Homeschool Curriculum Overview 2016-2017: Story of the World Volume One - Ancient Times

In this video, I share the resources we will be using for History for my 1st/2nd grader. I talk about Story of the World and the activity book as well as all the supporting literature I have gathered.
I found this free organizer for The Story Of The World - Volume One. It has been a great help in organizing the work for our binder.
www.lulu.com/us...
I created this video with the KZbin Video Editor ( / editor )

[@PepperandPine]

Oh all those books makes me so happy!! You've collected a wonderful assortment of books for your various units. Even happier you got such good deals on so many of them. -Hana

[@HowThisMomDoesIt]

Thanks! I am very fortunate to have a great local used book store. :)

[@karbear26]

We love magic tree house books too I have a first grader that also is on a 2nd grade level! We do public school but I like to supplement and do school during the summer! Love to get ideas from home schoolers!

[@graciejeanl15]

Thank you for sharing! I have been trying to find a video with extra resources for Story of the World Vol 1.

[@MySophialynn]

Loved seeing your resources! Thanks for sharing :)

[@HowThisMomDoesIt]

Glad that you liked the video! Thanks for checking out my channel! Happy Homeschooling! :)

[@peleaulanimahi1955]

Could you update us on this curriculum having used it this past school year please. Any pointers? I've purchased the complete kit for my 6 year old and I gladly welcome any advice. 😊

[@MindyGail]

So I'm curious, do they give you book suggestions in the story of the world curriculum?

[@HowThisMomDoesIt]

If you purchase the activity book it will give you several book recommendations per chapter along with suggested crafts. I like to find most of what we buy used. So I look at what topics are covered and search for used books that would fit in with our studies. I also research books on Amazon and elsewhere to find what I feel are the must have books and I will purchase those new if I can't find them used.

[@poohisadork]

Maybe you already stated, I apologize if I missed it. What is the age of the child you are doing this program with? Also, how much time do you spend per day or week on this? I'm looking to use this next year for my daughter that will be in first grade but I'm a little concerned that the amount of supplemental books will just overwhelm us.

[@HowThisMomDoesIt]

My daughter is 6 but doing mostly second grade. She reads at about a 3rd to 4th grade level. We are really busy with lots of activities outside the house, so we typically listen to the SOTW audio cd in the car. Then at home we complete the student pages. We use the book to refer back to while complete the student work. We do almost all of our assigned reading at night before bed. We spend about a hour completing our reading assignments for all subjects (we do a literature book, themed books, etc as well)...we have gone longer if they ask to keep going in a book. We don't read every part of every book either. We pick and choose what they are interested in reading at the time (I have a 4 yr old who reads with us as well).

[@HowThisMomDoesIt]

There are so many great books available to go with the curriculum, it is easy to get overwelmed and try to fit every book and every activity in. We are doing various history and social studies units studies that I choose based on themes for the month. Some weeks when we have a lot going on we just listen to the cd and complete the student pages, that is really enough. I highly recommend the cd's, it saves my voice and a lot of time. We listened to the cds last summer first to see if she even liked it and she did. She told me what she liked and I was able to pick books to go along with SOTW that I thought she would like. I was also able to find most things used. The good think about the SOTW curriculum is that if you don't get to one of the extra resources that you bought, they will do SOTW v.1 again in a few years and you can use them at that time. Hope this helps! I found and use a great free organizer for v. 1, I will try find it and put a link on my Favorite Freebies page and post a link for you.

[@katiericks6529]

How do you get your books? I just made a huge usborne purchase so I'll have those ones-but what is your process for finding used books? I actually thought I was being super responsible and requested the library books out ahead of time. I didn't realize that we can't renew them if someone is on the wait list! So we took half of them back already before we could start...anyway I'm thinking buying them might be the way to go!

