Tell me about history...

[Heathermomster]

pretty please...DS has dyslexia. I'm looking at History Odyssey 2, Ancients. It seems like a gentle introduction to narration and the curricula is scripted. DS has always read or used audio books to keep up with assignments. What history do you use with your child? DS will be 7th grade...

 

Thank-you,

Hearher

[NittanyJen]

Love History Odyssey Ancients. Throughout the four parts of level 2 (ancients through modern) the program gradually builds in difficulty, starting with writing a few sentences, them outlining, and across the ancients year learning to complete four (very short) library trips, intended to acquaint them with the process of using reference materials, outlining from a source other than the main text and incorporating a little bit of other information, and writing a couple of paragraphs about it. By the end of four years, I believe they gradually ramp up to a real research paper.

 

The suggested and required literature is good. The program is flexible, so you can easily customize it to meet your son's needs without ruining the open and go feel of the program. No teacher manual s required, as it is written to the student, and frankly the point of each assignment is plain obvious. They are writing one, but why they would do so kind of baffles me; don't waste your money. They have sold it for years without one, so evidently they didn't think it needed one either.

[merry gardens]

Right now, we are using See Time Fly (Vol 1) by Lindamood Bell http://www.ganderpublishing.com/Visualizing-and-Verbalizing/See-Time-Fly-History.html

[KathyBC]

When my oldest was in grade 7, we used the first half of SL History Core 6 (now Core G), along with IEW's Ancient-History Based Writing Lessons. For my dyslexic kiddo, I am considering the same path for 7th next year, but adjusting the reading requirements as necessary.

Edited February 19, 2012 by KathyBC
clarity

[chiguirre]

The Teaching Company has highschool level courses that would work for 7th grade imho. The guy who does them dress up in costumes and acts like a person from each time period. He manages to pack a lot of information into his lectures and they come with detailed written outlines.

 

I'm thinking of doing A Child's History of the World next year with my kids. It's easy to read but does cover the bases (SL uses it in their Core W). Calvert sells a workbook that has the student outline chapters.

[PeterPan]

Well in our house VP has always been the ultimate. Dd is actually pretty insistent she's going to be a history major. We'll see. In any case, right now we're doing the VP online, self-paced history, and I HIGHLY recommend it. They've been running $99 deals, so maybe they will again. I think they are also dropping the regular price. It has a lot of features that make it work for our kids. One of the most important is the need to push a button or DO something to keep it going. I want to try TC on my dd this summer. My concern with lectures like that is she can totally fade out.

 

Have you read "The Dyslexic Advantage" by the Eides yet? It will make it click in your mind why these kids are so good at history. They don't need to outline and suck the life. They need connections, stories, relationships. VP is really good at that and helps them cement the important basics at the same time. It has the rabbit trails and stories that work for these kids' brains.

 

Oh, you're probably wondering what we'll do next. We did MARR last year, NTGR during a one month free trial, and this year are doing the two american history years. I'm hoping she gets them done by the end of May (fingers crossed!). This summer I want to do the Pilgrim's Progress unit study from AIG using TC courses and stuff that it suggests. Then in the fall I'm tossing around a couple ideas. I may go to TOG. I may do the BJU 9th gr geography with a bunch of the reading stuff I have collected. It may be that VP will have one of the Omnibus self-paced courses ready (long-shot, haven't heard any specific timelines yet on that, could be another year). So I'm not making choices now to fit 9 months from now. That never works for us, ugh. But at least you can see where I'm going in my mind. You're going to have a few people say the VP self-paced isn't good enough for a student above grade 6, blah blah. Decide for yourself. Look at your student and where he's at and what a good next step is for him. My dd LOVES it. The stories, the games, the whole thing scratches her itch. It's easy for me to add reading. She has done two of the full year courses already this school year. It's not rhetoric level. It's not going to require writing. But it has been a really good thing for us this year. We just get those skills in other ways.

 

In the fall the last couple years, they've done a free one month trial. That would cinch it for you.

