kristinannie Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 I have been trying to decide for quite awhile what to do for history. I am doing my own unit study this year and have been having so much more fun than I thought we would. Plus, the kids are really getting things I didn't expect them to get. I was trying to decide between studying the ancients or doing KONOS next year. I just didn't want to pay $110 for something I might not even like. Well, I went to a used HS curriculum sale in our town tonight and found Vol 1 and Vol 2 for $12 each. :D I have been looking through it all night and LOVE it! I think we are going to have so much fun in early elementary and we will have time to do the 4 year cycle twice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 You'll love it!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyagain Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 Woo Hoo! Welcome to the party!! :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolamum Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 :hurray: That is sooo awesome! What a deal!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted June 18, 2011 Author Share Posted June 18, 2011 I have been looking through KONOS Vol 2 this morning and I like it even more than I like Vol 1! We are going to have a lot of fun over the next few years!!!!! The biggest problem is picking which one to start with! Any recommendations? It will be for a 1st grader and a pre-K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyagain Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 I don't think it matters what order you do the volumes. Personally, I think the topics in vol 1 are a little better suited to younger kids, but really, you can follow whatever interests you. We'll be doing vol 1 first (I was able to get 1 and 3 used, but you got a far better deal!:)). I wanted to give you this link to some awesome resources. Let me know what you decide and we can compare notes!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 I have been looking through KONOS Vol 2 this morning and I like it even more than I like Vol 1! We are going to have a lot of fun over the next few years!!!!! The biggest problem is picking which one to start with! Any recommendations? It will be for a 1st grader and a pre-K. I would save Vol. 2 until your older ds is 8 or 9. Vol. 2 is the only one that the character traits need to be taught in the order that they are in the book: Inquisitiveness, Responsibility, Love/Generosity, Courage, Wisdom. And it's the only one that focusses on a specific history progression: early scientists, then explorers, then early American pioneers, settlers, then the American Revolution, then the writing of the Constitution. Also, it works best to do Inquisitiveness for two months beginning in September, then Responsibility in November (Pilgrims and Thanksgiving), then Love/Generosity in December (Christmas), a second month of Responsibility in January (focus on ants or beavers), two months of courage, two months of Wisdom. The character traits in the other two volumes can be done in any order. Although you *can* do all volumes with all ages, IMHO Vol. 1 is best for younger dc, the ages of yours (or, more specifically, the age of your older dc, as the littles can go along with whatever the olders are doing). That's the first one that was written, when the authors' dc were that young, KWIM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyagain Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 I would save Vol. 2 until your older ds is 8 or 9. Vol. 2 is the only one that the character traits need to be taught in the order that they are in the book: Inquisitiveness, Responsibility, Love/Generosity, Courage, Wisdom. And it's the only one that focusses on a specific history progression: early scientists, then explorers, then early American pioneers, settlers, then the American Revolution, then the writing of the Constitution. Also, it works best to do Inquisitiveness for two months beginning in September, then Responsibility in November (Pilgrims and Thanksgiving), then Love/Generosity in December (Christmas), a second month of Responsibility in January (focus on ants or beavers), two months of courage, two months of Wisdom. The character traits in the other two volumes can be done in any order. Although you *can* do all volumes with all ages, IMHO Vol. 1 is best for younger dc, the ages of yours (or, more specifically, the age of your older dc, as the littles can go along with whatever the olders are doing). That's the first one that was written, when the authors' dc were that young, KWIM? Thank you for this, Ellie!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIS0320 Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Oh, no. I've never heard of KONOS but I usually pay attention to what you are posting about Kristinannie because we seem to have similar tastes so now I am intrigued. It really looks great! And I thought I was all set for next year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 Oh, no. I've never heard of KONOS but I usually pay attention to what you are posting about Kristinannie because we seem to have similar tastes so now I am intrigued. It really looks great! And I thought I was all set for next year... Don't second guess yourself, Drexel!!!! :lol: You FINALLY made a decision and I am proud of you! :D I wasn't "feeling it" with any of the 4 year rotation for early elementary. I couldn't make a decision so I started to think outside the box. I am doing my own unit study this year (it didn't start out as a unit study, but quickly turned into one) of Kids of the World. We have never had so much fun and the kids are really learning and retaining. I am shocked at what DD3 tells DH in the evenings about Native Americans (we just finished the SW USA). The thing I love about KONOS is that it gives you a framework, but then everything is left up to the parent. I can add in Catholic stuff wherever I want. Thanks for the advice of PP about Vol 2 needing to be chronological. I didn't realize