lisabees Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 (edited) Is there an online program of sorts that covers history, especially the Middle Ages? Got my literature in order, but ds could really use something to bring history to life, as he is a struggling reader and history will be very painful for him. I know K12 has a history program, but I am almost positive there is no narration. I would love something with narration, videos, music, art... ETA: This doesn't need to be a full-fledged program - just a supplement. Am I dreaming? Edited August 11, 2009 by lisabees Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyK Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 This is not exactly what you are asking, but have you considered History at our House, European History? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Well...We are using History at our House (linked in my signature) European History this year. I don't have a review yet, as it hasn't started. Obviously, it's not strictly Middle Ages. HaoH uses a 3 year rotation: Ancients, European, American. Before this, we used SOTW 1-4 and HO Ancients & Middle Ages. HO was not a good fit for us, thus HaoH. It's secular, which I prefer. The website is a mess; it's being redesigned. Classes are M-Th will Th being History through Art. From what I can tell, classes are held via conference call and recordings are available as well. Class notes are provided. There are a variety of prices depending on how much live interaction you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisabees Posted August 11, 2009 Author Share Posted August 11, 2009 You know, I checked into HAOH. It is just strictly audio right? I wonder if ds would zone out? I'll check it out again. Thanks! And, yes, I would prefer secular. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 It is just strictly audio right? I wonder if ds would zone out? I believe it is just audio right now. Although, I've heard that he will have them look at something on the computer and there are class notes. Visual has been suggested, but it hasn't happened yet. I have the same concerns about ds drifting off. We'll see... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyJ Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 It's not online, but we are supplementing our Middle Ages history this year will movies from Netflix. It is very affordable, and you can look up movies by topic, then read others reviews to judge whether or not it's exactly what you're after, and whether appropriate for a certain age. There are a lot of documentaries! If you're interested, i could email you a list of the movies we're using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyK Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 I'd be interested in the Netflix list too for the coming year! For History at our House, we're doing the recorded ancient history lectures now. I have a 10 year old who loves history but is very busy with camps and swim team, so I have to prod a bit to do it. We are doing Upper El. Here's our impressions so far: --He'd love to do the live lectures, though I'm not sure it will fit into our schedule. --He really enjoys them if I sit there with him, and actually I'm learning things too (despite being a history major) and so it is a pleasure. --One thing that works better about me being there with him -- in addition to making sure he's not zoning out -- is that there are usually a handful of images that go with each lecture. It helps if I can pull them up as appropriate while he's listening. Sometimes reference is made to an image from a prior lecture, and I can pull that up quickly. There are also class notes which I can pull up -- sometimes it helps to see a name in print, at least for me. So it isn't just audio only. --It is all online, which is both a pro and con. We now have a quick laptop and internet connection, and so I like that we curl up somewhere and it is all at our finger tips. That said, I sometimes wish it was all in a CD and printable file. Everything can be downloaded or printed but it is time consuming and scattered in different files, so it isn't a grab and go except on computer. I do think more organized folks have downloaded it all in advance and their kids do it in the car. It would just take me too long. --I really like the art appreciation that goes along with it. --There's map work too that we haven't really done yet but looks good and relevant. Cons --I think I'd still want to read some fun books to go along with the topic. The book recs so far have been pretty serious, and so I've supplemented with other book lists to have interesting and fun books on Ancient Egypt, for example. I think the teacher could stand to link to some other book lists. --I still don't really understand the pricing of it. I think I have to still keep paying to access old lectures once we are done, or download them all. I think it would be more "fair" to have a fixed price option that would give you lifetime access to it all. He's working on something along those lines, although I don't know if it is exactly what I'd want. That said, it is a business and he gets to price it how he thinks he can make money, so I don't begrudge that. --As I said above, it is a little cumbersome unless you've got a good internet connection and are doing it all on the computer. --I'm used to it now, but the style makes the most sense if you are participating live. There are a lot of questions and wait for answers. At first I was expecting a lecture more like SOTW. That said, if you have a kid who likes more multimedia, this helps. My son loves history and is a strong reader, but doesn't want just to read all day. This (plus documentaries) puts some jazz into it. Probably more than you wanted to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisabees Posted August 11, 2009 Author Share Posted August 11, 2009 Thank you all! Misty, I pmd you about the list! Emily, thank you for your detailed info. ;) I am not sure if it will be a good fit for my ds. Aaaah! Only two more weeks to figure this out! Thanks again!! Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFJ Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 My daughter loves HAOH. :-) She participated 1X per week last year. I think participating helped keep her engaged in the program, but she still enjoyed her other days, too. When we were on the fence about the program, the teacher allowed us to try it out and listen to some lectures and see how the program worked. This maybe a helpful way to "test drive" the program and see if it is a good match for your child. The teacher has always been very responsive, kind and quick to answer our questions. We will be doing JH European History this year, participating daily. My daughter is excited about it! Best wishes, TFJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Would United Streaming have anything you could use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycalling Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 (edited) History at our House looks great, but there are no prices on their website that I could find. How much is it? I'm interested in the recorded classes for upper elementary. ETA: Nevermind, finally found it. It is only monthly? It's be great if they offered DVDs like The Teaching Co. Edited August 19, 2009 by MyCalling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 History at our House looks great, but there are no prices on their website that I could find. How much is it? I'm interested in the recorded classes for upper elementary. Here's the price info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisabees Posted August 19, 2009 Author Share Posted August 19, 2009 Would United Streaming have anything you could use? I wonder! I did order the Teaching Company's High School history dvd. We'll see how that goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 We will be doing JH European History this year, participating daily. My daughter is excited about it! I asked a question on the HaoH email loop, but haven't received a response. Perhaps you could answer? When do we learn what is going to be covered in the class this year? Will a syllabus be available for the entire year or do we get it in monthly installments? Being a planner, I would love to be able to determine what supplemental books ds will be reading, but that's difficult to do when I have no idea what will be covered in class, other than European History. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFJ Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I asked a question on the HaoH email loop, but haven't received a response. Perhaps you could answer? When do we learn what is going to be covered in the class this year? Will a syllabus be available for the entire year or do we get it in monthly installments? Being a planner, I would love to be able to determine what supplemental books ds will be reading, but that's difficult to do when I have no idea what will be covered in class, other than European History. Thanks! Hi Sue, Last year he did send out an email explaining what was going to be covered for the year. This was how I determined what supplemental materials to get! Hopefully Mr. Powell will send this out to us soon. I will express my interest in having this info on the list, too! :001_smile: TFJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth in NC Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 to do with my 7th grade reluctant reader. He will be reading novels like The Door in the Wall and some pages in an old history book of the Middle Ages I checked out of the library. We will read a version of Beowulf and some other things together . For general background, we will listen to The Story of the Middle Ages from Librivox. I plan to use Librivox for Men of Iron or Otto of the Silver Hand also. He enjoys audio books and I think he will get more out of the history that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfgivas Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 i'm about to do a HaOH conference call (i about 2.5 hours.... 10am PT). i'll check back here for any questions folks would like asked/answered. i signed up for emails to see if we would like this, and he offered this conference call, which i understand has a fair few folks signed up for it! do ya'll use skype or your phone for the conference calls? tia, ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elohcin Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 We are doing an online middle ages class through Veritas Press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfgivas Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 i'm on the conference call right now. he said that the syllabus would be sent out next week. if you send him email, he'll send it out this week to you. hth, ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 i'm on the conference call right now. he said that the syllabus would be sent out next week. if you send him email, he'll send it out this week to you. hth, ann Hey! I'm on that call, too. Don't tell anyone about the stupid questions I'm asking. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisabees Posted August 21, 2009 Author Share Posted August 21, 2009 Hey! I'm on that call, too. Don't tell anyone about the stupid questions I'm asking. ;) Please tell me how it went!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfgivas Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 (edited) it went well enough for us that i signed the family up to do upper elementary european history, which is the upper elementary one he's teaching this year. we chose tier 2, so that they can begin to participate, but at an affordable level for us, as we are also paying for an online writing course this year. if it goes well, we'll go to tier 3 for each one as they hit junior high. i think. the one thing i learned that i hadn't realized before is that the children need to be in a course with him, at a participatory level (ie not just recordings) before high school if they want to take the high school course at the discussion level. so we'll try it this year, and see. i disliked history intensely until high school when i had an excellent teacher. right now, both younger girls love history thanks to SOTW, and i'm hoping to keep that going! Edited August 21, 2009 by elfgivas@yahoo.com forgot something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Have you thought about getting involved with historical re-enactment? No writing necessary, other than filling in the insurance coverage waiver :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.