Jennifer.1203 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 We finished our one year of American History this year, and I am ready to get started on our 4 year World History. I am trying to decide between Story of the World and Mystery of History. I see lots of people liking both programs, but I am wondering which one is better for a 2nd grader. I was thinking SOTW, but then I heard that SOTW is too boring for little ones. And I like that MOH weaves in the bible. But the cost is really high on MOH. So many pros and cons to each. I was wondering which one do you prefer, and which one do you think is better for a 2nd grader. All opinions appreciated! Thanks! ~Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama25angels Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 SOTW for a 2nd grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 I think it depends on the child as to whether SOTW will be boring or not. The activity guide is fun and there are plenty of recommended books for extra reading to choose from to make it interesting. And then if you add documentaries that could also lively it up. As far as adding the Bible, there are Bible stories in SOTW and recommended books of Bible stories. If you mean reading and scheduling out the actual Bible, you could just do that on your own. My oldest ds did not like SOTW. But I do and want to use it, so I added History Odyssey to use with my 1st grader. It has more options as far as extra books and activities, SOTW being one of them. I think my ds will enjoy the History Pockets. So for me a combination of HO and SOTW with activity guides. My plans after bombing with SOTW is to do the Activity Guide projects first (from both programs) to spark interest, read a chapter while working on any map work or narrations, then spend the rest of the week in watching and reading extra books/movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 (edited) . Edited September 10, 2023 by SilverMoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer.1203 Posted July 9, 2013 Author Share Posted July 9, 2013 I think it depends on the child as to whether SOTW will be boring or not. The activity guide is fun and there are plenty of recommended books for extra reading to choose from to make it interesting. And then if you add documentaries that could also lively it up. As far as adding the Bible, there are Bible stories in SOTW and recommended books of Bible stories. If you mean reading and scheduling out the actual Bible, you could just do that on your own. My oldest ds did not like SOTW. But I do and want to use it, so I added History Odyssey to use with my 1st grader. It has more options as far as extra books and activities, SOTW being one of them. I think my ds will enjoy the History Pockets. So for me a combination of HO and SOTW with activity guides. My plans after bombing with SOTW is to do the Activity Guide projects first (from both programs) to spark interest, read a chapter while working on any map work or narrations, then spend the rest of the week in watching and reading extra books/movies. Thanks so much for the advice. I don't need the history program to schedule bible readings, I just want it to mention the bible and God. I don't want it excluded, like God doesn't exist. We do our own bible studies, so it doesn't need to be really in depth. I just would prefer God mentioned. I had never heard of History Odyssey. Does it include the bible? It looks interesting. I might do what you are doing, and use SOTW and History Odyssey together. History is my favorite subject. So I just want to make sure it is not boring for my kids. I want them to love History as much as I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer.1203 Posted July 9, 2013 Author Share Posted July 9, 2013 My kids loved SOTW in grammar stage. By 5th-6th grade they thought it was babyish, but I don't remember any of them finding it boring. I thought MOH was the one often said to go over the heads of little ones, but I've never used it. Paula's Archives has free schedules lining up popular children's Bible versions with SOTW. Thanks so much for the link. That is the main reason I was leaning towards MOH. That included the bible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Thanks so much for the advice. I don't need the history program to schedule bible readings, I just want it to mention the bible and God. I don't want it excluded, like God doesn't exist. We do our own bible studies, so it doesn't need to be really in depth. I just would prefer God mentioned. I had never heard of History Odyssey. Does it include the bible? It looks interesting. I might do what you are doing, and use SOTW and History Odyssey together. History is my favorite subject. So I just want to make sure it is not boring for my kids. I want them to love History as much as I do. HO is from Pandia Press and it's secular the same as SOTW is secular. HO is set up as a schedule and lesson plans, not a text to read aloud to kids. It doesn't schedule any religious text readings. SOTW or CHOW will be the texts used if following HO's plans. In lesson 1 it says it is "beyond the scope of these lesson plans, so depending on your belief you may want to begin with a study of Biblical creation, evolution, or both". The recommended books in Lesson 2 will not be usable (likely as not) for a YEC belief. But then again maybe SOTW wouldn't necessarily fit