Story of the World for K?

[Angel in FL]

Have any of you done this as a read aloud for K, adding some of the younger activities from the guide? I'd love to have a fun, history read aloud for K told in story form but keep it light.

 

I guess I could use CHOW instead? Just reading the book - totally as a story- without expecting anything else other than fun read aloud? And then move to Story of the World for 1st? Or is that overkill?

 

Also, my daughter is Chinese, if I remember from long ago... Hillyer calls them yellow as well as using other words for races that were common back then. Would that stop you from using the book with your Asian child? I'm usually not overly sensitive and she may not get it - I just don't know how I feel about that.

[dsmama]

We did some SOTW1 for first grade, and there were times when we took a break, as it was "too much" and "boring" sometimes for my first grader. I ended up switching to Heart of Dakota Little Hearts for His Glory part-way through the year, and found the readings and work much more appropriate for K or 1st grade. (My DD was in 1st, but a young 1st grader). I think SOTW might be too much for K, but I'm sure others here may have a different opinion.

 

I don't know about CHOW, but given your beautiful girl's background, the reference you describe would be a deal-killer for me. Maybe something like Galloping the Globe? It's mostly geography, but with lots of stories and references included. You could pick and choose based on her (or your) interest.

[Angel in FL]

Thanks! My sons did enjoy SOTW but they were older when we used it. I will check out what you mentioned. I also wonder if history is truly needed in K, YKWIM?

 

With CHOW, my youngest son loved it when he used it in 4th. I noticed the wording at the time but it wasn't a huge deal. It opened discussion. I mentioned my concerns to someone and they basically blew it off so I wasn't sure if I was being too sensitive, which I'm usually not. My gut tells me no, don't do it.

[Laura W.]

We used SOTW as our spine when we did Biblioplan Year 2 last year. My twins were in K. All I did with them were the SOTW readings, the BP K-2 readers, and the SOTW AG - but it was over their heads. Actually, dd grasped some of it, but didn't really enjoy it; ds wasn't ready for it at all.

 

So, no, I wouldn't recommend using SOTW with a K'er. I'm using FIAR with my twins this year, and will move them back to SOTW in 2nd or 3rd grade.

 

Blessings,

 

Laura

[Angel in FL]

FIAR is one of my other options. I recently bought the volumes 1-3 so I may go with that.

[HappyGrace]

One thing to consider-if you do SOTW 1 in K, your dc will get to 3 and 4 way too soon, and they are much harder.

 

I'd go with FIAR for now-you'll have so many fond memories of it! And if you do FIAR with a map at hand to find where the stories take place, it will give your dc a nice geographical overview that is helpful to have before starting SOTW.

[everlastingstarflower]

We used SOTW I last year and I think you may want to go with FIAR. It was fine for my dc but, both my ds is advanced and my dd was in 2nd grade. My ds was frustrated with the art projects and neither of them could do the narration/summaries. I ended up writing the summaries out that were in the book and had them do it as copy work. I would recommend waiting until 1st grade for SOTW when your dc can appreciate what you're reading. My dc did love the coloring pages and the stories, though!

[patchfire]

An alternate view - ds will be doing SOTW 1 in K. We've started it already (doing prehistory-ish stuff) and he's clearly retained from what we've done already. To solve the issue of getting to SOTW 4 too quickly (and to solve the issue we had w/ dd about american vs. world history), he'll do a year of pure American history during 3rd grade, and then go on to SOTW 4 in 4th grade.

[Stellalarella]

I found FIAR to have plenty of history and geography for my young ones. They really benefitted from hearing the same story several days in a row. FIAR meets them where they are.

Bout STOW: I will say, though, that when I print out coloring pages from the STOW activity book, that the little boys like to color with big sister. I just didn't find that they were ready to sit down and follow the STOW narrative. But, man, oh man, did they love the Greek paper dolls.......

IMO, FIAR is wonderful for 5-6yolds.

[HappyGrace]

Another thing about SOTW, I did 1 with dd in 1st grade, and she is very advanced, and loved it and retained it at the time. Now, three yrs later, she remembers NONE of it! I think she might have retained more for the long term if we had started it in 2nd grade. That's what I'm doing with my second dc! Of course, YMMV.

