MOH by itself or with Biblioplan

[mama26]

Need help deciding what to do for my 9th grader this year. I am torn between doing MOH as is because it has the mapping and notebooking and extra literature. But so does Biblioplan. I have heard that Biblioplan uses MOH but skips around with it. Does it actually use the entire book or just bits and pieces? I also like the emphasis on church history and missionary biographies that Biblioplan has.

 

I just don't know what to do.I have looked at Biblioplans 3-week samples and liked what I saw. However I thought the Companion looked like it was written in more of a piecemeal fashion with factual information unlike MOH which is written in more of a story format, which I like. I have pros and cons for both options.

 

Any help out there from those of you who have used either of these options?

 

thanks :)

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

We just finished MOH Vol. 1 for 9th grade. We did not use Biblioplan. MOH on it's own is a full course. With all the research work assigned in the High School level the student learns so much more then the topic covered in the MOH readings. There is some church history researched/read about in just the MOH. I cannot remember if there was mention of missionary work in Vol. 1 The map work was very informative and not just the typical map work. Some had many layers and most needed more work then just look at a map and copy onto your own map. There were many studies on Biblical info such as the importance of numbers (not the book), treatment of women, meaning of the temple, and much more. I gave my son a History credit and a Bible credit for this course.

I have used BJU History, Sonlight, Abeka, in the past for World History at the High School level and this is the first year I feel my child has actually learned history on a deeper level. This is also the first time one of my sons has actually asked for a specific history curriculum...he insisted we do vol. 2 (and any more they have).

[1Togo]

We're using Biblioplan Year 1 and like it for the following reasons:

 

1) The Companion is interesting although it is not written as a narrative, and dd likes the color pictures (often famous works of art) and maps. I thought we would need to add a narrative-type history text, but that hasn't been the case. The Cool History questions and Bible reading tie everything together. Though not necessary, we are using Old Testament Challenge to add to our Bible reading.

 

2) The timeline is easy to do. In other words, for the first time ever, we are actually completing a timeline.

 

3) The mapwork is excellent, requires research, and often includes a link between ancient and modern geography.

 

4) Quarterly tests for geography and history that aren't too nit-picky or easy.

 

5) One solid research essay/topic per week. We are working with a writing curriculum and write for literature, so this is enough writing for history.

 

6) Similar to WTM schedule; i.e. two or so days of history with three days for literature. BP is a good fit if you want to focus on literature with history as a background. This doesn't mean the student doesn't learn history. They do, but the BP schedule leaves enough time for studying the Great Books. Dd does other reading connected with the time period; i.e. art, architecture, historical economics, and Bible history (BP schedules Victor Journey for Year 1).

 

7) Since BP does not include lit guides, you can handle this any way you want; i.e. guides (Smarr, Questions for the Thinker, Worldview Academy, Wes Calihan's guides from Veritas Press, Greenleaf Press, Memoria Press, etc.), SWB's WEM, just reading, etc. Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings would also work with BP Year 1 and 2.

 

8) The Family Guide includes reading suggestions for all grade levels; i.e. historical fiction, spines, Great Books, etc. I like having a wide range of options even though we only have a high school student.

 

Most Companion chapters have a Bible Focus section, and Year 2, which is being updated, has lots of chuch history from what I've read on the yahoo group. Also, BP provides free ebook updates for the Family Guide. BP service has been excellent. We've had a few questions about geography, and they get back to us immediately.

 

For Year 1, I am giving one credit for World History and Geography I, one credit for Old Testament Bible, and .5 credits for Ancient Literature.

Edited June 27, 2012 by 1Togo

[mom31257]

We're using Biblioplan Year 1 and like it for the following reasons:

 

1) The Companion is interesting although it is not written as narrative, and dd enjoys the color pictures and maps. I thought we would need to add a narrative-type history text, but that hasn't been the case. The Cool History questions and Bible reading tie everything together.

 

2) The timeline is easy to do. In other words, for the first time ever, we are actually completing a timeline.

 

3) The mapwork is excellent, requires research, and often includes a link between ancient and modern geography.

 

4) Quarterly tests for geography and history that aren't too nit-picky or easy.

 

5) One solid research essay/topic per week. We are working with a writing curriculum, so this is enough writing for history.

 

6) Similar to WTM schedule; i.e. two or so days of history with three days for literature. BP is a good fit if you want to focus on literature with history as a background. Also, the schedule provides time for reading connected with the time period. We read from a variety of resources on art, architecture, historical economics, and Bible history (BP schedules Victor Journey for Year 1).

 

7) Since BP does not include lit guides, you can handle this any way you want; i.e. guides you choose, SWB's WEM, just reading, etc.

 

8) The Family Guide includes reading suggestions for all grade levels; i.e. historical fiction, spines, etc. I like having a wide range of options even though we only have a high school student.

 

We've also used other history curriculum during our homeschool years, but BP has worked best for us. Most Companion chapters have a Bible Focus section, and Year 2, which is being updated, has lots of chuch history from what I've read. Also, BP provides free ebook updates for the Family Guide. BP service has been excellent. We've had a few questions about geography, and they get back to us immediately.

 

:iagree: I did Year 1 with my kids this past year, and I chose Biblioplan for a lot of these reasons as well. I used MOH Volume 1 when dd was in 6th grade. I personally didn't want her to have to do so much research for every lesson. If I remembered correctly, most all of the assignments for high school were "research ...". I thought it would be frustrating to have to do that continually. I had dd read 2 spines besides the companion as well as doing all the mapping and cool history pages and tests. I also had her do some writing assignments from Glencoe (one of the spines) instead of all the assignments in Biblioplan (because I really liked Glencoe's). I thought it was a very full year, and she learned a lot.