Kate CA Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 If you used certain books in Omnibus I, which books did you choose and why did you choose them? I am evaluating this for my dd and am trying to figure it out. Thoughts? Thank you! Warmly, Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 I thought it would be easier to follow the page numbers/chapter breaks. I don't know how many options there are for some of the books, but I will say that I liked the translations that they recommend for Odyssey and for the Aeneid. Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Genesis Exodus Gilgamesh Hittite Warrior, Joanne Williamson Cat of Bubastes, G.A. Henty Greek Myths, D’Aulaire The Odyssey, Homer The Iliad, Homer The Orestia, Aeschylus Theban Trilogy, Sophocles The Histories, Herodotus 12 Caesars, Suetonious Greek and Roman Lives, Plutarch Ben Hur, Lew Wallace Quo Vadis, Henryk Sienkiewicz Know What You Believe, Paul Little Know Who You Believe, Paul Little It Couldn’t Just Happen, L. Richards These are the ones we read--as you can see, some were off list. We still gave one credit each for theology, history and literature. We also read supplementally from Barron's World History the Easy Way, and I assigned more reading in Spielvogel. We could've skipped Suetonius--I really didn't need ds to read about Herod nibbling on little boys' you-know-what's as they swam together. Loved the Fagles translations of Homer. Should have had ds read more of the Bible, but he'd already read it straight thru as a devotional (was doing One Year Bible then as his devotional). We are not reform, either, so that's why we skipped some of the theology books and added our own. Also, we'd read the Narnia books multiple times, so we skipped those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenn in CA Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 I started out intending to use more and found it difficult to adapt for our homeschool. Spielvogel Aeneid Plutarch Julius Caesar Screwtape Letters Sophocles, Oedipus Rex (only one play, not all 3) My top priorities were to Odyssey/Iliad (I let my kids choose and they chose Iliad which isn't even in Omnibus) & Aeneid for the epic genre; Sophocles for drama; Plutarch for history/biography; Julius Caesar because we do 4 Shakespeare plays each year (we'll also cover Antony & Cleopatra which isn't in Omnibus); Screwtape Letters because I like that book. It helped me to focus on one "biggie" for each type of literature. When I needed to fill in I've added Ben Hur, another "living history" book called Lion Gate & Labyrinth, Bulfinch's Mythology and R. Sutcliff books. I found the Omnibus assignments to be too long for us. I also really preferred Leithart's book, Heroes of the City of Man, which works well as a commentary with study & essay questions. It includes many of the Omnibus books (not all). So, we ended up using so little of Omnibus that next year for medieval, we'll just use our own study guides such as Leithart's Dante commentary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate CA Posted February 25, 2008 Author Share Posted February 25, 2008 I started out intending to use more and found it difficult to adapt for our homeschool. (...) I also really preferred Leithart's book, Heroes of the City of Man, which works well as a commentary with study & essay questions. Can you tell me why it was difficult to adapt? Also, the study and essay questions - what age group would you say they were geared for? How old were your children when they used it? How did you use it? Thank you so much for this recommendation. This may be a better road for us--at least for some books. :) Warmly, Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenn in CA Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 We're using it this year for my 2 oldest, 8th & 9th grades. The study & essay questions are not difficult. They are very appropriate for these grades; my kids would have required more help from me to use this in 7th grade. The discussion questions are great for a mom who wants to have an out-loud discussion with 1 or more kids, once or twice a week. The reason it isn't working so well for us, is I just can't do out-loud discussions. I tried and tried, and it's too time-consuming, too hard to keep them focused. that's just us. I wanted instead, something where they could answer some fact-recall questions, and some paragraph-answer questions. Write them out on paper, and I could read it later. And Leithart fit the bill perfectly. (No answer key, but I haven't had trouble finding the answers if necessary.) This didn't work well for Omnibus. There are so many questions to choose from that it was a lot of work for me picking out which to answer. As I said earlier, the assignments are long. Difficulty-wise, they're not hard, but there are a lot of questions. (I suppose that's better than not enough, though.) And, I found by experience this year, that my kids weren't ready to write 5-paragraph essays each week. We're working instead, on writing a couple coherent & well-organized paragraphs each week. So that means I can't really use the essay questions (although I hope to use a couple this coming spring, and work on each paragraph as a separate assignment). I really wanted Omnibus to work. I'm impressed by those who make it work. But I also have 2 other kids who need my attention, and my oldest don't honestly have the time to put into doing all of Omnibus, or even just the primary books. They study Latin *and* Greek, plus the math, music practice, etc etc. Shorter and fewer readings, and written assignments (vs. discussions) work better at this house. (I really like the book *The Latin-Centered Curriculum* and that's more what we follow.) I'm sure I sound lame but I'm actually very happy with the way it's all worked out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate CA Posted February 25, 2008 Author Share Posted February 25, 2008 I'm sure I sound lame but I'm actually very happy with the way it's all worked out. NOT AT ALL! You sound amazing, honestly! Thank you so much for this answer - it is very