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My perfect curriculum..do you know what it is? Non-reformed like VP Omnibus?


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Oh...ladies and gentlemen, I need your help! So, so, so much!

Here's my story..Condensed, as much as possible.

Just finished graduating our first from HS. One more to go, ds entering 7th grade in the fall. We have varied some on our approach, but basically MFW R to R for history this year, after riding the Abeka history train and his love for said subject dying a slow death. Much better this year, not sure if it's because of the books or the short assignments in MFW ;)

Here's where my nightmare began, taking my sweet friends children, along with mine, to the local unique, antique book store. Her kids, salivating, spending their allowance on classics (yea, every mom's dream!) Mine? Bored and looking for the exit. (Sigh) realizing WAY too late for my dd, the value of classical education! Now, I'm in a panic! Here's where I am....

I met with said friend...they are heavy VP, and simply heavy readers. She showed me Omnibus....OH I love the look of it. She really is encouraging me to look at SL, because she thinks O will be way too difficult. I think I agree, as I have never read a classic before...so it is ALL new to me!

Sonlight seems light? Both kids take online English courses (The Potter's School and WebWorks), writing, grammar, SO not my thing.

 

I thought Omnibus might still be the answer with only 1 at home next year, I can learn with him, right? First big <HUGE> concern is we are not reformed and I really don't want to go down that road. The review on The Old Schoolhouse advised the same.

 

We identify key things to accomplish every year, and lighten up the other subjects. (Not math of course) so, the last two years have been English, writing, literature with online school. He is doing well, and actually ahead of where my dd was, so we have a year or two that we can learn a new discipline. I really think it needs to be an appreciate for well written, classical literature.

 

I need a "Classic Guide Book for Idiots" please. Yes, I've read WTM, honestly, I struggled. I was so overwhelmed I ran, and here I am again determined, at a minimum, to help my son read and understand the classics, and hopefully appreciate them, doing so myself as we go. He has never been a big reader until the Percy Jackson books were introduced to him. He loved them, read every Rick Riordan he could get his hands on. It concerned me because I didn't get to read them first, and he was flying through them. I had to use my (previously mentioned) friends judgement on them.

 

MFW is light, and frankly I'm tired of them...and the classics (what I think are classics) are not there. SL looks to me to be really heavy historical fiction??? My son would probably like it, but I really envision the tough books...and not being afraid of them...even if it takes us two years to get through a one year course.

 

My attempt at introducing classics has been our reading Robinson Cursoe....that's a 'Classic,' right? 'Living Book'? I'm so lost in the terms....old momma ;)

DS hated it..on day one, two, three...by day four, he was kinda diggin' it, and at the end of week two he even laughed a couple of times. We are reading aloud, mainly I'm reading, but he is also.

 

Here is my other little flicker of light...I *think changing our reading and discussion habits can really help my DS with some issues...He is very black and white. If I tell him to do Z, X and Y...he will always do exactly that. He will not think, hmmm...I should do X, Y & Z. He stumbles through problem solving if I don't give him Every. Single. Step. Generally speaking, I have tried to not give him any steps, to force that side of his brain to wake up. He struggles with articulating 'why's', or defending an argument.

On the other hand, he loves classical music, he can draw anything, fairly well for no training...just using the library books on drawing (he skips to the final picture and figures that out for himself)

 

So what am I doing? Where would yo go from here?

 

Any thoughts? Advice?

 

We are huge audio book fans too. I've purged iTunes of my old fluff, and have added a tremendous amount of 'classics' according to our library. SO thankful I listened to Of Mice and Men before I added that to DS playlist! ugh! delete! His first was. Jane Eyre, he LOVED it. We've been listening to Les Miserable...he could have it or not. I don't think either one of us 'got it', but I enjoyed it more than him for sure.

 

What's the balance on a audio books? Any thoughts?

 

Omnibus is beautiful to me because of the questions and answers, the fact that each subject area questions are broken down for this uneducated momma, and it's simply a beautiful book. I don't think I can make it through their incredible book list without something similar..the Q and A...but I do not adhere to Reformed Theology, and honestly, today, I am not comfortable with pulling that out of every area they might have it threaded into. KWIM? No offense intended for those that are reformed, our family simply isn't.

