SOTW/History Odyssey/WP?

[Tatt2mama]

Hi! I'm new here, and relatively new to homeschooling. My ds, 5, is doing kindergarten this year, and I want to move into some first grade work in the fall some time . I am definitely planning on using SOTW 1, and I have SL Core C (but I haven't really loved Core B). And then I started looking at History Odyssey, and WinterPromise's Hideaways in History and-GAH!-now my SOTW doesn't look like enough, alongside history pockets and building hideaways!

So here's my question-for those who've used HO Ancients 1 and/or WP-did you like it? Is it worth it? My kids and I do like to do crafty things, which is what makes HO and WP sound so exciting to me. But is it just overkill, when SOTW by itself would probably be enough? Was the WP Hideaways as fun as it sounds? Was HO dry (it sorta looks dry), or interesting?

(I wish I could buy it all and just use what I want-but, alas, that is not to be.)

I know this has been discussed a lot here-I searched some prior threads about it-but I'd really like to hear from people who've used either of these, what they liked and didn't like about them.

Thanks so much in advance,
Flo
mama to ds 11/07/02 and dd 7/02/04
currently using SL Core B, LLATL Blue and Horizons Math K

[siloam]

Hi! I'm new here, and relatively new to homeschooling. My ds, 5, is doing kindergarten this year, and I want to move into some first grade work in the fall some time . I am definitely planning on using SOTW 1, and I have SL Core C (but I haven't really loved Core B). And then I started looking at History Odyssey, and WinterPromise's Hideaways in History and-GAH!-now my SOTW doesn't look like enough, alongside history pockets and building hideaways!

So here's my question-for those who've used HO Ancients 1 and/or WP-did you like it? Is it worth it? My kids and I do like to do crafty things, which is what makes HO and WP sound so exciting to me. But is it just overkill, when SOTW by itself would probably be enough? Was the WP Hideaways as fun as it sounds? Was HO dry (it sorta looks dry), or interesting?

(I wish I could buy it all and just use what I want-but, alas, that is not to be.)

I know this has been discussed a lot here-I searched some prior threads about it-but I'd really like to hear from people who've used either of these, what they liked and didn't like about them.

Thanks so much in advance,
Flo
mama to ds 11/07/02 and dd 7/02/04
currently using SL Core B, LLATL Blue and Horizons Math K

Flo,

I did WP Animals and Their Worlds, and loved it. HIH looks good, but it is a brand new level just introduced in the last couple of weeks. You aren't going to find anyone who has used it yet.

What worked here: daily crafts (kinesthetic learners), great choice of books, fun adventure reading (read alouds).

I don't use WP LA because I prefer natural methods, but I have picked up the readers here and there and while they tend to be advanced, my kids do like the books they choose.

Heather

[dragons in the flower bed]

So here's my question-for those who've used HO Ancients 1 and/or WP-did you like it? Is it worth it? My kids and I do like to do crafty things, which is what makes HO and WP sound so exciting to me. But is it just overkill, when SOTW by itself would probably be enough? Was the WP Hideaways as fun as it sounds? Was HO dry (it sorta looks dry), or interesting?

I have not used HO but WP.

What I liked most about WP was the scheduling, the very simply and obviously laid out directions of which craft to do on what day and after how much reading from which spots in the book.

I'm looking at HIH (Hideaways) now thinking that I would LOVE to skim through the high points in each SOTW book with my littlest guys while my olders do a more in depth study, and I could use HIH over four years to do it in a very developmentally appropriate way. Also, there's thirty-two days of medieval lessons in HIH, and if I do medieval history formally, I'd be doing it one day a week for thirty-two weeks (so I can fit geography, literature, religion and science in on other days)-- perfect, right?

But, if you don't mind scheduling it yourself, the SOTW AG has a lot of stuff that's just as fun and crafty as anything WP and HO offers. You make costumes and models and do paper crafts and notebooking, just like in WP.

[mchel210]

Hi...I did WP in the beginning of the year with my 2 girls....at the time 6 and 4 going on 5. (2nd and K)

My girls loved it for the first few lessons...then refused to sit with me to do the crafts. They became bored of the animal lessons.

I couldn't get them to work with me. So we continued working with our Abeka grade 2 and grade K. We had used Apologia Zoology 1 for science, and tons of readers from BF, Sonlight Readers 1-3 and others we liked at the library.

We used SOTW 1 and we still are using that. We enjoy it but it is only for history. Sotw adds just enough history for my kids.

I am really looking at WP AS1/2 and ASet as they all look great. I really love the books...but we may just use them as readers. It is nice to follow along with the books at your own pace.

Currently, my ds is using BF books which are awesome. I don't follow the guides every lesson, but it gives me a starting place.

I wish I had more to tell you about the other curriculums...but we havent used them. Good luck.

[Chris in VA]

How do these projects sound to you?

Make a Cave Painting
make a Prehistoric Hunter's Game Bag
Build a model of the Nile, flood it and watch crops grow!
Make a Crown of the Egyptian kings
Make a Cuneiform Tablet
Find out why clay tablets last longer than scrolls
Make a Ziggurat Temple
Make a Mohenjo-Daro dwelling out of homemade bricks
Cook an African Feast
Play Tomb Discovery
Make a sticker book about the 10 Plagues
Build a model of the Babylonian Mountain Garden
Practice Chinese Calligraphy


And on and on and on. Plus coloring pages, maps, narration prompts, comprehension questions, additional booklists for fiction and non-fiction to go with the topic...


That's SOTW Activity Guide.

I know you asked for experience with WP and HO, but imo, why pay so much for those when you can have so much to do with just SOTW and the AG? It's GREAT!!!

[Stacia]

For 1st grade, I think SOTW 1 + Activity Guide is great! We had a total blast reading the book, and doing the activities in the AG. It's more than enough, esp. for 1st grade. Plus, if you have a decent library, you will find that there are lots & lots of great, fun, interesting books out there for kids about the ancient world.

Add in a history pocket book, if you think that would be appealing. Go on a field trip to a museum that has some ancient artifacts. Do the projects in the activity guide (we had lots of fun making our own cave paintings, making a Nile River that we flooded, etc...). The activity guide has things from maps, to coloring, to crafts, to recipes, to reading lists -- pretty much all you need in one convenient location.

The other curriculum may look good, but even if you get it, you may not have the time to coordinate &/or use everything.

We tried HO once (for early modern/elementary level) & I was so disappointed. Too dry. Not well organized. Some info was in the completely wrong place. Coloring pages &/or projects didn't always fit w/ the actual time/place being studied. Overall, just very disjointed.

I have a copy of WP's modern stuff now, but honestly don't look at the guidelines that much.

[WTMindy]

SOTW is awesome!! If you include a weekly narration and a project, you will be doing great. I credit SOTW with giving my kids a love of history. We have all learned so much!! We did all 4 volumes.

[Mrs Mungo]

We use SOTW + the activity guide for the first four years. I love it and so do the kids. I do feel like it gives them a good base knowledge to build on.

[Tatt2mama]

Thanks to everyone for their responses-it's definitely a big help. I think I'll probably keep it simple for next year with SOTW, maybe adding in those pieces of HO or HIH that appeal to me (since I can get most of both on Amazon piece by piece).

But again, thanks for all the advice! I knew this was the right place to come with this question.

Flo