If you've used or own the BJU Cultural Geography...

[PeterPan]

Does the tm add to the course? Does it contain activities (hands-on)? Also, I haven't seen samples of the student activities pages beyond the first bit available online. What are they like once you get past those early chapters?

 

Thanks! :)

[Chris in PA]

Hey Elizabeth,

The TM contains all the answers to the section review and chapter review questions. There are some additional activity suggestions in the TM but honestly between what was in the textbook and the activity manual I never added in any of the "extras" found in the TM. Most of the suggestions that I can remember were either group activities or researching some aspect of a culture. We did the course two years ago. I will warn you that it felt like a "fact cram". That really bothered me and I do not plan on using it with my ds. Maybe someone who has the TM can chime in but that is what I remember.

 

HTH

[Rhonda in TX]

We are using Cultural Geography this year. The TM has suggestions of National Geographic issues that would have supplemental information. There are also essay and discussion ideas. There are some hands-on ideas, but I don't see a lot. There are some homeschool ideas, but not many. There are two big projects detailed in the TM, as well - one for each semester (they don't take a whole semester to do).

 

The activity manual has mapping, chapter review, and articles (excerpts from books and other sources) with questions (some critical thinking).

[PeterPan]

Chris, so what do you think you'll use the next time? :)

 

Rhonda, thanks, that's what I wanted to know! It's not quite as over the top as I need. I'm trying to figure out if I can use it as a spine. What I'm actually trying to do is a one year world history and geography survey, integrating the two. Dd is a huge history buff, but we have never, gasp, done a timeline! So I think next year we're going to work through Kingfisher and do a timeline of all the continents (her request) and just pull things together. I wanted to integrate some geography into that. Just trying to sort out how I'll do that. She loves history (LOVES), so it can easily be 2-3 hours a day for us, just very encompassing, with projects and reading and whatnot. I don't really want just to learn the names of the countries. I want something *more* without turning it into an AP class. Guess I'll go look at the Glencoe text as well. If I had something that really connected the geography and the history, that would be fabulous. I haven't seen the BJU text to know if it does that. Even if it's just a survey, it might be a good starting point. We could read, make maps and label the things, do some projects, etc. Sounds like the activity manual is a skip, at least for us.

[Chris in PA]

Well.... my ds just took a world geography class at our homeschool group and they used the Abeka text.

 

One thing I liked about the class was the teacher had them do little projects such as watch a video and answer questions about the country. I wonder if you could incorporate something like that into your history? Or what about something like World History Map Activites: https://walch.com/samplepages/028803.pdf? I have used that for dd and liked it.

 

Don't tell anyone but every time we have tried the timeline route it has been an "epic fail" as my dc would say! We are going to give it the ole' college try again this fall when my ds does Ancient history.

[Rhonda in TX]

Isn't the Abeka text a one semester class? It seems like that would give lots of time to supplement.

[PeterPan]

Well.... my ds just took a world geography class at our homeschool group and they used the Abeka text.

 

One thing I liked about the class was the teacher had them do little projects such as watch a video and answer questions about the country. I wonder if you could incorporate something like that into your history? Or what about something like World History Map Activites: https://walch.com/samplepages/028803.pdf? I have used that for dd and liked it.

 

Don't tell anyone but every time we have tried the timeline route it has been an "epic fail" as my dc would say! We are going to give it the ole' college try again this fall when my ds does Ancient history.

 

Oh squirrell! So what did you do with the timeline thing that failed? You mean you tried working through Kingfisher? Wowsers, gulp. I guess I oughtta hear the honest truth now about what can go wrong. I mean she specifically ASKED to do a timeline with a survey and get all the countries and get the things aligned in her mind. I thought it was reasonable, but I'm with you on not wanting to do something that is going to fall apart and flop. :(

 

Ooo, thanks for the Walch maps link! I had missed that!! I actually ordered some walch power basics student study guides to go with this really old BJU world history text I have. I thought they'd give some synthesis but be straightforward.

 

Well nuts, gotta keep thinking. So you're saying doing it via Kingfisher falls apart? I need to know exactly what goes wrong.

 

Rhonda, I didn't know the Abeka text was a semester class. You're onto something there. I'm also looking at some national geographic books, trying to see if I can find one that has two page spreads and gets you through painlessly and joyfully.

[HiddenJewel]

I do not remember the Cultural Geography CD-Rom in particular, but the new edition BJU CD-Rom is what made the 9th grade literature course for me. I will not use another BJU program without giving the CD-Rom a good looking at.

