Tell me your tricks for using the SOTW activity guide

[mommydearest]

For SOTW 1, we did not do any extras (reading, crafts, art, etc.) from the activity guide. Not that we didn't want to, but I didn't plan well and we were doing good just getting through the weekly lesson with narrations, illustrations, the coloring page and map work.

 

I would like to do more for SOTW 2, so last night I spent hours going through each lesson and picking additional and supplemental reading and craft/art/cooking projects that I thought would be fun for the kids. They are only 8 and 6, so I tried to stick with projects that would be fun, easy, and quick (I also have a 4yo, 2yo, and a baby due in November!).

 

I tried picked out a book or two from each list (some at each of their reading levels and some read alouds) and I chose one project for almost every lesson.

 

I realize we may not get to every single thing I picked, but I wanted to have a list of information ready and available ahead of time showing me what to order and what I'll need (I'm trying to do the file system thing!).

 

I would like to know how and what you plan for SOTW. I'm afraid that I have this huge book list and I won't be able to get them from the library in time to coincide with our lesson. Do you have luck getting your books from the library in time if you order a week in advance?

 

Also, how often do you really do the projects in the guide?

[JoyfulMama]

...

I tried picked out a book or two from each list (some at each of their reading levels and some read alouds) and I chose one project for almost every lesson.

 

I realize we may not get to every single thing I picked, but I wanted to have a list of information ready and available ahead of time showing me what to order and what I'll need (I'm trying to do the file system thing!).

 

I would like to know how and what you plan for SOTW. I'm afraid that I have this huge book list and I won't be able to get them from the library in time to coincide with our lesson. Do you have luck getting your books from the library in time if you order a week in advance?

 

Also, how often do you really do the projects in the guide?

 

For the library, you have to learn how fast (or slow) your library is. I can request books out for a 6 week loan period, and sometimes books work for more than one week. Sometimes I am out of luck and someone else has the books out that I had hoped for that week. Sometimes I get all that I wanted. It all works out in the end.

 

It's good that you are looking at the AG and choosing things that interest you from it. Start with some ideas, and let it flow from there. We don't do an activity every week, but there are ones that I really have enjoyed and looked forward to. I like having a lot of options to choose from. But it's just that - lots of options.

[robsiew]

Here's what I do...

 

Go through the book lists a month in advance. Figure out which ones I can get from the library. I reserve those, then go and look where they came from on the shelves to see if there's any other books (there **always** are!) I'd like and get those. I check out WAY more books than we actually read, although the kids do read them on their own too...

 

We do history 4 times a week. The first day is just read SOTW and do narration. The kids work on a color page while I read. 2nd day is just read a SOTW section. That's it... (gives us a little breather). 3rd day... is read another section of SOTW and do the map work. 4th day (Friday) is reserved for one project if one sticks out to me. And we read an additional book from our bin that day (at the ages my kids are I try to make it a "fun" book as opposed to more content). The kids are always welcome to choose books to read from the bin on their own, but really... I only read one extra book a week to them during "history" time.

 

Now, the way I get more books in is they usually read history related literature for their reading for school. Sometimes I just give them classics, but a lot of the time it's history topic related. When I read to the youngers during school it's almost always history related.

 

We're not big on projects so I don't have guilt about that... we do them when they are reasonable, but not more than one a week. :D

[Julie Kirkwood]

:lurk5:

[whitestavern]

I use the activity guide for SOTW, but I also find ideas from other resources. So, I created a word doc that has the following info:

 

-what book I will read aloud (won't always have)

-what book each child will read (won't always have)

-any activities we will do (coloring, cooking, maps, etc.)

-any movies that go along with it

-any additional resources (games, internet resources, etc)

 

This is all broken down by "section" not chapter (we do all activities, books and maps by section instead of finishing up the chapter first.)

 

It takes a while to put together (i do a lot over the summer) but it's SO easy once school begins, and now I have everything in one place. Every few weeks I go through and do ILLs and check what materials I might need coming up.

[Mom_Abear]

Kudos to you for planning ahead! I am also planning on doing SOTW 2 next year!

 

Sounds like you are on track! I go through and pick *about* one activity per week, but some weeks there is not anything that appeals to me. I also look through other curriculum catalogs and read tons of reviews online to make my book list. I schedule these per week, along with SOTW. Some I plan for read-alouds (which my son usually takes and finishes independently), some for independent reading, and some for the book basket during quiet time. I try to buy the books I know I want for a particular week. Our nearest homeschool store has a large used section, and I also get a lot of books on Abebooks.com.

 

The more detailed my planning is, the easier it is during the schoolyear. I'm currently working on my planner for this coming year, and I have a place for materials I'll need for each week. I buy all the materials over the summer and put them in a box, so I am all ready to go! It keeps me without excuse when we have "one of those weeks!" ;)

[~Kirsten~]

I do something similar as well. I have a document with all the activity guide books that our library system carries. I reserve them in 3-week chunks (3 chapters at a time) because if no one else has holds, I can renew twice for a total of 9 weeks.

 

We do history 2-3x per week. Two times are for the actual chapter (so one section per session) with either the map or the coloring page. The optional third time is for a project. I'm aiming for 1 project from the AG for each chapter, but I know that won't happen. I'm okay with that. :D The extra readings are about the house. Usually, I have one that I definitely want to cover, so I read that over lunch or for some random read aloud. That's not structured, but I make sure one extra book per chapter is read. The other books I may read or we may page through together, or they head up to my DD's room and she reads them on her own. If we read it together, I ask her to do a narration for me to jot down on our narration page, but that's pretty low key. I try to write on each narration page the extra books we've read, just so that I can keep track.

 

Like a previous poster, I sometimes try to hunt through the shelves for more on the same topic. Or, I do that hunting when I'm reserving the books. I really think the additional books and the projects are gravy, so I'm trying not to stress about them. BUT, that said, the gravy is the fun stuff, so I also don't want to skip it entirely. Try not to beat yourself up, though, especially on the reading! I think I'd aim for a project (and an easy one at that) over the additional reading, if I had to choose. You've got little ones, so be kind to yourself! :001_smile:

[LNC]

My first go around, we did the chapter, narration, library picture book recs, and crafts/recipes.

 

Now they are older and we are doing a whirlwind review year.

 

A chapter while listening along w/ MP3 player everyday while the other child has piano practice - a notebook with map and chapter test for each day's chapter. The schedule worked out to complete a SOTW book out to a book a quarter. We plan on review flashcards printed on cardstock every Friday.

 

This doesn't answer your question exactly, but my children just wanted a lot of reading and activities when they were younger, now enjoy the tests and map work.