Love2Smile Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Has anyone even heard of this unit study, let alone used it? What ages were your kids? How did you like it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Oh wow, a blast from the past! :001_smile: This unit study was all the rage on Vegsource several years ago, but I've not heard it mentioned in a long time. Is it still in production? It's funny to me how some programs seem to go in and out of vogue among homeschoolers. You'll hear about a program everywhere one season, only to have it disappear three years later. Sorry OP, not trying to hijack, really! :lol: Yes! It's still in production :)...I am considering it for my 6th and 9th grade daughters this year. I have been corresponding with the author and she is helping me with making it 9th grade material. It looks fantastic! I guess if it was uber popular at one time, it still must be great, albeit not so popular maybe because of all the newer curriculums available....;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConnieB Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 It's popularity was because it was among the first comprehensive curriculums that was classical. We enjoyed it, using it along with SOTW and MOH (yes, I'm a junkie).....I found it went in depth on many topics....but because it did it also left out many other topics. It was fun, easy to implement and your kids will definitely get a fine education from it....but, it would probably be best improved by not spending as much time on some topics at the expense of others. I will say that of all the curriculums we've used, this one had the best customer service long after the purchase. There is a yahoogroup of Dorian followers that you might want to join if you decide to use it, as they are also a great support and place to gather and share ideas. It also lost a lot of popularity at the time because it was taking so long for the next volume to be released.....people weren't willing to put off their child's education for months or even as long as a year waiting for the next volume. While almost all new curriculums go through this (anyone remember the nail biting waits for the next volume of SOTW??).....if I recall Dorian was working full time so she wasn't able to focus her energies nearly as much on writing. MOH had similiar problems, though I don't believe Linda was working full time (though she was still homeschooling which is almost a full time job, lol). Now that all the volumes are out that certainly won't be an issue for you.....but we homeschoolers are fickle....we all love the latest thing until something else comes along. Since she couldn't get the momentum going I think it kinda killed off the popularity because people moved on to other things out of necessity. I think I still have my binder of this somewhere.......if your post generates a rebirth I may have to hunt it down and sell it, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama25angels Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I used it for 8th, 7th and a 4th grader, it was one of the best year's we had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 I used it for 8th, 7th and a 4th grader, it was one of the best year's we had. Did you add anything for your 8th grader? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama25angels Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 no, I didn't originally I added CW Aesop, but when I went through AWOA, it had a pretty decent LA section. You will probably need to add something like Apologia or BJU Science for your 9th grader, and maybe Latin to take up the slack in the grammar department. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 no, I didn't originally I added CW Aesop, but when I went through AWOA, it had a pretty decent LA section. You will probably need to add something like Apologia or BJU Science for your 9th grader, and maybe Latin to take up the slack in the grammar department. Thanks, yes, I am adding Teaching Textbooks, Apologia and was thinking of even adding LLATL gold for my ninth grader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineFarmMom Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Oh wow, a blast from the past! :001_smile: This unit study was all the rage on Vegsource several years ago, but I've not heard it mentioned in a long time. Is it still in production? It's funny to me how some programs seem to go in and out of vogue among homeschoolers. You'll hear about a program everywhere one season, only to have it disappear three years later. Sorry OP, not trying to hijack, really! :lol: What's funny is I was thinking about that curr. in the car yesterday...wondering if it still even existed. :) I knew someone who used it and raved over it. I have heard it to be a great program. At this point, though, there are many that are like it and it was kind of a new thing when it came out, kwim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jejily Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I used AWOA along with MOH1 this year for my 5th grade DS. Actually... being a curriculum junkie and just a tad bit obssessive, I ended up adding to / replacing so many components of the program that AWOA was no longer my core but merely a supplement! :001_huh: AWOA covers a huge time frame in one year, almost too much. I am spreading it out over two years, which is where MOH comes in (it fills the gaps). At the LA/AWOA Yahoo site, someone took time to post a schedule that combined AWOA and MOH (you'll find it in the files section), and following that outline means you cannot cover it all in one year. We did the first three units this year (Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome), and will use the next three units next year, along with MOH2. This year, I also had WinterPromise's Quest for the Ancients IG, and used their MOH reading schedule and literature recommendations. The schedule for AWOA assumes you will be doing school 5 days/week, for 180 school days; therefore, you should be able to complete