 

Thank you for reading the ramblings of my heart. I am so afraid it may be too late, then I remember every little step I do take towards a better education is a change in our family tree for the better ;)

 

 

Kriss

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Just a quick post to say we aren't Reformed either, but I did use Omni I and II our first two years. We tweaked--I skipped nearly all the theology books and subbed in my own (Know What You Believe, Know Who You Believe, for the first year, for example). We did not read the bible books (Genesis, etc) either, or the Omni commentary on them, because ds was reading The One Year Bible as his devotional. We also skipped the Narnia books (already read them) and most of the secondary books. We skipped the Shakespeare, too (which I wish we hadn't).

 

That said, I put other books into the program, and we talked through our own beliefs. I still gave ds all 3 credits--history, lit, theology (titled it Bible 1 and Comparative Religion on his transcripts).

 

We used Sonlight our 3rd year, and I constantly felt I had to add meat to the discussions--I ended up using SparkNotes a LOT. But, Omni's weakness was in the literary analysis portion--so I used SN a bit with them, too.

 

I did not read everything I gave ds to read, in either program. Omni was a ton easier to discuss b/c of the included discussion questions, but I wish I had read more, to make the questions jumping off points instead.

 

We both have fond memories of Omnibus. I'm convinced his reading list helped him get into college, and that his backround in the Great Books truly helped him in his major later.

 

I have looked at TOG (and bought several units) and wish I'd had that as a resource. I disagree with some of their theology, too (can't do the "God allowed the Holocaust to punish the Jews" stuff, for instance), but they have some really good discussion material. Have you looked at it? It used to be you could download a whole unit for free to look it over--IDK if they still have that offer.

 

 

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My first thought was Angelicum Academy too! Would Mother of Divine Grace School history syllabus work?

http://www.motherofdivinegrace.org/curriculum/syllabus/id/12

Funny you mention MFW, that's what I'm considering until I get to the dialectical stage of MODG. would you recommend MFW in the younger grades? I like that they use SOTW.

I was very interested in Veritas Press for awhile...this art lover is intrigued by Phonics Museum! But after searching on this forum for reviews I read about Doug Wilson. Reformed theology isn't the only issues I have. I realize one could sub things out and add things in to reflect different view points, but it would be nice to not have to work around that. VP has such nice materials its such a shame for us "non-reformed", but I think they take it a step further, which is their right of course, but they are very "unapologetic Christians'.

That said I was intrigued to get my VP catalog out and look again...yeah it does look nice!

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Memoria Press is highly classical and has study guides for the great books as well as logic and rhetoric materials to work through.  They also have great customer service if you have questions about what materials your son is ready for and a complete 7th grade package: http://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/seventh-grade-curriculum

 

I hope you find what you are looking for!

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Here's another idea:  If your ds's love for history is returning with MFW, but you think it too light, why not just add to it with the classics you are desiring?  You won't be spending all day on someone else's idea of a great curriculum and will have the rest of the day to read and study the classics.  You can have discussions ala Teaching the Classics style, or do an in depth study of some books with Progeny Press guides or something similar.  May be a nice compromise that you can try for 7th grade, then ease into something else if you like.

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That's totally arrogant to look at somebody and say they "can't" use Omnibus, mercy.   :svengo:  (It's a stereo-type but in this case accurate.)  There's NO REASON you can't use Omnibus.  You saw it, you liked it.  Your kids can write, and actually it's the writing that holds kids back with Omnibus.  They even have the self-paced classes now, if you want to just plop them in front and let him have fun.  He'll LOVE it.  See if they're doing the free trials for it...  Surely they will be fall.  They've been running some price break deals.  

 

Omnibus can become what you want it to be.  If you like it, use it and make it work for you.

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You sound like my friend! Here are my thoughts. Everyone is different, and there are a million different curricula out there. It sounds like your goal is to love the classics. So why not just aim for that a little at a time. Get the abriged version of books at varying levels, classic starts from b&n or stepping stone classics. If he lives thatversion then try the actual classic.

 

Personally, I love Sonlight and TWTM. I think of books as adventures suresomeareeasy reads but did you enjoy it? Did you learn something you didn't know already? I think of TWTM as my map, my goal and I look at Sonlight as my gps planning the triip with fun stops along the way. Why SL versus something else? Most of the books are secular and there are a TONso its no biggy if we skip one or swap it. Its like pulling up to jason's deli and seeing five guys across the street. Both will nourish you. What you eat orread is up to you.

 

Sorry for typos I am on a tablet.

