3Rivers Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 I'm starting to see smoke coming from my ears, but at the same time I'm excited as I plan the upcoming school year. I've narrowed it down to doing either Winter Promise or KONOS. My kids: DD(11) DS(8) DS(5) I think the boys would LOVE KONOS, but my girl would love anything with books, and is excited to do WP's Children Around the World. I think she would enjoy anything, really. I was looking forward to getting a TM with everything laid out...but then I also love hands-on, creative methods of discovery. My boys have lots of wiggles and don't sit still for a lot of books, whereas my daughter and I could both read and discuss books all day. I love the layout of WP and knowing WHAT we're covering, but I also love the process involved in teaching the KONOS way. How in the world do I choose? :lol: Any thoughts here? Ways of thinking through this in order to make a good decision? Thanks. Jamie R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Just FYI, your five yo will be very much on the young side for CATW. (Not sure if that helps you at all). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Could you buy just one "unit" of KONOS and give it a try? Maybe you could also set up some alone time with just you and your dd, and assign her a history spine and some books to discuss with you--kind of "add history" to her plate and let that be your special time with her. I thought a lot about KONOS when I was first starting hs'ing. For me, I loved the fun activities and the way it wasn't so school-y. But I needed something more planned out, and doing history chronologically made more sense to me. I looked at 5 in a Row, too, then just decided unit studies were not comfortable for me. Looks like a LOT of fun, tho! lol Have you thought about SOTW with the AG? THere are tons of fun, active things to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamabyrd Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 I recently purchased CATW to use next year with my kids: ages 11,9, and 6. It looks wonderful. I've used WP AS1 and AS2 but this looks like the best yet. I will have to simplify thing for my 6 year old but that shouldn't be too difficult. FWIW, I peviously purchased KONOS Obedience. It looked terrific but it requires more planning and prep work than I was desiring. I ended up selling it. As I said, it looked great, however. I like that WP is all laid out and ready for me to go. I can easily tweak it if I desire or just do it "as is." Good luck. It is great that great choices abound but it sure makes it hard to choose! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Rivers Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 From just looking at each curriculum without actually doing either, it would be ideal to do KONOS for the boys and CAW for the girl. :) I may have said that already. LOL I'm also concerned about the prep time, as someone mentioned. So in reality I don't think it would be possible to do both (and still do other things like eat and sleep) although I wish I could, KWIM? KONOS looks so fun and perfect for my boys. CAW looks so fun and perfect for my girl. My kids are so spread apart and so different that WHATEVER I use will involve some tweaking. *sigh* So I wonder if it's possible to do CAW with a KONOS-esque feel to it for my boys, and so my littlest guy can get involved somehow. Ugh. What I really need is a clone of me; now WHERE is a company who will do THAT?! Mom-in-a-box delivered to my door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsrevmeg Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 When I first started homeschooling, I liked the hands-on of Konos, but I also liked the academics of Veritas Press. I finally made the decision to go for Konos. It is VERY teacher intensive. If you choose Konos, you will be doing LOTS of planning, lots of deciding how to do suggested crafts and projects (there are tons of suggestions, just no materials lists or instructions), lots of browsing bookstores and libraries to try to find books.(they only update their book lists when a new edition of a volume comes out) Trying to contact their customer service is a pain, too. The best way to get their attention is to go to their yahoo e-group, where their true colors sometimes show in the form of insults toward their customers. By the end of the year, I was burned out, frustrated, and all out ready fro something else. I found something that was a compromise of academics and hands on with Tapestry of Grace. Hopefully with prayer, you can find something that is a good fit for your family. Blessings, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsrevmeg Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 I just noticed that your kids are the exact ages as mine! TOG might be a good fit for you, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Galloping the Globe would be a terrific resource to help you Konos-esque your CATW for the younger set. It's very much Mom-planned, but having the CATW resources should make it pretty easy to do. It also includes reproducibles, etc, so that you'd have more *young* things from which to choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tami Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 I just wanted to point you to another option: Christian Cottage Units. It is very similiar to KONOS, but all planned out for you with day-by-day lessons. The units include the best of children's literature. You can download the free "Oceanography" unit at currclick.com, to give it a try. Another option might be Story of the World with Activity Guide. If you use the ideas for activities and literature in the SOTW Guide, you have something very similiar to KONOS. My hands-on dd just LOVED the program. It is really the best of hands-on, literature-based, and Classical. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 FWIW, I peviously purchased KONOS Obedience. It looked terrific but it requires more planning and prep work than I was desiring. This is me exactly. It looked wonderful, but took way too much planning time. I've never used WP, but plan to use Sea & Sky next year with my oldest. What is it about Konos that appeals to you? The hands-on? The unit study feel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtotkbb Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 I've used both KONOS and WP. For KONOS I used vols 1 and 3. KONOS worked when I first used it bec I was using it with a K5 and 2nd grade student. My 2nd grader used Abeka's LA, math, reading and history simply bec she loved workbooks and could easily do them on her own. I did phonics and Moving with Math K for my ds and we did lots of my reading to them on various KONOS topics and all the fun hands-on. The next year it didn't work so well though bec I had added a new baby that was very sick and the needed library trips just weren't working out. KONOS is a lot of planning ---sure they give you the ideas and plenty of them --but it's up to you to select them, have the materials, get the books, etc. After two year of