Seeking Squirrels Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I'm working out how to salvage our history cycle and make the most of 4th grade next year. I will also have a K probably tagging along. 1st: We started SOTW but she just wasn't ready for ancients yet. We jumped around a bit and did some general SS using MBtP, Beg. Geo from Evan Moor, and a couple other things. 2nd: Adventures in America - We didn't get through all of it. At one-day/week charter they did Renaissance period. 3rd: She's in PS this year and they aren't doing much of anything for SS. :/ I think I'd like to use BYL for 5th grade (year 1 of 2 of US history), so I'm kind of trying to work toward that, while also wanting to fill the gaps left from no consistent history study. So here's some options I've considered: BYL 4th which is modern history, using SOTW 4. Read through all of the SOTW books without really doing anything extra. Just as read-alouds to get a good overview. SOTW1, and instead of BYL in 5th, continue through the history cycle through 7th and hit US history in 8th. Though I really like the look of BYL8, so I might in this instance try to speed it up enough to finish all four in 3 years. What would be the best course to take? I'm open to suggestions for other options, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syllieann Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I think I would either do sotw 1-4 as read aloud I one year or perhaps CHOW. I like chow for a one year overview. Rr has a workbook/activity guide to go with it. I haven't seen that portion of the package, but I assume it is secular since it is put out by Calvert. http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/054771 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking Squirrels Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 I think I would either do sotw 1-4 as read aloud I one year or perhaps CHOW. I like chow for a one year overview. Rr has a workbook/activity guide to go with it. I haven't seen that portion of the package, but I assume it is secular since it is put out by Calvert. http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/054771 Thank you for the suggestion. I just did a lot of searching on CHOW and it doesn't look like it will be a good fit for us. Though many religious reviewers seem to think it is too secular, many who desire secular say it is religious and from the samples I was able to find, I agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 The US founding fathers were heavily influenced by ancient Greek and Roman cultures. I would use SOTW 1 as a spine and add in other resources as appropriate for your children. Include Aesop's Fables and Greek and Roman mythology in either your history or literature studies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Have you tried asking the kid if there's a part of history they'd really like to know more about? Or just go sideways with big literature unit studies. If you really plan on sticking with BYL there's no reason why you couldn't do their SOTW 4 year anyway. History doesn't always have to be in a straight line to be effective. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking Squirrels Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 Have you tried asking the kid if there's a part of history they'd really like to know more about? Or just go sideways with big literature unit studies. If you really plan on sticking with BYL there's no reason why you couldn't do their SOTW 4 year anyway. History doesn't always have to be in a straight line to be effective. She is not interested in history at all. She is very much a STEM kid. She could do science all day and can keep up with concepts way above grade level, math comes naturally, and she's constantly building and creating things. On the other hand last year after the section on Christopher Columbus (so we'd read and talked about him several times over the past two weeks) she said "who?" when I said his name. I'm honestly not sure on BYL because we haven't used it yet. I like what I see, but who knows how it will end up working for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanalouwho Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I would probably just use SOTW as a read aloud. The early elementary years are really just about exposing them to the topics anyway, and if history is not her thing you don't need to do a bunch of projects or add-ons with it. Read the stories, maybe do some maps, and only go more in-depth if anything sparks her interest. Sent from my HTCD160LVW using Tapatalk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fralala Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 The first time I started SOTW, the kids showed zero interest and I set it aside for a few years. When I picked it up again, they were wildly enthusiastic and persuaded me to read Vol. 1 aloud to them in about a month. They were not interested in any of the coloring pages or activities, and that was okay with me. Maybe you can give SOTW another try. Perhaps read it aloud to your daughter while she tinkers and builds things? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking Squirrels Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 The first time I started SOTW, the kids showed zero interest and I set it aside for a few years. When I picked it up again, they were wildly enthusiastic and persuaded me to read Vol. 1 aloud to them in about a month. They were not interested in any of the coloring pages or activities, and that was okay with me. Maybe you can give SOTW another try. Perhaps read it aloud to your daughter while she tinkers and builds things? I was hoping this would happen, it would be easier for us all if she really enjoyed it! But alas, she does not. I started reading it a while back as part of our afterschooling (I'm doing math and science with her). She's getting it now, where it was over her head in 1st, and she likes SOTW well enough for what it is (meaning I don't feel the need to find something different), but she's not suddenly interested. So I stopped for now and she didn't even notice. We've got enough with getting in math and science outside of ps work. Yes, if we go through SOTW read-aloud style I was planning on it being during our regular book basket read time, not as a separate history lesson. They build and make or color during read-alouds so I know we'll be able to get through it without pushback. I just don't expect any interest in going beyond the read-aloud. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Maybe SOTW audio books and keep it low-key. Or a history of science cobbled together with biographies? (BYL does this in 8th. My 8th grader is using it this year and gives it two hearty thumbs up.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking Squirrels Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 I think I am liking the low-key read through of SOTW1-4 the best. It hits it all but without a major history focus which she's not interested in. If everyone thinks that's enough for 4th grade, then I'll probably go that route. I just don't want to be cheating her out of the rounded experience with extra books and activities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beka87 Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 A Little History of the World is a much shorter overview than reading all of SOTW in one year. I didn't care for CHOW, either, but I loved Little History. I think paired with a lot of quality picture books (of which there are many and a fourth grader wouldn't be too old) that she could read independently, it would make a really nice overview year. You could also supplement with Landmark biographies for U.S. history figures and visit some museums. Your K'er could listen in and would get more from the picture books than Little History, but really - that book is for any age. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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