[Chris in PA]

Oh squirrell! So what did you do with the timeline thing that failed? You mean you tried working through Kingfisher? Wowsers, gulp. I guess I oughtta hear the honest truth now about what can go wrong. I mean she specifically ASKED to do a timeline with a survey and get all the countries and get the things aligned in her mind. I thought it was reasonable, but I'm with you on not wanting to do something that is going to fall apart and flop. :(

 

 

What went wrong was I thought I wanted a timeline and my dc did not! Of course when we start falling behind the timeline goes out the window. If your dd is asking for one, it will probably go very well. Here is a link to a really cool timeline figure template that allows you to make your own figures. Your dd might really enjoy it: http://guesthollow.com/homeschool/history/timeline.html. If you scroll down to about the middle of the page you will find the templates. We actually used this for my ds this spring to make a PA history timeline (the only one we ever completed!).

 

Yes the Abeka book is a one semester text. They just revised it and it would definately allow you the freedom to supplement as the BJU text is four times as thick!

[PeterPan]

Well if y'all want a little update, I did some checking (being scared by Chris's warning of potential failure!) and finally figured out that the BJU world history text I want to use is actually almost identical to the current 3rd edition, save for chapters added at the beginning and end and the reformatting, visuals, sidebars, that kind of thing. So there are extras, but my dd *likes* the 1st edition I have. No need to screw that up. And I like the tm for the 3rd edition a LOT. So I went ahead and ordered the tm and student activities pages for the 3rd edition and will use them with the text I have.

 

I have no clue where that leaves me with geography. I have no clue what is in the student activities as far as mapping and stuff. I'm sure it's good stuff related to this history, which will make a lot of sense to her. And I have no clue how we'll be diligent and do this timeline.

 

So that's another step. Just gotta let it come together. Here I thought my ancient text (1994) was totally different from the new one. I think she's less intimidated by it because it's not so busy visually and has narrower columns. I just assumed they had rewritten it. Since it's the same, might as well take advantage of the new features! So this is nuts, never expected this at all. Gotta hide my head in a hole or something, trying to do the 10th grade BJU history with an 8th grader, mercy. I don't suspect we'll do it all in one year, but you just never know with her.

 

I found really cool stuff along the way. (Uncommon History of Courtesy, Common Things, other books by nat'l geographic...)

[PeterPan]

I do not remember the Cultural Geography CD-Rom in particular, but the new edition BJU CD-Rom is what made the 9th grade literature course for me. I will not use another BJU program without giving the CD-Rom a good looking at.

 

Tell me more about this! What did you enjoy about the gr 9 lit?

[PeterPan]

What went wrong was I thought I wanted a timeline and my dc did not! Of course when we start falling behind the timeline goes out the window. If your dd is asking for one, it will probably go very well. Here is a link to a really cool timeline figure template that allows you to make your own figures. Your dd might really enjoy it: http://guesthollow.com/homeschool/history/timeline.html. If you scroll down to about the middle of the page you will find the templates. We actually used this for my ds this spring to make a PA history timeline (the only one we ever completed!).

 

Yes the Abeka book is a one semester text. They just revised it and it would definately allow you the freedom to supplement as the BJU text is four times as thick!

 

Chris, you are a GEM!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! That timeline link is fabulous. And what a relief to the soul to know the issue was just motivation on her part! Dd is such a go bug and doer, she'll do great with making a timeline. Now I need to look at that Abeka text.

 

I feel like such an idiot on this whole history thing and not realizing that the text we have (that she likes and wants to read) is the precursor of the current version. I have no clue now how to resolve these threads in my mind (BJU world history, Kingfisher, timeline, something maybe for geography to go with it). I'm such a nut! :lol:

[Chris in PA]

Some days I have no idea how to resolve things either! I am doing ancients (and hopefully medieval) with my 9th grade ds in the fall. I have all these resources; HoAW, Kingfisher (white) History of the World, videos from TTC, Stobaugh's new World History. Still trying to decide a path to take. Didn't help that I stumbled on the 625 post CiRCE thread on the K-8 board. My head is spinning right now. Deep breaths! That's what I keep telling myself.

[Susan C.]

