KONOS - anyone here use(d) it?

[fivetails]

Just wondering if anyone uses (or has used) KONOS (http://www.konos-canada.com/k8/index.html) and would like to share any thoughts about it? :)

[Melinda]

We use it and LOVE it! What would you like to know?

[Ellie]

We used Vol. 2 for 2 years and loved it. My only regret was that we were hsing before it was written so that I didn't get to use all three volumes. :-)

[fivetails]

Aha, my thread almost got away...I was looking for it and starting to wonder if I did indeed actually post it. It's been that sort of a day. ;)


We use it and LOVE it! What would you like to know?

Everything. :D ....Okay, you already answered the "do your kids enjoy it" question LOL ....A friend is sending me Volume 1 (the yellow one) ...see, she read about us taking our special-needs son out to hs along with his sis and she thought that it might be something we could use - something that would allow the kids to work "together", yet on their own levels, y'know? Plus, they are both very hands-on learners, and I gather there are a lot of projects, hands on stuff.....I was able to see a small sample page on the website there, but not a whole lot...I guess I'm just wondering what sorts of things are in there - I'm stalking my mailbox, waiting to see it.

I see your kids are quite young - which is good, actually...mine are older, but our 10 year old son is more like a 4 or 5 year old child, if that makes sense...so if it's working well with your little ones, there's prolly a lot that we can work with .. (with adaptations)....

We used Vol. 2 for 2 years and loved it. My only regret was that we were hsing before it was written so that I didn't get to use all three volumes. :-)

Looks like it was a hit for you guys too then eh? Good good. How old were your kids when you used it, if you don't mind me asking? :)

[coffeefreak]

Hi! We used Vol 1 last year and enjoyed it. Here is my list of pros and cons:

Pros:
1. Lots of fun, hands on ideas
2. Tells you how to do the projects
3. You can integrate all your kids easier than any other curriculum I've used.
4. Your kids WILL NOT get bored. You will cover so many things throughout the year and you'll be surprised and impressed at everything they learn!

Cons:
1. The book lists were of no use to us. Most were outdated or not books my kids would be interested in. I had to start from scratch on a lot of the reading.
2. It took A LOT of Teacher prep (A LOT). I need a more open and go curriculum. It was too much work for me to plan the reading, find all the books, and plan all the activities. If you're OK with this and it's something you enjoy doing, it's a great curriculum! If you're like me and you have too many other things to do, I think it's hard to use KONOS as a stand alone curriculum.
3. I had a hard time jumping around history wise. If you don't have a problems with that and your kids respond well to Unit Studies, than you'll love it!
4. My youngest HATES hands on activities:lol: She will do things like science experiments and art when assigned, but a curriculum centered around "doing" is not her thing.

We did the Obedience unit which covers the middle ages, horses, military, light and something else (it will come to me:D). Then, we did Vol 2 Libraries, the scientific method, and we did a unit study on Native Americans (I think in Vol 1). I know we did something else from Vol 2, I just don't remember what:confused:. When I started looking at planning this year, I couldn't do it. I had put in sooo many "Mom hours" planning last year, that I decided I needed a break. Plus, I really wanted to cover American history, and that's not how they do it. If you go join the yahoo group, they'll answer your questions and explain how to make it work for you. Also, they have On-line units you might want to consider using. I think they call it an On-line co-op. I have heard great things about it.

HTH!
Blessings!
Dorinda

[coffeefreak]

2. It took A LOT of Teacher prep (A LOT). I need a more open and go curriculum. It was too much work for me to plan the reading, find all the books, and plan all the activities. If you're OK with this and it's something you enjoy doing, it's a great curriculum! If you're like me and you have too many other things to do, I think it's hard to use KONOS as a stand alone curriculum.



I forgot to explain this. Now, I use Konos on the side and a lot of people I know do too. So, for example, let's say we're studying birds in science. You pull out your KONOS volume and find an activity or two that goes along with what you're learning. Also, they have the fabulous Character traits with each study. So, let's say you want some Biblical tie-ins to go with your Bird unit. You go to your KONOS volume and see what Character trait they've assigned with Birds and a list of Bible verses to go along with that Character trait. That's what I meant by it not being a good "stand alone" curriculum if you're not willing to do a lot of work.

