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more history advice and beautiful feet question
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hello! i have all of my subjects figured out and booklists made…except history. :/ i am choosing to go ahead and teach american history next year to my 1st grader (also will have a 4/5 yo listening in…she has advanced comprehension skills, so i’m not worried about anything i would use for the 6/7 yo being too much for her to enjoy listening to). i’ve been on beautiful feet’s website and been doing lots of research on books. i know i will use many of the books from the BF Early American History study pack. So, i HAVE made a couple of decisions regarding history. LOL
however, i am curious about the study guide put out by BF. has anyone used it? is it helpful? i decided to plan my own curriculum next year mostly because i found that i felt tied down by a guide and i wanted to be free to read through subjects at our own pace. however, i find myself thinking that the history guide, because not tied to other subjects as a boxed curriculum guide is, would still allow us to still move along at our own pace in that particular subject area. But, as i look at the booklist, i wonder if i need all of the books for as young as my kids are. for example, there are two books on abe lincoln. 3 or 4 on the subject of pilgrims. so, then i go back to “i’ll just choose some books and i’ll move through them.” but, then i get lost trying to decide which books to choose. i want to take us from Leif through the Civil War in a chronological fashion (obviously).
i hope my ramblings make sense. in short (too late LOL), i know the books on BF’s website are great ones. i want to use them (at least in part). i want to give a good overview of early american history. i don’t want to get bogged down thinking this is the only year i have to teach this subject, but i also don’t want to be too lax. i am looking for advice on whether or not the guide is helpful and which books are the better choices if i choose to forego the guide and not order every book. thanks so much for all of your suggestions and help. i promise to stop bothering you very very soon! 🙂
I can’t help you with the Beautiful Feet guide, but Truthquest history puts out great guides for young children’s American History. There are samples on their website. They have wonderful book suggestions, also.
We use free books from http://www.heritage-history.com. If you look on the left side, choose American under Civilizations. The books are wonderful. We print them off and read that way, but you could just read them online.
i’ve looked at truthquest, but i have a hard time really understanding what they are selling. it looks to me like you are buying a booklist? i’m sure it is more than that, but i can never get a good grip on what their guides really entail.
We used Truthquest American History 1 this year and loved it!
It is more than a booklist. It is divided (mostly) chronologically (some at the end focuses on people so not chronological there). There is a commentary that helps you fit the “happenings” into God’s framework and a historical framework. There is then a booklist following each section of commentary.
I loved it because I could move along at my own pace. It was nice having someone guie me as far as what came next without telling me that I had to read a book on that section or even what book I had to read (I do not like boxed curriculum for these reasons). Plus, there were many books to choose from so I could easily find one to use (Michelle Miller does say that you can use any book you want but I found the ones she mentioned to be very worthwhile).
If you are interested in TQ and have any questions, let me know. I’d be happy to answer them.
-Rebecca
Mom to DS ages 13, 12, 8, 7, 5, 13 months and DD age 2We have used BF guides in the past. I absolutely love their books. I am not crazy about the guides though. I felt that they had you rush through the books and the reading sections were alot. I tried using their younger american history, ancient history, geography, and california history, and without fail I am always heavy burdend about 3 weeks in. I have NEVER finished a guide. Although as you can see I keep trying 🙂
We’ve used a number of the BF guides over the years. I have found the guides helpful, but not totally necessary. I like how Rea brings in scripture and character lessons and some of her ideas for extra activities. In the primary American history guide, she has you copying pages from D’aulaire’s books to color. My current student in that guide complains that those pages are difficult to color, but then, she’s a little picky about her coloring skills.
They are hard to copy though, I will say, and I feel like I’m breaking the binding on the book!It does seem like a lot of reading, but you don’t need to accomplish the whole thing in one year. Also, the majority of these books are picture books so the reading is not really over the top – the children typically are asking me to keep going. Having said all of that, we do routinely skip books depending on what’s going on. That is when I might select a picture book about the Pilgrims versus the chapter book.
It’s not really cm because it is, after all, a study guide, versus teaching them to narrate on their own. But, I find it to be helpful in giving me some structure, whether I choose to use it or not on a particular day.
Blessings,
Cindy
They are hard to copy though, I will say, and I feel like I’m breaking the binding on the book!Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
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