Elizabeth, I looked at both A Beka and BJU when we did geography. Both of my dc did BJU. What is great about BJU is that there is a lot of history included. That is what makes it longer (and way more interesting, the history is the glue that holds it together). A Beka is bare bones, and v-e-r-y dry. BJU is a little bit of a fact cram, but there is so much there. You can pick and choose what you want to do. We did 2nd edition, but found ordering the map book as opposed to the activity manual was plenty. It was good to have their maps. I don't know if that is an option w/3rd edition, but you might be able to order 2nd edition blank maps and the key as well.

 

Adding: You might be able to get by w/just the T/E. The text is printed on each page, and is usually large enough to use as a text.

Edited April 30, 2012 by Susan C.
more

[Rhonda in TX]

I wanted to mention that my son has loved studying geography this year. I've been getting a lot of, "Hey, Mom, did you know....", which is not typical for him. He also gets excited when he hears about some country he just studied mentioned on the news. All in all, I've been very happy with BJU's geography.

[PeterPan]

Elizabeth, I looked at both A Beka and BJU when we did geography. Both of my dc did BJU. What is great about BJU is that there is a lot of history included. That is what makes it longer (and way more interesting, the history is the glue that holds it together). A Beka is bare bones, and v-e-r-y dry. BJU is a little bit of a fact cram, but there is so much there. You can pick and choose what you want to do. We did 2nd edition, but found ordering the map book as opposed to the activity manual was plenty. It was good to have their maps. I don't know if that is an option w/3rd edition, but you might be able to order 2nd edition blank maps and the key as well.

 

Adding: You might be able to get by w/just the T/E. The text is printed on each page, and is usually large enough to use as a text.

 

That was what got me started down this route of thinking I could run the world and geography parallel! My SIL was telling me there was a lot of history in there. My dd is crazy for history. When I mentioned breaking up the geography over a couple of years, my SIL thought that was really sensible. I didn't realize the maps and activities might be separate. I'll have to go check, thanks for the heads-up! :)

[PeterPan]

I wanted to mention that my son has loved studying geography this year. I've been getting a lot of, "Hey, Mom, did you know....", which is not typical for him. He also gets excited when he hears about some country he just studied mentioned on the news. All in all, I've been very happy with BJU's geography.

 

Yup, that's a good sign for our house too. Now to get my hands on it! :)

[PeterPan]

Some days I have no idea how to resolve things either! I am doing ancients (and hopefully medieval) with my 9th grade ds in the fall. I have all these resources; HoAW, Kingfisher (white) History of the World, videos from TTC, Stobaugh's new World History. Still trying to decide a path to take. Didn't help that I stumbled on the 625 post CiRCE thread on the K-8 board. My head is spinning right now. Deep breaths! That's what I keep telling myself.

 

What a hoot! Thanks for making me feel sane! :lol: But seriously, I don't want to take it up to the level of HoAW, not for 8th. She's on the young end of her grade anyway (spring birthday) and then to bump it up further is just too much. That's why I'm sticking with what she has been drawn to. Figure I can't go wrong that way, right? :)

[HiddenJewel]

Tell me more about this! What did you enjoy about the gr 9 lit?

 

When I first received the books I was quite frustrated. The material would teach her what I wanted to know but it was just the same old read and answer the questions format. I just was not feeling the love at all. Then I opened up the CD-Rom and looked at all the assignments there and realized that the year wasn't going to be a loss after all. There are a lot of worksheets that lead the student into literature analysis is a non-threatening way. They remind me a lot of the Tapestry of Grace logic literature except on a high school level.

 

There is also a schedule in the TM that includes the material from the text and the CD-Rom.

 

I wonder if you can email BJU and ask for a sample of the CD-Rom?

[PeterPan]

Thanks for sharing that! :)

[PeterPan]

Ok, I've been thinking about this a bit more. I think it's nuts to do the BJU Cultural Geography alongside their World History, even if you spread both out. That's just too crazy. I found a post by Angela in Ohio saying she did the Cultural Geography first and THEN did the BJU World spread out. That makes more sense. If we do the Kingfisher book alongside the BJU cultural geography, that would be sane. Doing the cultural geography plus the timeline plus the Kingfisher and BJU world, even over the course of a couple years, just doesn't make sense. It's too many directions or thought processes at once.

 

So now I need to get a hold of the Cultural Geography to see if I even like it. I'm glad I ordered the BJU World stuff, because that's definitely where I want to go next. It's just confusing to do too many things at once. I've been looking at Kingfisher a bit, and it's really a step lower (than the BJU World). It's fine, because she'd be covering it quickly and pulling it all together in her mind with timelines. I think it would work out. I'm just the goober who thought I had the perfect narrative spine to go with it and then didn't.