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I would vote trying Sonlight first - if you are trying to ignite a fizzled love for reading, I don't think heaping Omnibus or another heavy classics program is going to be a good idea. Its not fair to kids to dump them into that kind of thing suddenly! You can gradually transition to a heavier Great Books list.

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Ahhh, so many WONDERFUL ideas...thank you!  Sorry for my delay in responding, I could not figure out how to get back to my page : )  lol.  These forums are huge!  I felt like I was lost in a great museum...always sidetracked with another conversation (or great work of art!) 

 

I really appreciate all the perspectives...and affirmation that I need to do what works for us.  I think the stepping into great books lightly over summer will be my ultimate goal, but I'm going to dive into all the options that you wonderful ladies suggested.  I can't wait! 

 

If you think of anything else...all those handy guides to literature are wonderful, please continue to post. 

 

Blessings,

Kriss

 

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I feel you. It looks beautiful... but we're Catholic and I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole, if only on principle. Honestly, although I know others on this thread have said you could tweak it, that would be re-inventing the wheel to me.

Have you looked at Memoria Press? Anglicum Academy? Kolbe Academy? You might not be Catholic, but MP isn't Catholic (but very non-denominational), and Kolbe/Anglicum are very easy to tweak as they use many secular texts, and are classical, so their literature selections are fantastic.

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-lifesadream83

I would love to hear more about combining TWTM with Sonlight. I see you use Sonlight for your readers, do you use Sonlight for history and the IG?

 

I'm thinking of combining Memoria Press with Sonlight. Kids will be doing 1st grade and MP doesn't do history until the summer with reading SOTW. Not sure I'm liking Sonlight core A history, jumps around. But open to other cores and this being different in older grades. But thinking MFW 1st would be easy to supplement with Sonlight for the book basket. decisions..Ugh!

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Here's another idea:  If your ds's love for history is returning with MFW, but you think it too light, why not just add to it with the classics you are desiring?  You won't be spending all day on someone else's idea of a great curriculum and will have the rest of the day to read and study the classics.  You can have discussions ala Teaching the Classics style, or do an in depth study of some books with Progeny Press guides or something similar.  May be a nice compromise that you can try for 7th grade, then ease into something else if you like.

 

Ah!!  I think his love for MFW is that it's fast :)  and it's not a textbook.  I didn't know Progeny Press has guides.  I think a 'book list' and guides with good questions, like Omni is what I desire.  Worried still about Sonlight and if it's just too much fiction? IDK :) Thanks for the help!

 

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I feel you. It looks beautiful... but we're Catholic and I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole, if only on principle. Honestly, although I know others on this thread have said you could tweak it, that would be re-inventing the wheel to me.

Have you looked at Memoria Press? Anglicum Academy? Kolbe Academy? You might not be Catholic, but MP isn't Catholic (but very non-denominational), and Kolbe/Anglicum are very easy to tweak as they use many secular texts, and are classical, so their literature selections are fantastic.

 

Haven't looked at Memoria, seen so many bad reviews..I think I need to get over that?  I read them in TWTM forums. I'll go check them out :) 

 

Thanks for the help! 

 

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Ah!!  I think his love for MFW is that it's fast :)  and it's not a textbook.  I didn't know Progeny Press has guides.  I think a 'book list' and guides with good questions, like Omni is what I desire.  Worried still about Sonlight and if it's just too much fiction? IDK :) Thanks for the help!

 

Sorry so long in replying, but yes, Progeny Press has guides.  Here's a link:  http://stores.progenypress.com/study-guides .  A friend of mine uses them and likes them.  They go all the way from lower elementary to high school.  They have samples on their website.  Good luck!

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On your question on audiobooks, I think they are perfectly fine as long as the they unabridged, of course.  

If it were my kid I would have him read the less dense classics and listen to the more dense ones.  

 

My personal theory on the classics is that they are generally the bestsellers of their times, that also had lasting ability.   There are exceptions.  I think the Scarlet Letter was only good in comparison to the dry dreck of many other authors then.  

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This might work for you. It's Catholic, though, and may not be easy to tweak. On the other hand, the Independent Study option is only $35/semester, so it's not a huge investment if it doesn't work.

 

http://rollingacresschool.com/traditio-nostra.html

 

I'm planning on using this next year so it's just the option I came up with when I went looking for a great books program that I could use (Omnibus was a total non-starter for us).

