how much would you expect a 5 YO to retain from SOTW?

[caedmyn]

DD is 5.5 and pretty bright (IMO anyway) and used to read-alouds and learning. She's very inquisitive (the cat that curiosity killed doesn't have a thing on her!). We've finished the first 5 chapters of SOTW 1 and read whatever related books our library has (2-3 per chapter so far) and she's interested in it, but if I mention something we read a couple of weeks later she has no idea what I'm talking about. Is that a sign that she's not really ready to absorb information from that level of a book? Or just typical for a 5 YO? I'm not sure whether to keep going to with or wait a year or two.

[Lots of boys]

I will be starting SOTW in a few weeks with my 5.5 year old so I am interested in what others think too.

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[Josie]

I think your child is normal. Just read SOTW and other books for enjoyment. She will learn to appreciate books if you read to her. If I read SOTW to a very young child like you daughter I would make sure to read with great expression and I would stop and imagine what the people you are discussing might have felt or thought....just to engage her.

 

If you really want her to hear SOTW I recommend getting the cd series. You can always just have them playing while she is playing. I did that for a lot of things when our dc were younger.

[Grover]

My DS is a little younger than your DD and we've just started out on SOTW too. He remembers all of it. Even the random little bits of throw-away information that we read in the 'interesting fact' boxes in the books from the library. I'm not sure which one of our kids is 'normal' though... probably both ;)

[5LittleMonkeys]

I used SOTW with dd when she was 6 and the only way she retained any of the information is if I had her narrate back some of what she remembered right after I read and then let her illustrate it. I didn't ask for a lot, just 'what was your favorite part', or 'tell me one or two things you remember'. She also remembered information tied to whatever project we did out of the AG. If I just did straight reading, even from additional library books, she wouldn't remember any of it.

[caedmyn]

So at about what age would the average child start retaining some information from it? We're using it for afterschooling and I feel like if she's not retaining anything, that time might be better spent just reading good books, or even some of the "easier to understand" books from the supplemental reading list. Or is there a more age-appropriate general history book for a 5 year old?

[misidawnrn]

I did SOTW for a little while with my DD and she retained bits of it like at the fair once she saw the ride with a Pharoh on it and said "mom, that's the king" and when we were boating I pointed out caves to her and she said "That's where the nomads lived". I think just checking out books on history from the library that are kid appropriate at 5 is good for afterschooling. Maybe books that expound on what she is learning at school. If she is learning about Egypt, then books on pyramids, mummies, etc,. If this is my friend Val...new to the boards, welcome! and I have a billion and one books! Come check them out at my house!

[janainaz]

I used the whole SOTW series with my older ds and he retained pretty much everything. He was easy, so he doesn't count. :001_smile:

 

BUT

 

I started SOTW with my ds6 about a month and a half ago, and so far, he's doing okay. It's kind of hit-or-miss. Some chapters he does better with than others. I spend a week on each chapter, and I continue to review and ask the same questions all through the week (at least the parts I want to stick). I also review some of those things the following week, and thereafter. I do use library books also and try and read some of those stories, but he can't sit for a really long one. I go through the pictures and explain what is happening. I certainly don't want him to hate history at a young age, and so I'm trying to find my balance with him.

 

When I went through the series with my older ds, I did use the tests in first grade, but I did them all orally. I'd continue reviewing the tests with him all through the book. I would select several questions from previous tests, and ask them randomly each week.

 

Just my 2 cents - I think if your child can sit and listen and grasp something from what you are reading, it's worth it. They are getting their feet wet with history. I keep the map out, and we look at it and talk about it every single day. I'll ask questions about where a certain river is, or country, ocean, continent, etc. Maybe not every child is ready at 5 or 6, and I don't think it's a big deal to wait a little longer if the stories are above your child's head. I'm not going to fret about it. If my son gets more out of some chapters than others, it's fine. He'll pick up what did not stick later.

[Satori]

I think it depends on the child. We started SOTW when my daughter was 5.25 and she retained quite a bit. More than myself actually. If she didn't remember things a few weeks later, I would have waited another year though.

