momto2Cs Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I just cannot decide. This is primarily for an 11 year old with a high comprehension level, although I will be reading aloud, and dd9 will be listening in (also high comprehension level). ETA: Up to this point, we've been kind of jumping around in history, using a little of this, and a little of that. We did read through The Early Human World (OUP), and that was good. I like the series, and imagine I'd like the second series as well, but I wish it went up through modern times! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 What have you used up to this point? What do you like and dislike about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 What have you used up to this point? What do you like and dislike about it? Updated my post above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I voted for K12 Human Odyssey. I own three of your options and we've tried all three but we're sticking with K12 Human Odyssey. Here's why: We read through Builders of the Old World to give a quick overview before we begin a new topic. I really like it, but my DS10 has a higher reading level as well, and the text is too simplistic for him and it just skims the surface of what I want him to learn. So I suspect this would be the case for your DC as well. We tried World in Ancient Times, and I wanted to like it, but DS did not appreciate its level of detail, and it is quite expensive. (He is definitely more a math and science kid, for history he just wants to get it done.) We are now using K12 Human Odyssey as our spine. It is just right for us. The reading level is perfect for DS and includes enough detail but not too much. (Also, I admit we have not tried History Odyssey, but we do the bulk of our writing in other subjects and History Odyssey just looked like a schedule of writing and reading assignments from an encyclopedia spine plus several other books, not what I was looking for. My DS does not enjoy notebooking. Your DC may have different preferences.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 I voted for K12 Human Odyssey. I own three of your options and we've tried all three but we're sticking with K12 Human Odyssey. Here's why: We read through Builders of the Old World to give a quick overview before we begin a new topic. I really like it, but my DS10 has a higher reading level as well, and the text is really too simplistic for him and it really just skims the surface of what I want him to learn. So I suspect this would be the case for your DC as well. We tried World in Ancient Times, and I really wanted to like it, but DS did not appreciate its level of detail. (He is definitely more a math and science kid, for history he just wants to get it done.) We are now using K12 Human Odyssey as our spine. It is just right for us. The reading level is perfect for DS and includes enough detail but not too much. (Also, I admit we have not tried History Odyssey, but we do the bulk of our writing in other subjects and History Odyssey just looked like a schedule of writing and reading assignments from other books, not what I was looking for.) T hank you! I suspect you are dead on with Builders being little too simple, and OUP a little too detailed for my ds. Like your ds10, he's definitely my math and science kid! Do you add in historical lit, or just the K12 book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I do add in historical literature, using WTM, Sonlight, and other book lists for ideas. Also, my DS really enjoys watching documentaries from Netflix and Amazon and even You Tube, to go with Human Odyssey. Especially once we got up to Ancient Greece, I found lots of videos to choose from. As I said, we don't do a lot of writing for history, as we do it elsewhere and he's on the younger side for logic stage, but I find he learns and retains a ton between Human Odyssey, library books and documentaries. (We do still keep a timeline & do list of facts, verbal summaries, but no outlining yet.) Hope that helps! ETA: We also use the K12 student/teacher guides that go with Human Odyssey. Here's a recent thread in which I posted: http://forums.welltr...amples-of-them/ As I wrote in the linked thread, I've been pleasantly surprised and pleased with the K12 student and teacher guides. I've found sections that often go beyond just basic fact regurgitation, into deeper connections. One example is the compare/contrast charts over various aspects of the different cultures that have been covered so far and their connections to modern cultures. This week, the sections I used in the teacher guide included the answers to questions like these: Who was Pericles and what are some things he is remembered for? What were the main causes of the Pelopennesian War? What was the Delian League and why did Sparta not join the Delian League? What could Athens have done to avoid war with Sparta? This is why I think the K12 materials are quite good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trillian Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I haven't used as much as Taryn, and I posted recently how we use Journey across Time, but we did use one of the OUP volumes and it didn't work for us either. DS got bogged down and bored. He loves Journey Across Time with the add ins (Mysteries in History, Hands on History, documentaries). I've never had a