Anyone else not like spending the whole year on one period of History?

[Oakblossoms]

We were actually quite bored this year. Granted we were very busy. Granted my classes were challenging (I'm a Uni. Student). Granted my children belong to a homeschool program for many classes.....

 

But, this was our first year to study one time period and we are so done. This quarter we have stop all SOTW workbook pages. We have listened to it all on CD and used History Scribe pages for extra books we have read. The boys (and me) cannot handle a new map every week. I want one map for one time period/topic. 4 or 5 maps a year really should be adequate.

 

I'm not sure what to do. We just don't want that intense of a study:tongue_smilie:

 

We love to read. We need "proof" for our program. Things like reading logs, notebook pages, writing, photographs, cookies to bribe our "teacher".

 

Any thoughts?

 

I love Ambleside Online Choices for reading. I like taking our topic (say Ancient Greece) and going through the library catalog and ordering whatever looks good. We live on the other side of the block from the library. Library books are no problem. I have a large wagon and strong little men to carry them:D My oldest is special needs (Aspergers) and my extremely hyper youngest is just going into K.

 

We have 4 terms a year. What about covering one time period each term/quarter? Are we just all too difficult? Should I stop drinking too much coffee:lol: It's Seattle for goodness sake.

 

I'm pretty sure I'll be adding a Book of Centuries/Timeline into our year this next year. Just so I can really start to see where we are at.

[Trivium Academy]

#1- Use something other than SOTW, whole books- Ambleside is one choice, check out other history books including those at http://www.yesterdaysclassics.com. CHeck out more programs.

 

#2- Use a textbook like Streams of Civilization and proceed as fast as you wish. A friend of mine was doing 1 chapter a month and went through the whole book in 1.5 years then moved on to Streams II, the same for this 1.5 years so in 3 years you'll have covered all of history. I can't say it's the most engaging but if you want to go faster but still chronologically it's a good solution, also economically.

[Peela]

Well, just tweak!

This year I am doing Ancients with my two. It's our 2nd time through- first time we used SOTW, 1 book a year.

We have 4 ten week terms in our year (Australia)

First term, we did prehistory and early river civilizations.

2nd term we did Ancient Religions and especially focused on Asian religions- Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism etc. I had really wanted to do this with the kids, since I have a lot of interest and knowledge in those areas. We also did some geography.

3rd time, we are doing Ancient Greece, and last term, Ancient Rome, using Ambleside Year 6 books.

We do one or two maps each term.

I had had enough of doing history strictly chronologically, even though we really loved SOTW and got so much out of it, but I still like the 4 year cycle, so I made it work for me. I also use Ambleside and will go into Year 7 next. I am ready for the way Ambleside mainly uses literature for history, it works for us.

I think you need to do what appeals to you, and make it work for you. Schools here certainly dont do history chronologically- they will do a term of geography, a term of Ancient Greece and Rome, a term of government, a term of Middle Ages, scattered through 12 years of school.

[Rhonda in TX]

It has a list of topics and book suggestions. You could pick and choose what topics you want to cover. You can move as quickly or slowly as you wish. It has spine suggestions, but you don't have to use one.

[Chris in VA]

I actually love the 4 year rotation, because there's so much variety in each of the four years. Going from the Very Beginning to 400, for example, covers so many diverse civilizations and so many human inventions/developments, etc. Biblical stuff, cave paintings, Sumerians, Egyptians, Ancient China, Greeks, Romans, beginning of the Church/early Saints---I don't think you CAN get very deep with all that there is to cover!

 

Perhaps it's not so much the subject matter as the use of notebooking resources for every week. Can you mix it up with oral narrations (you can write them up or just jot down what you've covered in a log), projects that you take pictures of, maybe mix in some History Pocket-type of things? Or do a couple simple lapbooks and call it a day? (A year?) Try one of the Treasure Chests--we loved the Viking one. Keeping a very simple timeline also provides a marker of what you've done but takes just a minute or two each time you add a picture (print out Hannah's timeline pics if you want).

 

You really can just spend two days a week on history. Perhaps if you read the history instead of did it on the cd, it might be easier. While many love not having to read aloud, it does allow you to pause, to give greater emphasis on certain words or sections, and to skip those parts that you can read about in another way, like using a living book (we skipped SWB's retelling of MacBeth in SOTW 2 in order to read a retelling of Hamlet and one of Midsummer, instead).

 

Just some ideas.

[Oakblossoms]

Well, just tweak!

I also use Ambleside and will go into Year 7 next. I am ready for the way Ambleside mainly uses literature for history, it works for us.

I think you need to do what appeals to you, and make it work for you. Schools here certainly dont do history chronologically- they will do a term of geography, a term of Ancient Greece and Rome, a term of government, a term of Middle Ages, scattered through 12 years of school.

 

I've been lurking at your log lately. It's wonderful.

 

Do you stick to the AO schedule or just figure out which books you want for that term?

[Oakblossoms]

I actually love the 4 year rotation, because there's so much variety in each of the four years.

 

Now that sparked it for me. I see what's wrong....or so I think.

 

It doesn't seem like variety to any of us really. I think it's because we just get bits and pieces here and there. Here is something about this, next week there is something about that...but never enough time to pick apart and watch the progress of a culture. By the time we jump around in it and get back to it again we seem to spend too much time trying to recall and pick up where we left off.

 

All of you definitely gave me something to chew on.

[Peela]

I've been lurking at your log lately. It's wonderful.

Do you stick to the AO schedule or just figure out which books you want for that term?

 

Thanks, I should go and lurk at my log (blog, but I like log too) too!

 

Actually, I am really only a beginner at Ambleside and I am picking and choosing at the moment, to make a good Ancients year for us (so using parts of Year 6) but i have always wanted to try Ambleside as is, and so I intend to use Year 7 next and see how it goes. Oh, i will tweak because I cant help it, but I will try to minimise it!

I know what you mean about jumping all over the place. Thats why I decided to spend a whole term on Ancient Greece and another on Rome,etc, otherwise I find for us it does feel too scattered. When we read several books at once on the same topic, over quite a few weeks, it feels more cohesive to me, and I am loving it this way after SOTW (but I accepted SOTW was the way it was and we enjoyed that too). There are lots of connections between the books and crossing points. It just feels better for us.