I am looking for something for young children. I want my children to know more than just American History. Any good things/books/websites/unit studies you can recommend. My oldest is 5 so I am looking for somthing that I can introduce and build on. I have seen Children Around the World. If you have used this or know about it or something better please chime in. Thanks
A lot of people like Story of the World. There is also History Odyssey by Pandia Press. Sorry they are the only 2 I can think of, I try to focus on American History in the elem. levels.. partly because it's required by our state (world history is required at 6th grade and up) and because I want the kids to have a good foundation in OUR history before we move on to other parts of the world. (We also go deep into Native American studies since hubby is part Blackfoot )
I don't know of any lesson books in particular, but there is a good recipe book called "Eat Your Way Around the World" that could enhance your learning. I am at the other end of the spectrum-with a high school age student, but I at first thought we would do an exclusive world geography class. How boring! So we are studying world history and learning geography during that with a little relaxed discussion on where things are interspersed. But, we are not using a curriculum and the order of things is rather random (which goes against my comfort zone), but actually is much better and more enjoyable for both of us. We were studying about the Vietnam War last week and we will be watching a video of the French Revolution today. And before that we touched on China.
I have been using The Story of the World for a couple of years now and we have enjoyed it. When they were younger they just colored the coloring sheet, did the recipes or easy crafts, and listened to the story. As they have gotten older I have started using the harder assignements and going more indepth. I love that I can use the same book with more than one grade level and easily adjust if for them all.
As much as I love Mystery of History, I wouldn't use it with a 5yo, unless he had older siblings he was sitting in with. What about "A Child's History of the World" by Hilyer? Personally I think that's way too young to do any "real" history.
yeah, that sounds good Jackie, or what about .. well forUS history Id say Liberty kids, there must be something like that for other countries right?
Yes Jackie I dont want to go indepth too much but I want to introduce them. I will look into these options. I checked out TOG it was too expensive for me right now I will look into some others.
For history at that age, we just read various story books and whatever topic the boys have been interested in. Since older DS is doing ancient history right now, our younger has been following along with the myths, Trojan War, Odysessy, etc. For geography, I'd recommend puzzles! My kids had much of the world known by 5-6 just from doing puzzles. We've gotten puzzle books on the continents and states. they both have LOVED any of the DK atlases for younger kids.
I don't know if this is what you are looking for, but I did a unit study on ancient history with my boys this school year. I used books and hands on activities. The unit study focused on caveman times from a Christian perspective. You would just need a few books and supplies. You can see the unit study here. For geography we are taking a trip around the world and doing unit studies on several countries in each continent. We may spend 6-8 weeks studying one country. You can see a unit study of one country we have done here.
Then I think you might want to check out Hilyer's book. It reads as a story, and each "chapter" is rather short. It gives a pretty good overview, but nothing really in depth. And, as Jamie said, you can always pick up library books that cover any given subject.
I'm planning for World Geography next year and think I'm going to use Trail Guide to World Geography. It comes with plans for 3 levels. We've been using SOTW, but got so burn-out we are taking a break to do some unit studies.
Oh, guess what!!! I wasn't sure where to go next year with history, as we'll be done with MOH. Carl suggested doing geography instead, and concentrating on each continent in its turn. I wasn't really excited about that, but then someone on here told me about "Around the World in 180 Days". So I looked into it, and thought it might work, but I REALLY wanted to get my hands on it first to see what I thought. So today, I was talking to a lady at Co-op. Rachael is going to a formal dance, and her dress is too long. This lady, I'm told, is a skilled seamstress, and does alterations really cheap. So Rachael and I are going to her place on Thursday. Well, I decided to ask her if she had a copy of 180 Days (nothing ventured, nothing gained!). Not only does she HAVE it, but it's sitting in a bag of stuff she's been meaning to bring to co-op for the give-away table!!! That means I can not only get my hands on it, but can have it FREE it I decide I like it!!! YEAH!!!!!!
For that age, I'd just hit the library for U.S history; there are some great history picture books out there. There are also many good children's historical fiction books that contain enough facts to make them worthwhile.
I'm using Sonlight Core 1+2 for my 2nd and 4th grader....Sonlight's Cores are not "graded" numbered as it's multi-leveled.