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Ah!!  I think his love for MFW is that it's fast :)  and it's not a textbook.  I didn't know Progeny Press has guides.  I think a 'book list' and guides with good questions, like Omni is what I desire.  Worried still about Sonlight and if it's just too much fiction? IDK :) Thanks for the help!

 

 

Did you not realize that MFW actually recommends Progeny Press at this level? ;)  Also, have you looked through the Book Basket list in the back of the RTR manual?  There's a TON of literature (and some movies, as well) -- classic lit, historical fiction, non-fiction -- in Book Basket. 

 

You can also get many of those titles on audio for variety. 

 

You could certainly get Omnibus to add to it for the questions if you want, but if you're having great discussions with your son from the assignments in RTR, you shouldn't really need Omnibus for that purpose.  Does your son work completely independently, do you work or talk with him each day about what he's learning, does he do narrations, or do you meet with him at least weekly to go over his work for the week? 

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Did you not realize that MFW actually recommends Progeny Press at this level? ;)  Also, have you looked through the Book Basket list in the back of the RTR manual?  There's a TON of literature (and some movies, as well) -- classic lit, historical fiction, non-fiction -- in Book Basket. 

 

You can also get many of those titles on audio for variety. 

 

You could certainly get Omnibus to add to it for the questions if you want, but if you're having great discussions with your son from the assignments in RTR, you shouldn't really need Omnibus for that purpose.  Does your son work completely independently, do you work or talk with him each day about what he's learning, does he do narrations, or do you meet with him at least weekly to go over his work for the week? 

 

 

 

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Hhmm... I'm not sure where your comments in your posted reply went to :huh:   but I did see them in the email notification I received, so I'll go ahead and respond, anyway. :001_smile:  

 

Which other TM did you have?  The only one I can think of that you might be referring to is the old (1st ed.) of ECC, which had a completely different layout than it does now.  In the old ECC, I think you're right, book basket options were listed with each separate unit or continent, rather than in the back of the manual.  But otherwise, they've always been in the back.... one huge list taking up several pages back there (sort of like an Appendix, but it's not called that), and the titles are all divided up by week # and/or topic. 

 

Check Marie's Teaching Tips at the front of the manual... I think she discussed Progeny Press lit guides for 7th & 8th graders up there.  It's also on the website on the Language Arts page.  http://www.mfwbooks.com/products/M50/70/0/0/1#progeny  (They have a few specific titles listed that they sell PP guides for, but you can use any you like.) 

 

I'm sorry you have a "bits and pieces" teacher's manual.  That's odd.  Yeah, if you're missing parts of the manual with all the "extras" that Marie provides or recommends, then you would definitely think MFW is way too light!  :confused1:   Might be worth it to just buy your own TM? 

 

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"Haven't looked at Memoria, seen so many bad reviews..I think I need to get over that? I read them in TWTM forums. I'll go check them out "

 

 

This surprises me. I have only seen glowing reviews! One either likes this style of learning (say vs Sonlight) or not but I don't think anyone can argue the content of MP curriculum I don't think you'll find gaps, unapologetic views or bigotry, what I read and researched it is a solid education. It is hard to find someone who doesn't at least use some MP material, Latin, Christian Studies, Famous Men series, etc. I haven't been homeschooling as long as you, great job bybthe way! But I have learned after many purchases that one persons idea of wonderful definitely is not mine! There are so many types of homeschoolers now. At a convention it is awesome to see such a mix and range of people! But which ones are behind the avatar giving the advice and reviews?

Anyway every child is different maybe your children will grow up to be more tolerant of others...maybe more "techy". Not argue with a Catholic that their not "Christian". Maybe your friend doesn't allow TV in the home? Sounds like to me your doing a great job maybe just need a change or add in extras. After I looked at a sample of the video of the Omnibus version, I could not see my children liking adults wearing togas narrating the fake scenes! I realize the book looks more rich but anyway I guess we have to know what we are willing to tolerate. When fellow Christians are writing textbooks and aren't so tolerating of others it says volumes though. I guess they have the clientele and it is profitable for them.

Ok, can you ask your friend what her feelings are on people who aren't "reformed"? Has using Omnibus changed her thoughts and opinions on Catholics, Orthodoxs, etc? What about her children? Maybe its not really an issue? I personally don't know because I haven't looked at it more than the samples and reading about the authors.