[Aubrey]

At that age, I'd suggest some really good biographies. I read The Story of Louis Pasteur to my K'ers when I worked at a Montessori school, & they were *fascinated.* They drew pics & wrote stories for at least a week, & kept coming back asking is it really true??? They'd never heard a non-fiction book before!

 

SOTW, I'd save. It's too great to go thr too early, imo. Maybe use it for ideas about people? But really, save it. :001_smile:

[Farrar]

We did SOTW in K last year and it was great. We did lots of mythology and stories. The kids wavered between liking and disliking the actual SOTW text (and, for completely different reasons, so did I) but they really enjoyed ancient history and got a lot out of it. I feel like last year or next year was not going to make a huge difference and it was mostly about just giving them a sense of these stories and cultures so that they have that exposure for later. Such is the point of cyclical curricula.

 

In response to the PP who said that it would make you get to SOTW 3 and 4 much sooner with their more difficult content, I actually planned it this way so that we could take a year off from SOTW to do American history in 2nd grade, after we've done SOTW 2. At least... that's the vague future plan I've got in the back of my head.

[Mallory]

We started it last time around when the boys were K and 1st, and while they enjoyed it, we didn't do many projects and I don't think they retained much.

 

For next year, when they will be in 4th and 5th, we are going to start over. I really debated on whether or not to buy a new curriculum. But there is so much in there to learn still, and they will really be ready to write thier narrations (and outline), and use the usborne/kingfisher books, and do so many of the projects. (I also really appreciate spending very little money on history).

 

In retrospect, I do wish we might have started with something a little more age appropriate. Next year I will also have a 4 yo and he won't be expected to do anything but the fun parts Won't they all enjoy setting up a hut in the yard or an egyptian tomb or a roman catacomb ;) I can see so many of the projects really being fun for days this time around!

[Classically Minded]

We did the first 10 chapters of SOTW 1 in K this past year. We went slow and did a LOT of hands on activities and videos. We spent about 2 months just on Ancient Egypt! My dd retained a lot and can't wait to pick it back up in the fall. We are going to do the rest of the book (32 chapters) for 1st grade.

[KrissiK]

We did SOTW1 with my first grader and kindergartner this past year - well, actually started it mid-year. I think waiting till first grade would be better - especially from the standpoint of learning the narrations and stuff. My kindergartner was just too young to do the narrations properly and also to really understand what was going on.

[Stacy in NJ]

to listening to non-fiction read aloud. If your dc is used to read alouds and has the necessary attention span, it should be fine. It you currently aren't or haven't been reading to him/her then the transition maybe more difficult. In that case, I'd hold off and start reading more engaging fiction (short chapter books) to acclimate him/her to read alouds.

[In2why]

I thought the SOTW is wonderful in theory but it is VERY VERY time intensive and I found it almost impossible to get through it with my young 1st grade son. I wanted to love it, I myself loved it, but my little man enjoyed the projects but I don't think he retained much for the time invested. I will probably go back to it again in 3rd grade, or maybe even wait for the next stage to get into it as indepth as it does....not very well trained mind of me I am sure.

[Angel in FL]

Thank you all for the replies. I think I will definitely wait.

[dands]

I did the lower grade reading books recommended by SOTW 1 ( picture books) instead and it was enjoyed as well as retained. Some books became favorites.

[WeeBeaks]

My K'er will get SOTW but just as a tag along with his 3rd grader brother in te fall. We listen to the audio CDs in the van. I don't do any other stuff with my younger in terms of helping him retain it or activities. The CDs are just fun to listen to.

 

My son (pre-K at the time last year) has done some of the activity guide too, but only when he sees a particular project or craft his brother is doing and wants to tag along with his own set of printouts.

 

I'm in the camp that I wouldn't do SOTW or CHOW with a K age child as the primary audience. I also find CHOW harder than SOTW, though my older son likes both.

[FairProspects]

Well, I'm going to do it for K, but that is because I decided to do a 2nd year of K, and my ds will be 6. He has a late July birthday and he could technically be 1st grade, but I just don't think he is ready, so we will do another year of K with some 1st grade content. I also plan on taking 18 months to do Vol. 1, so we will use it for K and half of 1st grade. In certain situations, like that with an older K'er, I'm hopeful that it will be a good fit!