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Insight into different history curriculums
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Hi ladies 🙂
I am wanting some insight into a few different history curriculums . I am looking for one on Ancient history. I am wanting to hear from those who have used SCM’s Ancients Module 1-3, and MOH volume 1. I am waivering between the two. I have a 7 & 5 year old and we are currently are in the middle of MFW adventures in American History. I do not think I will be using MFW again. I did look into Truth Quest History, they also have the American History for the younger years but appeared to only offer Ancients for older students.
I have looked at samples of both SCM & MOH but still can’t come to a concusion. Both have good things about them I guess. I like the idea of focusing on one culture or region for the school year like the SCM modules do. But…. would that get boring? Is there enough interesting stuff on Egypt or the Romans to last an entire year? Sorry… I feel kinda dull asking that question. But why do so many people use MOH ?? Why is it so popular ?
I guess my goals would be to have a history curriculum that is very strong in both Biblical and World history together in one timeline. I want living books and literature that reflects the time/era . Hands on projects occasionally would be fun but not mandatory. Something simple to use, low prep is key. And obviously CM’ish in some form.
I know my kids would love the visits from Africa. I think they would enjoy learning about the people and geography of the region. But again….I ask myself why is MOH so popular?
Who here has used either of these and can share tidbits with me?
Are there any other history curriculums that I may have looked over?
Thanks so much 🙂
Jamie
This is the million dollar question! Everyone wants the answer but I don’t think there is one. At least not the same one for every family. I’ve looked at so many my head spins and I’ve come to the conclusion that you have to pick the one with the cons that will drive you crazy the least. Seriously.
I only looked at MOH once and didn’t like the way it read so I don’t know anything about it.
We used SCM Module 1 and are finishing up 2, though we had the old guides and ended up changing them up a bit, especially in the geography department. I am planning to use ‘Visits’ next year and hoping that cures our geography woes. Dd 7 and I didn’t mind spending a year in Egypt or Greece. I think it was actually helpful for our first experience to soak it in slowly. Talking about the same places all year helped her get attached to them and feel knowledgable about them. I am confident that she will be eager to jump into those cultures again the second time around.
Other curriculums are Tapestry of Grace, Story of the World, Biblioplan, Veritas Press, All Through the Ages – these all vary on the ‘simple to use, low prep’ scale.
If you really are unsure though, just go with SCM Module 1. It really does fit all the goals you listed. 🙂
Well I am going to try to do them both, hoping it is not too much. This will be our second time through Ancients. I feel it important to use living books and the SCM guides make that easy for me to follow. I have MOH on cd audiobook which I plan to listen to weekly in the van as a supplement. Also you can do one module per term by having a Bible and a History/Geography lesson each day. Module one is heavy on Bible.
Thanks ladies! Thank you for reassuring me – I should go with my gut instinct .
Maybe at this stage in the game , with them being younger SCM modules would fit the bill. As they get older I can modify . I like the idea of an audio MOH for supplemental purposes. Wings2fly you will have to let me know how it goes using both of them!!
Jamie
I have not done SCM ancients yet (have done some of the other SCM modules though). I have done MOH1. I chose it in a season when the demands on my time were extensive (7 kids, pregnant, one child with serious medical needs having surgeries every few weeks to every other month, homeschooling several children). It can be very simple if you don’t use the timeline or extra activties, just do each daily reading. In that way it really reminds me of the SCM history spines for each module. You get one story encapsulated into a short day’s read, in chronological order, from a biblical perspective. I was using it with children from 6th grade down to toddlers and they enjoyed it. I loved it. My only qualm? I don’t like MOH 2. So I went into it knowing MOH1 was for that ‘season’ and that we would return to our read aloud style of history later.
rutsgal – We are currently on Module 5 and have used the SCM history guides from ancients on. As someone who never liked ancient history (public school, too much emphasis on the false gods), I truly enjoyed studying ancient history right alongside my children using the SCM guides and book selections. God is definitely the focus. (Note: I used the second edition of Genesis through Deuteronomy and the first editions of both Joshua through Malachi and Matthew through Acts.) My children really enjoyed the book selections.
Before I discovered SCM, we did history on a five year rotation (Egypt, Greece, and Rome were covered in the 1st year and 1/3rd of the 2nd year) using living books. It was way too fast for the ancients. With SCM you get to savor those time periods over 3 years.
As for hands on projects, did you notice the Links & Tips section for each book?
I really enjoyed the pace of the SCM modules. Letting my children learn this way was amazing. Two years later they are still making connections to things that we learned.