 

God bless you in your decision!

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I, too, love Sonlight and TWTM.  I think you can easily use both and SL happens to mostly fit into the "cycle" but in three years instead of four I think?  I saw a chart someplace once, probably in the SL catalog.  I can find it if you really want it, lol!  SL is much more dense than MFW.  I bought and returned MFW and HOD.

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 SL is much more dense than MFW. 

 

But only if you don't use the Book Basket in MFW. ;)  As far as "density", the only difference between SL and MFW is that the extensive, multi-level booklist in the back of the TMs is optional and MFW doesn't sell every book that could possibly be read with each topic.  One can use Book Basket in its entirety, either buying the books or getting them (or substitute titles) from the library, or one can use it partially, or one doesn't have to use it at all.  In fact, many MFW users buy books from SL (or HOD) to use in lieu of Book Basket and the library... so it's the best of both worlds, so to speak.  It just depends on the time, energy, interest level, and budget of each individual family, or even each child. 

 

Also, MFW sells ONE teacher's guide for ALL the content subjects... not a separate guide for every subject.

 

Part of MFW's goal in its methodology is for efficiency.  But efficient doesn't mean ineffective.  Charlotte Mason was very efficient in her methods.

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Anyway every child is different maybe your children will grow up to be more tolerant of others...maybe more "techy". Not argue with a Catholic that their not "Christian". Maybe your friend doesn't allow TV in the home? Sounds like to me your doing a great job maybe just need a change or add in extras. After I looked at a sample of the video of the Omnibus version, I could not see my children liking adults wearing togas narrating the fake scenes! I realize the book looks more rich but anyway I guess we have to know what we are willing to tolerate. When fellow Christians are writing textbooks and aren't so tolerating of others it says volumes though. I guess they have the clientele and it is profitable for them.

Ok, can you ask your friend what her feelings are on people who aren't "reformed"? Has using Omnibus changed her thoughts and opinions on Catholics, Orthodoxs, etc? What about her children? Maybe its not really an issue? I personally don't know because I haven't looked at it more than the samples and reading about the authors.

 

 

Wow.  This sounds incredibly tolerant.  Not. :glare:  

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Anyway every child is different maybe your children will grow up to be more tolerant of others...maybe more "techy". Not argue with a Catholic that their not "Christian". Maybe your friend doesn't allow TV in the home? Sounds like to me your doing a great job maybe just need a change or add in extras. After I looked at a sample of the video of the Omnibus version, I could not see my children liking adults wearing togas narrating the fake scenes! I realize the book looks more rich but anyway I guess we have to know what we are willing to tolerate. When fellow Christians are writing textbooks and aren't so tolerating of others it says volumes though. I guess they have the clientele and it is profitable for them.

Ok, can you ask your friend what her feelings are on people who aren't "reformed"? Has using Omnibus changed her thoughts and opinions on Catholics, Orthodoxs, etc? What about her children? Maybe its not really an issue? I personally don't know because I haven't looked at it more than the samples and reading about the authors.

Huh? :( Particularly, I can't grasp the "techy" comment or the view that Catholics are not Christian.

 

Anyway, OP, jumping in late, but I have dc like you describe. Yes, we did happen to use a lot of VP, too. But I don't think that is the key. I think it is more that people who have that goal and raise their dc that way also happen to be people who appreciate a curriculum like VP. I think what you are seeing in her dc isn't particular to the curriculum she uses, but to the example she sets and the way she teaches them to prioritize their resources.

 

I would look past the curriculum. What do you spend your own time and money on? Are you setting the example to love knowledge, learning, literature, Great Books...? Do you have a copy of Invitation to the Classics and The Well-Educated Mind? Both will help immensely with your own path to reading classics. Ease into it with your guy and yourself. Don't start with War and Peace. Start with junior high classics and all of the classic Good Books that are usually read before the Great Books. Pick the ones that sound interesting first, and save the ones that "everyone should read" for later on. Discuss themes in the books: justice, love, greed, heroism, etc. Compare books, categorize them. Talk about the characters and what you admire and loathe in them, what makes them tick. Learn a few key literary concepts and then use them until you are comfortable with them, and then learn a few more. Read How to Read Literature Like a Professor for ideas. Write a context paper (or just make notes) like SWB suggests, gathering a bit of background about the author's life and times.

