Papillon Mom Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 (edited) Slugging through CHOW (children's history of the world-revised ed.) and not feeling like much is sticking should we drop it and switch to SOTW? Thoughts...? Its really hard for me not to finish something but I'm feeling like were wasting our time... but should we stick with it? Anyone had similar experience? We're atheist but don't mind references. Thanks, Edited October 18, 2012 by Papillon Mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 We're using CHOW as part of Ambleside, but haven't really delved in yet ... may I ask, is your child able to narrate back? If things aren't sticking, having them narrate every paragraph or two helps make sure the information is understood the first time. If oral narration doesn't suit, you could do drawings -- but prob. not every paragraph, in that case :). If you can get hold of the SOTW audiobooks -- either if you can afford them easily, or try them from your library -- that is a great way to teach SOTW, I think. Button doesn't esp like SOTW, and we're not using it now; but the best retention I had seemed to be from having him listen to a section 2-3 times in the car. He didn't listen as carefully on the player at home, for some reason. But just playing it a few times as we drove around was very useful. And, having the mapwork and questions ideas laid out in the AG was handy. I should think giving SOTW a whirl would be better than slugging through something that feels tedious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 I prefer SOTW to CHOW. I liked the writing style a lot more and found it to be more thorough. (Obviously with 4 books instead of one, you can fit in more history). I also liked that SOTW had the acitivity guide with review questions, maps and activities. Our library is horrible, so I didn't use their recommended reading lists much, but many find those to be helpful as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 (edited) We've read both SOTW and CHOW. The writing in SOTW is MUCH better. Also, my kids seem to like the stories in there and the sketches (sometimes). CHOW does have an advantage over SOTW. If you were doing a 1-2 year sweep of world history, it would be easier to get through CHOW than 4 books of SOTW (in my opinion). It can take an entire school year just to read one SOTW book. SOTW also makes it easy to timeline. She has a list of events in the back of the book with the year...also, there are footnotes throughout the book for the parent. If you switch to SOTW, you could also add in the Activity Guide - that might help your student retain the info. Edited to say: Is your student whose having trouble with CHOW in 1st grade? I don't know if we're late bloomers or what, but my kids could never grasp world history at that age. I couldn't even get them to sit still at that age. I start the 4 year history cycle towards the end of 3rd grade. So, that would put my kids through the 4 year cycle twice before they finish high school. It also gives us a year to add in American history and a study of geography (my kids are actually doing that next year). What I'm trying to say is that waiting a year or two and trying history again is always an option (if she doesn't like it). Edited October 18, 2012 by starrbuck12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Yes. My kids get far more out of SOTW. They love it so much that they are asking for it as a read aloud even though we are using a standard history. (And I enjoy SOTW enough to read it aloud for fun!) CHOW had a few gems but overall it moved too fast, didbt provide enough context and wasn't as interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 (edited) Yes. My kids get far more out of SOTW. They love it so much that they are asking for it as a read aloud even though we are using a standard history. (And I enjoy SOTW enough to read it aloud for fun!) CHOW had a few gems but overall it moved too fast, didbt provide enough context and wasn't as interesting. I think these are great points! My son didn't like SOTW at all last year (first) but now he is requesting it. We may not continue to like CHOW; for the moment, it is working well in its role as an augment/complement to Our Island Story. OIS is just full of context so perhaps that is key. I do think that the SOTW books are better for general history, as a stand-alone program. I found SOTW1 to be frustrating for Button b/c not enough was explained -- "Mama, what does it mean to conquer?" -- but now because of OIS he is pretty sure what conquering entails, and he has a distaste for it to boot. SOTW2 (what we have done of it) is going more smoothly, perhaps b/c our AO readings fill in those kinds of details. well, that wasn't very clear ... in case you couldn't tell, I'd suggest SOTW for you! :) I'm glad we have had the AO resources for our particular case, but since Button, who previously detested SOTW, is now thoroughly enjoying it, we may end up going back to it ourselves. Edited October 19, 2012 by serendipitous journey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaraH Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 I got both but we much preferred SOTW 1 and the way it's written. We listened to the CDs in the car, and then I'd read the relevant chapter at home and we'd do the mapwork from the activity guide. I loved the booklists and would try to order ahead from the library. We didn't do a lot of the actual activities, but that's just us! We've taken a break now to do some Canadian social studies, and then will go back to SOTW 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 My DD liked CHOW as a brief overview of world history, then going back and reading SOTW and all the assorted extra books to fill in the gaps. So my vote is "Both!". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 SOTW is about a million times better. Rebecca still remembers some of the facts and activities, and she did those longer ago than CHOW. CHOW traumatized her. I thought it was pretty snooze-worthy too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy to monkeys Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 SOTW is soo much more interesting. My kids groaned when we got out CHOW (we didn't make it very far). SOTW is a hit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Mom Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 Thanks everyone! We're going SOTW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylandhsmom Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 We may not continue to like CHOW; for the moment, it is working well in its role as an augment/complement to Our Island Story. OIS is just full of context so perhaps that is key. I do think that the SOTW books are better for general history, as a stand-alone program. I found SOTW1 to be frustrating for Button b/c not enough was explained -- "Mama, what does it mean to conquer?" -- but now because of OIS he is pretty sure what conquering entails, and he has a distaste for it to boot. SOTW2 (what we have done of it) is going more smoothly, perhaps b/c our AO readings fill in those kinds of details. Just wondering - did you find the AO readings in year 1 too difficult for your ds? I believe year 1 also uses OIS and CHOW... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Just wondering - did you find the AO readings in year 1 too difficult for your ds? I believe year 1 also uses OIS and CHOW... CHOW is not included in Y1 readings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylandhsmom Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Oh, you're right, it's included in Charlotte Mason Help year 1. Got them confused. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Oh, you're right, it's included in Charlotte Mason Help year 1. Got them confused. Thanks!! Oh, that is easy to do. I was gonna say this in my last post, but I had to run: AO does start scheduling CHOW in either Y2 or Y3 (I forget which). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bree Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 CHOW gets better the further you get into it I have found so far, and my ds has enjoyed it a lot more his this year compared to last :) I just have the wierd child who likes CHOW vs SOTW :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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