CM styles and four year rotation for larger families?

[TwoEdgedSword]

I have been trying to glean from some of the other CM resources out there, having used mostly A/O and SCM up until this point. I didn't realize there were others out there like HUFI and more. Is there a resource like SCM that has the children studying the same period of history whithin a four year rotation like TWTM?

 

We have 7 kids, 14, 12, 9, 6, 5, 5, and 4.

 

Many thanks!:)

Edited May 13, 2012 by joyfulfarmbride
clearer title

[TKDmom]

I've been trying to figure out how to do the same thing. I like a lot of things about AO, but not their history rotation. Milestones Academy has all the children together on a five-year rotation. I spent a few weeks comparing AO and MA while I mulled over how I wanted to structure our history and literature selections.

 

I think I will probably end up using AO for everything except history and then use SOTW and some of SCM's books for a 4-year history rotation.

Edited May 13, 2012 by bonniebeth4

[Walking-Iris]

I've been struggling with the history rotation idea as well. I really AO and I pull ideas from their booklists, but I never have used their history recommendations. I use SOTW for that. We started late with SOTW though and my ds is not terribly into it at all. I've been thinking of just reading the texts straight through like a read aloud and having him listen to to the audios. I think the stopping for library book reading, map work, proojects and then having to pick the book up again and read the next chapter next week is causing a lack of interest in the "story." It's actually one of my main issues with AO, their schedule. Reading a bit of a book and then reading a bit more next week just kills our interest.

[TwoEdgedSword]

Bonnie~ unless I am not reading it correctly, it appears as though Milestone has a 6 year rotation period rather than 5. Anyone know of a 4 year rotation?

I would love to not be tweaking and pulling from here and there so much!

Thanks!

[Amy Jo]

From reading AO's list I've gathered that CM actually studied a century or so each year, she had an ~11 year rotation. (Ancient history was covered by Plutarch, so this was English/European history.) I think that's why most CM programs I've seen have a long rotation. I've thought about trying a 2-strand history, and speeding it up that way, but have never done it. HUFI has a 4 year rotation, then 1 year for non-western culture, then a 6 year rotation. (It's 11 years because there is not AO Yr. 12.)

[TwoEdgedSword]

I see how HUFI starts out with a 4 year rotation, but I think each level is separate, so that your Year 2 child would be at that level more as a function of the reading level of the books than the period of history you are studying. I don't see higher level books for that time period, in other words.

 

Again, I 'm no expert and these sources are new to me, but so far I have only seen that SCM schedules different books for the same time period so the whole family can study together.

 

I do like SCM and I think I can tweak it if I need it to be meatier. I just thought maybe there was another source like this one where families can stay on the same history rotation together?:bigear:

 

Thanks again!

[LindaOz]

I do like SCM and I think I can tweak it if I need it to be meatier. I just thought maybe there was another source like this one where families can stay on the same history rotation together?:bigear:

 

 

That's what I was going to suggest - tweaking SCM. I think it would be fairly easy to do as the first 2 or 3 modules seem to move fairly slowly so you could speed them up.

 

Maybe another option (and one I have started to move into) is Diana Waring's History. Her books are divided into three time periods: Ancient, Middle, and Modern, but you could just adjust your progress to fit with the four year cycle if you wanted to. The beauty of it is that all your kids could be studying the same topic at their own levels as there are a variety of activities and writing assignments suitable for different ages. There is also a junior activity book for younger kids. I'm also going to use SOTW with my younger kids along with the relevant units as we go.

 

I recently did the first unit from Book 1 (on creation) and just had the kids doing reading at own levels but we still had some discussions etc together as well as a whole family read-aloud that was related to the topic. It was great - I just had to adjust the output required for each child's level. They wrote narrations, did dictations and copywork from the sources we used, and my older kids did extra research andwrote an essay or two as well. We notebooked and so each child ended up with a display of their completed work.

 

Anyway, just my thoughts. Here's the link if you are interested http://www.dianawaring.com/our-curriculum/basic-overview

Edited May 13, 2012 by LindaOz

[LillyMama]

I know TOG is not considered a classical method, but they do a four year cycle. You could use them for their era break outs and book recommendations, even if you then just used those to modify the pace on the other curricula you like? Although I guess that sounds like a lot of work when I type it out.

 

I just want to commiserate- I got my CC stuff today, I'd forgotten they use a three year cycle. Now I have to try to pace and modify so it matches SOTW and TOG, which we're already using. Bleurg.

[Ohmomjacquie]

Mfw is a classical, cm mix and they have a 5 year history cycle with kids 2nd grade and up together.

[TwoEdgedSword]

Thanks ladies! Some good food for thought! I will check out D. Waring especially. Would her style be classified as Unit Study then? If let's say "the mom" is not so great with hands on activities but did all the readings, would it still be meaty and thorough? "This mom" I know is not so great at activities!:tongue_smilie:

 

Thanks!

[iafrmgrl77]

"This mom" I know is not so great at activities!:tongue_smilie:

 

 

"This other mom" I know isn't so great at activities either, but "she" would love to hear more about Waring's studies! :bigear:

[TKDmom]

Bonnie~ unless I am not reading it correctly, it appears as though Milestone has a 6 year rotation period rather than 5. Anyone know of a 4 year rotation?

I would love to not be tweaking and pulling from here and there so much!

Thanks!

 

You're right! Sorry, I must have gotten muddled, because I remembered that they use the M.B. Synge books for 5 years (and then SOTW4 for the last year).

 

Anyways, I keep coming back to the idea of using the last 3 years of SCM's history, and then using other things for ancient history--either combing elements from SCM's first 3 modules or using something totally different. (We're just finishing up ancients, so I don't have to worry about that for another 4 years ;)).

[TwoEdgedSword]

Bonnie~ no worries! And I must say thank you for the idea of just doing another thing for the Ancients altogether and sticking with SCM for the rest of the modules. I can't believe that didn't even occur to me! I was too busy trying to find "it!"

 

Anyway, that would certainly open us up to more possiblities. I might even try to go with All Through the Ages for that period.

 

Kimberly

[LindaOz]

Thanks ladies! Some good food for thought! I will check out D. Waring especially. Would her style be classified as Unit Study then? If let's say "the mom" is not so great with hands on activities but did all the readings, would it still be meaty and thorough? "This mom" I know is not so great at activities!:tongue_smilie:

 

 

Yep, I would say that the Diana Waring material would come under the unit study banner except that the units are not random but quite consecutive as they follow through history. So, there is a whole creative/hands on section for each unit but you could just leave it out if you really did not want to go there. There is still plenty of reading, writing, discussion etc to do even if you don't do the hands on.

 

Alternatively, you could give the book to the kids and say 'pick one of those activities to do' and let them at it ;) .

[TwoEdgedSword]

Thanks Linda~ I will take a closer look at Diana Waring's materials as well. My kids would be fine with running activities without me and I may be too if they don't destory the house!;)