Name: CHEC Rocky Mountain Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-06-12T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-06-14T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Denver, CO

This topic has 3 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 9 months ago by Sonya Shafer.

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August 17, 2008 at 12:28 am
stipegang
Member
I have implemented various CM methods for many years now. What I’m struggling with now is implementing her ideas with history. When I read through the SCM guides you’ve made (very nice btw) I see that so few books are actually read each week. It seems as if it would take forever to get through a book much less a time frame (like the middle ages, etc.). While it looks very appealing to mosey through time, there is a part of me that doesn’t want to let go of doing more, especially when I contemplate the fact that my boys are almost in high school and we haven’t even hit on the modern age of history. 🙂 It just doesn’t seem as if we’d be accomplishing very much.
Anyone have any insights or encouragement for me? Especially as we get ready to start back to school in 2 weeks and I’m thinking about switching what I’ve been planning on doing.
Thanks,
Cindy
August 19, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Sonya Shafer
Moderator
Hi, Cindy –
Though Charlotte advocated taking your time and “soaking” in a time period, please know that you have freedom to do what works best for your family. Not every family will progress at the same pace, and that’s the beauty of homeschooling. You can adjust and tweak and customize.
If you want to try to combine a couple of modules, go ahead. If you want to use different books, that’s fine. If you want to use the books listed in the modules as starting points and add to that list, that’s great.
For example, it sounds like you have maybe five years left for your boys before graduation (approximately). You could probably combine the Ancient Egypt books and Ancient Greece books into one year if you wanted to. Then you would still have four years left to do the remaining four modules. Or you could combine all the ancients into one year, then do modules 4 and 5 in two years, and spend 2 years on modern age history.
Another possible source for you, if you decide you want to combine all the ancients into one year, is the Beautiful Feet Ancient History Guide. You could even get the whole package from them with all the books included.
I hope these suggestions help rather than add to the confusion. Remember that the study of history is to teach us about people’s lives and what we can learn from them. And that type of study can be beneficial no matter which time period you cover when. Keep a love for learning alive in your boys and they’ll continue to be interested in history (that never-ending subject) for the rest of their lives.
August 19, 2008 at 8:23 pm
stipegang
Member
First, thank you for your gracious reply. I appreciate your response. 😀
Second, my apologies for misunderstanding. I think my problem was that when I looked at the prepared guides I didn’t factor in the Bible as one of the listed books. I’m attempting to plan out Module 4 for this year and WOW! there are a ton of books. I don’t know how I’ll get through them all. I’m going from one extreme to another aren’t I? 😀
If you could, would you please clarify how you suggest using some of the following books:
Famous Men of the Renaissance and Reformation (just one chapter a week until it’s done?)
The World of Columbus and Sons (this book is huge!)
World of Capt John Smith (same thing, yikes!)
One more question – Do you intend that some of the books are used as a type of read-aloud for the family and some as independent (as able) reading?
Also, I love your books selections and have many of them already on my shelves!
Thank you SO much for your patience with me and for putting this together for us to use. I wish that you already had the guide I need done. Any idea of a projected completion date for future volumes? Feel like jumping ahead to modules 5 & 6? or 4?? 😀
Thanks and God Bless!
August 19, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Sonya Shafer
Moderator
I think my problem was that when I looked at the prepared guides I didn’t factor in the Bible as one of the listed books.
Yes, for especially those first three modules, the Bible has a key place in the history readings. If you wanted to combine all the ancients into one year you would probably have to scale way back on the Bible readings.
If you could, would you please clarify how you suggest using some of the following books:
Famous Men of the Renaissance and Reformation (just one chapter a week until it’s done?)
The World of Columbus and Sons (this book is huge!)
World of Capt John Smith (same thing, yikes!)
We used the Famous Men as our read-aloud/spine and added the individual biographies as they fit in the chronology. Some of the biographies we read together (one chapter each day during breakfast), but most I assigned as independent reading. We saved out Robin Hood and Adam of the Road as family read-alouds (one chapter each day during snack time) because those are two of my favorites for that time period and I didn’t want to miss them! The two Genevieve Foster books were assigned as independent reading. Yes, they are huge, so consider them as optionals for a student who loves to read and wants more books on her/his list.
I wish that you already had the guide I need done. Any idea of a projected completion date for future volumes? Feel like jumping ahead to modules 5 & 6? or 4??
I’m trying to crank out one guide per year. Spring 2009 is the target date for the Matthew through Acts & Ancient Rome module. Maybe if I get all these other books on my to-write list finished, I can double-up on the history guides. 🙂

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so few books

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