Love SOTW for one child, but doesn't work for the other - WWYD?

[fastforward]

I've been agonizing over this question for quite a long time before deciding to post this here, in hopes that someone might be in the same boat.

 

To be blunt, SOTW "works" well for my oldest daughter, but I just cannot get my 7 year old interested in it. We mainly use the audio recording, but DD7 just glazes over about 2 seconds into it. I've tried having her sit and listen while I read it and the same thing happens. She does not enjoy listening to it and there obviously isn't any sort of retention. Because of this, I've let history slide and have focused more on social studies with a mix of Scholastic News, Weekly Readers and related books. Basically, I don't follow TWTM with her at all, since she learns a lot more slowly and gradually and I have not been able to figure out how to give her a neo-classical education on the suggested TWTM timeline. :001_unsure: Honestly, I feel like a bit of a classical HSer failure, but that's a topic for another post. :crying:

 

I don't know exactly what would work best for DD7, but I imagine there must be something out there that would interest her enough so that she retains the information. She obviously doesn't have to remember every little detail (DD8 certainly doesn't!), but something that doesn't cause her to stare off into space every. single. time. would be awesome.

 

Thanks for listening to my long-winded novel of a post!

[fastforward]

We're currently nearing the end of SOTW2, but DD7 didn't show an interest even from the beginning of the first volume. :sad:

[boscopup]

Is she able to read it herself? If so, you could try that. My son gets more out of it if he reads it himself.

 

Or you could just have her read some of the AG-recommended books that go along with the chapter. Many of them are picture books.

 

Which SOTW volume are you using?

 

I don't personally worry about retention of history at this age, but more use it to spark an interest. What is your DD interested in? Maybe you can find some library books about that topic and how it fits into history? Just an idea...

[fastforward]

So you have used volume 1 or no?

 

Yes. I'm sorry if that was not clear. DD7 glazed over for that, too, unfortunately.

[fastforward]

I had the same ideas. Let her try reading it herself. Do use volume 1 if you haven't because it is the easiest. Get some extra books from the library (pictures books are great).

 

I also don't worry about retention, but if I felt my kid wasn't remembering at least one thing about what was read I'd possibly shelve SOTW for another year and find something else. I don't know what else because I haven't used anything else. ;)

 

Thanks for the suggestions. (WendyK, you are a big help to me today, btw! :D) I will try getting the extra books from the library as a start. The thing is that I wanted to avoid having 2 different volumes of SOTW going at the same time, but since DD7 isn't likely to jump in with her older sister, it looks like having both volumes 1 & 2 going at once is inevitable.

[fastforward]

My first son didn't take immediately to SOTW either. I set it aside for a year and tried again. History is now his favorite subject. Volume 3 is harder than volumes 1 and 2.

 

Yeah doing two levels is extra work, that's for sure. That's what I'm doing right now though. I'm doing SOTW 1 with my DS 6 and my DS 9 is currently midway through SOTW 3. So far I'm not going as crazy as I thought I would.

 

Are you doing the mapwork and activities in both levels? I think that is where I would go nuts since I already feel like I don't have enough time in the day to get everything done! I think I could handle doing maps and a coloring page, but not much more.

[SunD]

Have you thought about just dropping SOTW from the WTM recommendations and doing the rest? You could try having her read the topics in the Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia instead of listening to the chapters in SOTW, get an extra book from the library, do mapwork, and add an activity. Would more visuals and hands-on activities interest her more?

[TN Mama]

When this happened with my youngest dd (not with SOTW), I got crayons and colored pencils out and had her draw what I was reading about. She didn't have to draw everything, just pick something and go with it. That helped tremendously. After I read, I'd have her explain to me what she drew.

[ChrissySC]

I would get an Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopoedia and Kingfisher .... Use these instead. I would read aloud SOTW when we afterschooled. I would have my child read as best as she could the encyclopedias, and I would read these aloud again. We didn't do the activities, and you don't have to do the activities.

 

Remember that you are building a knowledge base. Get books with lots of pictures. :)

Edited July 24, 2011 by ChrissySC

[woolybear]

Similar problem here and these are my plans for next year. I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not.:D

 

I'm going back to the ancients even though we have done it. I feel like we

a) never finished

b) didn't really do it well

c) my younger ds really didn't get anything out it

 

I am loosely going to follow http://www.classicalhouseoflearning.com/ ancients schedule which uses SOTW and the Usborne IL Encyclopedia of World History as spines. I have one dc who is more at the grammar stage and one who is logic, so I have blended these and am using resources from both.

