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TruthQuest Help – Robin, anyone else
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We are trying to finish up TQ American History for Young Students 1. We are in section 20. Just finished “Smallpox Strikes” today. We are readying “Pierre’s Lucky Pouch” after lunch as our literature book. I am having a hard time deciding what sections to skip and what sections to read books from. We need to finish the guide by the first/second week of June. My kids are 5th and 3rd grade. I am reading everything to them. My oldest has dyslexia and couldn’t get through a book on her own right now. That is some of what has held us up. I am open to reading some as literature together during the summer, but our summer’s get so busy that I can’t guarantee that we’ll get through much. I would like to “finish” the guide and then go back and read some of the books that we missed. Hope that made sense. If I could find some titles on Librivox, my DD would listen to those. I have gone through and listed every book that my library has and would like to stick with those or ones I can get through the interlibrary loan. I am also open to a movie now and then. We have the Liberty Kids series, my kids have watched through it once but we can use it again. What topics do you suggest that I make sure we cover with the limited time we have left? Are there any specific books within those topics? Thanks for any help and advice!!
I’m not home but I just helped a mom last week make the same choices at the same spot. I’ll get my guide tonight and give my thoughts if you don’t get any replies. This is an easy section to get bogged down in because there are so many wonderful books. Much of it will be determined by what you have available to you and your children’s interests. But I’ll be back. 🙂
Thanks, Robin. I’m happy to wait. It all looks good but there is no way to fit all of that in between now and June!
Sorry! I was just coming on to respond. I’m behind! 🙂
I’ll preface by saying that anything I have to say is with a grain of salt. I was pretty specific with the mom in my library because I know her, her children and what I have available in my library.
First of all repeat after me…I CAN’T DO IT ALL!!! I CAN’T DO IT ALL!!!
Next, I would go through the rest of the guide and put a star by every topic you know you and your children do not want to miss. That will look differently for every family. (Take it from the mom who skipped the Civil War entirely…I have a particular passion here and we will get it again later when my boys can understand the true issues…but my point is…it’s OK!). Give yourself permission to cover some things lightly (picture books work wonders here…I used them with my now 24yo often when we just needed to put a person/event in context and move on.) Or you could just read the commentary.
Some things I skipped or touched very lightly (which may be different for your family…I can’t say that enough) and some more detail. I’ll list some particulars below.
Each individual colony skipped – just found each one on the map and when they came in (if you live in one of those, then by all means cover it)
Each individual Indian tribe – covered Cherokee a big more because they were where we are.
The Great Awakening (very brief but letting them know God is always at work)
Slavery and Indentured Servanthood – read Charlie’s House…very good!
Spanish America – read The Mission Bell…good but short
Pioneers – there were several waves of pioneers and you could spend a lot of time if you cover each. I’d find a good book that deals with pioneers in general. Keep in mind if you’ve read the Little House series or Caddie Woodlawn or the like, it can overlap.
French and Indian War – you have several great book choices. Use what you can find but don’t miss Matchlock Gun if possible. Other great ones are Calico Captive, River of the Wolves, Flicker’s Feather, Soldier for the King. I haven’t read Alone Yet Not Alone but many in my library have loved it.
We read the commentary of #30
Daniel Boone – well if you have boys, this is a given but you can do something quick and let them investigate him on their own.
Captain Cook – we skipped
Then your up to the war… I’ll be honest here. I have and entire 7′ bookcase dealing with the war and we were really using up major time. I finally pulled out the Liberty’s Kids videos. My boys were about 8 at the time. It’s OK. We’ll visit again. Use what books you can find but there are great…
Sleds on Boston Common – a picture book we enjoyed
Johnny Tremain – if you only read one, make it this one or find it on audio. There’s also an old Disney version.
Paul Revere’s Ride – the FIAR title picture book illustrated by Rand is excellent!
George Washington’s World might be a good overview
Let It Begin Here – excellent picture book
Guns for General Washington by Reit was very good!