helpful to me. :) Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 No, Jenn you don't sound lame!! I totally understand your situation about not finding time to do out-loud discussions w/ the kiddos. Around here it doesn't work well either. The only time my ds and I can have an in-depth discussion is 7 am before the little girls get up and start making a ruckus. I spend those precious quiet moments on our Bible studies and devotionals -- where he needs my undivided attention to disciple him and process through the deeper issues . All this to say, I knew the only way we could do Omnibus 1 next year is via the Veritas online class. I signed by son up for Julie Etter's husband's class starting in the Fall. That should be a great option because these topics are meant to be discussed and processed through w/ a knowledgeable teacher and curious students, imho. I plan to go through the readings as much as I can before his class starts in Sept. Are you selling your completed materials? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenn in CA Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Are you selling your completed materials? I haven't decided yet.... now that you mentioned the online class I may have to save it for my next child and try the online option! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate CA Posted February 26, 2008 Author Share Posted February 26, 2008 I thought it would be easier to follow the page numbers/chapter breaks. I don't know how many options there are for some of the books, but I will say that I liked the translations that they recommend for Odyssey and for the Aeneid. Kim I meant which ones of the books they recommended did you choose to do and why? There are close to 30 books - did you do them all in a year? Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate CA Posted February 26, 2008 Author Share Posted February 26, 2008 GenesisExodus Gilgamesh Hittite Warrior, Joanne Williamson Cat of Bubastes, G.A. Henty Greek Myths, D’Aulaire The Odyssey, Homer The Iliad, Homer The Orestia, Aeschylus Theban Trilogy, Sophocles The Histories, Herodotus 12 Caesars, Suetonious Greek and Roman Lives, Plutarch Ben Hur, Lew Wallace Quo Vadis, Henryk Sienkiewicz Know What You Believe, Paul Little Know Who You Believe, Paul Little It Couldn’t Just Happen, L. Richards These are the ones we read--as you can see, some were off list. We still gave one credit each for theology, history and literature. We also read supplementally from Barron's World History the Easy Way, and I assigned more reading in Spielvogel. We could've skipped Suetonius--I really didn't need ds to read about Herod nibbling on little boys' you-know-what's as they swam together. Loved the Fagles translations of Homer. Should have had ds read more of the Bible, but he'd already read it straight thru as a devotional (was doing One Year Bible then as his devotional). We are not reform, either, so that's why we skipped some of the theology books and added our own. Also, we'd read the Narnia books multiple times, so we skipped those. Yes, I think it is a very safe bet that we will not be doing 12 Caesars, Suetonious!! That is horrible. I like the choices you made that are not in Omnibus. What made you select those? I would love to hear why. Thank you! Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Hittite Warrior, Joanne Williamson--Chosen b/c ds needed a little more backround on these people/time period Cat of Bubastes, G.A. Henty--Needed more of Egypt--kids who follow Veritas' sequence get a lot of Egypt in the younger grades. Greek Myths, D’Aulaire--Ds needed a refresher in Greek myths before tackling the Odyssey The Iliad, Homer--Ds read Black Ships Before Troy and Wanderings of Odysseus (forgot to list these! lol), but was disappointed that he wouldn't read the Illiad, so I let him. Didn't assign anything, he just read it for pleasure. Ben Hur, Lew Wallace--I consider it a Great Book (or at least, a Very Good Book) and wanted more of a Christian approach to Roman history Quo Vadis, Henryk Sienkiewicz--A legitimate Great Book (won a prize--Pulitzer? Can't remember! lol) Wonderful, fairly easy read about the time period. Know What You Believe, Paul Little Know Who You Believe, Paul Little-- Ds needed a review of doctrine, and we used these instead of the more reform theological books in Omnibus. Excellent coverage of "basic" Christianity--sort of a Mere Christianity (Lewis) for today. It Couldn’t Just Happen, L. Richards--Did Biology this year--wanted a stronger supplement than Apologia's chapter on evolution, (which we skipped) so we did some reading in this. I put it in his history list instead of lumping it in with Science. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommybee Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 We are working our way through the first semester and are focused on the primary books, but we are reading all of the secondary books as well. My ds had already read all of the Narnia books many, many times so we just read the prologue they provided and ran through some of the questions for each of those to make sure he remembered them and to add to his understanding of the stories. My son is 13 and a very advanced reader so he is keeping up pretty well so far. I find I don't have the patience or time to put into each book myself. In the beginning I was reading right along with him, but now I am still catching up so the intro and questions help me out a lot. There is a ton of discussion and questions and so I find that we just pick our way through and don't worry about doing all of them. I don't mind having the discussion, but I will agree it takes a tremendous amount of time that I don't always have, so sometimes we read a few of the required assignments and then plow through a bunch of days questions at once. My son loves to write, but I find that lately he is doing very few actual writings on each book. Mostly we are discussing and moving on. In my opinion it is a ton to read each book as well as cover the other things we are working on, but so far we just keep moving forward. I may just be stubborn