Blessings!
Dorinda

[Michelle My Bell]

Anybody know where samples can be found?

Michelle

[Ellie]

Cons:
1. The book lists were of no use to us. Most were outdated or not books my kids would be interested in. I had to start from scratch on a lot of the reading.
I rarely used any library books. Most of the activities are self-contained. If I had time to go to the library, I would choose some books for KONOS; if I couldn't find the specific books recommended, I just looked for another similar one. No biggie.

2. It took A LOT of Teacher prep (A LOT). I need a more open and go curriculum. It was too much work for me to plan the reading, find all the books, and plan all the activities. If you're OK with this and it's something you enjoy doing, it's a great curriculum! If you're like me and you have too many other things to do, I think it's hard to use KONOS as a stand alone curriculum.
I used KONOS, something for math, and Easy Grammar...nothing else. I planned a month's worth of activities on a Sunday night, and then just looked through my lesson plans the week before I started.

3. I had a hard time jumping around history wise. If you don't have a problems with that and your kids respond well to Unit Studies, than you'll love it!
That's why the timeline is so important.
4. My youngest HATES hands on activities:lol: She will do things like science experiments and art when assigned, but a curriculum centered around "doing" is not her thing.
We did some hands-on, but also lots of discussion.

We did the Obedience unit which covers the middle ages, horses, military, light and something else (it will come to me:D). Then, we did Vol 2 Libraries, the scientific method, and we did a unit study on Native Americans (I think in Vol 1). I know we did something else from Vol 2, I just don't remember what:confused:. When I started looking at planning this year, I couldn't do it. I had put in sooo many "Mom hours" planning last year, that I decided I needed a break. Plus, I really wanted to cover American history, and that's not how they do it.
Now, see, that would make *me* crazy, lol. I did Vol. 2. The end. I followed the recommendations in the intro (this was in 1988, before the lesson plans), which were to do Inquisitiveness for two months, Responsibility for one, Generosity for one, Responsibility again focussing on ants, Courage for two months, Wisdom for two months. Vol. 2 focuses on American history.

[Mothersweets]

I forgot to explain this. Now, I use Konos on the side and a lot of people I know do too. So, for example, let's say we're studying birds in science. You pull out your KONOS volume and find an activity or two that goes along with what you're learning. Also, they have the fabulous Character traits with each study. So, let's say you want some Biblical tie-ins to go with your Bird unit. You go to your KONOS volume and see what Character trait they've assigned with Birds and a list of Bible verses to go along with that Character trait. That's what I meant by it not being a good "stand alone" curriculum if you're not willing to do a lot of work.

Blessings!
Dorinda


Oooh, what a smart way to use it!

We used the Obedience unit about 9 or 10 years ago and it is one of the most memorable things we've ever done. We went the whole nine yards with the Medieval feast: costumes, decorations, food, entertainment, you name it. It was a lot of fun and my kids look back fondly on it. At the time, my school-age kids were 11, 10, 9, and 7.

I keep thinking, "Now where did I put my Konos book? We should do that again." But then I have so much other curriculum that I never go through with actually digging it out and using it. I really should - it is a great curriculum and I know my younger kids would love it. Hmmmm, where IS that book? :)

[coffeefreak]

Now, see, that would make *me* crazy, lol. I did Vol. 2. The end. I followed the recommendations in the intro (this was in 1988, before the lesson plans), which were to do Inquisitiveness for two months, Responsibility for one, Generosity for one, Responsibility again focussing on ants, Courage for two months, Wisdom for two months. Vol. 2 focuses on American history.

I would have liked to see that edition. So, you don't have any of the pages with the schedules and recommendations with the little letters and numbers? I think there are so many ways they could make it easier for Moms, but the lesson plans/schedules don't do that. They actually made it harder in some ways. You're better off deciding which unit you want to do, and then reading through and picking out your activities and books on your own. I drove myself crazy going back and forth looking for letters and numbers and scheduling.

