Why do you buy history curricula?

[Katja]

I'm just wondering. I've spent many years doing FIAR and loving it, but I've never used a planned out curricula like SL, TOH, etc.

 

So I'm wondering, what do you get for the money? Is it the time savings since you don't have to plan it yourself or maybe the accountability of having set things to do (I could see the advantage for myself of not being so able to blow things off, which is sometimes very tempting)? Do you find it's more complete (or maybe feels less risky since they determine the topics?) or that having it come from a source other than you helps your kids balk less?

 

We don't really have the money for this kind of thing, so it's just an idle curiosity, but if you'd be willing to share your thoughts on it, I'd love to know!

 

Thanks!

 

__________________

 

and, FWIW:

 

I'm planning our history for the year using SOTW with some reference books we own and a few projects pre-planned and some related literature (Gilgamesh and Iliad adaptations, some fiction) and DVDs here and there.

 

We're basically following the WTM idea for logic stage of reading from a spine, getting some library books and doing interest-led research.

[laurad1125]

I use TOG and LOVE it. I work from home and time is at a premium for me. Being able to look at the list and choose what works for us is very helpful. Also, when they get to dialectic/rhetoric stage, I suspect the teacher's notes and discussion outlines will be a true life saver.

[Guest Cheryl in SoCal]

I like a chronological history; one time through history in the lower grades and again through high school. As much as I love FIAR you just don't get that with FIAR. When my older children were little I used Veritas Press. It's more like a guide really. You move through time (Western Civilization) following their guide; reading excerpts from texts and your choices of children's literature. With my younger children I'm going to be using Mystery of History with my VP cards. I like MOH better (would have used it if it had been around when my olders were little) but since I have (and really like) the VP cards I will use them for visual reference and additional literature reading. This isn't something one could put together on their own.

 

In high school my curriculum is research based (TRISMS) and in many ways is more of a guide or syllabus. It has instructions/etc but you research using the resources you choose so it's not going to be exactly the same for all users. It too is chronological, which I feel is very important.

[Katja]

Thanks for the responses so far--that all makes a lot of sense. I'm always aware of the time vs. money issue and figured that was a part, but it definitely got my curiousity up.

[Crimson Wife]

I'm using a textbook as our "spine" for the first time in history for this upcoming year. I finally found one that I liked the looks of- From Sea to Shining Sea from the Catholic Textbooks Project.

[melmichigan]

I like having the general framwork to start from, it's like my outline. I can then adjust and build from there. It also saves me time, and with all the chaos time is precious.

[Momof1plustwins]

Sonlight saves me time and the headache of making sure we cover everything. But most of all, I think I like the accountability. My oldest doesn't like SL, instead he prefers textbooks and workbooks, but I'm going to try and keep my younger ones on SL. It's a no-brainer for me.

[Night Elf]

I chose other. I buy history curriculum for the same reason I buy math, LA, science, etc. It's a school topic that must be covered. More importantly, I am not good at organizing a random collection of books/workbooks/activities into a planned curriculum study on my own. If I was good at that, I'd create a program to sell to other homeschoolers. :)

 

Just curious, do you buy any curriculum or do you organize your own plan using resources you've found on your own? I'm always amazed when people create their own programs. But I've said more than once, that I really dislike when people put me down for not organizing my own anything. It's just not simple for everyone to do!

[Chris in VA]

Saves me time, keeps me accountable, etc.

But the biggest reason is simply that I don't know history very well, so I want to offer that gift to dd.

[dragons in the flower bed]

I buy history programs for the notebooking pages and the schedule, and sometimes for the discussion questions.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I'm just wondering. I've spent many years doing FIAR and loving it, but I've never used a planned out curricula like SL, TOH, etc.

 

So I'm wondering, what do you get for the money? Is it the time savings since you don't have to plan it yourself or maybe the accountability of having set things to do (I could see the advantage for myself of not being so able to blow things off, which is sometimes very tempting)? Do you find it's more complete (or maybe feels less risky since they determine the topics?) or that having it come from a source other than you helps your kids balk less?

 

We don't really have the money for this kind of thing, so it's just an idle curiosity, but if you'd be willing to share your thoughts on it, I'd love to know!

 

Thanks!

 

__________________

 

and, FWIW:

 

I'm planning our history for the year using SOTW with some reference books we own and a few projects pre-planned and some related literature (Gilgamesh and Iliad adaptations, some fiction) and DVDs here and there.

