happyhomemaker Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I really like the looks of Biblioplan, and I'm pretty sure we will be using Year 3 next year with SOTW as a spine. I have SOTW AG, and I will have a 5th and 2nd grader next year. I'm having trouble figuring out what parts of the package are worth the $$ to me. Do I want the Cool History and the Companion Guide? What about the timeline- can I find one that's free or just make our own and not spend the money for that? Yes, I'm a bit of a penny pincher, but I'm willing to spend if this stuff really makes the program better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Well, I ordered mine late in the summer so I can tell you about all the pieces of the most recent edition of Year 1. If you want correlation to the KF encyclopedia, BP will send it to you separetly (free) upon request. The Companion Guide really is good; but they made it as sort of a summarization of all the many bits & pieces, some of which aren't on the schedule anymore (you might want to look at that). The SOTW AG will tell you which Usborne & KF pages go with the chapter. My boys prefer the MOH or SOTW coloring pages; they don't like the "baby-ish" (their words) style BP's are drawn in. If you have SOTW AG, you probably don't need BP's maps. BP's usually cover about the same thing, except that all the instructions are there on the paper for the student, so they can be done completely without you. Cool History pages are basically worksheets. If you'll be using BP along with WTM methods, still having the kids write narrations, summaries, outlines..., then this is just extra. I've used them orally a few times, but after everything else it was just too much. BP's schedule does have writing prompts for each level, as well. Sorry for the hodge-podge of disorganized info., but please feel free to ask if you'd like me to look up anything specific. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 Thanks so much for the info! I read somewhere that the Biblioplan maps we better for older kids than the SOTW maps. Have you found this to be true? If there's not a big diffence, I'll just stick with what I have. Also, do you know if the website ever has sales? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Just a sidenote, I think some of the BP years (not sure which) are being redone, so you might want to check with them before you purchase. I was encouraged to wait until March to order :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 Just a sidenote, I think some of the BP years (not sure which) are being redone, so you might want to check with them before you purchase. I was encouraged to wait until March to order :) Thanks for the tip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Thanks so much for the info! I read somewhere that the Biblioplan maps we better for older kids than the SOTW maps. Have you found this to be true? If there's not a big diffence, I'll just stick with what I have. Also, do you know if the website ever has sales? Probably so. I'd say yes, mostly because of the instructions that are written to the student, but also because sometimes what my sons have to do requires them to pull an atlas off the shelf to fill in a missing river, for example. The actual maps seem to be just a little bit less "zoomed in" than SOTW, showing more of the surrounding area. Of course, it's not by much, as they still have to have map features big enough to work with. Have you looked at the samples on the BP site? I've never seen a sale on BP materials. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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