Another really great thing about KONOS are the ample "elective" subjects. For example, my oldest LOVES horses. Crazy about them. Her favorite unit last year? Horses.:lol: My youngest LOVES Ballet. I've been thinking about borrowing Vol 3 from my friend and doing a Ballet unit in May. The Library Unit we did was great. I couldn't have planned it without KONOS.

[fivetails]

Anybody know where samples can be found?

Michelle

Go here (http://www.konos-canada.com/k8/original.html) and click on "view two sample pages" - although they are short and not very good samples, I don't think.... I'll see if I can find more... :)

[fivetails]

Go here (http://www.konos-canada.com/k8/original.html) and click on "view two sample pages" - although they are short and not very good samples, I don't think.... I'll see if I can find more... :)

more here (http://www.konos.com/KONOS%20Sample%20Lessons.pdf), it looks like (pdf) ...I haven't looked at it all yet, but it appears to be much better in terms of a sample... I was on the Canadian site before, I think this comes from the American site....

[Melinda]

Ok, I'm back to answer :lol:

My favorite program of anything we use or have used is KONOS. We have all 3 books and the timeline. We do all of our "drudgery" work in the morning (anything with worksheets -- Saxon math and ETC). We also do our oral reading in the morning.

In the afternoon, we do our fun stuff. science, art, music, cooking, social studies, health, and KONOS. We spend 30 min/day doing our KONOS stuff and one day/week, we spend longer (60-90 min) doing our projects. We also did a fall "intensive" (took an entire week to study in-depth about frontiersmen and tracking and did nothing else). We will be doing our spring intensive at the beginning of April.

This is a program that is *very* heavy with teacher involvement and preparation. Unless you are organized with it, it probably will not work for you. I have the units planned for the year that we are going to get to. I plan what we are going to be doing a month in advance, including book and supply lists. On Sunday afternoons, I plan for our week. I try to gather materials I need to buy a couple weeks in advance.

We started at the beginning of volume 1 and are working our way through. Everybody (including me) looks forward to having KONOS time and getting really in-depth with things. For me, everything else we do school-wise is what we need to do, and the KONOS is what HS *should* be like...learning through touch and experience, rather than just looking at pictures in books and writing.

One word of caution...
The units in this program a lot of times have far more than 100 activities to do and they might only set it up to be a 1-2 week unit. Any unit in these materials could *easily* last at least twice as long as they say, if you really get into one and don't want to stop.

One thing you might try is using this as a summer program at first to see if you like it. It is a *big* program that can be overwhelming.

Let me know if you have more questions. :)

[Ellie]

I would have liked to see that edition. So, you don't have any of the pages with the schedules and recommendations with the little letters and numbers?
Nope. In fact, my usual recommendation for newbie KONOS users is to take their volume to Kinko's and have the spine cut off, remove the lesson plan pages and toss them, have the rest of the book drilled for three holes, and put the whole thing in a big 3-ring notebook.

I think there are so many ways they could make it easier for Moms, but the lesson plans/schedules don't do that. They actually made it harder in some ways. You're better off deciding which unit you want to do, and then reading through and picking out your activities and books on your own. I drove myself crazy going back and forth looking for letters and numbers and scheduling.
:iagree:Also, the lesson plans don't give an overview of how you might complete a volume in a year--not every activity, but every character trait.

Another really great thing about KONOS are the ample "elective" subjects. For example, my oldest LOVES horses. Crazy about them. Her favorite unit last year? Horses.:lol: My youngest LOVES Ballet. I've been thinking about borrowing Vol 3 from my friend and doing a Ballet unit in May. The Library Unit we did was great. I couldn't have planned it without KONOS.
I believe "Horses" is one of the subunits in Attentiveness in Vol. 1, yes? See, that isn't an "elective," because it covers history, science, arts and crafts, some literature...the whole ball of wax. That's one of the many great things about KONOS: each subunit of each character trait covers teaches core subjects (except for English and math).

[fivetails]

Okay the comments about it needing an organized person to have it run smoothly are scaring me. :lol: ....See, I am the last person anyone would refer to as having good organizational skills. :tongue_smilie:

Ah well, maybe this will fix that. :D ...The more I look into it, the more I think it will work well for us - I'll just have to *be* organized.