If you want more hands-on stuff than SCM offers in the tips and links, you may also check out Hearts and Hands kits:
http://handsnhearts.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4#.Us3gkNI7s6Y
If I were to use these, I would simply schedule them in on a lighter day – or a Friday as an end of the week fun activity.
We used SCM modules 1 & 2 in conjunction with other things at those young ages. I’ve also used MOH and LOVED it! But, I really think it may be a bit too much for ages 5 & 7. I believe MOH is geared more for grades 4-8.
With SCM Mod 1 & 2, I used the The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos. For Mod 1, I tried Letters from Egypt, but it didn’t go well with the younger kiddos. We ended up scrapping it. I did use The True Story of Noah’s Ark, Growing Up in Ancient Egypt, Croco’Nile, Seeker of Knowledge, Uncommon Traveler, Pyramid, and Boy of the Pyramids, which turned out to be an all time favorite. I added in a few other books and pulled sections from Oxford First History. We threw in a few hands on projects like making a ziggurat and keeping a timeline. My dd likes notebooking so several times a week, I’d pull out key people or places that we read about. She would illustrate and write one sentence about her drawing or something she remembered from the story. She has a beautiful keepsake binder that she loves to look back on.
For Mod 2, again the Vos Bible, The Trojan Horse, Aesop’s Fables, Growing up in Ancient Greece, and The Spartan Twins. I also pulled supplemental readings from Famous Men of…, The Story of the Ancient World and a little MOH. Our dd made a salt dough map, kept a timeline, and continued above mentioned notebooking. Our son was a year behind and has some learning disablities. He simply listened to reading and participated in some hands on, no notebooking.
After Mod 1 & 2, for grades 2 and 3, we moved into MOH Renaissance and Reformation. I simply read aloud and the kids narrated. We didn’t do any suggested activities, worksheets, or tests. I added some living books and it was great!
This year, for grades 3 & 4, we are using TruthQuest History guides and Beautiful Feet for Exploration and Early American History. We are loving that as well. Can you tell we are curriculum junkies :))
The point is, it’s all good. As someone said, you need to choose what works for you in the season you’re in. I really liked the SCM Modules in those younger years. There is a simplicity about them that allows you to focus on habit training, early reading, and beginning math. There will be time later for MOH if you’re heart desires.
Blessings to you in your decision,
Melissa
Hi Jamie, and all of you wonderful families!
I feel your pain, sister. I had been on a quest to find our perfect fit, and the answer I keep getting is….PRAY! Ask the Lord how He wants you to proceed. When He answers your prayer, you will know by the peace you have on your decision. A little bit on our journey. We used MFW for 2 years and added MoH 1 along with CtG last year. With high hopes to add MoH 2 to RtR this past August, plans completely changed in October when it just wasn’t working. We continued on with MoH 2 in a condensed fashion and have added in BiblioPlan since it allows for MoH 2 and 3 as an optional spine. I then discovered SCM and added in Visits to Europe because I love the additional reading suggestions. To make matters even more interesting, I have recently discovered Diana Waring’s History Revealed curriculum, which easily implements a CM approach. I have it on-hand to read over, and may slowly change over to it since it is much less of a classical approach, which I prefer. As much as we have enjoyed learning through a classical bent, I am definitely finding that fact-pushing my children is causing them to only grasp some of the information and not nearly as enjoyable as a more CM relaxed approach. I’m still learning all of this myself, so just know that we are all right here with you! Please feel free to contact me if you’d like to chat and share some more. God bless!!!
Blessings, Jackie in TN
There is a huge difference between the two with pacing. MOH covers each topic/person in a day, while SCM spends quite a few lessons on each person. So while MOH covers more topics, SCM covers fewer, but more in depth. MOH also contains more activities and quizzes and SCM focuses more on reading and narration. Some families love extra activities and some prefer just to read, so that can be a factor. SCM has a few activities throughout the year.
We have been using MOH 1 since I really wanted a 4 year program. My DC enjoyed both programs (we did SCM 1 last year), but MOH seems to be a better fit all around for us…although I do wish it was more in depth.
All of you ladies here on this forum are awesome! Thank you sooooo much for chiming in with your thoughts and insider info. I really appreciate all of you who contribute to this forum – you are a wealth of knowledge. And it is really neat to hear about each one’s experience with one particular thing …..good or not so good. You all have a lot to bring to the discussion table when it comes to homeschooling , parenting , CM stuff , family life , nutrition/health , organizing your home, hobbies etc.
I did not know there was a links page for activities for the modules! I will be using this 🙂
I look forward to getting to know you ladies more ! And being able to glean wisdom from you all . I hope that I can reciprocate and help some of you as well !!
Blessings to you moms,
Jamie
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