[Susan C.]

That was what got me started down this route of thinking I could run the world and geography parallel! My SIL was telling me there was a lot of history in there. My dd is crazy for history. When I mentioned breaking up the geography over a couple of years, my SIL thought that was really sensible. I didn't realize the maps and activities might be separate. I'll have to go check, thanks for the heads-up! :)

 

The 3rd edition is different, I don't know if there is a separate activity book. If there is, there was way too much to do (and a lot of repeat from what was already being done in the text), the maps are in the activity book. Its just that maps are all we did in the activity book, so it was cheaper to get the maps separately.

[Susan C.]

Elizabeth,

What grade is your dd? We always did geography in 9th grade. Then trying to do all of world history in 10th was just plain awful. Talk about fact cram! I said if I had a 3rd child (I don't) that I would skip geography in 9th, or do it earlier. Then take two years for world history. I really liked Spiegvogel's Human Odyssey. But its 1100 pages. So 550 pages a year would be very doable.

[PeterPan]

Yup, that's where I'm headed with it. We'd do the geography and Kingfisher plus timeline (her request) for 8th and start the world history in 9th, spreading it out over several years and adding in Spielvogel, Kagan, GB, whatever. I've been reading a lot of posts by you and the others, hehe. When I started pulling this together, I didn't realize the edition I had of the BJU world history was so similar. I just figured it had been rewritten after all this time. It didn't intimidate dd, so I figured we'd just blow through it. Now I'm finding this good stuff to go with it and would rather wait, get through puberty, do the geography, then hit world and slow down. That will make more sense. 8th is looking like it will be a crunchy time of lots of growth, a good year to be sensible. :)

[HollyDay]

Elizabeth, it sounds like we are thinking along the same lines for history and geography. Dd and I also like the BJU World history. I'm planning on geography for 8th and the first book of World history for 9th. I'm calling that ancient history and supplementing with lots of awesome literature and writing. The 2nd book will be covered in 10th and labeled World History, also with bunches of great literature included. I also hope to add some art and music to the 10th grade study since that time period covered had such an explosion in the arts.

 

Have you looked at Paradigm World Geography at all. I was set to buy BJU Cultural geo (3rd edition) when I heard about Paradigm. 2 different people told me they used BJU for on set of dc but chose Paradigm for their next set. They said it was not so much a "fact cram" and could be covered in 1 semester or 2. I like the idea that we can flesh it out with literature and more art. I've not seen it in person and plan to at convention next month. I'm picturing a unit study with art/music/food from the region and studying literature from or about the area. BUT, I've only seen samples on line. It is black and white and my dc are not overly happy with that.

 

From what I've seen so far (and again, I've not seen PAC in person), with BJU I would need to decide what *not* to include and with PAC I would need to decide what I would *add*. Different mindset to consider there.

 

Just another idea to consider. If you've taken a peak at PAC, I'd LOVE to know your thoughts on it.

 

Also, we looked at Runkles at our local used book sale. It is not cultural (which I really want), so I would need to add a bunch of extra to it to make the study what I want. But, my dc liked the layout and color of the book. So, I've got to take that into consideration.......

[PeterPan]

Holly, I hadn't looked at that particular PAC course before but pulled it up on CBD. Some of the text is interesting. The activities pages aren't going to fit my dd. She's just not a workbooky, textbooky child. I don't know how the BJU will work out for us. It may turn out just to be springboard for me. I'm so weary at this point in my life, I'd be cool with that. I have some theories on how it could work with the reading. I got the Trail Guide notebook pages, haven't even opened them yet to look. I don't know if they're for world or US or both, lol, probably should check. Anyways, Angela in Ohio has posts about setting up a geography notebook using them. My theory is to pursue something along that line, with her *drawing* as she reads. You could have a map and add the points onto it (pineapples, stick people for tourists, volcanoes, etc., to go with the sample text they showed on Hawaii). Definitely it would be good to do the vocab notebooking pages the cd includes that help you create a visual dictionary. So I saw potential there. Or maybe we won't read the text and we'll just use it as organization and talking points. I found a college text (World Regional Geography by Hobbs) that was way too blech to actually use with her but which had really interesting controversies for each region listed in their toc. (Chechnya, caste system, Kyoto protocol, etc.)