 

We're basically following the WTM idea for logic stage of reading from a spine, getting some library books and doing interest-led research.

 

DH and I have a passion for history. We own over 5000 books and 2/3 would fall into the history category.

 

What a schedule or outline gives me is a framework in which to work. Otherwise, it is too easy for me to stay on one small aspect of one piece of history until I realize that we have to move on to another period, but we haven't covered key events and people (because we've spent so much time on the buildings in the agora, for example).

 

But what I've also learned is that I really don't need someone else to feed me comprehension questions. We do very well on discussions on our own. What I really need is a schedule. I did well with Veritas Press cards, but I also like Sonlight with the reading already chunked up for me.

 

However, I'm very ready to cross things out, add in my own or say, enough, that is a silly book. But I still appreciate the structure that I can start with from a prepared schedule.

[MrsMe]

I'm just wondering. I've spent many years doing FIAR and loving it, but I've never used a planned out curricula like SL, TOH, etc.

 

So I'm wondering, what do you get for the money? Is it the time savings since you don't have to plan it yourself or maybe the accountability of having set things to do (I could see the advantage for myself of not being so able to blow things off, which is sometimes very tempting)? Do you find it's more complete (or maybe feels less risky since they determine the topics?) or that having it come from a source other than you helps your kids balk less?

 

We don't really have the money for this kind of thing, so it's just an idle curiosity, but if you'd be willing to share your thoughts on it, I'd love to know!

 

Thanks!

 

__________________

 

and, FWIW:

 

I'm planning our history for the year using SOTW with some reference books we own and a few projects pre-planned and some related literature (Gilgamesh and Iliad adaptations, some fiction) and DVDs here and there.

 

We're basically following the WTM idea for logic stage of reading from a spine, getting some library books and doing interest-led research.

 

I am planning challenged, otherwise I would LOVE to use FIAR or Konos. I just can't make it work.

[silliness7]

I think I was confused when I read your poll and voted. Reading through your entire post, you are not asking about history curricula like SOTW because that is already your plan correct? You are wondering about those big mamma jamma ones like TOG and SL that are pricey. But don't those include a whole lot more than history? Isn't that why the price is so hefty?

 

I don't buy those because I like to piece my literature and history and language arts from sources that I like and make sense to my brain. If I pay that much for a plan/schedule it better be perfect. Of course, it can't deliver. So I save myself the grief. I'm not a stickler for having my lit/history/LA all on the same page. So it doesn't take any time to schedule out the programs I've chosen. I did buy 2 SL cores once. I was extremely disappointed. Not to say they are not extraordinarily helpful to others. It just did not meet my expectations. Every once in a while I do get tempted to explore TOG a bit further but I've been able to squelch that temptation thus far. :001_smile:

 

But I DO buy history curricula. I have SOTW with activity guide for my littles and MOH for my older guys supplementing with commentary and reading suggestions from TQ (for my older ones) I plan on using Notgrass in Highschool. So YES to the history curricula for knowledge, accountability, projects, and ease of use. But NO to SL, TOG, and friends. :001_smile:

Edited July 5, 2010 by silliness7

[Dmmetler]

History simply isn't my strongest area or the one that I feel most confident teaching. I hated it in school until I got to college music history courses, and simply don't feel confident that I remember enough to not miss anything. I'm reasonably confident that we won't be on schedule with SL once we get started, but I wanted the sequence of topics laid out for me and a place to start, especially for this first year.

[Diana B]

I use SOTW (do you count that as a curriculum in and of itself?) but really we just read a lot of books. Often times I'll do a FIAR type study with a book (I use a lot of HomeschoolShare). We'll use a good picture book about the time period we're in with SOTW and read it a couple times and delve more into it. A good picture book or two goes a LONG way with my kiddo. :)

[Lovedtodeath]

Because it looks so pretty in the catalog that I get all excited.:001_smile:

[Guest Cindie2dds]

Because it looks so pretty in the catalog that I get all excited.:001_smile:

 

:lol::lol::lol:

[SilverMoon]

.

Edited July 12, 2022 by SilverMoon
grammar :p

[Katja]

Thanks for all the input--this has been really fascinating to me!

 

I use SOTW (do you count that as a curriculum in and of itself?)

