momsuz123 Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Hi all, Well, now that I feel we are starting to get the hang of our schedule, I feel I need/want to add more history. I am doing some through FIAR, but I am thinking about adding SOTW. I would start with vol 1 of course, but do you recommend the activity book and the tests and audiobooks? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!:001_smile: Thanks, Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritsumei Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I don't have the tests or audiobooks, but I LOVE the AG. So many good resources and ideas. Makes history very open-and-go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcjlkplus3 Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 The activity guide os a must have and the audiobooks are a big hit around here, my kids all love listening (we will often listen to the section we are studying 2-3 times in a row while they color). I don't think the tests are really doable for young kids. In 3rd grade, my dd did NOT do well with them, 4th grade was better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kochanyk Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I love the activity books! I'm NOT the artsy/crafty mama that so many seem to be but I find that there's always a do-able project for us in every chapter. They activities are really diverse and can be used for both my 6 y/o who is "doing school" and my 4 y/o & 2 y/o who just want to be part of school time. We haven't used the audio because we're not fans of books on tape in general. This is our 2nd year of doing SOTW and I did purchase the activity book again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 book, activity book and cds... yup!! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I would recommend the Activity guide in PDF form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I am about to start vol. 4, so this is our 4th year using SOTW. We have nevered used the C.Ds. I wouldn't mind having them, but always have the $ earmarked for other things I guess. But we haven't missed them. The A.G. is a must. and I have never used the tests. If you do narration as described in the A.G. or in WTM, I don't think you need them. We do test in other subjects (spelling, math, english, latin, etc.) but have felt narration in history has been enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I love the AG. I would like to have the CDs, but they aren't absolutely essential. They're very nice to have. I have no need for the tests. I have a 2nd grader. I'm not worried about long term retention of history. I test him in math, but don't feel a need to test in history at this point. In middle school, I'll probably start testing in history, but we'll be beyond SOTW at that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I write my own SOTW tests. I test every two weeks and ask a lot of "essay" questions (two or three sentences) and fill in the blank. I've never bought the audiobook but the AG is good. We don't do a lot of the activities, but the additional books to read are great and my eight year old likes the coloring pages and we study the maps as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I have the activity guide, but have rarely used it. I just got the audio book and we love it. Ds,age 9, has never loved my reading SOTW aloud, but he loves Jim Weiss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I write my own SOTW tests. I test every two weeks and ask a lot of "essay" questions (two or three sentences) and fill in the blank. I've never bought the audiobook but the AG is good. We don't do a lot of the activities, but the additional books to read are great and my eight year old likes the coloring pages and we study the maps as well. Do you mind sharing the tests you wrote? We are doing SOTW 3, too, with my 8.8 yr and 6.7 yr old boys. We all LOVE the CDs. We use the map and coloring pages regularly, but we haven't done any activities in SOTW 3 yet. We did quite a few in books 1 and 2. I am more relaxed about the suggested books now this year. I used to get a few for each chapter and read aloud to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeachingTwins Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 We use the activity guide primarily for the map work and suggestions for additional history books and related literature books. I think it's worth having. We also enjoy the CDS (saves my voice from having to read as much). The CDs have a pretty good resale value. I bought Volume 2 CDs used, and paid almost half of retail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Like the others, I'd say get the AG and audios ... for 6 and 7 year olds, I'd likely skip the tests. They're great for my 10 year old, but would totally take the fun out of it for my 6 year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greeny Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 The AG is a total must have! I can't imagine doing SOTW without it. I don't have the audio book and don't have a need for it. Although, it might be nice if you need history to be less teacher intensive. A word about the audio book, my sister has it and they stopped using it because my nieces thought the mans voice was really funny and it was a continual distraction for them. Personally, I have not listened so, I'm not sure what his voice sounds like. I don't have the tests. I have a K and 2nd grader and I'm not concerned with history retention at this point. If I were to use it beefed up for the second history cycle (which we may). I would definitely get them and see what they were like, but I think you could write your own pretty easily with the ?'s in the AG. One last word, get the AG! :D BTW- I was looking at the AG yesterday and thinking you could probably do history pretty well with just the resources it contains and skip the main SOTW text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I swim against the tide here, but I sat in the bookstore and read through the AG and was not impressed by the activities. To me it just screamed "chore that the kids will hate and will not get done.". We find our own activities on the internet, in other books we read and the History Odyssey program (Pandia Press) make stuff up, and buy other resources and head out on field trips. I realize that many find the AG terrific though, and I think mine is the minority opinion. My kids enjoy the rhymes in the "Modern Rhymes for Ancient Times" series, making wax and clay tablets, going out and hunting for different types of Greek columns and classifying them, reading lots of books (fiction and non-fiction) playing the games that come in those Running Press Treasure Chests, exploring ancient alphabets and number systems and where they appear in use today, making stone and shell mosaics, and the Usborne Internet links, among other things. We don't need an activity guide for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChandlerMom Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 First, check your library. Our library had both SOTW and the AG so I was able to look them over and try them out a bit first. SOTW and the AG doesn't fit everyone (nothing does, right?). If they don't, try the bookstore and read through the first week or so of lessons. You can also check out the samples online. For us, I likes SOTW, but the AG just wasn't for us. CHOLLA is another option for an AG that uses SOTW (or other spines) that is free and similar. History Odyssey (which uses SOTW) also has the first 13 lessons or such avail for free to try. I guess what I'm trying to say is that no one can say for sure what you will like, but you have plenty of access to "try before you buy" and make sure it's a great fit. After all, who here needs one more set of curricula you won't use? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Thishttp:// http://runofthemillfamily.blogspot.com/2010/04/story-of-world-lapbook-for-volume-one.html blog has an amazing lap book. We are doing this. My son loves it. I read the book, we discuss, at the end of the week we do the tests as a worksheets. We discuss the questions and look up the answers. My almost 6 year old actually gets most of the MC questions on his own. He doea need help on some of the fill in the blanks. It is good reinforcement. His recall of history is amazing! He loves SOTW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momsuz123 Posted September 10, 2011 Author Share Posted September 10, 2011 Thanks all, if I go with the AG do I get one for each child? Or is it more of a teacher's guide? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skueppers Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Thanks all, if I go with the AG do I get one for each child? Or is it more of a teacher's guide? Thanks!! More of a Teacher's Manual. I recommend the PDF, then you can print any activity pages you want to use (maps, for example) for both kids. Peace Hill Press also sells just the student pages, if you really want all the student pages printed. I can't see myself needing more than 10 or so pages on paper, so no need for the printed versions here. I like the activity guide for volume 1, the only one I have used. I find it provides a useful jumping off point for me. I may not necessarily do the activity in the book, but it helps me get my creative juices flowing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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