If you had no library.....

[Vita Passiva]

If you had no library access, which history program would you choose? Could you do SOTW? TOG? Or something else? We are overseas and will homeschool K next fall. Thanks! I feel like you all are like my virtual mentors in this endeavor.....so thankful for this site! And for those of you overseas, how do you do it with books? Do you buy all the books? borrow them?

[PeterPan]

Pretty much depends on your budget. I do Veritas Press history without using the library and you wouldn't want to know what it costs. Is your dc also going to read in the language of the country where you're living? You may find yourself needing less books in english if that's the case. Personally, in your shoes, I'd lean toward books like from SL, where they're dual-use. The kids will enjoy them as read-alouds when they're young and will read them again and again for themselves as they get older, just because the books are so engaging. Buying books with a one-time use, say for a single history topic, won't be as good a value. You want things that cover many topics in one (Usborne TimeTraveller, for instance) and that will get used over and over.

 

TOG is overkill for K5, so cross that off your list. :)

 

If you want to do SOTW, many people integrate it to the elementary SL cores quite nicely, so you'd have a whole box of wonderful books coming to you from one place, very convenient.

[Vita Passiva]

Thanks for your input. We do have a pretty limited budget, but we'll use the same curriculum for ds#2 who will be three (when he's old enough). I will take a look at SL thanks! We are here indefinitely, and I am pretty sure one day we'll be back in America, so we do need to focus on English things, right now they are in local preschool to learn language. OK Thanks!

[Closeacademy]

SOTW is a stand alone text. I would buy the activity guide or the activity guide looseleaf packet or whatever it is that you can buy with the maps and coloring pages.

 

At that age, my girls loved coloring the maps or pages while I read the story. We do have a library and so checked out books to go with what we were reading about but you can do SOTW just by itself and it will be fine.

[Chris in VA]

I love SOTW, but I wouldn't bother with ANY history in K. Save it for 1st grade.

[HollyDay]

We have a terrible library. I am able to do SOTW but my book budget is larger than I would like.

 

Have you looked at MFW?

[Amira]

We did SOTW the year we were overseas with no library when my children were pre-K and first grade. Worked fine for us, but I did supplement from my own knowledge of history.

[SnowWhite]

I'd use WinterPromise. Naturally, I use WinterPromise and I have a yucky library, so *no* library is just a small adjustment.

[Aubrey]

Well, I've only used SOTW, so you can take my answer w/ a grain of salt.

 

I *think* I'd choose the program based on its own merits, then look at supplementing. But bear in mind, SOTW stands alone, so that's easy for me to say. I would use it w/out access to a library. We don't use many of the lib books rec'd.

 

HTH!

[nutmeg]

For grammar stage, I'd go with SOTW. If you can afford it, add biographies by Ingri D'Aulaire and Diane Stanley.

[Pata]

We have used SL Core C for K and enjoyed it. I am planning on using Core 1 next year with SOTW-1. We are also moving overseas and won't have access to an English library! I have found that I have not had to supplement Sonlight other books, but we have only used it for Bible, history and read-alouds. Their LA was a little to natural for me and I prefer to use my own science :)! Hope that helps!

[elegantlion]

I pretend we don't have a library :thumbdown: They have a poor selection and we don't have access to a car during the day, so I can rarely go when they are open.

 

We are using MOH with supplements for next year. My goal is to plan ahead and buy a little at a time, which I have been doing. I look for thrift stores, paperbackswap.com, etc, which probably wouldn't help you.

 

We will end up spending a little more, but I'd rather have the resources when I need.

[St. Theophan Academy]

I agree with the no history suggestion - I would just select a few good read alouds. If you really want some history, the D'Aulaires set from Beautiful Feet is nice for that level to give a nice history of America sort of thing. I think spending a lot of time on history in K is really rather fruitless, let them focus on Math, reading, and you reading aloud really good literature. I would look at the SL book suggestions, and also the Ambleside reading lists for that level, then select what is in your budget and just really enjoy those. This is the time to have fun reading books like Charlotte's Web, the Chronicles of Narnia or Stuart Little, not worrying about the ancient Egyptians :) Then in 1st grade you can start SOTW.

[MelissaMinNC]

That would be a nightmare for me, ack!

