Did you like SOTW 4 if the oldest using it was 9 or 10?

[Mallory]

I was really disappointed with SOTW 4, and let me tell you, coloring pages would not have fixed it. My boys were 8 and 10 and it was too hard. I think it would be great in a couple years, but not for 3rd or 4th grade.

 

Just wondering if our expericnce was normal or average.

[debbielong]

We had the same experience. We did the series in order, starting in first grade, so fourth grade for SOTW 4. Too hard. Too many names and too many places and too many dates.

 

My son is now in seventh grade at a Jesuit school and is ace-ing his high school algebra and honors English classes. He's bright. SOTW 4 was too hard!

[robsiew]

:lurk5: I'm interested to see replies. We are going into SOTW3 after Christmas... my oldest will be 11 when we would start SOTW4, but I'm pretty sure I'm just going to take everyone back to Ancients. I've hear a lot of people say SOTW4 is just too much...

[JudoMom]

We loved it. We did it 2 years ago, so my oldest would've been 9. It led to some great discussions.

[Snickerdoodle]

We are liking it so far (9yo 4th grader). My son is really enjoying all of the extra-curricular reading that we are doing to supplement.

[patchfire]

DD was 9 when we did it last year (fourth grade). That time period is my personal favorite of the four, so perhaps that made a difference, but we loved it.

[sagira]

I'm glad I'm waiting until my oldest is in fifth grade then. Which is age 10-11 I presume?

[Mallory]

That's not very many votes. Do not very many people even consider it? Are they using it for older kids?

 

I'm glad I'm waiting until my oldest is in fifth grade then. Which is age 10-11 I presume?

 

My oldest has a Sept. birthday, so he is old for his age. This year at 11yo in 5th grade I think he might be better able to handle SOTW 4, but I'd still have my 4th grader who still isn't ready. I also think that while SOTW 1 might be a little too easy for him this year that gives him plenty of time and desire to read the Kingfisher and Usborne books (he usually reads both each week) and gives us an easier passage for his narrations, which I have really upped the required writing for this year (4-6 sentances).

[NanceXToo]

I was really disappointed with SOTW 4, and let me tell you, coloring pages would not have fixed it. My boys were 8 and 10 and it was too hard. I think it would be great in a couple years, but not for 3rd or 4th grade.

 

Just wondering if our expericnce was normal or average.

 

I haven't had an opportunity to see SOTW4 yet- but I can believe this, because I personally believe that a 6 y/o is way too young to really get much out of SOTW1, and that's when it's recommended to start THAT, right?

 

I started SOTW1 with my 9 y/o. She's now 10 and we're still working our way through it (we're using it more for fun not main curriculum so we just sort of get to it as we can) and she enjoys it.

 

Could my younger do some of the crafts and enjoy some of the picture books? Sure.

 

But could my younger get anything much out of the main text or a lot of the recommended supplemental books? No way!

[Mallory]

I haven't had an opportunity to see SOTW4 yet- but I can believe this, because I personally believe that a 6 y/o is way too young to really get much out of SOTW1, and that's when it's recommended to start THAT, right?

 

 

We did SOTW 1 when mine were 5 and 7. It was okay. But after going through them all 1x and starting SOTW 1 again, I think the best ages to do SOTW would be 3rd -6th. With SOTW 1-3 I felt like the boys were right at the edge of understanding most of the time, then #4 left us in the dust.

 

But SOTW 1 at 9 and 11 is great! I wish I would have waited and worried about history those first few years. We could have spent more time on scince ;).

 

Of course even if I start my next kid at 8 or 9 with SOTW 1, the youngest will be 6 or 7....

[ChrissySC]

It is only a reference source here. We read it and use it with HO, but choose lots of juvenile references, and I mean lots. I use the activigty guide for the outlines, that we do together, and we use some of the maps.

[whitestavern]

Well, I answered that we loved it, but we are actually still doing it, with a 10 and 8 yo. The coloring pages help a LOT I think...my kids really enjoy the coloring. I don't know as there's that much more information, and since this is our first go around, I'm not expecting them to remember all the little details; more of a broad overview of the time period. We haven't used SOTW1 (came into it too late) but so far it rates the same as the 2nd and 3rd.

