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Moving from AO history to SCM history
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Hi all!
I have 4 children (going into kindergarten, 5th, 8th, 11th). I’m really struggling with keeping my kids separate in history. We have been using a combination of AO and SCM for different subjects where it fits best, but the history has been difficult with my kids where they are at (we started a year behind in AO for my older three kids, 4 years ago). But I feel disconnected from my older students who are more independent while working with student #3. I don’t have time to pre-read anything to know they’re grasping anything when giving oral and written narrations.
SCM history is VERY appealing to me. From searching around, I can see it works better for larger families so we are all together. Child #2 has especially requested we start doing history together, at least. History is not her favorite. Anyways, I’m trying to match up where #2 and #3 would both get Early Modern and Modern Times in high school. I’ve used this link, and even have it bookmarked, with a hope that I could figure it out.
https://simplycharlottemason.com/blog/using-the-6-year-history-cycle/
I have made multiple spreadsheets to try and match it up where all my kids would get the full experience of the 6 history cycles. My brain hurts, lol… please help!
My future 11th grader wants to continue AO’s history where he is at so he does not need to be included. But my going-into 8th grader just completed AO y6 for 7th grade, and my going-into 5th grader just completed AO y3 for 4th grade. My future kindergartener (future y0), I can fit in anywhere since she is just beginning.
Anyways, I think I really need to make things simple. How can I make this work? THANK YOU!!!
I would start in Greece (year 2). Your 8th grader will get through Modern in 12th giving all the usual history credits. 5th grader would hit Early Modern and Modern in 8th and 9th. I would give an American History credit in 9th for the 8th/9th grade readings over those two years. You could give a World also. Your K would hit Early Modern and Modern in 9th/10th. Early Modern and Modern cover your usual high school American and World requirements. The others are gravy as far as transcripts are concerned. Although they do qualify as World history if you need additional credit there (maybe for the 8th grader). It wont be perfectly neat 6 year rotations for all, but it can never be “perfect” doing family together and that is ok. The benefit far outweighs the challenge with HS credit juggling.
Aaaahhh, thank you! 🙂
Yes! This makes sense. Child #2, completing AO y6, covered the ancients with a bit of Egypt in Caesar’s World, so she is covered there. She did express to me that she wouldn’t mind covering more Greek and Roman history because she really enjoyed reading Story of the Greeks and Story of the Romans. She found that interest when we went through Age of Fable in 2 years for Literature as well. With her missing Egypt (SCM history cycle 1), I wasn’t sure if that was a good idea or not and was hesitant about it. I needed reassurance 😉 And… I was battling with making sure those high school credits were met for our state without compromising the fun of learning it all. It’s difficult to balance those two things sometimes. I feel like the requirements for our state put a damper on what we want to learn because of what we have to learn.
And you’re right! It’s not gonna be perfect, but I feel we get more out of learning together as a family than separately, and I feel more included, too.
I think some of AO would have worked better for us if we were a smaller family, but we just felt a little lost being in separate periods of time, and there is only so much time in a day for me to prep. We enjoyed the selections on AO, and it is an absolutely wonderful resource, but I also needed to make things a tad simpler for myself.
haha! Just looked at the book list for Greeks and saw the first book on the family list underneath the Bible! Welp, DD went through that one, however, the rest of us didn’t! Do I need to get the edition SCM recommends or could the Yesterday’s Classics version be okay?
So I was able to line up the chapters from the table of contents between the two editions of SOTG with the SCM Greece guide. These listed are the only ones I’m not sure how to match up with Yesterday’s Classics from the Nothing New Press version…
- Old Greek Fairy Tales
- Greek Colonies In Italy
- Thebes Free Once More
- Ptolemy In Judea
- The Wonderful Library
- Ptolemy and Antiochus at Jerusalem
- The Victorious Jews
Could you or anyone please to tell me what chapters they may be in the Yesterday’s Classics edition? Thank you!!
I’m trying to avoid having to purchase another edition of the same book if I can.
I know what you mean about requirements being a wet blanket sometimes. Just keep your focus on what is important. You can make whatever you study fit into a requirement somewhere. Andrew Pudewa said “do what you want, write what you need” or something like that. Meaning teach as the Lord leads you to teach and massage that into your transcript where it needs to be.
I would just use what I have. I think Nothing New Press has some added chapters that were not in the original. I would just skip them and not worry about it. Some of those topics you could probably just google and then talk about with your kids. But skipping the chapters won’t do them any harm. The books may not be identical but I am sure they are close enough to get the idea of ancient Greece.
Crystal, thank you! 🙂 You’ve been soooo helpful. I feel a lot better now that I have someone to figure this out with me.
Personally, I don’t care where my kiddos study something. Knowing that it was covered some time in their schooling is all I need to know… and that we enjoyed it and learned something together 😉 I like what Pudewa said. All TRUTH. We need to always keep God in our decision making, especially with schooling our kiddos, no matter what anyone says. I do forget that sometimes. Today, I prayed a quick prayer. Thank you, Jesus!
Looking at the content assigned, it’s close enough for me!… lol…
My next question is how I can get the Greek’s cycle 5-day-week into a 4-day-school week. I normally have geography in a separate time slot in our school day, so maybe when geography is assigned on that day, which with Greeks is day 2 of the week, I can bump that up to my geography slot. Thoughts? Could that work?
