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?
1. Decide if homeschooling is right for you. It took me some time to decide to homeschool. I share my story here. Read this list of issues to consider and if you still want to homeschool, continue to step 2.
2. Learn the homeschool laws for your state. You’ll want to be ready with the information when asked. While you are at HSLDA, consider joining to make sure you have an attorney to defend you if needed.
3. Homeschooling is much easier with friends. Contact a local support group. Many of them offer seminars for new homeschoolers.
5. Plan to attend a homeschool conference. The speakers will educate and inspire you and you’ll have a chance to look at lots of curriculum and purchase it without paying shipping. Many events have a new homeschooler track.
6. Share your intention with relatives, friends, and neighbors. Be ready to answer questions without getting defensive. Remember, you were once uneducated about it, too.
8. Buy curriculum if you haven’t already done so. Borrow or buy used while you are still getting your feet wet.
9. Decide which extra-curricular activities you’ll participate in. Limit them or you’ll find you’re doing car schooling instead. Here are a few homeschoolers’ thoughts:
11. Create a homeschool schedule. You may never keep it perfectly, but having a general plan for the day will help you achieve your homeschool goals.
12. Devise a plan for keeping the house clean. Because you will be home most of the time, you will have to do more to tackle messes. Here’s one approach you may like.
14. Make the first day of school special. Have the kids write what they’re looking forward to in school and save it until the end of the year. Check out these ideas.
15. Make plans to stay motivated. The excitement at the beginning of the year won’t last unfortunately. Subscribe to my blog and God bless your school!
A decade ago, I was addicted to television. I didn’t watch it; my kids did. I used children’s programming and videos as a babysitter. Then I read The Plug-In Drug and was convicted that I needed to make a change. With minimal protest, I was able to limit my kids’ screen time.
Grief Over Games
When my boys were little, and given my experience with TV, I had no intention of ever getting a game system. I caved under the pressure of other parents, however, who told me I really should have one. It wasn’t long before video and computer games had become every bit the nanny that television had been. My husband and I put the games away and told the kids they could only play on their birthdays. Birthdays then became the obsession. I was asked every day how long it would be until the next birthday. It was as though the games had become even more desirable!
More boys joined our family and they developed more friendships with game-playing boys. When the Nintendo Wii became popular, my fitness-loving husband and I decided that an active game system was okay. Before long, however, non-fitness games were added to our collection as was another game system. The kids found free games on the Internet and began playing with their homeschool friends online.
Tactics Tried
My husband and I tried numerous approaches to containing the time. Kids were only allowed to play after school and before dinner. Often my husband proclaimed game-free weeks or simply insisted they stop playing to go outside. But the problem seemed more complex than our rules.
For instance, we noticed that the kids had very little interest in doing much of anything else but games. Board games and other toys stayed on the shelves. When shooed outside, they counted the minutes until they could come back inside. Creative play had diminished.
The other problem was enforcing limits. As soon as we would declare a gaming hiatus, a neighbor boy would come over with his new game and his puppy dog eyes. When time was up, there was just one more level to complete. Or worse, one or more of the kids would claim they hadn’t gotten to play “at all.” There would be tears and frustration all around.
Having read PlayStation Nation, I recognized these signs of gaming addiction and they worried me. I sat with one of my Homeschool Homies this summer to discuss the problem. As a mother of four boys, she shared my concern.
Game Timers
I began researching devices to control game time for both our families’ benefit. Before I determined that these devices would not work for our situation (we have too many devices, for one thing!), I was shocked by the behavior of children of reviewers of these products. Parents recounted that their kids had learned to drop the timer device to reset it. Others had disconnected or even cut the cables! You can read the reviews of two of these game timers here and here.
It doesn’t take a psychologist to realize that the kids tampering with video game timers have more troubles than just a gaming addiction. My friend and I agreed that our kids would obey whatever approach we used, but we had to determine what that would be. My friend had successfully limited gaming time to weekends in the past, but had found (as I did) that gaming became an obsession when it was allowed.
A New Approach
On the way home from my talk with my friend, I had yet another discussion about gaming with the kids. They already knew why my husband and I were concerned. We shared with them that gaming could become so addictive that young men would forego employment and even marriage because they would rather play. They knew how gaming could keep them from learning and building relationships with one another. I discussed the timing devices I had looked at with them and they agreed with me that they wouldn’t work.
After much discussion, the kids proposed the plan that we have been using and LOVING. Before I tell you what they came up with, let me tell you the results of limiting screen time in our home (I say screen time, because my daughter prefers to watch television):
Listening to audio books again (in the middle of the day!)
More creative play (the dress up closet is getting a workout)
More physical activity (the kids are swimming and jumping and working out more)
More time playing board games
My daughter isn’t watching television at all
More time spent with guests doing just about anything BUT games
More arguing (yep, you read that right. This is the next problem to address!)
Here is the kids’ taming screen time plan and why I think it works:
Free screen time on Thursday evenings
(when Mom and Dad have activities outside the home; everyone can play for an extended period and they look forward to a “free night.”
