Guest Laura in CT Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Hello, all--I am a long-time homeschooler who used to hang here but hasn't in a year or so, and now I have a question I'd love any input on! I currently have two boys at home; they will be in 7th and 10th grades. We did ancient history last year, a course I basically made up as we went along with spine texts and other reading. I'm planning on Omnibus II for the elder for next year but am stymied as to what to have the younger do. We've tried TOG and didn't find it a good fit. This boy doesn't like historical fiction, but I'm willing to push him some on that. I'm pondering Beautiful Feet middle ages, but really unsure... Any help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaNY Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Hi Laura, I just read your response to me in my TC thread, but I thought I'd welcome you again, and tell you that I am so glad to see you here. :001_smile: I began w/TOG last year, and finished it in the spring. I then switched over to WTM and we are having a lot more fun with history. WTM gives me a lot more control over what we cover and what we read. Have you considered WTM? Your son doesn't have to read any historical fiction if he doesn't want to. I use various "spines" to provide the overview of what we will cover, and then I usually select one non-fiction text and one fiction text. My dd likes historical fiction. Has your ds read any of the Albert Marrin books? They are usually a hit with boys. I read two of them and found them very interesting. If you want to know more about how we do WTM, just let me know. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
at the beach Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Hello, all--I am a long-time homeschooler who used to hang here but hasn't in a year or so, and now I have a question I'd love any input on! I currently have two boys at home; they will be in 7th and 10th grades. We did ancient history last year, a course I basically made up as we went along with spine texts and other reading. I'm planning on Omnibus II for the elder for next year but am stymied as to what to have the younger do. We've tried TOG and didn't find it a good fit. This boy doesn't like historical fiction, but I'm willing to push him some on that. I'm pondering Beautiful Feet middle ages, but really unsure... Any help? Ambleside online/House of Education Year 7 and Year 7 Lite cover middle ages. You can check it out at amblesideonline.org. Anita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happymom Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I'm thinking of using History Odyssey's Middle Ages Level 2 but haven't made up my mind yet. I'd love to hear all options that are out there as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyinNNV Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Winterpromise has a program called Quest for Middle Ages. Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Hi Laura, Have you considered WTM? Your son doesn't have to read any historical fiction if he doesn't want to. I use various "spines" to provide the overview of what we will cover, and then I usually select one non-fiction text and one fiction text. If you want to know more about how we do WTM, just let me know. :001_smile: :iagree: w/Lisa You could use Omnibus II with the younger ds too but use the books recommended in TWTM "Sixth Grade: Medieval-Early Ressaissance (400-1600)" section. Many of them are the same as Omnibus II but perhaps easier versions. Use Western Civilization (Omnibus II) or SOTW 2 as a spine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtsmamtj Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I have to plug Beautiful Feet and CLP BOTH. My daughter has said that this was her faviorite time period so far in history - the books suggested by BF have become some of her favorite books. I think we read the CLP Middle Ages book, but got deeper with BF. We didn't do all of the suggested reading, but many of them as some were from the same time period/place, etc. HTH T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Laura in CT Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Thanks for all input--very helpful. I guess I was hoping there was something magical that would relieve me of the need to plan out his work, but I suspect taking the WTM approach really makes the most sense. This is what happened last year--I looked for an easier solution (Biblioplan) but found it annoying and ended up planning it out myself. Thank you all, and thanks Lisa for the warm welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaNY Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Thanks for all input--very helpful. I guess I was hoping there was something magical that would relieve me of the need to plan out his work, but I suspect taking the WTM approach really makes the most sense. This is what happened last year--I looked for an easier solution (Biblioplan) but found it annoying and ended up planning it out myself. Thank you all, and thanks Lisa for the warm welcome! You're welcome, Laura! :001_smile: You know, I used TOG for the same reasons - an easier solution, and having it all planned out for me. I do have to plan with WTM, but I'm finding it much more doable than I had anticipated. And the freedom and flexibility it provides is well worth the effort! Not to mention the fact that my dd prefers our WTM studies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kRenee Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I used the textbook 'Across the Centuries' that Calvert uses for middle school. I really liked it. It is not as dry as most textbooks and covered the medieval period. Without the TM you don't have answers to the end-of-section questions, but we muddled through okay. It would be very easy to outline if that is in your schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Hello, all--I am a long-time homeschooler who used to hang here but hasn't in a year or so, and now I have a question I'd love any input on! I currently have two boys at home; they will be in 7th and 10th grades. We did ancient history last year, a course I basically made up as we went along with spine texts and other reading. I'm planning on Omnibus II for the elder for next year but am stymied as to what to have the younger do. We've tried TOG and didn't find it a good fit. This boy doesn't like historical fiction, but I'm willing to push him some on that. I'm pondering Beautiful Feet middle ages, but really unsure... Any help? My dc really liked this when I read it out loud to them: https://store.csionline.org/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=211 https://store.csionline.org/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=214 I enjoyed it, too! We read the section on the Middle Ages and discussed it over lunch each day. It CSI's 6th grade history book--not a hard read. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 We just used it for 6th and we are heading into MOH 3 for 7th. I have a Word document plugging in all the resources I wanted to use for it that you are welcome to. Send me an email if you would like to see it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmsurbat Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 It covers all the highlights of the Medieval Age (including non-Western Civ events), offers some worthwhile activities (eg. keeping track of the Chinese Dynasties to see how they flow, the excellent timeline suggestions, the quizzes which keep reviewing the information in a painless way), and allows enough to time to explore and expand to your (and son's) heart's content. In summary, MOH 2 covers the basics so you can dig deep when and how you will. HTH, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwalizer Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Can I comment on History Odyssey? I used the Ancients #2 with my 5th grade dd last year. It was do-able if I sat with her, but she's a distractable kid. It was pretty dry and should hae had some more fiction thrown in (instead of the history pockets). It was 62 lessons, which we did mostly oer 2 days & sometimes 3. The Story of Mankind, one of their spines, is fun reading but quite tongue in cheek about christianity as you get past the year 30 AD. I just got the Middle Ages #2 and it's a much more demanding schedule. There are around 120 lessons, and some of them are things like "read this book oer the next 2 weeks" while some include all of the following: read & outline, timelines, look up 5 people for entries on your biography page, and do a map. I am going to be looking to combine some lessons. On the other hand, there is more fiction included, there are worksheets (none with Ancients #2) for concepts, and I find it on the whole more appropriate for 7th/8th grade. Of course, I'll be using it with a slow-working 6th gr. 8-). Hope this helps. and overall ds liked it. It was nice not using a textbook. The schedule is pretty demanding, but of course you can tweak it. We actually didn't do the part on Africa at all. There is a lot of reading historical fiction. Some of the people they tell you to write a summery on are pretty obscure. Still, I feel it is a good program but we are switching to TRISMS for next year(and I hope we will stick with it through high school.)Their website is very thorough and there is a yahoo group. I'm so excited about it that I keep trying to talk ds into starting school early this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Here's a link to a post I bookmarked about logic stage middle ages. It's for 6th grade, but I don't think it really matters. I haven't looked at this for a while--it's mostly a booklist, but it might get you started. 6th Grade Med. Booklist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheWhoWaits Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Consider using Choosing Your Way through the World's Medieval Past as a supplement. We did Medieval as a 2 year study over 6th and 7th grade. We used CLPs Story of the Middle Ages, Greenleaf's Famous Men of the Middle Ages, and the Choosing Your Way book. Story of the Middle Ages was deemed boring. Famous Menhe liked, but I'm not sure that it's at a high enough level for a 7th grader, at least if used by itself. The Choosing Your Way book was definitely a hit. We also did a long list of historical fiction read alouds. (Ds is an aural learner, and we both enjoy the read alouds, so we still do them, even though he's in 9th grade now.) I might be able to dig up my schedule (I made up my own). If you're interested pm me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Here's a link to a post I bookmarked about logic stage middle ages. It's for 6th grade, but I don't think it really matters. I haven't looked at this for a while--it's mostly a booklist, but it might get you started.6th Grade Med. Booklist Chris, Look what I stumbled upon?? Thanks! This list is wonderful :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 We just used it for 6th and we are heading into MOH 3 for 7th. I have a Word document plugging in all the resources I wanted to use for it that you are welcome to. Send me an email if you would like to see it. :) Lizzie, Is your list still available?? :) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Hello, all--I am a long-time homeschooler who used to hang here but hasn't in a year or so, and now I have a question I'd love any input on! I currently have two boys at home; they will be in 7th and 10th grades. We did ancient history last year, a course I basically made up as we went along with spine texts and other reading. I'm planning on Omnibus II for the elder for next year but am stymied as to what to have the younger do. We've tried TOG and didn't find it a good fit. This boy doesn't like historical fiction, but I'm willing to push him some on that. I'm pondering Beautiful Feet middle ages, but really unsure... Any help? We do what I like to call TOG "lite" and use Mystery of History with Truthquest. It is pretty plug and play and we did a notebook timeline which helped with retention. We did Middle Ages last year in 6th grade. I have a schedule if you like lining them up. It won't let me attach it but I would be happy to email it to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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