that. Have you used Vol 3? I was wondering where it fit in. Does it matter where you start with Vol 1? It all looks like a lot of fun! Plus, it is really thorough in what it covers in each unit. I am so excited!!!!! I have a couple of books coming about creating unit studies so I am excited to get some more ideas as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Thanks for the advice of PP about Vol 2 needing to be chronological. I didn't realize that. Have you used Vol 3? I was wondering where it fit in. Does it matter where you start with Vol 1? It all looks like a lot of fun! Plus, it is really thorough in what it covers in each unit. I am so excited!!!!! I have a couple of books coming about creating unit studies so I am excited to get some more ideas as well! The history in Vol. 1 and 3 isn't chronological. Remember that KONOS focuses on character traits, not on chronological history. That's why there's the KONOS timeline. :-) With both Vol. 1 and 3, the character traits can be done in any order. I didn't use Vol. 1 or 3, although I own all of them (I started hsing before KONOS was written, and by the time all three volumes were written and revised (the original Vol. 1 was tiny compared to what it is now!) my dc were too old. We did Vol. 2 for two years. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 That is awesome! I keep looking at KONOS but haven't quite made the leap. We did FIAR when Ariel was little and she enjoyed it, and I keep reconsidering unit studies because she doesn't seem to be retaining (or enjoying) much with SOTW, even with the AG. :( I might drop SOTW for a couple of years and do KONOS, then Prairie Primer, (I confess, I have wanted to do PP ever since I first saw it, but Ariel was too young.) and revisit SOTW for fourth or fifth grade. Sorry, I know that was OT, but I can't help peeking in on all the KONOS threads and thinking aloud, so to speak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemykids Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 I bought a used unit here a little while ago. At first I just wanted to see how it was set up, because I have always been curious about Konos. But then I wanted to do it with my son....upon even further inspection, I doubt that we will actually do very much of it. My children already dress up like various characters and put on plays and such. We have also already done much of the science type activities…but I may borrow a few ideas. Overall, I like it. It just doesn’t seem to fit in somehow. Maybe it’s because I purchased the unit with the lesson plans. Have fun!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIS0320 Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 The history in Vol. 1 and 3 isn't chronological. Remember that KONOS focuses on character traits, not on chronological history. That's why there's the KONOS timeline. :-) I've been over at the KONOS site reading, reading, reading and trying to get a feel for this curriculum. It is very intriguing. I like that KONOS seems flexible. I've been lesson planning for SOTW 1 and I just don't think we will spend nearly enough time in Egypt, for example, as she'll want to spend and I'm not sure how much she really needs to know about the Babylonians at age 6 - and there is really no way to work around the sequence in SOTW. She's five right now, anything older than she is seems old to her, 20 years, 100 years, 1000 years - it is all a really, really long time ago in her mind and I worry that jumping around in history with a program like KONOS will make chronological time harder to sort out for her. I really just want something that I can insert a Catholic worldview into, with a lot of good books and crafts and things that will help my kid(s) fall in love with history from an early age. We will be doing some world geography but I am more interested in catching her interest long term than worrying about whether or not she can find the Nile river on a map at the end of first grade. Frankly, I need her to learn how to use a map first! :) KONOS sounds like a nice mix of things but I'm not sure how successful I will be jumping time periods with her. Any sage advice from experienced homeschool moms who have used this with little kids and all turned out well? (Why do I stress this much over first grade, someone peel me off the ceiling please!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 KONOS sounds like a nice mix of things but I'm not sure how successful I will be jumping time periods with her. Any sage advice from experienced homeschool moms who have used this with little kids and all turned out well? (Why do I stress this much over first grade, someone peel me off the ceiling please!) Remember that the focus of KONOS is on godly character traits, not history. You learn about people who represent certain character traits, not about time periods. You'll do history, geography, science, Bible, arts and crafts, drama, literature while learning about stewardship, orderliness, attentiveness, and obedience. See? ::peels drexel off the ceiling, 'cuz dude, it's just first grade:::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 I've been over at the KONOS site reading, reading, reading and trying to get a feel for this curriculum. It is very intriguing. I like that KONOS seems flexible. I've been lesson planning for SOTW 1 and I just don't think we will spend nearly enough time in Egypt, for example, as she'll want to spend and I'm not sure how much she really needs to know about the Babylonians at age 6 - and there is really no way to work around the sequence in SOTW. She's five right now, anything older than she is seems old to her, 20 years, 100 years, 1000 years - it is all a really, really long time ago in her mind and I worry that jumping around in history with a program like KONOS will make chronological time harder to sort out for her. I really just want something that I can insert a Catholic worldview into, with a lot of good books and crafts and things that will help my kid(s) fall in love with history from an early age. We will be doing some