Could Omnibus II be used with a 7th grader with these modifications?

[Mommy7]

Could the hardback Canterbury Tales (Barbara Cohen, I think) or a "younger" version of Beowulf be used? I have been undecided about whether to use Omnibus in 7th grade or not. I am using Veritas Press History with all my other dc. I am thinking I would include the 7th grader in that also (we will also be in the Medieval, Ren, & Reform. period) That way she could get all that great literature as well. What do you think?

I had also heard that Omnibus I was very difficult for a 7th grader. Would Omnibus II be better????

[Prisca Sapientia]

I am doing Omnibus I over 6 months with a 6th grader, and beginning Omnibus II in August or September as she begins 7th grade. I have spent time looking at all of books to be read, and deciding on the ones that are keepers. Almost all of them are (95%). My daughter LOVES to read and do analysis so that's the main reason why it works for us. I also read a lot of the books out loud to her and discuss as we go along to make sure she is grasping it. (She does, but my reading it aloud to her is key.)

Here are some pointers I have found helpful:

At www.Sparknotes.com (http://www.Sparknotes.com) there is a section called "No-Fear Shakespeare". The entire text of all of Shakespeare's works are included in the original language (free) with a modern translation right beside it. This works out wonderfully. We're not losing Shakespeare's words, but we have a good translation right next to each passage for those tough to understand parts.

For Beowulf we'll be using Beowulf: A New Verse Translation.

For R.C. Sproul's books Chosen by God and Holiness of God, I had to highlight the important parts because his writing style is such that he repeats the same things ten different ways. It was super annoying. We're deleting Holiness of God, and using a chapter of Grudem's Systematic Theology to make of for the teaching in this area....not official Omnibus for that book.

I find everything else to be doable, but at this age it's a larger parent commitment. If you feel led to do it, do it, and make whatever tweaks you feel are necessary for your child. The ideological lessons to be learned here are priceless, not to mention the in depth study of great literature.

Another thing: We skipped all of the studies of books in the Bible. This is because we study the Bible in-depth using other curriculum. This allows us a little more time to spend on the meat of Omnibus. I am not discounting the Bible study at all...we do it, but cutting it from Omnibus was helpful for us. Another thing to keep in mind is that Omnibus teaches from a position of dominionism. This is not a problem for me, although I do not subscribe to dominionism personally, because most of that occurs within their studies of Revelation and Daniel, and is so lightly sprinkled in elsewhere that it is not hardline, or what anyone would call "unorthodox". It would never deter me from using the program.

Overall, Omnibus is solid, and a must have in my opinion. The key is spending some serious time poring over the material in advance and discovering what books you want to cover and how you are going to tackle them. More parent involvement is the key for younger grades in my opinion. I hope this helps you, and God bless your endeavor!!

[Mommy7]

Prisca, Would you mind telling me how long it takes you per day? I don't have much time to devote to it as teacher, so I'm not sure if it will be a good fit. Having used it, do you think it could be modified to where it would take no more than 30 minutes per day for me? I have some time and energy constraints.

I have thought about waiting until high school to use it. I know they are supposed to have am Omnibus IV, V, & VI, eventually. Do you know when they may be out?

Thank you so much for your response!

[Prisca Sapientia]

Would you mind telling me how long it takes you per day? I don't have much time to devote to it as teacher, so I'm not sure if it will be a good fit. Having used it, do you think it could be modified to where it would take no more than 30 minutes per day for me? I have some time and energy constraints.

I have thought about waiting until high school to use it. I know they are supposed to have am Omnibus IV, V, & VI, eventually. Do you know when they may be out?


Omnibus IV will be out later this year, then V in '10, and VI in '11.

You can do Omnibus in 30 minutes a day if you cut out some of the books. That would be no problem at all if you are willing to pick and choose the books you feel are most important/enjoyable. We spend about 45 minutes per day on the reading only day, and and hour if it is a reading + questions and discussion day. Omnibus is not "hard", just a commitment...and one that is very much worth it.

We do it like this: Read 45 minutes everyday until we finish the reading assignment prior to the next discussion (It might be only one day, or up to three). On discussion days we usually fiinish the last chapter in that assignment and move on to questions/discussion. HTH!

[Mommy7]

Prisca, you have been so helpful. It always helps to talk to someone who has actually used the curriculum you have the question about!!!

Do you have any idea how many books we would cover doing a 30 minute session? That's probably a hard question, huh? How many did you guys cover?

There are a lot of secondary books that I know right away we would not be doing. Would I need to cut down the primary also?