 

We used My Father's World Kindergarten last year, and it was wonderful, but we borrowed all the books from the library (except for the one about dinosaurs, it came with the curriculum package). If I were doing K again and I didn't have access to a library, assuming I were still on the limited budget I am now...I would probably not buy a curriculum at all, but just spend the money on good quality children's literature. I'd get some other basic supplies - math (like baaasic, play a lot of game), handwriting, arts/crafts stuff, maybe a basic science experiment book, if your dc are into that, etc. We would read a LOT - I'd really spend the bulk of my budget on books to read - I'd use the Sonlight catalog, the Ambleside Online booklist, the list of 1000 good books, etc., to get ideas. We'd take a lot of walks, we'd build forts and bake bread. Play with playdough. Have FUN.

 

I wouldn't do history in K, personally. First grade is plenty early to start that; maybe too early depending on the kid.

 

GL!

:)

Melissa

[Carol in Cal.]

I don't mean to presume, if you are not Christian or Jewish this would not be the best choice. I apologize if that is the case.

 

The study of the Ancients is so engrossing, and SOTW1 could easily be spread out over two years, especially if you intersperse it with the Bible. I did this with the Concordia Self-Study Bible, which had so many great helps that it made it almost 'grab and go.'

 

I would also buy a logic stage spine--maybe Kingfisher--so that you will have colored pictures to look at. And I would invest in the full SOTW package, with the maps and coloring pages and activities. I would not do all of them, but a nice colored picture and/or map for each chapter would be great, and the AG does correlated the SOTW and KF books.

 

If you could get one other resource, I agree with the D'Aliere (sp) books from Beautiful Feet. If you use those to start to familiarize your children with American History, I think you will be pleased. Think of them as literature rather than history, though.

 

Also, at the kindergarten level I would be very slow and allow for many rabbit trails, especially since you are overseas. It would be better to take a local field trip than push on through SOTW. After all, when will you have a chance like this again?

 

Also, for kindergarten, starting to introduce reading, copywork, and simple arithmetic are more important than history.

[mcconnellboys]

If I had no library, I think I might still use SOTW. I think I would look for anthologies of stories covering many cultures and encyclopedic type works covering the history/geography of various countries. Books that provide summaries of time periods, such as Fiona Macdonald's The World in the Time of ________ books; or Genevieve Foster's __________'s World, also would provide multi-usage over time.

 

I think I would also try to access free reading materials online, if possible. There's a wealth of such things available today.

 

Regena

[ArwenA]

We've always had a good library and haven't had to work with a tight budget so SOTW has been just fine. Now our library is locked out and we are on a very tight budget but still manage to do SOTW 3 and Canadian history with reading be our main focus.

[Laura Corin]

What we do:

 

I use Story of the World with Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History. The internet links round out the story. However, I usually start this in 1st, not K. For K, I would concentrate on great picture books: complete sets of A.A.Milne and Beatrix Potter will get you a long way.

 

As for other materials: each time we go overseas we take an empty suitcase and bring it back filled with second-hand books. Depending on where you are going, Amazon (.com or .ca or .co.uk) may also be an option. Bookdepository.co.uk also ships to many countries for free.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[chiguirre]

If you have someone who can receive books and hold them for you until you visit, you could probably do most programs that have been mentioned. You can get a lot of books in a suitcase, but you have to watch the weight. If you don't have someone who can hold the books for you, I'd try Sonlight since they're probably the best for overseas shipping. Of course, this depends on the reliability of customs and the postal service on the receiving end.

 

When we lived in Venezuela, I tried to build my own library by buying Sonlight books, Five in a Row books, Veritas Press books, etc. If you don't have time to collect in advance, I'd vote for Sonlight because it includes history, read-alouds and science if you buy it in one package. Cores A and B would be particularly good because the treasuries have a lot of picture books in a fairly compact book.

[siloam]

If you had no library access, which history program would you choose? Could you do SOTW? TOG? Or something else? We are overseas and will homeschool K next fall. Thanks! I feel like you all are like my virtual mentors in this endeavor.....so thankful for this site! And for those of you overseas, how do you do it with books? Do you buy all the books? borrow them?

 

I don't use the Library at all. I use TOG and just buy the books (many used).

 

Heather

 

[Deb in NZ]

for dc the age you have I'd recommend saving SOTW until 1st or even 2nd (when your ds would be 4yo & get a bit out of it). SL would be a good way to get a selection of good books from one source, but FIAR books are great for that age as well & can be made into mini unit studies. You could collect the FIAR books before you leave & ask for more books as Xmas presents, etc. Or how about focusing on geography with GtG for K as you're heading overseas. Do bring a science encyclopedia & history encyclopedia (Usborne's good for dc K-4th) & a world atlas at your dc's level. My dc read encyclopedia for fun.

