phathui5 Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 We're going into our fourth year using Story of the World. I saw Mystery of History at a homeschool conference today and am thinking about starting that when we get back to the beginning of the history cycle. Can anyone compare the two? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JABarney Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 :bigear: I have been wondering about this too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 MOH is from a Christian/creationist point of view SOTW is from a secular/evolutionary point of view MOH does not include fiction stories but draws from historical figures SOTW includes fictional characters to illustrate the period of time MOH has levels through high school SOTW is geared more toward younger ages (my opinion) MOH is 1 book with all materials included SOTW has a text and an activity book Both include separate reading list That is all I can think of off the top of my head. Many people use both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christielee7278 Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Our plan is to use MOH book and SOTW audio cds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 I have to disagree with the pp that SOTW is not evolutionary. It really does not discuss evolution or creation. I agree with the rest of her comparison, though I think that MOH is more geared toward the middle years. It could be used for younger children, but I feel it's best for middle school and SOTW is best for elementary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanne in MN Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 We used SOTW the first cycle and plan on using MOH this second time. The main reason I'm using MOH is for the Biblical history that I really wish I'd done more with the first time through. I've not used MOH yet, but I am disappointed it doesn't cover all the cultures that SOTW does. SOTW delves into the non-Christian ancient cultures better than MOH does from what I can see. I really like to see what's going on in ancient China, India, etc. in history, so we will use SOTW to fill in those spaces. Honestly, people say that SOTW is for the elementary years, but man I personally feel SOTW is loaded with info. that may have been too much for elementary kids, but perfect for the older years. I, myself, would get overwhelmed sometimes with all the names of people and places, but I've also learned so much and I'm an adult! So MOH will be our main history curriculum this year, but SOTW will be right with us as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 I concur that SOTW doesn't say one word about evolution. It's a history book and doesn't cover pre-history in any way. Also, I have noticed that just as SWB doesn't tell anyone her political leanings, she does not mention her opinions on creation/evolution. It's not her job to tell you what to do with those areas, or something. (I approve of that.) People tend to complain that SOTW is too Christian, or that it's somehow anti-Christian. Does this mean she struck the right balance? :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtmcm Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 I've not used MOH yet, but I am disappointed it doesn't cover all the cultures that SOTW does. SOTW delves into the non-Christian ancient cultures better than MOH does from what I can see. I really like to see what's going on in ancient China, India, etc. in history, so we will use SOTW to fill in those spaces. Honestly, people say that SOTW is for the elementary years, but man I personally feel SOTW is loaded with info. that may have been too much for elementary kids, but perfect for the older years. I, myself, would get overwhelmed sometimes with all the names of people and places, but I've also learned so much and I'm an adult! :iagree::iagree: 100% I concur that SOTW doesn't say one word about evolution. It's a history book and doesn't cover pre-history in any way. Also, I have noticed that just as SWB doesn't tell anyone her political leanings, she does not mention her opinions on creation/evolution. It's not her job to tell you what to do with those areas, or something. (I approve of that.) People tend to complain that SOTW is too Christian, or that it's somehow anti-Christian. Does this mean she struck the right balance? :laugh: :iagree: SOTW is secular, but not evolutionist. I believe SWB is married to a pastor, so she is Christian but she kept SOTW neutral. I have listened to several of her lectures and I cannot tell her political leanings, which I think is pretty impressive to be able to avoid politics when discussing a variety of topics. Here's my 2 cents: SOTW Pros: - Covers more non-Western history than any other program I've considered - More in depth than MOH 1 (MOH 3 gets much more rigorous) - Good as a read aloud for elementary and as a read alone for upper elementary/middle school MOH Pros: - Bible stories right along side secular history - MOH 1 & 2 are All-In-One - Activities & Quizzes are in the text - MOH 1 can be used as a read aloud for elementary (chapters are very short) and as a read alone for older students. By the time you reach MOH 3 it really is a logic stage+ book. IMO MOH 3 chapters are too long for an elementary student and it is written towards a child who is using critical thinking skills. - MOH 3 uses gorgeous color paintings to cover the Renaissance period beautifully. It is not an All-In-One book - there is a text & teacher's guide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 MOH is boring. YMMV.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 We used SOTW the first cycle and plan on using MOH this second time. The main reason I'm using MOH is for the Biblical history that I really wish I'd done more with the first time through. I've not used MOH yet, but I am disappointed it doesn't cover all the cultures that SOTW does. SOTW delves into the non-Christian ancient cultures better than MOH does from what I can see. I really like to see what's going on in ancient China, India, etc. in history, so we will use SOTW to fill in those spaces. Honestly, people say that SOTW is for the elementary years, but man I personally feel SOTW is loaded with info. that may have been too much for elementary kids, but perfect for the older years. I, myself, would get overwhelmed sometimes with all the names of people and places, but I've also learned so much and I'm an adult! So MOH will be our main history curriculum this year, but SOTW will be right with us as well. I actually disagree with you on this point. SOTW is chronological by Civilization, so all the lessons on China are in one spot together. MOH is strictly chronological, so the lessons on China (and other eastern civilizations like India) are spread out. MOH 1 has 4 lessons on china: 18 China and the Shang Dynasty 29 Zhou Dynasty (Chou) 90 The Qin Dynasty (Ch'in) 92 The Han Dynasty There are three lessons on India: 40 India and Hinduism 63 Buddha 88 Emperor Asoka of India Those are the lesson numbers, so it just isn't as obvious that MOH has similar coverage because they aren't all together in one place. I think both SOTW and MOH are excellent texts. I prefer MOH because I prefer to include the Biblical history, but I own SOTW on audio and we listen to them a lot. It works. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandelion18 Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 I am planning to finish SOTW 3 & 4 this next year and then move into MOH 1. My kids will be in 5th and 6th grade. My youngest will be in 2nd and doing SOTW 1. Can you easily use these two curriculums together? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 SOTW is from a secular/evolutionary point of view SOTW includes fictional characters to illustrate the period of time SOTW is geared more toward younger ages (my opinion) I haven't used MOH, but we've used SOTW 2-4 (with MFW). Here are some points I'd correct: - I'd also concur with other posters in correcting the fact that SOTW is not evolutionary (or not). But it is secular. I remember nothing about origins, but a few Biblical events are covered basically no differently than events in other cultural traditions. (MFW uses the Bible for these events anyways, rather than wanting a story publisher to summarize them. I think SWB would concur?) - I imagine the 2nd item is referring to the "magic carpet ride" at the beginning of SOTW-2. This is just a "bird's eye view" of travel across continents at a time when airplanes didn't exist. There is no "magic carpet" by the time you get to SOTW-3. Also, there are famous stories told here & there in SOTW, but no character is "made up" to tell about history. - SOTW starts out fairly young, but I'm in the middle of SOTW-4 and I wouldn't use it with little ones, myself. HTH, Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 I am planning to finish SOTW 3 & 4 this next year and then move into MOH 1. My kids will be in 5th and 6th grade. My youngest will be in 2nd and doing SOTW 1. Can you easily use these two curriculums together? There is a chart showing how to combine the two on Paula's Archives. A lot of people have used them together. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phathui5 Posted July 14, 2009 Author Share Posted July 14, 2009 There is a chart showing how to combine the two on Paula's Archives. A lot of people have used them together. Can you please link to that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlessedMom Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Here is the link to the schedule for combining SOTW and MOH at Paula's Archives. http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/SOTWmenu.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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