 

I definitely want her to do current events. I think that's huge in making connections with knowledge. We tend to watch Fox news, and they're pathetic about covering the rest of the world. I'll have to figure out how she'll get that info.

 

So I've ordered it. I suppose I could cancel, but I just haven't seen the BJU in person to have a strong opinion. I also think there's some wisdom to working up through the levels and getting used to their 9th gr stuff before you try their 10th. She has really basic goals for this coming year (making a timeline pulling together world history) and is hitting puberty pretty hard. She wakes up every morning asking for something to DO to get out her energy. She's out weeding flower beds as we speak. So if we do it imperfectly and just pull out the components we want, I don't care. I just need a starting point. I actually have enough materials on my shelves to do geography WITHOUT the BJU. To me it's a framework, discussion points, maps, maybe a few interesting activities. If it helps me pull things together, it has done what I wanted. I'll probably be ruthless chopping stuff or lose my sanity. I already decided how I'm going to use the BJU physical science. I'm going to do the labs with her and skip as much of the rest as possible. (I'm comfortable teaching it that way.) She really only needs a few hours a week of science, and it will get it to that point. I have the text coming as well, to let her use as a reference and we'll throw in some Hakim history of science and biographies. I'm saying it's going to be an imperfect year for us and I'm cool with that. I don't feel like I'm dealing with a person who's ready to sit down and be profound, not at the moment. Too much wiggles and growth going on. She needs to be out there weeding and doing.

 

BTW, what I'm HOPING the BJU geography will bring to the plate is the history of the areas. We'll see. She's a huge history buff. I found her a really great Nat'l Geographic visual timeline book that has all the regions of the world and the developments that were going on, the very thing she was wanting to make (on steroids, hehe). I'm hoping she'll like it.

[Chris in PA]

Eilzabeth/Holly,

Maybe this needs to be a spin off thread but I am curious what you like so much about the BJU world history? I had considered that for my ds next year and spreading it out over two years as Holly suggested. Guess I am looking at the Stobaugh stuff thinking this is not enough.

[PeterPan]

Chris, I have a 1st edition of the bju text (same text, newer is prettier and has two added chapters and better sidebars), and my dd just plain likes it. It's clearly written by someone who LIKES history, and that shows. What I notice in the student activities materials (which are included in the new edition texts or can be purchased separately) is that they have them analyzing primary sources, learning how you think through and weigh things, and bring in synthesis. I think mapping in history is EXTREMELY important, mainly because I really struggled with it in freshman history of civ, haha... Nuts, I struggled with the entirety of that history of civ course, and I took it as a senior!

 

I don't know if the chapter questions my 1st edition has are still in the new editions. I like them. In my edition they're divided between what TOG calls accountability questions (list the causes, outline the stages, give the reasons) and things that would be discussion questions in TOG (compare and contrast, does a christian have the right..., what is the source of liberty...). Also, when I look at the tm I see things I can dissect and make much like what I liked in TOG. For each chapter and each section of reading within the chapter you have clearly delineated student goals. I can type those up (or maybe they're in a pdf on the cd? That woudl be super cool) and use them as accountability questions or a reading guide for her to use with the text. I like the discussion points they have in the tm. I think TOG/Marcia S. is right on there with the need to TALK about the issues. So what I'm seeing is all the tools I was looking for in a format that is compact and affordable.

 

I've already got the text and know she likes it. The rest to me is bonus. If I had gone with TOG, I was going to have to add the BJU text and Kagan onto it. This way the BJU text is scheduled and I just add Kagan on. All those activity pages and discussion and accountability questions are there. It will take a little formatting to get it like I want, but I see the potential. I'm probably nuts. All I know is that I need something *I* can work with. GB aren't meant to be done alone, and I can't work in a vacuum. It's just not a strength for me (history). So I'm picking what *I* can work with and trimming and making it work for her. I can't teach out of nothing. I liked TOG as a concept and adore Marcia S., but this is going to get me to where I need to be in a simpler fashion.

