Self-serve history bookcase - would this work?

[embalee]

I'd like to start doing history regularly (2-3x week) next year when my oldest reaches age 6, but I'm not really into boxed curriculum or following a schedule with multiple resources chopped into small portions. At the same time, I like some structure because I'm a whole to parts kind of person. I read a blog entry from a classical unschooler who teaches her kids a basic chronology of history and then lets them read according to interest, and I like that idea although I'm not going an unschooling route. 

 

So I was thinking of taking a bookcase and devoting one shelf to each of the four typical time periods. I would read aloud from all four volumes of Story of the World relatively quickly at the beginning of the year. From there my daughter would look on the shelves for whatever bit of history she feels like learning about. I would read aloud from the stuff she can't read yet. I would keep a timeline and have her do narrations into a binder with tabs for Ancients, etc. We could do a project or activity as inspired. 

 

I would let her bounce from time period to time period, but it would always be pulling from (bookcase) and adding to (narration binder) the structure in the chronology. So instead of doing one time period per year, we would use the four years or so of the grammar stage to work through the shelves. And when my three year old is old enough, she can start making her own selections or working with her sister. 

 

What do you think the pitfalls of this approach would be? I don't have a ton of books for history specifically but I was thinking I could pick up a skeleton library and then just add books according to our interests, plus get things from the library. 

[kiwik]

Only pitfall I can see is a lot of 6 year olds aren't ready for SOTW1 and most are not ready for SOTW4.

[fralala]

I like the idea of creating these shelves (although maintaining them would be a struggle in my house-- books tend to like to go walking off to children's bedrooms, or riding in the car).

 

I see no need to hurry through SOTW just so your kids get the proper chronology. I think this is probably more of a need on our part than our children's-- although even I can easily forget what was gong on two chapters ago unless we spend some time letting it marinate.

 

Also, if you have a good library, it can be very satisfying to request heaps of library books on each topic and then rotate out those books that just don't seem like they've earned a permanent place on your shelves, while purchasing the books that have.

 

At the age of your kids, often playing or doing projects around history is more memorable to them than reading extra books.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I would choose a shorter overview than SOTW.  Maybe A Little History of the World or Child's History of the World.  Otherwise, it's a great idea, especially if you have the timeline to pull it all together.  I've actually posted on this idea pretty extensively on my blog, but warning, my blog will be disappearing very soon as I'm not maintaining it and my contract runs out in about 6 days.  :-)

 

http://www.homeschoollaboratory.com

 

 

[wendyroo]

So I was thinking of taking a bookcase and devoting one shelf to each of the four typical time periods.

 

At my house, this set-up would last about a nanosecond.  My kids LOVE books, and they express this by carting them around, reading them in odd places, storing them in their rooms to read at bedtime, etc.  I accept that any books my kids have access to will be in disarray...maybe on shelves, often not, but certainly not organized in any fashion.

 

I would read aloud from all four volumes of Story of the World relatively quickly at the beginning of the year.

 

SOTW is dense, and it gets denser in later volumes.  There is no way I would want to rush through all four volumes...I think it would just end up being an unenjoyable blur.  Plus, 6 is awfully young for the later volumes.  My younger kids have thrived on the first two, and wanted to hang out, savor and re-read some of their favorite sections on the ancients, but now that we are starting volume 3 we are slowing way down and incorporating more American history so they are a bit older before we hit some of the really deep modern history.

 

From there my daughter would look on the shelves for whatever bit of history she feels like learning about. I would read aloud from the stuff she can't read yet.

 

I would just skip to this part.  Let her read.  Read to her.  If you want, read some SOTW 1 or listen to the audiobooks in the car, but don't try to "get through" all of history before letting her start to explore on her own.

 

I would keep a timeline and have her do narrations into a binder with tabs for Ancients, etc. We could do a project or activity as inspired.

