babygemma Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 (edited) Hi there, I'd like to start my 8.5 yo ds on ancient history and recently read about Horrible Histories and borrowed from a friend who has a copy of Groovy Greeks and Rotten Romans. We all enjoy the clever comics and even I enjoy the stories and we're all learning a lot from what we have read so far. My son read some on his own (he's an avid and advanced reader for his age), but complained tonight that some of the text is boring and he said he likes it much better when I read the stories aloud to him. I think the stories are great but I feel that there is not a lot of introduction. For example, one chapter discusses the Athens and Spartans and then next the book mentions Persians and assumes the reader has previous knowledge. Those of you whose children are enjoying the series, do they have prior knowledge or do you supplement with other books that provide more explanation. Should we have a map? I'm assuming my son said it's boring because there is just so much information and he doesn't have prior knowledge so a lot of the information he's reading about is meaningless. Is this a good age to start this or should I begin with another topic? Sorry for being so completely clueless. I'd like to keep his interest in these series, so I appreciate any suggestions that you might have. Thank you so much:) Honestly, I am not sure my son is really interested in the topic at this time. So, I'd love suggestions on how to get him interested. Edited August 27, 2010 by babygemma clarification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyK Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Just wanted to put a plug in for the audios. They're really fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Mine read them just for fun. They are not our curriculum. I do think they work better this way. Just my thoughts. Oh, and the geography and science ones are GREAT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
achristean Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Sorry to not be of much help - but I just discovered Horrible Histories on youtube. I had no idea that they had a curriculum. I'd like to follow this thread to hear more about what others think of the curriculum. Again, sorry that I have nothing to add. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Babygemma, are you just using the regular books or are there lessons somewhere that go along with them? I use Horrible Histories as fun substitutes to other optional readers listed in our history curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 We always read them after we had read the relevant section of SOTW - the background helps. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 we got the whole box set of HH, and my ds couldn't understand the, er, humour. the british "isms" threw him off and diminished his enjoyment of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamafox Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Where do you order them? I've always wanted to try them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 You can get them in the US from horriblebooks.com. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 We are reading the Groovy Greeks right now. My kids are loving them. I am using them to whet their appetite for when we get to Ancient Greece in a few months. I don't use them as my sole curriculum but as a supplement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cschnee Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 (edited) Mine read them just for fun. They are not our curriculum. I do think they work better this way. Just my thoughts. Oh, and the geography and science ones are GREAT! :iagree:The magazines are also really great and may be better in that there are coloured pictures and games. They are more like comic books, but with lots of info. Edited August 27, 2010 by cschnee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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