How do you use biblioplan?

[JLynn1347]

I LOVE the look of biblioplan for history.  My girls will be in 2nd and 4th grade and in the medieval period of history.  This year we did ancients with SOTW.  We loved it.  We did narrations and a lapbook and a timeline and just had so much fun with it.  I really wanted to incorporate biblioplan and do more literature tied in with history, as well as stuff that isn't history related.  My only concern was that it doesn't include narrations.  Have any of y'all used this program and incorporated narrations for history?  I don't want to bog them down with extra work just to say we did.  But I loved having them write out what they learned in history.  Or do you find the kids do great with the questions and not bother with narrations?

 

Thanks so much for your help.

 

[Amy M]

I have only used BP's schedule (their "plan"), not the companion or other extras. For the ages of your children, I suggest simply using SOTW's activity guide. Did you use that with your ancients years? It helps with the narrations, activity ideas, maps, coloring sheets, and extra history and literature book suggestions. It has everything you want listed above. I am not sure that BP has "questions" that you could use for narrations--perhaps in the older kids' cool histories? So the only reasons that I'd go with BP for the grammar stage would be if I wanted their help adding in church history (which you could do yourself with Veritas Press Middle Ages timeline cards--that's what we're doing this year with SOTW2--or Trial and Triumph or some added church history book) or if I had older students using different resources such as MOH or Streams and wanted a guide to tie it all together.

 

Here's my review of BiblioPlan. And here's why I ultimately chose My Father's World instead of BP.

[Another Lynn]

I have only used BP's schedule (their "plan"), not the companion or other extras. For the ages of your children, I suggest simply using SOTW's activity guide. Did you use that with your ancients years? It helps with the narrations, activity ideas, maps, coloring sheets, and extra history and literature book suggestions. It has everything you want listed above. I am not sure that BP has "questions" that you could use for narrations--perhaps in the older kids' cool histories? So the only reasons that I'd go with BP for the grammar stage would be if I wanted their help adding in church history (which you could do yourself with Veritas Press Middle Ages timeline cards--that's what we're doing this year with SOTW2--or Trial and Triumph or some added church history book) or if I had older students using different resources such as MOH or Streams and wanted a guide to tie it all together.

 

Here's my review of BiblioPlan. And here's why I ultimately chose My Father's World instead of BP.

 

:iagree:   With those ages, I would definitely use SOTW and the activity guide - so simple to implement (open and go), flexible (you decide how much of the AG to use - extra reading suggestions, maps, coloring page, activity, narration prompts, etc.).  Really, there's plenty to choose from.

 

Amy, I'm finished choosing curricula for fall, but I really enjoyed your blog post about choosing MFW.  I've never used MFW, but your post was great. 

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

SOTW Activity Guide has suggested discussion questions, narrations, activities and library book resources.  It has all the things you are asking for, and it is much cheaper than Biblioplan.  I would switch to something else like Biblioplan after you do the four year rotation through SOTW.

[Amy M]

:iagree:  

Amy, I'm finished choosing curricula for fall, but I really enjoyed your blog post about choosing MFW.  I've never used MFW, but your post was great. 

 

Thank you! :)

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

I think you gave an excellent assessment of MFW vs. TOG.  Most of your reasons for choosing MFW were most of the reasons I am choosing TOG.  I don't like everything planned out for me in a 5-day schedule that we won't follow and will make me feel "behind" all year.  There really is nothing that is perfect for everyone.  I love all the choices we have in homeschooling to find the best tools for our teaching styles.