SOTW Vol. 1: Do I need to buy the Activity Book?

[Mariadelourdes]

Hi!

This is my first year homeschooling both my kids (3rd and 6th grader).

 

Would like to start with SOTW Volume 1 for history. 

How indispensable is the Activity Book?  Would lessons be missing good information if I skip it?

 

I have a 9 y.o. boy (with dyspraxia and fine-motor delay) who doesn't want to do much with his hands. Lately, he has been reluctant to do any kind of manual work (i.e. cutting with scissors, glueing, etc.) and I'm afraid to buy too many books from the start, only to have him reject them. 

 

Thanks in advance!

Maria

 

[Mandylubug]

you could just get the pdf download of the student pages that includes the coloring pages and the maps. It doesn't include the narration questions or instructions for the maps, etc... it also won't include the recommended hands on projects and further reading. Map wise, you can give your child directions for the map. Just make something up like label N, S, E, W... Circle India, etc... It is just to get them used to reading and identifying objects on a map. I personally like the activity guide but no, it isn't a requirement.

[Laura Corin]

With Calvin, who hated to do anything with his hands, I didn't buy the activity book.  We read SOTW out loud, looked up the places in an atlas or on our globe, read the equivalent passages in The Usborne Internet Linked Encyclopedia of World History, sometimes followed a link or two, and read some associated historical fiction.  It worked really well.

 

L

[Mariadelourdes]

Thank you ladies!

 

We do have maps and I plan on getting a globe, as well. 

He does love geography but I'm not sure he would be into some of the other hands-on projects.  I do love the idea of tying the reading to an online reference source since he loves to use the computer. 

 

Thanks again!

[freerange]

My two loved the SOTW activity books & were horrified wHen I suggested not getting them. I also bought the student pages PDF so I could reprint a page if my dyspraxia & perfectionist dd wanted to start over. There are lots of ideas for activities that aren't fine motor skill focused. SOTW without a mummification project or cooking a roman meal will still teach them history, but if you add in the activity book the experience will be richer for it.

[ShellLou]

We have enjoyed some of the activities in the activity guide.

Are they absolute necessity - no, you would still get the "history" information & the learning.

Some of the activities have been great fun & have provided some good memories & have enriched our history learning. 

That is what we have found.

[Kelly1730]

I did not use the activity book with SOTW I but have for the other three. We don't do a lot of the craft type stuff but I like having them for the maps (we love maps!) and the extra reading suggestions. 

[nrself]

I'm with Freerange.  We loved the activity guides!  I also didn't get it for Ancients, and had the "where have you been all my life" feeling when we tried the guide out on the Middle Ages.  Activities included things like food from the times, build roman bridges, make a castle and moat in the sandbox, re-inact a battle, make dress up clothes/crown/jewelry/weapons, all sorts of things that felt like playing to my boys.

 

 

 

[Alice]

It’s not essential. Of all the volumes, I found I used it the most for Vol. 1. My oldest hated coloring or anything crafty so we skipped all that but we did do things like the mummified chicken, building a Nile river model, etc. I also really liked it for the extra reading suggestions and for the narration questions. You could do all that on your own but it made it much easier the first year. 

[Spryte]

We love the AG.  I think you could do without, but it adds a lot to the experience.  We don't do every activity, but I use the questions on each section as spin off points for discussion and we do our narrations, etc immediately following.  We don't always do the map work in the AG, but most of the time we do.  So many of the activities don't involve cutting or pasting that I think you could have fun with it.  Building a model of the Nile, etc.  Lots of fun stuff.  But you could skip all of it, too, and you'd still get a lot out of just reading and using your globe.  

[Farrar]

Not essential here.  I think the craft projects are mostly really dopey and disappointing.  I felt comfortable choosing books myself and only rarely needed the recommendations in the AG.  I think it just really depends on how you use SOTW.  No one's SOTW looks just the same.  The AG offers a lot of options and most people don't do them all.

[KathyJo]

We use the student pages, but the actual activity books just sit on the shelf. I'll give you a deal on them if you want them. ;-)

[Incognito]

The AG is more of a teacher's guide, not a workbook.  There are coloring pages and whatnot for the kids, but they aren't what is most valuable in the AG.  The AG makes it easy to have fun ideas to go along with the chapter.  It tells you names of other resources that pair with what you are learning. 

 

I have been really happy to have the AG.  My reluctant hands-on kid has been inspired to do more hands on because my other child likes it (and they are doing it together).

