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Combined learning levels for History?


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Hi! We're planning to start homeschooling our 4 kids and I would like to keep our whole family on the same historical time periods.  We will have a 4th grader, 2nd grader, Kindergartner, and 3-year-old.  I appreciate the Well-Trained Mind approach for a 4-year history cycle, but don't want to fragment our 'together' learning by having kids on different time periods.

Do you have experience combining age groups on the same historical period?  Any tips to pass along?

Thanks!

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Well, with unit studies, we teach to the oldest child and let the littles come along. You'll have a 9yo, a 7yo, a 5yo, and a 3yo, right? Your older two will probably pay more attention than your littles, so let the littles goof off, er, play in the same room with you when you do history stuff.  Next year, let the 6yo do a little more, and the youngest will just naturally ooze into the studies. Just keep on the four-year cycle, and bring the younger ones in as they are able. It doesn't matter that not all of them will be old enough to have done the four-year cycle to the extent that the oldest two will be. It all works out in the end.

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Welcome!

This year I will be combining my 3 as well.  They are 9, 8, and almost 6. We will just be starting with volume 1.  It is review for my oldest and i only got half way into it with my middle child.   If I had a 3 yo, i would give that child coloring pages from the activity guide and other stuff to play with.

I still plan on having my oldest to continue on to volume 3 since he just finished vol 2.     

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Keeping each kid on the same time period at their own levels is what WTM recommends. Teach the 4th and 2nd grade students, let the K join in as much as they want, and try to prevent the 3-year-old from destroying the universe while you do it. LOL 

Reading literature selections aloud tends to keep the youngers interested, at least in my house.

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On 8/15/2018 at 4:15 PM, Kiara.I said:

Teach the 4th and 2nd grade students, let the K join in as much as they want, and try to prevent the 3-year-old from destroying the universe while you do it. LOL  

 

  I think Kiara is spot on!   That's what I would do if I was teaching history to multiple kids.

 I never actually had to combine with different children, but I did do Story of the World with a child who was very visual and had a very short attention span, and came up with some "tweaks" that would work with nearly any history curriculum for engaging younger kids.   Some of these could even be used for the 3 year old...

http://imaginativehomeschool.blogspot.com/2016/09/tips-story-of-world-for-short-attention.html

Also, there is a book series by Maria Ruiz and Glòria Vergés called Travel Through History that is excellent for younger kids.   It says ages 4 and up but I think many 3 year olds could handle it just fine.   They're very short and gentle.   For instance, the first book, Pre-history through Egypt, is about 30 short pages.   I would read these books to your youngest two when you're starting the section they cover to sort of give them a sense of that era.   It would be a way to include even your 3 year old, a little.  

I would also get some of those books that show a whole city, castle, pyramid, etc. with tiny people in a "where's waldo" sort of style.  (Like the Usborn Time Traveler, the DK Cross Section books, or similar ones).  With those type of books  you can have a younger child look at a related page while you're reading and there is enough visually there to keep their attention for all or most of a section of reading.   You can ask them to see if they see anything that you're talking about in the reading. 

 

 

Edited by goldenecho
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