that either in some of the early chapter's book recommendations. So that's the only mention of religion in HO, because they are plans and a schedule, not the text. SOTW does use the term "God." There's a very very very slight Christian bias in grammar. When talking about the Biblical God, the text will read something like "God told Abram", but when talking about other religions it will say "they believed their god wanted..." Also it omits entirely the Inquisition in the other levels, which bothers me from my POV. If you want something that is more Christian religion than history, maybe MOH would be better. I haven't seen it, but I know people who use it. Both SOTW and HO have plenty of recommended extra readings (which IMO is the bulk of the history learning---the extra books) that discuss religion, both non-fiction selections and fiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindblomnest Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 We are going into our second year using SOTW. My son absolutely loved it (he says history is his favorite subject!)- especially when we completed the activities suggested in the activity guide, which I highly recommend buying. I broke our school year down last year into 36 weeks, which was tricky because SOTW is 42 chapters. The link below has a free printable planner for planning out the curriculum to fit 36 weeks. It was a great help to me. http://barefootmeandering.com/planning_pages.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haleysmommom Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 We love SOTW, but I am just realizing I need to supplement American history, by my way of thinking. Anyway, I was wondering what you used OP? I am getting overwhelmed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 I don't have any experience with MOH. My son, age 6, BEGS to do SOTW. "When do we get a new chapter???" He doesn't find it boring at all. I think whether or not a child finds something boring depends on a lot of things. First, the general make-up of the kid. Second, whether or not they are accustomed to having "easy" stuff- cartoon entertainment, etc. If your kid is choosing between Dora, SOTW, and Cars 2, SOTW might be boring. If their choosing between SOTW or The Railway Children, it might seem really exciting. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer.1203 Posted July 9, 2013 Author Share Posted July 9, 2013 We love SOTW, but I am just realizing I need to supplement American history, by my way of thinking. Anyway, I was wondering what you used OP? I am getting overwhelmed! I used Elemental History to give a one year overview of our history before we dove into a 4 year world study. My son and I both loved it. Great stories, and activities. I plan on doing the 4 year study next and then using Notgrass America the Beautiful curriculum for another one year more in depth study of American History. :) I don't have any experience with MOH. My son, age 6, BEGS to do SOTW. "When do we get a new chapter???" He doesn't find it boring at all. I think whether or not a child finds something boring depends on a lot of things. First, the general make-up of the kid. Second, whether or not they are accustomed to having "easy" stuff- cartoon entertainment, etc. If your kid is choosing between Dora, SOTW, and Cars 2, SOTW might be boring. If their choosing between SOTW or The Railway Children, it might seem really exciting. :lol: Glad to hear that kids are not getting too bored with it. I am sure I can always supplement with books/movies if he does get bored. We are going into our second year using SOTW. My son absolutely loved it (he says history is his favorite subject!)- especially when we completed the activities suggested in the activity guide, which I highly recommend buying. I broke our school year down last year into 36 weeks, which was tricky because SOTW is 42 chapters. The link below has a free printable planner for planning out the curriculum to fit 36 weeks. It was a great help to me. http://barefootmeandering.com/planning_pages.html Thank you so much for the link! And yay for his favorite subject being history! Love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolamum Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 Just an FKI MOH is on special at the Homeschool Buyer's Co-Op :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 Both my sons and I found SOTW1 to be a tedious and I gave up after a few months (I afterschool so not such a problem). I just got SOTW2 on kindle though and am enjoying that so next year I will try that (I did start a bit young). In the mean time we will read the ancient history section in Usborne and some other stuff plus sone projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forgiven Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 We tried to do both SOTW and MoH this past year. In the end, I found SOTW boring, but loved MoH, so we continued with that one only, but I did buy the SOTW on CD and made the kids listen to it in the car. I found this to be a good mix. I actually enjoyed SOTW better in the car than when I would read it to my kids. What I did like about MoH is that it weaves biblical history in with everything so you can see what else was going on in the world when certain prophets were being used by God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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