Poor Richard in France
There are many, many people battles you could read about. Choose only those you’re most interested in. Use what books you have available. I really felt the Liberty’s Kids videos were good, I felt, and I didn’t feel guilty about using them.
You’ll need to look at your schedule and figure out how much time to assign to each topic you hope to cover. Don’t be afraid to be flexible and adjust as you go. You may have planned to spend a day or two on something but when you get into it, you find you want to go deeper. Or you may have planned to cover something in depth that you can finish earlier. That’s fine. Give yourself grace.
Hope that helps maybe a tiny bit. I’m happy to answer any specific questions about topics or books. You’re welcome to email me if you’d rather.
childrenslegacylibrary at gmail dot com
Wow, this was great Robin. I have used TQ in the past and at times found it daunting to get through. Your suggestions seem very doable. I have been toying with the idea of picking it up again. This might be the push I needed.
For the poster, some books our family enjoyed during the History for young students:
Benjamin West and His cat Grimalkin
Robert Fulton (from sonlight)
Pilgrim stories by margaret pumphry
The D’aulaire books
hth
Robin – thank you so much!! I kept looking at all the units and was afraid I’d skip something important. History isn’t my strong point. We’ve enjoyed all the books we’ve read so far and I know we’d enjoy all of them if we read on every unit!! I’ve now got a list started and am going to go back and see how many pages each book has and how to make it fit. Several I will do are audio and I’ll just listen to them in the car or during lunch. Unfortunately the 2 books I want to start with are not at my local library. We have 3 counties (only 1 of them has more than 1 library) that share books. The ones I want are in a different town. =( They should be here sometime next week but not Monday.
I’ve ordered the next 2 guides, and if you don’t mind helping me figure them out, I’ll email you after I’ve had a chance to look them over and get a better plan laid out for next year. I am thinking about trying to get through both of them next year (unless that is an unwise move) so that I am not so rushed with my oldest going through the older set.
Rebekah – thanks for your suggestions. I am going to look those up and see if my library has them. I would highly recommend TQ. It is overwhelming figuring it out, but I feel like history has been a lot more enjoyable and relaxed this year. We used SCM modules 1-4 and enjoyed them. I’ve recommended them to many people. But, I always felt pushed by the daily assignments. If we needed to skip history one day, I would feel behind. TQ is my own schedule and we read what we want.
You’re so welcome. Email me anytime. Doing both guides in one year is doable if you’re willing not to panic. 🙂 You’ll revisit it all again. Rebekah, those are great choices! The D’aulaires are such special favorites with everyone in my library I have duplicates of them to keep up with the demand.
We used TQ AH 1 last year and loved it! I’m using TQ AH II this year. Robin gave great suggestions!
Regarding Slavery and Indentured Servants, we really enjoyed Amos Fortune, Free Man as well as Charlie’s House.
I will agree, Johnny Tremain is a must read! I also recommend America’s Paul Revere by Esther Forbes, the same author. IMHO, her books are very rich in literary quality.
You’ll cover pioneers at length in TQ AH II so I would just skim over it at this point. If you can get a copy of Wilderness Wife by Etta DeGering, it is another do not miss book on my list.
Regarding French & Indian War, we really like Struggle for a Continent by the Maestro’s. It’s a picture book that gives a great overview.
Here are our book lists from the periods you have left with that guide. I’ve done individual reviews on many of the books so you could take a look and make choices based on your tastes and availability….
Colonial America
http://reflectionsfromdrywoodcreek.blogspot.com/2014/04/colonial-america-term-2-book-list.html
Revolutionary War
http://reflectionsfromdrywoodcreek.blogspot.com/2014/08/revolutionary-war-term-3-book-list.html
On the side, I usually have a read aloud going year round, including throughout the summer. This is a time I go back and read books that looked good, but we may not have had time for. Don’t be afraid to stretch your TQ choices into summer :)) …I too have a dyslexic and read everything aloud. I’m getting an education too!
Blessings,
Melissa
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