I’ve written before about being a huge fan of Mystery of History. This year as we were finished with all three volumes and planned to do Cycle 3 of Classical Conversations, I was really disappointed that Volume IV wasn’t yet available. This volume of Mystery of History will cover American History and events around the world that coincided. I can’t even imagine writing a history curriculum, so I completely understand that it takes time. However, I needed a good American History curriculum this year.
I Took a Chance on America from the Beginning
I do American History with my first through seventh graders, so I needed something that appeals to wide age ranges. I purchased a text at my local homeschool expo, but I wasn’t thrilled. When I received an email from Answers in Genesis that they had a new American History curriculum coming out in the fall of this school year, I was intrigued. Because I couldn’t really look through it before I purchased it, I was a little nervous, but made the purchase because of my great experience with AIG curriculum in the past. I’m so glad I did.
Why America from the Beginning Might Work for You
Like everything Answers in Genesis publishes, America from the Beginning is written from a Christian, non-evolutionary perspective. I really appreciate that it’s truly a history curriculum, however, not delving into Bible or science in depth.
I wasn’t looking for history-related activities because we do a wide range of activities every Friday in our co-op. But this curriculum has them if you want them and they’re not crazy like, “Build a model life-sized log cabin.” Map activities and easy-to-do extensions of the lesson are included. What’s wonderful is that you can easily skip them as we do without missing out on what’s great about this curriculum.
I read the lessons aloud to my kids and each one takes me less than fifteen minutes. There are many colorful photos that keep the interest of my youngest. The material is organized in a story-telling fashion, much like Mystery of History. However, there are features to America from the Beginning that we love that are new to us:
A preview of what we’ll be learning in each unit. This is great for identifying subjects we’ve covered before and helps students attend to the lessons.
Comprehension questions at the end of each lesson. I absolutely love this. My kids are motivated to listen because they know I will be asking them these questions. Honestly, I have to go back to the material to get the correct answers sometimes, which further adds to our learning.
Big picture reviews of each unit. There are not only comprehension questions, but narratives that give kids perspective on what they’ve just learned.
Special Considerations
If you have a child working independently, I do think he would enjoy the reading. But he might not be as excited about writing the answers to the comprehension questions. I have the teacher’s manual, but have never used it. I tend to use teacher’s manuals very rarely, so I can’t speak to whether you would like it if you’re a manual person. It’s only $4 when you buy the curriculum kit, however.
Would you like to own the student book?
As I mentioned above, the student book is all we use and we love it. For some reason, I ended up with two of them. I most likely paid for both. (Don’t tell my husband.) The book sells for $55. I’d like to give this away to one blessed reader. I’m asking the Lord to ensure it goes to the right person. Please participate in the Rafflecopter below by letting me know why you’d like to try this curriculum and letting others know about Psychowith6. I love to encourage other homeschoolers. a Rafflecopter giveaway
You homeschool because you feel called by God to teach your children. You homeschool because you want to build their godly character. But let’s be honest. You also homeschool because you want your kids to be smart!
At the very least, you want your children to have a good education. You don’t want them to end up on Jay Leno’s Jaywalking segment. (This is when he asks people questions like, “When was the War of 1812?” and they don’t know.)
Why I Wanted Nothing to Do With Classical Conversations
Friends’ experiences with Classical Conversations (CC), while positive, did not convince me that it was for me and my family.
Expense. I thought CC was outside classes that were much too expensive for a large family like mine.
Time. I thought CC would require me to be gone one day a week. That simply wasn’t possible with our family’s schedule.
Dry. When I began homeschooling, the prevailing thinking was to avoid traditional ways of doing school. I knew CC involved lots of memorization. I wanted my kids to read living books and learn actively instead of learning by rote.
