History is going to make me Crazy! (BF books, 4 yr cycle?)

[acsnmama]

Ok, I'm so tired of looking at History programs. We haven't done much of anything for history yet, my son is in 1st/2nd Grade now. Age wise he's in 1st, but all of his work is 2nd grade level. I am not a huge fan of history, in fact, I don't know a thing about history, so I'll be learning right along with him, and my other 2 children! My husband loves history though, so he can help.

 

BUT, this whole 4 yr cycle thing has thrown me for a loop. I have pretty much decided on Beautiful Feet at this point, considering they have a fantastic literature selection, however, I'm not fond of ALL the guide has included in each lesson, but I figure I'll use the guide as just that... a guide, but skip things I don't want to do. I know Beautiful Feet doesn't go in this 4 yr cycle plan, and while I already planned on trying to find books to teach my oldest and middle about the Explorers, ever since reading about the 4 yr cycle, the "perfectionist" part of me is really bothered by going out of some order!

 

Also, the amount the choose from, for different Grades that Beautiful Feet has to offer, I am overwhelmed with decisions! I am trying to map out a little plan for all the way through 12th grade, so I can relax some, in knowing that I'll stick with Beautiful Feet if it works well for us, but there are too many choices!

 

How many years of each history should they be doing? Do we take a year off of American to do Horse or Science History? Those 2 sound interesting, but I'm not sure what to choose for what year and so on!

[Maela]

Not much advice here, as I don't have much experience, but the reason I like SOTW so much is because I feel like it takes care of all that for me. And then when I discovered the Grammar Stage Literature lessons at Classical House of Learning made to go with SOTW, it all came together perfectly for us.

 

Have you looked at SotW? I know it's not for everyone, but I love it. I really really like the idea of moving through history chronologically. I feel like it would have made so much more sense to me as a child than how I learned history.

[acsnmama]

I have looked into SOTW, but there are 2 reasons we don't want it, One is, my husband looked at it online and said he doesn't like it. And Two, because we want to venture more literature based/living books, rather than a story text set up. I definitely have considered it for the ease, and the price is much better (although the library has many of the BF books, it's worth the price as we have 3 children and likely more in the future!)

 

I like "easy" and having something planned out for me is much better, but I really, really love the BF selection for most of their packs! I've done endless research on reviews, comments, etc on individual titles they have, etc and I've read nothing but great things about the majority of the books!

[coffeefreak]

We used BF for 4th grade (American History) and are currently using it for 7th grade (Ancients). I would recommend calling them and asking them what they recommend for what year. I did not follow their advice and purchased Intermediate American History for my oldest in 4th grade. It was a lot. Even when I pared it down it was a lot. I would also consider purchasing just the guide you want, and looking through it. Read the assignments and decide if you really like their approach. I didn't care for their Intermediate American History because they mainly used Biographies. It gets complicated to explain, but the timeline didn't flow because of how they scheduled them. I believe they have a 30 day return policy, but call and ask. They are always willing to work with you.

 

Now, for Jr High I can honestly say we LOVE Beautiful Feet. It is the perfect fit for us. The guides are so cheap I write directly in them, my daughter is able to work independently, meeting with me once or twice a week, and it runs beautifully. I also love that it is 1 History credit, 1 Ancient Lit credit, and 1/2 Geography credit. Makes things easier for me.

 

HTH!

Dorinda

[Kfamily]

It's not posssible to use only BF and follow a 4 year cycle, especially because the first level for ancients doesn't start until 4th grade (roughly). But, here below I've tried to arrange the levels by age/grade. Some guides may be used over multiple years at the same time as another guide. For example, as you begin the ancients you could cover only the history of science up through the ancients in that guide. You could always do as you mentioned and add books to fill in areas.

 

 

Early American

Geography

Western Expansion (and History of the Horse)

Ancients (begin History of Science)

Medieval

Early American and World (begin History of Music)

Ancients (upper level)

Medieval (upper level)

US and World I and II

US and World III and IV

Modern History (and Civics and Government)

[Mom2OandE]

I love the look of the bf history. We are starting the geography this week and if it goes well we may go that route.

