question re: SOTW--starting in the middle?

[mo2]

If you were starting SOTW with a 3rd grader, would you back up and read volumes 1 and 2, or just start in with volume 3 and catcth the ancients and middle ages during the logic stage cycle?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Katja]

Has your 3rd grader learned much ancient and middle ages history? I think one of the strong points of the chronological approach is that you can see how events build on other events, but without that background some of that would be missing, especially in the beginning of your study.

 

For us, we're in logic and starting with 6th (instead of 5th) but we're beginning with ancients because she's had lots of chunks of early- and late-modern (I think most ps and non-chronological kids probably do) but very little ancient or medieval.

[yvonne]

We spent K-2 getting the basics down.... reading, math, spelling, tons of read alouds. Then we just started with ancients in 3rd. I like the chronological approach to history.

 

I believe in TWTM Susan suggests just starting wherever you are with ancients and moving forward, so we did!

[Mallory]

I'd start with ancients ;), unless they have already studied ancients and middle ages then there is nothing important about actually using SOTW to study them.

[EKS]

When my older son was in 3rd grade we started the history cycle for the first time. We did a four year cycle, then a two year cycle in 7th and 8th.

 

I would definitely start with the ancients and do a three or four year cycle. The better supplemental books for younger children correspond to the first two years, so I wouldn't zip through those. If anything, I'd shorten it on the other end so that you could do a three year cycle in middle school.