 

I think timelines are very abstract for early elementary.  We keep a timeline, but it is only of the last 100 years.  It starts with their great grandmother being born and includes important events like me and DH getting married, the kids being born, our dog dying, major inventions, and Pluto being downgraded to a dwarf planet.  Even this close-to-home timeline is a stretch for their mental concept of time; I think a more distant timeline would be completely over their heads.  Plus it would just be a lot of work for me with limited learning...I'd much rather wait until they can be more active in the timelining process.

 

I would let her bounce from time period to time period, but it would always be pulling from (bookcase) and adding to (narration binder) the structure in the chronology. So instead of doing one time period per year, we would use the four years or so of the grammar stage to work through the shelves. And when my three year old is old enough, she can start making her own selections or working with her sister.

 

I think narration is very important, but I think some books are hard to narrate from, especially for young kids whose brains are being exposed to brand new ideas and need to let them percolate for a while before they are ready to talk about them.  I also think requiring narrations could make that history reading into a chore.

 

We go to the library every other week and bring home about 80 books - many about science, history, computer programming, poetry, etc.  My kids devour almost all those books, largely because it is just free reading they can do whenever they feel like that doesn't require any output on their part.  OTOH, if I put certain books on a shelf and said that they had to narrate if they read from them (which if they can't do that completely independently means they have to wait for you to be available), that would be a sure way to make them avoid those books. 

 

Wendy

[wendyroo]

I would choose a shorter overview than SOTW.  Maybe A Little History of the World or Child's History of the World.  Otherwise, it's a great idea, especially if you have the timeline to pull it all together.  I've actually posted on this idea pretty extensively on my blog, but warning, my blog will be disappearing very soon as I'm not maintaining it and my contract runs out in about 6 days.  :-)

 

http://www.homeschoollaboratory.com

 

I noticed on your blog that you mention memorizing a set of timeline cards.  Do you mind sharing which ones you use?

 

Thanks.

[HomeAgain]

What you describe is *similar* to what we do here, but we do it differently.

 

History is the fun class here.  We do the projects in SOTW, a LOT of them, and all the games and maps.  We do have a history bookshelf that has K-8th books on it, split into four shelves, one for each time period.

 

This time through, I pick the books.  I pick a read aloud, a reader, and a book basket.  My goal is exposure this first 4 years.  The second cycle, we'll do more of an open ended structure using task cards and having him pick the resources to use for each card.

 

I think it is setting yourself up for a hard year if you don't set a foundation before giving freedom.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I noticed on your blog that you mention memorizing a set of timeline cards.  Do you mind sharing which ones you use?

 

Thanks.

 

 

There are several to choose from.  After long (long) debate, I went with the ones from Classic Catholic Memory.  There are also Classical Acts and Facts made by Classical Conversations, or just use the ones from the back of the SOTW Activity Books.  Both of these sets have been set to music/hand motions, which can make memorization easier.  Creek Edge Press also has a good history timeline set-up in their Recitation guides.  

[PeterPan]

...I like some structure because I'm a whole to parts kind of person. I read a blog entry from a classical unschooler who teaches her kids a basic chronology of history and then lets them read according to interest, and I like that idea although I'm not going an unschooling route. 

 

...I would let her bounce from time period to time period, but it would always be pulling from (bookcase) and adding to (narration binder) the structure in the chronology. So instead of doing one time period per year, we would use the four years or so of the grammar stage to work through the shelves. 

 

Almost anything CAN work, but it really depends on how much energy and expertise you're bringing to it. Also there's a developmental appropriateness. That blogger might have older kids or kids who are at a totally different reading level from yours. My dd, at that age, was reading way, way ahead, so I could hand her a pile of books on the topic of the week, have them span grade levels (1-9), and she'd just have at it. It was a great method for her. It was maybe a bit more structured than what you're describing, because we used the VP cards as a spine and had a topic of the week. Anything that was on the card or logically rabbit trailed from the card was fair game for the pile. I own THOUSANDS of books and have significant holdings for each time period, yes. 

