(x post) Aspie kid not getting or liking History

[cjbeach]

Aspie kid not getting or liking History
I understand that SOTW is to help wet a child's appetite for history. DS has put a wall up with the program but I kept plugging along. But now here we are, almost finished third grade, and barely finished SOTW3. My son has zero interest in it. I'm so fond of the classical method and the 4 year sequence but it just not working for my ds.
I have tried to just get through the book by concentrating on the literature, AG, etc but we've gotten to the point where I pull out the book and he cringes.
I'm having a severe case of curriculum guilt. *I* want him to love it and he does not. He did enjoy SOTW1 very much, but I lost him after that. It has become a chore.
I do understand that not all learning is going to be joyful however I've lost him, no retention. He has just put a wall up and I cannot get over his wall.
So I think we need to change gears.
May I ask if you have come across a history program for your SN child that has sparked an interest for history in them? Should I look at Sonlight? I've considered asking Memoria Press about their 2 track History. I've considered VP because of the Memory Work and his amazing memory is his "thing."

Any input would be greatly appreciated!
__________________
Kathy

[Rebecca VA]

Documentaries. I love to use them for our history studies. They bring history to life, with re-enactments, beautiful on-the-spot footage of historical sites, topical music and artwork, and commentary. A child can absorb quite a lot of information through a historical documentary that he will resist learning from a book.

I would use SOTW as a spine and flesh out every promising topic with a documentary. If you're going to do SOTW 4 next year, there's no end to the amount of video footage of every occurrence of the 20th century. I always go to Amazon and type in my topic (for example, "Great Depression" or "League of Nations") in the Movies and TV section just to see what's available.

Some kids just don't do well with a literature approach. My daughter hates it, but she'll happily watch documentaries all day, knitting and crocheting as she watches.

[KarenAnne]

It is very difficult to watch your child fail to respond to the wonderful programs that are out there. However, you're right -- if the child puts up a mental wall to that extent, there's no point continuing down that particular path. Especially with an Aspie. Their stubbornness is legendary.

But the great thing about homeschooling an Aspie is that you can tweak how you approach any subject to get them interested -- and then they'll retain EVERYTHING.

At various times my daughter's history has revolved around American girl dolls, ships, the history of printing and printed books, space technology and Star Trek, and spies and spy technology. Others on the boards have created history curricula around interests in theater and movies, World War II, etc. If your child is interested in the topic, it's amazing how much conventional political history sneaks into wildly varied topics: wars and politics are almost inevitable at some point in any topic-based history you pursue.

As you note, in this stage of childhood the goals of history studies are to get the child interested, and to find a series of mental "hooks" or pegs that will help him structure chronology, people, and ideas in his mind. There is no single method, book, or curriculum that does this for every kid. SOTW does it for many; SL does this for many more; but so do a whole variety of other approaches and ways of getting information. Instead of looking for a curriculum package or something already laid out, you may find it works best for your son if you pick and choose, using DVDs, computer games or board games (Carmen Sandiego, for instance), maps and geographical puzzles, and fiction or non-fiction books of his own choosing, on topics he adores. Think more of finding a method, a way of learning, a style of using materials, that fits him rather than a series of recommended or packaged readings.

Remember, too, that using your child's interests to motivate his study of history at this age does not mean that you have to leave behind the classical curriculum or literature-based history forever. There are a lot of years left in your child's education in which you can return to the four-year cycle and introduce more text-based learning, when he's ready.

[CleoQc]

My son is half-aspie. By this I mean he does not have an official diagnostics, and about half the healthcare professionals who have seen him tell me he's definitely Aspie, the other half tells me "absolutely no way"... So who knows..

Anyway, he has zero interest and zero retention with SOTW 3 either. We're also doing Sonlight Core 6, and the novels do interest him. He will retain information for whatever event is also seen in a novel. Otherwise, nothing. It's a pain to get him to work on his history.

Just commisserating with you...

[Greta Lea]

My Aspie did at that age. My son LOVED Story of the World when he 12yo. I mean loved it. He was so sad when he finished the series at age 14 (we were able to move a little faster through it since he was older).

I started my younger son, who has dylexia and auditory processing issues, with SOTW when he was 9yo. He got NOTHING out of it. I tried it again this year (he had just turned 12yo). Again, that was the "magical" age for my family. He loved it. For him, I've had him read along while listening to the audio. That's helped his comprehension, his reading ability *and* auditory skills!

He's just finished level 1 of SOTW and has started level 2. We'll continue with it some through the summer (he pretty much just reads it and orally narrates...we do some map work and that's it).

He's wanting to do a state history study next year, so I plan to do that with him using Notgrass TN history. After that he'll return to SOTW.

Since I used it with my boys at an older age, around book 3 I start having them read the corresponding pages in the Usborne or kingfisher book.

Before my boys were ready for SOTW, the older one loved the Usborne books. I think he's read all the history encyclopedia type books they make (and some others by other publishers) from cover to cover. In fact, he STILL loves those type books at the age of 16. For Christmas he got a big ole encylcopedia type book of all the different Warriors during history. I mean it's HUGE and he loves it still.

Now, my younger son prefered for me to read aloud picture biographies. He still really needed pictures, but enjoyed *stories* about real people. He STILL to this day will sometimes bring up the time I read to him about George Washington Carver and Lewis Braille from a picture biography.

Experiment a little with books from the library. I feel you'll find what works for HIM at *this* time. But I'd save SOTW, 'cuz he might just fall in love with it later!:)

[Greta Lea]

But my younger son can't follow them or retain as much from them, although he's also a very visual learner. I think there's an auditory issue that comes into play with him not being able to learn from documentaries. But it's at least worth a try with a kid!!!

[CleoQc]

I tried it again this year (he had just turned 12yo). Again, that was the "magical" age for my family. He loved it.

Lucky for your family. My son is 12 and *not* liking it at all...