K12 book to see how it compares; I know they are very popular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I agree that Builders would be too simple. Between K12 and OUP, DS9 vastly prefers OUP. Yes, the books are very detailed, but the details are interesting to him whereas the details in the K12 books can seem dry. I find the K12 volumes to be superior as far as textbooks go, but they definitely still feel a bit too textbooky to me (in both the rhythm of the reading and level of details covered) compared to the OUP books. I supplement with other read-alouds, including Landmark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 We used a combination of the first volume of K12 Human Odyssey and the Oxford series for dd12's fifth grade year. She loved it. I also mixed in some historical fiction and other books/DVDs from our library. We are still using K12 Human Odyssey, the third volume, in seventh grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddlemomma Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Have you tried History Revealed by Diana Waring through AIG? We're using Mystery of History 1 this year, but it's a little too choppy and brief for us. My dd likes to get into the meat of a subject and dig. (She's an upper-level reader as well) Can't really do this with MOH unless you want to extend each book into 2 years. So, I checked out History Revealed and bought it for next year. It's more of an upper level and spends 4 weeks on each unit: 1st week is reading about the subject (including picking out supplemental books to read throughout the month); 2nd week is researching a specific topic from the unit and writing about it; 3rd week is a hands-on/craft project related to the unit; and the 4th week is personal expression of the unit through drama, music, or art. I plan to incorporate this program with Famous Men. We chose the Romans, Reformers, Revolutions book with Famous Men of the Middle Ages. This will give my dd a month to delve deeply into each unit and yet follow a chronological history approach directly following what we are doing this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I voted for the Landmark books. They're great books, and going by my memory of your posts and blog, it seemed like the best fit. *shrug* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I asked my 11YO what he felt about the poll; he is doing History Odyssey and reading K12 Human Odyssey on the side. His response: Human Odyssey is really fun to read, and that can help you to remember stuff. However, the assignments of History Odyssey that make you write things down, think about the timeline, and compare things really help you nail it down into your head. Could he do both like I do? Do History Odyssey for the assignments and to organize it, and just read the relevant chapters in Human Odyssey as he goes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I asked my 11YO what he felt about the poll; he is doing History Odyssey and reading K12 Human Odyssey on the side. His response: Human Odyssey is really fun to read, and that can help you to remember stuff. However, the assignments of History Odyssey that make you write things down, think about the timeline, and compare things really help you nail it down into your head. Could he do both like I do? Do History Odyssey for the assignments and to organize it, and just read the relevant chapters in Human Odyssey as he goes? That's a good point about the questions/assignments. K12 Human Odyssey student and teacher guides have offline assignments like that too and DS keeps a timeline as well. How many of the recommended books on History Odyssey's list does your son use? (I like that Human Odyssey is self-contained.) History Odyssey's book list appears daunting because there are so many, and I'm not sure I like the perspective of Hillyer's book. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 That's a good point about the questions/assignments. K12 Human Odyssey student and teacher guides have offline assignments like that too and DS keeps a timeline as well. How many of the recommended books on History Odyssey's list does your son use? (I like that Human Odyssey is self-contained.) History Odyssey's book list appears daunting because there are so many, and I'm not sure I like the perspective of Hillyer's book. What do you think? He is using level 2, not level 1, so is not using the Hillyer book; he using vanLoon, which is only one book and not used every day. (vanLoon also has some "interesting" way of putting things, which K12 balances out, along with the Kingfisher encyclopedia, which is more balanced). We do not attempt to read every single suggested book; it is more like a menu, so that you can pick and choose as you are moving through the program-- you can read the ones that look most interesting, that you have time to read, that are available in your local library or on sale secondhand on Amazon, or whatever your criteria are. There are only four literature books that are really "required" as you move through each level, as I recall. One of the great strengths of HistoryOdyssey is that it is flexible enough that you can eliminate something that you find is in conflict with your schedule or that you find a better resource for without any real difficulty, or you can use it as written to leave it open-and-go. For example, I believe the Hillyer book is assigned for Level 1 (I could be wrong about this), the grammar stage/elementary level. I didn't like the looks of it so much, so we just left it out-- it was listed as optional anyway, and we have not missed it. I felt the Hands of Child unit on Early America looked really good, so we are swapping that in for the sections on North American early modern history in level one for my younger son. Nothing will be messed up in the program as a result. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleWonders Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 G - I love finding your posts on history because it helps me figure out what I want to do too. :) Thank you for starting this one as like you, history (and science for me too) have been a struggle this year. Jen - I like your idea of combining the assignments in HIstory Odyssey with K12 Human Odyssey. I might do that starting next year (along with the CSTP From Sea to Shining Sea) when we start Ancients. Thanks for the idea! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 Thank you all for your input! I decided to (gulp) go ahead and split my kids' studies up a little. Ds11 chose to do a combo of OUP's Ancient Greek World and Famous Men of Greece, since he is very interested in this time period/region, and is studying for the National Mythology Exam. I may adapt some ideas from the Diana Waring approach, though we're mostly secular. Dd9 wants to do American history through the American Girls books. Phew! G - I love finding your posts on history because it helps me figure out what I want to do too. :) Thank you for starting this one as like you, history (and science for me too) have been a struggle this year. I'm still struggling with science... :( BFSU with higher level books? Elemental Science's Logic Stage Biology? Unit studies? Arrrggghhh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Thank you all for your input! I decided to (gulp) go ahead and split my kids' studies up a little. Ds11 chose to do a combo of OUP's Ancient Greek World and Famous Men of Greece, since he is very interested in this time period/region, and is studying for the National Mythology Exam. I may adapt some ideas from the Diana Waring approach, though we're mostly secular. Dd9 wants to do American history through the American Girls books. Phew! I'm still struggling with science... :( BFSU with higher level books? Elemental Science's Logic Stage Biology? Unit studies? Arrrggghhh. What about Hakim's Story of Science for your son? Aristotle Leads the Way is covering the same time period you are doing in history, and while I don't think matching them up is essential, it can't hurt, and especially if he is interested in the Greeks. I've just gotten the Teacher and Student Quest guides for Aristotole, and we'll be starting in January. Now that I have the guides in hand, I see how these books are actually a physical science course . . . it was a little hard to see before that, but the lesson plans really flesh it all out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 What about Hakim's Story of Science for your son? Aristotle Leads the Way is covering the same time period you are doing in history, and while I don't think matching them up is essential, it can't hurt, and especially if he is interested in the Greeks. I've just gotten the Teacher and Student Quest guides for Aristotole, and we'll be starting in January. Now that I have the guides in hand, I see how these books are actually a physical science course . . . it was a little hard to see before that, but the lesson plans really flesh it all out. I've been thinking about this. I have the text and the student quest guide... maybe I will hand them over to him and see what he thinks. It would certainly be easy enough to pull science from the American Girls series for my dd. Question re: Story of Science... how useful is the teacher's guide? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 I've been thinking about this. I have the text and the student quest guide... maybe I will hand them over to him and see what he thinks. It would certainly be easy enough to pull science from the American Girls series for my dd. Question re: Story of Science... how useful is the teacher's guide? Immensely, IMO. Each lesson has teacher background and hints for the Theme, Goal, What/When, Groundwork, Consider the Quotation, directions for Directed Reading, a Classwide Activity section that has lots of good discussion questions, , and Curriculum Links tying the lesson to math, language arts, science, history, etc. You are welcome to take a look at mine before you decide! Not that I'm trying to stalk you or anything . . . ;) :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 Immensely, IMO. Each lesson has teacher background and hints for the Theme, Goal, What/When, Groundwork, Consider the Quotation, directions for Directed Reading, a Classwide Activity section that has lots of good discussion questions, , and Curriculum Links tying the lesson to math, language arts, science, history, etc. You are welcome to take a look at mine before you decide! Not that I'm trying to stalk you or anything . . . ;) :D I'd love to see it! I'm on vacation the next two weeks... maybe we can work out a playdate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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