[Classical Book Worm]

The 4 year cycle structure is just one option. We've done SOTW for two years. It's a great resource for many families, but I'm over it. Rejoice in the choices.

 

I was spending a disproportionate and unhealthy amount of time fretting over history. I came to the realization that we aren't going to conform to the 4-year plan. Nor are we history-centered. I daresay that we're no longer classical (gasp). There are other ways of approaching education that are just as valid, and for us, more effective.

 

I'm looking forward to BF packages that merge science and history (History of Science, Geography). I've come to dislike the artificial boxes of "the history box here" and "the science box here." I love the integration.

 

It's great to have a long-range plan, but obsessive worry does not serve me well. Here's a rough sketch. My kids are working a grade ahead of chronological age in skills, but are too young for some history topics:

 

2nd & K through 3rd & 1st: Early American History (spread over 3 semesters, as we dropped SOTW2 mid-year)

4th& 2nd: History of Science (I like that we can recap ancient and medieval times without, well, spending so much time on it. Plus it ventures into the 20th century, which is a nice follow-up to Early American without dwelling on difficult topics for young children.)

5th & 3rd: Geography Through Literature, Western Expansion

6th & 4th: Ancient History

7th & 5th: Middle Ages

 

Good luck!

[acsnmama]

The 4 year cycle structure is just one option. We've done SOTW for two years. It's a great resource for many families, but I'm over it. Rejoice in the choices.

 

I was spending a disproportionate and unhealthy amount of time fretting over history. I came to the realization that we aren't going to conform to the 4-year plan. Nor are we history-centered. I daresay that we're no longer classical (gasp). There are other ways of approaching education that are just as valid, and for us, more effective.

 

I'm looking forward to BF packages that merge science and history (History of Science, Geography). I've come to dislike the artificial boxes of "the history box here" and "the science box here." I love the integration.

 

It's great to have a long-range plan, but obsessive worry does not serve me well. Here's a rough sketch. My kids are working a grade ahead of chronological age in skills, but are too young for some history topics:

 

2nd & K through 3rd & 1st: Early American History (spread over 3 semesters, as we dropped SOTW2 mid-year)

4th& 2nd: History of Science (I like that we can recap ancient and medieval times without, well, spending so much time on it. Plus it ventures into the 20th century, which is a nice follow-up to Early American without dwelling on difficult topics for young children.)

5th & 3rd: Geography Through Literature, Western Expansion

6th & 4th: Ancient History

7th & 5th: Middle Ages

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

You sound like me!! There are different subjects I avoid because I just don't like what we have! History is one of them. I've decided that I'm going to go with the BF curriculum. We too are not history oriented, my son is a math wiz, he hates history most of the time, so anything to make it easier for him, I really believe he will love the BF program! Not to mention, the flexibility in teaching multiple children at the same time, whew, my job gets easier with that! We also have children about 2 years apart and my plan was also to do the Geography in 3rd/5th. I wish we could start it now, which we could, but I'm more excited about the program than my children likely would be, but then I would be able to teach it with JOY! But the best plan would be to just wait as my middle child is just too young for it right now. But the Early American History would be awesome for both of them this fall.

 

Sometimes I have a hard time allowing others opinions, or others "plans" or approaches get to me and I end up basing my opinions off of 1 review, or 1 suggestion otherwise, and while I've felt the BF books would be a great option for our family, I wound up questioning whether or not I would be doing my children a disservice if I didn't teach them chronologically.

 

Part of me has thought about going toward relaxed homeschooling, more unschooling in some areas outside of math and English, and while I don't feel confident in doing that, I feel the BF books set is a good opportunity, considering it has "living books" and I don't plan on having a strict plan, I'll use their guide to ask questions about the readings, but the extra activities for us aren't as important as they will be doing a separate writing program/grammar. I really think I could've benefited from this approach as a child, the textbookish style of learning is just not ideal for me, and my son finds textbooks extremely boring.

