terrylee Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 I am considering using Truthquest next year. I would love to hear opinions and advice from those who are enjoying presently or in the past. Thanks! Terrylee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrylee Posted April 10, 2008 Author Share Posted April 10, 2008 bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodi-FL Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 We used 2 different books from TQ this year (Ren/Ref and the next one) and I didn't like the tone of the dialogue (written to the students, and seemed to me she was trying too hard to be "hip" to connect with the students. We wanted to get through our regular 3rd year of our history rotation, and there was so much in the books that we skipped, but then it got referred to later. There were many people over events stressed and waayyy more books than we could cover (which I'm usually okay with, but it was so hard to pick and choose, and our library didn't carry many of the titles which was unusual, our library is very good). BUT, if you're not trying to fit history into a 4 yr cycle, or if you need lots of book recommendations, or if you don't have 5 kids (ages 16-9) that you're trying to cover it with (like I did, plus 2 younger ones) than it might be a good fit for you. if you have any specific questions I'll be happy to try and answer them Jodi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayle in Guatemala Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 but, we use it as a guide for our reading and I ordered the books that I knew I wanted to cover since I don't have a library. I don't mind the tone, but, sometimes, I chose a more challenging writing assignment, but that's it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommieeeee Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 We ended up using it as a resource for finding time appropriate books. I didn't use her narratives for teaching or the writing assignments. I keep it around (We have the US history ones) for reference. She lists good books for the time periods that you need. But, as far as being an actual curriculum...you may need a spine to supplement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrylee Posted April 11, 2008 Author Share Posted April 11, 2008 This is going to sound not very bright. I'm new this year (2007/2008) to homeschooling. What do you mean when you say a spine? AND do you have any recommendations? Thanks, Terrylee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 A spine is a book used to make a lit based study cohesive. An example would be the Story of the World text used to make World History cohesive, then using children's lit suggestions from the activity guide to flesh it out. I am using TQ as a supplement only for WinterPromise's American Story 1. WP's spine this year is American Story: 100 True Tales. Its author is a bit liberal for my taste, so I will be using parts of it and leaving parts of it. (for example TQ recommends waiting till children are past 4th-5th grade to address the Salem witch trials, which are included in 100 True Tales). I don't think 100 True Tales is a TQ recommended book. TQ does recommend other "spines", such as The Light and Glory for Children", which I plan to use extensively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narrow Gate Academy Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 We are currently using the TruthQuest AHYS 1 guide this year and have loved it. We're planning to continue with the guides 2 and 3 next year. This year the guide itself has been our spine. I read the commentary on a given topic and then most of the time we read at least one of the recommended books together. I have once or twice found the tone of the commentary a bit annoying, but it is well-written ,well thought out, and does an excellent job of providing a focal point (questions to ask, what to look for, etc...) to use for evaluating the books that go with it. The curriculum can certainly be used without needing anything else but a library card. The book lists are excellent. The guides list not only books that are currently in print, but also out of print books which are easier to find at the library. My girls (and even my 3yo) have thoroughly enjoyed history this year with TruthQuest. It is now one of their favorite subjects. The living books listed help to make history come alive for them. There are more books and topics than can be covered in a year, but that allows you to make the program your own and spend more time or less time depending on what you think is important. There have been some smaller topics this year that we just chose to read the TQ commentary and move on. TQ is also flexible enough to be used in many different ways. I tend to plan things out, so I went through the guide last summer and wrote out a schedule of what topics to cover and for how long. I know of other moms who simply move from one topic to the next at a more relaxed pace without really planning it out. For more information, you can check out the posts from the online yahoo group at the link below. The moderators are wonderful at answering questions and have used the curriculum for several years. HIStory Questers HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrylee Posted April 11, 2008 Author Share Posted April 11, 2008 Thanks so much! I appreciate everyones help! I think I will check out that yahoo group. Thanks again! terrylee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in GA Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 For me, there were too many options. I kept thinking that maybe we were'nt reading the "best" one for a certain event, and should get another book. I also did not like the style of the author's narrative, but wasn't sure if we could have cohesion if I skipped the narrative and just did the readings. Like others have said, it depends on what you're looking for. If you have the money to spend, and want the list of resources, as well as some essay topic ideas at your fingertips, then it's worth buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Heather Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 I've loved using TQ this year as a guide to studying American history. It has allowed us to set our own pace and meander where our interests take us, and it has allowed us to spend as much time as we like on various topics (or skip some altogether). I bought the spines I wanted to use, and I've also made the most of the VP cards-- the TQ lists, however, really flesh out our study and provide wonderful, age-appropriate selections for my boys. I'm always able to find several of the recommendations, and I haven't found one yet that we didn't enjoy... highly recommended! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendra Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 This is going to sound really, really petty, but I couldn't! stand! all! the! exclamation! points! Her writing style really turned me off (!) We just used TQ as our spine for year four, and much of the discussion in the guide was well beyond my elementary/jr. high students. I'm not sure if that's the case for the other years, but I felt the author's comments were geared toward high schoolers. Just MHO :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verena Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 We've done a year of AHYS II and really, really enjoyed it. It was perfect for my then 1st/2nd grader and 4 yo/K-er tag-along. We didn't do any of the writing projects, just read, read, and read some more. We found some fantastic books and still re-read some of them. Imho, a good library is a must. TQ lists a LOT of books (and a lot of out-of-print books as well) and unless you have the $$, it becomes very cumbersome getting your reading material if you have to rely on ILL or if you live in another country like Dayle mentioned. (btw, the AHYS guides, which are geared for about K-5th list a LOT of books for logic and rhetoric stage students as well). HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verena Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 We've done a year of AHYS II and really, really enjoyed it. It was perfect for my then 1st/2nd grader and 4 yo/K-er tag-along. We didn't do any of the writing projects, just read, read, and read some more. We found some fantastic books and still re-read some of them. Imho, a good library is a must. TQ lists a LOT of books (and a lot of out-of-print books as well) and unless you have the $$, it becomes very cumbersome getting your reading material if you have to rely on ILL or if you live in another country like Dayle mentioned.(btw, the AHYS guides, which are geared for about K-5th list a LOT of books for logic and rhetoric stage students as well). HTH! I just saw that some posters were mentioning the commentary: we skipped most of the commentary- didn't care for it and it was above my dc head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profmom Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 We tried the first of the American history series about 2 years ago. It was too flexible for me -- too many book choices and too many topics. I needed something that told me which topics were most important for me to cover in depth, rather than many books listed for each of many topics. I've learned since that some people use an outline or table of contents from another history program, such as Veritas Press or maybe My Father's World, along with TQ. Doing this could help with one of the problems I had -- it could help focus the year's study topics and help determine how long to spend on each. TQ was so flexible and required enough time looking up books in the library's catalog that it wasn't getting done at our house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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