 

As for curriculum, no SL and MFW won't really get you the Great Books education you are seeking, though dc will read plenty. The right curriculum depends as much on what your own goals are as other people's recommendations. We used the WTM for our Great Books study, along with Omnibus, Invitation, WEM, and a few other books for reference. Read the 4-7 and 9-12 chapters of WTM pertaining to literature and history study. You will find many of the curriculum which do a true Great Books course also happen to be Reformed: TOG, VP, etc. It isn't a coincidence like many people think; it is a product of the beliefs of Reformed folks. :) I am Reformed, so VP was an easy choice for me, but I can understand hesitation if you aren't Reformed. It isn't the only path, though.

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  • 1 month later...

This might work for you. It's Catholic, though, and may not be easy to tweak. On the other hand, the Independent Study option is only $35/semester, so it's not a huge investment if it doesn't work.

 

http://rollingacresschool.com/traditio-nostra.html

 

I'm planning on using this next year so it's just the option I came up with when I went looking for a great books program that I could use (Omnibus was a total non-starter for us).

 

This is very interesting!  We are not Catholic, so that might be somewhat of an issue, but I would love this in a live environment.   :) thanks for posting!

 

 

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I, too, feel that I've missed the boat on classical education for my kids but am going to try to fix that in the upcoming school year.

 

We did Sonlight this year (core G) since my son loves to read and I wanted a guide to help me through the first year.  I ended up just using the guide for Story of the World and Kingfisher assignments and questions, and also the LA reading list.  I did not use the questions for the readers from the guide, I would skim each book and ask questions on my own that required more thinking and not just remembering what happened in each chapter.  Some of the historical fiction books were good reads, but because there are only so many hours in the day, we are going to stick to classics from now on and not use historical fiction as a supplement to our history lessons. I'm not sure that the historical fiction, while he thought they were interesting to read, added anything to his understanding of the time period.

 

Somewhere around April I listened to a Circe podcast about reading aloud to our children, and why we seem to stop doing so when they can read on their own. We started a family reading time each night and are going through some of the good/great books lists. The 14yo wasn't so thrilled about this at first, but it's starting to grow on her.  We are just finishing up Huckleberry Finn.

 

Starting school back up in the fall, my son will be doing a kind of unit study of history in month-long chunks.  Instead of studying events in chronological order, we will be looking at parts of history that interest him and studying those in depth.  This was inspired by another Circe podcast about going deeper into subjects and not studying a little bit of everything.  I think it was called Multum Non Multa (much not many in Latin) and you can search for it on Youtube.  We will be doing a history of weapons, great battles of the ancient world, King Arthur, and inventions that changed the world, to start. We will do a lot of reading, writing, and research next year on each subject.  I have no curriculum to use as a guide, but will be kind of winging it each week seeing where our studies take us.

 

Although my son would be going into 7th grade had we kept him in PS, if you go by his birthday and the cut-off of where we now live, he would be going into 6th grade.  So I feel like I have an extra year to try something different and not fall behind.

 

There is a huge Circe thread that was started a few months ago, and although it is VERY long, there are some great ideas and tips about how to have a discussion on classical literature with your child.  There are links to podcasts and audio files, book recommendations, and much discussion about historical fiction and its place in a curriculum.  If you have a few hours (or even days!) you might want to check it out. There was another thread on not using historical fiction in history studies, that also might be of interest.  If you search the forums you should be able to find them.

 

Best of luck to us all!  

 

 

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Have you looked at Tapestry of Grace (TOG)?  http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/index.php

 

They utilize a ton of classics - more so I think than Omnibus, or at least just as many.  Like Omnibus, TOG is also from a more reformed view, but I don't think it's quite as blatant as Omnibus.  In addition, Omnibus teaches from more from a literary position while TOG incorporates more history.  That may be a consideration depending on which subject is more appealing to your kids.

 

TOG employs Socratic discussions and Worldview for the Dialectic (middle school) and Rhetoric stages (high school) and also incorporates Government, Poetry, and Shorter Works Anthologies for the Rhetoric stage.

 

I seriously thought about Omnibus for my DD in anticipation of 7th grade, but we tried TOG this last year, and DD fell in love with it.  While DD loves to read and does so voraciously, she also loves history and enjoys delving deeply into it, so TOG is a better fit for us

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Dumb question..but what is a Circe thread?  I keep hearing about it, but have no idea what that is :)

 

I, too, feel that I've missed the boat on classical education for my kids but am going to try to fix that in the upcoming school year.

