WWYD for a history cycle using SOTW?

[mamachanse]

I have four boys...8, 5, 3, newborn. Ds1 is half way through SOTW2 as a 2nd grader. Ds2 will be a young first grader this fall and can probably take on history by time we start ds1 up on SOTW3. I know in TWTM it says to just lump your kids together, but I feel it might be confusing for them to start in the middle. Realistically, with my children's spacing, I could group 2 and 2 together and start at the beginning with each. Is that making too much work for myself? Would it be better to keep them all at the same level so projects, etc. can be done collaboratively? What are your thoughts and experiences with this?

[boscopup]

Mine are all 2.5 years apart, so I have 1st, preK3, and toddler right now. When the middle one is 1st, oldest will be 4th, so doing SOTW4. That may be a bit much for DS2, but we'll see when we get there. My plan is to possibly do some American History with him and DS1 together, while letting DS1 do SOTW also (he learns a lot by reading, and loves to read, so I'm sure he'd have no problem doing that - he already reads SOTW1 himself, though I read it again out loud). When DS3 is in 1st, DS1 will be 6th grade, so middle ages. I think DS3 will be able to jump into the SOTW cycle as is.

 

So I'm planning (and this could change!) to keep them all together, but possibly do a year or two of American History alongside SOTW when the middle one starts, so he isn't doing modern history at that age. He would then jump into SOTW when we hit ancients again his 2nd grade year.

 

I don't think I'd want to do multiple history time periods... I'm good with one, but more than that would overwhelm me, I think.

 

That next cycle through, we might use something like TOG, or I might just do WTM recommendations for logic stage. I just don't know yet. I just know I want my kids to stay together so *I* only have to keep up with what's going on in one time period. I don't think it will be a problem to jump into any year. As long as you go chronologically from that point, it shouldn't be an issue (theoretically ;)).

[mrs.m]

It's not confusing to a child start in the middle of history studies at that age. It's all old stuff to them and often they just know it happened a long time ago. They will pull it all together in a timeline in their head when they are older. It is best to start at the beginning but we aren't dealing with child planning such that it makes that a realistic possibility. ;) Keep a timeline notebook to help them link it all together as they get older and they'll get the big picture eventually.

 

So I lump them together but adjust my expectations for retention and narration or writing. I teach to my oldest's retention ability and work with the younger ones to pull out the important information that is still at the basic level they need.

 

You can teach it at two different cycles if you think you can keep up that much work without going bonkers. :D I think I would start confusing it all.

[Mallory]

Well, I explained what I thought about it here- (last post #6)- http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=269168

 

 

Doesn't it work that way with your boys???

[Carol in Cal.]

I have four boys...8, 5, 3, newborn. Ds1 is half way through SOTW2 as a 2nd grader. Ds2 will be a young first grader this fall and can probably take on history by time we start ds1 up on SOTW3. I know in TWTM it says to just lump your kids together, but I feel it might be confusing for them to start in the middle. Realistically, with my children's spacing, I could group 2 and 2 together and start at the beginning with each. Is that making too much work for myself? Would it be better to keep them all at the same level so projects, etc. can be done collaboratively? What are your thoughts and experiences with this?

 

I haven't read the rest, but the way I see it, grouping them makes a lot of sense. I think that what I would do is slow down. Take 2 years to get through SOTW3, including a lot of enrichment books and extra US history with the 1st and 3rd grader. Then you'll be ready to start SOTW4 when they are in 3rd and 5th grades. I would not want a second grader to read that book--it's too much. I'd do SOTW4 for at least a year, probably two. By then you'd be ready to start SOTW1 with the other two, and to use other resources with the older kids to go back through ancients again--so you're grouping the resources you use, but not the time periods you cover. If I couldn't make 3 and 4 last for a total of 4 years, I would do them over a 3 year period and then do special topics--world geography, focussed study of some interesting cultures a la Sonlight 5, focussed study of church history, or state history--for one year. The nice thing about doing state history that way is that you can plan a lot of great field trips and take the littles along for a nice, concrete introduction to the fascination that history can provide.

Edited May 1, 2011 by Carol in Cal.

[Garga]

Maybe I'm a crazy woman, but I'm going to do SOTW4 with ds8 next year and SOTW1 with ds6. Yes. Both. In the same year!

 

My 2nd son has felt "left out" of school for so long and I KNOW that SOTW4 will be beyond his understanding. My youngest feels so overshadowed by his big brother already, and he needs a program that is on his level, or I fear he'll lost all his love of learning. It's pretty shaky right now (because he feels he's not "smart" b/c big brother knows "everything" and he doesn't.)

 

I'll also be doing 2 different science programs for the same reason.

