Guerber with Veritas Presss OTAE and NTGR

[Aloha2U]

Which do/did you use as your spine, VP or Guerber? Also, what is the line up? I mean to say that, I have The Story of the Ancient World and The Story of The Greeks... do I need The Story of the Romans as well to cover this time frame?

 

Lastly, which books from VPs selections are your favorites along side the history cards and Guerber series?

Edited February 19, 2011 by NCAmusings
oops, too many sssssssssss's in the title

[Aloha2U]

:lurk5:

 

ETA: :001_unsure: Oh, please tell me that someone has already done this.

Edited February 19, 2011 by CMama

[Kim in SouthGa]

:lurk5:

WE are looking at this also. My 11dd does not like the cards, but I already have them and there is a lot of neat stuff in the VP guide. So I am going to buy either the Grueber books or Dorthy Mills books and let her read from those then pull from the cards as she comes to it. She's old enough to figure this out on her own, I think...Or I may have to make a table. :glare: or maybe just write it in the Table of Contents. I've searched for a schedule someone might have made but haven't found one yet.

[SilverMoon]

CMama said:

 

 

Edited September 5, 2023 by SilverMoon

[Cleopatra]

Yes, you will want the Romans to complete NTGR.

:iagree:

 

I designed my dd's history curriculum, using the Guerber books for a spine. The first three books (Ancient World, Greeks & Romans) cover the ancients period.

 

I liked the Veritas Press material but when I looked at it, I found it a little dry and repetitive. We're also at the logic stage and the Guerber books are a notch above the VP history in regards to level. I find them more engaging, as well as being more flexible to work around.

[PeterPan]

For a 1st grader??? Wow, he'd have to be some kind 1st grader, lol. He might be fine with Story of the Ancient World, but the rest are just overkill. Have you looked at their online self-paced courses? My dd is doing the MARR right now, and she LOVES, LOVES, LOVES it.

 

I'm trying to remember what we used as spines way back when we did OTAE and NTGR. I know we used CHOW. The cards have readings on the back. I had the TQ guides and used them to add a lot of extra literature. Lots of Usborne and other terrific books. With my ds, I'll probably do the online course and then be free to put my energy into the fun stuff (activities, read alouds).

[Aloha2U]

Thank you for your feedback, ladies!

 

:lurk5:

WE are looking at this also. My 11dd does not like the cards, but I already have them and there is a lot of neat stuff in the VP guide. So I am going to buy either the Grueber books or Dorthy Mills books and let her read from those then pull from the cards as she comes to it. She's old enough to figure this out on her own, I think...Or I may have to make a table. :glare: or maybe just write it in the Table of Contents. I've searched for a schedule someone might have made but haven't found one yet.

 

I'll be interested in knowing if you find one. :)

 

I use VP history, but not Guerber books. Yes, you will want the Romans to complete NTGR. We used the Kingfisher, Streams, Greenleaf Guides, Cultural Atlas for Young People, Famous Men, 100 Most Important Events in Church History, Student Bible Atlas, and Pharaoh's of Ancient Egypt. I have a mix of ages on both ends of the age spectrum for VP's history.

 

Thank you so much for this list. It's going to be very helpful while I'm planning out which books I need/want to purchase.

 

:iagree:

 

I designed my dd's history curriculum, using the Guerber books for a spine. The first three books (Ancient World, Greeks & Romans) cover the ancients period.

 

I liked the Veritas Press material but when I looked at it, I found it a little dry and repetitive. We're also at the logic stage and the Guerber books are a notch above the VP history in regards to level. I find them more engaging, as well as being more flexible to work around.

 

Thank you for sharing this. Honestly, I don't mind VP being a little dry or repetitive, but I do like the idea of the Guerber books being more engaging and flexible. We've already read through CHOW, which we enjoyed (with only brief considerations of the first few chapters, IYKWIM), but I believe that my little man would like and can handle "more in-depth input" in this narrative style next time around. I like that it includes more biblical events, unlike SOTW.

 

For a 1st grader??? Wow, he'd have to be some kind 1st grader, lol. He might be fine with Story of the Ancient World, but the rest are just overkill. Have you looked at their online self-paced courses? My dd is doing the MARR right now, and she LOVES, LOVES, LOVES it.

 

I'm trying to remember what we used as spines way back when we did OTAE and NTGR. I know we used CHOW. The cards have readings on the back. I had the TQ guides and used them to add a lot of extra literature. Lots of Usborne and other terrific books. With my ds, I'll probably do the online course and then be free to put my energy into the fun stuff (activities, read alouds).

 

Although I do think I have some kind of first grader :001_wub:, I'm attempting to plan out our 2nd grade school, which we'll start in the fall. I know SOTW is loved by many, but it just isn't what I'm wanting, I think. I do like the looks of VPs online self-paced courses, but that just not for us either... at least, not right now.