 

With my ds, who is very different from my dd, I've thought to myself to do what you're describing. He has listened through the SOTW series, has listened to Great Courses, etc. Honestly though, reality hits and we don't get it done. I've got the books, and they're organized by time period and topic. It just doesn't happen. Without some structure, you don't have a way to say ok that was enough, let's move on. Or you don't have a way to up-prioritize it. Or you actually have TOO MANY good books on a topic.

 

The value of structure is that it gives you a way to say that was enough, let's move on. It gives you a way to say ok this is the topic we wanted to hit this week but we're pressed for time and will just use a video and MOVE ON. 

 

When I started homeschooling, I really struggled with structure. The first books I read on homeschooling were all unschooling, and I still have that sort of idealistic side. I view teachers, ideally, as facilitators. However you HAVE TO LOOK AT THE CHILD. Look at your child. Look at what they enjoy. Look at what level they function at. For a dc to read to learn, they need to be reading significantly ahead of the level of what they're reading. If the dc is reading on grade level (a typical dc would be) and you give them a book saying read to learn they're not ready to do that. They'll be focusing more on decoding and comprehension than they are on synthesis, pulling things together, making connections, experiencing the material, visualizing, learning. Reading to learn is a 3rd-4th grade fledgling skill in the typical dc, NOT a K5/1st grade skill. Most kids at that age are still learning to read.

 

Maybe your dc functions way ahead, awesome! My dd did. Even then, as a serious history lover, she had really particular tastes. She read lots of COFAs (Childhood of Famous Americans) around that age and she enjoyed books from the TruthQuest history guides. She didn't really get into the non-fiction choices of VP, didn't choose to read a lot of the popular instructional books used (If You... series, Jean Fritz, etc.). So there was a lot I had to read to her, because those weren't going to be things she, in her immaturity, was going to pick up for herself.

 

Your method really needs to fit the child. It also needs to fit you, frankly. I bristled under structure for a long time, and I had to find methods that would give me structure but also be flexible. There *are ways* to balance your love of engagement and passion and choice and self-direction while *also* having enough structure that everyone knows the plan. Without a plan, most people find things devolve. The people I know who most successfully unschool have the plan in their heads. They have significant knowledge about the topic and it's easy for them to scan shelves, guide, and facilitate, because the plan is in their head from prior knowledge. I don't have that prior knowledge in my head, so I use plans.

 

Also, even though my dd LOVED a literature-driven approach to history, reality is she really enjoyed any hands-on we did. The nice thing about some of the more flexible homeschooling curricula is they give you prompts for that. It's not that you can't find stuff, but sometimes when you get busy it's really nice to say this was our topic of the week, let's open up the manual and pick one of the activities. I like that kind of idiot-proof structure. If I want to use it that week, it's there. If I don't want to use it that week, I diverge and do my own thing. But it's a really good way to balance out your weaknesses. You're not ALWAYS going to be strong and on-task. You might find some balance there and appreciate the help of structure.

 

But, you know, if you wanna unschool, go at it! The TruthQuest guides would be kind of a middle step. No activities but topical lists you could work through. Personally I think that's just all over the place to do lots of time periods all at once. With my dd, we would do *one* formally and she'd be reading a 2nd one at the same time. That was fine. It's like savoring old dishes while trying new ones. Some people make up complicated schemes like saying to do american and world in parallel. For us, that just happened naturally. My ds is a different type of learner (autism), and for him I haven't been a stickler about chronology. It's not really a tool that helps him. We stick to a topic a while, then we do another topic. He's conversant about lots of topics. That's how his brain rolls. The things that connect the topics are his perseverative interests. It's ok to roll with the dc.

 

MOST kids will take in all kinds of stories at this age, and stories will all be that, just stories. Whether it's Bible or fairy tales or history or whatever, they haven't sorted out yet what is real, unreal, and the chronology. In that sense it doesn't matter what you do. Then, at some point in their development, you will see the dc begin to click on chronology. With my dd it was very obvious, because she started seeking out timelines and figuring it out for herself. She was in maybe 2nd grade, but she was really unusual I think. My ds still doesn't get it. All time merges for him with little to no sense of near and far. It's developmental, and it's a waste to do too much before the dc is developmentally ready for it. They'll usually say to do family timelines, timelines of things the dc more understands or is engaged with, when the dc is very young. So just do what they're ready for, not what some book says would be good. Doing something to early means it was more for you than them.