[HRAAB]

Well, I'm just finishing up SOTW 2 with my 4th graders. First, when I tried SOTW 1 in 1st grade, they were absolutely lost. It moved between civilizations too much. Also, it wasn't familiar to them - I guess you could say they didn't have any pegs on which to hang that information like they would have with American history. So I shelved the book and just read stories to them about people and events. When I picked up the book again in 2nd gr., it went much better since they now had some knowledge of Egypt or Babylon and they were a little older.

 

I'm still behind schedule because we tend to follow rabbit trails in history, and there is no way I can finish one of those books in a year if we dig deeper into certain historical time periods. That's okay though. The information seems to be appropriate to their age, they can follow the chronological flow and they're retaining what they're learning. At this rate, they'll be 5th/6th gr. before we get to SOTW 4.

[Veritaserum]

My oldest kids were 9/10, 7/8, and 5 when we did SOTW 4 last year. We had a great time. It was my favorite year of SOTW. :)

[Annabel Lee]

I started SOTW 1 when my boys were K and 2nd; it went fine and they loved it. BUT, they had been looking at maps for their own play for years. They also had already heard of Egypt, Babylon, etc. from Bible stories. There may have already been some "pegs" there.

 

Then I realized we were "off-schedule" b/c I wanted to be back at ancients for Abe's 5th gr. year (next year) to match the outlining examples in WTM. That line of thought might have had some flaws, but we jumped off schedule for 2 yrs. (last year and this year) to do American history. My guys will be 6th and 8th when we get around to SOTW 4, which by then, if we use it, would be supplemented heavily w/ encyclopedias and grade-appropriate outlining/writing and additional reading. I'll have to look at the AG (I have a very old loose-leaf version) to see if it's worth using w/ those ages or not.

[Rosy]

It's fine for my 4th grader and my 3rd grader actually likes it too--I think because it's a read-aloud and he loves being read to--but it is harder than I was hoping it would be. But if we did more of the activities and extra reading it might come to life more.

[coffeefreak]

We're using it for 5th grade (with MFW). We love it, but my dd is also an older 5th grader (September Birthday). My youngest is going to be 8 in a couple of weeks and has no interest what so ever. I think it would be a great Jr High book if you decide to shelve it for a couple of years.

 

Blessings!

Dorinda

[Aubrey]

My oldest is 9, & we're using SOTW 4 now--maybe a third of the way in? We started it Jan or so of last yr.

 

I have cut some chapters, but not because I have a problem w/ the book--I just love the time period, have always been interested, but due (I guess?) to moving around a lot as a kid, have never studied it. I wanted extra time to spend on WWII & some of the great people & inventions, so I cut & squashed. For *this* book, I've also regrouped ch's according to continent/country for more...fluidity?

 

I think next time through, I might try to move through the first three time periods more quickly in order to allow more time for the modern age. Esp the first two kind-of seem to languish a little, kwim?

[Laurie in Life]

We did it this past year and my two 10 year old girls LOVED SOTW 4! They thought it was much more exciting than the previous books. I have to say that I agree with them. I don't think I would do it any earlier than 4th grade though.

[redsquirrel]

we did it last year as our 4th grade history. We had a great year.

[ereks mom]

I've been looking for something else--more info, longer chapters, etc. I'm thinking of using ABeka's 7th grade world history book instead.

[Brindee]

I was really disappointed with SOTW 4, and let me tell you, coloring pages would not have fixed it. My boys were 8 and 10 and it was too hard. I think it would be great in a couple years, but not for 3rd or 4th grade.

 

Just wondering if our expericnce was normal or average.

We had a great year with SOTW4 in 4th. Well, it went very well, DD learned lots, we had a great timeline that was so fun to make.....

 

DD said she liked it and learned a lot. So I am the one (as of right now) that put "other". She didn't love it, but we both liked it better than the second choice of "so-so".

 

We used the AG, we did other reading, watched some dvd's on some of the different time periods and people, read biographies..... We enjoyed it and went through the whole book. DD was glad to be done with it when it was done, but she never hated it or thought it was too hard.

[Brindee]

I wish SOTW 1 was a bit more "meaty"--I'm not finding it suitable for my 6th grader.

 

I've been looking for something else--more info, longer chapters, etc. I'm thinking of using ABeka's 7th grade world history book instead.

SOTW 1 is 1st-2nd, maybe 3rd, grade level, that's probably why it's not as suitable for you! You'd have to add in other sources, a timeline, writing papers, research some topics and people, etc. to make it more meaty for you, probably!