 

JMHO,

[TMarie]

How much do you like having books on hand to read?

 

If you really like having books on your shelf, try Sonlight, My Fathers World, or Winters Promise. These programs will send you exactly what you need. (Our family used Sonlight in K and had a great year.) With these companies you can order all, or most, of your subjects from one source, which simplifies life. :001_smile:

 

If you would rather have just one core history book then SOTW with activity guide, or Mystery of History are excellent choices. We've used both of these. My problem with these two programs is that I constantly wanted the supplemental books, which are listed in both SOTW and MoH. Our library is very limited and we could never find the suggested titles.

 

Also, I agree to hold off starting history until 1st grade. In Kindergarten concentrate on reading, reading, reading. If you think your family will eventually use Tapestry of Grace, you might want to look at collecting those books when you can.

[Friederike in Persia]

If you're going to a capital or another big city with a reasonable amount of other foreigners the likelihood of SL users is big. In that case you could borrow or buy cheaply, when people leave, as there's often a big turn-over.

Story of the World (which would be my recommendation) isn't that common yet, but it's not much to take either.

By the way, if you should choose to buy SL new, I've just heard that people with certain organisations get 25 % off. Be sure to check!

[Kate in Arabia]

No library here. We use SOTW, and I buy a lot of supplemental books during our annual trip home. We are allowed ten pieces of luggage on the plane back, and I'd say seven of those pieces are books, lol.

 

Dh and I are always on the lookout for book sales here. We can often find people who are leaving, or whose kids are grown or what have you, and we are quick to pick up whatever we can. The local schools and universities sometimes have library sales. Also neighboring cities sometimes have book sales and we try to stay on top of those as well. As you might guess, we have a lot of books at the house. Not only do we need books for school, but even general reading books for us and the kids.

 

As far as SOTW is concerned, we have a few history sets -- adult-level reading, but lots of pictures. And more than that, we use the internet a lot. So many resources out there, and I hear about a lot of them on here.

[Susie in MS]

Now this does include other subjects but then so does MFW, SL, and WP, so I am amazed that no one mentioned Heart of Dakota's Little Hearts for His Glory!!!!

http://www.heartofdakota.com/little-hearts.php

 

~You will have EVERY book you need right at your fingertips!!!!!! (I WOULD have to suppliment with MFW).

~It is inexpensive as all your subjects will run you about $142 plus the cost of what ever phonics you use.

~Lots of hands on that use commonly owned materials.

~Lots of nature reading stuff like Burgess, and living history.

~Very easy to use as it is open and go.

~Very Charlotte Mason.

 

As the children get older more and more living books are added to upper levels, but the package is sold right there at HOD and they are not expensive when compared with other programs. No library needed! :hurray:

[chiguirre]

As your dc get older, I'd look at Ambleside because most of their books are online. They even have a lot of downloadable audiobooks. I wouldn't start Year 1 until at least first grade, and possibly second, depending on the child, so this won't help for K.

[Free Indeed]

I would not do SOTW or any other history program for k. Here is what I would do. I would either buy a Sonlight core or go to http://www.homeschoolshare.com and pick 34-36 weeks worth of books to do a unit study on. The units are free, written by homeschool moms- all you would have to do is print the pages. There are lapbooks to go along with some of them also. They have an amazon link right there so you can look to see how much the book is going to cost. Add it up and see if this might work for you.

[vmsurbat]

and have for the last 12+ years.

 

For K, I would forget a history "program" and instead invest what money I could in lots of good books that cover all kinds of topics. You don't need a guide to read good books to your children! The early years of Sonlight, Ambleside Online, FIAR, Yesterday's Classics, all have good, good choices of books to read. Pick a variety of topics, picture books, fairy tales, children's classics (ie. The Poky Little Puppy).

 

Not knowing where you are headed, what I *would* take for a K are good quality kid's scissors, glue sticks, construction paper, and the like. You might invest in Abeka's Art book for K (get it early as it gives you a list of supplies you'll need) or CLP's early art books (There's two, can't recall the names but they are good). You can read/print good books off the internet, but I've never been able to find "craft" supplies here because "craft" stores don't exist.

 

Also, try to remember that just being in a foreign country is exciting and take advantage of ALL the opportunities you will have with places to go and people to see....

 

HTH,