Why I Changed My Mind About CC
When my CC-loving friend suggested that I buy the old materials that were on sale cheap, I decided to do some research. I found and read Leigh Bortins’s free ebook and something clicked. I had been homeschooling long enough to learn that memorization was not all bad. While not always fun, it laid the foundation for advanced learning and making connections. I had seen this at work in my teen who learned music as a child, quit the piano for a couple of years, and then returned to it with a passion.
I learned that my children did not have to attend outside classes. I could use CC materials to help my children memorize key information in the major areas at home. What’s more, the materials were quite inexpensive at the time of the sale and buying used. Even new, they’re a bargain for what you get.
I discovered that my kids love to memorize. I sold them on the idea that if they would memorize the information covered in CC, they would be smarter than 95% of other kids. I should note that I just made that figure up. Don’t tell them. The great thing is that they were so motivated that they begged to continue with the second semester’s material when we’d finished the first early.
How to Make CC Work for Your Family
The wonderful thing about doing CC at home is that it works alongside any other curriculum you choose. Using it at home as I do also means that you can use the Cycle that you want (which corresponds to periods of history) and can leave out any aspects you choose. We are using Cycle 3 this year as we are studying American history. We do not do the Latin, choosing instead to study Latin word roots with flashcards. We also don’t use the suggested art or science experiments as we have other curriculum for these subjects.
CC is great for any age, making it perfect for large families like mine. I use the CC CD with Power Point presentations. I connect my laptop to our large-screen TV and everyone can see and hear. My kids, ages 7-14 participate. I explain the purpose of the skip-counting and laugh along with them at the silliness of some of the songs (i.e., the singer laughing at the end of some history songs that seems out of place). We also freely discuss whether or not we like the various songs, which seems to make the process more agreeable.
CC is time-efficient. If we get nothing else done but Bible and CC, I know we’ve covered the most important material. You and your kids can quickly review history, geography, science, English, math, and Latin if you choose. In addition to the CD and guidebook (see a sample of the guidebook here), we also own the history timeline cards. Ours are in clear plastic sleeves in small binders that we got used. We learn these historical events in order as a family, covering just two new events a day. Can you imagine you and your children knowing all the major events of history IN ORDER in one school year? You will experience it if you use this curriculum. If you’re pressed for time, simply cover and review the week’s new material. If you have more time, review the facts you’ve already learned. A full review takes us about 30 minutes. New material takes us only 5-10. You can also purchase music CDs to listen to in the car. I don’t like them because the material isn’t presented by week, but rather by subject. The computer CDs are organized the same way, but are much easier to navigate than a CD player in a 9-passenger van.
You can make CC the basis for a full curriculum if you choose. There are websites like this one with suggestions for how to do it. You can get more information about Classical Conversations at the website and be sure to check out my podcast where we discuss Classical Conversations community programs and ideas for making it work with your curriculum.
What Do You Think?
I should say that I am not affiliated with CC in any way, nor have I received any freebies for this review (too bad, huh?). I’ve just become convinced that many homeschoolers could benefit from including this excellent curriculum in their day.
Have you tried CC classes or curriculum? Are there other reasons that you don’t think CC is for you?
There are a number of great resources for teaching apologetics today and what a blessing that is! As a Christian homeschooler who believes in a literal interpretation of Genesis, I am a huge fan of Answers for Kids. While it’s listed as appropriate for ages 8-11, I have used it comfortably with my five youngest, ages 5-13. Few Bible curriculums I have used are as well suited to multiple ages.
One of the best features of the curriculum for us is that it includes colorful graphics on the included CD that grab my kids’ attention. We attach our laptop to our TV in the school room so everyone can see. Doing this also allows us to quickly read the associated Bible passages online. I have my kids take turns reading them and treat doing so as a privilege to be earned once he can read. I have just one more child to go!
Another excellent feature of Answers for Kids is the repetition. We use a number of different resources for teaching Bible and don’t use them every day. The review is a refresher for the kids and me, too!
