PookieMama Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I know this has only been out for a couple of years, but has anyone been thru an entire year w/ it? I'd like to hear how it is going for people who have been using it longer than us. Whether you will continue to use the series, if you supplement w/ a lot of living books (or not), and how your dc feel about it. I can't find ANY reviews online. But maybe my Google skills are just slipping. :tongue_smilie: Here's my take on it so far. We started off w/ TruthQuest AHYS I this year. While we were all really enjoying it at the beginning, I started to feel like we were getting bogged down at the formation of the colonies. Too many topics! I was having a hard time knowing what to skip and what to include. So I got the Living History book and we are planning on using that as our guide/spine and using the TQ guide to find living books to go along w/ most topics. I am adding in a couple of topics that LH skips because I think my children will be especially interested in them. But for the most part I am pleased w/ what she includes (and doesn't include). Right now we are in Vol. 1, Ch. 5 (Pilgrims). We already covered up thru Ch. 6 using TQ, so we are just reading those Living History chapters as a quick review. We'll slow down at Ch. 7 and start supplementing and notebooking again. I bought the journal but I think we'll just stick w/ whatever notebook pages and maps I can put together. So if anyone wants to buy that off me, let me know. :) So far, my dc (9yo ds and 7yo dd) are totally loving this book. We read an entire chapter at a sitting. They were hesitant at first but warmed up quickly. I enjoy her writing quite a bit more (OK, a lot more) than the commentary in TQ; I felt silly reading out loud most of the time w/ TQ. But I did like how she kept history focused on God. Anyway, I'd love to hear how other LH users are doing (or if you can point me to some reviews online that'd be super, too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warneral Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 We are just 1 chp from being done with level 1. At first I felt like the tone was too fluffy but then I got over it because my kids liked it. My plan was 1 year US history and then ancients next year. We supplemented with more library books and activities, but I am glad we chose this. My kids did one notebooking topic per chapter as they do plenty enough writing in their school day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommamia Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 We finished Vol. 1 last year and really liked it. We went in a different direction this year, but will most likely be returning to LHOOW next year. I think it's really good. BTW-we do not use the journal book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 We have been using volume 1 all year. We are really enjoying it and will continue with the next volume (which I already have) next year. We do add other books to it when we come across a subject that really interests DS. I actually use the book lists out of out TQ AHYS guides. I have also added in a few topics that ALH did not cover that I new DS would enjoy. We have several books that I use for craft/project ideas to go along with several of the chapters. We do not use the journal, but do our own timeline. I plan to continue like this all the way through volume 3. After that we will cover World History using MOH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntchaos Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 We used this and are almost finished with volume 1. I do supplement but, American history is my thing so, that is easy to do. We did buy the notebooks but, have not used them for quite a while. I really don't think they are necessary and in fact, that are difficult when you want to supplement. This is why I pretty much gave up on using them. I like the scope and sequence of the books. The stories are of high interest to the kids. I find it easy to supplement when I want but... Not those notebooks, did not like those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandaceC Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Actually the notebooks have been my favorite part of this curriculum!! Ha! How funny, we are All so different. :) We have enjoyed it...but we have added a LOT of books to read. That is fine with me though, I wanted to mostly focus on great, living books and just use a spine to keep it all together. It has definitely helped to keep a flow and story line going. I think I would have struggled with just a book list because I, myself, do not remember enough of the history and details. We are just a few chapters away from finishing vol. 1 and my plan right now is to keep going with vol. 2 as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PookieMama Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 Actually the notebooks have been my favorite part of this curriculum!! Ha! How funny, we are All so different. :) That is funny! I am glad it is there for people who want to use it. I enjoy tweaking and planning, so I like finding stuff myself and trying to get things "just right" for us. It seems like a lot of people enjoy the journals. We have enjoyed it...but we have added a LOT of books to read. That is fine with me though, I wanted to mostly focus on great, living books and just use a spine to keep it all together. It has definitely helped to keep a flow and story line going. I think I would have struggled with just a book list because I, myself, do not remember enough of the history and details. Yeah, that's my focus, too. This seems to be really well-suited for that. I am so