Rainbows Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Im trying to find a "light" history program to do with my upcoming 1st grader.....don't want something too intense as I want it to be fun and interesting and not feel like work. Was considering SOTW but just read some Amazon reviews and one said that the author teaches biblical stories as facts (and therefore the reviewer didnt like it) I dont want a Christian based program, but am not against exposure to some Christian ideas (we kind of have a mish-mash of religious/spiritual beliefs and I like to expose my kids to a variety of teachings). Anyhow, is this book heavy on the Christianity or do you think it would work ok? If not, any other programs you could suggest? Ive got reading/phonics and math covered, but am having a hard time choosing history and science Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 SOTW uses many religious stories, not just Biblical ones. I would say the question is, do you want a history that includes legends, mythology and relgious stories? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbows Posted July 8, 2009 Author Share Posted July 8, 2009 I think Id be ok with legends, mythology, religious stories ---it just would depend on how they are presented. I also don't have a problems altering or leaving out something (but I tend to expose my kids to things and then discuss them as opposed to just eliminating things---but I wouldn't want a program where Id have to do that constantly) (hope that made sense, Im multitasking lol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicoryChick Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 (edited) I personally do not consider SOTW to be a Christian curriculum. Yes it does include a few Bible stories (Abraham, Joseph & if I am remembering correctly Moses), but definitely not Christian in tone. I do not think you would have a problem with it. If you do not like the way those stories are presented you could always skip over them. We did parts of 1 and all of volume 2. My daughter loved it. Edited July 8, 2009 by kayinpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allearia Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 We are a non-Christian family and we are very happy with the bibilical and other mythical stories in the Story of the World. For my son this is often the first exposure to some of these stories. The biblical stories are generally presented the same way as the others. We treat them the same way we do the myths from Greece, Mesopotamia, India, Africa, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Jesus was covered the same way Buddah was, imo. If you don't want your dc to know anything about Christianity, then you could very easily skip those stories. The stories that are taught as truth are based in fact, not so much in faith, iykwIm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyJudyJudy Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I agree with the reviewer on Amazon that she presents Biblical stories as facts. It bugged me a lot. (She does not present the other myths and religious stories as facts.) However, I still like the books and think they're better than most history books out there for kids. What I did when I got to such "facts" was to point out my views on such "facts" and to explain that authors have a difficult time being unbiased. I don't think you could ever find a history book that isn't biased in some way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyJudyJudy Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 The stories that are taught as truth are based in fact, not so much in faith, iykwIm. I disagree. They're stories from the Bible that are presented as history. As I said, though, I was able to get around that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyJudyJudy Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 There is no more proof that Abraham as is taught in SOTW existed than there is that Adam and Eve existed. It's no more history than are the legends and myths of other cultures and faiths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicA Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicA Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I meant to be agreeing with Christina. Just to clarify. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyJudyJudy Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I meant to be agreeing with Christina. Just to clarify. :001_huh: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlowetx Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 We're not Christian, but are open to many ideas. We just started with SOTW a bit ago (this is our first year), and I was comfortable with the inclusion of the biblical characters. I don't feel the book is overly "christian", but I had the benefit of thumbing through it b/f we bought it at the local homeschool book store. The activity book with it and the discussion pages have been great, my son (and I) are really enjoying history. I think it would have to depend on whether you think it is all a bunch of hooey, or are comfortable presenting these characters from a historical perspective. We were comfortable, as we discuss the differences and the similarities of all religions quite regularly, and this gave us a nice guide. You could easily read the story in advance and decide how/what words you would change to make sure you got the right message across. To be honest though, we don't have much of which to compare it except the ridiculous and WRONG history he was getting at school... now at least I can filter it.. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbows Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 thanks.....sounds like it would work for us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 The story of Abraham and Moses are found in more than just Christian writings. Of course, if you wanted to discount historical writings, then half of history goes down the tubes. I found this on the BBC web site: The tale of the basket The story of the infant Moses being set adrift in a basket bears remarkable similarities to an old Babylonian myth about a great King called Sargon who was discovered as a baby in a basket in a river. Between 600 and 300 BCE, Jewish scribes in Jerusalem set out to record all the old tales of their people, handed down from generation to generation. What if the scribes had wanted to add a bit of spice to their tales to make them more interesting? Could they have used the myth of Sargon and made up the tale of Moses? It's certainly possible as we know the Jews were captured by the Babylonians in 587 BCE and held in exile in Babylon (modern Iraq) for some time. They could have picked up the Sargon legend there. Egyptologist Jim Hoffmeier studied the original Hebrew text. He found that key words in the story - bulrushes, papyrus, Nile, riverbank - were all ancient Egyptian words, and not Babylonian. But what about the name 'Moses'? It is an Egyptian name meaning 'One who is born'. It uses the same root as 'Ramses'. It's hard to believe that a Hebrew scribe, one thousand years later, could have come up with a story using authentic Egyptian words. Well actually there are many stories of babies being put in baskets and exposed or put in water. This was an ancient way of putting a child out to the fate of the gods. Today people put babies in baskets and put them on church doorsteps.Jim Hoffmeier, Egyptologist Sorry about the various fonts, but my computer does not want me to type in normal font........ arg! Anyway, there's more, here's a link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/moses_3.shtml There are arguments over whether or not any of the historical references in the Bible, Koran and Tora are correct, but with my puter being so cooperative :glare: this is the best I can get to refute that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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