History Curriculum Suggestions?

[JessBurs]

You guys gave me some wonderful ideas when I asked a few months ago about science curriculum and I thought I might try to tap into the hive mind again as I start to think about history for next year.

The past two years we have used Pandia Press for Modern History 1 and now we are working through Ancients Level 2.

It has been a big jump this year for my kids to go from more project-based work to a *lot* of outlining and answering open ended questions and they aren't really enjoying it. They prefer more hands-on activities etc and I am trying to incorporate that more in separately, particularly for my younger one (don't worry the curriculum is adjusted for her to make it more age-appropriate), and they do enjoy those activities. Pure enjoyment is not, of course, my main criteria for evaluating curriculum, but I do want them to enjoy it enough.

I am not completely certain I want to switch curriculum for next year, because there are definitely some aspects I really like about the Ancients 2, but I am seriously considering it if I can find something that meets my criteria. If I don't, I will probably supplement the curriculum with more hands-on projects. 

Things I really like about the curriculum:

 - The map work. This is a big one. I LOVE that they include blank maps for all the regions studied. My kids actually really enjoy maps/geography as well so this is a plus for them, too.

 - The outlining. Although it is the aspect my kids grumble about the most, I can already see improvements in their ability to understand the process of outlining and picking out supporting details, etc. I also know this is a critical skill as my older one moves into middle school years. I would not mind if they didn't have quite *as much* outlining, though.

 - The balanced approach. I also appreciate that the curriculum strives to make a more balanced world approach. I am not a fan of overly Euro-centric curriculum.

One thing we really like that is not actually attached to the curriculum-- We are *not* using The Story of Mankind and instead we are using the Oxford Press Ancient History Series for my older one and Story of the World Ancient Times for the younger. My older daughter esp. is really enjoying the Oxford books and I am looking into similar options for the Middle Ages.

Basically, if I could find something that includes all of these factors, but maybe with some more project-like activities so I do not have to separately supplement, that would be great. 

Does such a thing exist? Or am I too picky?

[Rosie_0801]

You can cut down on the outlining if you like, either stretching the lessons out over another day or dropping it altogether if it seems like overkill. Do your kids know why you have them do it? It's easy enough to feel like it's worthless drudgery and not doing them any good because they can't see their improvement.

Do you have the Story of the World activity guide? Some of those activities can work for older kids if you upgrade from paper craft to actually making the thing out of fabric or clay or whatever.

[HomeAgain]

We jumped from HO2 Ancients to Creek Edge Press because History Odyssey didn't work for us.  It felt unbalanced, with various lengths of lessons and some my kid really didn't like. The version we used scheduled History Pockets, which got binned about half through the program because a lesson consisted of putting together at least 1 or 2 of them at once.

What Creek Edge Press helped us do was structure a week's worth of material and allow for the student to plan it out.  Some projects were still a 'no' from my kid, but we could easily substitute.  There were a few times that collages came up on a card and my kid and I brainstormed other things he could do: powerpoint presentations, digital collages, entirely different projects...the only mention is that I believe their task cards come from a religious approach in ancient times, but they may have a secular offering now. (We moved into the middle ages where it wasn't a big deal and I didn't notice)

I'm not suggesting jumping ship just yet, because if you can restructure HO to work for you that's more ideal.  You can always keep the parts you like (the maps, some outlines, substitute spine) and create alternate plans for the parts you don't like.  Just cross out and write something new to do. 

[caffeineandbooks]

Oxford Uni Press has a medieval series as well, "The Medieval and Early Modern World".

The European World 400-1450

An Age of Science and Revolutions 1600-1800

An Age of Empires 1200-1750

The African and Middle Eastern World 600-1500

And so on - there's one on Asia, one on voyages of discovery, and a primary source volume that accompanies all six books, and you'll find links to those beneath the main Amazon listings I've linked above.  There are also teacher books and student study guides which include a "group project" (hands on activity but sometimes designed for a group eg drama projects) for each chapter, map work, comprehension questions and primary source work.  It's definitely more "school-y" than SOTW, and it does not include any outlining, which might be a minus for you?  The European World plus An Age of Empires dovetail reasonably well with SOTW 2; there are two specifically non-Western volumes that would greatly expand the coverage SOTW gives to Africa/Asia.

It sounds like there's a lot you are pleased with in your current pattern.  You don't have to outline everything just because the book says so - what if you just adjust the frequency?  They outline one week, and the next week they write a narrative summary/tell you orally what the outlined points would be/write about the previous week's content using the outline they wrote last week?  Another point to consider is that the OUP books are out of print.  They're easily available used, but the teaching and student guides aren't always.  If you're looking for more of a complete curriculum than a build-your-own, that might push you back toward Pandia.