Pros and Cons of Ancient History in the Primary Grades

[CourtneySue]

(I have tried finding threads on this, but just can't seem to. Most likely I'm just not using the right search terms because I would be surprised if it hasn't been discussed already.)

 

I thought this would be a good place to ask this question since I know a lot of families on this board do ancient history in the early years. There are several homeschooling speakers I've heard who advocate waiting on Ancient History until later--the reasons range from being careful of exposing kids to mythology before they are well-grounded in scripture to the fact that there are a lot better books available to younger kids in other time periods, especially american history. One of my personal concerns is just a lack of appreciation for the ancient world.

 

Have any of you noticed any downsides? What are the upsides to starting early?

 

(I did spend first grade doing primarily American history. We plan on continuing our American history studies, but I want to add in something else with it. I'm debating starting with Ancient history or medieval like Ambleside. We already follow Ambleside lit pretty closely.)

[*Lulu*]

We use a 5 year cycle here, and covered ancients in the last part of Punk's 1st and the first half of his 2nd grade year. I will tell you that he still remembers a great deal from that period, especially the two or three civilizations he was most interested in during that time. He was very interested in mythical creatures and continued to read everything he could get his hands on through our library system long after we had moved on. Even now when we read works that reference the myths or thier creatures he is able to make the connections. When we studied the US constitution he made the connection that it was built on ideas that were much older than just a few rebel colonies. As we have moved through history he has several times made comments that let me know he retained more than I expected on our first trip through the cycle. (Like when we read about Napoleon declaring himeself emperor; Punk sighed loudly and said, "Well that never ends well." :) )

 

For us it has been a very good experience and, while I have racked my brain, I cannot think of a single con we have encountered.

[Lucy the Valiant]

One humorous con: My rising 1st grade son seems incapable of drawing a birthday card, get-well card, thank-you card, or any other original artwork that doesn't involve (A) Protestants and Catholics waving battle flags and charging each other or (B) intricately armored European soldiers and chariots locked in battle to the death.

 

:lol:

 

He also can't figure out why the Minutemen couldn't get over to Ashurbanipal and those Assyrians in time to make any significant contributions to the war effort (we've done SOTW 1 & 2, but we also live in New England - "Mom, you know! They were ready in ONE MINUTE!" ). :lol:

[mystika1]

I tried using Sotw with my dd twice and ended up putting it away both times. She would constantly beg me stick with ancient egypt. She loved it so much. I ended up getting tons of library books and let her have her fill. I read and she would narrate. If the child is interested in the material they will retain so much. I didn't learn any history until around 7th or 8th grade so she already knows more history than I knew at her age.

 

Penny

[Alte Veste Academy]

For us it has been a very good experience and, while I have racked my brain, I cannot think of a single con we have encountered.

 

:iagree:

 

And I will add that anyone who says there aren't enough wonderful books for the younger set needs to visit a library or cozy up to their computer and do a quick search on Amazon. :lol:

 

I can kind of get the mythology argument from a Christian POV, sort of...a little. However, one of the things I have enjoyed most about our early mythology reading and concurrent study of the Bible is that it opens the kids' eyes and hearts up to the wide diversity of belief in this great big, wonderful world. Of course, I sometimes get the impression that is exactly what some people are trying to avoid when they say to stay away from mythology in the early years. :tongue_smilie: Fear based avoidance is what it always will be, narrow-minded.

[boscopup]

My oldest did fine with it. We did SOTW 1 and 2 in first and second grade, and he read 3 and 4 on his own - multiple times. We're doing US history now. He loves mythology, but he also has a good grounding in our faith.

 

My middle son, I don't think is ready for stories about gods and such. He's very literal and still figuring out which things are real, so SOTW 1 would confuse him, I think.

 

We had no trouble finding kid-friendly books for the ancient time period.

[ChandlerMom]

I think ancient history is easier for younger kids to understand (simpler motivations and needs) and society builds in complexity as the child is building in their ability to understand it -- natural fit. Personally I don't cover US history at all until late elementary. I think it is best understood in the context of the world history preceding it so their heads aren't filled with pat answers.