 

I've glanced at Stobaugh's stuff a bit. I'm sure it's fine for someone. It just wasn't what I was looking for. I tried to compare how various curricula (Omnibus, TOG, Stobaugh, BJU, etc.) handled basic texts (Gilgamesh, Code of Hammurabi, etc.). BJU doesn't obviously do any lit analysis of it or in-depth study, but they added a ton on the history side. I have Omnibus 1 and 2. Stobaugh wasn't really doing anything better for me in that respect, so I just moved on. But I guess it's showing that my biggest criteria right now is whether it's something I can work with. If you like it and it's a structure you can work with, by all means use it. There's always something else out there to look at, lol. It's not like you can research and find perfection on this. Whatever helps you pick it up and get it done is probably good enough. :)

Edited April 30, 2012 by OhElizabeth

[HollyDay]

Eilzabeth/Holly,

Maybe this needs to be a spin off thread but I am curious what you like so much about the BJU world history? I had considered that for my ds next year and spreading it out over two years as Holly suggested. Guess I am looking at the Stobaugh stuff thinking this is not enough.

 

hi Chris!!

 

Similar situation to Elizabeth. Dd just likes the flow of the BJU World text. She did not at all like the Notgrass text. She said it was too dry and didn't like it. BJU is more colorful and the text seems to be more enjoyable. I sometimes have to "tone down" BJU, but we'll see after we get into it. The layout fits well with a 2 year study IMHO. But, I've got to get geography figured out first! :)

[PeterPan]

Yeah, we won't even get into how rude she (dd) was at the Notgrass booth when I tried to show it to her. She took one look and starting issuing proclamations. I felt so bad, because I think the gentleman author was standing very close. But you know, to each his own; I'm sure it fits some kids very well. She was just showing that she's still "not a skilled communicator" yet as Marcia S. so kindly put it. ;)

[HollyDay]

I've spoken on the phone with the author of Notgrass and he is a very kind gentleman. And yes, it is true that not every curriculum fits every student. Unfortunately, Notgrass is not a good fit for us. I know several families who like it quite a bit and wouldn't consider ever using BJU (which seems to work well for us).

[PeterPan]

Holly, I was thinking about this some more. Have you looked at the Oak Meadow Geography? It uses the Glencoe World Geography text. The OM guide for it seems to age some age-appropriate, creative hands-on. Might get it just for that to go with the BJU text. Of course I haven't gotten the BJU text. Might melt and die when I see it. The Glencoe text is a totally different flavor obviously. Maybe it with OM would be the thing you're looking for?

 

BTW, I found it because I was looking at art options. I want to do something and save the Discovering Art History text (Brommer) that I have for when we do the BJU World History. Discovering is AMAZING, amazing, amazing, with thorough coverage, projects for every chapter, etc. I got the Gombrich book Story of Art from the library and was thinking we could do that this coming year with the OM syllabus. It includes some projects. I'm not sure if they'd be too loose and unstructured for my dd or if they'd be great. You just never know with her. Sometimes she doesn't like things with pencils, then she'll take to Manga (drawing) which is totally pencil. She's an odd bird.

 

Anyways, just something to look at. I talked with someone else from the boards (MagicWand) who said they did the OM geography last year and really enjoyed it.

[HollyDay]

Elizabeth, I did get a look at Glencoe Geography recently and it is very nice looking. Very colorful and well done. I've also got McDougal Littell World Cultures and Geography (used book sale purchase). It is also very visual. My oldest really likes the look and feel of Runkles also, but that does not include culture........

 

Art......Thank you for telling me about the Brommer book. I will look at that as soon as I am done with this post :). I've got:

50 Artists You Should Know by Koster

Annotated Mona Lisa

Art a Brief History by Stokstad

Understanding Art by Lois Fichner-Rathus

Dk's Great Paintings.

 

I also have some impressionist books and such floating around the house. Most of the above books I found recently at a used book store and couldn't pass them up!

[PeterPan]

Brommer is really meaty. I want to do that along with the BJU World. Do you like Annotated Mona Lisa? I don't know that I've ever seen it. I recently found some Sister Wendy books at the library and find them very interesting. You could almost do just those for a year.

[HollyDay]

Brommer is really meaty. I want to do that along with the BJU World. Do you like Annotated Mona Lisa? I don't know that I've ever seen it. I recently found some Sister Wendy books at the library and find them very interesting. You could almost do just those for a year.

 

Annotated is okay. It is not as colorful/visual as I would like. But, I got it for a great price at a used book sale so no complaints. Have you considered Glencoe's World Geo??

[PeterPan]

Haven't seen the Glencoe World Geography in person to have an opinion. I prefer christian or neutral. I couldn't tell if it was going to get really pc or whatever. Definitely the activities in the OM syllabus interest me. I'm definitely thinking I'll buy that. She started cracking up when she read their activities for the sample lesson of the Story of Art. It definitely appeals to her creative, out of the box side.

