Damselfly Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 At what age would my DS's get the most out of the Holling C. Holling books? I purchased a set (Paddle to the Sea, Pagoo, Seabird, Minn of the Mississippi, and Tree in the Trail). I also purchased the Geography, a Literature Approach from Beautiful Feet to use with it. I fell in love with the entire series at first glance, and a thorough inspection of each individual book only reinforced this affection. Now to my point. The books could be read aloud to my kids now, yes. But they are so JAMMED full of information and beautiful sketches that I can foresee spending copious amounts of time studying each story. I'd love for DS to approach this series at an age where it would benefit him the most, not only for the love of the story but also for all the geographical, historical, and natural information each book contains. Has anyone used these books, and if so, how deep did you dig into each one? Did you use the book from Beautiful Feet? How long did you spend on each story? Thanks!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magpiegirl Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I'm reading "Paddle To The Sea" with my 6.8 year old son right now and we are really enjoying it. I see these books as having several levels, sort of like Magic School Bus books. You could read them for enjoyment and to introduce your children to the vocabulary now, and maybe do a more intensive study later. My son goes to public Montessori first grade now, so we will revisit these and do more geography with them in the summer. Right now we are reading for enjoyment. Melisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 My daughter was 8 when we read Paddle to the Sea and she LOVED it. We started Pagoo when she was 9 and she liked it, too, but we took it pretty slowly. She wasn't as excited about Minn, but she's fickle. LOL I think if you do one chapter at a time, 8 and up can enjoy it and understand it as a read aloud. It's a lot to take in as a reader, though, so I'd wait a bit if you're wanting to have them do it independently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy in ME Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I don't have any btdt advice but I will tell you that I have purchased these to use next year with dss 10 + 11. There is so much more than meets the eye with these books especially with the guide. I think the older they are, the more they will get out of them and the more rabbit trails we can explore. The plan is to work on 1 lesson a week for 2hrs. Because my boys are a bit older they do very well with longer block scheduling rather than changing directions several times a day. I will be looking forward to reading posts from those who have actually used this program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trina in TN Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 We've been reading through Paddle to the Sea this year with my 6yo and 8yo... the "plan" was to read a chapter a week, to give sufficient time to cover some of the extra information during that week. The boys love it so much, though, that sometimes we read more than we planned :D . At this point, I am content to just touch upon some of the extras - I figure we like the books enough that we will cover them again down the road. The main extra thing we are doing now is mapwork, plotting Paddle's course as he travels to the sea. We are keeping a list of all the wildlife he encounters along the way, and I plan to have the boys each pick one or two for a more in depth study. As to your original question about the most beneficial age, I think ALL ages will benefit. If it's basically a read aloud right now, that's great! :) My 3 yo will sit and listen while I read to the older ones, and he is enjoying it. The 8 yo is probably mulling over more than the 6yo, but it is of value for all of them. Use it now, then use it again. I do not have the Beautiful Feet guides for the Holling books, but they look splendid. Maybe in the future... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lorna Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 We read them at ages eight and ten and they were certainly a challenge. Our two have a high concentration level with good comprehension. They really loved them. Pagoo is still talked about two years on and 'Paddle To The Sea' became a part of their imaginative play. We read the others too but, while they enjoyed them, they weren't as much of a hit. I would wait if it were me because there are just so many wonderful picture books out there for younger ages. I am not sure if the books would be re-read at a later age if they remember being bored by them when they were too young to follow the detail. It does depend on your child however. It is misleading to think of them as picture books. They could almost be thought of as adult books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damselfly Posted February 21, 2008 Author Share Posted February 21, 2008 I would wait if it were me because there are just so many wonderful picture books out there for younger ages. I am not sure if the books would be re-read at a later age if they remember being bored by them when they were too young to follow the detail. YES! My exact worries!! :( After reading everyone's replies, as well as a few online reviews, I'm thinking that waiting until DS is 9-10 years old would be for the best. Not only for maturity reasons, but because by then we'll have finished the SOTW series (if we use/stick with this for history) and it will be the perfect time to take a break and focus on US History/Geography using these as unit studies. At least, that's my thought for the moment. Ask me again next week ;). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodi-FL Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I think my kids in the ages of 8-12 got the most out of it, but I've caught my older ones taking a closer look at it when we weren't reading it as a group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damselfly Posted February 21, 2008 Author Share Posted February 21, 2008 No, I didn't get the maps yet, although I probably will end up purchasing them since they were specifically designed to go along with the book Geography: A Literature Approach (from Beautiful Feet) which I have and plan to use. I own Uncle Josh's Outline Maps and was hoping to substitute with those, but nothing focuses on the specific areas quite like the Beautiful Feet maps (appear to) do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Hollings' books are worthy of more than one read. Read them now. My 5-yr-old boys would have loved them! But I would introduce the maps and activities a bit later, perhaps 7 or 8. I have an 8-yr-old doing the maps this year. He's 3rd grade and this is also his year to learn all the states and capitals. The two studies work nicely together. HTH, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I use them with logic stage kids. I think they work best with this age. I do use the BF studies, as well. I have scheduled two of these, Minn and Paddle, for our geography work next year. I will also be using a couple of other things to fill in a few southern states not covered between these two books (WV, Va, FL, GA, NC, SC). I would have to check to see how I worked out my schedule, but I think I allowed about 12-14 weeks for each study. Regena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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