[chepyl]

We have just made it through the into and first two chapters, but he seems to be retaining a good amount. I don't expect every detail, but he definately remembers the main idea. We do SOTW MWF. Monday - we read the first story of the chapter, Wed - we read review the main points of story 1 (i.e. Fertile Crescent, Nile, Nile Delta, Red King, White King, King Narmer....), then we read story 2 and discuss. After reading each day we pull out either the Kingfisher Encyclopedia, the globe, historical maps, book that goes with subject, or watch a documentary on Netflix. On Friday we review/discuss both stories, do a section for his lapbook, and work through the test as a worksheet.

 

I do something similar with science, he really seems to be retaining it because we review so much. We also discuss things from earlier in the book as we discuss. We talk through our mini-timeline.

[justamouse]

Not much.

[AngelBee]

DD is 5.5 and pretty bright (IMO anyway) and used to read-alouds and learning. She's very inquisitive (the cat that curiosity killed doesn't have a thing on her!). We've finished the first 5 chapters of SOTW 1 and read whatever related books our library has (2-3 per chapter so far) and she's interested in it, but if I mention something we read a couple of weeks later she has no idea what I'm talking about. Is that a sign that she's not really ready to absorb information from that level of a book? Or just typical for a 5 YO? I'm not sure whether to keep going to with or wait a year or two.

 

Keep going and DO NOT expect her to remember anything. :) Repeat again next cycle.

 

That is ok! Feels weird, but this time is just for exposure to the place and people of the history period you are in. You may not see it now, but she is filing it deep inside. The connections will come! Like when my dd4 and ds6 heard us (dd9 and ds11) discussing Monks. We decided to try and take a 5 minute vow of silence and the little ones ended up looking more like they were meditating. I kind of chuckled and was confused as we were talking about the Middle Ages. Ds6 says, "Ohhhhh.....I thought you meant Buddist Monks!" :001_huh: :)

 

I guess he WAS listening when we studied Ancients after all! :lol:

 

Hang in there! It will all come together. You are laying a foundation for her to add to later. :)

[johnandtinagilbert]

1 fact. It's a rather boring book to my 6yo. He does much better with living books.

[boscopup]

I wouldn't expect a 5 year old to retain anything from a single pass through ancient history... or a 6 or 7 year old for that matter. They'll probably pick things up, but when we hit it again 4 years later, I don't expect them to remember everything or even very much of what they learned 4 years prior unless it's been reviewed and reviewed and reviewed (as my kids have done with Bible lessons from the age of 18 months, going through several major stories starting out a couple times a year and now moving to once every 2 years... he knows them very well now).

 

We started SOTW1 at 6.5, and I've been happy with what he's learned. Does he remember everything? No. Could I give him a test on what he's learned and he'd pass? Doubtful. Has he learned something? Absolutely. I can still mention something we learned and he does remember learning about it, and might remember an interesting detail or two. Next year, I don't expect him to remember it though. At this age, unless you're repeating something regularly, it probably won't stick.

 

What SOTW has done for my son is given him a love for history. He's read all 4 volumes now and really loves history. We check out history books at the library, and he pours through them. I don't care how much he has retained. I care that he loves reading about history. THAT is my goal for the grammar stage.

[jenangelcat]

We used it when my daughter was 5 and she didn't really like it. She retained next to nothing of the book but she did retain stuff from the Usborne Internet Link Encyclopedia of World History that we did alongside.

[Little Blue House]

One thing that helped with retention with my kiddo was to keep cycling through the Audio CD's in the car. At this point my 8 year has heard each chapter multiple times...enough to have a basic understanding of the story.

[caedmyn]

I did SOTW for a little while with my DD and she retained bits of it like at the fair once she saw the ride with a Pharoh on it and said "mom, that's the king" and when we were boating I pointed out caves to her and she said "That's where the nomads lived". I think just checking out books on history from the library that are kid appropriate at 5 is good for afterschooling. Maybe books that expound on what she is learning at school. If she is learning about Egypt, then books on pyramids, mummies, etc,. If this is my friend Val...new to the boards, welcome! and I have a billion and one books! Come check them out at my house!

 

Yup it's me:) I will have to take you up on that offer one of these days:D

[NanceXToo]

I wouldn't expect MY five year old to retain anything from it (or to have any interest; he's not remotely ready for that yet). In my experience/opinion, SOTW is much better for like 3rd grade and up. My 10 y/o and I, on the other hand, have been working on SOTW sporadically over the summers only since she was 8 and she's always loved SOTW. This year we'll be continuing it over the school year, too.