 

We did Sonlight this year (core G) since my son loves to read and I wanted a guide to help me through the first year.  I ended up just using the guide for Story of the World and Kingfisher assignments and questions, and also the LA reading list.  I did not use the questions for the readers from the guide, I would skim each book and ask questions on my own that required more thinking and not just remembering what happened in each chapter.  Some of the historical fiction books were good reads, but because there are only so many hours in the day, we are going to stick to classics from now on and not use historical fiction as a supplement to our history lessons. I'm not sure that the historical fiction, while he thought they were interesting to read, added anything to his understanding of the time period.

 

Somewhere around April I listened to a Circe podcast about reading aloud to our children, and why we seem to stop doing so when they can read on their own. We started a family reading time each night and are going through some of the good/great books lists. The 14yo wasn't so thrilled about this at first, but it's starting to grow on her.  We are just finishing up Huckleberry Finn.

 

Starting school back up in the fall, my son will be doing a kind of unit study of history in month-long chunks.  Instead of studying events in chronological order, we will be looking at parts of history that interest him and studying those in depth.  This was inspired by another Circe podcast about going deeper into subjects and not studying a little bit of everything.  I think it was called Multum Non Multa (much not many in Latin) and you can search for it on Youtube.  We will be doing a history of weapons, great battles of the ancient world, King Arthur, and inventions that changed the world, to start. We will do a lot of reading, writing, and research next year on each subject.  I have no curriculum to use as a guide, but will be kind of winging it each week seeing where our studies take us.

 

Although my son would be going into 7th grade had we kept him in PS, if you go by his birthday and the cut-off of where we now live, he would be going into 6th grade.  So I feel like I have an extra year to try something different and not fall behind.

 

There is a huge Circe thread that was started a few months ago, and although it is VERY long, there are some great ideas and tips about how to have a discussion on classical literature with your child.  There are links to podcasts and audio files, book recommendations, and much discussion about historical fiction and its place in a curriculum.  If you have a few hours (or even days!) you might want to check it out. There was another thread on not using historical fiction in history studies, that also might be of interest.  If you search the forums you should be able to find them.

 

Best of luck to us all!  

 

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It's on my list..I need to look at it again.  Thank you for reminding me!  I can't remember why, but I purchased it a couple of years ago, and then ended up just selling it, I think it overwhelmed me.  I didn't write down why :)  so I can't remember for sure.  I will look at it again :) thank you!

 

Have you looked at Tapestry of Grace (TOG)?  http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/index.php

 

They utilize a ton of classics - more so I think than Omnibus, or at least just as many.  Like Omnibus, TOG is also from a more reformed view, but I don't think it's quite as blatant as Omnibus.  In addition, Omnibus teaches from more from a literary position while TOG incorporates more history.  That may be a consideration depending on which subject is more appealing to your kids.

 

TOG employs Socratic discussions and Worldview for the Dialectic (middle school) and Rhetoric stages (high school) and also incorporates Government, Poetry, and Shorter Works Anthologies for the Rhetoric stage.

 

I seriously thought about Omnibus for my DD in anticipation of 7th grade, but we tried TOG this last year, and DD fell in love with it.  While DD loves to read and does so voraciously, she also loves history and enjoys delving deeply into it, so TOG is a better fit for us

 

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If your library has _Invitation to the Classics_ by Louise Cowan and Os Guinness, you might check it out. It can be a helpful starting place.

 

:iagree: 

    I was just going to suggest this, too. Our classics book club used it for a guide--it is also beautiful and full of color illustrations. It is shorter and pares the great books down a lot more than the 3 volumes of Omnibus. :)  It has discussion questions, but of course no answers (sigh)--they aren't the kind of questions for which there can be an answer key.

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:iagree:

    I was just going to suggest this, too. Our classics book club used it for a guide--it is also beautiful and full of color illustrations. It is shorter and pares the great books down a lot more than the 3 volumes of Omnibus. :)  It has discussion questions, but of course no answers (sigh)--they aren't the kind of questions for which there can be an answer key.

So, this Invitation to the Classics is not a book for mom to read about why or how to introduce classics in your education?  It's an actual curriculum?  I MUST have answers tho...some type.  I feel quite inadequate to answer : )  painful truth.

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