anewday Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 (edited) I have a year off of our history cycle for my oldest - we'll start the next 4/5 year round the following year. I have several options I'm mulling over right now, one of which is doing just a light, one year world history overview of sorts before jumping into a deeper study. We tend to follow a Charlotte Mason/classical approach to how we do history, so we really enjoy history as a story instead of a list of facts/data. So I thought I'd check in with all the smart mommies here and ask if you know of a good, one year world history resource for middle school? I really want simple and INDEPENDENT... I checked Sonlight and it's a no go for us so that's nixed already. hehe Any ideas? Edited February 5, 2010 by Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 I'm curious as to why you nixed SL Alt. 7? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland_Mom Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 How about "Exploring World History" by Notgrass? It's a text book and is Christian. It takes you from Creation to modern times. You could pick out some living history books to go with several of the units to help bring it all to life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewday Posted February 5, 2010 Author Share Posted February 5, 2010 I'm curious as to why you nixed SL Alt. 7? Really only because they don't have the study/intructors guide with just the history, but I just went back and poked around more and it appears you can purchase it separately (though I didn't find the link for it yet). I need the reading schedule for the books but if I can get that, then it is a good option actually. The ALT7 page only shows a few of the books and not Hillyer's book (which I didn't realize was included either until I poked around and also didn't know it was a good fit for her age but it appears it is). So basically, ignore what I said because it looks like a good option now. LOL:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewday Posted February 5, 2010 Author Share Posted February 5, 2010 How about "Exploring World History" by Notgrass? It's a text book and is Christian. It takes you from Creation to modern times. You could pick out some living history books to go with several of the units to help bring it all to life. Those actually look like a better option for the next cycle instead of an overview since it's a 5day a week/2-3 hour a day committment. I will definately keep it in mind for then! :) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 (edited) Maybe The Story of Mankind (Van Loon)? Edited February 5, 2010 by Kfamily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 (edited) Really only because they don't have the study/intructors guide with just the history, but I just went back and poked around more and it appears you can purchase it separately (though I didn't find the link for it yet). I need the reading schedule for the books but if I can get that, then it is a good option actually. The ALT7 page only shows a few of the books and not Hillyer's book (which I didn't realize was included either until I poked around and also didn't know it was a good fit for her age but it appears it is). So basically, ignore what I said because it looks like a good option now. LOL:tongue_smilie: We used Alt 7 the first year we brought our middle child home. I added all four SOTW books and most of the readers from SL 6 & 7 that weren't included in Alt. 7. This was per his request. He maintains it was his best year of school ever. I was amazed at how much he retained when we went over the comprehension questions and it was easy for me to implement. HTH Edited February 6, 2010 by swimmermom3 Forgot the critical word: easy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna A. Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Originally Posted by Pylegang How about "Exploring World History" by Notgrass? It's a text book and is Christian. It takes you from Creation to modern times. You could pick out some living history books to go with several of the units to help bring it all to life. Those actually look like a better option for the next cycle instead of an overview since it's a 5day a week/2-3 hour a day committment. I will definately keep it in mind for then! :) Thanks! Plus there's the fact that Notgrass World History is high school level. ;) Yes, a 7th grader could probably read and understand the history portion of it, but the lit that's scheduled with it is much deeper (I'm not even having Kayla read every piece). The Bible study questions at the end of each lesson, as well as the quiz and exam questions, are definitely rhetoric stage, not logic. There are writing assignments daily, as well as a bigger writing project each week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 just starting the cycle over but slowing down? I didn't get through it in one year, and in many ways I wish I had had time to slow it down even more than I did. My dd, who is in 8th grade, is studying Spielvogel's "World History: The Human Odeyssey" this year. She will get about halfway through it--she is going quickly because she already knows so much history, will probably be attending a brick and mortar school next year, and we are concentrating in other subject areas more, so we are not coordinating the other readings with it as I would if I wanted an indepth, high school level study. Having said that, it's a good book. It's engaging, it covers the whole world, it is narrative rather than being like a history encyclopedia, and it talks a lot about cultural characteristics and the sweep of changes in thought and the effects of innovations on human society. I like it. It is a high school level text, and so the vocabulary is on the challenging side, but I think it's quite doable. If you really worked at it you could probably get through 2/3 of it in a seventh grade year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 What about Heart of Dakota's Preparing Hearts... with the extensions for older students. It's a 1yr World History overview. It's for younger grade that your dc, but with extensions, it should be deep enough and still light enough to not take up much of your day. Even if all you did was history the guide is very reasonably priced. Then you'd have the option of using the other subjects that tie in as well. There's also the option of using Miller's All Through The Ages and choosing literature from it to cover world history at our own pace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna A. Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 just starting the cycle over but slowing down? I didn't get through it in one year, and in many ways I wish I had had time to slow it down even more than I did. Oh yeah, there ya go! What about starting her in Ambleside year 7, Dawn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela&4boys Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 If you're looking for a Christian worldview, you might consider A Beka's 7th grade text, History of the World as a spine. You could flesh it out with good literature from online lists and catalogs. Fwiw, this is one A Beka title I've heard that dc enjoy. Of course you could skip all the tests and quizzes. They go overboard on the dates and squeeze the joy out of history in that respect.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 we are going to do a year of Geography before we start another cycle. I am considering MFW ECC b/c I am also considering their high school program, and I thought this might be a good way to check them out. Sorry I got off-topic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 BF Jr high US and World program. The only thing you HAVE to do is go over the lesson review questions. Other than that, it can be completely independent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna A. Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 If you're looking for a Christian worldview, you might consider A Beka's 7th grade text, History of the World as a spine. You could flesh it out with good literature from online lists and catalogs. Fwiw, this is one A Beka title I've heard that dc enjoy. Of course you could skip all the tests and quizzes. They go overboard on the dates and squeeze the joy out of history in that respect.:tongue_smilie: The one downside of this text is that it includes an entire section laying out in chart form and great detail their view of eschatology. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 The one downside of this text is that it includes an entire section laying out in chart form and great detail their view of eschatology. :glare: Only one chapter? :D Really, I would expect nothing less from A Beka. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna A. Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Only one chapter? :D Really, I would expect nothing less from A Beka. Well um, yes, that is a true statement. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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