world geography but I am more interested in catching her interest long term than worrying about whether or not she can find the Nile river on a map at the end of first grade. Frankly, I need her to learn how to use a map first! :) KONOS sounds like a nice mix of things but I'm not sure how successful I will be jumping time periods with her. Any sage advice from experienced homeschool moms who have used this with little kids and all turned out well? (Why do I stress this much over first grade, someone peel me off the ceiling please!) I totally know where you are coming from here! I feel the need to PLAN, PLAN, PLAN the whole sequence of history right now, but I am trying so hard to just follow my gut here (because that is how I think God leads me). I do wish that there were more ancients covered in KONOS because it sounds like a lot of fun to study that with youngers. However, I am not too worried about the lack of chronilogical order because you have the timeline to put things into perspective and, at this age, I feel like they don't totally get that concept anyway. I think KONOS will be great for my family because my kids really like the unit study approach and they are so little right now. Why can't school be hands on and a lot of fun at this age? They love crafts, read alouds and fun activities. What I like about KONOS is they give you TONS of ideas that you can pick or choose from and it is easy to add some Catholic flavor to it on my own. There is no set schedule so we can just have fun with it and go down rabbit holes. I am thinking that I will do a year of ancients (or maybe design my own unit studies for it) at some point. Once I hit 4th grade, I will probably get back on the 4 year cycle or some other cycle. I am hoping and praying that more Catholic options will be available by then!!!!!! If you want my true advice, I would do SOTW 1 this year (there is NO problem in there for Catholics). Then you can look at things afterward. Level 2 of RC History is supposed to be MUCH better than Level 1. Just try and :chillpill:. I know that is so much easier said than done because I have the same problem!!!!!! I sometimes wish that someone could just tell me what to do so I didn't have to think and then I realized there are 100's of companies willing to do just that, but I just like to do my own thing!!!! I think God broke the mold when he made us! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 I bought a used unit here a little while ago. At first I just wanted to see how it was set up, because I have always been curious about Konos. But then I wanted to do it with my son....upon even further inspection, I doubt that we will actually do very much of it. My children already dress up like various characters and put on plays and such. We have also already done much of the science type activities…but I may borrow a few ideas. Overall, I like it. It just doesn’t seem to fit in somehow. Maybe it’s because I purchased the unit with the lesson plans. Have fun!! What exactly did you buy? I am just curious!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieF Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I've been on the yahoo gp and website a lot but still can't work it all out! Stephanie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I've been on the yahoo gp and website a lot but still can't work it all out!Stephanie IMHO, all you need for KONOS is the Volume you're using and its timeline. You don't need the KONOS Compass or anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 IMHO, all you need for KONOS is the Volume you're using and its timeline. You don't need the KONOS Compass or anything else. I bought the Compass for $3 from the same lady who sold me the first two volumes. I have looked through it and it has some interesting info, but isn't worth the high price to buy it new. I think it was $45 or something. I agree that you don't need anything other than the volumes and the timeline (I haven't purchased the timeline yet). I am probably going to disregard the schedules they put together because they are really just confusing (and look like advanced algebra :tongue_smilie:). I really think the best way to use it (and keep in mind I haven't used it YET) is to just read through the unit you are going to do and pick out the activities that interest you, look through the book selections in their guide and at your local library and choose what you want to use with it. The planning doesn't look terrible because there are so many great activities laid out for you. I think the main thing is just planning far enough in advance so you can get the supplies you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyagain Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 IMHO, all you need for KONOS is the Volume you're using and its timeline. You don't need the KONOS Compass or anything else. :iagree: I've read many reviews about how daunting the planning is for Konos and how much work is involved. All I plan to do is read through the unit (skipping the yellow lesson plan pages), circle which activities would interest us and pick up whatever books I can from the library on that topic. We'll spend as much or as little time as interests allow on each topic. It's really not that intimidating at all. The level of work and planning is completely up to each user. There is so much info on the internet now you don't even have to go to the library if that's not convenient for you. I just like to go!:) We'll do the units in whatever order we want, although we will complete a unit before moving on so that we get the full impact of each character trait. (We're doing vol 1) I'm really looking forward to a fun year without the pressure of following someone elses schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbin Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 We love KONOS and have been using it for years. My daughter loved the Civil War unit study. Other favorites were the Human Body, African and Australian studies. We do an eclectic mix but whenever I survey the kids regarding their favorite studies from the previous year it the answer always comes back to one of the Konos unit studies. The actions and projects stay in the memory! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hottater Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) Kids have no concept of time until later, unless they have a clear visual, and use a time line to help them understand where in time it falls. I wanted to stay chronological so that I could do the "repeat every 4 years" idea. But there isn't a ton of chronological about it. So, I decided to take this and integrate it. DS did ancients last year and is doing MOH 33 AD to 1450 AD. So, we will be doing the kings and queens obedience unit when we get to it in MOH. Then I will primarily use Konos for the bible character and science and Music. We went through attentiveness, and she gives a great overview of music. I am impressed, and am a piano teacher. Here's my annual schedule to let you see. We're starting this week. I already did several chapters during the summer as a test. I just have to be diligent in getting everything in. I didn't realize that my DS is lacking in spelling work though, so we're trying to figure out how to implement that. 09/08/11 Obed-Light/Dark 09/15/11 Order-Rock 09/22/11 Order-Plant 09/29/11 Order-Plant 10/06/11 Obed-Kings&Queens 10/13/11 Obed-Kings&Queens 10/20/11 Obed-Kings&Queens 10/27/11 Obed-Kings&Queens 11/03/11 Obed-Horses wk 2 11/10/11 Obed-Horses wk 4 11/17/11 A-Indians 11/24/11 A-Indians 12/01/11 Order - Calendar 12/08/11 Order-Planets 12/15/11 Order-Seasons 12/22/11 12/29/11 01/05/12 Obed-Friction/Resistance 01/12/12 Stwd-Nutrn/Exer/Rst/Fun 01/19/12 Stwd-Nutrn/Exer/Rst/Fun 01/26/12 Stwd-Nutrn/Exer/Rst/Fun 02/02/12 Stwd-Nutrn/Exer/Rst/Fun 02/09/12 Rsrc-Simple Inventions 02/16/12 Rsrc-Simple Inventions 02/23/12 Rsrc-Simple Inventions 03/01/12 Honor-ChurchArchitecture 03/08/12 Honor-ChurchArchitecture 03/15/12 Coop- Town/Community 03/22/12 Coop- Town/Community 03/29/12 Stwd-Ecology Conserv 04/05/12 Coop- Family/Church 04/12/12 Patience-Grain/Bread/Yst 04/19/12 Patience-Grain/Bread/Yst 04/26/12 Patience-Plants/Garden 05/03/12 Patience-Plants/Garden Edited September 7, 2011 by Hottater picture is bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystika1 Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 That is awesome! I keep looking at KONOS but haven't quite made the leap. We did FIAR when Ariel was little and she enjoyed it, and I keep reconsidering unit studies because she doesn't seem to be retaining (or enjoying) much with SOTW, even with the AG. :( I might drop SOTW for a couple of years and do KONOS, then Prairie Primer, (I confess, I have wanted to do PP ever since I first saw it, but Ariel was too young.) and revisit SOTW for fourth or fifth grade. Sorry, I know that was OT, but I can't help peeking in on all the KONOS threads and thinking aloud, so to speak. We have just completed our FIAR journey and I decided to try Konos. We are having a blast. My kids retain information so much better when we use unit studies. They are happier too! Last week we dissected a cow eye. BOTH my 8 and 4 year old girls were watching and paying close attention. I even made a video of it. My dd got to dissect an eye all by herself after the main dissection. We did another one again the next day. I just started a blog and decided to post my video. You can view it here. http://mysblogging.blogspot.com/ Please...be forgiving as I only have one post on my blog. I really don't have a lot of time for blogging but I thought I would check it out. :tongue_smilie: Anyway, I also get my curriculum used and find that it doesn't matter if you have an older volume...It is just as good. We are really happy with it and LOVE the fact that I can teach both kids at the same time. Konos has won this family over big time. If you like unit studies and your library....give it a try. HTH, Penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystika1 Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 :iagree:I've read many reviews about how daunting the planning is for Konos and how much work is involved. All I plan to do is read through the unit (skipping the yellow lesson plan pages), circle which activities would interest us and pick up whatever books I can from the library on that topic. We'll spend as much or as little time as interests allow on each topic. It's really not that intimidating at all. The level of work and planning is completely up to each user. There is so much info on the internet now you don't even have to go to the library if that's not convenient for you. I just like to go!:) We'll do the units in whatever order we want, although we will complete a unit before moving on so that we get the full impact of each character trait. (We're doing vol 1) I'm really looking forward to a fun year without the pressure of following someone elses schedule. :iagree::iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 We have just completed our FIAR journey and I decided to try Konos. We are having a blast. My kids retain information so much better when we use unit studies. They are happier too! Last week we dissected a cow eye. BOTH my 8 and 4 year old girls were watching and paying close attention. I even made a video of it. My dd got to dissect an eye all by herself after the main dissection. We did another one again the next day. I just started a blog and decided to post my video. You can view it here. http://mysblogging.blogspot.com/Please...be forgiving as I only have one post on my blog. I really don't have a lot of time for blogging but I thought I would check it out. :tongue_smilie: Anyway, I also get my curriculum used and find that it doesn't matter if you have an older volume...It is just as good. We are really happy with it and LOVE the fact that I can teach both kids at the same time. Konos has won this family over big time. If you like unit studies and your library....give it a try. HTH, Penny That's awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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