KONOS I was worn out. I tried it again last year with great intentions ---but it just was too much work to put together the way I wanted. So I dropped it and did SL Cores 1 and 2 with SOTW activity guides and we had an awesome year. WP is KONOSish with the planning done for you and all the books in the big boc you receive when you order! Sure there is still some planning with WP ---like looking ahead to see if an acitivity suggested is one you want to do and if so do you have the items in either your craft closet or kitchen cabinet ---but it's not as planning intense as KONOS. It would be far easier to go with WP and either do their suggested hands-on activities or add some KONOS projects to WP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 (edited) Just FYI, your five yo will be very much on the young side for CATW. (Not sure if that helps you at all). This is when you know that you have some sick addiction to curriculum. I am planning to use CATW in 2010-2011 with the little man. I already have a file with CATW and GTG lined up. Edited May 11, 2009 by Mandy in TN I'll have to try again. It lost the formatting when it posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 (edited) This is when you know that you have some sick addiction to curriculum. I am planning to use CATW in 2010-2011 with the little man. I already have a file with CATW and GTG lined up. CATW Topic GTG Topic 1.Introduction to World Geography Introduction to Geography...9 2.Welcome to Europe Europe...51 3.The British Isles Great Britain...58 4.Ireland N/A 5.Switzerland & the Netherlands Netherlands (Holland)...87 6.Spain & Portugal Spain...95 7.France France...64 8.Germany Germany...80 9.Russia Russia...53 10.Romania N/A 11.Greece N/A 12.Italy Italy...71 13.Asian Christmas- China, Christmas Around the World- Japan, Thailand, Japan, Russia China, Russia 14.European Christmas- Germany, Christmas Around the World-Gerrmany, Great Britain, Italy, Sweden Great Britain, Italy, Spain 15.Non-Western Christmas- Greece, Christmas Around the World-Nigeria Australia, Ethiopia, Philippines 16.American Christmas- Canada, Christmas Around the World-Mexico Guatemala, Mexico, U.S. 17.Welcome to the Americas NorthAmerica.120;SouthAmerica.156 18.United States United States...134 19.Canada Canada...122 20.Mexico Mexico...148 21.Colombia or Brazil Brazil...163 22.Peru Peru...171 GTG adds Venezuela and Argentina. 23.Welcome to Africa Africa...180 24.Libya N/A 25.Kenya Kenya...193 26.Cameroon N/A 27.Zimbabwe N/A GTG adds South Africa, Morocco, and Nigeria. 28.Welcome to Asia Asia...19 29.Saudi Arabia N/A 30.Iraq & the Middle East N/A 31.India India...36 32.Japan Japan...31 33.China China...21 34.Thailand N/A GTG adds Egypt, Israel, and South Korea. 35.Pacific Island Life (Maori, Papua NG) Oceania...212 36.Australia Australia...214 GTG adds New Zealand. HTH- Mandy, who needs a new hobby Edited May 11, 2009 by Mandy in TN I did the best I could I just keep loosing the format when I post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 I've never used WP, but I have used Konos. We REALLY liked it and it is the only curriculum I've found that I've been able to easily combine my two dd's (9 and 6). However, it was A LOT of work for me. A LOT. I wasn't using the "in a box" version, so that might help a little. Also, they now have online "co-ops" you can join. Jessica Hulcey runs them and plans everything out for you. I was going to use them again this year, and I just couldn't do it. For my kids, it was easier to do 2 separate curriculum than invest so much time planning lessons. A lot of people will tell you I'm wrong about combining your kids. I think that combining is a matter of preference. You just don't know until you try. For me, I have not been able to make it work with anything but Konos or other Unit studies. Other's have had great results with WP, as I'm sure they'll tell you :D. HTH! Blessings! Dorinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Rivers Posted May 17, 2009 Author Share Posted May 17, 2009 I just wanted to thank everyone for their input. It seems that the general concensus is that KONOS is great, but a LOT of prep. work. So, I think I'm going with either WP or another option. :) Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Here's another option for you... because I can tell you want even more to think about.... :tongue_smilie:;) I bought KONOS years ago, thinking exactly as you did -- fun, fun, fun! I also bought Jessica Hulcy's video set, which was very helpful and inspiring. But... I never used KONOS as my basic curriculum. I bought the Index and the Compass, and I use the KONOS volumes as reference material for cool ideas to use when we're studying certain topics or historical time periods. I can use pretty much any good textbook or curriculum, and if it gets a little dry or I want to add some projects, out comes KONOS, and I've got a ton of ideas. In my initial KONOS frenzy, I bought all three volumes, plus Obedience, Orderliness, and the Africa set, along with the Compass and the Index. I was able to buy all of them used -- not at incredibly low prices or anything, but a lot cheaper than brand new. I haven't resold any of my KONOS stuff, because while I'm too lazy to really use it as my main curriculum, it's too good to part with! Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Rivers Posted May 17, 2009 Author Share Posted May 17, 2009 Cat, I think that is exactly what I'm going to do, i.e. "KONOS-ize" it. I think the other problem I had with it being a stand-alone curriculum is the way everything is narrowed down to a topic. I would prefer that literature, Scripture and other resources be allowed to speak to the child directly rather than forced into a certain framework. So, to borrow the Hulcy's wonderful ideas for hands-on discovery learning in a supplementary way sounds like a great solution. Thanks for adding your thoughts. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Just a word of caution about WP. Before you buy, make sure they have the curriculum written and all the books in stock. I ordered recently and found out that the program wasn't finished. There was no indication of that on the website. I ended up getting refunded because I wasn't willing to get the program piecemeal. I understand that the programs are nice but be sure to read the reviews because they can be mixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Rivers Posted May 17, 2009 Author Share Posted May 17, 2009 Yeah, I've heard that about them too, which is unfortunate. I hope they get the kinks worked out as they grow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 "KONOS-ize" it. That should be the new slogan for KONOS, Jamie -- I love it! :hurray: Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Rivers Posted May 18, 2009 Author Share Posted May 18, 2009 So maybe if it gets back around to them I'll get a discount? ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Do KONOS this year. Do WP next year.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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