 

The BJU has already shipped, so I'll finally have it in-hand to look at. Do you have the Glencoe? Have you found any samples online? That's what I'm looking for. Ok, idiot that I am, I re-googled and found the samples. Now to look at them!

[HollyDay]

Haven't seen the Glencoe World Geography in person to have an opinion. I prefer christian or neutral. I couldn't tell if it was going to get really pc or whatever. Definitely the activities in the OM syllabus interest me. I'm definitely thinking I'll buy that. She started cracking up when she read their activities for the sample lesson of the Story of Art. It definitely appeals to her creative, out of the box side.

 

The BJU has already shipped, so I'll finally have it in-hand to look at. Do you have the Glencoe? Have you found any samples online? That's what I'm looking for. Ok, idiot that I am, I re-googled and found the samples. Now to look at them!

 

I've not seen samples of Glencoe. I've sat for quite a while looking at BJU Cultural. It is colorful/visual. Youngest dd likes it better than PAC. But, oldest likes the direct approach of PAC. Glencoe is always so visual and the used price is nice

[PeterPan]

http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/socialstudies/ose/national.html Here's the link!!! They have extensive samples. Just pull down the right book and it will pop open. You know *I* am drawn to the Glencoe book. It's incredibly visual, but it has these interesting bits and is very perfunctory and trivia-oriented. People have said the BJU is filled with history. What you *might* do is use the Glencoe with your older (if she happens to like it, her personality being different from your younger) and use the BJU with your younger. Then you'd get a mix of texts. You could then use the OM syllabus to pull them together and have activities to suit your younger.

 

I think a mix of texts would be complementary and might work well with two kids... Oh, and when I say *I* like something, that's usually my big red flag that my dd won't, hehe. We're polar opposites. It's really pathetic. :)

[PeterPan]

So Holly, did you ever figure out what you're doing? The BJU cultural geography came today, and I'm so in shock I don't know what to think, lol. It really doesn't match any of the descriptions I had seen. The tests seem to cover the content from the student objects for each section of reading (as listed in the tm) and don't seem nitpicky at all. It doesn't cover nearly as much history as I thought it would from comments I had been given (irl). And the mapping and analysis isn't nearly as detailed or thoughtful or analytical as I had expected.

 

I guess what I had in my mind or was expecting was an AP class, because this isn't. It's really just a lot of whats with a few chances to ponder issues (environment, eastern orthodoxy vs. roman catholicism, etc.). It's ok for what it is, and for someone like me it would have been fine. I don't know that it has the spark dd needs. I thought I'd play around with the Kingfisher and see if by rearranging those pages by region it would start to come together. I have a scad of Enchantment of the World books that really do well about going into the history of the countries. Problem is, the pace is so FAST, you really CAN'T do all those countries in-depth. It's almost like all that content in the text is there just hoping SOMETHING will grab at them and create a peg or a visual image to put with the name, because the content doesn't get tested. The content that gets tested is really basic compared to the actual content of the text.

 

My take is they're trying to teach test-taking and notetaking from a text that is less explicitly outlined than the earlier grades of material were. In that sense it's a good stepping stone to the BJU World history. I just am trying to step back and figure out my goals and if it's getting us there, as it's not what I thought. There's no romance, no enjoyment, no dwelling or intrigue. It's just whiz-bang boom.

[HiddenJewel]

So Holly, did you ever figure out what you're doing? The BJU cultural geography came today, and I'm so in shock I don't know what to think, lol. It really doesn't match any of the descriptions I had seen. The tests seem to cover the content from the student objects for each section of reading (as listed in the tm) and don't seem nitpicky at all. It doesn't cover nearly as much history as I thought it would from comments I had been given (irl). And the mapping and analysis isn't nearly as detailed or thoughtful or analytical as I had expected.

 

I guess what I had in my mind or was expecting was an AP class, because this isn't. It's really just a lot of whats with a few chances to ponder issues (environment, eastern orthodoxy vs. roman catholicism, etc.). It's ok for what it is, and for someone like me it would have been fine. I don't know that it has the spark dd needs. I thought I'd play around with the Kingfisher and see if by rearranging those pages by region it would start to come together. I have a scad of Enchantment of the World books that really do well about going into the history of the countries. Problem is, the pace is so FAST, you really CAN'T do all those countries in-depth. It's almost like all that content in the text is there just hoping SOMETHING will grab at them and create a peg or a visual image to put with the name, because the content doesn't get tested. The content that gets tested is really basic compared to the actual content of the text.

