teeniebeenie6 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I am curious if anyone has tried Winter Promises Animals and Their Worlds Grade 1-4? I came across it tonight and my interest was immediately peaked. I am leaning towards buying it for my daughter for next year. If you have used this program what do you like or dislike about it? Do any of the books covered have evolution in them? I would love your input on this program, thanks :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savmom Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 We are doing it right now & my dd LOVES it! In fact, she loves it so much that I spent several months beefing the program up for her to stretch it out over 2 years (we spend 2-3 weeks per animal with extras such as videos, library books, elaborate crafts, experiments, etc). I have an older 2006 Instructor's Guide that combines all grades but I scheduled in the books from the current edition too. As for dislikes, the only problem I have is that I wish the program had 10 times more activities/books scheduled (which is probably something no one else would notice considering the program is very full):D If you have a child who is as fascinated with animals as mine is (seriously, future veterinarian on my hands) Animals & Their Worlds is definitely for you! The beauty of the program is you can easily adapt it to fit your preferences (4 days a week, Wednesday craft day, add in videos/library books, replace a reader with one you think looks more interesting, field trips to animal related business like pet shop, deer farm, zoo, aquarium). I created a blank schedule & printed 36 copies so I can write down the extras/alternates without marking up the guide. We are Christians and I cannot recall any major references to evolution anywhere (the occasional "millions of years ago" in the animal encyclopedia) but I usually gloss over that stuff with "some people believe that" kind of response and explain why we do not believe that statement. There are some wonderful websites I found that have notebooking pages, lapbooks, crafts, math, coloring pages, etc, that correlate with each weeks lessons so if you decide to buy it, let me know & I will PM you some of the links! If you have any more questions, I would be happy to TRY & answer them ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorrainejmc Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 (edited) I have been thinking about this for my 2 boys for next year. I would love to hear more about the notebooks included with the package. The sample shows colour but says they are b/w.:confused: I would actually prefer b/w. ETA: I just found individual notebook samples and they are b/w.:blushing: Is it just me or dos the prek/k one look a better choice for 1st grade than the 1-4 one? Edited December 19, 2011 by lorrainejmc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khall Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I had planned on using this next year as well, and now we are looking at making some changes after Christmas and I was thinking of starting this early. Can you tell me if it would require tweaking to start the program this time of year? The samples show note booking pages about trees in fall in the first few weeks, and we're definitely past that season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorrainejmc Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 It does look very seasonal to me, which is why I'm looking at it.:D You could maybe just jump in where you are seasonally and do the autumn section when autumn comes. If it is intended for a wide range of ages, I can't imagine there being a huge jump in skills from start to finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teeniebeenie6 Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 Wow SavMom, thanks for all the great information! It looks like the program is just what we are looking for. We are definitely an animal loving family. The books looks so fun. Thanks for all the feedback! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSkiesAbove Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 (edited) I bought it used for my kids. I agree with what a previous poster said. It is VERY choppy. It would have driven us all nuts. So I sold it. I want to love WP. This was my second purchase of their products. The first was also pieced together, had activities that didn't seem to fit, and jumped around in ability levels. Some of the books are 2-3 grades ahead while other are a year behind. And for us, it had too many activities - but I know that some families LOVE all the extra's. Edited December 19, 2011 by BlueSkiesAbove typos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 The Make Your Own Animal Notebook is in full color. (I LOVE it!) I agree that the younger version would be better for a first grader. We have done AW one and a half times, once with a first grader and once for K. I plan to repeat it next year with a third grader. As you can tell, I really really like this program. I am excited to do it with an older child, one who can actually do cutting and pasting on his own. I'll likely be adding in resources from the old version, but I bought the new instructor guide and can't wait to dive in in the fall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveBaby Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I used it but found it to jump around a lot - in ways that just didn't make sense at all. It seemed like the schedule was thrown together with the books, but there wasn't a lot of cohesive thought put into it. Another thing - WP is known for some serious shipping/customer service issues. I have a friend who waited for months before all of her books arrived. After getting them, she realized that there were some grievous errors in the maps and WP published books. Upon contacting the company she was informed that it was past their return policy and she was stuck - well, when it takes months to receive all the items, it doesn't make sense that the return policy is based on when the first item is shipped out. It makes it hard to determine if the program will work or not if all books are not in hand, KWIM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker of Schole Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I wanted to love it. My dd is really, really into animals. It was way too choppy for me. That being said, I have the 2006 version, that I'm not using. I don't have the number of posts required to list it for sale. Just sayin... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleWMN Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I used it but found it to jump around a lot - in ways that just didn't make sense at all. It seemed like the schedule was thrown together with the books, but there wasn't a lot of cohesive thought put into it. Another thing - WP is known for some serious shipping/customer service issues. I have a friend who waited for months before all of her books arrived. After getting them, she realized that there were some grievous errors in the maps and WP published books. Upon contacting the company she was informed that it was past their return policy and she was stuck - well, when it takes months to receive all the items, it doesn't make sense that the return policy is based on when the first item is shipped out. It makes it hard to determine if the program will work or not if all books are not in hand, KWIM? I think I might know your friend. If not, she's not the only one this happened to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveBaby Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I think I might know your friend. If not, she's not the only one this happened to. Yeah, from what I've heard and read - this isn't an isolated case. And in some cases these problems are known and have not been addressed, which is unfortunate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I used it but found it to jump around a lot - in ways that just didn't make sense at all. It seemed like the schedule was thrown together with the books, but there wasn't a lot of cohesive thought put into it. Another thing - WP is known for some serious shipping/customer service issues. I have a friend who waited for months before all of her books arrived. After getting them, she realized that there were some grievous errors in the maps and WP published books. Upon contacting the company she was informed that it was past their return policy and she was stuck - well, when it takes months to receive all the items, it doesn't make sense that the return policy is based on when the first item is shipped out. It makes it hard to determine if the program will work or not if all books are not in hand, KWIM? Is this the woman with some blog posts on it? They were very eye-opening to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSkiesAbove Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Yeah, from what I've heard and read - this isn't an isolated case. And in some cases these problems are known and have not been addressed, which is unfortunate! The shipping was the first time was not too bad. Took 5 weeks to get everything in. The second time, it trickled in over 4 months. The would say it was shipped and it wasn't and then they sent a couple of things twice and I had to pay to send it back. Total nightmare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savmom Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I have used several WP programs and NEVER had even a tiny problem. With AW, I bought the guide from WP and the books from all over the place but I bought Adv K LA, Ancients & Middle Ages packages with no problems. And each package was purchased separately over several years so my experience with their customer service was not an isolated event. I will say that it is better to call in your order than place it online. Then they can tell you if anything is back ordered. If you want to ensure everything arrives on time, I suggest buying the books separately and the exclusives from WP. I saved over $150 buying AW that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorrainejmc Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 The Make Your Own Animal Notebook is in full color. (I LOVE it!) I agree that the younger version would be better for a first grader. We have done AW one and a half times, once with a first grader and once for K. I plan to repeat it next year with a third grader. As you can tell, I really really like this program. I am excited to do it with an older child, one who can actually do cutting and pasting on his own. I'll likely be adding in resources from the old version, but I bought the new instructor guide and can't wait to dive in in the fall! Thanks. Looks like we'll go with the younger version then.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorrainejmc Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 The delivery issues with WP never seem to go away.:sad: My plan was just to order the guide and notebooks and get the rest from Amazon. It makes more sense for me in the UK anyway and all the books are available here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3peasinapod Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 (edited) I bought it used for my kids. I agree with what a previous poster said. It is VERY choppy. It would have driven us all nuts. So I sold it. I want to love WP. This was my second purchase of their products. The first was also pieced together, had activities that didn't seem to fit, and jumped around in ability levels. Some of the books are 2-3 grades ahead while other are a year behind. And for us, it had too many activities - but I know that some families LOVE all the extra's. This was my experience with AW too. It is choppy. We also did AS1, and I found that choppy too. We made AW work, as I actually changed the schedule A LOT. They scheduled the activities erratically in the version I had. It made no sense. I could plainly see where it would have been better scheduled to flow more easily, but it wasn't in the IG. After I changed it up a lot with hours of work, we enjoyed it, but I did get tired of doing animals. The book level thing is an issue too. Some of the books were just plain too hard and some were extremely easy. It would be better if they were all really easy or really hard instead of each book being at a different level. Our family also found the Adventure Reading to be dull and we only liked half (or less) of them in each of the WP programs we used. This may be just a family-by-family thing, though. Edited December 20, 2011 by 3peasinapod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teeniebeenie6 Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Wow, there