If you're looking for a memory work component, don't bother lining up all the cards. Just memorize all 160 VP Cards (5 sets with 32 cards in each set) as you go about your regular TOG studies. If you memorize the titles of 5 cards every week, you and your family will have memorized all 160 cards in 32 weeks! Each week, add 5 cards and continue to memorize the VP timeline on a cumulative basis. Begin your history studies with a daily 5 minute review of the timeline and then move into your regular routine. You can even pull a few of the cards that relate to things you've covered recently and ask your kids to elaborate more on the event/person. My kids enjoy doing this. I know this may seem strange to memorize a timeline that is not lined up with what you're studying, but at some point, your student will encounter things in his TOG studies and a light bulb will go off. He'll say . . . "Hey! The Constitutional Convention convened a few years after the Treaty of Paris was signed." Having a timeline of people and events in our minds, can help us to to connect events in history in a more meaningful way. As you memorize the cards, the historical timeline will become familiar to you and it will be a breeze to pull our relevant cards while you study things using TOG. I keep mine in a half-size binder in half-size page protectors. We pull out our VP cards often as a nice summary resource of our MFW history studies.

SOTW has some American History in it, but won't be as detailed as the program you've selected. Could you read SOTW aloud through the summer? Or just set it aside until you're finished with Am. History.

:lol: Hee hee! You didn't like the Cultural Atlas? We liked it -- especially when we were doing mapwork. My kids liked the interesting pictures, too. I do think that some of the resources listed on the backs of the cards can be a little boring for young children -- even older elementary children. I either ignore those or use them a "teacher refrerence".

I am another "HHH" (happy Horizon homeschooler!) :lol: I use the TM and try to do most of the things it schedules. I've found that my boys understand the concepts and do very well in math. My kids appreciate the colorful "fun looking" pages. Horizons has lots of puzzle-type activites that reinforce math that my kids enjoy. We don't supplement with anything, nor have I felt that we needed anything more than what Horizons provides.

Jami, I agree with you . . . in part. :D Absolutely, the pegs can be learned and retained without direct memory work. The stories are certainly not memorized in full. I also agree that children learn thing they have a relationship with and care about. VP does this--in my house anyways! We definitely don't just sit around memorizing history cards with no stories to go with them! With VP you introduce a topic, such as "Pilgrims Build Plymouth Colony". You spend a week (or if you're me 2 or three) on that history card. You read stories from resources listed on the back of the card and dive deeper each day. But . . . you read the summary on the back of the card each and every day that week! The repition of the summary helps the child become intimately familiar with some of the most important points. You also spend a few minutes each week memorizing the history cards that you've already studied. That layer of review helps kids to keep those history stories/pegs/topics in their minds. Things that are revisited are generally remembered more easily. Now . . . pair the repition with great stories, mapwork, notebooking and activities and you have a pretty good formula to make history memorable AND meaningful. I certainly think a child can learn and *know* history by reading books of all kinds: historical fiction, texts, original sources, encyclopedias, biographies. We just happen to like the layer of memory work that adds to our learning experience.

We've been happily using IEW for the last 3 years. It is one of the few areas that I have not second guessed my curriculum choice! IMO, IEW is well worth the price. The videos are extremely helpful. I've watched them a few times. They have helped me to feel confident in teaching my kids how to write. We have several of the theme based books, which are terrific, too. They take all the pressure of planning writiting assignments off my plate. You may want to join the IEW yahoo group. There is a TON of great info on that board.

When I compare VP and MFW the biggest difference in my mind is that MFW is classical and Charlotte Mason-ish, while VP is mostly rooted in the classical approach. I think that anyone who uses VP as recommended will KNOW history. The student will have pegs of history in their mind AND stories to go with them. Of course, no one can know it all, but someone who has used VP will have an excellent foundation of the stories of our past. Someone who uses MFW will certanily learn MUCH about history, but IMO the student only becomes acquainted with stories. Students are exposed and guided through history through reading, narration, notebooking, etc. There is no real memory work component. Would you like a comparison of MFW and VP Scholars (lesson plans) or are you looking for a comparison between MFW and the VP Teacher guide only? As I've read through some of your posts, it sounds like VP Scholars could work for you.

I totally relate to what you're saying. I've purchased more than my share of curriculum packages, only to find that my insatiable appetite for the perfect thing is not in my hand. I agree with Elizabeth! The perfect thing doesn't exist. You either have to be happy tweaking a boxed program, combining a few things, or be confident enough to go at it on your own--something that is much easier said than done!

We've done this, too! Right now, we're using MFW Explorers to 1850. Anytime we come across something that VP covers, we pull out the history card. I tend to use these topics as our weekly focal points, which helps my kids to remember the things we study.