 

Good question! I'm using the book as a spine but not the activity guide, so for me I'd say no, but I guess I could see looking at it that way.

 

Just curious, do you buy any curriculum or do you organize your own plan using resources you've found on your own? I'm always amazed when people create their own programs. But I've said more than once, that I really dislike when people put me down for not organizing my own anything. It's just not simple for everyone to do!

 

I don't consider myself super organized in most areas, but I do love to make a good spreadsheet :001_smile:! Actually, my dh and dd are even worse than I am about loving a good organizing system (hopefully with color coding and some nice cross referenced cells)--we're pretty pathetic that way ;)

 

Stupidly, the "not an organizer" thing didn't really occur to me, but now that you mention it, I can see that would make a difference.

 

As for other curricula, I've always bought a math curriculum (and this year we're using MEP which is free but still a curriculum). Last year I bought R&S English for the first time. I started phonics with the Starfall workbook before moving on to books and I mentioned the FIAR--that's all we've had.

 

This year, I'm also adding a Science textbook (Glencoe Physical Science) and we'll be using literature guides to get a bit deeper into lit. And we're doing logic puzzles online or from the grocery books.

 

Partly it's money, partly it's because it's never occurred to me to do it another way--also I'm sure it helps a lot that I only have one to teach!

 

We use a lot of library things and online resources, and I guess part of it is that I really enjoy putting together chapters from different books, DVD's, art projects and that kind of thing around themes--I guess I'd never really thought that that might not be the same for everyone.

 

Because it looks so pretty in the catalog that I get all excited.:001_smile:

 

Boy do I hear you!

[johnandtinagilbert]

I used to pull everything myself, even while using a curriculum spine. Finding the right map, literature, projects and then reading everything for a family my size...honestly, I was spending 6-8 hours every week gathering and creating my own items to use. It was terrible, dh was not happy that my Sunday (our family day of rest) was not restful. I told a friend about TOG, b/c I had seen so much about it here, then I looked at it when she got it and our history....well, that's history! I love TOG and it saves me LOADS of time!

[GraciebytheBay]

In addition to other boxes, I checked other because I like literature plans. I especially like it when the questions are written out for me and thoughtful answers are given (Sonlight) for us to discuss. Having said that, I have been using SOTW for two years and still like it, even though it doesn't have as many discussion questions (as opposed to comprehension questions).

[elegantlion]

I don't buy a history program. I pull together my own stuff and build around it. My reasoning is:

 

1. I don't like using someone else's schedule. I'd tweak it to death, thereby rendering it useless anyway.

2. I'm frugal. I think 70.00 for a IG? I can plan my own and buy more books instead. :lol:

3. My ds hates activity pages. I found that out after I had meticulously planned notebooking pages for 4th grade US history. The schedule I made worked great, he just didn't like the notebooking.

4. We don't follow a history centric program. We keep Latin as our center, which makes picking history a whole lot easier.

5. Once I thought I'd like to do something like WP or Sonlight, but trying to pick a program that lined up with my theology was driving me crazy. I felt like Goldilocks.

 

That being said I am looking at some study guides like Rutherford's Questions for the Thinker, or the Great books guides for high school. I will need some help in maneuvering through all the Great Books.

[lovemyboys]

What a schedule or outline gives me is a framework in which to work. Otherwise, it is too easy for me to stay on one small aspect of one piece of history until I realize that we have to move on to another period, but we haven't covered key events and people (because we've spent so much time on the buildings in the agora, for example).

 

But what I've also learned is that I really don't need someone else to feed me comprehension questions. We do very well on discussions on our own. What I really need is a schedule. I did well with Veritas Press cards, but I also like Sonlight with the reading already chunked up for me.

 

However, I'm very ready to cross things out, add in my own or say, enough, that is a silly book. But I still appreciate the structure that I can start with from a prepared schedule.

 

Yes. I don't have nearly your expertise or resources, but I do tend to do this with the content courses of science and history. Dig way too deep for too long, especially when it's something that dc are ready to move on from.

 

A curriculum helps me to keep moving along when my resources and interest (mine) would keep me lingering....

 

:001_smile:

[Spillman6]

This was a good read :hat:

[momma2three]

I think when I started this journey (waaaaay back in, oh about, late 2012), I assumed that I was educated enough and creative enough to make all my own lessons. Then I realized just how much nicely organized and laid out stuff there already is. Why reinvent the wheel? We did parts or the Elemental History US history course earlier this year, and are going to pick it back up this summer. I changed a lot, but it was nice to see how that was laid out for inspiration. I've already reconfigured a bunch of how we'll do History Odyssey next year, but it was still nice to have the framework.

