First Batch In!

Well, this is going to be an exciting week for me here.

I ordered all of Anistyn's History and Science curriculum and it will all be getting here this week.

I got my first batch today!

This is the Story of the World Activity Book and the Test and Answer Key. The student's book which has all of the stories will be here later this week so I'm very excited to get it as well!

I thought the hardest part was going to be picking the curriculum out. While it was a daunting task, now I'm faced with different issues...but good ones! The major issue just being how I want teach it. I'll explain...

So Story of the World has different volumes.

Volume 1: Ancient Times (which is what we'll be learning)
Volume 2: Middle Ages
Volume 3: Early Modern Times
Volume 4: The Modern Age

Each volume is 'supposed' to be a year long, however, I've heard of some that have used  it for two years. It just depends on how you plan to teach it.

In Volume 1, there are 42 chapters, plus an introduction which can count as a 43rd. In each chapter they have different tasks which serve as just an outline. You can pick and choose what all you want to do.

For instance:
Chapter One is about the earliest people. You read about the first nomads and how the first nomads became farmers.  They have simple review questions where you basically just discuss what you read about. They give examples of questions you can ask, but of course you can think of some on your own as well.

Then they have a narration exercise where you have the child write a few sentences or a paragraph explaining the nomads. They can keep a History Journal and write all of their narrations in there. I really like this idea and will definitely be doing this.

Then there is additional history reading, which is where they have just put up some suggestions in case you want to dive a bit deeper into the subject. This can be different books, movies, etc. Its of course not mandatory, but if you're child is really interested in a particular chapter and wants to learn more, you have suggestions available. They have have corresponding literature suggestions!

There are also projects! Again, just suggestions, but who doesn't love a fun project? When learning about the nomads you can make a cave painting by using a brown paper bag, cutting it open, crumpling it up, then smoothing it flat to simulate the surface of a cave wall. Then the child can paint on it. It has two other projects listed as well.

THEN there is map work, just so the kiddo can know where exactly all of this happened. Its very simple. It shows a picture of the area we're learning about, then says to circle towns, trace rivers, etc. There are also coloring pages, but I don't know if Anistyn would be into that...unless she was maybe coloring while we review or something.

There is also the test and answer key for every chapter, but you can of course just take a casual approach and call out the questions for more review.

So, that's a LOT to do for one chapter. Of course, they are only suggestions. The thing with history is that its just so...interesting! On top of all of the resources available just in the activity book, there are even more online. I found a facebook group all about Story of the World. I think I bookmarked 15 different links from there...I had to give Story of the World its own area on my labtop! They have a list of free things to watch on youtube and netflix, books that go along with the subjects, online games...you name it, they have it. If you just type in Story of the World into pinterest...well...don't say I didn't warn you.

We're starting halfway through the year, which just took some thinking on my part. Did I want to hurry through Volume One so she can be on track with Volume 2 by the time she starts 4th grade? Originally I thought I might be able to. BUT. Who says she HAS to be on Volume 2 by next September? This is the kind of thing where I'm just having to slow down and remind myself that I'm in charge.

I don't want to rush through this curriculum. So far it looks fantastic. I think History is amazing and I don't feel its something I should speed through. I could miss out on some really great activities and discussions all because I'm trying to keep up with some schedule I think I just have to stick to. If I really want her to take it all in and enjoy it...we have to move at our own pace.

Not that I know what that pace is though. We won't figure that out until we get started. I do know its near impossible to do everything on one chapter. There is just so much information out there. I think I'll just start with a general outline in regards to lesson plans. I'll just put on there what interests us in each chapter and if there's something that Anistyn wants to learn more about, then we can. I know some people that cover two chapters a week. There might be some weeks when that happens. Then we might get way too fascinated in one chapter and have to spend one or two weeks on it.

Now just to wait on the student book for SOTW to get here...along with her Science book. Then we'll see what Science will throw at us!