Why is hsing so history driven?

[michelle l]

Or is it just me???

 

It seems like the history programs are the big, expensive ones that seem to drive everything else. This year we're doing Sonlight. I think we're doing Winter Promise next year. Both of those though have a pretty hefty price tag, and honestly as I look at WP it could eat up a huge chunk of the day.

 

Everything else I bought this year was pretty reasonable -- MUS, Growing w/Grammar, Imitation in Writing, our critical thinking books, Apologia book...but history is this huuuuge overarching thing.

 

Can anyone explain this to me? Sometimes I think I should just do MOH and be done with it. I don't stress over the others, why do I stress over this?

[Carol in Cal.]

Your mileage may vary! What do you love?

 

I love history, reading, books, literature, stories, cultural studies, etc. I even like geography, up to a point. So I have been thrilled to organize our studies around history and make them fit together really well.

 

OTOH, if I or my child loved science more, we would probably organize a lot of our writing, literature, and math around science. That would also be a really good way to homeschool.

 

Pick what you love, and/or what your child loves, and organize around that!

 

BTW, I love history way too much to use one of those complicated approaches. Nope, I have too much fun organizing it myself around a spine like SOTW to let Sonlight or TOG do it for me. Or MFW or Winter Promise, for that matter, neither of which was around when DD was the right age for them. Steward Ship is about as far as I've ever gone toward letting someone else organize this for me. And even that I used mostly as a jumping off point.

 

Have fun with this! It doesn't have to drive you crazy, honest!

[i.love.lucy]

It's funny you'd ask that as I was wondering the same thing. I do think the human story is important, but honestly to let it drive the whole show seems too much to me. But I might be feeling this way because I've been reading LCC!:D I'm sure some would wonder why you'd let Latin drive the car too. I agree that if you had a child more interested in science or math or literature you could certainly treat history as a regular ol' subject.

[MIch elle]

SOTW w/AG (maps & questions only) and tests; KF History Encyclopedia and BP Cool History worksheets - add a few DVDs and we're done!

[Colleen in NS]

It seems like the history programs are the big, expensive ones that seem to drive everything else.

 

I think history drives a lot of homeschooling studies because it's seen as a backbone to a lot of other subject areas like science, literature, art, and music. You could study political history, and you could study the history of these other areas. And I think that companies put out packaged products as a help to people who don't want to or don't feel comfortable creating their own history study plans, but you don't *have* to buy a packaged plan. Like Carol mentioned, you could plan your own thing around something like SOTW, or the Kingfisher history book, or any other book/book series on history that you like that would be age-appropriate for your kids. You can flesh it out as little or as much as you want, with library books (info., biographies, literature of the time under study), atlases, activity maps, library videos, trips to historic places, etc.. You can fold history reading into your writing plans each week. You can let this take several hours a week, or you can keep it down to a couple of hours a week, whatever fits your other educational plans and family life.

[LaurainMD]

It seems to me that many of us homeschool because we find something lacking in the local public school curriculum (at least in part), and for me a lot of what is missing is a thorough, chronological approach to history. It seems a big piece of things in our homeschool world perhaps in part because it's so *not* a big subject in traditional schools.

 

Of course, I feel the same way about science. In our local school, my kindergartener would be getting 30 minutes of science once a week. Hahahahaha. And do you know that in the high school, it's not even required to take biology, chemistry, and physics? <shaking head> But that's another topic...

[KrissiK]

Well, it's gotta be something. As a previous poster said, it's a good glue to hold the other subjects together. Although I think it's mostly classical education that has a singular focus like that. If I used all A Beka curriculum, it doesn't emphasize any one subject. I love history, but we use SOTW and it's not that expensive.

[elegantlion]

We don't. We follow a Latin-Centered curriculum. I read LCC in the midst of the very struggle of what history program to chose. I was about to pull my hair out, seriously. I prefer to center our studies around something that is not so subjective to perspective. I love history, it was my favorite subject in school, but we don't make it the main focus. I usually spend more money on Latin, not history.

 

Ds requested to learn Asian history next year and I did spend more than normal because I pieced together materials, but still no where near what some history packages cost.

[stripe]

I've wondered the same thing, either literature or history based. It seems that there is less of a burning passion on the part of most homeschoolers about scientific pursuits.

