LNC Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 We love Tq for the commentary and booklists. But, my highly visual learners need help with retention, and black and white vintage spines aren't helping. The updated Companions look perfect for that purpose. We would still read the Tq commentary and follow BP scheduled spines. The advanced Cool History worksheets even provide essay topics that can be turned into our weekly 2-3 persuasive essays. I will have to substitute my choice of readers and read alouds from Omnibus, but the schedule will provide accountability that my reading list is doable. I've searched BP online and on the boards and so few are using BP. Have you researched and decided against it? Even after reviewing the updates? Why? The free 3 week samples provide the best overview of the updates. http://www.biblioplan.net/2011/03/biblioplans-free-samples-free-sample.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 It might be wildly popular among homeschoolers who are not members of TWTM forums. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFM Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 I use Biblioplan and really enjoy it! :) We plan to continue. Not sure why more do not use it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 I tried BP 2 years ago with a first grader and didn't like it for that age. I've looked at the updated versions since then, and the schedule and readers haven't really changed. I had the parent companion, and it also hasn't changed, except for aesthetics. The text is exactly the same. I found that SOTW + AG was easier to implement for first grade. I also didn't like that many of the K-3 readers were simply retellings of the same Bible stories we'd just read for history. I'd rather the readers be expanding on what we've read. You can't expand on the original story starting from the Bible. :tongue_smilie: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNC Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 I tried BP 2 years ago with a first grader and didn't like it for that age. I've looked at the updated versions since then, and the schedule and readers haven't really changed. I had the parent companion, and it also hasn't changed, except for aesthetics. The text is exactly the same. I found that SOTW + AG was easier to implement for first grade. I also didn't like that many of the K-3 readers were simply retellings of the same Bible stories we'd just read for history. I'd rather the readers be expanding on what we've read. You can't expand on the original story starting from the Bible. :tongue-smilie: I can see why the updates wouldn't be useful for grammar stage, but it looks great for logic and early high school ages. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 It might be wildly popular among homeschoolers who are not members of TWTM forums. :-) I'm not very familiar with this curriculum although I know I've seen their booklist at one point. What makes it something that might not be popular here? It is a classical program, is it not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom2011 Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 I use Biblioplan and really enjoy it! :) We plan to continue. Not sure why more do not use it. I especially like it for the middle grades. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 It doesn't sell itself well. When I go to its site, I want to know up front what I need, what's optional, and exactly what the program includes. $100 for someone to schedule SOTW and give me different suggested lit, activities, timelines, and coloring pages? Why should I pay THEM when SOTW has a much cheaper activity book with all that included? I've looked at Biblioplan and scratched my head, but have no desire to invest in it. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 When I go to its site, I want to know up front what I need, what's optional, and exactly what the program includes. $100 for someone to schedule SOTW and give me different suggested lit, activities, timelines, and coloring pages? Why should I pay THEM when SOTW has a much cheaper activity book with all that included? Exactly. And the integration with the Bible, which I was hoping for, was just reading the Bible alongside SOTW, all lined up. Well, I can get that schedule for free on that redshift site. They didn't really integrate the readings. They were just scheduled at the same time (with some weeks having a gazillion Bible chapters to read). I paid about $60, and didn't feel like I got my money's worth. As far as the logic/high school stage... Looking at it, I don't see anything really interesting. For logic stage, it basically says to write a narration, IIRC (and I can't look right now without "buying" the sample again... Why can't they just link to the PDF directly? It's only a 3 week sample!). I will say this... Their website has greatly improved, except for the sample business. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Yes, I have looked and it and for the ages of my children it all mostly looks like things I can put together myself. We are using MOH as our spine and between the files on the MOH yahoo group and All Through the Ages i am set for now. I may look back at it when my kids get older, but for now we do it ourselves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 We are using it for the first time this year and honestly really love it. Sure I could line up Trial and Triumph and add in my own church history, but there is so much more I love about BP. I love that the Companion gives me the whole picture and then I can give my kids the pieces I think they would enjoy. I like the order of BP better than straight SOTW, I thought straight SOTW was too jumpy for my littles. I like the cool histories, I like the geography section. I love the timeline and how it has a church and secular timeline but on the same page. I love the Giants of the Faith each week and the book template they give for that. I like the reading suggestions for the most part but I do add lots of SL books and read a read aloud often chosen from the readers since my kids are all little. I think the crafts and activities in the BP craft book and cool histories are great, especially for boys. I love the companion and the visual it gives my kids. They love the pictures. I think if you love SOTW, BP will not be much of a draw because why pay for that when you only have grammar age kids and you enjoy SOTW. However, SOTW alone does not work for everyone, and BP really shines when you have multi level kiddos. I love it and while I was planning on using something else next year to cover US history, I am having a hard time letting go of BP because we are enjoying it so much. ETA: I did a few posts on my blog about BP in case anyone is interested. Review of BP: http://onemagnificentobsession.blogspot.com/2012/10/biblioplan-review.html?m=0 Why I chose BP over SL/TOG/SOTW: http://onemagnificentobsession.blogspot.com/2012/10/why-biblioplan-over-sonlight-and_24.html?m=0 