Name: Teach Them Diligently (Branson)
Start: 2025-05-15T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-05-17T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Branson, MO

Tagged: adding students to the history cycle, chronological history, History

This topic has 7 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 1 month ago by Susan.

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)

Author
Posts
February 1, 2016 at 11:09 am
Regan
Participant
I would appreciate any feedback! We are doing Genesis – Deuteronomy & Ancient Egypt this year with my 2nd grader. We will be doing History chronologically and so next year we will be doing Joshua – Malachi & Ancient Greece. I have 6 children and my 2nd grader is the oldest. As I think about when my younger children will be joining in, it bothers me that we will not be starting History at the beginning. I know that probably sound weird 🙂 I have some kids that will be joining us in the next year and others who will join us in 2 & 3 years, which will be towards the end of the 6 year cycle in Modern History! Do you guys just keep going and not worry about it? Just curious! Beginning at the beginning has just been so great 🙂
February 1, 2016 at 11:57 am
Tristan
Participant
I have always just kept going and added each child in to the current rotation. With 9 kids I’m not willing to run multiple schedules of history time periods and I feel like we gain so much more when we are all immersed in the same time period because of the shared conversations. Right now my kids are 9th, 5th, 4th, 2nd, 1st, with several little boys tagging along ages 5, 4, 2, and 2 mos.
February 1, 2016 at 12:01 pm
2Corin57
Participant
Haha, you sound like me. History will be done individually and chronologically with each child, because I just prefer they learn it from the beginning.
February 1, 2016 at 12:24 pm
jkkyker
Participant
We started in ancient history when my oldest was in 2nd grade as well, and ended up with five kids younger than him. He’s a ninth grader now and our baby is 4 and we’ve always just added kids in wherever we were. I stressed about it a little, but it’s really been absolutely fine! Because we’re all in the same place it’s pretty seamless to make the littlest ones “official” students, but even before then they are almost always in the same space with us as we’re reading aloud. So while they don’t get the formal aspect of starting from the beginning, they literally grow up hearing history/literature being read in chronological order.
Seeing things on a timeline in early/mid elementary helps them keep the context, and then starting over at the beginning at some point in each child’s education pulls any loose ends together.
It’s a small price to pay for the benefit of keeping a large family in the same place! That has been wonderful for us.
February 2, 2016 at 12:37 am
Regan
Participant
Thank you for your feedback! I think I will plan to do history together and forge ahead as I add each child! I will probably have to have a few talks with myself along the way! 🙂 Along with my 8 yr old, I also have a 6 yr old that has Autism and a 5 year old that I am working with one on one! As I add in more, I cannot imagine working with each child one on one! I think I would feel like I was doing a million things but not doing any of them well! The beginning will eventually come back around, won’t it? I fell better! Thanks so much!!!
February 5, 2016 at 2:04 pm
jkkyker
Participant
It will absolutely come back around! We’re finishing our second time through this year and will start back at the beginning next year. None of my middle kids who started in a random place are the lease bit confused about where we are. And even if they were, after a few years of learning they really would put it together and make that connection in their own minds. Staying in the same place in time as a family has been the best school decision we’ve made.
March 5, 2016 at 8:50 am
Grace
Participant
I have heard that it is good to not expose young children to mythical God’s of the ancient world because they are still forming their own faith. I want to start history from the beginning, but my oldest is in first grade. Him and my younger children will be hearing it. How do you guys handle this? Do you skip some sections? Also my oldest likes worksheets. Have you guys used any with history that you love? I have been looking at my father’s world history because of this
March 5, 2016 at 6:38 pm
Susan
Participant
Hi Grace, I haved used and am currently using mfw for K, 1, 2 and 3. I would like to transition to scm for next year as my youngest will be in 1st grade, and I want to teach everyone together (K and 1st grade uses a separate curriculum). MFW uses worksheets heavely in K but in later grades the worksheets are mostly copy work for first grade, and copy work in addition to writing narration summaries in second and third grade (an example would be a picture of George Washington with a few lines for writing). I think you can easily replicate this form of worksheet at home while using scm.
I am also switching to scm because I didn’t like a lot of the books provided in the MFW program, that I am stuck using because it is part of the curriculum I purchased. I like the flexibility of scm, I could use the recommended books or choose another if I wish. I pray scm will work better with our family.
The only concern I have with scm is the complexity of some of the literature. I have decided to try modern history for next year as an extension of the early modern history from MFW. Although I wonder if modern history may be to advanced for 1st and 4th graders. My 4th grader is autistic and his attention span is short. If anyone thinks modern history is not the place to start please let me know. Where would you suggest starting?
Sorry for getting off topic Grace. I hope I helped a little.