 

I guess I don't understand why this question is about history in particular? Why not "why do you buy science curricula?" or "grammar curricula?" Is there something about history in particular that seems like a curriculum is a waste? I'm a huge history buff, was a history major in college and all that, and it's still convenient for me to have someone else do the hard work of laying out a general outline and suggesting materials.

[pitterpatter]

You know, I'm really struggling with this right now. We have used History Odyssey: Ancients this year. One of the reasons I purchased it was for the book, video, etc. suggestions. However, most have been outdated or not age-appropriate. So, I spend countless hours a month researching and planning those things and is now second nature. We recently gave up the HO dictionary words because they really didn't fit our spine and we had had enough (Usborne Encyclopedia of Ancients). It's to the point that I really only use HO's general outline/order of study and the maps. I'm trying to decide whether I really need to buy it again for next year. I could just use Usborne Medieval World as an outline and go from there. I would miss the maps, though. I'm not sure whether it's worth the money for the maps, though. Hmm.

[Mom2TheTeam]

I choose almost all of the above.

 

It saves time.

I don't want to miss anything and don't know what to study because I have no clue. LOL!

They think up projects and activities.

Accountablity

It's easier. I have 6 kids 7 and under and don't have time to put things together myself. :)

[Ellie]

It never occurred to me that buy, say, a Guide to Famous Men of... or a Beautiful Feet Books study guide would save me time, keep me accountable, or or that they would save me time, or that I'd miss something if I didn't use them. I just liked the way they were organized, and the activities and extra reading and whatnot. Of course, I'm uneducated, and I had never heard of such a thing as a three- or four-year cycle. When my children were young, we just...did history. Lots of field trips, lots of time for rabbit trails, reading historical fiction that I happened upon while looking through the library, working on Camp Fire badges/beads. I still don't believe that there's a "grade" for American history, or world history, or any other kind of history (if there are other kinds, lol). I just think there's...history. I wanted my children to love history, so that when they were older and we did it more formally, they'd love it, and they'd have done enough and read enough to fill in little details around the big things.

[Walking-Iris]

It never occurred to me that buy, say, a Guide to Famous Men of... or a Beautiful Feet Books study guide would save me time, keep me accountable, or or that they would save me time, or that I'd miss something if I didn't use them. I just liked the way they were organized, and the activities and extra reading and whatnot. Of course, I'm uneducated, and I had never heard of such a thing as a three- or four-year cycle. When my children were young, we just...did history. Lots of field trips, lots of time for rabbit trails, reading historical fiction that I happened upon while looking through the library, working on Camp Fire badges/beads. I still don't believe that there's a "grade" for American history, or world history, or any other kind of history (if there are other kinds, lol). I just think there's...history. I wanted my children to love history, so that when they were older and we did it more formally, they'd love it, and they'd have done enough and read enough to fill in little details around the big things.

 

 

Exactly. I do like the idea of the chronological history to help with planning. Without a plan history (and science) seem to be so random and disjointed. I like having something to help me chart a course. That's why I decided to go with HO as well as SOTW. But I don't feel married to that plan. If Ancients is falling flat with one child who much rather explore something else, I have resources available to encourage that. I don't feel it's the end of the world if Ancients doesn't happen in 1st grade. My oldest could care less about that time period, but my 5 year old seems passionate about it. My oldest is really interested right now in civics and government and human rights. That's why I buy history curricula and books. For the resource. To let someone else think for me so I don't have to spend so much time hunting down resources and ideas for them. Things like project activities and booklists. I don't feel like we *need* to do any of it at a certain "grade"---the books are there to help spark ideas and interests.

 

I agree with you Ellie. There's just history. I've always looked as history as a life-long pursuit. I tell my ds that history is not "school" but something he is living and a part of and it will always be in his life.

 

When I read a book about Abraham Lincoln or when I was recently reading Guns Germs and Steel or when I watch a documentary I try to let my ds know that I am learning history too.

 

But since the OP was really talking about box curriculum. I don't buy them. Too expensive and too limiting for my tastes. I need options and marrying myself to one publisher would just not fit my personality at all. Curriculum I buy are tools, a means to an end, not the end themselves.