[HollyDay]

I think homeschoolers are, in general, big picture folks. We tend to look outside the box and think about things like time lines, continuity, patterns, and flow of time. We want our dc to get a glimpse of the world outside their day to day living. To wonder what a child in another country is doing, eating, playing, studying while we are doing whatever it is we are doing. We want our children to think and make choices based on a variety of information. We tend not to take a one sided view of things. We ask more than "what happened on this date" or "who did what when". We look at impact and cultural awareness. We seek concepts and mastery not rote memorization. So, history tends to lend itself to this style of educating. And so much flows through time. I love to look at a particular time in history and discover what was going on in various places of the world at that time. What was being invented? What was happening in Europe or Asia at that time? How did their geography and natural resources affect the time? From this point, all manner of studies can be introduced - science, literature, religion, art, languages. It is almost an endless supply of inspiration!! Wow, I think I'll go study something!!!!

[StartingOver]

I adore history now, I detested it in school. I want my children to learn to love it through wonderful literaure. No dry textbooks here ! ;-) We love literature for every subject though. I am in the process of building moveable, ( since we rent ) stackable book shelves that will surround my bed. ;-)

 

My older children have said they will just come get all my books when they start to homeschool. OVER MY DEAD BODY !! They may come use grandma's library, but there is no checking books out here.

[Suzannah]

I'm not sure that the market has always been so history-driven. There are many history-centered curricula out there, but there are also Latin-centered, literature-centered and Christ-centered curricula as well as unit studies centered on just about everything under the sun.

 

Personally, I love history and it makes perfect sense to me to make history the framework for the rest of our studies. That is why TWTM resonated with me.

 

I don't think a history-centered curriculum must be expensive. We've followed TWTM from the beginning (starting the year that SOTW came out) and really the amount of money I've spent on history is not that much, especially spread out over the seven years we've been homeschooling. We've purchased four volumes of SOTW with AGs, Usborne (used) and Kingfisher (used) and while I have picked up several other novels, activity books and biographies along the way, I probably would have done that no matter what curriculum we used. Plus we get all sorts of things from the library and free online. I've looked as some of those expensive programs, even seriously considered buying one of them. But in the end, the price is what kept me from it--not because I'm not willing to spend money for a quality program, but because I can have a quality program for a much lower price.

[Heather in VA]

It isn't in our homeschool. I'm more of an LCCer that way. Latin, math, writing are the central subjects.

 

Heather

[kalanamak]

I've wondered the same thing, either literature or history based. It seems that there is less of a burning passion on the part of most homeschoolers about scientific pursuits.

 

Oh, in the minority again.:)

 

I may change my thinking in the logic stage, and intend to push history much more in the high school years, but I am of the opinion history is a really complex issue that blossoms under the guiding light of a more mature mind. Teaching too much at this age seems a little too much like propaganda. Ditto religion (to me). The names of places and some peoples, some map work, fun read alouds, all good, but I'm doing our narration with science and the selections in WWE. Perhaps when I get to the outlining age, history will seem more useful.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Wow - my history program - All American History - was the least expensive of my purchases. Science and math were by far the most expensive. Same goes for next year.

[Peela]

We are history and literature driven but I have never bought expensive programs. SOTW and Ambleside, and more recently,CTT, have got us through.

Buying fancy, laid out programs is not what homeschooling is about, although it seems like it sometimes (and I am a reformed curriculum junkie so I know all about buying programs!).

My experience is that it is the program that actually gets done that is the best one, no matter how wonderful they all can look. For that reason I have actually gone back to SOTW for my 14 and 15yos this year, combined with CTT. They do the assignments from CTT, plus any others I think up, and I read SOTW aloud and we discuss. It's mainly because dd15 loves it and ds14 cant remember a thing, (even though we did this book when he was 12), so its all new to him, so we may as well stick with the basics.

Its not the program that counts- its what is engaged with and somehow retained (or at least those pegs are created for younger kids).

[Poke Salad Annie]

Buying fancy, laid out programs is not what homeschooling is about, although it seems like it sometimes (and I am a reformed curriculum junkie so I know all about buying programs!).

 

My experience is that it is the program that actually gets done that is the best one, no matter how wonderful they all can look.

