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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: July 17 2012 at 1:25pm | IP Logged
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I just recently have been checking out this website. I already used it to help with our religious education plan for our next school year (that starts on Monday!!) and used some of the book list too. Something new to me is doing natural history and world or ancient history together. We always do one or the other. Is this really doable? It seems like a lot to do . . . . actually following all the mater amabilis recommendation would be a lot more school compared to what we normally do.  I have felt like we aren't getting enough done and plan to step it up a little.  Now I am wondering if I should come up with ancient history study to go along with our American history study.  Well, I wouldn't be able to start it until half-way through our school year because the school budget is spent. (Note to self: don't spend all of the budget all at once!) We like to make changes half way through as we get tired of the same things all year long. I would slow down our American history and make two years of study (we wouldn't be able to finish it in one year anyway). Is this a good plan? Where to start in Ancient History or World history? I did Ancient Egypt and a little Ancient Greeks last year with my oldest, but it was very light and he didn't enjoy it. Any thoughts?
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
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SallyT
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| Posted: July 17 2012 at 3:18pm | IP Logged
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We have done history in all kinds of ways. For years I just didn't attempt to do two tracks: we picked one, and that was it. Last year, with my 2nd and 3rd graders, I did do two tracks, alternating weeks: odd weeks were old-world history (Greece), while even weeks were new-world history (early Americas). I used e-texts from The Baldwin Project as "spines" for both -- F.J. Gould's The Children's Plutarch for old-world, and Eggleston's First Book in American History for new-world. We "did" Greece pretty comprehensively, but are spreading American history out, probably over all our elementary years, to be honest. I follow the basic shape of MA, but our history cycles are our own!
This year, with slightly older children, I am in a quandary about shifting the responsibility for reading/learning from myself, in read-aloud mode, to the children, in independent-reading mode. They have been learning together almost completely, but this year I'll be separating them more, with my rising 3rd grader doing more or less MA's 1A, and my 4th grader in Level 2 (but doing Rome for history instead of Greece, obviously!).
I'm still trying to figure out how to handle it, but here's what I've come up with:
1. Each child will have a particular focus in history for his/her independent learning. The 10yo will be reading Helene Guerber's The Story of the Romans. The 8yo will read Mara Pratt's American History Stories. These will be independent reads with oral/written narration.
2. During our Morning Basket time, we will have history read-alouds four days a week: two days of an old-world history reading, two days of a new-world history reading. These will be primarily historical novels, and we'll just read one till we finish, on its scheduled days, then read another one. So even though one child will be *primarily* reading about Rome, he'll also be involved in books about American history, and vice versa.
This is about the only way I can think of to handle things, at least as we transition to more independent learning. My aim is to shift the instructional burden from Morning Basket time to the kids' own reading/writing time, while still keeping the MB as a way of drawing us together, letting us enjoy books together, and amplifying and framing what the kids will do on their own.
I would look at what you might use from Baldwin Project -- my kids really did enjoy Gould's Plutarch as a read-aloud, and there's a wealth of other ancient-history material there as well, all free. You *could* do your history in semester-long blocks -- a semester of US history, a semester of ancient history -- and just let it take as long as it takes. And if you're reading for a change of focus after Christmas, that might work really well for you.
MA starts ancient history in 1A with Bible history. So you could do that, revisiting ancient Egypt when you get to Joseph/Moses -- that was a serious rabbit trail for us when we were doing Bible history two years ago!
Got to go pick up a child from a field trip now, but more later. This brainstorming is helpful to me, too!
Sally
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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: July 18 2012 at 2:11pm | IP Logged
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Sally, your post gave me some ideas, thanks! My boys are 3.5 years apart and the oldest is now "middle school" age and is is becoming harder to combine them in some things.
Anyone else have anything to add?
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 18 2012 at 4:31pm | IP Logged
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Cassie, are you combining grades for history?
I use MA pretty closely on history. The two simultaneous national and world history studies come from how Charlotte Mason intended. We have had no problems doing them both. We read Am history 2X and World History 2X a week. Last year was Ancient Egypt and beginning of Greece.
The beauty of a Charlotte Mason approach is that there isn't all this busywork. History is simple -- read and narrate, and Book of Centuries. Projects happen if it is something the child wants. There are no workbooks or book reports. So it seems so easy, but it is so lovely to see -- my son is really embracing and making his own these histories we read.
The other areas of education usually lap over what we are studying in history. History is usually the base of our studies, and the rest of the areas span out as linked ideas (i.e., music, art, poetry, science, math).
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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: July 18 2012 at 5:05pm | IP Logged
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JennGM wrote:
Cassie, are you combining grades for history?
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Yes, I am combining them for history. We are using the text, From Sea to Shining Sea to read from 1 weeks and then read from living books on topics that were read from the text that interest us for 1-2 weeks.
So, the MA schedule is realistic . . . . . I guess I need to get myself in gear and do better at getting some more school time in with my boys. 
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Cassie
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4 lads mom
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| Posted: July 30 2012 at 8:23pm | IP Logged
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Jenn, I am glad you clarified this about the two tracts of history....that is what CM would want, because I was sort of wondering about it as well.....I am probably going to follow MA quite a bit this year. 
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AmandaV
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| Posted: Oct 10 2012 at 11:11pm | IP Logged
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JennGM wrote:
Cassie, are you combining grades for history?
I use MA pretty closely on history. The two simultaneous national and world history studies come from how Charlotte Mason intended. We have had no problems doing them both. We read Am history 2X and World History 2X a week. Last year was Ancient Egypt and beginning of Greece.
The beauty of a Charlotte Mason approach is that there isn't all this busywork. History is simple -- read and narrate, and Book of Centuries. Projects happen if it is something the child wants. There are no workbooks or book reports. So it seems so easy, but it is so lovely to see -- my son is really embracing and making his own these histories we read.
The other areas of education usually lap over what we are studying in history. History is usually the base of our studies, and the rest of the areas span out as linked ideas (i.e., music, art, poetry, science, math). |
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Jenn, do you bring in you younger son to your history read alouds or keep them separate? Do you combine?
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JennGM
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My youngest is 4 years younger, and actually still in preschool officially, not even K age, so I haven't really incorporated him in any official capacity. But he listens to it all. I admit to doing less read-alouds and letting my son read his selections on his own more frequently.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Erin
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Cassie
I have used MA for history for various years (or an Aussie adaptation). Truthfully for me due to logistics, energy level, I have found through trial and error that only doing one track at a time works best. So we may spend 1 term say on Aust. History and divvy up the other terms for Ancients etc.
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leanne maree
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I do very much what Erin does. or the work load is too much for us.
We spend one term on Australia and then history from MA in the following terms.
We have been using MA since dd was 7. We have thoroughly enjoyed it. We didn't timeline it though.
We used the book recommendations and lapbooks, projects age appropriate if we chose to.
dd 14 is now at the point that she can go through and focus on a time in history she liked and thought she could learn more. and that Greek at the moment
I thought I would never get through it all, but I am pleased modern and current has been left til later because she was able to handle to concepte better..
Leanne
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Ideas inspired by Mater Amabilis