[Ellie]

 

But since the OP was really talking about box curriculum. I don't buy them. Too expensive and too limiting for my tastes. I need options and marrying myself to one publisher would just not fit my personality at all. Curriculum I buy are tools, a means to an end, not the end themselves.

 

 

See, I don't use the term "box curriculum." It makes no sense and is not very definitive. To say that both Beautiful Feet Books study guides and (trying to think of something that's only history...umm...) Greenleaf Press's Famous Men of...series are "box curriculum" completely ignores the fact that one uses good trade books and Principle Approach methodology while beginning with American history and the other is based on the Famous Men of...books along with GP's guides and some outside resources such as games and some trade books, and does history chronologically.

[Walking-Iris]

I'm referring to the TOG and Sonlight etc. more than a specific subject when I used the term boxed. When I hear that term I think of buying all books for all subjects for a grade from one publisher (SL, Abeka, Calvert etc) and then it all gets sent to you and you open it up and check it off as you go along. It's all done for you down to your reading list. That is what seems limiting to me.

 

Using a bit of Sonlight and a bit of Calvert or a bit of this and that isn't what I mean when I use the term "boxed."

 

I know homeschoolers irl who when asked what they do will say Abeka. And that's that. If someone were to ask what I use it would be a very long list!!! Subject to change!

[Saddlemomma]

I also like a chronological history approach integrated with church history. Having the time periods mapped out for me is invaluable IMHO and saves me a tremendous amount of time. This year we used MOH, but my dd (rising 5th grade) likes to go much more in depth than MOH allows, so I have switched to History Revealed (this curriculum has built-in Science, Cooking, Art, Drama, Music projects appropriate for the time period) for next year's Middle Ages/Reformation time period. Concurrently, I'll be doing FMOR and integrating lots of living books from Yesterday's Classics.

[Ellie]

I'm referring to the TOG and Sonlight etc. more than a specific subject when I used the term boxed. When I hear that term I think of buying all books for all subjects for a grade from one publisher (SL, Abeka, Calvert etc) and then it all gets sent to you and you open it up and check it off as you go along. It's all done for you down to your reading list. That is what seems limiting to me.

 

Using a bit of Sonlight and a bit of Calvert or a bit of this and that isn't what I mean when I use the term "boxed."

 

I know homeschoolers irl who when asked what they do will say Abeka. And that's that. If someone were to ask what I use it would be a very long list!!! Subject to change!

 

 

Wait...I'm confused. It seems as if you're still referring to TOG and Sonlight and a box of books for all subjects from one publisher as "boxed." :confused1:

 

TOG and Sonlight would both be literature-based, although TOG is more of a unit study than Sonlight. Under no circumstances would it occur to me to refer to either as "boxed." KONOS, the Weaver, Prairie Primer, HOD, the Noah Plan, MOH, Beautiful Feet Books, have all been referred to as "boxed." :confused1: Even though they are all prepared by someone else and come in sort of a package, they are all so different in their methodologies and educational philosophies that they should never be grouped together as "boxed." The most they have in common--and this is important--is that all of them were written for homeschoolers, by homeschoolers (and yes, that would include Sonlight, because of the IGs).

 

Buying a box of books from ABeka or BJUP...that would be, well, "boxed." Calvert and CLASS would be "boxed." And none of them would ever show up in my house, lol.

[MerryAtHope]

I originally bought Sonlight because of the books! Yes, I also wanted the planning done for me--I didn't want to "miss" something, wanted the accountability, wanted the time saved because everything was chosen...but it was that incredible catalog with all the book descriptions (which has changed recently) that drew me in.

 

I keep buying Sonlight because of the books! We almost always enjoy their selections for literature and readers (sometimes I sub out the history), and I don't need as much help with planning now. But I just love their book selections.

 

Merry :-)

[Walking-Iris]

Well I didn't guess this would turn into an argument over semantics. But yes, if someone uses ALL Sonlight material and follows ALL Sonlight reading lists and ALL Sonlight recommendations and follows the Sonlight schedule to a tee. Then yes I call it "boxed"--as in limiting, contained, open and go, do the next thing...whatever. Boxed-- adjective---not noun or verb. Whether the actual box was sent to you or you pieced together the box yourself. I guess others could call this "traditional' or "school at home" I don't know. It works for some people. But my reply to the OP is no I don't use them because A. they are usually too expensive and B too limiting. It doesn't fit my family to do just the one thing or one method.