[acsnmama]

Early American

Geography

Western Expansion (and History of the Horse)

Ancients (begin History of Science)

Medieval

Early American and World (begin History of Music)

Ancients (upper level)

Medieval (upper level)

US and World I and II

US and World III and IV

Modern History (and Civics and Government)

 

 

Thanks for the layout, funny thing is, I had actually laid out a plan according to what I felt would be beneficial for us throughout, and my plan was nearly the same as yours aside from a couple of grades!

[Professormom]

Have you looked at Sonlight? The b, c, d, and e cores really cover one round through history. Very literature based, we had an awesome time going through history once in a way that told the story. For 5th, we switch to Tapestry because, like you, I am a nazi on the 4-year cycle. (Not that I am saying you are a nazi, lol!). We switched from sonlight because of the 4-year cycle and the Socratic discussion, teacher's notes, etc. that TOG provides. But, I would not trade those first our years through Sonlight for anything! (I still blend the books into ToG.). And because it was all scheduled, I could tweak to my heart's content and add in lit from other programs. One caveat, if you are super crafty, you will probably have to add in. I am not (sheepish grin), so that wasn't an issue in our house.

[acsnmama]

I have looked into Sonlight, and I've seen so much from them, a family member of mine uses Sonlight (which I could borrow from her), but my son isn't fond of the set up of some of the Usborne books they offer, and as a whole, I don't care for Sonlight, although I do like some of their titles. I found that some of the book titles are the same as what BF uses.

[Professormom]

I know what you mean about the Usborne... The kids liked them, but they drove me nuts:-). Way too much scatter for me...

[mom31257]

If want to use BF, it looks as if you won't be able to follow a 4 year cycle because Ancients isn't available for the primary grades. Although the 4 year cycle makes sense, it really isn't the only way to do history. I've been concerned about making sure I'm also covering social studies and American enough in the early grades because our state has standardized testing requirements. We also want to test more often than the state requires. I'm using workbooks and materials from school supply stores as well as books I find recommended on different topics. I'm using Trail Guide to WG this year and will use the US book next year. I'm planning on covering economics and government over the next year or two as well.

 

History matters, but it sounds like the literature actually matters more to you. Choose packs that are age appropriate and what you want to study. As long as your children have a basic understanding of history, they will be fine.

[Classical Book Worm]

 

Sometimes I have a hard time allowing others opinions, or others "plans" or approaches get to me and I end up basing my opinions off of 1 review, or 1 suggestion otherwise, and while I've felt the BF books would be a great option for our family, I wound up questioning whether or not I would be doing my children a disservice if I didn't teach them chronologically.

 

Part of me has thought about going toward relaxed homeschooling, more unschooling in some areas outside of math and English, and while I don't feel confident in doing that, I feel the BF books set is a good opportunity, considering it has "living books" and I don't plan on having a strict plan, I'll use their guide to ask questions about the readings, but the extra activities for us aren't as important as they will be doing a separate writing program/grammar. I really think I could've benefited from this approach as a child, the textbookish style of learning is just not ideal for me, and my son finds textbooks extremely boring.

 

Even though the time brackets may not be in order, every history program is taught chronologically in a given year, unless the events are truly presented out of order. You can always get/make a timeline for reference.

 

Here are some excellent articles:

From Beautiful Feet:

Why Teach American History First? http://bfbooks.com/Why-Teach-American-History-First

When Should I Teach Ancient History? http://bfbooks.com/When-Should-I-Teach-Ancient-History

 

And this from Memoria Press:

History is Not Chronological: Fit History to the Child, Not the Child to History http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/July08/historynotchronological.html

 

I personally found SOTW textbookish, even with the supplemental books suggested in the Activity Guide (I found much better titles on my own or through Tapestry of Grace booklists). Beautiful Feet just really gets it: kids are captivated by beautifully crafted, living books. Plus, in my opinion, the questions/lessons in the BF guide are more open-ended and have greater depth.

 

FWIW, I have heard from moms who have used the Geography program that it's just fine to wait, even if the child is in the older range, because they get so much out of it. Why offer mere "pegs," when you can give them a feast? The Holling books are so rich! So many opportunities for rabbit trails.

 

Hope this is helpful!