NightOwlMama Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 I was wanting to do SOTW: Ancient Times on audio with the workbooks this year. My boys are turning 5 and 6 this month and they will be K and K/1st grade. My oldest is still learning to read so I'm not sure how that factors in with the workbooks. They have books read to them and listen to audio stories that are far above their age but are still appropriate. So I guess I have 2 questions... 1) Is this too hard for their age and grade? 2) Is the material ok (not too scary etc) for their age? I read this part of a review and wondered... "Personal experience: I have serious reservations about parts of The Story of the World as I feel they cover inappropriate material for young ages. For instance, the process of making a mummy is covered in gory detail including an in-depth discussion of removing various body parts and what is done with them. Another example involves the emphasis on the brutality and bloodthirstiness of the Romans in a story about a captive who is forced to be a gladiator. I feel that this negative, death-oriented focus is frightening and unnecessary for young children." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Hi Michelle As the teacher, I choose how I present SOTW to my dc, so really, I am choosing the difficulty level. With ds6 and dd8, we read STOW over a couple days during supper. I ask them for an oral narration telling me either one thing he remembers (ds6) or the general summary using 2 sentences (dd8). With ds 6 we color the map and do a coloring page the next day, (if we get to it.) With dd8 we do mapwork and sometimes coloring. Now for my older dc in logic stage, they read SOTW, do outside encyclopedia reading, write a fact sheet, do mapwork, make an outline, and write a 1/2 to 1 page summary, AND do assigned literature reading. With SOTW, you, as the teacher, set the level of difficulty. As for content, that's something that you get to choose, too. You know your kids best. For my kids, I think it's OK to share the sad or difficult stories in history. Honestly, I believe it's better for them to have me read or tell the story than to "see" it on a video. I don't know how I would teach them God's story recorded in the Bible if we had to skip all the sad, horrible, desperate parts. HOWEVER, I don't think a child would be irreparably harmed by not studying the nitty gritty of history during the grammar years. Instead of SOTW, have you considered doing something like Five In A Row? SO many of us have found FIAR to be a wonderful choice for the 5 and 6 yo crowd. I love it myself. Through FIAR they get to study history, but in a very gentle way. My younger dc tolerate SOTW and *LOVE* coloring the paper dolls in the activity book, but they *LOVE* doing almost everything connected with FIAR books. Hope this perspective helps. Andrea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 1) Is this too hard for their age and grade? I think it's great for most 6 year olds and some 5 year olds. If the 5 year old isn't interested, I'd let him wander off though. My 4.75 year old doesn't sit in on history right now, as he's still not solid on myth vs. reality. My 7 year old started SOTW1 at age 6.5, but he already was very solid on myth vs. reality. He loves the book and has read all 4 volumes because it sparked his interest so much! There is no writing required of your child, nor independent reading required. Mapwork is done by coloring things or drawing things - no writing. I love it. It's perfect mapwork for a first grader who isn't ready to label everything yet! 2) Is the material ok (not too scary etc) for their age? I read this part of a review and wondered... I haven't seen anything actually "scary", though all of my boys think stuff like the reviewer mentioned is kind of cool, not scary. Mummification: It talks about the process of mummifying Cheops, washing his body with wine and spices, removing his organs (liver, stomach, lungs, and intestines), and preserving the organs. They talk about giving the heart special treatment because they believe he'll need it in the afterlife. They put the organs in canopic jars. Then it talks about wrapping the body in linen, having a special ceremony, and putting it in 3 coffins. There are no pictures or anything. We made a chicken mummy to go along with this project. King Cluck is still sitting on my fridge, actually. :tongue_smilie: My 4 year old had some interesting questions like "How do they get the organs out of the chicken?" :lol: Gladiator School: There is a fictional story about a man named Servius who is a farmer. He is taken from his home one day and forced to be a gladiator. It tells a bit about the training he receives and then tells about an actual fight he's in. He gets to the point where he's supposed to kill his opponent, and he chooses not to because he believes it's wrong to kill a man for sport. It's really not graphic, and no one actually gets killed (though it does say he knows he'll be punished or maybe killed for his action). Now if your child is really sensitive to stuff like that, you might want to wait a couple years. I think most boys would be interested in it though. It's really done in an age appropriate way, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 In my opinion, SOTW is perfect for like 3rd grade and up (my almost 11 year old very much enjoys it still; my almost 6 year old would have ZERO interest in it and would get pretty much nothing out of it). I have a detailed review of it with a bunch of pictures of projects and stuff here if you want to learn a bit more about it: http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/124469.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bry's-gal Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 We did Vol 1 (well, most of it) last year with a 4 and 6 yr old. It was their favorite subject! I had them color while I read aloud to them. The 4 yr old didn't get as much due to her age but she still enjoyed it and we were building habits. The 6 yr old LOVED it! She really likes history though! If I thought something wasn't appropriate, I would ad-lib a bit to gloss over it. Overall though, we all liked it. We will be doing Vol 2 this upcoming year with more narration added to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 We did it at age 5. It was fine. Some kids are really sensitive, but I think it's all appropriate for most kids. Vol. 1 is written with first graders in mind, so I think age 6 should be expected. Whether it's right for you depends on your expectations. If you want them to do the memory work, the narrations to a certain standard, all the mapwork, etc. etc. then maybe you want to hold off. If you want them to do some of that, some projects, some fun read alouds, and have fun with history, then go ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 I just started SotW 1 with a 3rd grader and a 1st grader (age 6). I agree it is PERFECT for 3rd grade. My 6 y/o is doing it along with us. She's actually an accelerated learner, but even still, emotionally, the engagement isn't there on the level it is with the 3rd grader. Not even close. The fact that she is accelerated in reading and math does not seem to make a whip of difference, IMO, in how she is receiving SotW. That said, I don't think there's anything about SotW that is inappropriate for her age. She has the patience to sit and listen to the narrative, comprehend some main ideas, and retain the kind of basic things I'd expect a 1st grader to retain about how and why people did the things they did on a day-to-day basis. Interesting