Anyone use Veritas Press self pace for 7th and 8th grade?

[michaeljenn]

I am purchasing a VP self paced course for my 4th grader, but my 7th grader wants to do one too! Honestly, after watching the samples, even I have learned a thing or two.  My thought was to have her go through several of the programs in a year including the summer. I figured I could beef it up with some higher level readers and have her do more research on certain topics and have her write a few papers.  I REALLY like that they memorize the timeline.   Then I plan to have her start Omnibus 1 in 9th grade.  I just don't think she is truly ready for omnibus right now.  She is not a strong reader and feel like she may need a few more years to grow.  Thoughts?

[OneStepAtATime]

Your plan might work well.  DD and DS did a Self-Paced and retained quite a bit.  DS was in elementary school and DD was in Middle School.  I stayed nearby doing my own thing but listening in on several occasions so we could discuss what was happening, which was fun and also helped with retention.  

 

Adding in higher level readings and support assignments would be great.  We added a lot of extra reading and discussions.  Worked well, even for my middle schooler.

 

I will warn you, though, that the games that are included in the program are sometimes hard to do (the interface can be really clunky and annoying) and frankly are often quite stupid IMHO.  My kids hated several of the games but they HAD to do them.  You cannot skip the games.  They just wanted to answer the questions and move on.  They loathed having to do some of the games and got really frustrated, especially my son who has dysgraphia and struggled with the interface in some of the games.  I wish with all my heart there was some way to disable the games if a parent/child feels they are not fun/helpful.

[ByGrace3]

I have been contemplating this as well. My older two are on their second year of VP self paced. There are pros and cons, the biggest pro being it is independent and with 3 kids schooling, I needed that. My oldest might be able to do Omnibus next year, but honestly I would prefer her to wait another year and start with Omni 3 in 8th or even 9th. So I have contemplated continuing with VP self paced until then. Honestly, there is a ton of facts about the material I don't even know, so I don't doubt she would learn. My biggest hesitation is as you said, I would want to add writing and higher level thinking assignments to the course to make it more age appropriate...at that point history takes up a big part of the day. The self paced courses already take up about 20-30 minutes per day. Sometimes I wonder about the amount of time we spend on it. Just thinking "aloud" as we are in the same boat! 😉

[FloridaLisa]

The self-paced history is rich enough for a 7th grader. They tackle hard topics and expect quite a bit of memorization and geography. You could definitely beef it up with the read alongs you assign. Maybe look at it for 7th and if you're happy and it's still thorough enough, then sign up for another year. We've used it for 17 years...my 6th grader is on his 5th year with it and he is going to sorely miss it next year! 

 

Lisa