Great history programs for elementary?

[AnaShoo]

So, we're now into our second year of homeschooling. I added Spanish this year, and it's going well. We're covering the 3Rs effectively, and I'm happy with the curriculum I've chosen for those. I would really, really like to add some history. I have a K and 3rd grader, and would like something I can do with both. It would be great if it were literature based, but I'm open to ideas. Mostly I want something that isn't too prep intensive as we already have several things, Spanish included, that require a fair amount of prep, plus I have a 4 month old to take care of in the middle of all of this.

 

Any thoughts?

 

ETA: Cross posting this because I didn't put it in the forum I meant to.

[Guest BethSchart]

Check out the blog, Look! We're Learning! http://lookwerelearning.com/, written by a homeschooling mother of 4. Browse through her posts to find out how she teaches history. I love her units on living history.  She also uses and gives detailed reviews of various products.  

 

 

[kristinannie]

We are going through basic American history using picture books.  Since it is just an overview, I don't feel worried about any holes.  I also don't feel bad sticking with a topic for awhile that my kids get really into (we spent almost all year last year learning about American Indians and Jamestown).  I really like the D'Aulaires biographies, but there are mixed opinions on those so your mileage may vary.  I supplement those with other picture books.  We are finishing up George Washington and then I have several picture books about the Revolutionary War (mostly about Boston since we are going to go there to visit my sister soon).  We have added in some ancient Greece this year as well.  We are doing Ancient Greece, D'Aulaires Greek Myths, and Aesop's Fables.  I do US history twice a week and Ancient Greece twice a week.  We spend about 15-20 minutes reading and narrating the passages.  Easy and fun for the kids.

[Amy M]

Story of the World is great for your ages! Also here's a link to my blog where I put lots of history options with links to them with slight reviews. (Click on the post "Plethora of History Options"; I posted about my three favorites in separate posts--My Father's World, Tapestry of Grace, and Biblioplan.) There are so many great choices that it's hard to pick. Also look at www.cathyduffyreviews.com. She reviews several different curricula and marks her favorites.

[happypamama]

For those ages, I'd do SOTW, maybe with the activity guide if you have time, and with lots of readalouds and picture books to supplement. Either ancients or Middle Ages would probably appeal to that age range. My 3rd grader is working through SOTW Volume 3: Early Modern, using History Odyssey as a guide, and that seems to be a good fit for him too, although we're only a few weeks into it. I like that it's a little more spelled-out for me than the SOTW AGs, and I like that it's teaching some note-taking and starting to dig deeper into the "why" aspect of history, but I manly wanted that for my oldest. For just K and 3rd grade, I'd go just SOTW and its AG. I've really enjoyed the years we've used something like SOTW plus picture books to include the little guys.