Need help finding American History program for early elem.

[ondreeuh]

We are starting US History after we finish Core 2 (sometime in the spring) and for the life of me I can't find a program that meets my needs. Maybe I'm just too picky LOL. Please help me find something that works!

 

My son is 8 and not a strong reader - he just started reading a few months ago. He is just starting to write sentences. He enjoys RAs, has above-average comprehension as long as its written in modern language, and doesn't need or want a ton of hands-on crafty stuff. I prefer secular, although something from a "Christian worldview" is OK if it can be explained or modified ... nothing that's from a providential angle though.

 

A) Core 3 seems like a good option except there is NO WAY Landmark will work and I am not sure he will be ready for the readers. I think he's just a little young for that Core. I could save this for later.

 

B) WP's AS1 is a possibility ... I'm not really sure the unit study approach will work for him - one study a week seems kind of forced. I worry the program is a little young for him, and maybe too light to get all I want out of it.

 

C) WP's American Crossing is designed for an older age group, and uses the Time Travelers CDs & crafts. I believe the text from TT is the spine of the program. From the samples, the text looks like something he could follow. This is tempting because I can use some of the crafts now, and some later when we revisit American History. Expensive, though!

 

D K12's history (bought from the coop) ... 3rd grade would cover the time period (along the lines of SOTW 3) but I'm very nervous that 3rd grade work would be expected. His language arts skills are more like 1st grade. I'm not sure how much you have to follow the program if you're an independent user.

 

E) VP's Explorers to 1850 ... I do own History of US but I want to save that for when he's older. I think it also schedules BJU history but I can't find a description and don't know what angle that takes.

 

F) A self-made chronological schedule of history. This I actually do have. It's basically all the resources in Cores 3 and 4 listed chronologically. If I pull out Landmark, I worry that there won't be enough of a spine left to really connect the history.

 

ETA Option G) SOTW 3 with activity guide ... honestly I need more of a schedule. We did SOTW 1 and the books I checked out were very hit or miss. I want something with resources that have been vetted for his age.

 

Are there other options I'm missing? Am I misunderstanding the programs I listed?

[PeterPan]

You could do SL core 3 and skip Landmark for now. The Story of the USA books are very clearly written and might be right on his level. The VP cards also cite Child's Story of America. I'm using it with my dd. Look at the sample pages on cbd or RR and see what you think. It's a bit preachy and opinionated, but it might not bug you. It does what you need and is age-appropriate. The Abeka4 book would work, though you might want to expand their coverage of modern with the Story of the USA books from SL4. It also doesn't schedule any extras for you (read alouds, etc.) the way SL would.

 

As an alternative, have you looked at something like the Rainbow Book of American History by Daugherty? Also get him into the Childhood of Famous Americans biographies as soon as he's able to read them. They're WONDERFUL and will give him great coverage. You might like something like Artner's guide (published by Memoria Press) that allows you to read through history together. That might be just the thing and enjoyable to you. We've used the TQ guides for years as booklists. (Same idea, but Artner is more secular.)

 

He's at a good age/stage to enjoy a lot of the children's lit by Jean Fritz, the If You Were There series, etc. They might all be together in a section of your library or in a section of your favorite catalog.

 

No, I wouldn't tackle Time Travelers/WP AC with him. The TT text is WAY too mature for him right now, sounds like. It's close to the level of Hakim. Your library probably has Hakim so you could preview it. And TT are a ton of writing and coloring.

 

Ooo, you know what he might like? Konos History's Heroes! Very boyish activities. The VP catalog also has boyish activity books. BTW, do you know the VP catalog marks the lower level books with a - sign? If you look through it, you'll find a lot of those classics I was talking about like the Jean Fritz books. VP would actually be very doable for you. I think they're even selling the Scholars lessons for just history now, making it a snap to implement.

 

As far as whether WP AS1 would be too young, look at the books and see. It's probably a mixed bag, with some being too young and some being spot on. Kids often enjoy younger books we don't think they will. Given that he's just taking off with his reading, picture books and high interest, easier stuff might be just the thing to tempt him! You'd start reading and he could take over. :)

[Aurelia]

You might look at the free American history program at www.guesthollow.com, you would have to gather the books yourself, but the program was designed for a 3rd grade boy.