but I have a hard time skipping things because I appreciate so much having all these books layed out for me. I like the format the book is in and all the great questions to really help me be able to discuss a lot of these things. I think as we move along I may have him just skim and partially read some of the larger, more boring texts like Herodotus. I think that is the one I've looked at that seems so long. Wow! I sure had a lot to say;) Anything else specific I'll try to help:) **oh, and I have purchased the entire set of books so I have them all either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate CA Posted February 29, 2008 Author Share Posted February 29, 2008 We are working our way through the first semester and are focused on the primary books, but we are reading all of the secondary books as well. My ds had already read all of the Narnia books many, many times so we just read the prologue they provided and ran through some of the questions for each of those to make sure he remembered them and to add to his understanding of the stories. My son is 13 and a very advanced reader so he is keeping up pretty well so far. I find I don't have the patience or time to put into each book myself. In the beginning I was reading right along with him, but now I am still catching up so the intro and questions help me out a lot. There is a ton of discussion and questions and so I find that we just pick our way through and don't worry about doing all of them. I don't mind having the discussion, but I will agree it takes a tremendous amount of time that I don't always have, so sometimes we read a few of the required assignments and then plow through a bunch of days questions at once. My son loves to write, but I find that lately he is doing very few actual writings on each book. Mostly we are discussing and moving on. In my opinion it is a ton to read each book as well as cover the other things we are working on, but so far we just keep moving forward. I may just be stubborn but I have a hard time skipping things because I appreciate so much having all these books layed out for me. I like the format the book is in and all the great questions to really help me be able to discuss a lot of these things. I think as we move along I may have him just skim and partially read some of the larger, more boring texts like Herodotus. I think that is the one I've looked at that seems so long. Wow! I sure had a lot to say;) Anything else specific I'll try to help:) **oh, and I have purchased the entire set of books so I have them all either way. Do you find you have any issues with the books? Meaning inappropriate content, etc.? How do you deal with those things? It was great fun to meet you in person! :) Warmly, Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommybee Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Do you find you have any issues with the books? Meaning inappropriate content, etc.? How do you deal with those things? It was great fun to meet you in person! :) Warmly, Kate Yeah that was fun to meet someone from the boards.....my first by the way. I have not had any issues with the books as of yet. I read some of the Gilgamesh out loud and I just don't remember anything explicit. I do remember mention of him and the woman being together and I don't remember how they worded it but it was obvious. I just don't remember it being so horrid that I was concerned. Omnibus has a lot of bible books in the beginning and some of those were very explicit and I made sure we had plenty of discussion but I didn't feel reading those things would harm him. We have talked openly over the years about s*x (at age appropriate levels) and so it wasn't a complete shock. **but those bible books really did shock me a bit. I certainly didn't realize there was so much s*x in them. I guess my memory wasn't good enough to remember that. But it isn't what my ds remembers most about the books anyway. One thing I had established many years ago when he began getting ahead of me in what he reads was that if he ever comes across anything that he doesn't understand or is concerned about he should stop reading and come to us to discuss. Almost every time we just need to discuss the specific subject and he can continue to read. There was one book years ago that I told him to just leave and not finish because it was really way off in things we believe in. For me it is important that he knows he can move on to other books and doesn't have to finish reading something that makes you feel icky just because you started the book so you must finish. There are just too many other books to read. I can say I'm a little nervous about 12 Caesars because I didn't realize there is a lot of s*x in it so I may have to read that one aloud and then edit it. But I still plan on including it unless I read it and hate it. Glad I'm not there yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Here is a snippet from a post months ago from a kind soul here who shared a list of explicit/questionable passages from Omnibus 1: In Gilgamesh, a sexual encounter is described on pages 7, 8 and 46, lines 16 18. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is trapped on an island with Kalypso, a beautiful goddess. She is detaining him there and they have a sexual relationship as he cries himself to sleep every night longing to be with his wife. When Odysseus and his men are trapped by Polyphemus the Cyclops, he eats some of the men and dashes their brains on the rocks. In Herodotus I cannot recall anything sexually explicit. In Book I, section 199 mandatory temple prostitution is mentioned. (Thankfully, Herodotus condemns it as wholly shameful. ) There are, however, instances that may seem crude to the modern ear. See Book II, section 48 and section 111; Book III, sections 84 87 (Darius has an interesting way of winning the Persian throne.); Book IV, sections 2 and 64. Other examples in Herodotus include Cambyses shooting an arrow through the heart of a young boy to prove he is not insane (Book III, sections 34 35) and a man s son is served to him for dinner (Book I, section 119). Finally, in