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Needing a change for history next year


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I have been using SL for 7 years. That is all my kids know and that is all I have used consistently. I don't use it for LA or Science. I just use the core (history and lit). I have been trying to do two cores at once for the past two years. Next year I add one more child into the mix so I would be doing three cores (I combine two in one core).

 

I am SO BURNED out. We are barely getting through the books. I need a change and the thought of adding in one more core makes me want to drive them all over to the closest school and drop them off. KWIM?

 

So... I don't want anything like computer based learning. I don't want to totally get away from literature based but I need a change. Any ideas for me?

 

I should note that my oldest will be 8th and loves history and reading.

 

My girls will be 6th, 4th and K. I am thinking maybe American history for my older two girls because they don't really remember when we did it the first time. They don't enjoy listening. Hands on would probably work better for them.

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What if you did SOTW with all of them next year? Get the activity guide to go with it. Then pick out the recommended literature you'd like to do. You could even look at what you'd normally do for Sonlight next year and pick a few favorites. SOTW and Sonlight follow a similar cycle of rotating the kids through history and then repeating it as they get older.

 

You could also look at MFW, which is meant to be used with more than one kid/grade level at a time, so everyone is doing the same history.

 

You could also look into joining a Classical Conversations group in your area or doing CC at home on your own with the kids.

 

Good luck!

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For hands on American History I would look at Christian cottage unit studies or maybe Guest Hollow. GH still has the literature approach but has plenty of hands on. This year we have used it with Truthquest and Time Travelers cd's. We are just starting the Prairie Primer and so far the girls really love it.

 

Just wanted to add that you could do just the TT if you really want hands on. They have cd's now from the beginning of US history through the Depression.

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For hands on American History I would look at Christian cottage unit studies or maybe Guest Hollow. GH still has the literature approach but has plenty of hands on. This year we have used it with Truthquest and Time Travelers cd's. We are just starting the Prairie Primer and so far the girls really love it.

 

Just wanted to add that you could do just the TT if you really want hands on. They have cd's now from the beginning of US history through the Depression.

 

I bought a used Prairie Primer last year thinking maybe I will use it next year with my girls. Not sure what I would do with my ds though.

 

In my original plan I would have used core 5 or WP Children Around the World (or both) next year.

 

My ds has read all of the SOTW books the past two years. We just finished up two years of world history. Not sure where to go from here and still get the history credits he needs in high school.

 

Will look up the other suggestions.

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What if you did SOTW with all of them next year? Get the activity guide to go with it. Then pick out the recommended literature you'd like to do. You could even look at what you'd normally do for Sonlight next year and pick a few favorites. SOTW and Sonlight follow a similar cycle of rotating the kids through history and then repeating it as they get older.

 

You could also look at MFW, which is meant to be used with more than one kid/grade level at a time, so everyone is doing the same history.

 

You could also look into joining a Classical Conversations group in your area or doing CC at home on your own with the kids.

 

Good luck!

 

My ds has read all of the SOTW. We are just finishing up two years of world history with all of them.

 

I may revisit MFW. I looked at it when I first started and it does look good.

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I would look at MFW Adventures. It looks like a solid program. I would add higher level readers and map work for your son. I am doing MFW ADv. with my 1st grader next year and doing Sonlight 3+4 for my son as well as Trail Guide to American Geography. I would also look to see what SL offers for American history in an upper level - and just look at the literature choices.

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Have you looked at Tapestry of Grace?It will keep you all in the same place, provide lots of hand holding in the Teacher's Notes and you won't have to search out anything, you'll really just have to pick and choose which books you want to use. You still get great literature and living books (or texts if you choose them). There are always hands on options. You can do plenty of printing and copying over the summer and make your weekly preparation time pretty limited.

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I would look at MFW Adventures. It looks like a solid program. I would add higher level readers and map work for your son. I am doing MFW ADv. with my 1st grader next year and doing Sonlight 3+4 for my son as well as Trail Guide to American Geography. I would also look to see what SL offers for American history in an upper level - and just look at the literature choices.