Edited February 19, 2012 by OhElizabeth

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[PeterPan]

I'm so oblivious, I missed a "big news" hint!!!!! So maybe they WILL have an Omnibus self-paced course out?? That would TOTALLY change my life. That would be HUGE here. Might even shut up my hormonal daughter with her rantings about the virtues of school. ;)

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[PeterPan]

Oh you haven't seen. The price of the live classes went UP. It went from high to out of reach. I mean I just can't do that. We're talking college high. I'm glad it's working for someone else, but wow they're expensive. But I don't care. My dd couldn't stay focused for voices from a tiny box like that anyway, not enough interaction. Even so I was kind of shocked. I had thought maybe we could make it work, and when I saw the increased prices I gave up.

 

For the record, I have no issue with the price hike. Apparently costs were high, and they have such a HUGE flood of people, raising the price fits the market. Just for us, given that it was already a stretch for attention and learning style, it was just too much.

[Heathermomster]

Well in our house VP has always been the ultimate. Dd is actually pretty insistent she's going to be a history major. We'll see. In any case, right now we're doing the VP online, self-paced history, and I HIGHLY recommend it.

 

Does this program have a Young Earth perspective?

 

Have you read "The Dyslexic Advantage" by the Eides yet? It will make it click in your mind why these kids are so good at history. They don't need to outline and suck the life. They need connections, stories, relationships. VP is really good at that and helps them cement the important basics at the same time. It has the rabbit trails and stories that work for these kids' brains.

 

DA is great, and DS absolutely excels at history.

 

Oh, you're probably wondering what we'll do next. We did MARR last year, NTGR during a one month free trial, and this year are doing the two american history years. I'm hoping she gets them done by the end of May (fingers crossed!).

 

I need a cheat sheet by the computer to figure out all the acronyms. I'll look all of this up...Thank-you.

[Heathermomster]

Right now, we are using See Time Fly (Vol 1) by Lindamood Bell http://www.ganderpublishing.com/Visualizing-and-Verbalizing/See-Time-Fly-History.html

 

I had no idea that Lindamood-Bell was into history as well. Thank-you for the link.

Edited February 19, 2012 by Heathermomster

[Heathermomster]

Ok...I just figured out VP's denominational perspective. Where does the study of Ancient History began? Anything, say prior to 4004 B.C.?

 

I also noted that for 7th grade, DS would use the Omnibus package.

[EKS]

I used K12's Human Odyssey series with my older son (who has dyslexia) when he was in 7th and 8th grade. I read the books aloud to him and had him write on various topics as they came up. I also assigned historical fiction/period literature for him to read and read some aloud as well.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Heathermomster]

Omnibus begins with Genesis and goes in chronological order from there. If you go to Google Books, there is a pretty extensive sample of Omnibus I.

 

As far as needing to start Omnibus in 7th, I'd say no, not with a dyslexic learner. Some folks do Omnibus I - III (is the IV out yet? I don't know) for high school. It's pretty hefty.

 

Thank-you...I'm going to email VP directly and get the scope and sequence. This looks like an excellent resource for high school.

[PeterPan]

Ok...I just figured out VP's denominational perspective. Where does the study of Ancient History began? Anything, say prior to 4004 B.C.?

 

I also noted that for 7th grade, DS would use the Omnibus package.

 

You obviously don't have Omnibus yet. ;) I do, at least the first two volumes. It's TOTALLY different from the lower levels. It's a great books study with history thrown in to fill in the cracks. Their spin on reformed is pretty evident, and you have of course Douglas Wilson. If you kill a year or two, they're saying they might develop self-paced classes for Omnibus as well.

 

It just all depends on where your kid is at, what he's ready for, etc. My dd has a lot of executive function issues, isn't much of one to write just become some curriculum said to (an integral component of Omnibus), and would drift out on disconnected lectures with a talking face. Nuts, Omnibus live doesn't even have a talking face; it's just a talking powerpoint presentation. That's just not a do-able style for my dd. And as for me teaching it, well the planets are going to have to align pretty heavily for that one. :lol: We're a crunchy fit for anything. I take it one step at a time.

