Reefgazer Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Is It just me, or is HO got *a lot* of lessons to cover in one year? I was going to use this for DS for 6-8 grade, but to finish a level in a year is a ton of work, IMO. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeachyDoodle Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 It is definitely a lot. We drop several of the supplemental readings (especially the historical fiction) since we do literature separately -- and we definitely don't stop what we're doing while we read the books, as HO suggests. I think some of the outlining and summarizing are overkill too. That said, we didn't have any trouble getting through Ancients this past year. I tried to schedule two-three days per week on HO lessons (spine reading, outlining, timeline, etc.) and the remainder on supplemental reading and/or projects. We did a lot of work with primary sources using Stanford's Reading Like a Historian. If you are judicious with the summaries and outlines, and cut back on some of the supplemental reading, it's do-able. But yeah, as written, it's a heck of a lot. And looking forward, it seems to get more intense as it progresses. I am pretty sure I read that HO was developed based on TWTM. I wonder if it's intended in its purest form to be a full literature, history, and writing curriculum? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 We weren't a fan. There was a LOT of work, and quite a bit of it was busy work or poorly scheduled (I don't believe the History Pockets are necessary - way too much coloring!). I've heard they've changed the format of scheduling some, but still. We gave it up after a year and found Creek Edge Press. There was just enough work and the right kind of work to make the year go a lot smoother. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HilJoy14 Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 It is definitely a lot. We drop several of the supplemental readings (especially the historical fiction) since we do literature separately -- and we definitely don't stop what we're doing while we read the books, as HO suggests. I think some of the outlining and summarizing are overkill too. That said, we didn't have any trouble getting through Ancients this past year. I tried to schedule two-three days per week on HO lessons (spine reading, outlining, timeline, etc.) and the remainder on supplemental reading and/or projects. We did a lot of work with primary sources using Stanford's Reading Like a Historian. If you are judicious with the summaries and outlines, and cut back on some of the supplemental reading, it's do-able. But yeah, as written, it's a heck of a lot. And looking forward, it seems to get more intense as it progresses. I am pretty sure I read that HO was developed based on TWTM. I wonder if it's intended in its purest form to be a full literature, history, and writing curriculum? I totally agree with this. We dropped a lot of supplemental readings and outlining/summarizing (as in, we'd discuss it together instead). My kids are also 4th/5th this year, so I didn't want to burden them with the whole thing anyway, since they're on the young end for Level 2. But we officially finished Lesson 71 today (and are skipping 72, as it seems like overkill), so we made it all the way through! Woohoo!!! I did enjoy the program as we did it, and if my kids were older (7th/8th), I probably wouldn't feel so bad about more outlining/summarizing, too. We read K12's Human Odyssey and listened to SOTW along with the encyclopedia reading, rather than using The Story of Mankind. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I completely rewrote Level 2 Ancients four years ago for dd#1 (different spines, took out the History Pocket). She didn't do everything on the schedule and ended up finishing in the summer. I'm using dd#1's plans for dd#3 and completely rewriting them (again) for dd#2 since I don't want them to have to use the same books. So, different spine & less hand-holding on the outlining/summarizing since she's used to it. Also, she only has one outside book to read since she'll be taking an outside lit/writing course. As long as she covers five lessons every two weeks, she'll be done in 30 weeks. That's our goal, anyway. But, yeah, lots of work anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hands-on-mama Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Ami I missing something? I have History Odyssey Level 2 ancients and see no history pockets scheduled. They are scheduled in level 1 but not in level 2. I am so confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Ami I missing something? I have History Odyssey Level 2 ancients and see no history pockets scheduled. They are scheduled in level 1 but not in level 2. I am so confused. We used it about 4-5 years ago. I think Level 2 was rewritten because we weren't the only ones having issues. It was like Lesson 12: Complete the Government Pocket. Lesson 13: Complete the Daily Life pocket. Lesson 14: Start reading Greek Myths. Complete Religion pocket. Lesson 15: Finish reading. Complete the rest of the pockets. And with 87 lessons total and no sense of scheduling, it was just a weird set up. If they took them out now, I'm glad. They were a waste of time for a middle schooler. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hands-on-mama Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 We used it about 4-5 years ago. I think Level 2 was rewritten because we weren't the only ones having issues. It was like Lesson 12: Complete the Government Pocket. Lesson 13: Complete the Daily Life pocket. Lesson 14: Start reading Greek Myths. Complete Religion pocket. Lesson 15: Finish reading. Complete the rest of the pockets. And with 87 lessons total and no sense of scheduling, it was just a weird set up. If they took them out now, I'm glad. They were a waste of time for a middle schooler. Yeah, I'm not seeing any history pockets in Ancients or middle ages. Actually, on my first look through it seemed rather simplistic. It does seem to amp up a little as you go. I guess I will give a review once we get to going. I'll be using it with a 7th grader and my friend will be using it with a 6th grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeachyDoodle Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 (edited) Ami I missing something? I have History Odyssey Level 2 ancients and see no history pockets scheduled. They are scheduled in level 1 but not in level 2. I am so confused. HO doesn't use History Pockets anymore. Not in Level 2 anyway. That was a previous version. ETA: Which is good, because I find them painfully tedious and a complete waste of time! Edited June 15, 2016 by PeachyDoodle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 It also looks like they also made The Story of Mankind optional and removed the both History Pockets & the Learning Through History magazine portion. Here's what the supplies were for the old version (that I have): The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia (1999 or 2004 edition) The Story of Mankind Timeline Learning Through History Magazine "Ancient Rome" [same booklist for both] History Pockets - Ancient Egypt History Pockets - Ancient Greece I was 87 lessons long. The revised version, based on the try-it-before-you-buy-it on the website, has only 72 lessons. That's more reasonable, IMO. The revised edition requires the following resources: The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia (1999 or newer) The Story of Mankind (optional) Timeline [same booklist for both] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airykah109 Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 What has changed from the 2013 to 2015 editions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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