 

I won't pull books from high school SL cores because I am sure my ds will want to stick with SL. But I will look and see what MFW has. Thanks.

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Have you looked at Tapestry of Grace?It will keep you all in the same place, provide lots of hand holding in the Teacher's Notes and you won't have to search out anything, you'll really just have to pick and choose which books you want to use. You still get great literature and living books (or texts if you choose them). There are always hands on options. You can do plenty of printing and copying over the summer and make your weekly preparation time pretty limited.

 

I have not looked at it for a couple of years. I know my friend really likes it. May need to go look again. Seems like it was a bit confusing when I looked before and was a bit overwhelming.

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I have not looked at it for a couple of years. I know my friend really likes it. May need to go look again. Seems like it was a bit confusing when I looked before and was a bit overwhelming.

The website used to be pretty bad, but it has greatly improved. This may help:

What is Tapestry of Grace?

 

The Three big ideas of TOG. Watch and learn about Integrated Studies (aka Unit Studies), Whole-family Learning, and Cyclical Education.

 

What's in a Week Plan?

 

Want to generate your own custom book list?

 

What is this Digital Edition (DE) I've heard about? Explore the DE.

 

Check out these free 3-week samples:

 

 

 

Need to get started? Here is the Simple Start Guide. It helps to get things out of the shrinkwrap and into the hearts and minds of your children.

 

This is taken from a blog post (thus the quick response). Hope it helps.

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The website used to be pretty bad, but it has greatly improved. This may help:

What is Tapestry of Grace?

 

The Three big ideas of TOG. Watch and learn about Integrated Studies (aka Unit Studies), Whole-family Learning, and Cyclical Education.

 

What's in a Week Plan?

 

Want to generate your own custom book list?

 

What is this Digital Edition (DE) I've heard about? Explore the DE.

 

Check out these free 3-week samples:

 

 

 

Need to get started? Here is the Simple Start Guide. It helps to get things out of the shrinkwrap and into the hearts and minds of your children.

 

This is taken from a blog post (thus the quick response). Hope it helps.

 

Thank you! :D

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If I used TOG, I would have no idea where to start. We have done two years of world history, two of American, and two of world again (higher level for ds, repeat for middle dd).

 

Hmm....maybe you should start with year 4 (modern) since you haven't covered that yet it seems, and that would also set your oldest up to do a full cycle for 9th-12th?

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If I used TOG, I would have no idea where to start. We have done two years of world history, two of American, and two of world again (higher level for ds, repeat for middle dd).
You really can start in any unit. When we began our TOG journey, we began with Year 1, Unit 4! Each page has a scope and sequence. Perhaps that will give you an idea.

Year 1 S&S

Year 2 S&S

Year 3 S&S

Year 4 S&S

 

Hmm....maybe you should start with year 4 (modern) since you haven't covered that yet it seems, and that would also set your oldest up to do a full cycle for 9th-12th?
That sounds nice :) I like tidy; although we are never on the classical rotation around here!
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For hands on American History I would look at Christian cottage unit studies or maybe Guest Hollow. GH still has the literature approach but has plenty of hands on. This year we have used it with Truthquest and Time Travelers cd's. We are just starting the Prairie Primer and so far the girls really love it.

 

Just wanted to add that you could do just the TT if you really want hands on. They have cd's now from the beginning of US history through the Depression.

 

 

We used Guesthollow this year with fantastic results. I liked it because I was able to flesh it out to meet our needs for different materials for the different age groups. She did a great job of using read alouds that are easily found at the library, and that the kids and I enjoyed. I can't believe that she offers the program for free, because it really encompasses American history. We didn't use any of her extras for science, but we did do some of the craft projects. The downloadable PDF is easy because in her week to week plans all of the links to other resources I wanted to print out were there at the click of a mouse. If you can't tell, I am a fan. :lol:

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You really can start in any unit. When we began our TOG journey, we began with Year 1, Unit 4! Each page has a scope and sequence. Perhaps that will give you an idea.

