History Scribe and Happy Scribe - Are these worth buying?

[dorothy]

I've never seen them IRL and do not know if either is worth using. I have asked this and gotten a couple of opinions but not enough info to make a decision, so:

If you have used these successfully, how so? If you bought and sold, why? Do you use these in addition to your history spine or do you read live books and then write about them in the Scribe workbooks. What is the difference between the two?

Thanks!!

[Mary in NJ]

Dorothy,

I have History Scribe, because of someone's rave reviews. I purchased it and now realize that it just does not meet up to my standards. Here is an example:

I am using SOTW II and wanted more copywork, a form for narration. Chapter 13 of SOTW II is about Charlemagne. I used History Scribe's form entitled, "Holy Roman Empire." It has a small blurb about Charlemagne at the top of the form. Then there is a large area for the child to draw a picture about this topic. At the bottom of the form are 6 (elementary dashed lines) lines that the child can write their narration. This is how I have used the form in the past.

There are not forms for most of the SOTW II chapters. There are blank forms so that you can put your own "blurb" in the top caption.

If I had it to do over again, I would not buy History Scribe. The product is exactly as it is described, but it just did not meet my needs.

In the end, I use SOTW II Activity Book, and I pull my own "blurb" from the chapter they are studying and make my own form. This way, I have one for each chapter and it is tailored to the content of each chapter they study.

I have not used Happy Scribe.

If you have any specific questions, I'll try to answer them!

Hope this helps,
Mary

[KIN]

I just purchased Happy Scribe and will use it with my 1st grader next year. I would not use it with a 3rd grader. It just isn't enough writing, one easy sentence a day. However, it is just what I was looking for my 1st grader for next year.

[dragons in the flower bed]

In the end, I use SOTW II Activity Book, and I pull my own "blurb" from the chapter they are studying and make my own form. This way, I have one for each chapter and it is tailored to the content of each chapter they study.

Mary,

Can I have your forms?