Sherri in MI Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 These last couple of years have been stressful & difficult for our family and as a result we are way off track on most of our studies. My ds is 12. I had planned to do the four year cycle again, beginning in 5th grade. I had planned to use MOH. (I also like the looks of Winter Promise, but it has too many activities & I've always really liked Sonlight, but only used it in K & 3rd.) I really would've liked to have done MOH1 w/ Sonlight Core 6 (it includes SOTW 1&2 and The World of Caesar Augustus. Well here it is, the end of 6th grade & we are only 3/4s through MOH 1! And we've done no activies & no historical literature or non-fiction history supplements. Which really upsets me. We did do one Quarter review lapbook for Quarter 1. We are definitlely schooling through the summer to try to catch up on all courses. I plan to finish MOH1 asap, by doubling up on the reading. Then we will take a couple of weeks to do the rest of the review lapbooks, a few hands-on activities from a kit I have & a couple of supplemental books. My son loves history, & loves to read & is a good reader & very perceptive. Likes hands-on activities, but I find they take him a long time, so only a few a year (one a month, maybe). He's very, very smart, but not a fast worker. That's not why we're behind tho'. I'm not sure where to go from there so that we will be "caught up" on history by end of 8th grade. One option I was considering was going through MOH 2 in 7th grade and then doing Sonlight World History Part 2 in 8th grade. Part of the appeal of SL to me is the not having to plan. While I like to plan, I'm too stressed to do so right now & I don't always get to it even when I'm not stressed. What do you think? Any alternative suggestions? I go insane rethinking it over & over again. This is just one of many classes we're behind in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkgumby Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 What specifically has bogged you down, do you think? For me, the subjects we got behind in were the ones where the kids had to wait for me - the things they could just pick up and read or do themselves, they kept right on track this year. Maybe you could be less involved, given his age and that he's a good reader? I plan on having my boys (4th and 5th grade this fall) either read or listen to SOTW themselves (in addition to K12 Human Odyssey for my 5th grader), and though I will help pick out some supplemental books and suggest some projects, they will really be deciding what they do in addition to SOTW. I think it will actually get *done* this way. Good luck! *edit* - if you're not getting enough responses here, try posting specifically in the Logic Stage forum! It's not as swamped as this one. (: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morosophe Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 If you like having the planning done for you, have you considered Biblioplan? It doesn't do as much planning as Sonlight, and it doesn't offer the books for purchase, but it does schedule on a weekly basis. It has schedules for both Mystery of History and Story of the World (and some other resources...), where you can decide which one you want to read for that particular lesson, and offers suggestions for read-alouds and readers for different aged kids, to boot! The Guide, which is the scheduling portion of their program, is $30-$40 (depending upon whether you buy the digital version or the paper copy). Either way, I believe they offer free (presumably digital!) updates for as long as you request them and can show that you purchased the item from them and haven't resold it. They also sell all sorts of supplements, with map work, questions to be answered, etc. (They won't have crafts available for the medieval period until sometime next year, sadly.) Just something else to consider! Edited to say: Wow, for some reason I thought you had more than one child to deal with. Well, Biblioplan is less useful for those who don't have to coordinate different kids, I guess. Still, it's worth considering, if only as a point of inspiration! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri in MI Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 What specifically has bogged you down, do you think? For me, the subjects we got behind in were the ones where the kids had to wait for me - the things they could just pick up and read or do themselves, they kept right on track this year... : We got behind because I had been working off & on outside the home for the last 2 years & dh (unemployed) watched ds, but would not supervise his studies. Ds, being a normal kid, slacked off a lot & thus we are way behind. Plus I didn't do so well with working & homeschooling at the same time. Now we are playing catch up. It's really a shame, since ds is such a bright kid. But I have to work with what is, so here we are. I appreciate your suggestions. I might go ahead & post on the logic board. I do try to make his studies independent, but he always does so much better with my presence & some input/discussion/guidance/accountability from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri in MI Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 If you like having the planning done for you, have you considered Biblioplan? It doesn't do as much planning as Sonlight, and it doesn't offer the books for purchase, but it does schedule on a weekly basis. It has schedules for both Mystery of History and Story of the World (and some other resources...), where you can decide which one you want to read for that particular lesson, and offers suggestions for read-alouds and readers for different aged kids, to boot! The Guide, which is the scheduling portion of their program, is $30-$40 (depending upon whether you buy the digital version or the paper copy). Either way, I believe they offer free (presumably digital!) updates for as long as you request them and can show that you purchased the item from them and haven't resold it. They also sell all sorts of supplements, with map work, questions to be answered, etc. (They won't have crafts available for the medieval period until sometime next year, sadly.) Just something else to consider! Edited to say: Wow, for some reason I thought you had more than one child to deal with. Well, Biblioplan is less useful for those who don't have to coordinate different kids, I guess. Still, it's worth considering, if only as a point of inspiration! I had forgotten about Biblioplan. Why do you think it's less useful for those with one? It might be the ticket for me, since the planning is done & I can decide which books to use or not use. Since money is an issue as well. However, everytime I think about just getting a box & opening it up with everything ready to go, I feel so happy!:001_smile: One main reason I haven't used SL is the expense. And I like some of their book choices, but others not so much. A lot of times I don't like their history spines, but I do like their literature. However, I'd like ds to read more classical works than SL offers. I do love their history books for World History I & II - I love that they use SOTW & the Foster books. But I don't want to give up MOH either! A classical curriculum set up like SL would be so nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna T. Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) We are behind in history too. But, my boys have NEVER had a real summer break and I promised them last fall that we would take the summer off... so, we are pretty much taking the summer off. Well, we are contining with our SL core on an "as desired, relaxed" basis. They love SL so they do usually want to do the readings. Anyways, there is a file at the MysteryofHistoryHighSchool yahoo group that schedules MOH 1 and MOH 2 in one year. That schedule coordinates MOH 1 and 2 with Sonlight Core 6 and a few other resources. It's one of those grid like schedules that are easy to follow and check off as you go. Your son could probably use it for himself. Here is the link to the group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MysteryofHistoryHighSchool/ The file I am referring you to is the first one in the files section. Maybe you could take a short summer break to refresh and then pick back up with MOH 1 along with this or a similiar schedule and just use it at the pace that is right for your son. It would condense your study a little bit but not too much and schedule SL's literature for you. Edited June 2, 2011 by Donna T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna T. Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 A classical curriculum set up like SL would be so nice. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morosophe Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I had forgotten about Biblioplan. Why do you think it's less useful for those with one? It might be the ticket for me, since the planning is done & I can decide which books to use or not use. Since money is an issue as well. Well, you don't have to worry about coordinating several children together, which is supposed to be one of the strengths of Biblioplan and makes it cheaper per child, is all I'm saying. Then again, you could use it as a base for when he swings around again in high school, if you decide to do that. As for cheaper, have you checked out All Through the Ages? It is a bibliography (with quite a few annotations) of books from several major homeschool catalogs (such as Beautiful Feet, Sonlight, and Veritas Press). It categorizes them by time period or geographical location and reading level. Check out the free samples at the website. The e-book version is only $20.00 (which, I know, is more money...), but it might make finding the right level reader for a particular period at your local library easier. (It also tells you what list each book came from, so you know where to get it if you do decide to purchase.) A classical curriculum set up like SL would be so nice. So, a curriculum that does the four-year historical cycle with a Christian/missionary emphasis, provides everything, and plans it out for you on the calendar? Are those the parts you like? If so, I agree with you. I'd like to add that it specifically lines up those four-year cycles so that you can take several kids through at once. But I don't want to pay two hundred or so dollars to Tapestries of Grace! (Anyhow, Tapestries of Grace is far too intimidating for me. I'd feel like I was constantly "behind" somehow, or get lazy and do the bare minimum. I need accountability, too, I guess.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri in MI Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 ... So, a curriculum that does the four-year historical cycle with a Christian/missionary emphasis, provides everything, and plans it out for you on the calendar? Are those the parts you like?... Yes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri in MI Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 We are behind in history too. But, my boys have NEVER had a real summer break and I promised them last fall that we would take the summer off... so, we are pretty much taking the summer off. Well, we are contining with our SL core on an "as desired, relaxed" basis. They love SL so they do usually want to do the readings. Anyways, there is a file at the MysteryofHistoryHighSchool yahoo group that schedules MOH 1 and MOH 2 in one year. That schedule coordinates MOH 1 and 2 with Sonlight Core 6 and a few other resources. It's one of those grid like schedules that are easy to follow and check off as you go. Your son could probably use it for himself. Here is the link to the group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MysteryofHistoryHighSchool/ The file I am referring you to is the first one in the files section. Maybe you could take a short summer break to refresh and then pick back up with MOH 1 along with this or a similiar schedule and just use it at the pace that is right for your son. It would condense your study a little bit but not too much and schedule SL's literature for you. I've been looking for something like this all year! I wanted to do SL World History w/ MOH! I might not be able to now that we're almost finished MOH 1, but I still can't wait to check it out! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna T. Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I've been looking for something like this all year! I wanted to do SL World History w/ MOH! I might not be able to now that we're almost finished MOH 1, but I still can't wait to check it out! Thanks! You could just pick up the schedule at the point you are now at in your MOH study. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I just thought I'd throw MFW out there. I NEVER prep, and dd is working more and more independently. If you've already covered ancient history, you'd just jump in with Rome to the Reformation. They use SOTW, and cost less than Sonlight. If cost is still an issue, I would purchase the TG used, look through it, and decide what books you would want to purchase. I purchased the whole thing this year and we didn't use half the read-alouds. However, our year didn't go as planned (it never does:lol:), or we would have read more of them. I feel like I'm not doing it justice, but if you have any specific questions, let me know and maybe I'll be able to answer them (coffee is still kicking in:lol:). Blessings! Dorinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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