I've been using VP materials for the last 4 years. Some years we've used VP as the main part of our history curriculum, some years VP has supplemented other things I've chosen. I find that the history cards are an invaluable part of our homeschool and I just can't take them out of the mix entirely! I store my cards in half-size sheet protectors and half size binders. Two 1 1/2 binders holds all 160 cards. We don't use the VP songs because we memorize all 160 cards with Classical Conversations. My kids have all 160 cards memorized. We usually recite them about once a week. When we began we practiced 8 cards a week, adding more cards until we'd made it through all 160 cards. The VP songs can be used very easily each morning. Here's a link about how VP recommends you do their history program: Veritas Press History. I know that there are people who say VP is dry, but I must disagree! Look at the VP cards as a summary of 160 events/people along a historical timeline (all 5 sets, 32 cards each). The back of each card has resources such as encyclopedia, history texts, etc. that you the parent can use to elaborate more on the card. If you don't like the resource, then you don't have to use it. I think the key is to choose resources that are age appropriate for your children. When I've used VP as the core of our homeschool, here's what I did: Monday: Read back of card, ask kids to retell the information from the card, and read a resource listed on the back. Tuesday: Read back of card, ask questions from TM orally, read more about the topic using a resource listed on the back of the card. Do mapwork (if any) or pick a project to begin from the TM Wednesday: Read back of card, this time leaving out key words and have kids shout out answers. (My kids still enjoy doing this.) Wednesday is a great day to do a narration page, or continue a project. Thursday: Read back of card, read more, do timeline work. Deciding what resources purchase/use is the thing I find the most difficult! I usually head over to the VP website and look at the materials they recommend in their scholars program. They have an online program that it will take you through with recommended resources for youngers and olders. IMO, the VP catalog is a cream of the corp listing of history resources. The small numbers listed after each item description gives you the card number that the resource coordinates with. I like to choose about 8 read Alouds for the year, 3 - 4 history spine/reference books, and I try to use the library for readers. I have one average reader and one reader (my youngest) that I consider advanced. For us the VP recommendations suit my youngest perfectly. Don't let that discourage you!!!! Pick resources that suit your child. The VP catalog does list resources for each history cycle/year that are suitable for older and younger kids. Any year of VP History can be used for kids 2nd grade - 6th grade. I know they list the history by grade, but you can pick the history year you want to study and fold all of your kids into that one year. The TM layout is the same for each history year, but I do think their are more original source readings assigned in Exp. to 1815 and also for 1815 to present. However, even in those TM's, there are plenty of activities and games that you can include in your homeschool. However, if you're looking for assignments/activities that are *mostly* geared for a 2nd or 3rd grader, then you'll want to pull in a resource like history pockets (which VP sells and recommends for those youngers). I don't think VP has enough mapwork. The perfect solution is to use Knowledge Quest Maptrek. They even have a schedule for VP history! Since VP only covers western history, then other parts of the world are "left out". I know that some families just read through CHOW or SOTW during the summer as a read aloud. In fact, VP recommends reading through CHOW every year! I do like the way TWTM recommends studying history: read, narrate, do mapwork, etc. Older kids should do an outline and timeline work. My kids started a timeline at ages younger than TWTM recommend. (We use homeschool in the Woods resources.) They LOVE timeline work, and always have! The VP cards make terrific resources for kids to outline. They also work well with IEW writing materials.

I've been using MFW with my boys for the last two years, and have found that we've had a richer experience than what we would have had if I were just piecing curriculum together myself. A few moms have spoken to some of the components of MFW that make it special: Book Basket, art projects and art history that is integrated to history studies, music appreciation, cooking projects, crafts, scheduled note booking, Bible verse memorization, games, read alouds, etc. Although I've never used HOD, I have no doubt that it is a rich program, too. It sounds like your heart is telling you to keep your kids together in as many studies that you can. fMaybe you need to determine which subjects you can all enjoy as one group and which subjects need to be customized for individual learning levels. MFW makes it easy to combine kids in Bible, science, history, art, music, read alouds, and package "extras" such as hymns, Latin vocal, map work, etc. No matter what curricula you choose, there will be room for you to make it as rich or as basic as your heart desires. Last year, while doing MFW RtR, I purchased note booking pages to make our history notebook look festive and more "medieval". I also extended a couple of weeks so we could take extra time to study things that were of great interest too my kids. My kids were in 2nd and 4th grade when we studied RtR, and there were times that Streams seemed like too much for my boys. so . . . I chose to read it myself, and share with my kids what I had learned at a level more appropriate for them. I found that I appreciated that Streams was scheduled because it brought a deeper level of understanding for me. Best wishes as you pray, ponder and consider!