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 We tried it this year for Ancients and ended up dropping the Companion part. I did not like The Companion for my 4th and 5th graders, I might like it for older kids. I find the maps pages to be very lacking. Knowledge Quest maps are much better. I like the fact it schedules multiple spines and that the literature books are divided by age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 We are using it for the first time this year and honestly really love it. Sure I could line up Trial and Triumph and add in my own church history, but there is so much more I love about BP. I love that the Companion gives me the whole picture and then I can give my kids the pieces I think they would enjoy. I like the order of BP better than straight SOTW, I thought straight SOTW was too jumpy for my littles. I like the cool histories, I like the geography section. I love the timeline and how it has a church and secular timeline but on the same page. I love the Giants of the Faith each week and the book template they give for that. I like the reading suggestions for the most part but I do add lots of SL books and read a read aloud often chosen from the readers since my kids are all little. I think the crafts and activities in the BP craft book and cool histories are great, especially for boys. I love the companion and the visual it gives my kids. They love the pictures. I think if you love SOTW, BP will not be much of a draw because why pay for that when you only have grammar age kids and you enjoy SOTW. However, SOTW alone does not work for everyone, and BP really shines when you have multi level kiddos. I love it and while I was planning on using something else next year to cover US history, I am having a hard time letting go of BP because we are enjoying it so much. ETA: I did a few posts on my blog about BP in case anyone is interested. Review of BP: http://onemagnificen...review.html?m=0 Why I chose BP over SL/TOG/SOTW: http://onemagnificen...and_24.html?m=0 Thank you for your reviews. I think it just comes down to what each family is looking for and what your strengths are. I teach a multiage history class weekly and have my 13yo doing his work, usually on the same subject. It is easy for me to pull together my own resources and line them up, and I do have the advantage of not needing to have everyone working on the same time period. That said, I think Biblioplan does itself a terrible misservice with its reluctance to be open about its curriculum. I think they would have more customers if they could dig their foot in and yell what they're offering and how it would enhance a homeschool. I don't shy away from something because of its price, but because of its perceived value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNC Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Thanks for sharing. I can see why it seems unneccesary for younger grades. We used TQ AHYS (with lots of picture books) and SOTW. Lots of retention. My children are very visual. We have used just TQ for Ancients and MA, Renaissance/Reformation. We have moved on from picture books and their spines are very thorough and well-written, but dry. Their notebooking consists of 2-3 topic summaries per week and I have to help come up with persuasive essay topics. The notebooking companion I bought to go along with TQ is very disappointing, terrible maps and timeline. So, when we looked at the 3 week MA sample of Biblioplan Companion, they begged to use it next year. It has definitions, summaries, maps, tons of pictures and photos, everything a visual learner needs for retention. It schedules Hakim US series in year 3, which is perfect for visual learners. The Advanced Cool History pages have fill in the blank, short answer, and persuasive essay topics weekly that can come from the Companion reading. More retention. The weekly maps and timeline look well done. We will use the Companion, Famous Men, Hakim, Trial and Triumph and TQ commentary (I'll plug that in) as spines. Even if I have to plug in my own readers and read alouds (from Omnibus), the schedule provides a framework so that I don't overplan. I just can't see a downside for Logic stage and up. BP say they are still updating Year 3, so they will send it out piecemeal in ebook form in Aug. If it isn't ready, we may study Year 4 first. That is how much we want to try it. I'm really curious to hear especially from those who used the updated version with older kids and didn't like it. Or who reviewed it and found it lacking. Thanks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom2011 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 n/m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommamia Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Did anyone from this thread end up trying BP? Likes or dislikes? Thinking of it for logic stage. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pour in Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 :lurk5: wondering too... I'm trying to decide between BP, Mystery Of History v.1 (which we love and used 4 years ago), TOG, TruthQuest... which to use as a 'spine' that is the most chronological. Notgrass Adam to Us looks great but doesn't seem to be released yet? I think those are all of the options I've found so far that fits my hopes. Which is best for many kiddos at the same time (ages 11, 9,7,4) that also meets TWTM lists of great men and women and literature to cover for Ancients? I'd love to use all of them :drool: but realize we must also learn math etc. By any chance has anyone correlated a few of these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 We never ended up using Biblioplan, but we are using (and thoroughly enjoying!) Wayfarers Ancient History. It includes Bible, history, science, geography, and extras like art & composer studies. Everyone in our family is enjoying it...the book selections are phenomenal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 I "know" the creator of Biblioplan from another (not homeschool-related) online forum. She tried to sell me on Biblioplan by telling me that it could be used by non-Christians with no problem. :huh: Um, it's a biblical and church history program. It says so right on the front page. :confused1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 I know several people that use and love it. Gratefulforgrace.com has a bunch of posts on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN Mama Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 We used year 4 last year (6th and 8th) and absolutely loved it! The companion was great! Loved the cool history and the maps. It was a great year for us. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN Mama Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 There are many products which actually are quite popular but are not used by the members of this forum. That could be the case with the updated Biblioplan. It could be wildly popular with homeschoolers not following WTM. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.