Does anyone just read SOTW and NOT do the activities?

[mo2]

I have the AG, and don't get me wrong, I love it. I think there are a ton of wonderful ideas in it. But, for the most part, for whatever reason, I just read SOTW aloud and dd listens. I do usually ask the review questions (or if I'm too lazy to pull out the AG, I make up my own).

 

Dd is 6 and doesn't read yet, so our main focus is phonics and math. Everything else is just for the sake of exposure. Our public library has almost none of the recommended books to go along with SOTW, and it's time consuming to find others. I also work, and sometimes there just isn't time to do the "extras" after we finish our core subjects.

 

All this to say, I've decided to use SOTW just as a read-aloud. (Okay, this is what we've been doing anyway, but now I've made it official ;)).

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

We are getting ready to being SOTW next week.

 

I am going to use it as a read aloud, having my 6 and 9 olds give oral narrations, while my 11 and 12 yr olds do written summaries or an outline.

 

That's it!

 

 

;)

[Michelle @ Living Waters]

We do SOTW like a read-a-loud with coloring pages. My girls (7 and 5) have gone through volumes 1-3 in this manner, we're now working our way through again, just started vol 2. They love, love, love it! I found the activities too tough with so many little ones around (I have 2 boys too 3 and 1). Anyway, I think they retain a ton without the added activities. Plus, they'll get the cycle a few times when all is said and done.

[lighthouseacademy]

We read aloud and discuss. Our homeschool resource center has the AG and I have flipped through it, but I have never used it. I just don't have enough hours in the day.

[Shasta Mom]

ds - 8, and we REALLY enjoying reading and discussing it,but don't do much else. However, what we do in addition to reading is we've made a timeline - and THAT's fun! Our timeline is about 10' long, on our wall, and as we read we add blurbs and pictures to our time line. I'm constantly quizzing my ds in front of the timeline. For example, "DS - do you think it would have been easier or more difficult to have been a laborer building the walls of Jericho, or the Pyramids?" He stares at the timeline for a while, and then I was so happy when he responded that since the wheel hadn't been invented till 3500 BC, the pyramids were probably easier on the laborers. However, he noted that around 2300 BC, Sargon was so brutal that if he had to work for him, he might not have been treated so well.....anyway - food for thought - we've had a ball......:)

[Sweetest]

I do have the activity guide but we never do the activities...I usually get a few of the supplemental books from the library for my daughter to read (occasionally we will read one together) but I don't usually require them (she is a good reader and will often read or look through them all without prompting). We always do the review questions, narration, and mapwork...sometimes I will have dd write out her narration. We are also working through the book pretty quickly...my dd loves the stories and begs for more. I am actually thinking about switching to History Odyssey next year (with SOTW 2).

[Cheryl B in VA]

I actually read SOTW with the Biblioplan schedule. I have the AG to use the maps and for a coloring page for my 3rd graders notebook. I am not an acitivities person. I have actually used History Pockets and Interactive 3-D Maps for the first time this year and my sons (13 and 9) are really enjoying those extras.

[mo2]

How fast do you cover this if you're just reading it? Do you still do about a chapter a week?

[Mom2legomaniacs]

We read the book, do the discussion questions, and the map work. I don't think I have ever done any of the extra activities. We aren't very crafty folks around here and just don't get that far.

We are in SOTW 3 towards the end now. Ds is in 4th grade. So, over 4 years, we have done books 1 through 3, essentially.

I will try to get through all of 4 next year but know that I am likely not going to happen.

[Carol in Cal.]

We read a lot of the extra books, though, and when DD was younger we used the coloring pages quite a bit.

 

I think that the AG is worth it just for the extra book recommendations, and also have really enjoyed the way it lines up SOTW with other spines like Kingfisher and Usborne. Also, for very young emerging readers, the IR suggestions can be quite helpful.

[GailV]

The first time through we did tons of activities -- including the mummified chicken,by golly.

 

With child #2 I handed the kids the CD set, and said, "Here, go listen to this."

 

And, yes, I do feel vaguely guilty about this. I keep meaning to buy a chicken and a boatload of salt, as a matter of fact, but it never seems to happen.

[Robyn]

Ds has been listening to the cd's at bedtime. He loves them. Occasionally I read him some books that tie in to what he's been listening to. I actually suck at getting hands-on projects done for any subject.

 

Granted, we have been doing what I consider history-lite the past couple of years. It is amazing what he has picked up though. He will randomly narrate back a story he listened to the night before without any prompting. He will just come out of the blue with, "Did you know...".

 

I haven't worried about it because he is so young. I want to start an "official history program" next year, but he is moving into the 4th grade. (Wow, how did that happen already?)

[Beth in Central TX]

We do exactly the same thing: read the book, answer the questions & narrate, and do the mapwork. I tried to get my older boys to at least color the coloring pages, but no one was interested. My youngest will color occasionally, but only to look like he's doing work with his brothers...

[Rhonda in TX]

We read the book, do the discussion questions, and the map work. I don't think I have ever done any of the extra activities. We aren't very crafty folks around here and just don't get that far.

 

 

We aren't reading SOTW, but I do have the activity guide to go along with what we are using (CHOW and Our Island Story). I like the mapping and the book suggestions. My kids don't care about history-related project and that's fine with me.

[Chris in VA]

You can use it any way you like. There, feel better? LOL

I think which way you use it depends on how good a fit it is with your life--are you not an activities person? is dc an auditory learner? is your goal just exposure? Then probably just doing SOTW w/o the AG (or any other activity-type resource) will work for you. No apologies or guilt needed.

 

For us, the AG provides the "missing pieces" that make history engaging, memorable and downright fun. Dd is an excellent auditory learner, but also learns a lot by making things and exploring real materials. We enjoy the activities, and move rather slowly thru SOTW because we are spending time on the stuff in the AG. We do the map work, timeline, extra reading, notebooking pages, and some of the activities (not much coloring, but occasionally that, too). I definitely pick and choose. I am not crafty, either, but I can follow directions, and use the simplest of the ideas (mostly cooking and making small stuff--no sewing costumes and the like). It helps dd make connections and remember more. I'd say we use our time differently than some people--instead of computer games or tv, we do a history project, or read aloud. That's how we fit it in.

 

But ymmv, and that's perfectly ok.

[Debbi in Texas]

We just read the book as part of the Ambleside curriculum. My son really enjoyed it.

[Ann@thebeach]

I always intend to do the act book but alas, we also don't get it done. We usually listen to the CDs in the car and will sometimes talk about the stories but so far that's all we've done.

I have a 6 and 9 yr old now but started listening to them last yr. I tentatively plan to go thru the books again starting next yr and hopefully do more activities then ;) I thought both kids would get more out of it at an older age and I could do them together.

[mcconnellboys]

Darn, I can't find a couch potato smilie to use..... No activity of any kind for me if I can help it, LOL! Read, read, read..... That's us to a T! My son has done some of the coloring and we do the map work periodically; and of course I use the book lists to help me rack up more books, but we really, REALLY don't do "projects".

 

Regena

[Heather in Neverland]

We listen to the CDs, do the map work, and the coloring page and that's it...no artsy projects because my ds refuses to do them.

[MySerenity]

The things we use for the activity guide are the review questions, the map pages and the coloring pages. We also love the extra book lists. However... I'm not one for big projects. It might change when the boys are older... but not right now. However we have used a few of the recipes and have had African and Greek feasts. We invited people over to enjoy the food with us. While some of the preparation was a pain... the actual feast was pretty fun.

[Sherri in MI]

and that's it. I always get the Activity Guide, but we don't use it.