Konos history vs SCM history

I also considerd KONOS but read it was very teacher intensive and required a LOT of planning…however, it does receive rave reviews from everyone who uses it. So, I am NOT against it…just not sure I have that kind of time right now for it.

MamaWebb—the first year I pulled my son out of public school (end of 4th grade year), I asked him what he had learned in science, math, etc. He honestly could not remember his last lessons. I had no clue because nothing ever came home with him to study or read. Seriously….they had to share textbooks with the entire grade as the budget would not allow each student to have their own copy. Thus, they could not let the books leave the building. So, our first year was reviewing and finding out where I needed to pick up the pieces as well as how he learns.

Though I still have doubt, fear, and anxiety over homeschooling I feel so blessed in being able to do this for my kids. It is a scary ride for me sometimes, but well worth it.

Sarah, I am the same way, which is why i am choosing to tweak the konos into a bit more CM flavor, with  more narrations, more living books, and more literature, a gentler pace.

yes, konos is pretty teacher intensive.  but i have tried several methods now, and i’ll tell you what.  they are all teacher intensive if you want to do it well.  konos, like anything else, has a learning curve.  using homeschoolmentor.com has really taught me how to use konos well, how to use my library really well, and frankly, my kids learned SO much.  it’s the doing, the discovery that gets us going in the webb house.  so the 30$ per month to have all my lessons scheduled and planned week by week, plus a special yahoo group just for people doing the same units, all my supplies & resources listed out, notices for upcoming weeks, plus Jessica herself giving us an hour to hour and a half teaching lesson for each week, – totally worth the 30 bucks.  but the pace is quick and intense, so with two babies and tons of family chaos, i got burned out.  but we’re back on our feet, ready to dive in again.  but now i know what works for us and we’ve learned so much from CM methods, this site, and this forum, so I’ll be tweaking Konos to work in a more CM way, and i won’t be using the online service – plus i’ve done 5 of the 6 available semesters anyway, lol!

the best unit we ever did was the Konos settling of America thru the American revolution.  Oh my! we made corn mush, made a wattle and daub wall, learned about the different groups of settlers, made dutch douhgnuts, made dutch pouches for our knitting and learned to knit (the dutch women knitted as they walked, so as never to waste a moment), we learned about puritans and pilgrims…  then for the revolution, our study was guided by the landmark american revolution book, johnny tremain for historical fiction, and tons of great info and biography books.  we dramatized, we made up our own games, we made movies, the kids ran thru the snow with barefeet like continental soldiers, we visited valley forge, we made a pictorial timeline of the major events that lead up to the war…it was so much fun, and boy!  we learned so much!  so that will be the type of avenue we’ll take for our Konos next year.

anyone interested, let me know…i can offer support and help! :0)

Amy

Bethanna, no it’s not that costly, because Konos encourages you to be really creative and think out of the box and use what you have or can find.  Some things you do have to buy, but you can also choose a different activity…there is a plethora of choices.

Now, see, I know this goes against all CM philosophy.  But the Konos creators believe that a chronological study of history at the younger grades is not necessary…not as important as creating a delight, a joy, and a deep knowledge of important figures, via great biographies, etc.  They have a large timeline wall chart or some timelines you can get, and you add the figures you study as you go (a little like a BOC), so that kids can see where everyting fits.  There is a little world history – the unit on obedience is a study of medieval times and the feudal system.  We did explorers, which led us to an interesting unit discussing the protestant vs catholic battles and the reformation, etc.  We have done awesome American History.  There are units in the Attentiveness unit about westward expansion as we study trappers, traders, and frontiersmen.  Also, there is a really neat unit on cultures, we did Japan; that was neat.  but no.  there is not much ancient, not that much world.  Lots of different bits of history, lots of science.  Honestly, I think my kids learned more this way, but that’s my family.  

