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Notgrass ATB with 8th grader?


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With my 7th grader this year we are working through Hakim's History of US. I'm coordinating it with Nat'l Geographic Almanac of American History and trying to follow TWTM methodology. It's a lot of work for me and him as I'm reading the chapters and typing up questions to go along with them.

 

We're bringing home a 3 yr old daughter from China in March and I'm getting worried about my ability to keep up all this work for his history studies. (I also have 4th and 1st graders). I also need to introduce him to a more thorough level of science next year and I'm not sure he can handle this intensive level of history and science while I'm adjusting to having 4 children!

 

I'm planning on MFW highschool when we get to 9th but I'm considering using Notgrass ATB with him for 8th grade. It will be different than what we've done with Hakim's books... I think it will be more enjoyable to him and give him more energy to focus on science.

 

My concerns are the readers in ATB. He has already read a few of them and they are just really easy books. He has a high reading level (11th grade according to his SAT last year). Can I easily sub in other literature or does is need to be these books?

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How far along in Hakim are you? If you've gotten pretty far along, Notgrass AFB will be mostly review. I don't think you'd have a problem substituting other books but I'm wondering if you're child would find this overkill after Hakim. If you want to review or continue American History, you might also look at the last two years of Veritas' Self paced history programs. This is a totally independent online program which has add'l readers and would be about the same level as AFB. It's kind of pricey but they sometimes have discount offers.

 

Perhaps a one year World Geography class would be a nice transition and foundation for MFW. If you're interested in pursuing geography, here are some open and go options: PAC, Harmony Arts, Oak Meadow, ACE. Sonlight Hist/Geog F could also be an interesting choice if you wanted to diversify away from US history.

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How far along in Hakim are you?

 

We are in Vol 4 about half way through. Veritas is probably out of my price range. Plus I've got him doing math on the computer and I really don't want to do another subject on the computer.

 

Perhaps a one year World Geography class would be a nice transition and foundation for MFW. If you're interested in pursuing geography, here are some open and go options: PAC, Harmony Arts, Oak Meadow, ACE. Sonlight Hist/Geog F could also be an interesting choice if you wanted to diversify away from US history.

 

This is an interesting thought but we need to finish American history.

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  • 2 weeks later...

What about those lit selections? They are too easy for him. Are there assignments in the book directly tied to those? Can I substitute other books without too much work?

 

 

We are using ATB for 8th grade and it's going well, although it's very light compared to TOG that we used for 5-7th grades. I think it would probably work well for the year between Hakim and MFW - especially since you want to focus on science.

 

As to the lit assignments, it would be super easy to substitute your own reading list. All you need to do is skip a very, very small portion of the activity assignments at the end of each lesson. I actually asked this question on the Notgrass Yahoo Groups board, and John Notgrass replied the following:

 

You can easily replace any of the literature titles we

 

 

 

recommend with another book. Each lesson that assigns

 

 

 

literature gives the student 1-3 chapters to read. The

 

 

 

Lesson Review book has a few questions about each of

 

 

 

the assigned books, but otherwise the literature is not

 

 

 

directly tied to other content in the course. We chose

 

 

 

books that help the student get another perspective on

 

 

 

the time periods being studied.

 

 

I hope this helps.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

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Just confirming what Lucinda said. My 8th grader is doing ATB this year as well, and it *is* light compared to what we've done in the past (MFW). This bothered me in the beginning, but it turned out to be a perfect choice for *her* for this year, as her strengths and weaknesses that needed attention lie elsewhere. The writing assignments, mapwork, and everything else in ATB are simple, but good enough to call it done, and she actually enjoys history this year. ;) (She's not a history lover or an avid reader... she prefers math and science. And she hates notebooking and projects.) The photos in the books are gorgeous, and the focus on nature themes in America are a nice addition.

 

Yes, go ahead and sub out the books if you want. :)

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