Today I read on a Konos loop that History of the World 3 will be available this month as an online download. It makes me sad. I hoped and prayed for several years that it would be available for this coming school year RIGHT when we needed it. And it is. My high schooler has done HOW1 (Ancient History – Founding of Rome) and HOW2 (Medieval World) ….. then when early Spring rolled around and we were making class decisions for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year, I realized that my Arizonan children do not need HOW3, or more specifically, they do need certain history requirements that don’t include four successive years of world history. The gap in their education that I have feared for nine long homeschooling years has finally surfaced….. Renaissance, Reformation and Revolution. Oh well.
My kids will be taking Government and the History of Arizona for their junior year of high school. We found a YMCA government class where the kids actually participate in AZ government. Sweet! And I plan to teach History of AZ. Both are one semester (although we’ll have to dig deep to come up with a semester worth of AZ history…. the baby state)… and necessary…… buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut, I’ve heard that HOW3 is Jessica Hulcy’s best work. Her magnum opus. I’m tempted to get it just to use it as a literature course. The books chosen for all of HOW are amazing, giving the student a well-rounded view of history with samplings from so many great works… the classics…. the books I never read in high school, let alone in college. Books that my husband has never heard of…. but I digress.
For the school year 2011-2012 we will be doing HOW4 – American History…. and get this…. I’ll have TWO high schoolers!!! Where, oh where, has the time gone???? Weren’t they 7, 4 and 2 just last week when we started homeschooling? Back in the good old days when it seemed like reading was going to be the missing gap. Oh, we’ve come a long way, baby.
Tags: ancient history, gap in education, government, high school, HIstory of Arizona, History of the World, homeschool, homeschooling, HOW, Hulcy, Jessica Hulcy, Konos, mom, mother, Reformation, Renaissance, Revolution, teacher, teaching, YMCA
My Sister's Jar 
July 7, 2010 at 10:53 am |
You are an awesome homeschool Mom and I’m so proud of you. Your kids have such a rich heritage already — with lots more to come. Glad I get to be a part of some of the activities. Love, Mom
July 7, 2010 at 7:07 pm |
We (95% my wife) started this next year already…we do 4 days/week, 3 weeks/month and 12 months/year. She even has our 2 1/2 year old started. My wife, even after six years continues to sound excited as each year starts…kind of like yourself.
July 8, 2010 at 6:51 pm |
You home schoolers I admire greatly. Your children will be much the better for all your efforts and devotion. Compared to my history education, in a class of 20 to 30 ( I can’t remember), my mind is really a blank. What little history I remember, I’m sure, came from news and world events that I was exposed to during later years.
February 14, 2014 at 6:30 pm |
I know that this is an old blog post, but I just found it…can you tell me more about how KONOS has worked for your family in the recent past?
When your oldest finished with high school, did you recycle through KONOS for the next one in line? I have a TON of questions, by the way. :)
Thanks!
February 15, 2014 at 10:47 am |
Hello, Yes, we just kept using Konos with all the kids. We are on year 13 now. One daughter has graduated. My sons are 15 and 17 and we are doing HOW3 this year. I am doing Systems of the Body for my 10 year old daughter…. really slowly as she is ESL and we are focusing more on reading and math. I am happy to answer questions. :o)
February 15, 2014 at 10:50 am |
When we did HOW1 and HOW2, I chose topics from the original Konos volumes for the younger kids so the whole family was on the same topics. It worked well for crafts, activities and field trips.