Its not the program that counts- its what is engaged with and somehow retained (or at least those pegs are created for younger kids).

 

:iagree:

 

Yep, I also was one of those who pulled hair out and stressed needlessly until I woke up one day and came to my senses.

 

I think the very golden advice given here is what I have finally taken to heart and have made my mantra. I do not believe that it takes a very expensive program to teach your children well. You could really do so much with a copy of the WTM and a decent library.---or even follow Ambleside as much as possible. Heck, even a halfway decent library would be okay. I have been amazed at some of the things I've found in my own library (which I would deem much less than halfway decent).

[stripe]

I am of the opinion history is a really complex issue that blossoms under the guiding light of a more mature mind. Teaching too much at this age seems a little too much like propaganda.

:evil grin: But isn't that the best reason of all to homeschool? (Heh heh.) Just kidding....

 

I noticed this a lot when I was looking at Ambleside ("It's true that Charlotte Mason did not want math to take over the time that could be spent on the humanities"). Even Charlotte Mason herself put a lot of effort into other subjects, but when it came to math, she basically thought it was a necessary boredom, and just use the textbook (per reading her series, not the preceding quote). Most of the parents using this that I observed, seemed to be not very interested in math. They were, however, passionate about literature.

[MissKNG]

That's why hsing is so awesome! You can center your hs around what is best for your family. History is NOT the center of our hs. The Bible is number 1 then the 3R's and science.

[michelle l]

So......uh, my brain is actually mush now. No, really.:svengo:

 

Maybe it's because we used SL this year. My neighbor and SIL use it, so when people ask what we're using I say "We're doing Sonlight." But, that's not really true. We're doing a lot of other things too! SL just happens to be our most expensive thing with the biggest book. In my mind that's our main curriculum.:001_huh: It's also the one that stresses me out the most, constantly trying to keep up and not get behind. (we're ahead in some areas of it and behind in others, but not too far off) I do enjoy the books and like the lit based aspect in that it does help the period come alive.

 

My science doesn't stress me out at all. We're going through the book at our own pace and I'm fine with that. We don't do a ton of experiments (Apologia Flying Creatures) but it has definitely engaged them in the sense that they are now actually interested in and curious about birds and insects.

 

I like our MUS for the same reasons. We go through it as we go through it. We're never behind. I supliment with Horizons and LOF. No stress.

 

I love the look of WP. There are great hands-on things for the kiddos, plus the mapping and timeline which I want to continue with. There are read-alouds, and I can get readers and supliment with SL books. But there again, it's a "check it off" kind of schedule. And it is EXPENSIVE!

 

Thank you for all the wisdom! You've all given me an absolute ton to think about! I would have to quote each of you to show what has resonated with me, so I'll just say you've each given me good thoughts to chew on. I appreciate it so much. Feel free to keep discussing, it's great reading for me.

 

:)

[Mommyfaithe]

SOTW w/AG (maps & questions only) and tests; KF History Encyclopedia and BP Cool History worksheets - add a few DVDs and we're done!

 

:iagree: Me too. Add in a library card and books...books...books...mostly picture...LOL even for us older people. and we are done!

 

Love history here...hate hefty plans...love to go w/ the flow....otherwise how would I have read the ntire Little house series to my kids this winter? (and yes, I know about the Prairie Primer and othe units...that would have ruined it completely.)

 

Faithe

 

ETA: Our main focus is attitude and character. Then the 3 R's ...then literature, history...as they get older the focus shifts to more science (7-12th grades) Sonlight, MFW etc. drove me nuts. i tried MANY times to love those programs, but they made me crazy...always feeling behind, questioning why they used this book instead that other much better one...etc. Now, I focus on skills....then on content areas. My kids learn an awful lot once they can read and write well without all the planned curricula. In the early years the focus needs to be on building academic skills foundations that can be built upon. Once those skills are in place a child can learn ANYTHING thier heart desires. Then it becomes my job to introduce subject matter and their job to learn MORE if they wish...and just the required if it doesn't float their boat.

Edited May 1, 2010 by Mommyfaithe

[michelle l]

Love history here...hate hefty plans...love to go w/ the flow....otherwise how would I have read the ntire Little house series to my kids this winter? (and yes, I know about the Prairie Primer and othe units...that would have ruined it completely.)