 

THere are TONS of wonderful children's books for ancient history.

[FairProspects]

If anything it has been a pro to lay Ancient History next to Biblical History and see how the plagues each overcame a specific Egyptian god for example. The study of ancients enhances the study of faith in our experience.

 

Plus, I think this is a relatively modern cultural concern. C.S. Lewis was trained in mythology and he had no problem figuring out scriptures.

[purplelily]

I never really understood the reasons behind the plagues until we did our year on Ancient Egypt using the Greenleaf Press books. If you cover the ancients and early Bible history, you can see the parrells and the differences.

 

We were able to see an Egyptian exhibit at the museum when it was in town and it made the history come alive. Plus there are many crafts that you can do to cement ideals.

[annlaura]

If anything it has been a pro to lay Ancient History next to Biblical History and see how the plagues each overcame a specific Egyptian god for example. The study of ancients enhances the study of faith in our experience.

 

Plus, I think this is a relatively modern cultural concern. C.S. Lewis was trained in mythology and he had no problem figuring out scriptures.

 

:iagree: We have been able to link Bible stories to our ancient history studies, and the connections have only been helpful ime. But then, I may not be the right person to ask. I recently bought the boys a book of many cultures' flood stories. Perhaps not very LCMS of me. ;)

[Incognito]

I am just now finally reading TWTM, and just read a good rationale behind doing history in order. She equates the story of history to a fairy tale - it makes more sense and is actually interesting when it unfolds as a story, not when you take a piece here and there and out of order. The illustration really made it clear to me why it would be good to begin at the beginning...

 

So I'm still on the early end, but there is the theory behind it anyway.

[Farrar]

When the ancient world is full of mummies, battles, myths, pyramids, cool costumes, heroes, and can be accessorized with Playmobil sets, I'm not sure why anyone would think that young children couldn't appreciate it.

[CourtneySue]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! You have all put me at ease.:)

[Heathermomster]

There are several homeschooling speakers I've heard who advocate waiting on Ancient History until later--the reasons range from being careful of exposing kids to mythology before they are well-grounded in scripture to the fact that there are a lot better books available to younger kids in other time periods, especially american history.

 

My rising 7th grader has sat in a reg classroom since pre-k. He's home now, so I purchased Mary Pope Osborne's The Odyssey audio books to prepare him for Ancients study. BTW, my entire family loves the audio books. While listening to The Odyssey, I was surprised to find myself periodically stopping the book to discuss the attributes of God and scripture, and I believe that to be a good thing. There are many wonderful and relevant teachable moments when approaching Ancients.... Also, Dk Publishing has released many beautiful books for the Ancient time period that are completely appropriate for lower elementary.

Edited July 14, 2012 by Heathermomster

[Kathryn]

:iagree:

 

And I will add that anyone who says there aren't enough wonderful books for the younger set needs to visit a library or cozy up to their computer and do a quick search on Amazon. :lol:

 

I can kind of get the mythology argument from a Christian POV, sort of...a little. However, one of the things I have enjoyed most about our early mythology reading and concurrent study of the Bible is that it opens the kids' eyes and hearts up to the wide diversity of belief in this great big, wonderful world. Of course, I sometimes get the impression that is exactly what some people are trying to avoid when they say to stay away from mythology in the early years. :tongue_smilie: Fear based avoidance is what it always will be, narrow-minded.

 

I think ancient history is easier for younger kids to understand (simpler motivations and needs) and society builds in complexity as the child is building in their ability to understand it -- natural fit. Personally I don't cover US history at all until late elementary. I think it is best understood in the context of the world history preceding it so their heads aren't filled with pat answers.

 

THere are TONS of wonderful children's books for ancient history.

 

I agree with everyone but didn't want to copy them all! It definitely makes history more meaningful, relevant, and fun to approach it as a story and start at the beginning. It gives a foundation for what comes after. I recall how haphazard my history education was in terms of times and places and it left me very confused for a long time about how things fit together.

 

We did a very quick semester overview of world history last year with Sonlight Core A and lots and lots of supplements. Then we read CHOW over our break. So, we are coming into our first year-long study of Ancients with a bit of knowledge about where it all leads.