 

My take is they're trying to teach test-taking and notetaking from a text that is less explicitly outlined than the earlier grades of material were. In that sense it's a good stepping stone to the BJU World history. I just am trying to step back and figure out my goals and if it's getting us there, as it's not what I thought. There's no romance, no enjoyment, no dwelling or intrigue. It's just whiz-bang boom.

 

Was there anything good on the Teacher CD-Rom?

 

As much as I like BJU, their history is definitely a textbook history and doesn't have the pizzaz I prefer.

[PeterPan]

Oh mercy, I had forgotten about the cd! I can try it. I still don't know what I'm going to do with it or not do. It needs a big kick in the seat of the pants and some LIFE, that's for sure.

 

I'm toying ideas like whether it's nuts to use a history spine (History of the World in 100 Objects, which has podcasts) and cover the countries as the occur in the podcasts. I went through the list tonight, and it's surprisingly evenly distributed around the world. Canada gets short shrift, oh well. But I'm trying to figure out what I'm giving up at that point and whether that's good or bad. She thinks more in narratives, with connections, relationships. Just giving lots of facts, all spread out mathematically on a grid, might be a flop. I don't even know. I want it to work, and it's just DEAD in the water at the moment. It needs narrative, pizzazz, a reason.

[HiddenJewel]

Oh mercy, I had forgotten about the cd! I can try it. I still don't know what I'm going to do with it or not do. It needs a big kick in the seat of the pants and some LIFE, that's for sure.

 

That is exactly how I felt about the 9th grade lit before I saw the CD-Rom. However, I'm not sure you will find the narrative, pizzaz, etc. on the CD-rom. But it is definitely worth a look.

[PeterPan]

Well I looked at it a bit. A lot of it is maps or charts of stuff. It's not really interactive or anything you do, just more in the realm of things to look at and discuss.

 

Guess I'll just keep thinking and see if anything comes to me on how to use it.

[krstbrwn]

So Holly, did you ever figure out what you're doing? The BJU cultural geography came today, and I'm so in shock I don't know what to think, lol. It really doesn't match any of the descriptions I had seen. The tests seem to cover the content from the student objects for each section of reading (as listed in the tm) and don't seem nitpicky at all.

 

Okay, I feel kind of bad now. I used BJU Cultural, and I felt it was definitely nit picky. My daughter studied hours for a test once, and she still didn't do great on it. We tried to make sure she studied all review questions and the student objects, but it was never enough. There were so many facts, it was hard to know it all. Maybe I didn't look closely enough at the student objects. I do know it wasn't what I wanted. The facts were interesting, but I was looking for her to learn more rather than trying to cram for a test. It just didn't achieve what I wanted it to. My two cents. :)

[PeterPan]

Kristi, don't feel bad. It may be it's much more nitpicky than I'm catching. I'm still flummoxed as to what to do with it. It's definitely a fact cram in the sense that it's a bunch of disconnected facts, no narrative, no synthesis, no flow. I'm just not sure what I can do with it. That's not at all how my dd learns. :(

[HiddenJewel]

What about instead of trying to make BJU fit, you just have her research a list of countries including finding a book(s) about them? You could set the parameters on what all you want her to know about a country. Then she could make a notebook with all the information. Make it more an investigative course instead of a read/recite course.

[PeterPan]

Yup, that's where I'm going with it. I have this huge shelf of books I've collected, because I've been meaning and meaning to do this and never gotten around to doing it right.

[Karis]

Looked into the BJU cultural, as well. Somebody said it was one semester - Ha!! They were mistaken!!!

 

Around the World in 180 Days, the DK Geography Book, memorizing countries & capitals, doing geo puzzles, labeling blank maps, and doing some on-line games worked for us.

 

Have fun.

[PeterPan]

Well I'm sending it back. It's just not getting us close enough to where she needs to be, and it's expensive and stressing me out. I'm ordering the Oak Meadow and that, along with the goodies we have, should be fine.

[ks-sunflower]

Someone suggested the IB geography resources once

Geography for the IB Diploma Patterns and Change [Paperback]

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521147336/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

My 10th grade ds is working through BJU Cultural Geo but we may do some topics in the IB Geography book - very different approaches.