can we talk jr high/high school history

Misty, had I been homeschooling from the beginning and using the CM method from the start and SCM had been available I would have used SCM but added some different books. I like the way the modules are laid out and I think it would have been great. I am a history major and as such the girls have grown up with a lot of history – they both love it. As such they always wanted to dig very deep into the history that we were studying so we used a lot more biographies and other books to satisfy that need and desire. SCM was not around when we started out or if it was I was totally unaware of it. I got my CM info from CM and Catherine Levinson’s books and we always did an eclectic mix of things. My daughters were in PS til mid 5th grade and when we took them out of school they were very burned out – we took some time to adjust before starting on the path, and integrated CM methods slowly as they were totally unused to the methods. I think the SCM plan is a fine one to do throughout without change if that is what you want to do – all of Sonya’s curriculum is so well laid out. We used Notgrass because we liked the writing style, but used it more as a reader and then added lots of other original source material, bios, some of my old European history textbooks and other things to complete our program like dvds and things like that. We used little fiction for our history study, because that is not what the girls wanted, and as they got older we wanted them to have input and choice in their learning – and historical fiction in the high school years was not their choice – they read a lot of it as younger students though. As you say you don’t know much about history yourself, you might do well to stay with what you are planning – I would not have chosen the path I did with the girls if history had not been my major in college – it would have been complicated then to pull a good program together, if I did not know much myself. I had a harder time pulling US history together because my focus had been Ancient and European History in high school and college – I am sure others have different experiences and can help you more – I started homeschooling late so I am sure there are some who started CM at the beginning and can advise as well. Blessings, Linda

Misty, 

I found SCM just a year or two ago, stumbling along, with my 4th and 5th kids. They have a large age gap – 5 years, so one is finishing high school this year and one just starting 7th grade. I love SCM, all her suggestions, and all her books> My ‘problem’ if I can even call it that, is that my dd is not artsy, loves to read, absorbs and retells quickly, and the SCM modules are just too slow for her. She wants to go all through Rome,Middle Ages and Ren & Ref in one year and I guess I feel like I am late to the party with her scheduling so I am tempted to let her fly. What I would love to figure out, is how to use the books SCM recommends, but with a schedule and a pace more like MFW. That would suit us both best. I just don’t like the Usborne choices in MFW nor the use of Streams of Civilization. Its a good book, I just want more ‘living’ books for her, as she does herself. So, other than rush through SCM which doesn’t seem ‘gentle’ I am at a bit of a loss. Add to that mix the fact that we will have her 13yo friend schooling with us for history, just one day a week. So I need to do lots of reading that one day and send her home with notebook pages and narrations to do. Can we just have time stand still for a year?

@lamasahm – We are using SCM for our high school years – at least with the last 3.  Last year was our first year using this curriculum guide, and as I mentioned elsewhere, was our best year EVER. (Keep in mind I’ve been at this HS thing for 16+ years, so that’s saying something. )  Had I realized just how great this works for all of my children and really does suit our family AND is as thorough an education as other “top” methods, I would have used this had the guide been available years ago.

I also have a thing for history, and what I am finding is that I can add what I want to this structure, and it still works, doesn’t really bog down, and the kids really learn, KWIM?  This year, I am combining Greek and Roman guides.  I have the BF guide to go with those since it was recommended for combining the ancients, and I had initially intended to use it and plug in books from SCM.  What has ended up happening as I’ve been planning and building our year is that I am finding that I am using SCM’s guides and plugging in things here and there from BF.  I also have a few AO books for their free reading list.  I am comfortable that the girls will get a well rounded  picture of history for that period with minimal gaps – and still not be overwhelmed. 

I have decided my job is to help them find the joy in history (His story) and to teach them how to learn so that they just keep filling in those gaps throughout their lifetimes.  Some will do this more thoroughly than others, but still, if they know how to educate themselves by the time they graduate and still have a love for learning, that’s half the battle right there.