KONOS is what HS *should* be like...learning through touch and experience, rather than just looking at pictures in books and writing.


That's *exactly* what I'm looking for...both of our kids are the type who learn best through experience. :)

[Ellie]

more here (http://www.konos.com/KONOS%20Sample%20Lessons.pdf), it looks like (pdf) ...I haven't looked at it all yet, but it appears to be much better in terms of a sample... I was on the Canadian site before, I think this comes from the American site....
Is that from one of the Volumes, or is it the Obedience KONOS-in-a-Box?

[fivetails]

Is that from one of the Volumes, or is it the Obedience KONOS-in-a-Box?

It appears to be from the box one - I'd googled "KONOS sample" and gone directly to the pdf link, as it was the first result in google...but I just noticed that down below, the next link, took me here (http://www.konos.com/elemcurriculum/sampllesson.htm), which goes to the pdf....it's the box...

It's V1 that we're getting from a friend, but I was just happy to have found more samples of the "way" they do things, know what I mean? ;) ....I wonder if V1 samples are there anywhere... *looking*

edit: V1 samples don't seem to be on the site anywhere...

[fivetails]

Guess I can stop looking for samples like above - the mailman brought me a package yesterday. :D

Wow, this thing has SO much stuff! Awesome. I know where my nose will be buried all weekend. :lol:

[krazzymommy]

Did samples of the original volumes ever turn up anywhere? Would anyone be willing to email me some? I'm curious as to how the history flows. I really don't care the order of other subjects, but I would like my history to flow in some kind of order. Thanks....

[mommyagain]

Did samples of the original volumes ever turn up anywhere? Would anyone be willing to email me some? I'm curious as to how the history flows. I really don't care the order of other subjects, but I would like my history to flow in some kind of order. Thanks....
The history really does not have any flow to it at all. Christian Cottage unit studies are very similar to Konos except arranged in chronological order. I have Konos vol 1 but I think I would prefer CC for that very reason.

[krazzymommy]

The history really does not have any flow to it at all. Christian Cottage unit studies are very similar to Konos except arranged in chronological order. I have Konos vol 1 but I think I would prefer CC for that very reason.

Thanks! I think I am liking the looks of CC a lot, but just trying to look at everything. I did find some samples, but not loving the looks of Konos.

[thowell]

I just received my Vol.1 yesterday!!!! I read through the whole first unit and it took me about an hour to pan out our first week last night. I am going to try to get the whole year done over the summer. We are pretty laid back so if we add more and stay on a topic longer we won't stress. I can't believe some of the ideas the author has come us with for activities. We will keep our mornings for Math, Grammar, Spelling, and any other academics. Then we will have a lunch break and the rest of the afternoon is devoted to Konos. I spent so much time planning this year using all kinds of different things that I don't think Konos is that bad. You look at the unit. Decide what activities you want to do, and gather your supplies. Pretty cut and dry. Oh, and I spoke with Jessica (the author) she said that as far as the book list it is just suggestions. If you can't find the books she recommends use what you have or what you can find. Thanks Ellie for your encouragement. My edition is actually from 1984!!! But it was only $13.00 God is soooooo great!!!!

[Blueridge]

Congrats! We used Konos for the first 8 years of our homeschooling, and after that we did everything else 'a la Konos' style. Honestly, those were the happiest and most memorable years we've ever had. I still get nostalgic thinking about those happy days...sitting in the living room inside the Indian teepee made of sheets, eating jerky and dried berries, reading Native American legends, daddy beating the oatmeal box drum. :D We still do an occasional unit. Just don't get too wrapped up in the planning and let the Holy Spirit direct your paths. Have you looked at the Konos Homeschool Mentor site? It is a subscription (by the semester) site where you can watch weekly videos of Jessica Hulcy guide you to teach units effectively. Just another option for you to consider. They do have a short summer unit to try on Japan. As far as library trips go, don't stress about individual titles. If you're going to do a unit on Attentiveness, find the best books your library has on the senses, birds, Indians, etc. Have lots of fun, and take lots of pictures! Blessings~