six 30-day units in a year. However, we attend homeschool cover classes on Friday, so we only school at home 4 days/week. That meant it took us closer to 8 weeks per unit. By doing only 3 units this year (using 24 of our 36 school weeks), we were left with 12 weeks to fill. With MOH's lessons and QAW's literature selections, that was easy to fill. (Plus, I was doing my own grammar, writing, and spelling anyway.) For science, we took extra time with the human anatomy unit (the science AWOA covers during the study of Greece), but I had to add in some other science units to round out our year. I ended up replacing the grammar with Easy Grammar, the writing with IEW's Ancient History-Based Theme Writing, the vocabulary with English from the Roots Up, and the spelling with lists from Natural Speller. If I had it to do over again... I would have stuck more with AWOA's components, for the sake of my sanity :blink: and my budget. See, :thumbup1: one of the BEST things about AWOA, unlike many other all-in-one programs (like WP's QAW, TOG, Illuminations, etc.) is that you do not have to buy any other books or programs (except math). AWOA is not just a "planning guide" or reading schedule -- it includes all the information you need to read for history & science, and it includes ALL the lessons for grammar, spelling, writing, reading, Bible, even Greek & Latin roots, arts & crafts, etc. So, you do not HAVE to buy MOH or SOTW (although they are great supplements), you do not HAVE to buy a separate grammar program, or a separate writing program, or a separate spelling program, or a separate science program... It's all there. The only extra books you really need are the literature selections, most of which can be found in your local library. She does recommend checking out additional books from the library on the topics covered in each unit (primarily in the areas of history and science), but even if you couldn't find a single book on Ancient Egypt in your local library, you could still complete the unit because all the information is in AWOA. (The books just add pictures and details that kids find interesting.) For a middle-schooler or high schooler, I do think the grammar is too elementary and should be supplemented; possibly the spelling, as well. But the reading and writing assignments as written are easily adaptable to the upper grades. Bottom line, like any curriculum, it has its pros and cons -- one of the biggest "pros" being it's reasonable price for all that it includes! :001_smile: PROS: It is complete and "ready to use" the moment you get it! Just add some library books. It is far more than just a planning guide. It is extremely reasonable in price. It is easily adaptable to older/younger kids. As each of the six units stand alone, you can easily spread this out over a year and a half or two years. It is easy to incorporate MOH (1 & 2), SOTW, the "Famous Men of ..." books, Kingfisher's History of the World, and/or other resources. Includes Greek & Latin root words, introducing roots that relate to the subject matter. Includes lots of fun projects! :mellow: CONS: Covers such a huge time span that its scope is limited; more of a survey than an in-depth study of each time frame. Assumes a 5-day/week homeschool schedule. (These first two "cons" are easily remedied by spreading this out over two years and supplementing with MOH or SOTW.) Grammar lessons are too elementary for most 5-8th graders (IMHO). Spelling lessons are few and far between. (Spreading this out over two years would necessitate supplementing both of these subjects, as your student definitely would not get enough grammar/spelling to be of benefit.) HTH! ~ jejily ~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 We LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this curriculum!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is one thing that I used for my older kids that I have plans to use with my younger!!!!! I love the pp's description of the completeness of the LA studies. As to the completed books, there are only 3 of the 5 written. The first, AWOA, is the best in my opinion, cuz I don't like the state studies. However the grammar and language arts in the next book, AnWOA is better than the first. I only added for my 9th graders, Apologia, and required more of them when there was writing assignments in AWOA. I am hoping that LA makes a huge comeback before my dd is old enough for it. I like having someone to talk to about all of the fun stuff we will do. Plus I don't want them to go out of business! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 thanks for all the feedback! I am going to order this! One thing...did any of you order the *game* which comes with AWOA??? I will add Total Lang Plus, TT, and Apologia for my 9th grader! This is coming out to be less than $400 bucks everything for both girls! My husband will be happy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jejily Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Yes, I ordered the game... but never used it!! Completely forgot about it, in fact... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Yes, I ordered the game... but never used it!! Completely forgot about it, in fact... So I assume I wouldnt need it! LOL I was going to order a game called *Where in the World* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Also...Should I order 2 sets of student pages, one for each child? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 The game, nor the student pages, existed when we did AWOA. I was amongst the very first batch of people to order this when it was hot off the press. I would love to have the game next time we use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Also...Should I order 2 sets of student pages, one for each child? If you are gonna use student pages then yes. You don't have to though as all of the assignments are IN the manual itself. But for convenience you can order the sp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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