things about ancient civilizations are a bonus, and really, I think that's fine, and I do understand the recommendation to start the history study at that age. I can't imagine having done SotW last year when she was 5 though. No way. She would have completely zoned out and retained nothing from the narrative. (Even now, I have to ask questions and repeat main ideas for her to retain them, but at age 5 it would have been like pulling teeth.) I'm sure it depends on the kid. As a generalization, in your situation with boys? I'd probably wait until next year at least. I understand wanting to educate your kids *together* since they are only 1 grade apart (as mine are only 2 grades apart), but I'd probably wait for youngest to be in 1st grade. Just me. I'm actually loving the idea of the way the history cycle will work out with our family. Even if we do one volume per year (and I think it is possible we will go faster than that), my oldest would finish her second cycle at the end of 10th grade, which, if homeschooled at that point, would be just in time for her to start community college. My youngest would finish at the end of 8th grade, and give us 2 years to do something like a more in-depth study of government or area of interest - all while keeping the history topics unified in our family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsriley81 Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 We are doing it at 4 (almost 5) and 7. The kids are enjoying it. I will probably do it again in a few years with my four year old, if I think she needs it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Kirkwood Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 We are doing SOTW now. I have a 7 y.o. and a 5 y.o. and they both love it. There is no writing, as someone previously mentioned, although I do have my 7 year old write a few things on the maps. My son thinks the whole mummy thing is cool and my daughter, who normally is pretty sensitive, was not bothered by it. We are doing tons of hands on stuff, supplemental readings (stories mostly), videos and field trips. I'm blogging about most of it, if you want to see what we have been doing. I have a SOTW tab at the top of my blog. We do a lot of acting out the stories with dolls/action figures while I read to them or they listen to the audio. I'm keeping it fun and light and we are just all enjoying it tremendously. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallory Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I did SOTW 1 when my boys were 5 and 6, and so on through the whole series. I didn't feel like it was inappropriate, and it is easy to just do things on thier level. There are lots of picture book suggestions, I read the text, we do narrations orally, lots of fun crafts, and little writing. It isn't a workbook, it is an activity book. My boys also loved mummifing the chicken and gladiators. Those were probably some of thier favorite parts. But in retrospect, we were right on the edge of understanding it for 1 and 2 but 3 and 4 passed over their heads. Those years did not work very well for us (especially 4). I think 3rd grade is a perfect age to start it. Then you wouldn't get to 3 and 4 until 5th and 6th grade. They are great books for starting logic aged writing with (outlines). My next two won't be starting formal history at all until 3rd grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parias1126 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I started SOTW Ancients when my children were 5 and 6. They had no interest whatsoever. I am revisiting it this year now that they are going to be 8 and 9. I am really looking forward to it. They are excited this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeacefulChaos Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I was wanting to do SOTW: Ancient Times on audio with the workbooks this year. My boys are turning 5 and 6 this month and they will be K and K/1st grade. My oldest is still learning to read so I'm not sure how that factors in with the workbooks. They have books read to them and listen to audio stories that are far above their age but are still appropriate. So I guess I have 2 questions... 1) Is this too hard for their age and grade? 2) Is the material ok (not too scary etc) for their age? I read this part of a review and wondered... "Personal experience: I have serious reservations about parts of The Story of the World as I feel they cover inappropriate material for young ages. For instance, the process of making a mummy is covered in gory detail including an in-depth discussion of removing various body parts and what is done with them. Another example involves the emphasis on the brutality and bloodthirstiness of the Romans in a story about a captive who is forced to be a gladiator. I feel that this negative, death-oriented focus is frightening and unnecessary for young children." 1) No, not that I have seen. Mine are 7 and 5 and they enjoy it. My 5yo can't really do the narration, but I ask him the questions in the activity guide (about 2x a week) to make sure he's getting it, and then we practice narration once a week. 2) Well, we just finished the mummy passage mentioned above, and my kids loved it!! I didn't find it nearly as bad as the above reviewer makes it sound (jmo!) They do cover the process of making a mummy, but it isn't really gory... more just that they take out organs and which ones they save to put in the canopic jars, followed by what they do with the heart. Not horribly detailed by any means. I have 2 boys, and they are totally into hearing all this stuff, I think it makes it more interesting for them! I don't think they'll have any problems with the gladiator thing, either. Disclaimer: we are not a... Idk the right word here... pacifist family??? Idk if that is what I'm looking for, but what I'm saying is we're not a family that is anti gun, or that refuses to let our kids see things solely on the basis of them being 'too violent' (now, here I'm talking about, say, cartoons. Not realism, so much. Though we did just take them to see Thor - however, we pre-screened it and felt there was nothing in it our boys couldn't handle. It wasn't gory or anything like that. There are many other movies that I would NOT let them see, but those are war/fighting in a much more bloody sense.) Anyway, I don't know if that makes any sense... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightOwlMama Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Thank you everyone:) As always your input is very helpful - one of the main reasons I love this forum. From all that you said I don't think my boys will be bothered by any of the content and I think my six year old will love it. I'll give it a go and repeat it perhaps the next year or when my 6 yr old starts 3rd if need be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightOwlMama Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Do you like it read by Barbara Alan Johnson or Jim Weiss? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bry's-gal Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I've only heard the ones by Jim Weiss and we love it. He has a great storyteller voice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 As you can see from all the other posters, it really depends on the kids in question! My older would have been interested at 3 or 4 years old. My younger is 7 and still isn't interested and only barely able to focus on it. Both my girls are bright kids, but one just isn't ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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