The Twelve Caesars, Julius Caesars sexual orientation is described in Julius Caesar, section 52; see also Augustus, section 68; Tiberius sections 42 44 (this is particularly twisted and disgusting); and Nero, sections 26 29 (what a depraved man!). I encourage you to look over these sections and decide how you would like to deal with the material. Some parents read and discuss it with their child. Others choose to rip out (or black out) those sections, preferring to deal with the more explicit material at a later age. I will honor your choice in this matter by not bringing unnecessary attention to these sections during class discussions. I have not given you every single instance, but I have given you the worst ones and samples of what is throughout some works like Herodotus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommybee Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 In Gilgamesh the beginning part simply says: 'And so the harlot, Shamhat, showed him her bre*sts, showed him her body. The hairy-bodied man came over to her, and lay down on her, and then she showed him the things a woman knows how to do. For seven days Enkidu in his wonder lay with her in pleasure' I didn't find that offensive and it was pretty easy to explain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate CA Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 Here is a snippet from a post months ago from a kind soul here who shared a list of explicit/questionable passages from Omnibus 1: Thank you very much. I knew the Caesar one is probably the most disgusting. I was not so much worried about Gilgamesh, but I know the Caesars are just wantonly immoral. We will safely skip that book. Thanks again, Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate CA Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 I didn't find that offensive and it was pretty easy to explain. Right, and I would say the same about Gilgamesh, but Chris is VA did detail a bit of the Caesar book in a post above: "We could've skipped Suetonius--I really didn't need ds to read about Herod nibbling on little boys' you-know-what's as they swam together." There are many really disgusting references in that book and I am not going to do it. At 13 I just don't feel she needs to know the specifics of their totally depraved lives. Honestly, I don't really need to know! I would much prefer she read The Story of the Greeks and The Story of the Romans from http://www.nothingnewpress.com. She will likely get the same information without the immoral detail. :) Warmly, Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommybee Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Right, and I would say the same about Gilgamesh, but Chris is VA did detail a bit of the Caesar book in a post above: "We could've skipped Suetonius--I really didn't need ds to read about Herod nibbling on little boys' you-know-what's as they swam together." There are many really disgusting references in that book and I am not going to do it. At 13 I just don't feel she needs to know the specifics of their totally depraved lives. Honestly, I don't really need to know! I would much prefer she read The Story of the Greeks and The Story of the Romans from http://www.nothingnewpress.com. She will likely get the same information without the immoral detail. :) Warmly, Kate I was just referencing the Gilgamesh one. I had no clue about the Caesar one. Thanks all the ladies that included warnings on that one because I really didn't no. It just reminds me to continue to read aloud to him the ones I don't know anything about. Luckily everyone in my family enjoys that. I'm with you.......I don't think I care to read all that stuff myself, let alone has my ds read it. I love the Story of the Greeks and The Story of the Romans, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommybee Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Here is a snippet from a post months ago from a kind soul here who shared a list of explicit/questionable passages from Omnibus 1: Hey Beth, Where can I find the rest of that list. I would love to have a heads up when we hit books I am clueless about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I didn't find that offensive and it was pretty easy to explain. I guess we each have our own ideas of "offensive". I don't see the inherent educational and/or redeeming value in my ds 12 discussing/analyzing that passage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Hey Beth, Where can I find the rest of that list. I would love to have a heads up when we hit books I am clueless about. Julie Etter, whose dh teaches Omnibus 1 online, shared this list w/ us. He was kind enough to share the list he gives to parents of his Omnibus 1 students. Veritas might have an extensive list from the Omnibus series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommybee Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I guess we each have our own ideas of "offensive". I don't see the inherent educational and/or redeeming value in my ds 12 discussing/analyzing that passage. I wasn't taking you to task with what you feel has redeeming value. That's great that you don't feel the need to read something like that, but every family is different. Which is why I was just giving Kate a different view of the book. I personally found it very interesting and of value to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajun.classical Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 In Gilgamesh the beginning part simply says: 'And so the harlot, Shamhat, showed him her bre*sts, showed him her body. The hairy-bodied man came over to her, and lay down on her, and then she showed him the things a woman knows how to do. For seven days Enkidu in his wonder lay with her in pleasure' This is how that same passage sounds in the Penguin Edition of Gilgamesh translated by NK Sanders: "She made herself naked and welcomed his eagerness; as he lay on her murmuring love she taught him the woman's art." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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