 

I think we will use the audio, though I'm not sure. Perhaps your dd might be more engaged if you read it yourself and can stop and talk about things or just stop more quickly when you sense she is glazing over.

 

Anyway, my plan is to listen to SOTW and do this lapbook http://runofthemillfamily.blogspot.com/p/story-of-world-resources-for-volume-one.html at the same time. Scroll down to go to the link for the lapbook. Also, she has an amazing blog dedicated to using SOTW. There are many resources there.

 

We will also read the Usborne book. Ds likes this book much better than SOTW. I think maybe it is because of the pictures. I guess it could be used without SOTW, but I do like the way SOTW ties it all together. Then we will add in some of the read alouds as suggested by Classical House of Learning and some others. Dc will do discussion, narrating, and Main Lesson Books.

 

**I am questioning my own decision to use SOTW again, since my ds made it clear he doesn't like it. I just felt like we needed to cover ancients better and I like the lapbook to go with it. I am thinking if ds really does not like it this way, it is possible for my older ds to listen to the audio alone and then just do the rest of the plans together. This may work for you as well. If you use the Usborne Encyclopedia it really is enough at your dc age. Your older can get more by listening to SOTW, but the younger won't really be shortchanged by skipping it. Perhaps she will even be getting more out of history by not tuning it out altogether. I'm thinking through my own plans out loud here.:001_smile:

[EKS]

Take a look at K12's elementary history. It is similar to SOTW but might work better for a kid who needs visual input to focus.

[Susan in MO]

My first thought is that she probable doesn't have a frame work in which to apply the material covered.

 

If you are studying classically then that means you are pulling out and learning the grammar (the facts) of history so that there can be understanding of the material. Look at a chapter and pull out the grammar first. Do this together so she can learn how to learn.

 

1. Location - Study the geography/location so that she can visualize the story better.

2. Read the story and Pull out facts about the story. Example: When your about to read a story about Greek/Roman Gods - List them, drill them, see pictures of them.

3. Help her understand vocabulary. Define the terms. Example: If you don't understand what a rampart is then you have less of an understanding about The Star Spangled Banner.

4. Think - Is there any other background info that will help?

 

Now that you have pulled out the grammar, read/reread the story. She will now have a framework to apply the material she is listening to. She will even be able to follow the story on the map in her head.

 

Next, you can practice some dialectic skills with her. Her brain isn't quite there yet, but together you can start to practice and dialogue about the material.

 

Finally, some rhetorical skills: Have her produce an output. Have her narrate back to you what she knows about the story. Perhaps have her draw a picture as part of her presentation.

 

Last, don't forget to drill the material. Brains don't retain material only covered once. They need repetition, duration, intensity in order to develop the myelin sheath that protects the brain from pruning. In other words, the brain is use it or lose it. :confused:

[ssexton]

I've had the same issue here, although my children are a couple of years older. My two oldest (ds12 and dd 10) are only 15 months apart in age, and I've always tried to combine them for history. Looking back, I don't think my dd has benefited from that arrangement, as she is a strongly visual learner. My son loves to listen to read alouds and absorbs nearly every detail, but my daughter just gets that glassy-eyed stare. :)

 

This year my oldest is taking history at tutorial, and my daughter is taking the Veritas Press self-paced course. You might want to look at that. It's still classical, but definitely geared more toward a visual learner. I wish I'd started this with her years ago.

[Mallory]

First of all, she's 7, it really will be okay if she doesn't do history this year. In fact it will be okay if you do this first cycle with the older kid and don't require any history from the younger until you get back to ancients when she is 9 or 10. If she can't listen to SOTW 1 and 2, I doubt she will be okay with 3 and 4.

 

But also when my kids were little, there were lots of weeks we didn't actually do the SOTW chapter. We just did the extra picture books and an activity, we didn't do the encyclopedias at that age either (well sometimes we would look at the pictures).

 

Another choice might be to do something else for American history for the next two years with both girls. I know the first time we went through SOTW my boys enjoyed the first two years and we made it through 3, but 4 was not good for us at all (the chapters are longer and not as fun, there are outlines which my boys weren't ready for, not questions, it was over thier heads). We would have done much better with a more age appropriate American History. (Of course with the little two I have just decided not to do formal history with them until at least 3rd grade.)