Love this! Will definitely look for these.

It is hard. I do not want to crush his love of reading. He really likes it because I never forced it. So, I am thinking of reading the Science Comics to him instead of sort of forcing him to read it independently. I think I originally made science independent to help save me time, but maybe that isn't the way to go. This is helpful. I definitely want to check out the Elson Readers.

My ds loves to read fiction. He will read for hours during school just to pass the time. I let him pick his fiction books. I am trying to get him to read for 15 minutes daily from a science or history text. Right now, I have him doing a short chapter from The Complete Book of United States History. He doesn't like it but he does do it. I also am trying to get him to read science each day, again about 15 minutes from Let's Read and Find Out books. He does not like these, so I picked up a bunch of Science Comic books from the library to try. I want some advice on how to move from ds loving to read fiction to transitioning him into reading non-fiction that he doesn't really care for. How does this work in your house? What should independent reading across the curriculum look like in 3rd, 4th, 5th grade? Do you focus in on finding books the child likes in these areas, or do you make them read whatever you choose depending on what you are studying? Any advice is appreciated!

Thank you!

My son finished the entire AAR curriculum about a year ago, and now he reads independently with no problems. As a review, I took out some AAR phonogram cards, and many of the ones with 3 or more sounds he didn't know. But, if I gave him a word with the phonogram in it, he could easily read it. So, for example, he couldn't tell me the sounds for "ei" but he can easily read the word vein or receipt or ceiling or any word I give him with that phonogram. I actually don't know all the phonograms myself as we go through them. My question: should we re-master these phonograms if he is already reading fluently? Thank you so much!

All of these look awesome!

I just checked out the Time Traveler series at my library, and the books are awesome! I think we will start with these next year. I love how thorough yet humorous they are!

Mine are exactly the same.

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/HSN/history-news I just found them from an old thread (haven't read them yet). I have read the Linda Bailey's "Adventures in" series and those we love. Adventures in the Middle Ages was a huge hit this year.

I have heard of those. I thought they might not work, but I think I should let my ds decide that so I'm going to try a couple. He might just love them. Thanks! I also just found a series called History News that looks pretty good.

So, this post has really helped me identify my main goals in history. I want my kids to enjoy it, even if this means I ditch the SOTW AG 3 guide I just bought new 😐 I might try out SOTW 3 in the car to see if it's a hit for us. I think my "history" time at home will consist of reading fun books for now. What these are I don't really know but books other than the Time Traveller series suggested above (these look awesome!). I want to try this for a year. Any more "fun" history books you can suggest?

These links are absolutely amazing!!!!! Definitely want to start incorporating panoramas weekly.

It's so funny because my ds begs for audiobooks in the car. He's listened to Ramona, Henry Huggins, The Penderwicks, The Land of Stories ... those types of books. I've NEVER thought of putting on SOTW in the car. Definitely have to try this!

Will definitely check out K12. What grade did you use Hakim's concise US history books?

Will definitely check these out! Panoramas sound awesome!

I think these activities sound amazing and my ds would love them, but I also know that I don't have the margin in my homeschooling days to make these happen consistently. Will definitely check out the links! Thanks! This last suggestion is great - especially the key words for each chapter and reserving books for a future date! I'm pretty sure my library allows me to reserve ahead, but I've never tried it. Genius! I definitely think having the supplemental books planned out for the year would make my days a lot easier.

I love the idea of doing the audio version. But I'm also questioning if I just want to finish SOTW to finish it, or if I actually think it still could be of value to us. I am really trying to uproot all of my curriculum choices that are there just to check the box. And that is so my personality.

Yes! Mine are all about the fiction books but HATE encyclopedias. I've tried a couple of really beautifully illustrated encyclopedia-type books and we haven't made it through 10 pages.

I totally agree. Never thought I would think of switching, but now I am considering it.

A weak area for me too.

Will check these out!

I'm honestly relieved to find someone else who didn't like SOTW because I know most love it. Exactly like you said - no one is excited to read it ever (including me - although I am learning a lot). I love your idea of fun history!

I'm not against activities in history, but I don't find the ones in the AG very engaging. Lots of cutting things out that would be seen as busywork by my ds. I try to take a literature based approach, kind of. Whenever I can, I choose a literature book that corresponds to the time period. I did this last year with SOTW 1. This year has been harder with library closings but I'm also realizing that it takes a lot of work and flying by the seat of my pants to find good literature books on the spot that match the time period and that are good fits for the younger age. We do picture books, like for ancient times and about knights and such, but finding them continuously has been hard for me. Maybe I need to plan more in the summer.

We are currently finishing SOTW 2. I do use the activity guide to find books from my library (although lots are not available). I do not do the activities, as they just aren't a fit for us. I use a globe and the maps and coloring activities. I ask questions from the AG after reading and ask for a 2 sentence narration. I like the ease of it, but sometimes it feels very all over the place and I'm not sure my ds8 is getting as much out of it as I'd like. I don't like that it doesn't have many pictures. I just sometimes feel like we are reading it to check it off and the value isn't there anymore. How do you get the most out of SOTW? Or have you had a similar experience and made a switch? To what? I have even contemplated doing US history next year and listening to SOTW 3 instead.

I absolutely love all of this!