[@HowThisMomDoesIt]

I don't use our library system, for several reasons. We decided years ago to build a really good quality home library instead. I will be making a video on our bookshelves and how I organize them soon. We have a very small homeschool budget, so I search for used books all through the year for the next school year. In terms of finding books, I first look at what we plan on studying in each subject for the year. I go on amazon, good reads, Rainbow Resources, etc and look up the different topics and what it age appropriate. I make lists of books that I want to add to our library and enter them into Google Keep (a list maker) on my phone. This way I always have the book wish list with me. We have a really good used bookstore where most things are around $1. As I am in the store I can check my list and I also look for any book that they have that might go with what we are covering the next year. For hard to find books, I add to our wish lists on amazon. So if anyone is shopping for a gift for us they can see what we need. I also ask for gift certificates to our used bookstore for my birthday and Christmas. If there is a book that I really want and haven't found used I will price check them on Rainbow Resources and Amazon and purchase from whichever site has it cheaper. If you are shopping at used bookstores, always ask if they give teacher or homeschool discounts. You can save a lot of money with discounts. Hope that helps! :)

[@katiericks6529]

+How This Mom Does It thanks! I will check out those sources!

[@theresastouder2172]

I love that you said this! I also do not use our library system! Most of the books that I need are not available plus its expensive driving 30 min to and then another 30 min back from the library! Not many people want to build their own library!

[@lory2loca]

I'm intrigued...for a 1st grader or even 2nd grader how do u get through just some of these and also do other subjects? How did you know what books to get? I'm trying to pick out curriculum for my son, 1stgrade.

[@HowThisMomDoesIt]

She reads at a 5th grade level, which is very helpful, however, her writing is at a 2nd grade level. I give her reading assignments and she completes them. I also do read alouds and shared reading with her. I try to get a lot of our literature as audible books so we can listen to them in the car. We actually listen to SOTW entirely in the car while going to activities, co-ops and classes.

[@HowThisMomDoesIt]

I researched all of the classical history curricula I could find and went through the SOTW activity book. I picked out all of the books I thought would interest my daughter. I also went to our local used book store several times to see what they had for Ancients and that were from my literature wish list.

[@3LittleBearsMom]

Another great video. There's no way I could afford all these books brand new, so if I am doing SOTW volume 1 and have the Usborne encyclopedia of world history, what other books would you recommend are a must? Thank you.

[@HowThisMomDoesIt]

That is a hard question. There are so many great books to go along with volume 1. I think I would first consider what your child might like. For instance, I chose the Cat Mummies book because my daughter loves animals and I thought it would interest her. I would choose a few read a louds, a few picture books, a few leveled readers and a few encyclopedias. That would give you a variety of resources. I found most of my books used. That allowed me to purchase three times as many books as I would have been able to buy at full price. Here are a few of our favorites: www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php?id=013768 www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/012052 www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/012043 www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php?id=005321 www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php?id=005315 www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php?id=002664 www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php?id=001989 www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/007992 www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/003382 Hope this helps!

[@3LittleBearsMom]

+How This Mom Does It thank you so much!! This helps. I'm so jealous of your local used book store. You find the greatest books and have awesome ideas. I'd like to do school with you! Haha please keep doing these videos, they are so helpful.

[@HowThisMomDoesIt]

Thank you for the encouragement! :) I am glad that people are finding the videos helpful. I wasn't sure that people would like a channel where I just show how I do things (most homeschool and mom channels are a vlog style where they share their life), but I have recieved some really nice and supportive feedback. It has definitely encouraged me to make more videos. :) I honestly have so many video topics, I just wish I had more time to make videos. Yes, I feel very fortunate to have a great used bookstore. I know a lot of people buy used books online too. That might be something to look into to save a little. I have found that when buying new books Rainbow Resources is cheaper than amazon for a lot things. The trick is to make sure when you place an order with Rainbow Resources that you have an order of over $50 so you get free shipping. I just keep my wish list full all year till I am ready to make a purchase. :) Happy Homeschooling!

[@3LittleBearsMom]

+How This Mom Does It your video style is perfect! I don't care too much for vlog style because my life is chaotic enough and I don't have time to watch other people's daily life. Lol Your ideas and suggestions are extremely helpful and I've since made a wish list (good idea to make a list for upcoming curricula) and am placing an order tonight with your previous suggestions for history. I love rainbow resource, I buy most of books from them anyway. Thanks again for your help and all your wonderful videos.

[@HowThisMomDoesIt]

Thanks! You are very welcome! I am glad to help. I actually do like watching some of the vlogs. However, when I decided to make the channel, I remembered that when I started homeschooling I really wanted to see how people homeschooled and what they used. I didn't see a lot of those types of videos. I was really hoping to create a channel that was helpful. I really do appreciate the feedback. If there is a topic you would like me to cover let me know. :)