Ariston Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 My son would like to do more crafts and activities, i.e. more than the none we are currently doing. :tongue_smilie: History seems like a good place to add crafts. We are doing SOTW, so I wanted to get the activity guide but there are such varied reviews that I'm worried. I have very limited time so I am NOT going to scour the internet to look for projects, so the criticism that they are all easy to find crafts are moot as far as I'm concerned. I'm hoping to find something with relatively simple projects....if its too involved or takes too much prep time, its just not ever going to happen. Something that involves some basic sewing projects or costumes would be nice, too. If I decide not to go with the Activity Guide, there are lots of books like this that look fun: http://www.amazon.co...=I164ZWRHCXAYAT Any ideas? Thanks! Elena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 The AG is worth it just for the maps. There are some good activities to do, but some are not to our tastes. Does he like to color? There are lots of coloring pages, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I didn't love the AG. It's worth it for certain things in certain situations. The maps are good. The booklists are good, especially if you don't have a good library. The coloring pages are nice if you have a kid who loves coloring or a tagging along younger one. The crafts are NOT one of the big selling points, IMO. There were a few excellent ideas in there, but for the most part, I was very, very disappointed by them. The book the OP linked is a good one - we had that one from the library and there are other volumes. We also liked Classical Kids (that series has an Old Testament book too) and the Kaleidescope Kids series - here's the Greece one, but there's another on the Pyramids and another about China and one about Rome that we especially liked. I'm pretty sure that this is another one we had from the library. And I know we had this one about China. My advice is to get as many craft books as you can - get them from the library or get them used. Then you can pick and choose. All those books will have some projects that are way too involved, but they'll also have some that are simpler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinF Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 There are a lot of coloring pages but there are also suggestions for activities. I think it is worth it for the discussion guide and if you add the activities that is a bonus. This week my boys are going to play a game related to what they study and do the maps. Also I find it helpful because I have an older child and he reads the passages from Kingfisher that are recommended in the AG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Definitely yes! The review questions, maps, book lists and projects are helpful and fun. We do one project every couple of weeks. You can usually get good feedback about specific projects on the WTM boards. :thumbup1: We use other book lists too, from other curriculum publishers who use a similar chronological sequence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esse Quam Videri Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I say yes to the AG. I wouldn't do SOTW without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailey Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Yes! My ds (8) isn't into the activities anymore, and we never did many of the crafts, but we're still enjoying the mapwork and review questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I like the AG somewhat. I like the maps a lot; they're worth doing. I also like the lists of supplemental books; we do a lot of those, and the AG save me a ton of time. My kids don't like to color (draw, yes, but color, no), so the AG isn't worth it for the coloring sheets for us. As for the crafts and projects, it varies. Ones that involve cooking, we often do (we had a blast making the African feast from SOTW1's AG!), but my kids are kind of picky about other crafts. They don't care for the "make a beard/cloak/hat like So-and-so" stuff, unless it's really authentic. We've enjoyed some of the games, though. So I think the AG are worth it, but if they had a map packet that was sold separately, I'd probably just have gotten that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violamama Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I just had my AG's bindings cut off and then drilled for three-hole binders so I can pop the pages in the printer to run off copies. I have all 4 volumes and to have this done was about $10 at kinkos. In case you use it, you might find that helpful to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeterbug Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I like the AG because it is all organised for me. I don't have to flip through other books to figure out what projects would go well with which chapter. It's all just there, all the maps, narration questions, colouring pages, crafts/activities. Wonderful in terms of time. A week or two ahead I put supplemental books on hold at the library, choose an activity and make sure I have the materials on hand. There are usually more than one to choose from, sometimes as many as five in a chapter. Some are simple, some are more involved. Some are great, some are not so great. If you want more activities then it is easy to add to using books along the Classical Kids line or search online. For ancients I had the hard copy and purchased the pdf of the student pages so I could just print out the activity pages as needed. Now for middle ages I am just getting the pdf of the whole book, I discovered that I don't need the hard copy, i'll just read it on my ipad and print as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelmama1209 Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 here are some blogs that have activities linked http://creeksidelearning.com/hands-on-history/story-of-the-world/ http://ourstoryoftheworldjourney.wordpress.com/page/2/ satori smiles also has some fun extras Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 yes, it's definitely worth it in my opinion :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I think the AG is worth it just for the maps and review questions. We use the coloring pages and activities as well, but they're not the high point of it imo. I'm sure the books lists would be very useful to anyone with a good library, but our library stinks. If you're mainly looking for activities, you could probably find a book with more exciting activity ideas, but for everything else that comes in the AG, I think it's well worth the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 You can add History Pockets, Homeschool in the Woods kits, or Hands n Hearts kits. I got lucky one year at convention and someone was selling a midieval kit of crafts. There is stuff out there in time period kits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 We have been really enjoying the AG. We don't use everything, but it sure makes it easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 We like the AG better than the text!!! :leaving: I like the discussion questions (although my ds does not). I like the projects. There's plenty to pick from that you wouldn't have to try to do all of them. There's lists of recommended reading that spans the grades. I like the maps. My Kinder likes the coloring pages, my older ds not so much. There's also a free lapbook available at http://runofthemillfamily.blogspot.com/p/story-of-world-resources-for-volume-one.html'>http://runofthemillfamily.blogspot.com/p/story-of-world-resources-for-volume-one.html and there's lists of movies and documentaries here http://runofthemillfamily.blogspot.com/p/story-of-world-resources-for-volume-one.html I also agree with pp that History Pockets could be fun. Also there are the Dover historical coloring books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBoogie Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 We have been doing it for three weeks. So far, the book-- we love. The AG-- eh. BUT, I did a bunch of research ahead of time for projects and extra books on my own. If you want it right there, the AG is great. I like the maps as well. Just not sure if it was worth the price we paid, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maela Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I love the AG for the book lists especially, but also for the help with review questions, narration guides, and maps. We do an activity about once every two weeks (when I find a super easy one). That said, our AG was free from our charter school. I'm not sure I would pay the $35(?) for it... ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I just want to point out that the OP asked about the AG specifically in regards to the crafts... but most of the posts are citing totally different reasons that it's worth it. It may still be worth it to her, I just thought that was worth noting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeterbug Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I just want to point out that the OP asked about the AG specifically in regards to the crafts... but most of the posts are citing totally different reasons that it's worth it. It may still be worth it to her, I just thought that was worth noting. I noticed this too! She's asking about the crafts and we are all telling her how wonderful the maps are! ;) I really think it depends on whether you want to spend the time to pull it together yourself. Easy to do, just can be time-consuming. It wouldn't feel as time-consuming if you did it as you go. If you want to be able to just open the book and have some ideas in front of you then it might be worth it. I'm not sure if I'd buy it just for the crafts, but we are using the other components as well. Another thought, have you looked at the Homeschool in the Woods resources? I'm planning to get this Project Passport: Middle Ages when we do volume 2 of sotw. There are pictures down the right side that show you the various projects. But I'll still get the AG as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebacabunch Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 We do some of the projects. They have been fun. I also love the narrations, review, page numbers for kingfisher and usborne, reading lists, mapwork, etc. Even my 6th grader will do the coloring pages sometimes if I bring out the oil pastels or watercolor pencils to do them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKshanmar Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 yes! I'm not a crafty person. So we probably did less than 10% of the projects, but it was great to have the suggestions. I loved the reading lists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariston Posted January 15, 2013 Author Share Posted January 15, 2013 I just want to point out that the OP asked about the AG specifically in regards to the crafts... but most of the posts are citing totally different reasons that it's worth it. It may still be worth it to her, I just thought that was worth noting. I noticed this too! She's asking about the crafts and we are all telling her how wonderful the maps are! ;) You know, you all had me thinking that maybe I wanted to do coloring pages, maps, narration, extra reading and review questions--you made it sound so good! :p But alas, history is near the bottom of my priority list right now (sorry history buffs)...just trying to add some crafts in has me nearly overhwhelmed! So I don't see myself using all of the other extras anytime soon. Thank you to everyone for the advice and resources! I think I will check out what our library has for crafts books as Farrar suggested and look into the other resources listed, and then try to make a decision on the AG. I have been having a lot of success lately with scaling our HS down to the basics, and I'm a little worried about little by little adding the 'extras' back in which wasn't really working for us...but thanks for all the replies! It sounds like the consensus is that for crafts, the AG is not worth it, but that the other aspects of it are valuable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 I am not a craft sort of a person and very few of those crafts that actually happen here come from the AG. I still get it though because the maps are great and my dd loves the colouring pages. The maps really seem to stick the story in my sons head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 I am not a crafty person, but the AG made things very easy to execute. Rebecca loved it and learned a ton and still remembers things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troxie Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 We loved the AGs, we used all 4. I am not a very crafty person either but the AG made it easy. We certainly did not use them all, but we would go through them together and if my son saw one he thought was cool, we'd do it. As everyone else has stated - the maps are awesome, I would never do history without a little map work to make it tangible, and we also loved the narration questions and guides. Honestly though, it is SO easy to find a craft now and then for free on the internet and we have done that often. Just type in Ancient times history crafts or Medieveal times history crafts, etc. and voila! You will find most of the crafts that you will find in any of the craft books right on the web for free with very little effort. We've also used the Homeschool in the Woods resources but for us it was too much - it became almost another curriculum. They do have some great crafts and lapbooking/notebooking ideas though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil' maids in a row Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 We have enjoyed the Activity Guide this year. The coloring pages give my younger kids something to do while I am reading the history story. The crafts have all been just right for our family (aka. fun but not to much work/prep). For the cost I think it is a great tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariston Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 here are some blogs that have activities linked http://creeksidelear...y-of-the-world/ http://ourstoryofthe...ess.com/page/2/ satori smiles also has some fun extras OK, between these blogs (including Satori) and this one I found http://enchantedschoolhouse.blogspot.com/p/story-of-world.html I don't think I could possibly need any more resources...awesome! (I've also found some stuff on pinterest.) We are trying to do history at bedtime now with a lot of the extra reading materials added in, even though I was originally just going to read SOTW without supplementing it. Its fun for now, I hope I don't burn out on all this history. Thanks everyone! Elena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecclecticmum Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 I love the AG! Possibly more than SOTW! lol. It has so many interesting crafts, and with a second of thinking, there are many ways to make even the most time-consuming and gross crafts (mummified chicken anyone?) into something easy (lift the lid on mummies - easy purchase, replacing with an apple - Satori Smiles blog - Wrapping a barbie in ribbon then decorating baby food jars as organ jars - What my daughter did before we even began SOTW lol). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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