SOTW: Audio vs. read-aloud?

[melissel]

My DD loves audiobooks, but I still feel like she'd absorb more if I was sitting with her and reading aloud. I know so many people here have had great experiences with the CDs. WDYT? Is it worth the investment?

TIA!

[Eliana]

My DD loves audiobooks, but I still feel like she'd absorb more if I was sitting with her and reading aloud. I know so many people here have had great experiences with the CDs. WDYT? Is it worth the investment?

TIA!


We have some of the CDs, but we just use them as extras. When we're studying from the book, I read the chapters aloud and we talk about them together. I think they get a lot more out of it as a shared experience, and they tend to focus more completely on things we read to them than they do on audiobooks.

The CDs do get a lot of use, though. Not necessarily connected with when we are studying a specific time period, just for fun.

[ELaurie]

my dc (and I) listen to the audio CD for the upcoming year during the summer months. Doing so helps me see the "big picture" for the year ahead as I am planning, and gets them excited about what they will be learning. I read to them from SOTW during the year so that we can discuss things and answer questions as we read, but they also listen to the CDs again from time to time. Last summer, we also listened to the CDs from the previous year as an informal "review" - for them it was like revisiting old friends.

We enjoy having them! :thumbup1:

[nestof3]

We have both. I read the book aloud to both my young boys during "school.". My 8 year old listens to the audio books on his own. He has listened to the first one 2 times, and the second one once. Sometimes he just listens to his favorite chapters. My 6 year old has no desire to listen to it. He prefers music. LOL

Each of the boys has a portable CD player and tape player with headphones in the van. That way, my 6 year old can listen to music (usually Veggie Tales or the Spirit soundtrack -- or Christmas music in March!) and my 8 year old can listen to books.

Our 17 year old has an MP3 player which he uses to listen to music (Celtic) and audio books.

We spend a lot of time together as a family, but driving time really is a quiet sort of time where it's each to his own.

[WTMindy]

and I much prefer reading it to the kids the first time around because we can stop and interact, and also then I am engaged in the material. We love the CDs for when we are in the car. They have also been great for this second rotation. We are doing TOG and I use the SOTW audiobook to listen to the chapter that goes along with what we are studying.

[TengoFive]

I have both, but I have basically stopped using the books. It's so much easier to listen while we're in the car. We listen to SOTW in the car, listen to any of the Greathall cds we have that correlate with it, and then read any extras together.

[Dawn]

We have both. My girls prefer when I read to them, but I like the flexibility it gives me and use the CD's about half the time.

[emelsha]

I only have the CD's and activity book, but they are great. We use the CD's both in the house and in the car. I think it is wonderful to be able to drive and listen to history. They probably look at the scenery and imagine that happening around them.

One question: Are the CD's word for word from the textbook?

[nestof3]

Yes, they are unabridged.

[ShelzNH]

My son loves to listen to them over and over and it really helps him to remember everything. I have to make sure that I listen too though otherwise I will be behind him!

[Dawn]

One question: Are the CD's word for word from the textbook?

We have the older edition book (2001) and the newer edition CDs by Weiss. I haven't run across anything glaringly different - it's mainly in the addition of a paragraph or dropping a sentence here or there. The content is the same.

[ArwenA]

We listen to SOTW CDs in the car but when we're studying use the book. Being a visual person I prefer the book but the kids pick up a lot from the CDs.

[melissel]

Awesome, you've convinced me of the value of the CDs. Thank you all!

[Jennifer in NH]

We also have both. The kids love to hear them in the car! Dh said if he had been taught in such an interesting way he would haved loved history! If I know we will be in the car for 20 minutes or more I bring the cds with me. The kids also listen to them as bedtime stories. I have a cd player in their room and every night one of them gets to pick an audio cd. It alternates between Magic tree house, Boxcar children and SOTW!

Personally, we like the older version better just because of Barbara Johnsons voice. We have 2 with her and 2 with Jim Weiss.

[King Alfred Academy]

we use the audio. My boys enjoy listening to audio books and I hate reading aloud...everybody wins! However, I also have the book sitting in my lap, following along, with my oldest sitting next to me and the youngest (4) coloring or something. It works well for us and we still get the "cuddle" time.