 

Young earth and before 4000 BC?? Wow, so you WANT them to teach some form of pre-history or you don't or... Like the others said, VP starts with Genesis and goes right through recorded history. The Reformed thing isn't really a big deal in the lower levels. We thought their explanation of St. Augustine's conversion was screwy, but dd was able to see that. It just is what it is, kwim? The 95% we like outweighs the little bit we might have done differently. And it's really NOT a big issue at the lower levels. In Omnibus is where it really shows up.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Heathermomster]

Shari and OhE,

 

You both mentioned the VP online course. I like the look of it. My issue is that I may require some deprogramming to present it. DS has always been taught from text, and I've always supplemented with videos and other books.

 

Without a doubt, Omnibus is huge. I can see where they are wrapping Bible, lit, and history all in one package. For a 7th grader, I'm not going there and may never. I placed that curric in a holding place for later use.

 

Do I want to teach Pre-history? I'm new and just assumed that history would start on the Fertile Crescent, 10,000 B.C. That was a wrong assumption and I see that.

 

Here's the deal. I purchased MOH Vol 1 &2 and discovered that Creation occurred 4004 B.C.. I'm simply not Young Earth and would prefer to avoid it, unless all Gen 1-2 Creation views are presented.

 

You Ladies are awesome. Thank-you for helping me. I've been left with much to consider.

 

ETA: I'm a PCA Presbyterian and am familiar with Wilson. My Church nor family hold to Federal Vision.

Edited February 20, 2012 by Heathermomster

[PeterPan]

Ok, you're getting lost in the muddle. Creation is the first card in the OTAE (Old Testament, Ancient Egypt), and I wouldn't do it with a 7th grader. There are 5 years to the history, so you're going to pick one or two that fit him and do those. A 7th grader could do MARR (Middle Ages) very happily. ABSOLUTELY you're going to add all those videos and books and things!!! The VP catalog lists tons of stuff like that, and it's all coordinated by the card numbers. So they WANT you to do that and they make it EASY.

 

MOH is fine, had it and did some with my dd. I wouldn't do that unless you want to read and do it with him. Never even occurred to me you would hand it to a kid. VP does all that for me (drill for retention, games, mapping, etc. etc.). If you want someone to do it for you, can't be the VP self-paced.

 

Now with Omnibus, the way I was told, the live online classes don't require *all* the writing from the text. It came out in sort of a bad way, with this implication that homeschoolers *couldn't* do all the writing because we don't do a good job with our kids, blah blah. Spit, spit. So anyways, I think an online, self-paced version, by necessity, can't include writing. I mean, duh, there's no one to turn it into. So it sort of disconnects the developmental issues from the content, which is why it might work better for some kids. We'll see what they have up their sleeves. There were writing assignments in the tms for each of the VP elementary history years that aren't included in the online, self-paced, so I assume they'll do something similar. They might just include prompts or something. But we'll have to see. Cross that when you come to it. No child who is still just covering the basic material needs to do Omnibus. Omnibus requires that foundational knowledge.

 

When are you wanting to start this? If you're serious about doing OTAE with a 7th grader, it really might come across as young. There's a definite shift in quality, etc. etc. I'd think about that. My dd did NTGR during a free one month trial, and that was awesome. MARR would be fine, because it's just a lot more material. OTAE is half Bible, so it's not enough, by itself, for one year for a 7th grader. In a situation like that I might do OTAE and NTGR myself with the cards (becuase you can cut the Bible cards and be down to a year's worth) and then do MARR. You could do that OTAE NTGR combo over the summer and go into MARR in the fall.

[Heathermomster]

DS will be coming home in the Fall for 7th grade. With the exception of 2nd semester 5th grade, he has attended the same private Christian school since Pre-k. His studies have never followed the WTM path. This year he will complete history from 1865-modern. Last year was Explorers to 1865. He's never seen Ancients or MARR.

 

From what I can tell, starting Ancients with VP online would be too easy. Omnibus for 7th would likely be too hard for a child with dyslexia. DS has received outstanding expository preaching at school and at Church. He has always used text books, mostly secular. While going over material, DH and I always discuss the Christian worldview.

 

For 7th and 8th grade, I'm going to stick with a secular History and include the Christian worldview. I think I'm going to use Hystory Odyssey level 2 Ancients and Middle Ages books for 7th and 8th grade. The k12 Human Odyssey Vol 1 looks like an excellent resource, and they are cheap when purchased used. I'm picking one of those up to use as a reference manual.