[Donna A.]

MFW Adventures -- Here's a link to their Doctrinal Statement: http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8419

 

And a link to why and how they choose their books: http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8418

 

Heart of Dakota has two different American history programs for the younger crowd, "Beyond" and "Bigger". Where MFW Adventures is a one-year program to include both events and people, HOD separates them into two years to focus more on events in "Beyond", and people in "Bigger". I'm not sure what her doctrinal statement is, though. http://www.heartofdakota.com/index.php

[ondreeuh]

I thought those were very strongly Christian worldview ... I will look at them more closely. Thanks!

[ondreeuh]

Thanks!

 

I wasn't sure if the Story of the USA books would be enough. I asked on the SL forums and was told (emphatically!) that taking away Landmark would not leave enough meat. As Landmark is inaccessible (I did read through it and I'm sure my son would be lost) then there's no point in leaving it in though.

 

Thanks for the tips about Rainbow and the biographies. I wasn't aware of those and will check them out. Or I could pay you to write a schedule for me ;)

[tinkgumby]

Is combining an option at all for you? We are also doing Core 2 right now (I have two sons, 7 and 9), and I plan on moving to Core 3 next year - but I might also read from SOTW 3 as well, which is what I'm doing this year with SOTW 2.

 

With Core 3 and the concerns about the readers, you could read some to him instead of having him read them himself, and/or find some easier books more on his level. He might even surprise you and really take off in his reading/comprehension skills! A lot can change in a few months with a boy that age.

 

Good luck!

[Sue G in PA]

I second the free curriculum from http://www.guesthollow.com. I'm doing that with my 8yo son who also has weak LA skills. You do have to gather the books yourself and plan a bit, but it is FREE and FREE is good! The author mentions that her family is Christian, but that most of the curriculum is secular (or doesn't contain outright Christian bent). The parts that do, or the books that do, you can skip. I'm liking it so far.

[Osaubi]

I am looking for the same things in AH program that you are looking for. I looked at everything I could think of and more. I decided to go with Guest Hollow with some tweaking.

 

I was hoping the History of the US was written into the Guest Hollow AH1 curriculum, but it wasn't. I am going to see if I can figure out how to add them. If not I can save them for the next cycle.

 

I found this link, but I have not looked at it yet:

 

http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/sotw3hakim.htm

[PeterPan]

The Story of the USA (Escher) books SL3 and 4 use would be just fine as a spine for a dc that age.

[Joy at Home]

I used Core 3 with a third grader and wished we would have waited a year or so. Landmark was way over her head, and many of the readers were borderline difficult for her. Core 3 is so good that I think waiting till he's a bit older to appreciate it makes sense.

 

MFW Adventures seems to fit the bill. That would probably be my choice.

 

Also, the free curriculum at guesthollow really looks great. Unless you have a great library, the books could get pricy, though. You may already have some of them. Those would be my top two choices.

 

Good luck!!

Lisa

[StephanieZ]

Thanks!

 

I wasn't sure if the Story of the USA books would be enough. I asked on the SL forums and was told (emphatically!) that taking away Landmark would not leave enough meat. As Landmark is inaccessible (I did read through it and I'm sure my son would be lost) then there's no point in leaving it in though.

 

Thanks for the tips about Rainbow and the biographies. I wasn't aware of those and will check them out. Or I could pay you to write a schedule for me ;)

 

Ohhh, now, you know what SonLight says: "It's a buffet. . ." I did SL 3 as our first core, and my younger was 7 (2nd grade) boy. I did the "Regular" reader schedule for him and he did just fine, in fact his reading exploded that year in response to him enjoying the SL readers!

 

Being on my 4th & 5th cores this year with my dc, I totally understand what SL says about it being a buffet. *I* am a box checker and I hate to miss any of the good stuff, but I really truly believe they wouldn't be badly served by skipping practically anything. There is soooo much good stuff in there. . .

 

If you otherwise like SL, I would just go with Core 3, skip the Landmark altogether (or read a bit here and there if you wish and own it anyway. . . the second half of the book is more engaging). Honestly, even if you left out *all* the texts and just used the "living books", I think it's an awesome core.

[farmwife]

We are LOVING MFW Adventures! Highly recommended!