome: An Integrated History and John Hale's Archaeology of Greece & Rome with the coupon (both are 36 lectures), and then keep your eyes peeled for a sale on Brier's 12-lecture Great Pharoahs course (which you can usually get for under $40). Jackie Edited October 18, 2011 by Corraleno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 (edited) My kids are studying Ancients this year. I ditched TOG and decided to with K12/WIAT series with gr5 and SOTW1 with my younger. I'm looking to purchase some TC courses for that time period. I've picked out the high school level history one for my kids but found a coupon (that had come in the mail) for a buy 2 courses, get 1 free. :hurray: I'd like to get a couple courses for myself (history themed) Help me spend some money- which 2 other courses should I get? My oldest is gr5 so I don't think we're quite ready for the SuperStar High School Student one. Rome and the Barbarians Ancient Greek Civilization ETA: I prefer audio over video. I have never gotten through the one DVD set we have. But we've listened to the audios frequently. Edited October 18, 2011 by Sebastian (a lady) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chai Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 We are doing ancient history and literature this year. The Teaching Company videos have been the biggest hit so far. My dd loves the Vandiver lectures; we are currently doing the Odyssey. We have finished most of Classical Mythology. It is excellent, but you need to be comfortable with s*xual topics for your child. We skipped the lecture on Aphrodite because that was bit too much for a 12-year old. We are through Origins of Great Ancient Civilizations. While the presenter might be a bit dry and he uses "um" a lot; the topics are perfect for learning about the first civilizations. We are also using Famous Greeks with Rufus Fears. This gives a brief summary of each person. Fears is great to listen too--not so great to watch. He spends less time with facts and more time with the lessons learned. I have a few more that we haven't started yet--Famous Romans, Archaeology of Greece and Rome, Great Pharoahs, Herodotus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Definitely avoid Origin of Civilizations — it's boring, scattered, and I found several factual errors. We are through Origins of Great Ancient Civilizations. While the presenter might be a bit dry and he uses "um" a lot; the topics are perfect for learning about the first civilizations. I just wanted to clarify that Origin of Civilization by Scott MacEachern and Origins of Great Ancient Civilizations, by Kenneth Harl, are 2 different courses, and it's the former I would strongly recommend against. I just didn't want anyone to think I was talking about the course Chai mentioned — we like Kenneth Harl! Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chai Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I just wanted to clarify that Origin of Civilization by Scott MacEachern and Origins of Great Ancient Civilizations, by Kenneth Harl, are 2 different courses, and it's the former I would strongly recommend against. I just didn't want anyone to think I was talking about the course Chai mentioned — we like Kenneth Harl! Jackie Oh, thanks. I didn't realize that they are different courses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 For my own education, I really appreciated Foundations of Western Civilization. I got parts I and II as a set a couple of years ago and learned a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my2boysteacher Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Has anyone used the Ancient History course by Professor Linwood Thompson? I am considering it for my very visual learner to supplement our Ancient History study. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Anything Bob Brier does on Egypt. They are wonderful and easy to understand. J. Rufus Fears is also wonderful-works well in an audio book fashion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 For my own education, I really appreciated Foundations of Western Civilization. I got parts I and II as a set a couple of years ago and learned a lot. :iagree: These were great. I'm planning to use these w/ DD on one of the next go-rounds of ancient history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torikei Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Anything Bob Brier does on Egypt. They are wonderful and easy to understand. J. Rufus Fears is also wonderful-works well in an audio book fashion. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvonne Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Has anyone used the Ancient History course by Professor Linwood Thompson? We've watched several of his Ancients Lectures. My kids liked him enough to ask to watch more and to rewatch several. They think he's funny. The content was good, too. I'd definitely at least get them from the library and try them. We have loved Rufus Fears' audiobook series on Famous Greeks and Famous Romans. He is an excellent storyteller. The series really give you a feel for the times. We've listened to almost all of both series. (There are a couple sections that I fast forwarded through. Should have written down which. One about a play in which the women decide to force their men into ending a war by refusing to have s*x. Nothing hugely offensive, just didn't want to deal w/ it. In another episode, he talks about the Spartans. He says something to the effect, "Now the Spartans didn't mind if a husband or wife wanted to make a baby with somebody else... They didn't consider adultery...." We did listen to that one. ) My boys also liked the Ancient Battles one. Also, we listened to parts of the ones on the Greco-Persian Wars. Personally, I really like the Vandiver lectures on mythology, the Iliad/Odyssey, etc. Check your library. We got most of ours there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice in NJ Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 We like Foundations I, but I did notice this new course in this month's catalog: http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=3850 I don't know a thing about the professor, but thought I would mention it. Peace, Janice Enjoy your little people Enjoy your journey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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