Momof2kids Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Are "The World of" books written for a younger person than the "World of" books? I was thinking about using these with a 10 year old boy next fall for fourth grade. I was going to read them aloud (unless he makes a huge jump forward in his reading from now until then). I was going to plow right through all of them in order of time period. I was going to use Hillyer's A Child's History of the World as well. But maybe I only use CHOW and save the Foster books for 6th and 7th grade because ..... I also have an 11 year old 6th grader who is currently taking a survey of World History for 6th grade and it continues into 7th grade using the Oak Meadow curriculum. We have also added a few other books for enrichment. I was wondering if I should start her on Agustus Caesar's World when we get to Roman Times and then have her read all the Foster books chronologically for 6th and 7th grade and maybe into 8th. My daughter is very unmotivated to read anything other than popular culture type stuff. She has glimmers of enjoyment when she does school but she is not really into it. She does love Oak Meadow though since we've run the gamut in curriculums and finally settled on OM (with some good enrichment books) for 5th through 8th. I worry that if I lay another book on her this year she will rebell and get really mad. I currently have her whole year planned out for her. I scheduled everything on a chart of 180 days ala Sonlight and Winter Promise. I laid out all the expectations and books 2 weeks ago when we first started and if she sees a new book thown in I'm afraid she'll have a meltdown. So I guess maybe I could just save it for 7th grade (Agustus Ceasar and Columbus) and 8th grade (John Smith, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln). 8th grade will be Oak Meadow Civics and United States History. I am just trying to work this through and could really use some advice. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 That is a tough one. The Foster books really don't line up well with Oak Meadow. I think they really need a good eight weeks each - maybe longer. If you assign dd Augustus Caesar and Columbus in 7th it won't line up with anything she is studying in OM7. For an already uninterested child, I don't know whether that would accomplish much. You are talking about 800 pages of reading separate from her history studies. The books do not have to be read in any order. OM7 is in the Civil War by lesson 10. So I would probably choose one book to read with OM7 - maybe Lincoln or Washington and use the other two (Smith and Lincoln or Smith and Washington with your U.S. History in 8th, which I assume you are putting together to go along with OM 8 Civics.) I would spread each Foster book out over ten weeks with a reluctant student. If you want to do Caesar and Columbus this year with dd in 6th since they do line up with OM6 - maybe you could read them aloud to her? I also think the books are fine for 4th if you are planning to read them aloud! Note: There is also the World of William Penn - but it is OOP. For some reason, it was never reprinted with the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof2kids Posted September 11, 2008 Author Share Posted September 11, 2008 Melissa B Thanks so much for your ideas. Also about the William Penn book. Maybe it will be on ebay someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof2kids Posted September 11, 2008 Author Share Posted September 11, 2008 Melissa B - I found several World of William Penns on various sites. They range from $40.00 to outrageous. I guess I can spring for a $40.00 one. Do you know why it has never been picked up by BF books? Also, where would it fit in the chronoligical order? I'm thinking After John Smith - right? I know we don't have to read them in order but I think they go like this. Agustus Caesar's World (44 BC - 14) Columbus and Sons (1451-1539) World of Capt. John Smith (1580-1631) William Penn (he lived from 1644 to 1718) George Washington's World (1732-1799) Abraham Lincoln's World Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 I don't know why it wasn't picked up, but it has never been revised so it is shorter than the rest of the series. It is only 188 pages. You may want to keep an eye out - I bought mine for $10 or $15. The World of William Penn covers the years 1660-1718, so that would be the correct order.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof2kids Posted September 12, 2008 Author Share Posted September 12, 2008 Melissa B. I am planning on using My Father's World for High School. I have just been salivating over their Grade 9 high school package for a while now. I can't wait to see what they develop for the next 3 years. Do you think I can just add the Foster books to that curriculum for the high school years? I think I heard some people have used them in high school but I can't find any threads on that right now. I know MFW uses 2 of the Foster books in their lower grades packages but we don't feel MFW is a good fit for us for lower grades so we will stick with OM. I know alot of people use Foster in the lower grades. With my daughter she just never liked having books being read to her that were over her head. Even SOTW was way over her head when we tried using it. People use SOTW 1 with 5 year olds!! But my dd did not enjoy this type of book so young. Even at 7 she just never took to it. We had the same problem with Sonlight. The books were just too much for her. So over the years I might have burned her out. If I had to do it all over again, I'd really try to stick with more age appropriate/grade level type of books. It seems so much in Classical Education is just too much for my daughter and I can see why because I would have been the same way at her age. So I need to work up to the good books and literature slowly and then hopefully while we do MFW high school she will be ready to take on some serious reading. So I just want your opinion on if the Foster books would be too grammar schooly or not. I've read on Amazon.com reviews that even adults enjoy these books. And maybe by high school she will apply herself more (we are really going to be working on this the next 3 years) to her school work. I requested the first book Agustus Caesar's World from the library. When I get it I will start reading it myself and see what I think. But I'd also like to know what you think. Well, thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 I looked over Augustus Caesar's World for dd(11)'s Rome block this year. It seemed OK but I ended up choosing the Landmark Julius Caesar book by Gunther (who wrote their Alexander the Great, which she really liked) instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 I had to run over to the MFW site, as I had not seen their high school program. Foster's books would definitely be light reading compared to what is being used in the MFW program. But I do not consider her books to be grammar level either. I tried to use one when my dd was in second or third grade and the only one enjoying history was me. :D I dropped it right away. There are more age appropriate books out there. I am reading the Columbus book now with dd10 and it is going well, but I am reading it aloud. When dd8 sits in, much of it goes over her head. I have to explain what is happening as I read. I really enjoy her books. The language does not have that elementary feel. The books are interesting and quite detailed. I use them as read-alouds because I actually enjoy reading them and enjoy discussing them with my dd. They are so detailed, I am afraid my daughter will "miss out" if she reads them on her own (or maybe I am afraid I will miss out. :001_smile:) I would not consider them to be "high school" level, but for a supplement they would be fine. Genevieve Foster is one of those authors where a person either really likes her books or really, really doesn't. So it is a good idea to read through one and see what you think. They are all similarly written. HTH!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof2kids Posted September 12, 2008 Author Share Posted September 12, 2008 Melissa B - Thanks for taking the time to respond to my questions. I will probably use them for high school as a nice easy add on for fun. I've been searching the net and found some people who do save them for high school. I'm going to read the Caesar one and George Washington's World since I can get those from my library. I'll make my final decision when I see the books in person. Thanks so much!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda in NE Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 I own all of the Foster books, but have not read them all cover to cover. I wanted to say that there's a reason the Penn book has not been reprinted. It's just not as good as the others. Of course, that's purely my opinion. It was published the year Foster died or the year after. When you read through the book, there are plenty of illustrations in the Foster style, just not as much text as the other books led me to expect. There's just not the breadth of coverage that is in her other "horizontal history" books. If you truly want to use Foster with grammar stage students, her "Year of . . ." books are typically a much better fit, especially if you're going to assign the books for independent reading. They include: Year of Columbus, 1492 Year of the Pilgrims, 1620 Year of Independence, 1776 Year of the Horseless Carriage, 1801 Year of Lincoln, 1861 Year of the Flying Machine, 1903 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 We are using Beautiful Feet Books this year for 7th. It is based on The World of Books by Foster starting with Christopher Columbus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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