Glad I could be helpful. Sometimes we get all in knots over what is required and forget we homeschool because we dont like the way the world does things.
I have done the geography lesson and a history lesson the same day almost always. It isnt too much. We like a 4 day school week also. 4 1/2 now that they are older and do math and science 5 days. Our half day is usually math, science, nature walk and literature.
Exactly… lol… it’s funny because I love to plan but I don’t love to plan for that very reason… sigh…
Hmm… I like that schedule. Sometimes we struggle to get it all done in 4 days, but to spread out just those things would make it less stressful at times in scheduling for my older ones by spreading it over the 5 days.
Another question… lol…
My older DD (child #2) is requesting we skip ahead to Middle Ages after seeing that SOTG and SOTR aaannnddd Caesar’s World will be used in the two years ahead if we start with Greeks after her reading it all in 2/3 of a school year this past year.
It would look like this then for my three younger kiddos…
- K, 5, 8 – Mid
- 1, 6, 9 – EM
- 2, 7, 10 – MT
- 3, 8, 11 – Gen
- 4, 9, 12 – Greeks (or a Government course for future 12th grader)
- 5, 10 – Romans
- 6, 11 – Mid
- 7, 12 – EM
- 8 – MT
- 9 – Gen
- 10 – Greeks
- 11 – Romans
- 12 – Mid
My youngest wouldn’t get EM and MT in high school… I’m personally good with that… but like you had mentioned, the other’s could qualify for World History which we need in our state… sigh… It would just be early World History. Could this work, too?
I guess it depends on future plans. Most colleges expect to see American history, World history, and government on a transcript. As far as I have seen what you covered for World doesnt really matter, same for American, no specific “within these dates” type of thing. In CA we can set our own graduation requirements, but if your student is college bound you need to consider what potential schools want to see. Potentially you could give an American History credit for the EM/Modern in 7th/8th if they are doing the high school books, which they most likely would be reading the 7-9 suggestions which do count for HS credit. But putting 7th/8th grade work on a transcript takes a little hoop jumping I think. You could assign just the independent American history books over 4 years and then give the credit senior year. I think that is what I would do. Just spread them out so it isnt overwhelming. Some of the EM books can even double dip for government or literature or free reads. I have a freshman and a senior who will be getting a full American History credit for just Modern Times. I will be adding some extra videos and such. Then I will pull some early modern books to go with government for my freshman. Egypt-Greece-Rome will be World history for him. And honestly, by the time you get to high school with your youngest you may have a whole new plan. Or if you are like me you linger too long in one period and end up all out of sync and have to skip a whole time period (we have to skip early modern because I really want my senior to study modern history). But it is fine, just focus on preparing each student for their after high school plans one at a time. You have your eight grader set just start out on that plan and if needed you can adjust for the fifth grader when you get there.
I love planning too, but sometimes we overcomplicate things when we plan for the next 12 years. And we usually make changes along the way. I planned entire school careers for my three kids when my oldest when in second or so, it is hilarious to see what I thought I was going to do!
Just so you know, on the last page of every one of our history lesson plan guides, there is a breakdown of what credits you can award your student for a high school transcript. Those credit breakdowns are for both the 7th-9th grade books and the 10th-12th grade books.
Also, you can count high school level work done in the middle school years on a transcript. You can read more about that in Dr. Wile’s blog post on including courses taken in junior high on a high school transcript.
Crystal, thank you!! This is very helpful!
I think that’s what I need to do… focus on my 8th grader first since she is the closest to graduation and then fit the two younger ones in as we go. It probably seems insane to try and plan out my future 5th grader’s nest 8 years, haha! But yeah, you’re right, things change as much as I may not want them to right now. Also, too, my 5th grader may need something different in the next couple years, or even my K-er! Every student is different! Besides not seeing what we like in the public schools, isn’t that another excellent reason to homeschool? Every student is an individual.
I’m just tired of trying something and it doesn’t work. I wish I could stick with something and keep it going for years. We really enjoyed AO’s history at least for the Form 1 and 2 years. I lose sleep over stuff like this, lol… I feel like I have spent more time making things work and trying something new than just sticking to something through the years. Each year you progress in a curriculum, the curriculum takes you to the next part, right?? I mean, we complete the year but then try something different because we are burnt out. Sticking with AO was one of the longer times we spent on a “curriculum” and just tweaked things to fit each student and our life style as a family. But I NEED to simplify, especially now with #4 entering her school years. Not that SCM is anything less! It’s just as excellent! But the concept of combining grades in certain subjects… what a life-saver!
Sometimes I gotta hash it out with someone… spread it all out on the table. And then I find that yes, I may have been overthinking??… lol…
Karen, thank you!! 🙂
I just opened one of the guides… I’ve been collecting them here and there as I find them or able to purchase to study them for myself to see how it all works. I never thought to look at the back, lol… I’ll definitely check out Dr. Wile’s post, too. It would be so helpful and makes things easier if we could count the middle school books. This is good news and gives me more to work with. 🙂
Jamie if it makes you feel better I am the same way. I was a curriculum hopper for many years, until I found SCM. It is enough and excellent, but leaves room to add more when you want to. And it is so flexible. I don’t ever feel behind if we miss a day of artist or composer. I can just keep plugging along. With other curriculum I would always be behind in some piece of the week and feel I could never get on track. It is so different with SCM. You will have such a blessed and peaceful year with their plans.
Bless your journey.
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