Year 1 S&S

Year 2 S&S

Year 3 S&S

Year 4 S&S

 

That sounds nice :) I like tidy; although we are never on the classical rotation around here!

 

Thank you for all your help Tina. I will be spending time looking through everything.

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Does TruthQuest History appeal to you at all? That is the direction I am going for personalization and mommy-built pace. You could do American History for the Younger Student with the younger ones (maybe throw in some Homeschool in the Woods Time Travelers activities for fun) and go ahead with TQ Age of Revolution at the same time for the oldest. (the time periods correspond loosely and both include tons of Amer history though the AOR also has the European events and resources listed.)

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I have been using SL for 7 years. That is all my kids know and that is all I have used consistently. I don't use it for LA or Science. I just use the core (history and lit). I have been trying to do two cores at once for the past two years. Next year I add one more child into the mix so I would be doing three cores (I combine two in one core).

 

I am SO BURNED out. We are barely getting through the books. I need a change and the thought of adding in one more core makes me want to drive them all over to the closest school and drop them off. KWIM?

 

So... I don't want anything like computer based learning. I don't want to totally get away from literature based but I need a change. Any ideas for me?

 

I should note that my oldest will be 8th and loves history and reading.

 

My girls will be 6th, 4th and K. I am thinking maybe American history for my older two girls because they don't really remember when we did it the first time. They don't enjoy listening. Hands on would probably work better for them.

 

I can completely relate. I used SL for 10 years with my oldest and then started my younger two on it. I was burned out. I LOVE SL, I really truly do but I just wanted a change.

 

I did MFW this year and it has been fantastic. I'm not a fun-project mom. SL is more me but my kiddos have just loved having notebooking pages and projects. I've skipped so many projects but the kiddos still love it. :) I've kept them on the SL readers since MFW doesn't have that built in and the combo of MFW history, bible, and read-alouds combined with SL readers has been fantastic.

 

I'd look at Exploring Countries and Cultures (ECC) for next year. We just finished Adventures and it was a lot of fun but VERY light (just what we needed). I can't wait for ECC next year.

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Does TruthQuest History appeal to you at all? That is the direction I am going for personalization and mommy-built pace. You could do American History for the Younger Student with the younger ones (maybe throw in some Homeschool in the Woods Time Travelers activities for fun) and go ahead with TQ Age of Revolution at the same time for the oldest. (the time periods correspond loosely and both include tons of Amer history though the AOR also has the European events and resources listed.)

 

I know that I have looked at TruthQuest before but I can't remember it at all. Will go check it out.

 

What specifically is causing the burn out do you think?

 

:grouphug:

 

I just can't keep up!!! By the time we get done with seatwork each day I am usually "just done" and so are they. My oldest reads his own history (he loves history and reads extra all the time) but the girls need me to read to them. We should have two RAs going all the time and I only seem to get to one. I combine them in science. We are on week 22 of school and still back at around week 15 for history. Just can't seem to get to it all. On top of that I have not been working with my preschooler hardly at all. I feel so bad for her.

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I can completely relate. I used SL for 10 years with my oldest and then started my younger two on it. I was burned out. I LOVE SL, I really truly do but I just wanted a change.

 

I did MFW this year and it has been fantastic. I'm not a fun-project mom. SL is more me but my kiddos have just loved having notebooking pages and projects. I've skipped so many projects but the kiddos still love it. :) I've kept them on the SL readers since MFW doesn't have that built in and the combo of MFW history, bible, and read-alouds combined with SL readers has been fantastic.

 

I'd look at Exploring Countries and Cultures (ECC) for next year. We just finished Adventures and it was a lot of fun but VERY light (just what we needed). I can't wait for ECC next year.

 

I love SL too. I just need a break from it. I am overwhelmed with two cores and the thought of three is causing a panic attack.

 

I will revisit MFW too. I had planned to do core 5 (we skipped it) and WP Children Around the World but I just don't think I can do it.

