Daughter is very sensitive to negative history

[bethben]

I’m starting to plan and think about next year.  My dd is pretty sensitive to history with wars, dictators, and injustice.  She is doing Sonlight this year which includes SOTW 3 and 4.  She is getting pretty angry about the injustice of the 20th century.  I would like her to learn the Christian history of our nation, but I’m not sure she can handle the negative stuff in our history.  Do I just completely skip history next year?  If so, is there a good literature program like Sonlight that doesn’t get into history?  And no, she would hate their science core.

[Lori D.]

As a Christian, I totally respect the desire to include the Christian history as part of our U.S. History, but there's a lot of negatives there, too, both AGAINST Christians by others AND BY Christians towards others... So I personally don't think it's a fair presentation of Christianity to ignore or whitewash the negatives there, either. But I *totally* get that when you have a very black & white rigid-thinking child, that you are going to have to walk carefully through history...

There is Notgrass America the Beautiful (gr. 5-8) that is American History from a Christian POV. I don't know how much/how little injustices are included.

What about a World Cultures/Geography year for the Social Studies, as a break from History? Enjoy learning about different cultures, traditions, religions, and the different "biomes" (climate zones/plants/animals) around the world. While it's set up for high school, many of the books in Guest Hollow's High School Geography program are definitely do-able by a middle schooler. And some titles could be swapped out for others that are available at your library.

We made our own World Cultures/Geography & Comparative Religions (from a worldview perspective) when DSs were in middle school, and we found that was a terrific foundation for high school history, as we could see how geographic location and religious/cultural considerations really were behind so many of the decisions made by nations through history.

My sympathies, as I know that homeschooling is not what you feel up for doing again this year, and my BEST WISHES  in deciding what is the best route to go this year, and may it be an unexpected blessing to you both. Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited December 9, 2020 by Lori D.

[Sneezyone]

Is there a way you can channel the anger and upset you anticipate into activities that you'd approve of? Is there a way to incorporate a civic engagement/action component...whether it's letter writing to elected officials (B/C COVID!) or phone calls or letters to the editor? Community service? Anger isn't an inappropriate response to what we know has occurred in history, marinating in it is. I do not recommend skipping it tho. I agree with Lori. The Christian history of our nation is a very mixed bag.

Edited December 9, 2020 by Sneezyone

[Melissa in Australia]

You could just focus on the history of inventions

[Clemsondana]

I'd do geography, or maybe a geography, cultures, and foods/traditions class, or a 'history of something' study.  Hakim's Story of Science, maybe, or Melissa's history of inventions or something like the Salt book (or one of the many other food-based books) as a guide?  Or a history of medicine, art, or architecture?  The giant, very expensive Gardeners Art through the Ages has a ton of information and isn't too expensive if you get an old used version - you could pick any part of history that you wanted and do it through the lens of art.  

[Ausmumof3]

I’m pretty sure Sonlight has a couple of cores that are just world cultures focused.  My ds who was 5 at the time got extremely upset with Brutus for being involved in the assassination of Julius Caesar.  He kept saying for weeks - but why would he?  He was his friend?  Why would someone do that to his friend?  It was kind of cute and funny how deep an impression it made.  
 

Edited to add I checked their website and Core J is for 13 -15 year olds and focuses on the history of science.  That could be a good option.

Edited December 9, 2020 by Ausmumof3

[Ausmumof3]

also I should stay away from curriculum websites.  Now I’m second guessing all my plans for next year 😂. That does look like a fun core.

[wathe]

9 hours ago, Sneezyone said:

Is there a way you can channel the anger and upset you anticipate into activities that you'd approve of? Is there a way to incorporate a civic engagement/action component...whether it's letter writing to elected officials (B/C COVID!) or phone calls or letters to the editor? Community service? Anger isn't an inappropriate response to what we know has occurred in history, marinating in it is. I do not recommend skipping it tho. I agree with Lori. The Christian history of our nation is a very mixed bag.

This is the path we took with my sensitive one. We used Story of the World.   He's become a little activist.  Writes letters to the prime minister, Minister of Public Safety, our Member of Parliament, our Mayor, tried to join the Green Party (he is too young;  they sent him a pair of Green socks instead of a membership, which are precious to him LOL, and an Elizabeth May button which he wears on his backpack), and participated in a National Day of Action on gun control.  Our history theme of the year is Social Justice - tailored to this particular kid.  Lots of great stories about people who made a difference.  It's going well.

