Bensmom Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 I haven't attempted a poll with the new format, so I hope this works... This is perhaps a dangerous questions to ask around here, but your responses on a poll protect your identity, and I am making plans for the spring and need your input! Which history program do you recommend: Story of the World or Mystery of History? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephg Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 We have really enjoyed and learned a lot using SOTW. This is our second year using the text with the activity book. We only use the activity book for the narration questions, book recommendations, maps and coloring pages. We don't do any if the activities listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyinthegarden Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 We use SOTW without the activity books. We are about to begin the last book in a few weeks. I read the first book aloud, the next three I bought the audio. My DS 10 loves listening to the audio. We have had him orally narrating them from the beginning, and now he is giving me long narrations with a lot of detail. I'm not knocking the activity books, but my DS is not into the activities. :thumbup: I have also looked at Mystery of History, and I believe it is also a great curriculum. If I could go back and do it all over again, I would probably just buy the audio to both MOH and SOTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 (edited) . Edited July 12, 2022 by SilverMoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 other We use SOTW, Usborne Book of World History, Blackline Maps of World History (which has a new title these days) and supplement with library books on architecture, technological advancements, mythology, folklore, historical fiction, biographies, activity books, indigenous plants and animals, and first source materials related to the time in history we're studying. With young children I group the readings from SOTW by region (Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient China, Ancient India, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, etc.) and study each region as a unit. Within the region we do things chronologically, but we don't do the whole world chronologically bouncing all over creation and back again the way SOTW is written. I think that's too confusing for a young child. Then we put everything we did (art projects, narrations, maps, poetry, photos of activities and projects, charts, diagrams, coloring pages, etc.) into a lapbook. I type up on one page every book we read (or the relevant pages we read) and every activity we did and put it in the lapbook too for future reference so when people ask, "What did you do for _______________?" I can find it at a glance. It also helps avoid "We're not doing enough" thinking that can plague homeschooling moms. When people ask what the kids have been doing in school, we just hand them the latest completed lapbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mims Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 I've found SOTW is better for the younger years and MOH is better for about 5th grade on up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 We are doing MOH, w/ notebooking pages. I think it gives a decent high level overview, but something seems lacking. So, I recently borrowed the SOTW audiobook from a friend and I have to say that I like it much better. MOH tells a lot of the what, while SOTW tells more of the why. We're continuing on with both this year, but I think I'll probably move over to SOTW next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 What age? I agree with the PP that SOTW is great for the younger ages and MOH for the older ones, but of course, YMMV. We've used SOTW with the AG and loved it. I looked at MOH back in first grade and decided against it. I could probably use it now and my 3rd grader would be fine (he LOVES history). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 I've found SOTW is better for the younger years and MOH is better for about 5th grade on up. This is exactly what I was going to say. I'm voting SOTW because if I had to choose one, I'd say I like the writing style of SOTW better than MOH. But I do think that in the best of all worlds, I would use SOTW for 1st-4th and MOH for 5th-8th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PentecostalMom Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 I prefer Sonlight for history, but we are using SOTW as a read aloud with Core B. I know they are scheduled in later, but I don't think it will be a bad thing to read them twice. Out of SOTW and MOH, I prefer MOH because it is more biblically based. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 I used MOH a few years ago and SOTW last year and this year. I really like SOTW much better. The AG is a great resources as well. The maps are wonderful and there are so many suggestions for crafts and other books that you really don't need anything else to do a thorough study of world history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgrubbs Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 We have loved MOH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I wanted to add that my dh is a history teacher, and he has been very impressed with SOTW. He thought MOH was good, but SOTW is better to him, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I voted SOTW with activity book. The recommended readings have been really helpful and I like having various activities to choose from. I sort of wanted to vote other, because I have found myself gravitating toward History Odyssey, which I feel complements SOTW really well. I think that will be my 1st graders main spine over SOTW next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I think SOTW is more engaging for young kids. SOTW lets you teach pre-history on your own. Given the variety of beliefs regarding young/old earth (and other issues that aren't, for me, deal breakers in terms of Christian belief) I like that. Mystery of History comes from a pretty narrow Christian perspective. If yours matches that won't be a problem of course. I own both. I'm using MOH to fill in some blanks for me and have enjoyed it. I won't be using much of it for my kids (3rd grade) though at these ages. For most topics I felt SOTW was more engaging. We're hands on and the SOTW activity book has been great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna A. Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I voted "Other" because I like My Father's World, which schedules in SOTW 2-4 along with many other resources for a stronger biblical worldview than SOTW by itself. They don't use MOH because that would be redundant. MOH is the author's summary of the biblical account of history with some secular history thrown in, along with her personal opinions. MFW, OTOH, has you read directly from the Bible instead. (Particularly during the Ancients period). I don't dislike MOH, but I like the way MFW does it better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifesadream83 Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 From you choices listed I would go with SOTW with activity book depending on the age. Other than that I am a Sonlight mom! (but we do add in the SOTW stories) I just don't like the library as I always end up with fees. This is a common complaint of SOTW users others love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicoryChick Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I voted both because as previous posters mentioned, I like SOTW for the younger years and MXOH for middle school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I picked other because I could not give my answer with the poll. I like MOH but only for older ages. The research topics done in MOH make up half the history study that the younger students don't get. My ds loves it too. Said it was the only history that did not put him to sleep and requested it for his main history book till he graduates. I tried SOTW with activity book with dd last year but it was a flop for us. I will try it again for the logic stage and hope it will be a hit then. When my boys tried it (each one tried it at different times) it also flopped. Maybe dd will enjoy it for 5th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 From you choices listed I would go with SOTW with activity book depending on the age. Other than that I am a Sonlight mom! (but we do add in the SOTW stories) I just don't like the library as I always end up with fees. This is a common complaint of SOTW users others love it. If I were to do SOTW again, I think I'd buy some good books to go along with it. History is getting done much more consistently for us with Sonlight because the books are all here and I own them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom2011 Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Other: We are using SOTW with Biblioplan for grades 5-8. I prefer Kingfisher to Usborne though, so we use the KF encyclopedia. We don't use the companion, just the schedule with maps and dd writes summaries for her notebook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 SOTW for youngers with the AG. Don't skip the AG! It's the fun part of the program. We used MOH a little bit, but if you are not a 6-Day, Earth is ~6000 years old, you will have to adapt a bit in the beginning of Vol. 1. We did like knowing how the Biblical stories fit in to the chronology of history (our dating varied a bit, but starting with about Abraham and up, we were good). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in OK Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 It depends on the grades. For 2nd and under, SOTW. For above 3rd and into high school, MOH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna in North CA Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I like SOTW on audiobook, read by Jim Weiss, for kids to listen to at will. I prefer Veritas Press history for the more structured form of history studies. Our family didn't care for MOH at all. I like the Biblical worldview and strong focus on scripture, but the writing style did not appeal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 If I were to do SOTW again, I think I'd buy some good books to go along with it. History is getting done much more consistently for us with Sonlight because the books are all here and I own them. We're not working on the first cycle yet, but this is what we plan to do -- use SOTW (audiobooks only), Veritas Press materials (at least the Egypt/OT and Greece/Rome/NT courses), and our own home library of books. This was Boscopup's idea that is saving my rear this year for American History. Own the books. So wonderful, I can't rave about it enough. :) I'd rather work on the planning aspect, because I can do that while the girls sleep, ya know? The library means repeatedly taking three children out in the snow, rain, hail, sleet, heat, dark... for a book on mummies. And then paying fines when we bury the book under our chicken. :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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