[KaleSprouts]

I might test the waters a bit and see how interested she is in the SOTW readings and then borrow some books from the library to see if she is drawn to reading them.  I've done that most weeks over the years and my kids just never go for the history books (but go for other books, history just hasn't been a big draw for now - maybe later!).   While your idea sounds good on paper (and sounds fun to me), my kids just wouldn't have been interested in doing that and I would have probably ended up frustrated that I had spent money on books that could have gone toward something else that we would actually use/enjoy.  Library books would be a low risk way to try it.  Since my kids were that age I've been reading one chapter of SOTW a week and I've just picked read alouds (literature) that are related and my kids LOVE that.  They color the SOTW activity pages while I read and we do the map work. 

 

Might also be worth reflecting a bit on whether or not the timeline would be very meaningful to her at this point - it might or might not.  My kids (8) are just now seeing how a timeline of events would be interesting to keep.  They've needed to experience many days, weeks, months, and a few years that they can think back on (like "Remember when we drove clear across the country two years ago, well, xyz event happened 1000 times that long ago").  They're just now starting to get, in a truly meaningful way, an idea of the relationships of people in space and time and so we're planning on creating a timeline when we start the history cycle again in 2019.  Because it's their idea it is work they're looking forward to doing because they're now thirsty for putting together the information like that. 

 

Like previous posters have said, look at the child and do what makes sense.  All these different homeschooling ideas exist because people are individuals.  

 

 

 

[MerryAtHope]

It's actually pretty easy to restructure those curricula that have several resources chopped into daily bites (I routinely restructured Sonlight to read as much as we wanted in one history book at a time, for example). 

 

However, as a slightly easier take on your suggestion, I would consider this:

 

Don't rush through SOTW. Spend the year on SOTW 1. Put together a book basket instead of having your child choose from a whole shelf. Let her pick from a basket on a topic (such as Ancient Egypt) and then you/she can read that book together. As you move on to a new culture, change out your book basket. I think you'll find the foundation makes a bit more sense while still allowing her freedom to choose books that look interesting to her.

[EKS]

 I would read aloud from all four volumes of Story of the World relatively quickly at the beginning of the year. 

 

I would not do this.  The fourth volume in particular is not appropriate for young children.  

 

I would instead fill the bookcase with books about the ancients, age appropriate science books, and good children's literature.

 

If you're wanting to to a bit more history, I'd suggest covering early American history in addition to the ancients.  There are tons of wonderful books for young children set in this era and it helps kids to have a bit of background before reading them.

 

And if you are wanting to add something else, world geography is good.

[MeaganS]

We sort of do something similar, but not really. I have the first 2 SOTW audiobooks. My girls listen to hours of audiobooks a day and I make sure they've listened to those several times through. That has helped a lot because with the repetition they've also had familiarity. Then, every time we go to the library, I pick up books from book lists on those time periods. I have the girls read them as part of their mandatory reading time. We also discuss history, watch history shows and documentaries, listen to the classical conversations timeline song most days during lunch, etc. Also Liberty's Kids. My girls have the American revolution down pat thanks to multiple repetitions of that show while running errands in our car.

 

This is fairly laid back but it is working so far and I am glad I chose it for elementary. We'll Rev up a bit for middle and high school, but elementary is for introducing topics and the world, imo. Not an exhaustive course.

Edited December 9, 2017 by Meagan S

[macmacmoo]

How good of a reader is she? My eldest who is 9 Years old has learned to read but hasn’t made it to the read to learn stage. As much as I don’t agree with it’s slant I let him watch Brain Pop videos for history. He draws a picture and then tells me what he drew. Or tells me three facts that I write down and he copies. Sometimes we watch the video again together and have a discussion.