kristinannie Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 I guess as far as the literature and history debate, the Circe thread has set me free. My kids are still young so we haven't gotten into history too much, but I felt this real obligation to base our school around history. I think this feeling was from the WTM and how they structure their homeschool. Honestly, I didn't feel that approach was really right for my family, but I felt really pulled in that direction. (And please don't think that I am saying that this isn't right for any family.) These are my plans: I am a history lover. We will definitely do history! Right now, we are starting out with American history (we started with Leif the Lucky and we are moving up to the present time). I plan to spend 2-3 years on an overview of American history. We are doing this mostly through well-written biographies. I am not sure how biographies got lumped in with historical fiction, but I have found that biographies can be an excellent resource to read. CM believed that children learn more about an era when really delving into the lives of particular people through biographies written by someone who was passionate about the subject. We will read some historical fiction if there is a really excellent resource, but I am not going to read the historical fiction (or a poorly written biography) just because it fits into our time period. I plan to start with ancients when we are done with American history (probably 3rd grade). I personally was spending way too much time worrying about my history cycles and how to fit it all in. I am now relaxed about this. We will spend as much time as we need to on American history and then move into ancients and world history. I am no longer stressed about this! I don't have to plan my literature based solely on where we are in the history cycle. We can just read wonderful literature whenever we want to! This has taken a lot of stress from me. A lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizaG Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 I am not sure how biographies got lumped in with historical fiction, but I have found that biographies can be an excellent resource to read. Quite a few of our biographies are fictionalized. I get confused trying to figure out whether to shelve them with history, or with historical fiction. :huh: ETA: Some examples of these would be Sterling Point and Landmark Books. In the end, I gave these their own section within the history shelves. (Other historical fiction, like the adventure stories from Bethlehem Books, just gets mixed in with our general fiction.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Quite a few of our biographies are fictionalized. I get confused trying to figure out whether to shelve them with history, or with historical fiction. :huh: I didn't know that! That is very good to know! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Something that it is easy to miss about TWTM is that in addition to historical fiction and biographies of the historical period being studied, the reading of that period's literature is also recommended. Having said that, I never limited myself to it. There are too many good books for specific ages out there to skip them if they are reflective of 'the wrong time period'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Something that it is easy to miss about TWTM is that in addition to historical fiction and biographies of the historical period being studied, the reading of that period's literature is also recommended. Having said that, I never limited myself to it. There are too many good books for specific ages out there to skip them if they are reflective of 'the wrong time period'. Very true. I am passing on my TWTM and before I sent it off, I was reading the lit book lists and you are right, they are good. I just don't think that reading them has to be bound within the historical periods studied although that gives them context. In some ways I think that reading them at the appropriate age is more important, context can always be given. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Yes, context can always be given, and in addition, it all scaffolds. For instance, we read "Cheaper By The Dozen" long before getting to the 1910-20's in history, and it was so vividly written that when we reached that period it was easy to say, "Remember that book talked about ... "? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Yes, context can always be given, and in addition, it all scaffolds. For instance, we read "Cheaper By The Dozen" long before getting to the 1910-20's in history, and it was so vividly written that when we reached that period it was easy to say, "Remember that book talked about ... "? I completely agree. Sometimes it actually helps with a new subject when you have read a book or story about that time period or place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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