IF you had SOTW to do again

[KristenR]

What would your advice be for someone starting out with it? How many of you started with SOTW only to fizzle out and go somewhere else? How many of you made it all the way through?

 

:lurk5:

[Bang!Zoom!]

I would have bought the Homeschool in the Woods timeline set right away; I think it's pretty critical.

 

Just for self-education and the future, I'd also have planned on getting the Peace Hill Press Histories to read in tempo for myself as well.

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/history-and-geography/history-of-the-world.html

 

If you are really going to follow the cycle, you'll end up there anyway.

[lmrich]

I did it the whole way through. I wish I would have kept all of her narrations and timelines neatly in one binder. As she got older she wanted to work in a notebook or take it outside etc. I wish there were no gaps in her completed work. I loved that we did a lot of the activities, just wish I had taken more pictures along the way.

[2_girls_mommy]

We did it all the way through, and I am starting it again this year with my younger.

 

So my current 5th grader did 1st - 4th grades with vol. 1-4. My current 3rd grader did 1st grade in vol. 3, 2nd grade in vol. 4 and now will be doing 3rd grade w/vol. 1 and 4th grade w/vol. 2 since we keep them on the same time period.

 

I wouldn't have done anything different. I am looking forward to going through vols. 1 and 2 again before she moves into logic stage. We kept narrations, did memory work, did projects, did extra reading and kept it all in a notebook ala WTM (except we keep one smaller binder per year instead of a giant 3 in for all 4 years)

[redsquirrel]

I am on my second trip through SOTW with child #2! We love it.

[momsuz123]

We did SOTW 1 last year and love it. We are on SOTW 2 and really having fun with it. I am actually thinking of slowing down the schedule to enjoy it more and really get into it. I have a (I think one) post on my blog about one of our days with SOTW. I do pick up most of the recommended books to read, or I will have my oldest read a few herself.

 

Enjoy!!!!

[Spryte]

We love SOTW. Our entire family will listen to the Jim Weiss recordings - sometimes over and over. I think they are a wonderful add on.

 

I wish I'd taken more pictures to put into his notebook. We do have a good notebook going, with narrations, coloring pages, map work, etc. But no pictures of the many, many projects that brought it all to life.

 

Still haven't done a timeline. Now this thread is making me wonder if I'm going to regret that later?

[Farrar]

Not to? I would have used Builders of the Old World as a spine instead. But I don't really have any regrets from the two years we spent with it. And we'll use volume 3 this year somewhat as well.

[Mallory]

I wish I would have felt more comfortable waiting and using it for 3rd-6th grades (or let those first couple years drag on longer). I really feel like the steps in difficulty that SOTW 3 and especially 4 take would have been great for my kids a couple years later. We did pretty good on 1-3 (with one boy in 1st -3rd, and the other in K-2nd), but 4 did not work out for us. We didn't do much history that year, though I tried to hit the american History chapters. I am not requiring any history for my current 1st grader.

 

I don't feel like we needed a time line earlier then middle school. I do wish I had bought the CD's earlier. I would try be less picky about when we read books, instead of trying to keep things lined up.

 

I am not a keeper and don't feel bad at all about no pictures and recyling notebooks at the end of each year. Of course there is still a chicken mummy in the closet. What do I do with that?

[NancyNellen]

I wouldn't do anything differently. We have been through the cycle twice and are beginning volume 2 for the 3rd time. We read the story, color the page, do a narration, complete the map, add in some additional recommended reading, and maybe do one project per chapter, but not always.

[sditz1]

This post is very reassuring to hear. We will be starting our adventure with SOTW 1 this year in first. Thanks everyone.

Susan

[SkateLeft]

I've been through the SOTW cycle three times already, and will be going through SOTW 1 for the *fourth* time this fall. I think I've just about mastered the art of making a chicken mummy! :D

 

Seriously though, my advice would be to not worry about doing everything, and don't expect perfect narrations from the start. Narrating is a learned skill, and they get better at it over time.

 

For SOTW 1, we do the reading, then I have my child draw something they remember. They tell me about the picture, and I write that narration down on the drawing. Maybe we do some mapwork, additional reading and the occasional activity, but that's it. My girls enjoyed documentaries on the topic, but my son hated them. At the end of the year, we've got a cool history binder to flip through and lots of fun memories. They also learn a surprising amount, and remember far more than I'd have expected them to when we started.

 

Have fun!

[craftyerin]

I wish I would have felt more comfortable waiting and using it for 3rd-6th grades (or let those first couple years drag on longer). I really feel like the steps in difficulty that SOTW 3 and especially 4 take would have been great for my kids a couple years later. We did pretty good on 1-3 (with one boy in 1st -3rd, and the other in K-2nd), but 4 did not work out for us. We didn't do much history that year, though I tried to hit the american History chapters. I am not requiring any history for my current 1st grader.

 

 

This is very encouraging, since it's my plan! Nice to read validation of my long-range goals. :D I'm planning to do FIAR for K&1, a year of US history for 2nd, and then start a 4 year cycle in 3rd.