Mama2BugNBear Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 I'm working my way through TWTM to make a plan for my oldest next year. I've only made it through about 15% of the book, and I've run into a conundrum. I'm overwhelmed with the Ancients and how to divide that time period into manageable units/chunks to ensure that we get through all the material, but not at a pace that's so grueling that we burn out after the first few weeks. My mind starts swimming when I see all the suggested resources for the Ancients. How do y'all divide up the reading/history material for your 1st year classically educating? Will it get easier over time? I do really well with an outline/time frame, but creating one from the start (even given the resources) is difficult for me. Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 Use Story of the World. Then you don't have to worry about dividing the time periods. You can just work your way through the book at approximately one chapter per week, and the accompanying activity guide is a lot of fun. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 I pick 20ish priority items and cover those topics well. Then we simply listen through all of SOTW or another comprehensive history during our car trips for context. The next time through the rotation we hit different topics. Don't let the vastness of your options force you to miss the forest for the trees. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2BugNBear Posted November 1, 2015 Author Share Posted November 1, 2015 Thank you! I've got a tendency to fixate on little things and not see big picture when I'm overwhelmed (or starting something entirely new). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 The first time through the cycle is mainly for exposure - to the chronological events, different cultures, parts of the world. Don't stress. Pick topics for an overview, and bring the other subjects in. Copywork: from history. Reading books: biography/myths/historical fiction. Science: studies and experiments that go along with the time period (astronomy, basic physics, nature study). Social studies: what children did in those cultures. The second time through you'll go more indepth and be able to go down more rabbit trails. It's not worth trying to cram everything in now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 Yes, what the PP said. Use SOTW and then add in additional things (narration, mapwork, coloring pages, hands on activities, supplemental reading, etc) in a way that works for you and your student. You don't have to do everything, and if you just get through SOTW and nothing else, that's ok too. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 Each curriculum divides things up a bit differently. You won't be able to cover it all anyway. Just enjoy what topics you do get to. :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 Don't try to do every extra reading and activity! Go for the ones you think *your* kid(s) will enjoy. E.g., my DS hates coloring and crafts, but will sit for a lot of read-alouds, so that's what we did. He especially liked learning about advances in science and technology (such as "The Librarian who Measured the Earth") and Tales from the Odyssey. My 1st-grade history column on here will show you the pacing we used. I read from SOTW about 4 days a week and added things in from there. I did do a bit of prehistory and talking about what history is and how we know about it the summer before, which is why it shows Ch. 2 the first week. We use a wall timeline also. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalusignan Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 Don't try to do every extra reading and activity! Go for the ones you think *your* kid(s) will enjoy. :iagree: I use SOTW, and some weeks we just do the reading in SOTW and the additional map work and narration. You don't have to make it complicated. My 1st-grade history column on here will show you the pacing we used. Off topic: Thank you, whitehawk, for posting your spreadsheet! Simply for the fact that it makes me feel more normal for making all of my detailed spreadsheets for homeschool and scheduling! :lol: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 First, welcome! From your post count, it looks like you are new to these Boards, so welcome! :) Second, from your signature, your DC are very young. At this stage, any History exposure is frosting on the cake, so just pick a few things that look fun and interesting and that you think your little ones will enjoy and will keep alive that love of discovery and learning. :) I personally think even Story of the World can be pretty overwhelming for young elementary ages, and if you find that to be the case, it's okay to just set yourself up with a timetable and check out out a few books from the library, and what you get done in that time frame is great, and what you don't get done, you can just leave for the next time around with the Ancients, or, if your DC are loving that time period, continue and just cross off something that you would have done further down the line. (And again, you can often save it and do it your next go-around. :) ) Examples of a "unit" time table: 12 week unit each on Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome -- or -- 4 week unit = what is History, and Ancient Mesopotamia 8 week units for each = Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and China And for each of those units, enjoy a variety of materials and methods of learning about the ancient nation: - non-fiction library books on the history and what life was like in that ancient culture - picture books of myths from that ancient culture - educational video on that ancient culture - make a hands-on activity to visualize something from that ancient culture - make a food (or a lunch of foods), or play a game from that ancient culture Enjoy your journey! Warmest regards, Lori D. ETA PS -- It is also really easy to burn out by over-doing with how much time per day or per week you spend on History (on any subject! :) ). History for such young ones really can be a fun extra, scheduled in whatever way works for your family (i.e., attention span and interest level of young students ;) ): - 15 minutes a day - or, 20-30 minutes 2-3 times a week - or, once a week, in place of other regular daily work, read and do an activity, for however long attention lasts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 And if it doesn't take don't panic. Not all kids enjoy history at that age. You can sneak in quite a lot with kids books and general conversation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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