 

Faithe

 

 

Yes! I do like our SL books. I do like that my boys are reading good books, reading consistently, and that I see great improvement. However...there are soooo many books I was hoping to read to them or have them read, and we just don't have time! I'm wondering about something with some hands-on, pulling in some good historical fiction and biographies (ds10 has loved the biographies this year actually) but leaving room for other books too. Maybe I really just have to put this thing together on my own.

 

Ugh.:blink:

[melmichigan]

SL is very relaxed for us with my youngers, their focus is the 3 R's. Surprisingly their core is the one that gets done. :lol: My older DD does have more focus on history but it is still pretty balanced in our house because we tend to be science heavy. We are doing Core 6, 7, and 100 over four years for our middle school rotation with two TC series, the History of US DVD's and the history of science and navigation thrown in. So it encompasses more than just history. :)

[Sebastian (a lady)]

It seems that history is one of the places where there is room for a huge variety in approaches and perspectives. Even under the umbrella of deep historical emphasis, you have disagreement over chronological based, geographic/culture based or units based on themes.

 

So I wonder if some of what seems like an emphasis on history is because that is where various writers and publishers can really put their imprint on things. With math, there are only so many ways of changing things up.

 

It may also reflect the idea that history is one subject where passionate amateurs could create curriculum that blended together lots of trade books. That isn't really an approach that would work for math. And only works for science up to a point.

[Colleen in NS]

Yes! I do like our SL books. I do like that my boys are reading good books, reading consistently, and that I see great improvement. However...there are soooo many books I was hoping to read to them or have them read, and we just don't have time! I'm wondering about something with some hands-on, pulling in some good historical fiction and biographies (ds10 has loved the biographies this year actually) but leaving room for other books too. Maybe I really just have to put this thing together on my own.

 

Ugh.:blink:

 

No "ugh." :D SL books are great. You might just be ready to branch out and pull your own thing together now. You can still set up an independent reading time each day (ours is after lunch when the kids go to their rooms for reading/play for a couple of hours), and a read-aloud time before bedtime (or whenever works for you). Then you are not so tied to a reading schedule, and they will get all those other books read that you want them to read. It's really fun and freeing (IMO) to have one "spine" that you read and expand from - you discover rabbit trails you never knew existed, AND you teach your kids how to research, in the process!

[silliness7]

 

It seems like the history programs are the big, expensive ones that seem to drive everything else... ..... Sometimes I think I should just do MOH and be done with it.

 

I don't get it either. It seems to me that education should be language driven. Reading and Writing (and their components) should get the majority of the time and money. Of course, you have to read and write about something so history is a logical thing to read and write about but certainly not the only thing. And trying to match our reading up with exactly where we are in history is a nightmare. I refuse to stress over it any longer.

 

We do MOH and are done with it. Love it!

[Ray]

You know I thought ours was driven by Arithmetic, but the hungry alligator eaats History.

 

http://www.secular-homeschooling.com/004/why_history.html

[Guest mrsjamiesouth]

Or is it just me???

 

It seems like the history programs are the big, expensive ones that seem to drive everything else. This year we're doing Sonlight. I think we're doing Winter Promise next year. Both of those though have a pretty hefty price tag, and honestly as I look at WP it could eat up a huge chunk of the day.

 

Everything else I bought this year was pretty reasonable -- MUS, Growing w/Grammar, Imitation in Writing, our critical thinking books, Apologia book...but history is this huuuuge overarching thing.

 

Can anyone explain this to me? Sometimes I think I should just do MOH and be done with it. I don't stress over the others, why do I stress over this?

 

:iagree: Last year tried WP, even looked at TOG, Sonlight and HOD. In the end, I decided the same thing and this coming up year we are doing MOH. I want to spend more time on Language Arts and Math, not so much on History. I did get a bunch of reading books to read aloud during the year.

[Ester Maria]

I wouldn't call us History-driven, but History is a handy tool to organize other studies around it: literature (esp. in high school), art, music, drama and film, some people even do more areas. History is just good to UNITE all of that and to provide with a context, so that you don't end up studying bits of various things without context and connections, it's probably the ideal subject to unite things.

 

That being said, we don't emphasize it in sense of spending a lot of time on History, but we do organize some things we study around History since it's handy.

