history-1 stream or multiple?

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  • mama_nickles
    Participant

    I am finishing up our first time through American history with my 4th grader, and I am trying to decide what we should do next year in 5th. I want to go back and do Ancient (Egypt and OT), but I also want to make sure I do early American with my younger two (will be 2nd and K). Does anyone do the multiple streams of history like they talk about in A Delectable Education? I like the idea, but don’t like how it seems like you mostly only read spines and don’t get as much of an opportunity to do the historical fiction and biographies since you are only doing each stream once a week. I guess another option is to do mostly ancient history next year, and then mix in a few american history books?

    Nicole

    Tristan
    Participant

    It’s the neverending question if you have more than one child! I have 9 children so they’ve all started history at various time periods because younger ones simply join in where the rest of the family it. When a child reaches high school I give them the option to branch off the family history schedule because they work independently.

    However, I don’t stress about having some books outside our time period, so sometimes that happens.

    I have seen a curriculum plan that does the entire span of history (ancients to modern) every year. What they do is simply stop at different stories/events each time through. So maybe in year 1 they hit Ancient Egypt, Vikings, Shakespeare’s time, American revolution, WWII, and Vietnam. (With various other people and topics in and around those specific things.) Then in year 2 they might do Ancient Greece, Middle ages, Reformation, Civil War, Industrial Revolution, WWI, and the Information Age. In year 3 maybe it’s Ancient Rome, Explorers, Gold Rush, and so on.

    Michelle
    Participant

    I am glad you posted this. I downloaded the streams from ADE and was wondering about it too!

    It looks like American History is studied 3 times per week and British 2 times from the podcast I heard.

    We are using the Renaissance guide from here so I think I can just add in the early American Tales too…

    Just when I think I have it down, I get confused again!

    Michelle
    Participant

    I came back to comment again because as I am looking through the SCM module for next year, I realize that we ARE learning 2 streams with this curriculum! The new Early Modern History actually has an AH on the side when it relates to American History vs World/British History
    This is another reason I am going to stick with SCM for our History 🙂
    Last year, we learned the “early stories” that ADE recommends because we learned about Leif while also learning about the Black Knight and William Wallace.

    HollyS
    Participant

    I think with the Delectable Education scheduling of history the reading of biographies and historical fiction takes place in the afternoons and evenings.  Also, the younger ages are not doing all three strands of history.  British history would start in 4th grade and Ancient in 5th.

    Another option would be to have a different history each term.  For example, you could do American history term 1 and focus on colonial days, term 2 could be the Revolutionary War, and term 3 could cover Ancient Egypt and Genesis/Exodus.  You are still teaching history chronologically, within that specific term.

    I love the CM quote, “The question is not, – how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education – but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?”  The specifics about what order we cover our history aren’t essential to how much they care.  I find this very freeing!

    CrystalN
    Participant

    Thank you Holly for that insight. It is freeing to realize it really isnt that important. I love that Charlotte quote, it helps keep things in perspective.

    lovewins
    Participant

    Is it just me, or does it seem really confusing/overwhelming to follow 2 history streams once a child is in 4th grade? I love the idea of SCM’s 6 year cycle and going deep but does it take too long to circle back? I would love to hear your experience!

    jeaninpa
    Participant

    Early on in our homeschooling, I decided that my preference was for a chronological history, and keeping all my children in the same cycle.  I also found that I preferred a four year cycle, so that each kid would get the history three times during their school years and go a bit deeper each time. This can be accomplished using the SCM guides.  It just requires some tweaking.

     

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