Not sure where to go with History

[Moxie]

I love the idea of a 4 year history cycle. It is so organized! But, I wonder if my kids would get more out of unit studies based on what they are interested in? I was on the Wildflowers and Marbles site reading about her Year of Explorers; what a fun idea! I'm certain my 9yo would remember more from a fun unit like that than just taking history in order. But, for sure there would be more gaps in that kind of education, right?? But, is that ok if he learns to love history? And everything has gaps, right??

[Farrar]

Everything has gaps. There is no one perfect approach. :)

 

We did five years of history and we often stopped on different topics in order to do a longer unit type study about it - we spent a long time on the middle ages, a long time on early colonial America, a long time on the Civil War, a long time on colonial India, a long time on WWI and WWII, a long time on the Civil Rights movement... This is one of the things that I found difficult about SOTW - not enough stopping to really learn about a period - too much of a drive by.

 

I say do it however you want.

[OneStepAtATime]

Agree with Farrar.  History is fractal.  No matter how you do it, there will always be more history to learn.

 

I have found that doing some things in chronological order has finally helped me to see how history builds upon itself.  That nothing happens in a vacuum.  Doesn't mean you cannot achieve that if you don't adhere to a 4 year cycle.

 

For instance, when I was in school WWI and WWII were really taught as isolated things and the emphasis was definitely on WWII.  When the kids and I started a rabbit trail on WWII, DS got really involved.  We dug in deep.  He loved it.  And we found that so much of what happened in WWII was tied directly to WWI and the events leading up to WWI.  We dug deeper and saw so much that had not really made sense before.

 

Same with the American Revolution.  I never really understood the WORLD WIDE EVENTS that were happening in the years leading up to the AR.  I also never realized all the things happening in the colonies that led us down that path.  Studying a more linear, more chronologically based history of that event, which included World History and going back to many years BEFORE the Revolution helped tie it all into a cohesive whole, a tapestry of interweaving events that make much more sense than the isolated event.

 

In other words, you are right, everything has gaps.  You will never be able to study ALL of History.  But you don't have to do only a 4 year cycle to get depth and understanding.  Do what speaks to you and your children.  If it isn't working, try something else.

[pitterpatter]

This! Next year will be our fourth year of our first cycle through history. Never have I understood history as I do now. I don't get why it isn't taught chronologically in public school. It just makes so much sense...literally.

 

Agree with Farrar.  History is fractal.  No matter how you do it, there will always be more history to learn.

 

I have found that doing some things in chronological order has finally helped me to see how history builds upon itself.  That nothing happens in a vacuum.  Doesn't mean you cannot achieve that if you don't adhere to a 4 year cycle.

 

For instance, when I was in school WWI and WWII were really taught as isolated things and the emphasis was definitely on WWII.  When the kids and I started a rabbit trail on WWII, DS got really involved.  We dug in deep.  He loved it.  And we found that so much of what happened in WWII was tied directly to WWI and the events leading up to WWI.  We dug deeper and saw so much that had not really made sense before.

 

Same with the American Revolution.  I never really understood the WORLD WIDE EVENTS that were happening in the years leading up to the AR.  I also never realized all the things happening in the colonies that led us down that path.  Studying a more linear, more chronologically based history of that event, which included World History and going back to many years BEFORE the Revolution helped tie it all into a cohesive whole, a tapestry of interweaving events that make much more sense than the isolated event.

 

In other words, you are right, everything has gaps.  You will never be able to study ALL of History.  But you don't have to do only a 4 year cycle to get depth and understanding.  Do what speaks to you and your children.  If it isn't working, try something else.

 

[katilac]

Why couldn't you do some unit studies based on what interests them most in this year's history cycle? It's not an either/or situation. You can take history in order and have a fun unit. 

 

I only took a very quick glance at the unit study you give as an example, but how is she not doing exactly that? It is history in order - she is covering the middle ages, with an emphasis on knights and explorers. She is using a variety of resources, including a history of the world that will presumably venture beyond knights and explorers.  

 

You can spend more time here, less time there, but I do think that a chronological overview of history is invaluable. I always look over the year first and decide which topics we are definitely going to spend a greater amount of time on, then I ask the kids if any other topics jump out at them, and we plan accordingly. Yes, the exact amount of time might change once we get started, but having a plan generally results in covering a lot more ground, no matter how young/old the students are. 

 

So, I say yes, you can do a fun unit like Knights and Explorers, and yes, you can do history in order at the same time. No need to choose! 

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Have you looked at any of Mrs. Twain's old posts on history?  It might be worth doing a search for some.  Here is one to get you started.  The basic idea is:

- Each year, do an overview of world history book.  Then, use the rest of the year to do a number of in-depth mini-projects, unit studies, etc.  

To maintain the chronological logic, make regular use of your timeline book, and consider memorising a timeline such as the one sold by Veritas Press or Classic Catholic Memory, or any of the many other available for free online.  

 

Also, I think if you use the SOTW audio CDs, you have the option of just playing those as *fun* books that help cement everything together.  

[happypamama]

You can still do chronological history, but stretch it out and give yourself time to dig deeper into some of the topics. Spend more time on the explorers if you want, and incorporate it into other areas! A year might not be enough Middle Ages in my house, and we could spend a month or more just living the Civil War here. Nothing says you have to do a four year rotation. You could end up with five or six years if you slow down when they're really interested in something and dig into it more.