[Janice in NJ]

I don't really think of the classical model as being history driven. For us it is an idea-driven model. Grammar-Dialectic-Rhetoric represent a progression in the ways to think about an idea. The quadrivium takes it to the next level - but for us it is still all about ways to think about ideas.

 

History, Literature, Science, and the Arts are full of man's experience as he went about thinking about ideas in the past. It's fairly simple to kill two birds with one stone. As a child learns to work with ideas at ever increasing levels of difficulty, he builds a contextual room where he can hang those ideas on pegs. As he moves through the trivium and hopefully into the quadrivium he learns how to handle those old ideas with an added layer of complexity (Oh! How did I miss that? THAT's what was really happening!) AND he learns about new ideas that fit neatly on pegs between the old friends that are already hanging there.

 

Skills built through content. Content more deeply understood because of swelling skills.

 

It really works quite well once you get past the idea that it is "just" history centered. The forest really is a bit bigger than that. :001_smile: I'll admit that I didn't "get it" when I started. I understand a lot more now. It was all there all of the time. I just didn't understand it in the way that I do now. All's well.

 

And the beauty of hsing is that we are each free to find our own paths. There are plenty of folks who homeschool without an ideas-centered approach. They are educating their kids well too. Many flavors of ice cream. What's not to like? ALL ice cream is so yummy! :001_smile:

 

Peace,

Janice

[MyFourSons]

I don't get it either. It seems to me that education should be language driven. Reading and Writing (and their components) should get the majority of the time and money. Of course, you have to read and write about something so history is a logical thing to read and write about but certainly not the only thing. And trying to match our reading up with exactly where we are in history is a nightmare. I refuse to stress over it any longer.

 

We do MOH and are done with it. Love it!

 

History is language driven, and memory driven. If you are using great literture to learn history, it is basically like learning the story of humanity. It is story telling. Obviously, some programs are better at this than others, but it is also very easy to come up with your own literature based history program using your library card.

 

Writing about history can also be fun and challenging. When you learn English, you are learning history because the language has changed over the years.

 

Also, learning facts and remembering them is a great way to excercise that muscle you call a brain. When you test your children's knowledge using oral and written essay questions, even more language skills are being flexed.

[stripe]

And here's something to ponder: why is math (and, to a lesser degree science) normally taught completely devoid of a historical and cultural context?

[Ester Maria]

And here's something to ponder: why is math (and, to a lesser degree science) normally taught completely devoid of a historical and cultural context?

Because math is a formal science, a kind of a language, which functions within its own system (and is later applied in other fields). As such, knowing the context of the genesis of its parts studied is not essential to understanding them, as is the case with sciences, and not to even mention a complex net of "humanities and social sciences" which basically cannot even be studied field-by-field without connection to other ones. The latter are largely interdisciplinary and contextual disciplines; natural sciences have some of those characteristics as well (cannot be studied without the fundamental understanding of what "science" as an explanatory system is, and cannot be studied without math and without notions from other sciences), but mathematics is a "language" in its pure form. Don't confuse mathematics with natural sciences, it's a formal science, like logic, and it explains from the inside, not from the outside. That's why in learning math it's crucial to master its language, the principles it works on, its tautological and - at the end of the day - axiomatic nature, and, of course, within the context of formal instruction, "to get the scheme done" (something I HEAVILY disagree with, but that's already off-topic), rather than its historical and cultural context (though I do agree that, in order to gain a more nuanced understanding of it, you should take those into account as well). :)

Edited May 3, 2010 by Ester Maria

[Mom22ns]

I consider our homeschool to be language and math focused. I have a science degree and love teaching science too. That said, we do Sonlight history because we love to read. We read lots of wonderful books and get a historical context for what we are reading which helps the kids appreciate the books more.

 

I think homeschool may seem history driven because history is a subject that is easy to work in a lot of cross-curricular study. We read, we write, we think and learn about history all at the same time. We work hard and spend a lot of time on math, but all we learn when we do it is math (and logic). Language Arts is a huge focus, but providing content to read and write about through the use of history makes it much easier to practice the skills we are trying to gain there. LA in isolation can be hard to grasp and hard to apply later.