Jessica and Wade suggest creating a understanding of why we study history.  Creating a delight.  Giving a good American foundation.  Then if you do Konos in high school, they have History of the World.  It is an in depth, rigorous, chronological study of History in four years, which integrates Bible, History, Geography, English (Literature and Composition), and Art.  Depending on the time period you might also earn half a credit in other things too, like Civics, or Latin, etc.  We are doing HOW I next year, and I have looked it over.  It is the ancient world through the foundations of Rome.  It includes a very in-depth study of the Hebrews, their history, culture, etc because as Jessica told me, “It’s the foundation of our beliefs, yet most studies of History ignore the Hebrews and their influence.”  HOW also includes a very indepth study of the Greeks, which looks great.  This is the scope of the four years:

• History of the World Year I: Ancient World (hard copy)
• History of the World Year II: Medieval World (hard copy)
• History of the World Year III: Renaissance and Reformation (download)
• History of the World Year IV: American History (download)

 The K-8 three volumes of Konos cover so so so many topics of interest, I couldn’t even begin to list them all.

It’s worth checking out the website if you are interested.http://www.konos.com/www/overview.html  Unfortunately, they do not go to many conventions anymore since jessica nearly died in a bad car accident a few years ago.  But they will get back to you quite quickly if you call them.  Konos K-8 overs Bible, History/Social Studies, Science, Art, Arts and Crafts, Home Ec/Practical Living, and often has fun Literture, Music, and video suggestions too.  Because of this, you really can give it a CM flair with the right books, shorter more delightful lessons, and using narration, etc.  So that’s my mission.    and Oh!  the stories I could tell about ALL my kids: marking off 30 ft with chalk in the road, then making their own joey pouches (with found objects from around the house, and putting a stuffed animal in) then seeing how many jumps it took them to cover the 30 ft that a kangaroo can cover in one leap, once it gets going!  of course, the neighbors came out to try too!  or when they made a movie of paul revere’s midnight ride!  “the regulars are out, the regulars are out!”  my daughter was paul, my son was a minute man, along with some friends… or when we learned about “sourdoughs” and we made our own sourdough starter and made pouches to carry it around our necks, and before I knew it, my kids had made the underneath of the the kitchen table into their covered wagon and they were on the oregon trail.  my kids made a wattle and daub wall like the american settlers in the yard with their dad.  the built a tunnel out of chairs, blankets, and extra mattresses, complete with a light, a vent, and proper support.  They built a truss-style bridge out of toothpicks, skewers, gum drops, and some cardboard.  they wore pipe cleaner grizzly bear claws and still know how long a  real grizzly’s claws are.  They built a ship out of bins, cardboard, a coat tree, and couch cushions when we studied boats, ships, and floating.  We’re near to Philly, so after that unit, we went to Independence seaport and toured a real WWII submarine and the Olympia.  they also built a ship and a small chase boat out of plywood, a wagon, sawhorses, and sleds to dramatize a whaling expedition, [which was a huge part of the Northeast’s history (which is where we live)] when we did whaling.  we studied US geography, and made a huge US map by blocking off a small us map outline on paper, then transferring it by scale to a white vinyl flannel backed table cloth.  then we used sharpies to trace and label it.  we added mountains and rivers and capitals.  it was so cool!  we’ve grown corn in wet sponges, and learned to bake bread, while learning about yeasts and patience.  I’ll stop now.  but like any curriculum, what you put in to it is what you’ll get out of it.  when i was prepared and enthusiastic, my kids were psyched and learned a ton.  when i wasn’t, our days dragged and fell flat.  

if you are not into the whole discovery, hands-on learning thing, but just want some fun ideas to supplement your science and history work, you can get this neat Konos index of topics:   http://www.konos.com/www/pricelist/BooksNTimelines.htm for 20$  it will tell you what volume that topic is in, and you can then just use some of the activites to supplement whatever else you are doing. Also, for Explorers and American history, they have some fun units that are separate smaller history units, called History’s heroes: 

http://www.konos.com/www/histhero.html  

anyway, sorry to ramble on.  hope this gives you some insight and help! 

Amy