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Last question for today- do we need history for now?
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History is my ds (8) least favorite subject. He dreads it. I have been reading and looking at other “old school” curriculums and a lot of things focus on reading, language arts and math for the lower elementery years and introducing history in the upper elementary years. I kind of like this idea and it would definately bring back some joy for my son to not have to do history for now. Can anyonoe give me a good reason to not get rid of history for a few years until my son’s joy of learning and reading skills are much better?
Do you read historical fiction as read alouds or independent reading? Have you tried narration followed by questions diected to some of the historical aspects to the story?
Ruth, you could do some fun historical fiction read-alouds and have all that story in his mind to build on later 🙂 SCM bookstore has some great choices.
How about reading something like Detectives in Togas. It’s a fun story and gives some ideas as to the workings of ancient Rome to boot.
Thank you. That was my other thought of just doing historical stories and such. This would make both of us happy I am sure.
NC does not require that I teach specific subjects every year. The only requirements are testing at the end of the year for math and language arts and a list for high school graduation.
We have done a lot of historical fiction as the bulk of our history for the first few years (my kids are currently grade 1 and grade 3). I think it has given my DD a love for learning about new cultures and time periods. I think that is enough for this age. The details about people and times can come later.
We’ve used a few of the SCM choices, (DS just started Boy of the Pyramid this morning, and I’m enjoying it as much this time around,) as well as the ‘Our Little Cousin’ series (some from Yesterday’s classics, some from Heritage History). We’ve also enjoyed “A Pioneer Story” (set in Canada, but could be just as applicable to other places), and of course the Little House books.
You might just use history as a family read aloud for now. I’d do it mostly just to try to spark your son’s interest, rather than being concerned that he HAS to do history in elementary.
Once we had done several historical fiction choices, I did add in M.B. Synge’s “On the Shores of the Great Sea” last year for DD, because the interest was there. She enjoyed learning about how the various ancient nations and cities interacted, since she was already familiar with the cultures of several of them. You can gauge when you think your son is ready for more formal history. If it’s later rather than sooner, just continue enjoying the fiction side.
My oldest is newly 7 and we’re holding off with history for this year as well. We’re going to do TQ next year. I bought it to start this year and after seeing all it has to offer I thought it may be better to enjoy after we focus on some other areas this year. You may want to look into AHYS I from TQ. They offer so many ideas to help history come alive aside from the books (Indian figures, paper dolls, adobe building kits…I had an idea to buy passports so we can stamp flag stickers to coincide with any stories we read). You can do some of that now. My son is really into fighter jets, knights, etc so I chose books from TQ booklist (and other lists) related to some of those stories to read this year…casually. D’Aulaire books are great too. Good luck!
That is interesting. Every child is different but history is my son’s favorite subject and it is what he also reads in his free time. We read the d’Aulaire books and some others from Beautiful Feet and they were a big hit. We also attend various history museums, festivals, and re-enactments throughout the year. Is there some event you could go to for a field trip and then expand on it with a good living book?
Hi Ruth. I agree with Wings2fly. Instead of just using the books, it is a brilliant idea to go out and do some recreational activities that can somehow enrich your child’s knowledge on History. That way, your son is having while learning at the same time. Solely relying on books can probably bore your son. Go out and have fun!
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