My son has no interest in history

[plain jane]

My second child likes history but has no interest in SOTW. My 7yo boy, however, has very little interest in history altogether.

 

Even Egyptian things got little rise out of him. He'd listen to the story, do what was required bit would be more than glad to run away after. He has zero retention and its obvious this is not an area of interest for him. He really enjoys science, however.

 

My question is, I feel a second grade child doesn't need to be forced history but how long can I say that for? Can I do geography with him instead and skip the first cycle and start up in 5th? Make him listen to SOTW CDs even though they seem to go in one ear and out the other? He will do some of the crafts but typically he barely listens to the stories. He just has no interest. :(

 

Does anyone have a 7yo like this who can offer some advice for me?

 

I'm happy to do Expedition Earth instead but I do feel guilty about him not having any history. The older kids and I were talking about the Roman aqueducts the other day and even my 4yo piped up and asked what a Roman was. Aaahhhhhh. So embarrassing. ;). LOL. I type this in hear because he is 4 but I don't think my 7yo had much more of a clue.

 

I don't really want huge gaps in my little guy's education, if that makes sense. But I also don't feel that forcing something on him is going to promote learning or a love of learning.

 

Ideas?

[Arcadia]

My 8 year old remembers mainly the mythology portions, my 7 year old remembers hardly anything.  They do enjoy the learning about the seven wonders of the ancient world and they love geography more.  How about history of science?   My kids remembers history stuff about Leonardo Da Vinci, Galileo, Copernicus, Archimedes, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison because these people are scientist. My 7 year old was curious about Christopher Columbus, Magellan and Lewis and Clark from the geography point of view.

 

I'll just continue to strive for exposure and go deeper from 5th grade.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I'm right there with you, my dd7 is completely disinterested in studying history or the world geography thing I put together.  The responses on this thread were helpful for me, maybe they will be for you too:

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/483345-is-there-any-content-you-would-insist-on-teaching-to-a-2nd-grader/

[Guest]

My 9 and 8 yr olds are the same way. Zero interest. they won't even listen to story of the world or read history based library books. I'm not going to push it. They have plenty of time later on. 

[crazyforlatin]

No big deal, don't push it.

 

But I must offer this book, http://www.amazon.com/Poop-Happened-History-World-Bottom/dp/0802720773/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376011606&sr=8-1&keywords=History+of+poop, history from the um, fecal perspective. :D

 

ETA: This captured the attention of some fidgety boys.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

My dd had no interest in World History. I think it was just too abstract for her. I was fine dropping world history until the 5th grade year. Instead we did short studies on different topics with a historical and/or geographical subject to it for 1st and 2nd.

 

We first constructed a timeline so anything we studied went on the timeline. This can be as simple as a clothes line and placing the items on the line in the order they need to go. We used index cards cut in quarters and added title and date, dd sometimes drew a picture or cut one out. Each time we added a item she had to find the place where it went between.

 

Archeology

Genealogy

Pirates

Native American Indians

Vikings

Geography (we did cultures and countries over many months but not continually)

Map making

History of transportation

Wild West

American Symbols and iconic people

State Study

Art History

Clothes

Holidays

Social Study topics

 

We read lots of books with a historical setting. If she was interested in the history then we studied it too. Some times we spent a few days on a topic others a few weeks and with the geography it went over a year since we did not study it straight through. I do think it is important they learn about major countries (where they are in relation to the child and something about the country and the people) and important American (or country they live in) people and icons since these things will be seen/mentioned/celebrated and knowing something about them helps understand their own setting.

 

With elementary age (K-4th) you don't need to study history as a whole. Some curriculum companies don't teach history all year. It is taught half a year and the other half is science.

[Spryte]

No big deal, don't push it.

 

But I must offer this book, http://www.amazon.com/Poop-Happened-History-World-Bottom/dp/0802720773/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376011606&sr=8-1&keywords=History+of+poop, history from the um, fecal perspective. :D

 

ETA: This captured the attention of some fidgety boys.

 

Oooh!  That just went into the trusty Amazon cart!

 

OP, if your kiddo likes that kind of stuff, maybe check out Horrible Histories - you could even do the show.  Not the animated one on Netflix, though (the original is much better).  It's on iTunes.

[SewLittleTime]

No big deal, don't push it.

 

But I must offer this book, http://www.amazon.com/Poop-Happened-History-World-Bottom/dp/0802720773/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376011606&sr=8-1&keywords=History+of+poop, history from the um, fecal perspective. :D

 

ETA: This captured the attention of some fidgety boys.

I almost spit my coffee when I saw this!  My boys would LOVE it! :lol:

[Sahamamama]

I wouldn't be interested in Ancients, either, at that age.  ;)

 

Do something else instead. What interests you? Him? When my oldest was in Kindergarten, we read biographies, folk tales, Aesop, adapted Shakespeare, and Bible stories. That was enough History for K.