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You could look at the Ambleside online lists. They have *free* book lists and weekly schedules up through 8th grade or so. Some of the books are out of print and there's a heavy emphasis on kids classics, which means in practice a much higher level of vocabulary and less fun/missions oriented stuff than SL has.

 

We have successfully done a combo of SL100/SL 3/4 with the 8th gr. doing much of the work on his/her own in preparation for high school--but doing it in just 1 year is a ripping pace and you're already tired....so you might want something totally different for your 6th & below kids and still let the 8th gr. do SL100. If so, depending on your 8th gr. student, you might want to try a textbook on for size (we'd hardly used any before high school and there was a bit of a learning curve; a lot of texts have section & chapter review questions built in).

 

Free might be my only choice at this point. :(

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We are getting ready to start People Places and Principles of America. DD is in 7th and has finished the SOTW series. She read, took tests and wrote a few papers. So we are moving on to US History and the feeback I have seen on this program has been mostly positive.

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Take a look at Biblioplan. I used it last year and found that it was very easy to combine my kids. We switched to SL6 this year and are doing SL7 next year (I can't imagine doing 2 cores :svengo:). We switched from Biblioplan only because I want to get my older 2 through World History in 2 years.

 

Is there any way you could drop the 2nd core this year and just do 7? My younger boys listen in on the read alouds, and I have them do the coloring pages and listen while we read SOTW. I'm having a panic attack for you :001_smile:.

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Take a look at Biblioplan. I used it last year and found that it was very easy to combine my kids. We switched to SL6 this year and are doing SL7 next year (I can't imagine doing 2 cores :svengo:). We switched from Biblioplan only because I want to get my older 2 through World History in 2 years.

 

Is there any way you could drop the 2nd core this year and just do 7? My younger boys listen in on the read alouds, and I have them do the coloring pages and listen while we read SOTW. I'm having a panic attack for you :001_smile:.

 

Thank you for your sympathetic panic attack. :)

 

I am already half way through cor 2/7 combo.

 

I had them combined until we hit core 6 and I just couldn't do it anymore. The girls were getting nothing, bored, and just not learning. When I dropped them down to their level (below for one) they actually started listening and engaging. What a difference.

 

My oldest has already finished reading all his history books. He still has a few readers to go.

 

I already have Prarie Primer that I could use with my girls. I am seriously thinking that is what I want to do. Just not sure what I will do with my ds if I do that. It is the last year before high school.

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I love SL too. I just need a break from it. I am overwhelmed with two cores and the thought of three is causing a panic attack.

 

I will revisit MFW too. I had planned to do core 5 (we skipped it) and WP Children Around the World but I just don't think I can do it.

 

Well ECC might be just the ticket then. It is similar to Core 5 but focuses on geography heavily and can be used for all kiddos 8th grade and under. I'm going to add some of my fav/age appropriate Core 5 read-alouds to read-alouds.

 

ECC would provide a nice break and then you could go back to SL if that is where your heart is or you can stay with MFW or switch to something else.

 

Anyway, just my 2cents. :) Keep us posted on your choice.

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Are there any solid secular history programs that are similar to Sonlight or History Odyssey? I'm looking for something similar to Sonlight - where the whole package is included. My workload is heavy so I am looking to streamline it. I use SOTW now and try to bring in other literature but it is time comsuming, Does something else exist? If yes, pros/cons?

 

Thanks,

 

Julie

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Well ECC might be just the ticket then. It is similar to Core 5 but focuses on geography heavily and can be used for all kiddos 8th grade and under. I'm going to add some of my fav/age appropriate Core 5 read-alouds to read-alouds.

 

ECC would provide a nice break and then you could go back to SL if that is where your heart is or you can stay with MFW or switch to something else.

 

Anyway, just my 2cents. :) Keep us posted on your choice.

 

If I go with combining them all I think I would choose between Children Around the World (WP) and the MFW core that is similar. May have to see how they compare.

 

I guess the biggest hurdle is trying to figure out what I want to do. May need to sit down with my long term plan and see what my girls would miss out on if we veered off course for a couple years. :)

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