Sue G in PA Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I have given up trying to instill a love of History into my middle boys. They HATE it. We've used mainly History-focused/centered curriculums so far. HOD, MFW and did a year of US Geography with a co-op. This year they are using HOD CtC. I have no plans to plop down another $400 for the next HOD level when they hate everything about it. :( I originally thought to just do MOH Vol. 2 and keep it simple. Read the lesson, fill out a NB page, etc. But now I wonder, could I *gasp* not even DO a chronological history next year? o.O But if so, what? My boys are 6th and 8th (technically 7th and 9th but we are holding them both back b/c they need the extra time). I'm not sure I even want to do Geography. World OR US. Perhaps do our State History? Please hit me with you other options b/c I've always followed the History Cycle to some extent and can't even think outside that "box". lol. Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapsetmom Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 What are they interested in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 Legos and Minecraft. :( My 8th grader likes Batman, lego, Lego Batman, lol and is currently doing stop motion videos non-stop when he isn't doing school. The 6th grader is a Minecraft fanatic. We did sign him up for the Mod Design program through HSBC. He likes it but needs a ton of help. That takes up a bunch of time. Other than that, not much. The 6th grader said he'd like to do more science. More experiments...which is not my cup of tea. :/ But, I am thinking of making next year more Science focused and perhaps trying to blow through Two Apologia Elementary Guides with him. The 8th grader is starting Apologia General (hates it) and will continue it next year until he is finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasien Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I do so much history through literature. I always hated history, learning names and dates from textbooks, but my kids absolutely love the historical fiction so that's how I approach their history. They love it. I never would have dreamed that a child of mine would love history but they learn so well through novels. It's also makes it easier to teach different grade levels, because history is a part of the day we can do together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasien Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I should mention that we take turns reading chapters aloud. This helps with fluency and public speaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 You could do a history of science, with experiments, maybe using Hakim's Story of Science or the Big History Project. Another option is not to do formal history with them. Just get books on topics they might be interested in and have them read them. DD was hating history too, so we dropped the formal program and I got a bunch of books on state history (something she expressed at least lukewarm interest in) and am having her read through those. I also got a couple of movies and am planning a field trip or two to some of the famous landmarks. They might like something like that. You can always go back to formal history next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Homeschool Minecraft. Moving Beyond the Page. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus2 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Moving Beyond the Page is a possibility. You could do the full program with Social Studies, Science, and Language Arts or maybe do just science. http://www.movingbeyondthepage.com/purchase/science.aspx#10-12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raining Pineapples Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Homeschool Minecraft. The Castles and Cannons class was a hit here. Each week they have videos and assignments to complete before they get to do their builds. Not a curriculum and not appealing/acceptable to many, BUT my son loves history after reading and watching a few of the Horrible Histories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Your 8th grader might be interested in this. I saw it come across my Facebook feed and thought, "How cool is that! I want to take it!"The Rise of Superheroes and Their Impact on Pop Culture Stan Lee is one of the instructors. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 How about geology with minecraft . Not sure how but my boys keep babbling about rare metals and gems. Also materials processing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Wizards Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Government/Civics? My 8th grader is doing Civics this year and is enjoying it. We are keeping it pretty light as I wanted to focus on other things to prepare for high school next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Minecraft Homeschool is an option. We have looked into it before. And I had totally forgotten about the Super Heroes course! Thank you, Chelli!! Perhaps a few Minecraft classes would "liven" up our History studies. Neither of the boys had any preference as to what to study next year so I said in the absence of any real passions I would choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 What an awesome Superheroes curriculum!!! I love you guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Y Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Well, I tend to not "do" history. We read books. We watch movies. We listen to music. Here is a for instance of something that actually happened at our house. I went on Amazon and bought the movies Ruby Bridges; The Watsons Go to Birmingham; Rosa Parks; and Selma, Lord, Selma. (Mine prefer dramas vs documentaries, but I make them watch docs sometimes, too.) (We do slip in some Horrible Histories and other sundry youtube movies and such as well.) On different nights we watched them as a family movie night. That was it. I didn't have lesson plans, workbook pages, or anything. But now they know some of the key players and issues of that era and have, I have witnessed, something to hang more information on later when they meet up with it. Being a child of a father who liked oldies radio, I know some songs that were born of the Civil Rights movement. Or Vietnam. Or different things. I might look them up on youtube (or Slacker) and we listen to them. There is lots of folk music from all eras! I hated history in school. Boring! I figure if my dc walk away with the essence of what happened etched into their minds, it is better than if they committed some dry, test-able factoids to memory. That said, I do think history is an easy thing to base curriculum on and the market is flooded with history-through-literature type courses. One could get the idea that HISTORY is REALLY, REALLY important to homeschoolers! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I just wanted to let you know you are NOT alone! My oldest two can't stand history or anything language arts-oriented. It's like going to the dentist for them. My only idea is to let them do lots of math/science for now. My son is basically working on 4 things this year: physics, math, reading a book series he's interested in and writing daily in his journal. *shrug* And it seems like ALL the homeschool curricula out there is history-centered. I agree with ColleenOH - you would be surprised at how much history you can cover with field trips to museums, going to war reenactments (my kids learned a ton at one of those - it had "camps" set up with displays, weapons, etc), historically-based movies, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddlemomma Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Homeschool Minecraft. Moving Beyond the Page. Learning through Minecraft is great. I signed my DD up for a Skrafty Homeschool Minecraft class. She did the 5-week Greek Architecture and Culture summer school class just a few weeks ago. It only cost $4.99, and she did the complete course in just one week! She absolutely loved it and has asked that I sign her up for more over the summer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Hmmm what about task cards? Like these: http://www.creekedgepress.com/site/2640d601cef2494cb6a54845eed17943/home?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcreekedgepress.com%2F#2634 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I think, for middle school aged kids, I would move more to simply reading good books about history. Possibly a lot of biography. I wouldn't worry too much about being systematic either. If I could depend on them actually doing the assigned reading, I probably would not really require anything much else written for the books, maybe only a minimal list to keep track. I would probably insist on two real history/social studies essays a year though, complete with outlines and biographies. I think that is really the age to learn the mechanics of a basic history/social science essay - how to put it together, how to research it, how to do a bibliography. I think that is important enough to consider it a non-negotiable skill. I also would not consider simply dropping history. It's a real temptation for people not naturally attracted to it, but I think when it happens, it leaves them really unable to participate as citizens in an intelligent way. Books I might consider including for boys who aren't into history: My Family and Other Animals 1066 And All That The Double helix The Seven Pillars of Wisdom (might be challenging.) Either of Roald Dahl's autobiographies for kids, Boy and Going Solo Mause The making of the Middle Ages Persepolis Somme mud Black Like Me I think I would also consider doing a government unit as someone suggested. It is a bit horrible how many people don't really have any clue about the details of government, how lawa are passed, and so on. i would also make sure to compare one or two other forms - maybe another Republic like France, and a system like Canada or England. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Would they be interested if you read aloud SWB's new book on the History of Science during "history" time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 What about Otter's Physics from Guest Hollow? Also, I think Jen from Wildflowers and Marbles did a really cool physics year with her son. I believe her plans are posted on her blog. Also, maybe something from Winter Promise like Sea and Sky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebbyribs Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 If you like pre-planned curricula, you could take a look at Build Your Library. Her 7th grade year is an "Around the World" theme incorporating literature, art, and world religions. http://buildyourlibrary.com/purchase-grade-7-curriculum/ She's working on an 8th grade year with a "History of Science" theme and plans to have it ready by May / June. http://buildyourlibrary.com/a-hint-of-whats-to-come-grade-8/ It sounds to me like a nice way to shake things up but not drop history altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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