 

When she was in First Grade, and my twins were in Pre-K, we did a homemade "Around the World" study of other countries. It was great fun, and the girls retained so much. Check your library for Families of the World videos, they are worth watching. We read library books about various countries; looked up each country studied on a wall map, globe, and atlas; made some recipes, crafts, or dressed up in costumes; did a coloring page of the country's flag; listened to music; watched videos from the library or on Youtube; and learned more about the world we live in. All in all, a great year. Enchanted Learning has plenty of resources to help someone pull together an Around-the-World study.

 

This past year, for 2nd & K, we started in on American History, which we will finish up this year for 3rd & 1st.

 

Then for 4th & 2nd, we plan to do a one-year World History Survey, using SOTW CDs, Hillyer, and a few other things.

 

Finally, in 5th & 3rd, we'll study Ancients. For 6th & 4th, Middle Ages; for 7th & 5th, Early Modern; for 8th & 6th, Modern Times. No rush here. I like WTM, but the History cycle starting in First Grade with Ancients was never something that resonated with me or mine. I knew that for us, it would have been a waste of time.

[8filltheheart]

My kids enjoy books like the Holling C Holling books at that age. Simple readings with tons of stuff to explore and talk about. Plenty of time to do ancients later. Fwiw, my 2nd grader couldn't tell you anything about Romans either other than their relation to the crucifixion of Christ. It means absolutely nothing in terms of being well-educated. :). Just different priorities/sequence.

[Hwin]

We've done SOTW 1 and 2 and are taking a break to do American History. I probably started SOTW1 too early, so this will put him at a more appropriate age for SOTW 4 anyway. There is so much stuff locally about the Revolutionary War that I'm hoping he'll be a little bit more engaged. If history is not his thing, that's fine. He's still going to do it every week. I'm sure he'll get *something* out of it by the time his education is over :)

 

 

No big deal, don't push it.

But I must offer this book, http://www.amazon.com/Poop-Happened-History-World-Bottom/dp/0802720773/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376011606&sr=8-1&keywords=History+of+poop, history from the um, fecal perspective. :D

ETA: This captured the attention of some fidgety boys.

 

Um, my husband would love that book. But there is no way I am buying it for him, as he already peppers me with poop facts on a regular basis.

 

 

 

[Mandy in TN]

In K my youngest used WP Animals and Their Worlds. I added in some geography with geography puzzles and an animal atlas. He actually remembers quite a bit of this. Now we also did some history pockets for ancients. No. recall. whatsoever. I still have them, but he doesn't remember doing any them. In first grade, we did the Middle Ages. Again, he remembers nothing from this. In second grade, we started the year with Gromich's A Little History first semester and second semester ended up joining CC for the second semester of year 2. He remembers nothing. In grade 3, we did US history heavily with a text, a lot of literature, and CC year 3 that covers US history. He does remember some of this but not a lot compared to the depth of coverage and the time spent. Last year in fourth grade he used WP Children Around the World. I added in a ton of literature. I think he does have a better understanding of the cultures present on the different continents, but he primarily remembers the things that he found interesting which are not necessarily the things I was trying emphasize, but at least he found some things interesting. ( and he did memory work that we reviewed all year) All this to say that humans in general remember more of what they find interesting and most of us don't remember much from when we were little.

 

In grades 5-7, the plan is to do a three year world history cycle and then to do US history in grade 8. I am hoping that he finds more of it interesting and therefore retains more. I am also hoping that he retains more simply because he is older. This is what happened with my middle ds, but he never became a history buff. (My oldest remembered more, but he doesn't count, because he did like history. ;) )

 

In high school, I let my big boys help decide. They just had to be sure to meet the social studies requirements of their umbrella school and the entrance requirements for the state colleges. I will do the same with the little man, so I have no plan yet for what history/ social studies we will cover in high school.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[texasmama]

I mostly have my 7 year old rising 2nd grader tag along with her older brothers, who are interested in history.  Our history is heavy on read alouds so she is exposed to a great deal without my requiring it or focusing it on her.  That is true for literature, as well.  She is currently listening to Great Expectations because of her brothers.  :D

 

Some people don't love them, but all of my kids have found the Usborne history books engaging.  Lots of pictures/illustrations with bite-sized chunks of history.

[Mandy in TN]

My question is, I feel a second grade child doesn't need to be forced history but how long can I say that for? Can I do geography with him instead and skip the first cycle and start up in 5th? Make him listen to SOTW CDs even though they seem to go in one ear and out the other? He will do some of the crafts but typically he barely listens to the stories. He just has no interest. :(

 

Does anyone have a 7yo like this who can offer some advice for me?

 

Ideas?

