Aloha2U Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 (edited) I'm gearing up for next year with Omnibus I—no online course (neither live nor self-paced), just mommy-led. I was going to take my questions to the Yahoo! groups, but alas... they have moved to Facebook. Is there anyone here who has teacher-led Omnibus I with a 7th grader? I have several questions, but presently I'm wondering if the Guide to Great Books by Wes Callihan is a must or just an optional resource that will rarely, if at all, be used. Edited April 3, 2016 by NCAmusings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 I did Omnibus I with my oldest dd when she was in 7th grade (she just turned 22!), it was a while ago. I did not have Callihan's book. I don't remember if it was on the list or not at the time. I didn't find that I needed anything extra. I read every book the summer before we started. We used the study questions and I had her write out one longer essay each week. My 2nd dd did Omnibus online with Veritas, so I got to see how it was approached. After comparing, I think I did a good job. :D I do think the class discussions were beneficial, and my dd enjoyed complaining about the books with other kids. :lol: Enjoy Omnibus! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha2U Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 Great! Thank you, Kim! Your post is a big help. Btw, did you both read the Twelve Caesars and discuss it? Also, did you have any favorites, so that if your dd didn't have time to read all of the books, then you could easily pick 1-3 of the primary books to skip? What about the secondary books, any favorites? I don't know if my little man will get around to reading all of them. My plan is to have us both start reading over the summer, hopefully, so as to lighten the load during the study year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 (edited) . Edited July 12, 2022 by SilverMoon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Great! Thank you, Kim! Your post is a big help. Btw, did you both read the Twelve Caesars and discuss it? Also, did you have any favorites, so that if your dd didn't have time to read all of the books, then you could easily pick 1-3 of the primary books to skip? What about the secondary books, any favorites? I don't know if my little man will get around to reading all of them. My plan is to have us both start reading over the summer, hopefully, so as to lighten the load during the study year. Yes, we both read the 12 Caesars, but I would recommend skipping some of it. It was a bit rough, but I will say that after that book any further sex ed will be unnecessary. :ohmy: :blushing: :lol: Also, Herodotus, I would find a deeply abridged version. It was not just too long, but pointless. And I can't think of the recent movie that was based on some of the tales, but maybe you could find it. You could watch the Shakespeare plays instead of reading them. My favorite secondary book was Till We Have Faces. I loved it so much that I bought several copies and gave them as gifts that Christmas. It's really been awhile and I can't remember all of the books. I do remember that we had already read some of the secondary books, so we skipped them, but did reference them for some discussions. Oh, the books that had to do with Socrates...What were they? There were 2 of them. I hated them with a passion. I wanted to hit my head against a brick wall while reading them. But I remember that my friend's dd (who was doing Omnibus the same year) loved them. I guess it depends what you enjoy. :laugh: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha2U Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 Disclaimer: We cherry picked portions and never did an Omnibus front to back. We skipped it and didn't miss it either. However that Invitation to the Classics book they used to recommend, we loved and have used every year of high school so far. I dug into an old VP catalog after I read your suggestion. Then, hubby and I reviewed both (as best we could), and believe we prefer your suggestion over the current VP option—plus it was cheaper, so I picked one up last night. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha2U Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 Yes, we both read the 12 Caesars, but I would recommend skipping some of it. It was a bit rough, but I will say that after that book any further sex ed will be unnecessary. :ohmy: :blushing: :lol: Also, Herodotus, I would find a deeply abridged version. It was not just too long, but pointless. And I can't think of the recent movie that was based on some of the tales, but maybe you could find it. You could watch the Shakespeare plays instead of reading them. My favorite secondary book was Till We Have Faces. I loved it so much that I bought several copies and gave them as gifts that Christmas. It's really been awhile and I can't remember all of the books. I do remember that we had already read some of the secondary books, so we skipped them, but did reference them for some discussions. Oh, the books that had to do with Socrates...What were they? There were 2 of them. I hated them with a passion. I wanted to hit my head against a brick wall while reading them. But I remember that my friend's dd (who was doing Omnibus the same year) loved them. I guess it depends what you enjoy. :laugh: Thank you for sharing! I've placed Till We Have Faces on hold at our local library. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha2U Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 Would anyone like to share what a typical day or week of Omnibus I was like for them? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha2U Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Bummer. I may be forced to create a Facebook account. Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 It's hard for me to really remember details--I did Omnibus 1 with my freshman in high school son, my first year of homeschooling (so, 10ish years ago). We did not do (m)any of the secondary readings and I added in 4 books--one on Ancient Egypt, because Veritas does a lot with Egypt earlier in the elementary years, and Quo Vadis, and 2 books by Paul LIttle for theology (I didn't want to read Unaborted Socrates, for example). I would basically follow the book. Day One, we'd read and do Assignment 1 for the week, for example. (Sorry, I'm not being sarcastic!!) Ds and I would discuss following the discussion guide, usually the day after he'd done the work (we didn't, for example, save up all the discussion for one day like you do with Tapestry of Grace). Omnibus is laid out fairly simply. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Do you have the Teacher CD? There are lesson plans on it. Not very in depth, but it breaks it down for you. We started our week on Friday so my boys could read over the weekend. In addition to meeting when starting a book, we met twice a week to discuss questions. Some had to be written down and handed in and some we simply discussed dialectically Typical week (when starting a new book): Friday: Student reads intro to new book, afterwards we discuss intro and prelude questions Homework: Assigned reading, questions Tuesday: Discussion Homework: Assigned reading, questions Thursday or Friday: Discussion Each book would have at least one extra assignment - essay, project, or activity We discussed history separately. With my oldest we did Omnibus and TOG. I met with Ds#2 one day a week to discuss history readings and questions. I didn't use Spielvogel, I used The Western Heritage (Kagan), various books I liked from TOG, and Teaching Company audio. Ds#3 did Omnibus I online - they met 2x a week to discuss so I figured I was on to something with my schedule. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha2U Posted April 6, 2016 Author Share Posted April 6, 2016 It's hard for me to really remember details--I did Omnibus 1 with my freshman in high school son, my first year of homeschooling (so, 10ish years ago). We did not do (m)any of the secondary readings and I added in 4 books--one on Ancient Egypt, because Veritas does a lot with Egypt earlier in the elementary years, and Quo Vadis, and 2 books by Paul LIttle for theology (I didn't want to read Unaborted Socrates, for example). I would basically follow the book. Day One, we'd read and do Assignment 1 for the week, for example. (Sorry, I'm not being sarcastic!!) Ds and I would discuss following the discussion guide, usually the day after he'd done the work (we didn't, for example, save up all the discussion for one day like you do with Tapestry of Grace). Omnibus is laid out fairly simply. But see... reading your post is truly helpful! Thank you for taking the time to respond. It's been such a long road to reach Omnibus since I first became aware of it, that I fear I have a little preparation anxiety going on. What seemed afar off is arriving sooner than later. What once seemed overwhelmingly beyond our reach is actually coming into sight. After completing VP's 5-year Bible and History cycles in the grammar stage, I believe we are ready for the next stage of breadth and depth. What's more, Omnibus actually seems doable now, which makes me wonder and fear that I'm missing something. Lol! I finally sat down to read the Publisher's Preface and Introduction last night. Worth the read. I was re-inspired and reminded of why we chose this route. Sure, there's going to be some sensitive issues, but better to tackle them now while my little man's a tweeny than full-on teen. There are secondary books, as you mentioned, that I won't have my little man read, though I will take them on myself. On a side note, we'll also be covering BJU's Life science next year. What timing. :svengo: Please tell me that we'll make it through these embarrassingly deep and sensitive discussions and all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha2U Posted April 6, 2016 Author Share Posted April 6, 2016 Do you have the Teacher CD? There are lesson plans on it. Not very in depth, but it breaks it down for you. We started our week on Friday so my boys could read over the weekend. In addition to meeting when starting a book, we met twice a week to discuss questions. Some had to be written down and handed in and some we simply discussed dialectically Typical week (when starting a new book): Friday: Student reads intro to new book, afterwards we discuss intro and prelude questions Homework: Assigned reading, questions Tuesday: Discussion Homework: Assigned reading, questions Thursday or Friday: Discussion Each book would have at least one extra assignment - essay, project, or activity We discussed history separately. With my oldest we did Omnibus and TOG. I met with Ds#2 one day a week to discuss history readings and questions. I didn't use Spielvogel, I used The Western Heritage (Kagan), various books I liked from TOG, and Teaching Company audio. Ds#3 did Omnibus I online - they met 2x a week to discuss so I figured I was on to something with my schedule. I recently wondered about the reading assignments—when to do them. Starting the new book at the end of the study week is a brilliant idea! So glad I though of it. ;) Seriously though, brilliant idea. Thank you for sharing! We'll most likely do that. Love this schedule! Any particular reason you chose Kagan over Spielvogel? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Kagan is not quite as dry, has larger font, but it also has good questions and original source documents. It was (may still be) used for honors or AP history (I forget which.) Balanced view of history in my opinion. Kagan is conservative, but fair. Side note: If you mourn the loss of the classical liberal arts read Kagan's retirement speech from Yale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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