Janie Grace Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 If you have used this curriculum, would you mind weighing in with your opinion? What did you like/dislike? How does it compare to other things you've used (say, Sonlight or MOH or Biblioplan)? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAtoVA Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I'm very interested in hearing what posters have to say too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bensmom Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 It has been several years since we did AS, but it was a really great year! We came to WP from Sonlight and AS seemed less intense, but with lots of great books. We also used the Early American Craft and Trade kit that was a WP exclusive. Ds made a teepee, canoe, conastoga wagon, and tried the latch hook sampler. These were fun, but a little challenging for my ds who was early elementary. An upper elementary student would be able to complete these more independently. If I had another child, I would definitely do this program again, and that is saying something since I am a curriculum junkie who likes to sample different programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 This was such a great year for us! The year we did WP AP1, I had a toddler, a preschooler, a tiny school-aged reluctant writer who was already very science-focused, and an older skeptical and jaded stepkid who had just been pulled from public school. I really doubt any other program would have been successful that year. I was able to pick and choose from a variety of assignments each day, giving each kid what was appropriate for them or on a day that was hard for me, just falling back to handing out popcorn, nursing the toddler, and reading aloud from the core history books. I still have great memories of all the little ones in their bunk beds and the silence that fell over them as we finished each of the adventure reads. Most exciting of all, my science nut fell so in love with American history that he had a Revolutionary-war themed birthday.So that does not really answer your questions. What I liked:- flexibility but in an open-and-go format- the format, so easy to understand and use that I still use it when I write my own lesson plans - all the hands-on stuff - the notebooking - the book choices What I didn't like: - at the time I was annoyed that it started out with papercrafts, but now I use papercrafts all the time - it took me a few weeks to realize I actually truly did not have to do everything they said - I left WP because I wanted to do chronological history, and obviously AS in first grade is not It is much more put together for you than Biblioplan, with fewer but IMO better books. The book selections are modern, meaning you don't need to have trained your kids from the preschool years to understand 1600s English in order to understand their history read-alouds. It has more additional activity suggestions than Sonlight, and the support for these (supply gathering sheets organized by week, for example) is more extensive. There is much more talking and doing than in Sonlight, and no worksheets just for the sake of learning; all the WP worksheety things are to an end like making a keepsake book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkacademy Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 We loved our year with it! I really cannot remember not liking a certain thing I remember how much fun we all had Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted May 16, 2014 Author Share Posted May 16, 2014 Wow, these are such great reviews! Thank you so much -- this is exactly what I wanted to hear. I'd be doing it with a 2nd grader who LOVES arts and crafts, plus a preschooler tagging along. You all convinced me to go for it, thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkacademy Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 will you be using the ebook stuff? I never did anything with that I don't think I would like it much LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted May 18, 2014 Author Share Posted May 18, 2014 will you be using the ebook stuff? I never did anything with that I don't think I would like it much LOL No, I can't stand ebooks. I need something I can hold in my hands. And I've found that I save little money and gain massive headaches when I try to self-print. Send me a book, people! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolamum Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 We did AA-1, which is a combo of AS & AC. We loved it. The reason we chose AA-1 over AS or AC was that AA-1 covers grades 1-7 & has a high school add on if we'd needed it at that time. In other words covers more grades. We also loved that they used the HSITW Time Traveler cds for some of the hands on approach. It was an amazing year of history for us. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted May 26, 2014 Author Share Posted May 26, 2014 Resurrecting to ask you guys -- do I want the Native American Focus stuff? I don't want to overload myself, as I am doing this with a second grader and a preschooler, and we want time for lots of hands-on (getting the crafts kit) and field trips. But if this component is really good, I don't want to miss out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkacademy Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Resurrecting to ask you guys -- do I want the Native American Focus stuff? I don't want to overload myself, as I am doing this with a second grader and a preschooler, and we want time for lots of hands-on (getting the crafts kit) and field trips. But if this component is really good, I don't want to miss out... My kids had ALOT of fun with that stuff and they really enjoyed the books. They still have some of the stuff they even made from all those years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omma Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Another family that loved WP AS I. We had come from SL also and my dd was so relieved and amazed that what we were doing with WP actually counted as school! She loved all the cut and paste crafts and the picture books were great, too. As an FYI, I combined WP AS I and II with MFW Adventures over a 2 year period, and I would choose it again in a heartbeat! :) Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Is anyone out there planning to use this next year? If so, I'm interested in talking with you :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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