jillian Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Can anyone tell me about this curriculum? Ancients specifically Level 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 We use only the Usborne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World as a spine and then tons of picture books, audiobooks and videos. We also use the Evan-Moor history pockets that are suggested as part of HO. For projects, we use the recommended projects listed in HO lessons or ones from the SOTW activity guide. (We do not use SOTW text at all...don't care for it.) Here's what we've completed so far this year... http://bluehouseschool.blogspot.com/search/label/Ancient%20History I will say that our approach is labor-intensive for me, but DD loves it...LOVES it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillian Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 I have CHOW already. I have seen book 1 of SOTW but don't I know that the Medieval/Middle Ages book doesn't square away with my beliefs so I won't be using that one. DD is begging for more projects for history. We've done some things like coloring pages but I pieced together this year to supplement CHOW, and I like CHOW, the chapters are short but I'm not a huge fan of just using that. PitterPatter: I love how you have done so much with it. Our library has a ton of books that are used so I wouldn't have to buy except the encyclopedia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 They have a 'try before you buy' option and I strongly suggest you do that. You can download 3 weeks (I think?) of the program to give it a shot before you commit to buying it. I wish more publishers had the same option. FWIW, I looked at the 'try before you buy' and thought it looked fine. I bought it and we went to work. It became clear that it wasn't the right program for us. It took us just about 3 weeks to realize we had to change our history program. If I had only actually TRIED it I would have known. So, it wasn't the right program for us, but I have only myself to blame. I think it is a good program and continue to suggest it to others. So, give it a try, have your backup plan mentally available, and see what happens. If you like it then buy it. If you don't then move on to Plan B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 Having a good library you can rely on is key. It's so hard to shop for books online and many of the ones used to study ancients do not have previews/samples of Amazon, etc. About half of what I order from the library goes back unread because they turn out to be too advanced, poorly written, boring, etc. I would cry, if I had to purchase all of my books and many ended up as duds. I have CHOW already. I have seen book 1 of SOTW but don't I know that the Medieval/Middle Ages book doesn't square away with my beliefs so I won't be using that one. DD is begging for more projects for history. We've done some things like coloring pages but I pieced together this year to supplement CHOW, and I like CHOW, the chapters are short but I'm not a huge fan of just using that. PitterPatter: I love how you have done so much with it. Our library has a ton of books that are used so I wouldn't have to buy except the encyclopedia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 Well, it uses SOTW or CHOW as a spine. It was created before the AG for SOTW was around. I much prefer the AG to HO. The AG for Ancients (and SOTW for that matter) freely mixes Biblical "history" with history. That's great, if that's what you want, but not all of us do. HO Level 1 Ancients also uses two fantastic secular activity books, Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors and Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors. I highly recommend these books no matter which program you choose. I quite like HO Level 1 Ancients, but was less impressed with Medieval... it was OK, just not as good. FWIW, we skip the non-map colouring exercises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 My younger DS went through HO ancients level I and really enjoyed it. We only did half of the history pockets, but that was fine. He LOVED the "Ancient Rhymes From Ancient Times" books so much that I found and bought (pristine!) used copies of all four titles. We are up to Modern history now (just starting) and he really enjoys history time-- and he is learning the geography, and keeping a lot of people straight in his head. I have really been impressed. We use Usborne, SOTW (not the AG-- not a fan), 80% of the assignments in History Odyssey, and read mostly the books we get in our library or find cheap on Nook. I added in a couple of Thames and Kosmos kits that looked fun, and we get the occasional movie, plus Horrible Histories (and occasionally Monty Python). My older is using the level two series, and I like the way each year ramps up the difficulty gradually through the year; they really teach the kids note taking, outlining, introduce papers and research over time, in a very thoughtful, age-appropriate, deliberate manner. If you pay attention and don't just let your kid slop stuff down on paper, in addition to a history course, over time you get a bonus very organized study skills and writing course... Though that part is very much "you get out of it what you put into it." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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