 

 

But maybe your kids don't have this issue. And maybe 2 weeks into this next year, I'll give up on it, but we already do history 5 days a week. Next year, I'll just do 2 days of ancient w/ ds6, 2 days of modern with ds8, and projects for both on the 5th day. It's still 5 days of history, only not as in depth for each child in each time period.

 

I don't think it will be too confusing to them...I think they understand about different time periods.

[boscopup]

It is best to start at the beginning but we aren't dealing with child planning such that it makes that a realistic possibility. ;)

 

What? You're not planning all your kids exactly 4 years apart? :lol:

[mrs.m]

What? You're not planning all your kids exactly 4 years apart? :lol:

 

I would have if I read TWTM before that stage in my life. :D

 

"No, we're waiting one more year so we sync with the classical education history cycles as laid out in TWTM. We only have children every 4 years." :001_huh:

 

:lol:

 

PS: Garga, you're my hero and not crazy! I would like to start DS5 at SOTW1 this fall. But I know I would lose my mind after the first 6 weeks because I've already tried splitting my older DD from her little brothers.

[eternalknot]

My kids are five years apart in age. We'll be doing SOTW4 by the time my younger child is ready to join in for history on an official level (1st grade). I actually don't have the reservations that many do about using it with her, but I do plan to water it down a bit for her - not unlike the way I've been doing for the past few years as we unofficially incorporate her into our history studies, at her insistance.

 

For SOTW4 we'll continue to allow her to participate in activities and some of the outside selected readings. Instead of reading chapter by chapter from SOTW, she'll be given independent books from the library and other sources from which to do her narrations and such -- hers will be much more of a biography take on the era, reading and learning about important people of the time as opposed to events and such. We did this successfully through the early Modern era with very little extra prep on my part.

 

I have my older child read books to the younger, too, in an effort to help the older get additional exposure to the time/people/event. It's pretty much how I test his progress - if he can teach it to the younger student, he knows the material. We don't do formal tests on history material, otherwise.

 

I'm not organized or patient enough to try multiple eras, but then again I love when my kids work together on history and science projects. I also have a small schooling area, so it's helpful for me to be able to have all of our Ancients stuff out at one time ... then our Middle Ages, and so forth. All books, extras, projects, etc.

[Carol in Cal.]

 

For SOTW4 we'll continue to allow her to participate in activities and some of the outside selected readings. Instead of reading chapter by chapter from SOTW, she'll be given independent books from the library and other sources from which to do her narrations and such -- hers will be much more of a biography take on the era, reading and learning about important people of the time as opposed to events and such. We did this successfully through the early Modern era with very little extra prep on my part.

 

 

 

When you get to SOTW3, you might want to look for the really easy early American history biographies by Jean Fritz. They would be just the thing to read to your youngest at that point.

[purplebrooklyn]

My kids are 9, 6, 4, 2. We did SOTW 2 all together this year. They all colored while I read.

 

Next year we will do SOTW 3. It is already so challenging for me doing all the other subjects with each child individually that I NEED history and science done as a family all together to keep my sanity. :tongue_smilie:

[boscopup]

For SOTW4 we'll continue to allow her to participate in activities and some of the outside selected readings. Instead of reading chapter by chapter from SOTW, she'll be given independent books from the library and other sources from which to do her narrations and such -- hers will be much more of a biography take on the era, reading and learning about important people of the time as opposed to events and such. We did this successfully through the early Modern era with very little extra prep on my part.

 

Thanks for mentioning this! I will have to think about doing something like this. I know there are a lot of cool things going on in the modern era to read about - inventions and new discoveries. If you make a list of what you use, please share it! :D

[Penelope]

When you get to SOTW3, you might want to look for the really easy early American history biographies by Jean Fritz. They would be just the thing to read to your youngest at that point.

 

I think this is also great advice for the OP. One thing about SOTW 3 and 4 is that they seem to be meatier than 1 and 2. There is just a lot more to them, more text, more historical characters. That's my impression, anyway.

 

I have not BTDT yet, but I am about to begin SOTW4 with a fourth grader and a 6 yo. I do not plan to include the younger one in the heavier topics of the year. I also am not expecting younger child to get a lot out of the SOTW text. We will be using series like "If You Lived..." and other books more appropriate to that age.

 

I thought about having them in separate history cycles, but I really don't want to start that. Eventually when all my children are school-aged, I will combine them all in something like TOG, or maybe VP for elementary and Omnibus for the oldest. The thing about history in first grade is that they will enjoy many of the stories and develop their vocabulary as well as listening and narration skills, but they really will not remember most of the content no matter what we use.

[mamachanse]

I would have if I read TWTM before that stage in my life. :D

 

"No, we're waiting one more year so we sync with the classical education history cycles as laid out in TWTM. We only have children every 4 years." :001_huh:

 

:lol:

 

 

 

:lol: I possibly would have planned better too! Thanks for all the advice and insight.