Veritas Press history?

[Truman School]

If you've used this in the elementary years before Omnibus, would you mind explaining to me how it works? I understand there are cards with facts. Is there more to the program then that, or is it basically just reviewing the cards?

Also If you used Omnibus, can you tell me if the Primary Reading is difficult for a student that is just an average reader at this point. My ds is making progress, but he is definitely a more math oriented student and reading isn't something he loves.

I appreciate all the help?

K~

[Michelle in AL]

I'll be using Omnibus with one of mine for the first time in 7th. I haven't used Veritas Press prior to this, but did see their Teacher's manual (I believe that's what it was) years before. It had comprehension ?'s, tests and projects. I was impressed and sorry I hadn't used it earlier. This was yrs ago though and they could've changed their program by now.
As for using Omnibus, the instructors actually read about 1/2 of the material in class out loud. That may take a lot of pressure off an average reader. I would also compare the list of books with the WTM's recommendations for that stage and choose those that are on both lists.

[Wendi]

Each card also lists some resources (both encyclopedia-type resources and individual books) for further study. There is a worksheet and test (containing questions on the current card, plus review of previous cards) for each card, plus at least one project (could be a read/discuss project, mapwork, hands-on, writing assignment).

Basically, for us the cards are the "spine". We love reading a lot of books to go along with the cards. Note: VP recommendations for history reading tend to be above grade level; you can choose whatever your library has if their books don't fit your students. And you don't try to read all the books they recommend!!

Wendi

[FloridaLisa]

I've used VP history for many years and were on our way through the books a second time (with some of my youngers).

VP divides the span of history into 5 years. The first three years (Ancients, Middle Ages and Ren. and Reformation) incorporate are essentially world history, while the latter 2 years cover predominantly U.S. history.

The core curriculum consists of the Teacher's Manual, CD (or tape in my case :001_smile:) and VP cards. The VP cards show the major events or people that the student will study during the year. The back of each card is keyed with relevant pages on the topic in recommended books and spines such as Greenleaf Guide to Ancient Egypt, Streams of Civilization, Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, History of US, Child's Story of America, etc. You cannot read all of it; rather, you pick one or two spines to flesh out the history around each of the cards. The VP catalog contains other recommended "living books" (keyed by color according to how essential VP considers the book). Even if you never use VP, the catalog recommendations are wonderful.

The student is meant to memorize the events and their dates in order, with the help of the cards and the accompanying song on the CD.

The Teacher's Manual has worksheets (consisting primarily of rote questions about the reading), tests (again a compilation of the rote questions), excerpts and historical readings and a few hands-on projects.

That's how it works. I enjoyed our years with VP, though I found that the TM was vacuum-dust dry. Because I used it primarily in the elementary years, we added in lots of living books and hands-on projects. I love the VP cards, the "timeline" that they allowed us to create each year, the weaving in of Biblical and Church history with secular events, and the VP book recommendations.

We used part of Omnibus I this year. I would call the reading challenging, though it depends whether you are using it with a middle- or high-schooler. Part of the challenge is the pace at which Omnibus expects students to zip through the required books. We slowed it down to cover Biblical history in depth and to cover a few books not included in Omnibus. If your dc is not an advanced reader, I think you could use Omnibus if you are willing to create your own pace, read with your dc or read parts aloud.

HTH!
Lisa

[Pylegang]

We use Veritas Press History and LOVE it. The teachers manual pulls everything together, but many people use the cards alone or even with other programs. The cards provide a beautiful tangible timeline for you and your children. We keep ours in a small binder with sheet protectors. We memorize all 160 cards every year, which provides pegs of history in our brains. In addition, we follow the lessons in the teachers manual for in depth history study.

[Truman School]

Thankyou everyone. I appreciate it:-)