Two hours of screen time per week
The kids put two circles representing two hours on our dry erase board in the kitchen. The circles are divided in halves, representing 30 minutes each. This is the part of the system I am most excited about. The kids have time to play during the week, but they are in control of it. When our children leave home, they will have to discipline themselves this way. This approach is the best training for adult life. The kids time themselves, mark the time themselves, and even police themselves. I’m still amazed.
Before using time, the majority must agree to use the time and how they will use it
Our oldest isn’t into gaming, so if three of the five of the kids want to use some of their time, they can play. They must also agree before starting who is going to play what and for how long. Otherwise, you end up with the, “I didn’t get to play” situation. The kids choose how to spend time, knowing they must be prepared for any guests during the week as well. Their typical approach lately is to play an hour on Tuesday and an hour on Saturday. Had I dictated to them when they could play, I doubt the plan would have worked as well.
The plan is communicated to friends
Most of their game-playing friends have been told about the new system and some of them have adopted a similar approach, which is great! Because I can’t control what happens in others’ houses, however, I don’t try to control game time elsewhere. It’s not a significant problem currently.
I know families who allow gaming only in the winter, only ten minutes a day (which makes it not fun), and families who don’t allow games at all. As a family who has them, we are thrilled with this approach that allows our kids to develop self-control.
What, if any, approach do you use to control screen time in your home?
One of the things new homeschoolers struggle with most is choosing curriculum. Even after they’ve made their choice, they doubt themselves.
Truth be told, we veterans do the same thing. I know I will even revisit the same decisions I made long ago, just to make sure I made the right choice. In the process of doing this once again, I discovered a means of customizing curriculum that has put my mind at ease.
Start with What You Love
If you have seen an approach at a homeschooling conference, at a friend’s home, or online that you just love, honor that. Years ago, I researched Sonlight as a complete solution for my family. Why? Because we are readers. My husband sells library books and we are happily buried in them. I thought Sonlight would be the perfect fit for us.
But then I saw Konos in a Box at a homeschool conference. As I looked through the fun, hands-on activities I could do with my young boys, I knew I had to use it and we did. I let Sonlight go in lieu of the activities that would make literature and learning come alive. Over the years, our relationship with Konos has matured. We moved from doing the box units to doing almost all of the units and meeting with friends weekly for related co-op activities. Last year we abandoned Konos for a year-long geography unit with our co-op and this coming year we are doing co-op a la carte with each mom choosing a subject to teach.
The shift in curriculum had led us to do less literature, especially with my youngers. The two middle schoolers are using Lightning Literature this year. That got my thinking about my long-lost love, Sonlight. I returned to their site, only to decide once again that while I loved their literature selections, I just couldn’t do their complete program. Then I realized I didn’t have to!
I had found a new writing curriculum for my youngers–Brave Writer, The Arrow. This curriculum offered the best of what I loved about Character Quality Language Arts from last year–specifically, dictation and in-context grammar teaching. It also offered something more–classic literature and free writing. But here is where it gets really exciting. Brave Writer’s Arrow has units on many of the books listed by Sonlight for American History. I chose the books (and honestly there were too many to do in one year) listed by both Sonlight and Brave Writer, focusing on books I already owned.
Use Your Custom Curriculum and Continue Tweaking
I have yet to use my custom curriculum. I have done my best to plan it by day, just as a complete program would do. I have written down how many pages I have to read of each book to finish it that month (even taking into account vacation days, which is more than other programs can do!). I don’t know if it’s going to be just right as planned, but I do know that I can keep making changes until it is.
No one knows you, your kids, and your circumstances better than you do.
If you believe that you’re the problem, instead of the curriculum, you’re operating out of a traditional school mindset. Stop and consider how to customize curriculum so it fits your homeschool, while still providing the best education possible.
What kinds of customized curriculum have you created?
Memory skills are both biological and experiential. In other words, you can be born with good or poor memory skills, but you can also learn to use them to their maximum.
Few things are as boring as memorizing alone. That’s why, even though I have strong memorization skills, I studied anatomy and physiology with friends in college.
The popular Bible Bee succeeds in getting children to memorize large portions of Scripture because of the competitive aspect of the activity. When the kids and I worked through the activities in How to Develop a Brilliant Memory, comparisons were naturally made, though I didn’t encourage them. While it resulted in some tears, it also motivated my kids to improve their skills. If competition doesn’t work for your family, offer a reward. That’s why competition works anyway; the reward is the placing and admiration you receive. My son memorized all the countries in Europe alphabetically to get a sweet treat and to get the appreciation of his peers.
Put it all together
Here is how we memorize in our family. We review together thoroughly and then give individuals who want one an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge. The kids honestly “fight” for the right to do this. We memorize Bible books and Word Roots (using English from the Roots Up Flashcards, Vol. 1) this way and we plan to memorize many facts together next fall using Classical Conversations.
What has helped your children commit things to memory?
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.