[michelle l]

Wow, I did very well in school, but some of you make me feel really average -- must look up "tautological" and "axiomatic"!:blush:

 

What a fantastic thread. I'm feeling a bit more free to do history a bit more free-form. You all are making a great deal of sense. There is such inner angst about knowing that I am responsible for my children's education. I'm sure some of that comes with being new to hsing. (I have taught pre-school and 1st great -- I know how to put a unit together. Why do I feel so inadequate? Sheesh!:rolleyes:)

 

So I could choose a spine, and gather whatever read-alouds, readers, mapping, time-lines, and hands-on activities I wanted from various sources. Yes? And MOH, SOTW, Usborn Enc. of World History, etc. would all be considered spines? When I buy an SL or WP I am just paying to have this already done for me and scheduled out over the year, is that correct?

 

Thank you for your thoughtful responses. They are very helpful!:)

[stripe]

Regarding the importance of studying the history behind math, may I recommend the following items I've read recently that advocate its importance and pose the same question, one written by mathematician, another by math educators, in order to more fully understand the beauty and function of mathematics:

A Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhart

Multiple Factors: classroom mathematics for equality and justice by Sharan-Jeet Shan and Peter Bailey

 

I thought this was an important topic to make, especially for those of us who tend to emphasize math and science more than the humanities -- that there is a value to history even within those disciplines.

[johnandtinagilbert]

I'd say classical home schooling is history driven.

[johnandtinagilbert]

I adore history now, I detested it in school. I want my children to learn to love it through wonderful literaure. No dry textbooks here ! ;-) We love literature for every subject though. I am in the process of building moveable, ( since we rent ) stackable book shelves that will surround my bed. ;-)

 

My older children have said they will just come get all my books when they start to homeschool. OVER MY DEAD BODY !! They may come use grandma's library, but there is no checking books out here.

:lol::lol::lol: I was wondering about that entire scenario just the other day...I haven't decided if they'll be leaving with my collection or not :001_huh:

 

:iagree:

 

Yep, I also was one of those who pulled hair out and stressed needlessly until I woke up one day and came to my senses.

 

I think the very golden advice given here is what I have finally taken to heart and have made my mantra. I do not believe that it takes a very expensive program to teach your children well. You could really do so much with a copy of the WTM and a decent library.---or even follow Ambleside as much as possible. Heck, even a halfway decent library would be okay. I have been amazed at some of the things I've found in my own library (which I would deem much less than halfway decent).

I so agree, and also have found that sometimes, since my family is just so darn big...those expensive, laid out over 12 years of school, all-inclusive programs get enough laid out for me that I can spend a wee bit of time being choosy, without all the digging. Honestly, I used to do it all myself and it was exhausting (using MOH/SOTW) as spines, then multi-leveling everything, then digging through the library----made me crazy and dh was none too happy either b/c I spent all my time preparing for school. We are both very happy now w/ our expensive program, and the frugal part of me takes consolation that if I divide the program by the # of kids using it per the # of years....it's actually Very inexpensive :)

[coffeefreak]

1. History is not really taught in school (at least not here). It's been replaced by "Social Studies." Not only that, but it is rotated with Science, PE, Art and Music. It is seen as an Extra not a main subject.

 

2. I really believe, "Those who don't learn History are doomed to repeat it." I hear adults misquote or misrepresent historical events and am appalled! Don't they read? Don't they go looking for the answer? No, because no one taught them how to find the CORRECT answers.

 

3. Teaching History from a Classical, Literature approach prepares your children for college and real life. Most college classes are not total textbook classes (101 classes usually are, but beyond that they weren't). And, as an adult, you need to know how to find information for yourself. You need to know what first and second sources are, Textbooks are not even second sources! Not to mention the bias in textbooks is astounding! We have a generation of adults that don't think for themselves because they were taught to believe what they read because it's in a newspaper, or in a textbook. By using a Classical approach, I'm teaching my kids to think and question. That means I'm history driven, but I don't mind:001_smile:

 

4. And, most important, we love it! We love Science too and I try to give each equal time.

 

HOWEVER. . .

 

I Don't think you have to spend as much money as I do on your History curriculum. I choose what works for us. MFW has turned into my new curriculum of choice because I can use it as open and go with BOTH my girls. MOH is a great curriculum, and if it works for you, great! Go with it!

 

Blessings!