I have used Horizons math for my kids for the last 4 years. I have used levels K Thur 5 and haven't noticed any gaps for my ds. In fact, they have received excellent scores on their annual standardized tests. Horizons is an great choice for many homeschoolers, but it's certainly not for everyone. I agree with some of the pp that the TM is not as descriptive as some would like, but we are dealing with elementary math here! FWIW--Horizons 1st grade has students drill math facts 10 - 18 beginning in lesson 12. This math program schedules daily math drill work through the 4th grade. It is a very important component in math! Some of the math drill involve mental math activities, but we do 6 mental math problems every morning to supplement Horizons. This usually only adds 5 minutes to our math routine. Lesson 13 of the first grade TM explains place value like this: "Put 3 tens and 5 ones on the chalk board using place value materials. Have the student count the groups of tens and ones. Then have them tell you what the number is. Repeat this procedure with several other numbers." Many lessons follow with hands on activities to help kids understand place value which is a building block for regrouping. Generally, when a new activity is scheduled, the TM explains how to do it. After that, the TM assumes the parent already knows how to do the math activity. Regrouping is introduced in 1st grade, lesson 131. The TM explains it like this: "Write 7 + 5 = 12 vertically on the chalk board. Discuss the place value (use place value materials) for the number 12 (1 ten + 2 ones) with the student. Write 37 + 5 vertically on the chalk board. Have the student add the ones column (12). Write the 2 ones in the ones' column and add the 1 ten to the 3 in the tens' column. (The book also has a number display of this with a small square in the tens' place.) Use the small square above the 3 in the tens' column in which to put the 1. Now have the student add the tens' column and you write the answer (4) in the tens' column. Have the student verify their answer by counting over 5 from the 37 on the number chart. Work several more examples on the chalkboard following this same procedure. As the student begins working the problems in Student Activity One, check their work for efforts that should be corrected now before they become a habit." This may not be enough explanation for some, but for the average user, this should be sufficient. Place value materials are heavily used in 1st - 3rd grade, providing hands on conceptual understanding things like place value, order, regrouping, etc.

We limit screen time to 1.5 hours each day. The boys get to decide when they use their time, and on what. We simply ask that they keep track of their time. They both have digital watches and are very careful not to cheat. :). Surprisingly, they don't always use their time! Allowing the boys to manage their own time has been a nice lesson for them in time management.

The new binder builder component looks very interesting. :lurk5:

Capsela, Thank you! You're a real smarty pants! :lol: Calling the company--bright idea!!!

I wish Memoria Press had included the table of contents, so I could copare their condensed verision to the "full" versions.

I found this Memoria Press book, which condenses The Story of the 13 Colonies and The Great Republic into a one year resource. Has anyone used this? I'm looking for a good read aloud (or two) that tells the story of our country. Is there another resource I should consider? FYI--We're currently using MFW Explorers to 1850, and I think I might like to take a side track for a focused study of American History.

A Book in Time is an informative website that has lots of history text options. Most of the text listed have recommended age/grade levels and description or links to reviews of the book. Maybe you'll find what you're looking for there! Good luck!

Here is the official list of changes from the 2nd edition of the Foundations guide to the 3rd edition of the Foundations guide. The 3rd edition of the Foundations guide is much easier on they eyes and more user friendly. It received a major facelift. Updates were also made on the memory work audio CD's and power point CDs. Even though I already owned the old version of the CD's, I opted to sign up for the C3 community, which has all of the most current material.

:iagree: The first book we read aloud was "The World of Caesar Augustus". My boys were in 2nd and 4th grade. The book was fantastic, but a tiny bit too much for my 2nd grader. We're getting ready to read "George Washington's World" and I'm VERY exctied about that. My boys are now in 3rd and 5th, so I think it will be perfect for them.

We're using Spelling Plus: 1000 Words Toward Spelling Success. There are no workbooks. It contains the 1000 most commonly used and most commonly mispelled words. We use the dictation book, too. HERE is a link to my blog explaining how I use this book. (I've modified it with some activity cards to make it more fun for my kids.)

Chess is a great game to introduce during the middle ages with the king, queen, and all the other pieces. HERE is a very nice book that you can read together to learn the game. If you study monks and scribes you could make illuminations. We did this and it was great! Here is a great site.

A few of my favorite supplements for medieval times: Coat of Arms - This book even has stencils included so you can design your own Coat of Arms Make a model castle This takes a little patience, but makes a beautiful model! My absolute favorite Read Alouds: (you wouldn't need to read all 3, but we loved them so much we did!) Crispin, Cross of Lead Crispin, At the Edge of the World Crispin, The End of Time Also: Spend a week on King Arthur legends. Very fun!

I keep a portfolio for both of my kids for each grade year. I don't keep every single paper, but I keep things to show progress and accomplishments. I just put everything in a file folder. Some of the things I put in are: A description of the curricula we used for the year All about me page - just a fun page documenting things my kids like and dislike. Snapshot at the beginning of the school year A few handwriting samples - one from the beginning of the year, a few from the middle of the year and something from the end of the year. Math tests Spelling tests List of books we read (aloud and independently) Science notebook pages History notebook pages You could just include a summary of what you studied in science and history, so you don't have to keep so many papers!