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starting omnibus in 9th grade?


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Okay, my dd13 is in 8th grade and we are doing Starting Points and LOVING it! Next year for 9th I had planned on MFW AHL. My son used it and is doing WHL now. I like it. He likes it. But, it's a lot less parent interaction...not to say we couldn't make it more by doing readings together....

 

DD really is enjoying the "together" studying she and I are doing.

 

DD is taking logic and art from veritasscholarsonline right now and lots of the kids take omnibus online. If possible, we'd love for her to take it online next year. That way she gets more discussion and interaction, etc... BUT money will probably not allow that and we would end up doing it at home. That's where the questions start....

 

Which year of omnibus to start with? 1 is supposed to be first but it's what is used for 7th grade. 3 is suggested for 9th, but then we'd be jumping in at modern history, 4 is the highschool ancients, but boy does it look hard?

 

Which would you start with and would you choose differently vs online or at home? ex... volume 1 if at home but vol 3 if online?

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

Blessings

Sandra

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FWIW, ds did Omnibus II in 10th grade and Omnibus III in 11th, and I know two people who had their 9th grade ds's do Omnibus I. We all found it plenty challenging for high school--and the works studied (for the most part) are certainly appropriate for high school.

 

There are a few activities/games in Omnibus I-III that seem more geared to middle schoolers (like "be a monk for a day") which we just skipped (not enough high school value for the time spent on them.) But there are plenty of meaty discussions and assignments that are appropriate for high school.

 

I'd say start with Ancients, since that's where you are, and if IV looks too hard (also consider whether they'll have V and VI out in time for you), I think you could confidently go with I.

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I see a few good options:

 

Do 4-6 for 9th-11th, then use 12th grade for a year of government and economics.

 

Do 1-6 in grades 9-12, rearranging things to make it fit (what we are doing.)

 

Do something else for 9, then do 4-6 in 10-12.

 

Do 1, 2, or 3 for 9th grade, just to get used to the format, then do 4-6 in grades 10-12.

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FWIW, there are some heavy hitting books in Omni I, so I don't think you will have a problem with the challenge aspect, even for a 9th grader. My oldest did Omni I online last year in 8th grade and my Middle son is in Omni I online this year (7th grade). My sons had and have 9th graders in their Omni I class.

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See if you can get your hands on Omni I & IV for review. Omni I (Primary) uses more well-known texts, stories kids should be familiar with. I've listed them in bold.

 

Bible- Genesis, Exodus, Samuel I & II, Kings I & II, Luke, Acts, Revelation

Epic of Gilgamesh

Code of Hammurabi

Odyssey

The Histories - Herodotus

Oresteia

Plutarch's Lives

Theban Trilogy

The Last Days of Socrates

The Early History of Rome

Aeneid

Twelve Caesars

Julius Caesar

 

Omni IV Primary uses more obscure works:

 

Bible: Proverbs, Job, Psalms, Mark, Philippians and Colossians

The Iliad

Peloponnesian War

The Bacchae

The Clouds

Hippocratic Oath

The Republic

Nicomachean Ethics

Poetics

Apocrypha

Euclid's Elements

The War with Hannibal - Livy

On the Nature of Things

Cicero

Annals of Imperial Rome

Eclogues and Georgics

Metamorphoses

The Jewish War

Meditations

Apostolic Fathers

 

Apart from the Bible, the only three that I think are necessary to move forward with the canon for high schoolers are The Iliad, The Republic, and Euclid. Several on the secondary list are important IMO (ex. Hamilton's Mythology).

 

Here's the biggest issue (IMO). Omni IV book is a much better book than Omni I. The assignments are more reasonable. I think the essays are more even-handed. The discussions seem more focused. It's just a better book: you can easily tell that they learned a few things after field testing their ideas with Omni I with real kids.

 

But - and here's more of my opinion - if you only have the time in high school to do one, I would recommend Omni I. (Everyone should read about Oedipus and Odysseus; you just need to know their stories. ;)) But I would strongly suggest that you either solicit advice about how to make the daily work more reasonable - especially the writing assignments - or I would suggest that you peruse Omni IV and examine the shift in expectations.

 

In either case Omnibus is a very teacher-intensive choice. It demands a lot from you. If you have never read/studied any of these works on your own, I wouldn't recommend either book. Of course, you can look at the TE and decide for yourself. I personally didn't have the background to consider these during my first go-round through the canon at the high school level.

 

Much of Omni I & IV are available on Google Books:

http://books.google.com/books?id=PgLPOn-8pZcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=omnibus+1&hl=en&ei=tLmaTvGsIqP40gHXnK3ZBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=omnibus%201&f=false

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=4dY0hHqQ4lgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=omnibus+IV&hl=en&ei=27maTt_QBIfy0gHUqJ34Ag&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Peace,

Janice

 

Enjoy your little people

Enjoy your journey

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Omni IV book is a much better book than Omni I. The assignments are more reasonable. I think the essays are more even-handed. The discussions seem more focused. It's just a better book: you can easily tell that they learned a few things after field testing their ideas with Omni I with real kids.

 

 

Do you think a large part of it was the addition of Veith?

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Both Cathy Duffy and a reviewer from Old Schoolhouse are quite informative on this matter, and feel that a 9th grader will be very challenged with Omnibus I, which really incorporates Ancient History/Literature and Theology. My 9th grader is taking Omnibus for the first time this year, and we started with I. Additionally, Susan Wise Bauer recommends Ancient History for 9th grade, along with Algebra and Biology, and we are right there.

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Well, I spoke with Veritas Scholars Academy today, and they suggested if she takes the online class, just jump in at Omnibus III, then iv, v, and vi for 10th, 11th, and 12th.... I suppose that could work. However if we do it at home, I still haven't decided on I or IV to begin with Ancients. MFW is starting to pop back in my head as easier to do..... But she really wants to do the omnibus thing. decisions, decisions....

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