I consider myself fairly knowledgeable in apologetics, but I have learned new things as I’ve taught the kids. In fact, sometimes the kids have to try to get my attention as I start reading without them! This relates to why I think Answers for Kids is a great Motivated Homeschooler resource: Motivated teachers beget motivated students. If you love it, your kids are likely to love it, too.
Our duty as Christian homeschoolers isn’t just to shelter and protect, but also to equip them to defend their faith.
Finally, this curriculum addresses the challenges to faith our kids are likely to encounter in the future. Answers for Kids is an excellent elementary to junior high weapon for spiritual warfare. Answers in Genesis has a number of other materials I would recommend.
I think I have tried just about everything to teach my kids their math facts–flash cards, repetitive curriculum, electronics, games, pictures, and software. The problem isn’t so much teaching them as it is the kids retaining them.
While I am happy with my current math curriculum, I decided to give Learn Math Fast a try. The basic setup for book one is:
Teaching using money
A worksheet on the facts
A timed test on the facts
Competition Can Motivate
My children are competitive. While I know many homeschoolers aren’t wild about competition, I have seen the value of it in teaching–even when the only way you are competing is with yourself.
I time each of the kids with my iPhone (it’s my version of a Swiss Army knife). They know when their siblings have completed the test under the time limit. They also know how much time they have to shave off to come in under the time limit set in the book.
Rewards Can Motivate
Yep! Learning is self-motivating, but offering my kids a small reward for passing the timed test has them begging me to learn their math facts. Not even the math video games they’ve played have had that effect. The combination of competition and rewards has been a winner for me.
The Results?
My kindergartner and second grader know their addition and subtraction facts cold. The upper elementary kids are making progress on multiplication and division. I expect them to really get them down when their younger siblings start learning them.
When it comes to motivating kids, timed tests, competitions, and rewards can be very effective!
Do you want to give Learn Math Fast a try or could you get the same results using your current curriculum or flash cards? Do you have any tried-and-true tips?
Through 12/5/15, get $5 off one book using code JUST1BOOK or $20 off the 7-book set with code ALL7BOOKS at LearnMathFast.
Okay, so it is tough forcing myself to do this tonight at this late hour, but I was majorly distracted by the debate!
Today wasn’t so much about the kids, but about the dog. My poor little coney dog got spayed. She is really, really miserable with the cone on her head, but has to have it so she doesn’t chew her stitches out. They told me two days, but she is a determined dog. It may take longer!
I was overwhelmingly exhausted this morning so took a nap that took so long I felt horrible when I got up. Know that feeling? Next time I’ll set an alarm. My tummy was upset, too, so maybe I had a virus or it’s just because I HAVE SIX KIDS AND A DOG!
The big issues in having six kids really don’t wear me out. It’s the little things. Like this cute little picture I’ve had sitting on my entry table for quite some time. Someone decided it would be interesting and fun to make the picture back stop functioning. I can no longer have this little decorative art standing in my home. It has to lie down. Maybe that’s what happened to me this morning.
Then it’s things like finding little pieces of dried fruit poured out on my family room carpet. Why? Especially when it’s like gold nuggets with the prices at Whole Foods.
I left the family room to visit the office and found someone had been “creating” with the tape. Lest you think I am complaining over minor things, please know that this was a VERY good day in the destructiveness department. There is only a deck of cards spread out all over the family room floor (and a few more fruit pieces) to contend with at the moment.
I am behind on schoolwork, but we are just about to finish our Firm Foundations Bible curriculum that I am crazy about. I am also keeping up fairly well with our new supplementary history curriculum, The Mystery of History. I can’t say enough good things about this curriculum. If you want quick but thorough or if you want to beef it up with activities, this is the curriculum for you. It’s designed for 4th-8th grade, but I’m using it with my kindergartener and 3rd grader with no problem (though the 3rd grader gets more out of it). As I’ve never taken a world history course, I love learning everything in an easy to understand, Christian context.
I am excited that I have an idea for an anti-procrastination article. I plan to write that up and post on one or both of my blogs sometime. Hopefully.
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