is a huge range of likes and dislikes, interesting. I wonder how much better the new version is? Choppy doesn't sound very appealing. Hmm. I wonder if I should make my own animal curriculum using the books they recommend? Their forum is pretty dead, I was hoping there would be more feedback on the newest edition there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winoelle Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 We stuck with it for about 9 weeks and then finally I just admitted my mistake and dropped it. My dd LOVES animals, thought it would be a perfect fit. It is definitely choppy, some activities are way too young for the suggested ages, the notebooking was annoying to my daughter after the first four pages, too repetitive. I ended up using all the books I bought with the program to create my own animal study. Noelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomandlorih Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I have used American Story 1 and had purchased AW but it looked a little young (okay a lot young) for my animal loving dd then a 1st grader. I am keeping it to use with my ds who does not know as much about animals and might learn from it. (DD could correctly identify the difference between moose, elk, deer, caribou etc by 18 months.. DS not so much.. LOL). The issues of shipping and choppiness are the main complaints you'll hear about WP.. and you'll hear them a LOT from a lot of folks. I did not notice that AS1 was "choppy" but it was American history.. it pretty much went chronologically so how choppy can you be?? I agree that I did tweak the curriculum a lot as most others do but I was using AS1 with a first grader so the crafts were a bit beyond her ability. I bought an IG/notebooking pages "used" unused from someone else and we did not do the notebook either.. BORING! I've heard from friends of mine who are using some of the exclusives (for AS2 and CATW) that they are not worth what you have to pay, repetitive, etc. The readers are an issue also.. but we just used readers of our choosing from our library. This post might sound negative.. but I do actually like WP(some of it:) and have AS2 to do in the next year or two.. but just wanted to be honest about the amount of tweaking necessary.. I think that AW could be an awesome jump off place for you.. or may I suggest The Complete book of Animals on Amazon?? I have that too and it is great.. repetitive also but colorful and a lot cheaper.. lol http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Animals/dp/156189544X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326740201&sr=8-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 would love links and ideas people used for the animal program. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savmom Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Here are a few of the links I have (gotta get dinner then I will look for the rest). They are not in any particular order, there may be duplicates (sorry :tongue_smilie:) and a few may be dead (you can copy/paste dead links into the Wayback Machine). AW Biomes of the World AW National Geographic Africam | Always Live & Wild from African waterholes & bush, 24x7 Animals & Their Worlds gravy Zoology Free Links African Savanna For Kids All about frogs Animal Report Forms Animal Studies Animal Themes National Geographic Kids animals unit study Bird Activities Birds Birds of the Air! Black Swallowtail Butterfly Butterfly Lapbook Butterfly Lapbook Coral Reef Lapbook Desert Animals Lapbook Dinosaur Theme Dolphin Healing Part 2 ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center Fish Science Explorations - Oceans Fisheries kids package Frog & Toad @ The Virtual Vine Frog Activities Frog Unit Study: Hopping to Learn Frog: Photos, Video, Facts, E-card, Map Froggy Activites FROGLAND! AllAboutFrogs.ORG Frogs and Toads links Butterflies & Caterpillars Grasshopper Lapbook Horse lesson plans k-1 Horse: Przewalski's Horses lapbook ideas Horses Mrs Mack lapbook Horses HSS Units KidsDinos.com Ladybug Lapbook Lion Lapbook Mini Units - Animals National Geographic Kids Outdoor activity ideas Natl Wildlife Owl baby crafts Penguin Homepage Penguin science Polar Animals Lapbook Rainforest Great Kapok Tree lapbook Rattlesnakes of Arizona Black Birds The Western Bluebird Horse Unit Study Animal Science Lesson Plans: Behavior, Vertebrates, Invertebrates Birds — Celebrate Urban Birds Frog Lapbook The Teacher's Guide Frogs Theme Page Geography lesson plans to go with AW Expedition Earth: Discovering God’s Animals Rainforest Biomes Burgess Animal Book for Children Audio & text Animal games The Reptiles and Amphibians of Arizona Coral Reef - Dynamic 2 Moms Great Cats - National Zoo Kids for Tigers Animal sanctuary Save the Tiger Fund Viz Kids / ideastream Horse museum Horse Coloring Pages The Desert Tour Forest Animals Coloring Pages | Woodlands Animals of the Rainforest WebQuest Rainforest Alliance Discovery Education Virtual Zoo Crickweb | KS2 Science Life Science Activities Grade 1 life science harcourt Kratts' Creatures | PBS Kids Everglades-Animals and Habitats EEK! - Critter Corner - Habitats Animal Crafts - MSSS AWF: Wildlife: Lion Great Cats: Lions - National Zoo Safari and Zoo Animal Printables Ocean Unit Study Mammal Study Elephants God lesson Desert Animals Blue Planet Biomes - World Biomes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I love you!!! Thank you so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savmom Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I love you!!! Thank you so much! :grouphug: Totally OT, I see in your siggy that you have an 18yo. My oldest turned 18 in Nov :crying: How can my little baby boy be an adult????:sad: I can close my eyes & remember the way his clean little head smelled (used to drive dh batty cuz I spent all day sniffing his head). Now all I smell is cologne & gym socks that never seem to be clean no matter how much they are washed :tongue_smilie: And when did I become old enough to have a grown-up for a child??? Not ME! :thumbdown: I have a document somewhere in my computer full of links. If I forget to post it in the next day or so & you want more links, give me a swift kick or something so I can give you the rest of them :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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