[8filltheheart]

We have never studied history chronologically and my kids still have a strong grasp of history.  We always spend time digging deep into events/cultures/time periods that are of interest.  They see history not as a sequence of events, but an intertwining of layers of issues that all have to go together to see the bigger picture.  Since we spend so much time going into depth, they get to know historical event as the people and cultures that are affected vs. names and places in a book.

 

We discuss history not as just a timeline, but a weaving of a tapestry.   So many things occur that impact the big picture and how you see the picture depends on which side of the tapestry you are "seeing" (reading/hearing.)

 

You can have your kids create a reference timeline for keeping time ordered in their mind.  

[PeterPan]

I love the idea of a 4 year history cycle. It is so organized! But, I wonder if my kids would get more out of unit studies based on what they are interested in? I was on the Wildflowers and Marbles site reading about her Year of Explorers; what a fun idea! I'm certain my 9yo would remember more from a fun unit like that than just taking history in order. But, for sure there would be more gaps in that kind of education, right?? But, is that ok if he learns to love history? And everything has gaps, right??

There's no crime in spreading a 4 year cycle over 8 or 9 years.   ;)

 

If a book, blog, forum, whatever is making you feel anxious about this, I strongly encourage you to remove that source of anxiety from your life and listen to the still small voice of peace.  Go with your own inspiration and feel confident.  This is NOT something you're going to regret 20 years from now, honest.  You're not going to look back and say "Rats, SWB was right and I SCREWED UP AND RUINED MY KIDS by not listening!" You're just not.  

 

Do what brings you peace and joy and feel confident in it.

[elegantlion]

We didn't stick with the 4 year rotation, instead picking regions or themes to cover in some years. My only regret is that he did end up with a big gap of time we didn't cover for various reasons. Even that time period he has watched some documentaries on his own.  He has a pretty good idea of the flow of history and that events never happened in a vacuum. 

 

The only thing I might change pre-high school is to ensure all times were covered and allow for more choice in tangential studies. 

 

 

Even at the college level, it's a pain to cram a survey course into one semester. We went from neolithic times to the Magna Carta in one class and skimmed the surface on many topics and had to skip a few because of getting behind. 

[Miss Tick]

They're all right. Go with whatever style interests you, and recognize that you can change midyear if that feels right later.

 

I love the organized survey of world history, so I went with that expecting to follow any rabbit trails, but my kids, or our dynamic, don't do a lot of rabbit trails. I have a folder of mini-books about the great explorers, though. When we studied that part of history it made sense to me to do a survey forward and back to review with something more tangible. So, you could do both! Sort of.

[jaderbee]

Have you looked at any of Mrs. Twain's old posts on history? It might be worth doing a search for some. Here is one to get you started. The basic idea is:

- Each year, do an overview of world history book. Then, use the rest of the year to do a number of in-depth mini-projects, unit studies, etc.

To maintain the chronological logic, make regular use of your timeline book, and consider memorising a timeline such as the one sold by Veritas Press or Classic Catholic Memory, or any of the many other available for free online.

 

Also, I think if you use the SOTW audio CDs, you have the option of just playing those as *fun* books that help cement everything together.

Well that was a fun rabbit trail that will require further exploring.

[rebcoola]

We listen to Story of the world on audiobook in the car and do unit studies on what interest within in that year's cycle.    It seems to put things in a big picture while still getting to immerse ourselves in something. 

[Corraleno]

I think it's useful to do a chronological version of world history at some point in 12 years of schooling. Doing three full 4-year cycles is unnecessary, IMHO, and does limit the opportunities for real in-depth, interest-led study. You really don't need three chronological surveys of history to ensure students have a reasonable understanding of the breadth of human history — you can get the breadth in a couple of years in HS. 

 

I did originally plan on doing 4 yr cycles — we got as far as the Greeks, lol. Then they just started following their own interests and it seemed silly to be telling a middle-schooler "No, you can't read Herodotus and Thucydides and watch 200 hours of Teaching Company lectures, we need to move on now!" or telling a third grader "No, you can't spend several months studying famous queens throughout history and then jump into Elizabethan England — we won't get to that for another year!" So they study what they want until HS, then will do a year of American history, a 2 yr survey of world history (which still allows time for deeper study in topics of interest, which for DS includes early Northern Europe, Central Asia, Mesoamerica — and more Greeks, lol), and a year of Philosophy/History of Ideas (which in a way is also a survey of world history, just focusing on intellectual history).

 

 

[momto2Cs]

We've done brief chronological overviews (a la Mrs Twain), but spent the bulk of our time exploring. Both kids want to at least start with British history in the fall, so that's where we'll go! They have also talked about Asian/Soth Asian history being of interest. I can see British history leading nicely into American history as well, so it will be interesting to see where we go. We also like to fit in multiple resources that approach different angles of history, which gives us a bigger picture (the "weaving a tapestry" 8Fill was talking about up-post).

 

I had originally planned to do the four year cycles, but as others have mentioned, it wasn't easy to keep them "on track" with that, as there were so many interests that popped up along the way, and I really did not want to squelch their enthusiasm. I do not have any regrets approaching it this way -- both my children have developed a pretty good awareness of history as a whole, and a deep interest in it. I know that every child will have gaps somewhere, so I do not worry myself about strictly chronological history!