I understand that here I am probably in the minority, so take this with a grain of salt. For me, content subjects are not a priority in K-3. The 3R's and taking a child from learning to read to reading to learn are the priorities. Content can be fabulous, but it is definitely a secondary consideration. I think that learning about what people do, continents and oceans, the nation's capital, national holidays, famous people, and famous landmarks is fine. You know the basic things that are covered in social studies at this grade level in public school. :)

 

In 4-8 I do want to get in an overview of world cultures, world history, and US history. I sort of feel like this is my time to cover what I want to cover before high school when our umbrella school and colleges get a bigger vote and so that my boys can/ could have a stronger opinion (based on their middle school overview) about what they would like to study in high school.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[cmac]

My 9 year old is similar. We tried TOG, then SOTW, but finally gave up.   I think the crafts will expose him a little and maybe your own short explanation of the story will help with exposure.  My son likes to watch the horrible history videos on youtube.  He also like the videos on youtube about the wars in history, though that requires time to find something appropriate for his age. 

 

I found this reference book,  http://www.abebooks.com/9781405491204/World-History-Encyclopedia-Complete-Comprehensive-1405491205/plp ,  for this year. I will pick and choose what I think he would be interested in, most likely the battles.  For American history I found this, 

 

There was also this book at our library he liked that showed a European village through the ages.  A person was hiding in each picture and he enjoyed finding him.  I will try to remember the name.   Good Luck!

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I understand that here I am probably in the minority, so take this with a grain of salt. For me, content subjects are not a priority in K-3. The 3R's and taking a child from learning to read to reading to learn are the priorities. Content can be fabulous, but it is definitely a secondary consideration. I think that learning about what people do, continents and oceans, the nation's capital, national holidays, famous people, and famous landmarks is fine. You know the basic things that are covered in social studies at this grade level in public school. :)

 

In 4-8 I do want to get in an overview of world cultures, world history, and US history. I sort of feel like this is my time to cover what I want to cover before high school when our umbrella school and colleges get a bigger vote and so that my boys can/ could have a stronger opinion (based on their middle school overview) about what they would like to study in high school.

 

HTH-

Mandy

 

Yep, what she said!  :hurray:

[smfmommy]

My oldest loved history, but my second didn't care for it much in general.  She does like biographies though.  She has gotten a lot of history by reading those.  We especially enjoy Childhood of Famous Americans.  Eventually I required a more systematic view and she will do it again in highschool.  She actually knows a good deal about history even if she doesn't think so since she has rarely done an actually chronological history text.

 

 

[SweetMissMagnolia]

no advice but am in the same boat....my 10yr old isn't interested AT ALL---I

[MissKNG]

I also agree that history at this age is gravy. We do US History since it is required by the state. I just read small portions of the text with the girls at lunch and go through the questions. If there is a project listed, we sometimes do that project. At this point, the 3Rs are priority (and Bible here).

[Walking-Iris]

My oldest is 10 and has very little interest in world history. He is interested in American history however. He loves geography and gets excited by any kind of map work, and he has a countries of the world flag coloring book that he uses on his own. He likes to google the flag and read a quick bit on the symbols. Same with US states flags. He is excited to learn the Presidents and has a poster of them in his room. He collects stamps and US state quarters.

 

But Ancients was a drag for him. I diligently ILL all of the recommended books and there were times he found an interest. Mythology mainly. The story of Gilgamesh. Ice Age people and animals are still really interesting to him. He went through a phase of being interested in Old Testament stories. Some of the SOTW projects were fun. 

 

But the actual SOTW text and review questions and narrations were torture for him. He does fine with those skills in WWE, it's just history that he disliked. 

 

He listens to historical fiction read alouds.

 

My 1st grader is showing a bit more interest, but it's  sitting still for read alouds that are his main issue. I try to do a lot of projects or documentaries instead. 

 

It's just immersion at this point. I just figure if I keep at it, some things will sink in. My 10 year old was talking to my dh about Thomas Paine the other week...so he is picking up things here and there. But I do sometimes question starting with Ancients with young children. It can be so abstract and long ago....

 

I don't worry about it too much though. If a 1st grader doesn't retain anything about Assyrians....is it really that terrible?

[CrunchyGirl]

We are two weeks into HO and it just feels like a lost cause. I tried to do prehistory over the summer and while the program was great and I learned a lot, he had very little interest. Truly he's only interested in STEM topics anyway although I require reading aloud, copywork, and narration daily of course. He will seriously do an hour and a half a day of math quite happily and can recite and apply in context virtually every fact covered in the Magic School Bus video series. I think it may be worth considering giving up my ideal (3x through the history cycle) for something more like what Mandy proposed. I'm torn because it feels like to do so isn't rigorous but then if he retains absolutely nothing, truly what is the point of devoting a bunch of time to it? I'm really tempted to just listen to SOTW on CD and call it good (unless of course he shows interest in a particularly topic in which case we can dive in).

 

Mandy, something you said caught my attention. The idea of teaching them to read to learn. I need to figure out a concrete plan for that. Maybe I should start another thread though. Don't want to derail the OP's thread!

[cmac]

We made it to the library and found some fun history books, now that I'm relaxing more about history. I found some fun books about egypt that had filled envelopes to make it more interesting. There was also a horrible histories book (not egypt), and a 'scary' history book.