[swellmomma]

I buy it for 2 reasons, As far as Canadian history goes I don't know it well enough to teach it, social studies in Canada does not teach it well. 2ndly Along with Canadian history I am teaching world history and american and neither of those was covered in my schooling. So most of what I am teaching my kids I only know of in name alone from tv shows etc I don't know backgrounds, causes, outcomes, names and dates etc. I need a curriculum to teach from or my kids would never learn history at all. That said what I use is not officially a boxed program. I use textbooks and livingbooks following a guide for Canadian. I use time travelers Cd-roms for american and SOTW for world. So none boxed but also not put together myself.

[Ellie]

Well I didn't guess this would turn into an argument over semantics. But yes, if someone uses ALL Sonlight material and follows ALL Sonlight reading lists and ALL Sonlight recommendations and follows the Sonlight schedule to a tee. Then yes I call it "boxed"--as in limiting, contained, open and go, do the next thing...whatever. Boxed-- adjective---not noun or verb. Whether the actual box was sent to you or you pieced together the box yourself. I guess others could call this "traditional' or "school at home" I don't know. It works for some people. But my reply to the OP is no I don't use them because A. they are usually too expensive and B too limiting. It doesn't fit my family to do just the one thing or one method.

 

 

No one is arguing. We're discussing terms, which brings clarity. It's educational. :D

 

"Boxed" as you define it doesn't take into account people's philosophy of education, their children's learning styles, and so much more. It is why *I* cannot lump things into the same "box" just because someone else put everything together in one place. :001_smile:

[Mystie]

Funny, I just wrote about how I do history on my blog today. I use materials from the various curricula, but I don't use any lesson plans -- at all. With my oldest being 9 and baby #5 here now, this half-interest-led half-directed approach has really worked for us this year.

 

I decided my main goal was to have my elementary students find history fascinating, and so just reading was the best way to accomplish that. It saves me planning time *and* execution time.

 

http://www.simplyconvivial.com/2013/history-without-lesson-plans-for-early-elementary

[Walking-Iris]

Well to be fair I don't know anything about Prairie Primer, Weaver, Beautiful Feet, MOH. I have seen SL and TOG and HOD and Konos (which I wouldn't consider boxed btw). I would even consider something like Oak Meadow boxed. I agree that different families have different needs and learning styles. And that all of these things do work and work well for some. I can only answer the OP's question in that they wouldn't work for me, at least not in their entirety.

[Mommy22alyns]

I like the schedule, I love that the ideas are made up for me, and I like knowing that the important things will be covered. It would be an understatement to say that my own history education was seriously lacking. There is a lot of learning along with my girls here.

 

And just to toss in, to me "boxed" is Calvert, Abeka, BJU, things with literally every subject in there. Math, LA, science, history, Bible (if applicable), art, etc. SL, TOG, MFW, etc. would not be. IMO.

[elizabeth rose]

I buy a curriculum for every subject pretty much so why should history be different? I just paid $70 last night for a winterpromise history guide.$70 for 36 weeks is not much at all imo. That is an incredible amount of thought and planning that went in on that. I still spend lots of time planning extras or tweaking a bit here or there, but to start from scratch is overwhelming. I get ideas I would not have thought of on my own. I get it broken down into manageable chunks. I get an idea of what is normally covered in american history, which I may or may not have thought to include. I pull together my own geography and art, but that's about it.

 

How is FIAR or SOTW not a curriculum? I've used and enjoyed both, but always saw it as a curriculum.

[boscopup]

Well to be fair I don't know anything about Prairie Primer, Weaver, Beautiful Feet, MOH. I have seen SL and TOG and HOD and Konos (which I wouldn't consider boxed btw). I would even consider something like Oak Meadow boxed. I agree that different families have different needs and learning styles. And that all of these things do work and work well for some. I can only answer the OP's question in that they wouldn't work for me, at least not in their entirety.

 

What you're calling "boxed" is just things with schedules. The term "boxed" typically does not refer to that though. It usually refers to buying a box of books with ALL your subjects from ONE publisher, like getting your entire grade level from A Beka or BJU or Calvert. That is "boxed", because it comes in a box. :) It sounds like you don't work well with someone else's schedule. Nothing wrong with that. Lots of people are like that! It's not "boxed" though, in homeschooling terms.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I am never gonna figure out what everybody means by "boxed."