 

 

[Heatherwith4]

I found the AG to be very important, but it was my first official homeschooling year. Now I'm more confident and probably wouldn't use it as much. SOTW is awesome with or without the AG.

[KristenR]

You could honestly probably find everything you need if you spend some time searching on the internet.  Pinterest alone has tons of SOTW boards.  That being said, I enjoy the AG and find it extremely handy to have around.  My girls DO like the coloring pages and it saves me from spending hours in front of the computer screen.

[Tanikit]

I did SOTW1 without the AG this year and I didn't need it - we used a wall map to look things up, made our own maps out in the garden (my DD loves hands on activities), built things out of lego, colored pictures I printed off the net or did cut and pastes. I am not sure it even took more work than having the AG - sure I had to look things up to get ideas, but it wasn't difficult - but then I also have no problem using BFSU which many people complain about and doing things this way has been a little like having to do some planning before BFSU. I spend a lot of time in front of my computer anyway :)

 

[Mariadelourdes]

A million thanks to ALL who replied!

 

KathyJo: I'm interested. I'll send you a message shortly. Thanks!

[boscopup]

I used it for the book suggestions, narration questions, and maps. The maps are nice for non-writers as there is no labeling. It's circling or drawing an arrow, mostly.

 

We did a few projects, but quickly dropped them. I'm not a project mom, and I was using it when my oldest was 1st and 2nd grade, so he couldn't do much himself.

 

I got a great deal on all 4 AGs used, so I felt like I definitely got my money's worth.

[Peplophoros]

Oh my goodness I can't imagine not having the AG!  So much fun!!  And I don't even do the activities!  Mapwork and coloring alone make it totally worth the buy, but then you get literature suggestions which are fantastic!  The comprehension questions are great, too.  I love the AG!!

[thebacabunch]

The AG is my favorite piece of curriculum.  Ever.

[MotherOfBoys]

I have it for ancients this year. The amount of extra reading suggestions is overwhelming me. I like the maps (we are not going to use them all) and the coloring pages (for my youngest to join). We will not do the crafts because I'm a reading person and not a crafty person. Grandma might visit and do one or two though. I will probably get the AG one next year (II) for the reading suggestions alone. I have a tiny library to work with so I have to have lots of options and a list in advance for them to order from elsewhere.

[blondchen]

I'm not crafty and will probably skip most of the hands-on activities, but so far I absolutely love the AG for the narration questions, maps, coloring pages and book lists. The AG is worth it to me for those things alone. I don't want to spend the time figuring out my own resources for history if I don't have to.

[Mariadelourdes]

I will get them (hopefully used at bargain price) and will probably ask my very crafty 6th grader to help her brother along. He looks up to her for everything! 

[LEK]

We love the AG. Honestly I usually design our own curriculum for the week anyway but the AG gives me a quick and easy head start on working out what we will do, we do actually do a lot of the suggestions from the AG but I often find different ones that we perfer online. My girls love the colouring pages and the mapping and I love how I get about half our craft and activity ideas from it (and the other half I get from the net using the suggestions in the AG as a starting point and inspiration)

[dollhouse]

I wouldn't say it's essential, but IMO, it's definitely worth the money. It includes a lot of great suggested activities and a lists of books for further reading, as well as maps and coloring pages. I"m glad we bought it.

[freerange]

For anyone still undecided, don't forget there's a 22 page sample on the PHP website

[Mommee & Baba]

For our family SOTW just wouldn't be the same without the AG pages! My kids tend to retain more when they are coloring while I read. We enjoy the map work and simple little activities that some chapters have.

[zenjenn]

We don't do that many of the activities, actually, but I still buy the AG every year (we're starting Vol 3) this year.

 

I think it's handy to have the AG in my hands. I use it primarily for supplemental literature suggestions and for review questions for the kids. Once in a while we even do an actual activity from the book. :D

 

But do you need it? No.

[ajaabney]

We ended up skipping the activity guide.  Even though my kids love crafts, they didn't really like the activity guide.  Just reading through the book worked great for us.  You can always check the library or Pinterest for a couple of activities to go along with the time period you're studying if your kids really want to do something.  But if you like having all of your resources in one place, the activity guide is great for that.  

[DarcyM]

For mine, the AG was what made the program. We did the recipes esp and my boys love maps. I appreciated the extra reading but we like to go slowly and add in lots of resources around the chapters as well. we used this with the Kingfisher encyclopedia (which I don't believe is avail anymore) but there are other great ency's as well.