Dorinda

[Colleen in NS]

Wow, I did very well in school, but some of you make me feel really average -- must look up "tautological" and "axiomatic"!:blush:

 

But see, this is why you are NOT average - you are going to look them up! :D That's smart!

 

So I could choose a spine, and gather whatever read-alouds, readers, mapping, time-lines, and hands-on activities I wanted from various sources. Yes? And MOH, SOTW, Usborn Enc. of World History, etc. would all be considered spines? When I buy an SL or WP I am just paying to have this already done for me and scheduled out over the year, is that correct?

 

Yes. :D Have fun!!!!!!!

[WTMindy]

Well, the hefty price of TOG includes our history, literature, writing, fine arts, Bible, government, and philosophy all rolled into one. It is also can be used for all 12 years for all the kids. So, when you break it down like that, it isn't that much money. And, for us, I would say we spend as much time on math, languages and music as we do on history.

[TracyP]

I wouldn't call us History-driven, but History is a handy tool to organize other studies around it: literature (esp. in high school), art, music, drama and film, some people even do more areas. History is just good to UNITE all of that and to provide with a context, so that you don't end up studying bits of various things without context and connections, it's probably the ideal subject to unite things.

 

That being said, we don't emphasize it in sense of spending a lot of time on History, but we do organize some things we study around History since it's handy.

 

:iagree:

This is exactly how I envision my homeschool. I don't want history to be the driver necessarily, but it is the subject that most other subjects will unite around. To me it just makes more sense that way.

[Suzannah]

There is such inner angst about knowing that I am responsible for my children's education. I'm sure some of that comes with being new to hsing. (I have taught pre-school and 1st great -- I know how to put a unit together. Why do I feel so inadequate? Sheesh!:rolleyes:)

 

This still happens to us veterans from time to time. :)

 

So I could choose a spine, and gather whatever read-alouds, readers, mapping, time-lines, and hands-on activities I wanted from various sources. Yes? And MOH, SOTW, Usborn Enc. of World History, etc. would all be considered spines? When I buy an SL or WP I am just paying to have this already done for me and scheduled out over the year, is that correct?)

 

Pretty much! WTM breaks it down a bit as to how to do it with suggestions as to which books to use, but it is basically a guide book for how to do what boxed curricula do for you.

 

Good luck!

[michelle l]

Originally Posted by michelle l

Wow, I did very well in school, but some of you make me feel really average -- must look up "tautological" and "axiomatic"!:blush:

 

But see, this is why you are NOT average - you are going to look them up! :D That's smart!

 

So I could choose a spine, and gather whatever read-alouds, readers, mapping, time-lines, and hands-on activities I wanted from various sources. Yes? And MOH, SOTW, Usborn Enc. of World History, etc. would all be considered spines? When I buy an SL or WP I am just paying to have this already done for me and scheduled out over the year, is that correct?

 

So...I think they kind of mean self-evident? Yes?

 

And BTW, I'm still totally hemming and hawing about my decision.

[angela in ohio]

Not all of us use those programs. :001_smile:

 

We prefer to spend the majority of our homeschool budget on reading, writing, and math. For high school, I am finally spending more than a bit on science and history.

[Cleopatra]

I can't remember where I got these quotes, but they're a pretty good answer, I think ......:001_smile:

 

The kind of events that once took place will, by reason of human nature, take place again.

~ Thucydides

 

That is the supreme value of history. The study of it is the best guarantee against repeating it.

~ John Buchan, Baron Tweedsmuir

 

The time for extracting a lesson from history is ever at hand for those who are wise.

~ Demosthenes

 

Take hold of instruction; let her not go. Keep her; for she is thy life.

~ Solomon

 

[siloam]

So...I think they kind of mean self-evident? Yes?

 

And BTW, I'm still totally hemming and hawing about my decision.

 

Most programs feel history driven to me too, including TOG if done on schedule. We don't. Our focus is math, then writing, followed by grammar, Latin, science and way down at the bottom, history. Not sure where to put literature. TOG covers it well, so it will be covered, but not at the pace I seem to commonly see.

 

Some days I really feel that every one is passing us by. I know that is not true that we are going at our pace, which is right for us. I know my focus is right as well, but if feels like everyone else has super smart kids who do work two grade above grade level. Mentally I know that isn't true, but that is the way it feels.

 

Heather