[swellmomma]

I am never gonna figure out what everybody means by "boxed."

 

 

It never used to be that hard to know. If you contact the curriculum seller, order a particular grade level, and on box day you open it and viola everything you need for that grade level. No piece meal. No chosing various things for various subjects. No working at various levels. Just open and go, that is boxed. So Calvert, MP, Abeka, BJU etc Other than SL and Konos most of the initial homeschooling companies were boxed.

 

Everything else is a curriculum but not boxed. It may have a schedule, it may have everything for that subject in the box (like SL, WP, HOD etc) BUT it is not a boxed curriculum in the traditional sense because it does not include everything needed for a set grade level. You are still adding in different things for science, math, LA, art, music, health, etc. Those things yes are a curriculum, but not boxed.

 

Most people use a curriculum for history just not typically a boxed one. The title of the thread and poll are misleading because the Op is not clear in that asking about boxed curric. But then it is not just a history curric in that box.

 

The only homeschoolers I know that use zero curriculum for history are unschoolers. And since this thread didn't seem to be speaking about them I would suppose that the general answer is people use history curriculum, boxed or not, because they are not unschoolers.

[Hunter]

I'm confused by this thread. :confused1: but I will contribute anyway :tongue_smilie: . You all are funny and interesting, but... you all :confused1: me.

 

The reason I like the original NtK is that I am :biggrinjester: and my life is :willy_nilly: and sometimes I have a had a student sitting waiting for me, and my head is just so fuzzy and confused that all I can handle is to pick up an NtK book and start reading.

 

I also like that it's one book. I can toss the book in my backpack and actually lug it around without breaking my back.

 

The history is partially integrated with the other subjects.

 

It is easy to supplement if I want to.

 

The original NtK series is actually FINISHED. I'm OCD and don't like unfinished history curriculum at all.

 

I like it because it is THERE. It's just. There. Sometimes I suck my thumb and stroke it, when I'm lesson planning, like it's a security blanket. Just joking! :lol:

[Hunter]

The only homeschoolers I know that use zero curriculum for history are unschoolers.

 

REALLY! :confused1:

 

I'm not trying to be confrontational or negative in any way. It's just that from my experiences it's the norm for lower income moms not to buy history curriculum, and only purchase limited curriculum for the 3Rs.

 

Moms with nontraditional world views and alternative religions feel forced to write and peace together their own curriculum.

 

Some moms just like to write.

 

I don't know. I just...have seen a whole lot of NOT buying history curricula from people that are so anti-unschooling that they are downright rude about it.

 

Am I just so weird, I'm seeing more weird than normal? :lol:

[Gentlemommy]

Mostly because my own history education is so abysmal. I'm serious. I had NO idea of the timeline of history, what happened when, where, why, who was involved. I have no concept of the dates of anything. I am learning history alongside my child, and for now, I need the grammar stage version. Most of it is stuff I've never heard before. :(

[Arcadia]

The only homeschoolers I know that use zero curriculum for history are unschoolers. .

 

I'm not trying to be confrontational or negative in any way. It's just that from my experiences it's the norm for lower income moms not to buy history curriculum, and only purchase limited curriculum for the 3Rs.

 

Moms with nontraditional world views and alternative religions feel forced to write and piece together their own curriculum.

 

I find that weird too and my experience is similar to Hunter's.

My kids are in a virtual academy so I didn't vote. If my kids were not in a VA, we would have just used good non-fiction books from the library for timelines and discussions and cover whatever our state standards for history are. We are definately in the category of school at home and not unschoolers.

[ALB]

Well, I did buy the SOTW AG's, but I'm assuming that's not what we are talking about here.

 

I agree with some others that a full-on curriculum won't work for us because I DON'T like following a schedule. I like the freedom to go at our pace and change things up whenever I feel like it. Granted, my oldest is going into 3rd grade. I can imagine using something like TOG for the later years (although it would still pain me to be told by someone else what books to read when, etc.) For now, I would rather spend my money on books and resources than schedules and lesson plans. I think it is such a personality (and budget) thing. I don't really spend any time lesson planning, so it wouldn't save me time.

[Element]

This is a super old thread and the OP hasn't been here in three years, but I buy history curricula because I'm a curriculum-addict, plain and simple. :D