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CM History/Geography Questions
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Hi! I have a couple of CM history/geography questions. We used MOH Vol 1 last year as a spine, adding in living books, narration, a timeline notebook using the Homeschool in the Woods timeline figures, and did the mapping that was suggested as well. We didn’t cover geography as a separate subject last year. We had a really good year and are planning to do MOH Vol 2 this year. We really like this plan, and are trying to use it in as much of a CM way as possible.
In reading thru the Subject by Subject blog posts here on SCM, I am a little confused about geography.
The blog article says to use living books, narration, and map drill. We have the living books listed on the SCM site and the kiddos are using those in their free reading. We also try to make a geography connection with any other books that we are reading, like literature or science. I am just wondering if I should either drop MOH mapping, drop map drill, or do both. The MOH mapping is kind of a mix of historical and modern maps. So, my first question is what would you do for mapping in this situation?
My second question is about the history. We did not do any of the extra activities listed in the MOH guide last year. We only added in videos and field trips. I just notice that a lot of the history curriculums out there seem to have all kinds of hands on activites, worksheets, etc. Is that really necessary? I didn’t read anywhere on the SCM site that those types of activities were needed. Do you do these activites normally, or just keep it simple with the living books, narration, timeline, and maps?
Thanks so much for any advice that you can give.
Christy 🙂
We are also using MOH 2 this coming year. We did map drills two years ago, MOH maps this past year, and I’m unsure what we’ll do this coming year. I like that MOH’s maps line up with our history readings, but I like that the map drills cover modern day countries. I am afraid it will be too much to cover both…at least for my family. I’ve been thinking of alternating weeks (MOH map one week, mapdrill the next).
For history activities, we did one activity a week or so. I stuck with the simplest ones and we did a couple more complicated ones when we had a bit of extra time. I had my older two children complete the tests (3rd and 6th grade) and we did some of them orally. We also did the timeline, maps, and a few read alouds. I like how MOH is set up, as you can do as little or as much as you want. We had a baby this year and some weeks just stuck to the reading. Other weeks, we were able to add in some activities and a notebook page or two.
I’d say just add in as much (or as little) as you want! 🙂
I just notice that a lot of the history curriculums out there seem to have all kinds of hands on activites, worksheets, etc. Is that really necessary? I didn’t read anywhere on the SCM site that those types of activities were needed. Do you do these activites normally, or just keep it simple with the living books, narration, timeline, and maps?
I have not used MoH so I am not sure how many things are planned in it, but I have used CM methods for several years. I started out by trying to add in all these amazing hands-on activities and some paperwork. I thought it was necessary to make sure that they had fun and could prove that they were learning. After starting to burn out on all the work for me, I started cutting back on all the extra busy work…and it made a big difference in our school day.
I don’t do all the hand busy-work anymore. I do occasionally add a notebooking page for written narrations. But basically now all we use is our living books, narrations, Book of Centuries (timeline), and map drill. I occasionally add in things like visits to the art museum to see the appropriate displays like Ancient Egypt, Greece, or Rome, the Impressionists, etc. and I like to watch documentaries and travel videos. It is so encouraging to listen to them make the connections in history themselves and not come between that with unnessary busy work (which I always have to store somewhere!!). It is really truly IS enough.
Thanks so much, ladies, for your advice! I am going to just trust the simple as far as the activities go.
I still can’t decide about the mapping. The mapping in MOH is mostly historical, but the map drill in CM seems to be modern. I want them to see and know both, but just don’t want them to have to write so much with mapping each week.
Do you think it would be a good idea to just look at/study the historical maps and then actually write/make the modern maps with map drill? Or write the historical maps and do the modern mapping orally?
Christy
For our history studies, I let the kids trace the journeys/events on a historical map just so they can “see” it. I do not have them make or draw maps of the old times. Often on a modern map, we will locate the event so they know where it happened in context of the world today. This is done orally.
IMO as far as map drill goes, modern written map drill is the most useful for my child. Yes, it is kind of fun to know where Troy was, but it is a lot more valuable to know where modern countries are so that as events unfold around the world, your child is able to understand that real people are affected and that those actions will affect others. Like the Middle East – everything that happens there has an effect on us as Americans due to our nation’s involvement there. It helps us to learn and understand when we know where Egypt, Israel, and Gaza is. It helps to see how large Russia is and where Germany is in relation to the rest of Europe. Seeing the borders of North and South Korea makes reading modern/current history more real. These things matter in more personal ways to us now than knowing ancient boundaries.
Whether it is oral or written is up to you. 😉 A combination might be fun!
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