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Newbie with U.S. History questions
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Hello, all! My name is Hannah and I’ve been homeschooling for 5 years, but I have just recently started learning about the Charlotte Mason approach. I am trying to plan out curriculum for the upcoming year; I will have a 5th grader, 3rd grader, and 1st grader in the fall. One of the aspects of the CM educational approach that really appeals to me is the emphasis on family studies. I have two preschoolers and a baby on the way this summer, so grouping the kids together for certain subjects definitely makes sense since it is an efficient use of my time! I want to focus on U.S. History this year for everyone. I was wondering if anyone here has just used “Stories of America” for American History. It seems like it might not be “enough” for the whole year, but I am a little overwhelmed by the scope of the Early Modern and Modern Times books on SCM and I worry that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the schedule. Any other ideas for simple yet interesting and meaty American History resources are definitely welcome! I would prefer to have a well-written spine with good living books to supplement, but the living books are the main thing. There is just so much out there and so little time!
We did pick and choose for the Stories of the World and did mostly Stories of America and my dc were about those grades too. Next time, we will spend more time doing all of the Stories of the World. We really liked using these books as a spine and the SCM living books were great. I think we added a few more in I wanted to read. For WWII, loved Twenty and Ten, a short chapter book. I used to use Sonlight, so we added some of their titles too. It is very customizable. Try to add in a field trip to a musuem or festival to really make history come alive for them. Enjoy!
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed on the Early Modern & Modern times, but there is (AH) typed next to the American History resources. That can help you narrow down the SCM booklist if you choose to add some of the selections.
We are going to use the Stories of America books for the coming year and focus on just the American history resources. I’m adding in a few extra books, but I have a wider age range…I think your plan sounds perfectly fine for 5th and under! I’ve looked through the first volume and the readings are fairly short. Two chapters per week would get you through both volumes of SOA in a year’s time.
We have just finished Modern Times (did Early Modern before). Stores of America is my favorite spine so far! We’ve graduated two kids now, so I’ve done a few. I had a hard time letting our old friends (spines) go. I’ve liked them all. But this one was unquestionably the easiest to do and most engaging for the whole family. My kids are 4, 7, 9 and 15 now. My younger kids loved all the books that go along with it. My two cents?… If I were you, I would use the SCM guide, but give yourself permission not to do some things. It is the most simple and concise, open and go living books curriculum I’ve ever seen or used. If your third grader is a strong reader, have him or her read the 1-3 grade books aloud to the younger kids. They will most likely love them (they are nearly all picture books), and your 5th grader can read the 4-6 books listed on his own and narrate to you. This only leaves the family books for you to read aloud – one relatively short chapter a day. And if you want to do only American History right now, you can easily just skip the world history lessons (two lessons/wk as scheduled).I totally hear you about wanting something that isn’t overwhelming to do, and that there is so much to choose from. I have tried most of it at least for a short time…And then I tried putting together my own plan (insanity! I was always planning and never teaching and spending time with my kids.) Now I just use SCM. Of course I still drop or substitute the odd book here and there that isn’t a good fit, but there haven’t been many. And no, I’m not in kahoots with SCM either – I just love how they have simplified my life!
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! I think I will probably go ahead and get both volumes of Stories of America and also supplement with the American History resources listed in the SCM guide. We will be moving to Alaska from North Carolina in a little over a month and then adjusting to a new house and baby, so I definitely want to keep things as simple and streamlined as possible! The way I see it, I can always add to it later if I feel the need. I am excited to try this out!
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