glad to hear people are enjoying this curriculum long-term. We just started, and I want to write up a glowing review, but I KNOW I need to wait until I'm out of the honeymoon stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1shortmomto4 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I was hesitant to give this a go and in fact, had bought and sold the first guide last year, but I'm so glad I gave this guide a second go. My ds is severely dyslexic/dysgraphic so I wasn't sure how the journaling would work out but it has been a wonderful asset to his learning and taking responsibility. We are using the second book which in the beginning covered the Civil War. I checked out some other books from the library that added more visual learning and I had a book that had a project to recreate a battle drawing a map and using plastic soldiers (which have a zillion of). He loved it and became actively engaged - key here. He has retained and has taken on some researching of his own and working on the journal by himself. I read one portion of the chapter, work on narration, read a little from a library book, next day work on journal and read a little from library book, finish chapter reading/narration and repeat. Sometimes we took a little longer but sometimes we just moved along - the program is an excellent spine to work with and you don't get overwhelmed with trying to cover everything and anything. There are so many catalogs and websites to come up with books to read, look at, etc. that having no restrictions on selecting what is best for your family is wonderful. I like that the whole day isn't consumed on one subject or totally centered around it. Now, this works for my dyslexic child but hasn't been a good fit for my VSL child (haven't figure that one out just yet). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIS0320 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I've been using it as our spine for the last couple months, we are doing a one year history over-view so I am skipping some things. We started using it once we reached Explorers and are on Chapter 13 of the first volume. A couple thoughts - the writing is right on my 6 year old's level. She likes that it written in a conversational style and it is accessible to her understanding. I edit on the fly as there are some things that I do not like about the writing (i.e. "fierce, violent Vikings", I change "American Indians" to "Native Americans", we skip most of the references to God as this seems to support Providential American history and I am not really on board with that.). I do like the journals but I photocopy only the few that we use so we can resale later if need be. It is too much writing for my first grader. I just ordered the next two volumes which means I find it easy to use, appropriate for my daughter's age and fairly well put together! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas_mom Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I had a book that had a project to recreate a battle drawing a map and using plastic soldiers (which have a zillion of). He loved it and became actively engaged - key here. Can you post the name of the book that you are referring too? Did it have other history projects as well? This project really sounds like something my son would love and we are doing volume 2 next year. Thanks :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1shortmomto4 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Oh gosh, sorry it took me a bit to get back to you -- I couldn't find the original post and I hadn't tagged it to follow along. I believe the book is called Civil War for Kids - and it has a lot of heavy reading but there are some nice activities and lots of pictures - which was great because my ds could see the real pictures of the key Generals that he was learning about. Inside that book was an assignment to recreate the battle of Chancellorville and it was fun. We got a big poster board and drew the map and lined up the soldiers and then as you read the story the child moves the soldiers according to the battle plan. It was great and they still use this map. I have found that you can add these little things as you go along - and I'm usually a girl that needs everything planned out, check the box, tell me what to say -- I'm surprised at myself that I've been able to add in as his interest grows. It has been a nice experience for both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Oh gosh, sorry it took me a bit to get back to you -- I couldn't find the original post and I hadn't tagged it to follow along. I believe the book is called Civil War for Kids - and it has a lot of heavy reading but there are some nice activities and lots of pictures - which was great because my ds could see the real pictures of the key Generals that he was learning about. Inside that book was an assignment to recreate the battle of Chancellorville and it was fun. We got a big poster board and drew the map and lined up the soldiers and then as you read the story the child moves the soldiers according to the battle plan. It was great and they still use this map. I have found that you can add these little things as you go along - and I'm usually a girl that needs everything planned out, check the box, tell me what to say -- I'm surprised at myself that I've been able to add in as his interest grows. It has been a nice experience for both. No apologies necessary. :) It's taken me a while to get back too. Thank you for the book title. If it is the one that I am thinking about, our library has it so I will look into it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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