anyone here used America An Integrated Curriculum???

[Johanna]

Can i please have your review of it. I am lookin for something for my 4th dd and something that i could easily fold a 2nd gr into. I LOVE integrated unit studies.....and i like CM style. But, I had never heard reviews or anyone using this....

curious to hear what people think of it.

thanks!

[PeterPan]

http://www.christiannovelstudies.com/html/sample_week.html This is a link to a sample, if anyone is wondering. It uses the Peter Marshall books, which have a pretty distinct viewpoint/spin. You might want to look them over first and make sure you like them, since they are the spine.

 

I like a lot of what she's pulling together, especially the music and poets. I'm concerned though that her actual history content is light. Might be better used alongside a more standard spine like Abeka4. I also don't see hands-on for the history, things like building models, acetate maps, sewing, cooking, etc. Don't know about your rising 4th grader, but mine certainly expects that, lol!

 

I've pretty much set in my to do like Angela in Ohio did, spreading Abeka4 over two years and filling it in with lots of activity kits and extra reading. I realized last night I was making this too hard, that all I have to do is do the activity kit for a while, then do the abeka chapter, then do the next activity kit, then do another chapter. You know me, always making things too hard! I thought I had to coordinate it all, do a little bit of each thing each day, oh my. Ch1 and 2 of Abeka4 are on the explorers, and Time Travelers by KnowledgeQuest has a 25 day activity kit on the explorers. So we'll do 2 weeks of the TT kit, then ch 1 of abeka. Then do the other 3 weeks of TT and ch. 2 of abeka. Ch 3 of abeka is indians, so I found a couple indian activity make & learn books to do, then do ch. 3. Next is pilgrims, so I'm going to hunt for a kit or book for that. And I'm making a list of weekly writing assignments to correspond to the length of time I plan to spend on each chapter.

 

I guess get the Peter Marshall books and see what you think. They have quite a bit of intentional spin and aren't a real textbook, in the sense of covering a sequence of facts you expect them to learn. They're something that would be just as good read at a more reflective age, say junior high or high school, than in 4th, where my dd is pretty much in fact-learning mode. But that's really a personal decision. I also think I'd get flustered by having so many EXTRA things (grammar lessons, science, etc.) if I didn't plan to do those. Some of her activities and extra things she brings in really are good. There are activity guides for the Marshall books, so if you just wanted comprehension questions and exercises, you wouldn't need this curriculum for it. I've only see the AG's briefly, so I don't recall much about them. There are lower and upper level Marshall books btw. If you want the spin of the Marshall books, you could let your dd read them for herself.

 

BTW, the abeka4 also has a moderate amount of spin inserted here and there, certainly nothing as heavy as Marshall. It's going to bring in famous missionaries, the Great Awakening, etc., which is part of why I want to use it as a spine. My dh strongly prefers teaching with a providential viewpoint, but I want a moderate touch at this age. I'd like to save the really opinionated books for when she's old enough to reflect on different viewpoints, but that's just me.

[Johanna]

I appreciate your responce. I looked into it further, and i am not crazy about a few things.

I think i am going to stick with HOD afterall. I really am a "unit study" girl and I just love to watch the little lightbulbs go off when they see the connections happen across curriculum!