[Lori in MS]

We did it with MFW which has a supplement for 2nd and 3rd graders. SOTW 4 was perfect for my 6th and 7th graders. My 5th grader enjoyed most of it but I did not require him to do the outlines. My 2nd grader did not do it at all. I liked the fact that MFW adds in books for the younger dc and SOTW 4 is for the older ones. They also add in more American history including a study of the presidents.

[dangermom]

I think we did well with SOTW4 at age 9. It was not easy to absorb--I think it was the first time my daughter ran into a book that she couldn't just snarf down at top speed and still remember everything. We had to have talks about reading difficult material, slowing down, and paying close attention. So it was definitely a learning experience! But she did learn a lot and I was pleased, although certainly it was not as fun as ancients or medieval (in which just as many people die, but it was done the old-fashioned way, by hand! and is somehow farther removed and not so sad).

[dee67p]

I have 8 and 9 year old kids. 2 boys and one girlie girl. The yucky stuff is easier with boys here. The girl sees the compassionate side of each yucky story and so far, there are no nightmares or the inability to sustain a more hideous modern age history cycle. See http://expeditionswithg3.blogspot.com/search/label/SOTW for more information about books read and experiences had.

[JudyJudyJudy]

According to Susan's foreword in SOTW4, the book is targeted at students in grades 4-8. Susan says that she wouldn't study the book with students under grade 4. (I don't necessarily agree with her reason behind this, but that's a whole other story.)

 

Anyway, we started studying it near the end of fifth grade and should finish around the middle of sixth (within the next month).

[mazakaal]

My boys were both in 4th grade when they used it, and neither had a problem with it. I didn't require a complete understanding of the material, as I thought that since they were still in the grammar stage, they were just supposed to be getting acquainted with the names/people/events of the time period, you know, the whole 'pegs to hang more in-depth info on later' idea. So, no we didn't have a problem with it, but maybe it's just because my expectations were lower. We just read and explored and discussed, and we enjoyed it. I will say that we did far fewer activities from the AG for vol 4 than we did for the others though, but I don't remember exactly why. Maybe I felt at the time that they were too difficult.

[boscopup]

According to Susan's foreword in SOTW4, the book is targeted at students in grades 4-8. Susan says that she wouldn't study the book with students under grade 4. (I don't necessarily agree with her reason behind this, but that's a whole other story.)

 

So what does she recommend you do if you get to SOTW4 with your oldest and have younger ones tagging along? :confused: We're going to start SOTW1 next year, and would theoretically be doing SOTW4 when my oldest is 5th grade. The younger ones would be K and 2nd.

[Heather in WI]

We loved it. We did it 2 years ago, so my oldest would've been 9. It led to some great discussions.

 

We did it last year, with a 9 (4th) and 7 year old (2nd). Surprisingly, it was our favorite year of history! I really wasn't expecting that. We had amazing discussions and read some of our favorite childhood books so far as part of it.

[Blossom'sGirl]

I looked at SOTW 3 and 4 when my oldest was heading into 3rd grade. I decided to break away and do two years of American history with Winterpromise instead. I did buy the SOTW audios and AGs and do them on the side as we could, but it was definitely not our focus.

 

I am actually at this point again with my 3rd ds who will be headed into 3rd grade next year. I own the IG for SL 3 and WP American history, but I am strongly considering continuing into SOTW 3 instead. I did like doing two years of Am. history but I only have 3 days per week to commit to history and SOTW really works well for that. I will also have a 6th grader who maturity level is better suited to SOTW than a more independent program. So I seem to feel my "peace" when I think I will just continue with SOTW and add in from the other two programs.

[dcjlkplus3]

We are only 9 chapters into it, but we like it (other than it being part of school at least, adn therefore work and not playing:tongue_smilie:).

 

Both our 9yo and 7yo like listening to the chapters (even the 5yo sometimes). The outlining is a challenge because it is new. My 9yo does great with maps, but my 7yo hates them this year (too much writing and not enough coloring for her, I think). They aren't real interested in the activites however, but that's fine with me. We did get the coloring pages which are good since they prefere to listen to it than read it. My 9yo takes the tests and doesn't do very well on them, but its getting better (I encourage her to use the book at this stage - there is a lot of information - and she still struggles with finding specific information from the book).

 

I marked other, because my dds are proably between loved and so and so.

Edited November 19, 2010 by dcjlkplus3
edited to add: