History Curriculum Advice

[MamaBear]

We have studied Ancient Egypt and Greece using SOTW 1 and will begin with Rome this fall. We were planning on using MFW Rome to Reformation but the daily lessons plans and the amount of reading for each day overwhelm me. I cannot keep up with reading all the books with my dd on a daily basis, for bible, history and science. My dd does enjoy reading but I need a curriculum that does not schedule everything for you. (need lots of flexibility!) I would like something similiar to SOTW but from a biblical worldview. Any advice?:D

Thanks,

[Leeandrea]

We're using Truthquest for history. The worldview is the reason I chose it. It is very flexible. I was using SL prior to TQ and couldn't take the daily schedule. I've found that I can use the books I already own alongside TQ and read/have them read as little or as many as I want depending on the child.

[Donna A.]

I don't think it would work to do all the Bible in one day in RTR. There's quite a bit there, especially since Acts is scheduled for both Bible and History on some days. Definitely spread the Bible out over the week. Don't forget that you can do some of the Bible reading over the weekend, too.

 

It might work for all the other subjects, though.

 

Music is easy... we listen to the composer studies at mealtime or in the van.

 

We haven't done God and the History of Art... I'm thinking about having my high schooler do it for 1/4 credit each year for Art Appreciation.

 

Also realize that you don't read from every book every day. For example, SOTW doesn't even begin until around week 15? I think? Some of those books in the package are just extra resources for pictures or more detailed information about a topic. It's not like Sonlight where you're reading MANY books at the same time.

 

You don't do the Human Body study and the Astronomy study at the same time. Human Body is first, then you do Astronomy later in the year.

 

Which reminds me... don't let yourself get overwhelmed with Book Basket, either. For one thing, those are *optional*. Pick and choose from the list... don't even TRY to read all of them! And second, Book Basket is meant to be done independently (and somewhat casually) by the student... sort of like a restaurant buffet. You don't eat *everything* on the buffet, right? You couldn't! Nor would you want to. You pick and choose based on hunger and desire, and sometimes even time. Sometimes when you go to the restaurant buffet, you'll have time to linger and socialize while going back to the buffet spread three or four times. Other times, you'll need to just eat and leave, so you get what you need and move on. You might even skip dessert on those days.

[Chloe]

I second TruthQuest! :001_smile:

[MamaBear]

Thank you all for your replies.

 

Leeandrea, I have looked at TQ before and need to research it further. I want to study Ancient Rome as well as Middle Ages and Reformation for my dd's 5th grade year. Could we do the 3 in one year?

 

Donna and Cadam, thanks for your ideas. I used ECC this past year and we juggled the reading assignments throughout the week. I felt like as long as dd reads what is assigned by the end of the week or weekend then no problem. We skipped alot of activities but I was bummed about it because dd enjoys the hands-on stuff. She always did book basket on her own so no worries there. But regarding the reading assignments, if she reads them on her own how can I be confident that she understands and got it? Should I have dd narrate, copy, or summarize daily for whatever was read in history and sciience? (We have always read bibe assignments together).

[Donna A.]

How old is she? Depending on her age, I would probably NOT let her read Augustus Caesar's World on her own. Marie has included in the teacher's notes some weeks sections of ACW that you should skip, either because of mature content or just plain ol' inaccuracy. (Such as Foster's interpretation of some Bible passages that she mentions in ACW.) So I did the reading aloud of this book, and I was glad because I came across a couple spots that were a little uncomfortable, i.e., some descriptions of Cleopatra, that Marie had missed in her teacher notes.

 

But for the rest, yes, I think she could do much of the reading on her own. I would then have her narrate, either in writing or orally, so that you know what she's read and whether she understands it. I'd also have her notebooking assignments prepared ahead of time because some of those really help with understanding and retention. I consider the mapwork necessary, too. There was a lot that happened just during the Ancient Rome period alone, BEFORE we even got to the Middle Ages, and lots of moving around and shifting of cities and such things.

 

Also wondering, will there be any other children combined in this?

 

TruthQuest is a great resource, but I consider it just that... a great resource. There is author's commentary and some writing exercises, but no mapwork and no other hands-on activities. You'd have to come up wiith those on your own. That's why TQ wouldn't have worked for us.

 

You might take a look back at WHY you skipped so many of the hands-on activities in ECC that your dd loves so much. Do you have a schedule in place? Do you look over the lessons ahead of time to make sure you have supplies on hand? Are you working on other things that keep you away from school time?

[MamaBear]

Donna,

DD will be 11 this fall. I appreciate the heads up about ACW and also the lack of activities, map work etc in TQ. I have a DS, he is 2 so not in the MFW picture yet, although we do have things on hand for him to do that are just during school time. I stick to a schedule daily, we start by a set time and must be done by a set time due to other obligations that occur twice a week. As far as planning ahead of time I definetly lack in that area and do have a couple of distractions, the phone and a sweet friendly neighbor who drops by often.

I have a lot to think and pray about. I tend to think more than pray.

Thanks for your helpful advice and thoughts.