 

We like a nice balance of "just give me the facts, please " along with some memory work and narrative style read aloud to tie it all together. I should also mention that we're almost done memorizing all 160 of VP's History cards in sequential order as a history timeline (slight variations from VPs order)... we've introduced, briefly discussed, and memorized (w/hand motions) 8 cards per week for what will have been 20 weeks (after next) through CC this year. I share this because it's hugely beneficial having that under our belts already and it will allow us to condense OTAE & NTGR in one year much more successfully.

 

All that being said and this may be overkill, but as I'm sitting here looking at both SOTW (e.g., Volume 1) and Guerber (e.g., Story of the Ancient World), I'm wondering if I could use SOTW as a spine/supplement to our VP History studies, and Guerber as a spine/supplement to our VP Bible studies. Hmmm, a can of worms has just been opened. Now I have some more thinking to do. Would anyone like to share their thoughts and help me in my madness?

[Cleopatra]

Would anyone like to share their thoughts and help me in my madness?

 

My advice ......?? Go mad while you can; you'll have to reign it in when you hit the logic stage.:D

 

Seriously, at this age, if both of you want to do that much history, try it out. You can always keep what works and toss what doesn't, chop & change, KWIM? My dd :001_wub: LOVED :001_wub: history at this age (and still does) so, while we used SOTW as a spine, I let her read as much as she wanted. Honestly, it surprises me how much she remembers and, even when the memory isn't clear, there seems to be a nuance of it floating around in her brain that allows the higher level information in more readily. I don't think you can go wrong with doing "too much" history, as long as you both enjoy it! :001_smile:

[PeterPan]

My dd enjoyed the Famous Men books at that age. We also added in books from the TQ guides. With the VP cards you don't so much need specific spines as you do just books to go with each card. The TQ guides had some wonderful, wonderful books at a middle, say 4th gr, reading level to go with the ancients cards. And yes, we too combined OTAE and NTGR into one year.

 

I think the biggest benefit to us at this age of doing so much history was not the history learned but the love of reading it nurtured in my dd. There are a lot of fun activity books to go with your studies too. Spend the Day in Ancient Greece (Ancient Rome, Egypt) is really good. The VP catalog has a lot of fun stuff to do. You might also look at the TOG bookshelf listings for year 1 and see what they have at that level. They usually have some goodies.

[Aloha2U]

My advice ......?? Go mad while you can; you'll have to reign it in when you hit the logic stage.:D

 

Seriously, at this age, if both of you want to do that much history, try it out. You can always keep what works and toss what doesn't, chop & change, KWIM? My dd :001_wub: LOVED :001_wub: history at this age (and still does) so, while we used SOTW as a spine, I let her read as much as she wanted. Honestly, it surprises me how much she remembers and, even when the memory isn't clear, there seems to be a nuance of it floating around in her brain that allows the higher level information in more readily. I don't think you can go wrong with doing "too much" history, as long as you both enjoy it! :001_smile:

 

Thank you, Dyan... this is encouraging. We do enjoy learning about history together.

 

My dd enjoyed the Famous Men books at that age. We also added in books from the TQ guides. With the VP cards you don't so much need specific spines as you do just books to go with each card. The TQ guides had some wonderful, wonderful books at a middle, say 4th gr, reading level to go with the ancients cards. And yes, we too combined OTAE and NTGR into one year.

 

I think the biggest benefit to us at this age of doing so much history was not the history learned but the love of reading it nurtured in my dd. There are a lot of fun activity books to go with your studies too. Spend the Day in Ancient Greece (Ancient Rome, Egypt) is really good. The VP catalog has a lot of fun stuff to do. You might also look at the TOG bookshelf listings for year 1 and see what they have at that level. They usually have some goodies.

 

Funny thing... a friend and I recently conversed about scaling back our expectations once they've bound off and away from reality. LOL!

 

Once again, Elizabeth, you hit on a good point here. This may be completely obvious to others, but with a one and only who I tend to do more for (compared to those who have multiples, IYKWIM), I guess I'm beginning to understand that I need to start balancing what he learns from me by what I read aloud to him and what is learned/experienced by him reading aloud or independently to himself within each subject/genre. Your comment helped me to gain a better grasp of the goals within the grammar stage... nurturing his love of reading (as you mentioned)... not always and forever spoon feeding him, although spoon feeding is much faster, IYKWIM. During the grammar stage, it's like I need to transition from just spoon feeding to finger foods, if you will, then eventually to "here's your fork" in the logic stage (though I'm still supplying and preparing the food) and rhetoric stages (supplying the food, but he's preparing it). Right?

 

That great analogy, and I'm still stumped. :001_huh: