New CC timeline cards go well with VP self-paced history course?

[OrganicMom]

I know this may sound odd. I'm eclectic here.

 

I'm a Sonlighter. I'm also doing Classical Conversations at home with my kids. I've been considering putting a pause on the SL cores and finishing the rest of the CC cycles here at home with the kids taking a year and a half to do it. Then pick back up with the SL cores....

 

I just heard about the Veritas Press self paced history courses... eeek. ;) i'm wondering if this would serve us during our time of studying CC only.... we already have SOTW...obviously all of ths is just WAY over kill....

 

but i was curious if the new CC timeline cards are similar to the ones VP uses (i know CC used to use theirs). Also if VP is heavy on memorization, i do not want to add any confusion... my idea here is to simplify and confirm what they are already learning, not make it more complex than it needs to be....

 

one reason for the break from SL cores to finish our CC work, is time. i can't read two cores and do CC at home and do the three Rs and care for the house and cook. 

 

if anyone has anything to add as how these programs overlap, not working well together, or work well together, please share. thanks!

[Cheryl in CA]

Some of the cards are basically the same, but there are quite a few that are different due to the differing focuses (VP more Western Civ, CC more World History).  I think (but I'm tired, so no guarantees ;) ) most of the differences are in the 1814 to Present time period (VP has a lot more Early US History, CC has a lot more modern US and World History), but the cards wouldn't match 100% for any of the time periods.  I've not done the self paced courses (just the old regular courses), so I don't know anything about them specifically. 

[Niranut]

We are doing the OTAE self paced course and i did compare with a friend who has the CC cards. Based on a quick perusal the CC cards include way more info. and events. Things that would cover 2 VP cards would be combined on a single CC card. For memorization in the OTAE course the focus is on dates, events, and Bible reference, and much of that memory work is covered in the song which is very easily memorized.

 

I would suggest doing the 2 week trial for the VP course as that gives you a good idea of what its like.

[Davysmom]

nm

[Hannahs4]

So anyone have an overall vp versus cc opinion? Especially if you are not doing a cc co-op(doing it on our own)?

[Cheryl in CA]

When it comes to the cards, CC wins hands down (laminated vs card stock, more attractive, World History vs. Western Civ, timeline, small map, etc).  When it comes to teaching history, VP wins.  CC (at least in the younger grades), teaches the cards.  VP does a better job (not just teaching the cards), but still not quite to my liking.  I use the CC cards, songs, etc with my history curriculum.  That way I get the history I want with the cards I like :)  I have kept my VP card but only use the ones that aren't duplicated by CC.  If I didn't already have the VP cards from when my older children were little, I wouldn't buy them.  But, since I have them, I don't let them go to waste ;)

 

ETA, that I much prefer the CC timeline song.  We never used the VP songs because we thought they were terrible.

[Hannahs4]

Thanks I think I just need to do it... (Add in self taught cc cards and songs). T

[OrganicMom]

thanks guys for your responses. sorry for my delayed response. holidays. 

 

I also appreciate the poster questions, too that was helpful for me. 

 

I am disappointed though with the answers... :( b/c i was secretly hoping i could ditch what we are using for history (even though it costs a good bit of money, sonlight), for now, pick up this history class (spending more money though), use the cards we have (to maybe justify the extra expense), and... take a load off my time....

 

if you also have any responses to this that would be great! ;) 

[OrganicMom]

If I do the self paced course.... picking one for both of my kids to share.... using Sonlight readers/read alouds and SL history books to supplement.... and doing CC memory work and CC timeline cards.....but using the VP lessons.... so i don't have to read everything.... does this sound crazy???

 

Can i skip the VP memory work?? and not use the VP cards?

[Niranut]

We are working on the OTAE right now and we don't have the VP cards. We do have the Bible cards but don't use them all that much. The VP memory work is the event and then its corresponding Bible reference and/or date. Everything in the cards is fully covered in the lessons. Once we got a little further along in the course i did make some cards to help with a little extra practice but we rarely use those.

 

We also supplement with Sonlight history books and readers and it is plenty with SL and VP. If you also have the CC cards or material i don't see any reason to add the VP cards to the mix. For us SL books and the VP class (without cards) is plenty. You can always order the VP cards laterm if you feel you need them.

[Aloha2U]

If I do the self paced course.... picking one for both of my kids to share.... using Sonlight readers/read alouds and SL history books to supplement.... and doing CC memory work and CC timeline cards.....but using the VP lessons.... so i don't have to read everything.... does this sound crazy???

 

Can i skip the VP memory work?? and not use the VP cards?

Well, not crazy... perhaps just not ideal, especially if you're intentions are to streamline history studies. I'm all for overkill, but not if it overcomplicates things. ;) The smorgasbord you've listed could work out fine, though it seems a lot of effort to tie it altogether in a smooth and useful way.

 

Honestly, if both your kids are still in the grammar stage, you'll not need the SL History books alongside VP's Self-Paced course, though I would recommend VP's History cards instead of CC's timeline cards. VP covers history and memory work. It's absolutely enough and more—streamlined. Independent reading, as well as read alouds (if you so choose), are definitely a must (imo). So, I assume the SL readers/read alouds would work.

 

We participated in a CC community when my little man was in 1st grade; I tutored his class. They were using VP's History cards back then, which was perfect since I planned on us starting VP's 5-year history cycle in 2nd grade, beginning with OTAE. We learned the whole VP Timeline that year! We also discovered that CC wasn't our cup of tea, so we did not return. That being said, I thought I'd possibly continue CC's memory work at home—applying the good or, rather, what we liked. It didn't take long for us to realize that our bases were thoroughly covered with what we were already doing, without CC. We had memory work, and in context.

 

Anyway, I did end up buying the new CC cards when they were released, out of curiosity more than anything. They've been sitting on the shelf awaiting their moments of glory. You see, I much prefer the VP cards alongside VP's Bible & History courses (whether teacher-led by me or the online self-paced). I did pull the "others" ;) off the shelf this evening after I read your post. I don't dislike them. They're actually quite well done, but geared more for someone who already has a knowledge of history and can now appreciate their timeline as a quick reference. I believe the VP History course with the cards to be a much better use of our time during this stage in our journey—providing a clear and solid foundation, all the while streamlined for both teacher and student. Perhaps the CC cards will be put to use after we finish VP's grammar history next year. I hope that we eventually get some use out of them. They just seem better suited for logic stage/middle school history studies, imo.

[OrganicMom]

Thank you for all of your comments, as you may guess, I am revisiting them! b/c i laid this to rest months ago. I am no picking up the idea again now that both my kids are in the same SL core and hope to buy a VPSP course soon, using the VP cards, even though we already know the CC timeline song.