[bbkaren]

My guy is almost 6 and I don't really expect him to remember a lot.

 

But from what I read in TWTM, we're just putting up the "pegs" at this point so that when more detailed info comes later on, they're familiar with the subject.

[RahRah]

I don't have high expectations of retention for history in the first go-round of SOTW/History - to me, it's an introduction to history and is done to pique interest and plant seeds for the future when we dig deeper. That said, DS (turning 7 next week) has retained quite a lot from SOTW1 - the things he found really interesting and things we had major and/or really fun projects attached to.

[caedmyn]

I think I will choose something else for now and save SOTW for later, if for no other reason than it's frustrating for me when she doesn't retain anything. I don't have much energy to put toward afterschooling so I'd rather be able to feel like she's gaining something from me just reading the book IYKWIM.

[JenC3]

I started SOTW with my DD at 6.5, but my ds was only not quite 4 and the amount he has retained is shocking. He is very into history though. My kids live SOTW and Jim Weiss. They have taught my DH some history and he's fairly knowledgable!

[Mommee & Baba]

We just started SOTW this year with my dd6 and dd8, they both retain majority of it AND even things I forgot. :lol:

 

I was glad that I waited for dd6 and dd8 to start a more formal history this year as it's obvious they were ready and able to retain it.....AND ENJOY it! :)

[Penelope]

I did SOTW with a 6 year old. Narrations, lots of extra library books, and a few projects.

 

I thought he retained quite a bit. Even a year later I thought he seemed to remember a lot. Three years later, not so much (we recently reviewed his first grade history notebook together, and he had no recall of much of it). The things that he does remember are those topics or facts that have been reinforced in the interim-- by referring back to ancients in talking about subsequent history, or by reading Greek myths, or by reading other books on his own that have referenced the subject in some way.

[Heidi]

We really just started STOW 1 with my dd7 and dd5.5. DD5.5 isn't interested and is bored. DD7 likes it and retains info. So far, anyway.

[Carol in Cal.]

They are so relational at that age, and love repetition. My inclination would be to use a one volume encyclopedia with colored illustrations to reinforce the lessons, to read the lessons several times on different days, and to talk about them (refer to them in conversation). Chances are some of it will stick. Remember, though, at this age it's mostly for fun and exposure.

[Jilly]

I started SOTW with my DD at 6.5, but my ds was only not quite 4 and the amount he has retained is shocking. He is very into history though.

:iagree:

 

 

I used SOTW with my twins when they were five. They loved it and retained a great deal of the information.

[Farrar]

We started with my kids when they were 5. I expected (and have basically gotten) that they retain a general sense of the timeline of history (Egypt and Mesopotamia came first, the Greeks later, the Romans after that), an ability to recognize things as being clearly Egyptian, Roman, etc. (they totally do that), a few of the stories that were important to them (check, they do), and a general recognition of some of the most important names and places, even if they need a little prodding to remember more (check again). That's it.

 

I think if you expect your kids to retain a lot more than that - be able to recite lists of Greek gods, names of all the various Mesopotamian leaders (well, okay, my kids can sing that They Might Be Giants song, but that's about it), find all the places on a map later on, etc. etc. then you should wait. Otherwise, go ahead with it. We *loved* doing the ancients for kindy.

[Haiku]

The only thing I expected my kids to retain from the first rotation of history (grades 1-4) is that history is cool. If they believe that and are excited about it the second time through, more of the facts will stick. They did actually retain a lot, but I only "expected" them to "learn" that history is fun and interesting.

 

Tara

[NittanyJen]

We read. We read lots of myths, stories, biographies, Mahic Treehouse, Timewarp Trio, True Books series, If You Were A Child In... You Wouldn't Want To Be A ....

 

We add to a giant, multi strand time line stretching across one wall of the family room. We add to a freehand map drawn floor to ceiling on he sliding deck doors.

 

We excavate pyramids, wrap mummies, write cuneiform on clay tablets, play games with Egyptian Throwing Sticks instead of dice, make clothing from different periods from pillowcases, Use stones and shells to create mosaics, and go hunt Greek columns by type in local architecture. We make Hoplite shields from living room pillows and lock them together like a phalanx and march through the family room, watching for enemies, under our Eagle banner of Rome...

 

Then we read some more.

 

My kids, including DS7, seem to have decent retention.