(To be clear, we did not study Christian history specifically (we aren't Christian), but world and Canadian history, which of course includes lots of Christian content).

[Rosie_0801]

1 hour ago, wathe said:

This is the path we took with my sensitive one. We used Story of the World.   He's become a little activist.  Writes letters to the prime minister, Minister of Public Safety, our Member of Parliament, our Mayor, tried to join the Green Party (he is too young;  they sent him a pair of Green socks instead of a membership, which are precious to him LOL, and an Elizabeth May button which he wears on his backpack), and participated in a National Day of Action on gun control.  Our history theme of the year is Social Justice - tailored to this particular kid.  Lots of great stories about people who made a difference.  It's going well.

(To be clear, we did not study Christian history specifically (we aren't Christian), but world and Canadian history, which of course includes lots of Christian content).

Your kid is cool.

[Zoo Keeper]

We did something similar to Wathe; we took that sensitivity and channeled it into action.  My sensitive one who was in tears over slavery and child labor accounts took time to help me work in a local food pantry and shop/donate to a local crisis pregnancy center.  We also bought and shipped books for a library in a children's home in Africa. 

Fast forward ten or so years, and that sensitive kid (now a adult) still gives of his own time and his own dime to some of those organizations. 

Edited December 10, 2020 by Zoo Keeper

[Sneezyone]

1 hour ago, Zoo Keeper said:

We did something similar to Wathe; we took that sensitivity and channeled it into action.  My sensitive one who was in tears over slavery and child labor accounts took time to help me work in a local food pantry and shop/donate to a local crisis pregnancy center.  We also bought and purchased books for a library in a children's home in Africa. 

Fast forward ten or so years, and that sensitive kid (now a adult) still gives of his own time and his own dime to some of those organizations. 

 

9 hours ago, wathe said:

This is the path we took with my sensitive one. We used Story of the World.   He's become a little activist.  Writes letters to the prime minister, Minister of Public Safety, our Member of Parliament, our Mayor, tried to join the Green Party (he is too young;  they sent him a pair of Green socks instead of a membership, which are precious to him LOL, and an Elizabeth May button which he wears on his backpack), and participated in a National Day of Action on gun control.  Our history theme of the year is Social Justice - tailored to this particular kid.  Lots of great stories about people who made a difference.  It's going well.

(To be clear, we did not study Christian history specifically (we aren't Christian), but world and Canadian history, which of course includes lots of Christian content).

These are awesome examples. The disquiet is, IMHO, God's way (or the universe, if you prefer) of telling us that something is/was wrong. I think doing nothing in the face of a natural desire to right those wrongs undermines the natural purpose of that feeling. For many in my family, addressing that feeling in productive ways became a career. Whatever side of the aisle you fall on, theologically or politically, there are tons of organizations with which young people can engage.

[Zoo Keeper]

51 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

 

These are awesome examples. The disquiet is, IMHO, God's way (or the universe, if you prefer) of telling us that something is/was wrong. I think doing nothing in the face of a natural desire to right those wrongs undermines the natural purpose of that feeling. For many in my family, addressing that feeling in productive ways became a career. Whatever side of the aisle you fall on, theologically or politically, there are tons of organizations with which young people can engage.

YES! (a thousand times over)...

Very well put. 🙂

[bethben]

My daughter just gets really angry.  She is adopted and has always had a huge sensitivity to injustice.  She has fought kids in her previous school because of perceived injustice.  She’s not just upset, but ready to rip heads off (her words) of people in the books she reads.  Volunteering would help, but I need to keep her away from books like these.  I also need a curriculum all set up for me.  I’ve learned enough about myself to know that’s what works around here.

[Sneezyone]

4 minutes ago, bethben said:

My daughter just gets really angry.  She is adopted and has always had a huge sensitivity to injustice.  She has fought kids in her previous school because of perceived injustice.  She’s not just upset, but ready to rip heads off (her words) of people in the books she reads.  Volunteering would help, but I need to keep her away from books like these.  I also need a curriculum all set up for me.  I’ve learned enough about myself to know that’s what works around here.

Again, I’m not entirely sure that feeling is misplaced; only you know your child and the circumstances. Maybe look for an Outschool class specifically focused on activism. If there’s one place you could find such a thing, that would be it.