shburks Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 DS loves history and has participated (and won) National History Bee competitions and local academic bowl competitions. He just soaks it up! We've been using Notgrass for three years and have gone through world history, US history and going through their civics book now--all books designed for middle school. He COULD do something considerably harder without issue--he reads heavy history books for fun, so his reading and comprehension level is high. I just don't know where to go for next year! I'm concerned about pushing him through high school level history courses because I wasn't sure what we would do when he reached high school level--or do I just do that and worry about high school later? Should I consider something totally different? Economics or some other "social studies" that doesn't normally get covered? Look at doing an in-depth study of something in particular? (Semester on WWII, for example)? Any thoughts? Age wise, he'll be 7th grade next year but working well above grade level for all subjects except writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schadenfreude Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Since he reads heavy history books for fun, I would just talk to him about them when he is done, keep a list of the books, and call it done. The interest is there so not doing a formal history will give him more time for his in depth history studies before you have to go back through an overview of history in high school. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Since he reads heavy history books for fun, I would just talk to him about them when he is done, keep a list of the books, and call it done. The interest is there so not doing a formal history will give him more time for his in depth history studies before you have to go back through an overview of history in high school. Agreed. This sounds like a great time to set him loose in the library. If he likes video and/or audio, he could also branch out into Great Courses. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shburks Posted December 31, 2016 Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 I grew up with your son :)-my younger brother was/is a voracious consumer of history and civics, was a two time National Citizen Bee finalist and multiple essay contest winner, etc. My suggestion-allow specialization. There is so much depth in any one piece of history that courses only skim the surface. Allow and encourage him to focus, to dive deep, and to find connections. For my brother, that was the rise of Nazi Germany and the resistance to it, which then led into the civil rights movements and resistances in different countries. He chose his undergraduate school because of a faculty member who had been one of the original Freedom Riders who had also focused his life on tyranny and resistance. After a less than successful time as a Capitol Hill Lobbyist, he got his JD and is now a civil rights attorney, specializing in trying to get alternative placements for those with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities who end up in the criminal justice system. And it all dates back to the kid who's English teacher was convinced was.stchopath due to turning in every single book report and essay on Adolph Hitler in 6th grade, because he was fascinated by how this could happen-how single people could motivate others for good and evil. It is amazing how much specializing can lead to connections and learning across the board. I wouldn't hesitate to let history, and even a single topic or event or period of history, be the driving force for much of his education right now. It's a little scary, but it pays off. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 I would turn him lose on Great Courses Plus and just ask fir either notes or a short summary of the content he watches. Perhaps once every two weeks a longer or deeper piece on something interesting, a connection he has made, integrating knowledge from a few sources, or perhaps how something he has learned relates to today. You can keep track of where specialization might be happening either in region, or languages, or art, or whatever. The extent of their history selections is quite broad and very interesting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 As a supplement this year, we've been reading books focused on a single food and its historical, social, political, environmental, nutritional impact. It's exceeded my expectations. We've done bananas, sugar, chocolate, with plans to do corn, potatoes, and several others. I purposely chose several with connections to Columbian Exchange for tie-in with our history this year. There are books like this about so many foods but the quality is mixed. We love social history so this has been a great experience, and we have loved culinary history great course too. Agree too about Great Courses--love them! Crash Courses would be fun too but much less detail. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MASHomeschooler Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 I think the above are all good options, and I wanted to add Big History (https://www.bighistoryproject.com/home) as another option to consider. I also like the idea of focusing on other social studies. Besides economics, there's world religions, geography, government (maybe comparative since he's been doing civics). Or social sciences like anthropology, archaeology, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 (edited) How about a National History Day project? When you do your own research you learn so much more, and you can take it really deep if you want. Also, look for a mentor who can help your child deepen their understanding and research skills. (We just requested a book from a university library for ds11 for National History Day.) DS's mentor is a librarian who has a master's in history who is mainly a SAHM right now. Emily Edited January 3, 2017 by EmilyGF 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shburks Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 So many great ideas! Thank you all! As a supplement this year, we've been reading books focused on a single food and its historical, social, political, environmental, nutritional impact. It's exceeded my expectations. We've done bananas, sugar, chocolate, with plans to do corn, potatoes, and several others. I purposely chose several with connections to Columbian Exchange for tie-in with our history this year. There are books like this about so many foods but the quality is mixed. We love social history so this has been a great experience, and we have loved culinary history great course too.Agree too about Great Courses--love them! Crash Courses would be fun too but much less detail. Can you tell me about Crash Courses? I got several different hits when I Googled it, and I'm not sure what I'm looking for! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolate-chip chooky Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Crash Course is a youtube channel done by Hank Green and John Green, with a few other people in there too. The videos are fast moving and have a stack of info in them. They also are humourous, which is a big plus for us. https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Have you considered doing alternative history? As in Indiginous People's History of the United States, Founding Mothers, Lies My Teacher Told Me, People's History of the United States (by Zinn), Skeptics Guide to U.S. History. Essentially non-white, non-male, or non winner history? I do not know if you want to get into the sensativities here. It is very hard to explain once your kid starts to understand how depressing some of it is. It is also difficult to explain why history is taught in the "traditional" way if the student enjoys the other narratives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shburks Posted February 7, 2017 Author Share Posted February 7, 2017 Crash Course is a youtube channel done by Hank Green and John Green, with a few other people in there too. The videos are fast moving and have a stack of info in them. They also are humourous, which is a big plus for us. https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse Thank you! Have you considered doing alternative history? As in Indiginous People's History of the United States, Founding Mothers, Lies My Teacher Told Me, People's History of the United States (by Zinn), Skeptics Guide to U.S. History. Essentially non-white, non-male, or non winner history? I do not know if you want to get into the sensativities here. It is very hard to explain once your kid starts to understand how depressing some of it is. It is also difficult to explain why history is taught in the "traditional" way if the student enjoys the other narratives. This is not something I had considered at all, but one or two of those books does sound familiar. I'll check them out--thanks for an out of the box thought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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