 

I would prefer DS learn to work a bit more on his own. I plan to start the Linguisystem EF book with him soon. He is actually fully incorporated into his 6th grade classroom, works very hard, and gets very good grades. Grammar and math are the most difficult.

 

Thank-you Ladies for all your input and help. I realize that it takes time to sit down and issue a written response. I'm amazed at all the materials available and all the things that one has to consider. I'm not afraid to tweak or change if things aren't working out. It's also good to have options.

Edited February 20, 2012 by Heathermomster

[funnygirl]

Thanks for telling us what you decided. I am following your threads closely since I have a 7th grader now who'll be doing 7th/8th grade work next year. (I find the actual grades matter less and less with homeschool.)

 

Are you going to fill us in on your other decisions?? :bigear:

[Heathermomster]

I find the actual grades matter less and less with homeschool.

 

Are you going to fill us in on your other decisions?? :bigear:

 

I agree with you.

 

The only other curricula that I've selected thus far is a standard Life Science text by Littell-McDougal and a Memoria Press vol 2 Bible study. I'm not entirely settled yet with writing and grammar. Those will likely be Easy Grammar 6 and WWE3. Math is wide open at this point. Definitely some Mind Bender Logic. I suppose we should start another thread?

Edited February 21, 2012 by Heathermomster

[Quiver0f10]

Right now, we are using See Time Fly (Vol 1) by Lindamood Bell http://www.ganderpublishing.com/Visualizing-and-Verbalizing/See-Time-Fly-History.html

 

Is this a stand alone program or do you need to add to it?

[merry gardens]

Is this a stand alone program or do you need to add to it?

I suppose "See Time Fly" books plus the workbooks could stand alone. It follows with LMB's Visualizing and Verbalizing program, but I'm also using it with my 8 yo neuro typical child who hasn't done V&V. I'm using Book 1, pre-history to the Middle Ages, with five of my kids at once. I do some supplementation, but not a lot. We do other history related things, so this is not our sole source of history, but it's the text book-y history that we're doing right now.

 

More info...There are three books with workbooks to the series, and it really does fly through history. It's designed to develop a time line in their minds, so it doesn't go into much detail at all. It just flies from one historical figure or time period to the next.

 

The website says the reading is grade 4 - college, because you just can't avoid some big or difficult words when covering some topics. It seems on the younger side but my 7th grader boy does fine with it. The workload is much less than other history books we've used, because it is clearly designed for special education needs. The workbooks have words to pre-read along with some definitions, then there's a short paragraph in the book that includes those words, followed by some discussion questions. There are five paragraphs per topic that could be done one each day for a whole week. My family and I fly through it one chapter in one sitting.

 

We are almost done with bbok 1 and I'm not sure if I want to go back over the periods to supplement more, or move onto book 2, or what. I'll probably just call text book history lessons "done" for a little while and focus on other areas.

[Quiver0f10]

I suppose "See Time Fly" books plus the workbooks could stand alone. It follows with LMB's Visualizing and Verbalizing program, but I'm also using it with my 8 yo neuro typical child who hasn't done V&V. I'm using Book 1, pre-history to the Middle Ages, with five of my kids at once. I do some supplementation, but not a lot. We do other history related things, so this is not our sole source of history, but it's the text book-y history that we're doing right now.

 

More info...There are three books with workbooks to the series, and it really does fly through history. It's designed to develop a time line in their minds, so it doesn't go into much detail at all. It just flies from one historical figure or time period to the next.

 

The website says the reading is grade 4 - college, because you just can't avoid some big or difficult words when covering some topics. It seems on the younger side but my 7th grader boy does fine with it. The workload is much less than other history books we've used, because it is clearly designed for special education needs. The workbooks have words to pre-read along with some definitions, then there's a short paragraph in the book that includes those words, followed by some discussion questions. There are five paragraphs per topic that could be done one each day for a whole week. My family and I fly through it one chapter in one sitting.

 

We are almost done with bbok 1 and I'm not sure if I want to go back over the periods to supplement more, or move onto book 2, or what. I'll probably just call text book history lessons "done" for a little while and focus on other areas.

 

Thanks! Sounds interesting.

[funnygirl]

I suppose we should start another thread?

 

Thought you'd never ask. ;)