Story of the World ~ Modlins Multiply

There are a ton of resources and curriculum available. And I think I speak for many of us in the trenches of our homescool journey when I say, it can become overwhelming. This is why I’ve always been thankful for those moms that have been willing to share their experiences with a particular curriculum. We’re currently covering The Middle Ages with Story of the World, and I wanted to share how and why this book is guiding us through the subject of history for this season in our life. I’m also linking some resources I’ve created that you may download and print for future use.

This book was recommended to us by a friend a couple of years ago who is also our evaluator. While she was completing our annual evaluations she realized how bogged down I was trying to find a curriculum that would be appropriate for both my middle children. They were six and nine years old at the time. She mentioned how a lot of the families she visited taught history from this book, and there was a particular family that read a chapter every night before bed and completed the work in the morning. This seemed like the relaxed approach I was seeking, and after reading a couple of reviews I decided to give it a try.

What I love about this book.

There is a Text book and an activity book for each SOTW volume.

There are four volumes in total

Volume 1: Ancient Times
Volume 2: The Middle Ages
Volume 3: Early Modern Times
Volume 4: The Modern Age

The book is instantly relatable for children. Each chapter is followed by an anecdotal story or two, and it really keeps them engaged. It’s great for read alouds, individual reading, and you can also purchase audio CDs that are narrated by a male voice. I purchased a used bundle from a mom in our homeschool group, and I did a little bit of everything I listed above. There is an activity book to go along with the book, and I highly recommend it. In the activity book you’ll find a “teacher’s guide” section with questions for each chapter, narration, suggested literature, and activities. In the back of the activity book you’ll find mapwork, templates, and coloring pages. You’re allowed to copy those pages for use within your home. The mapwork has easy instructions in the “teacher section” that direct students to locate and trace over different landmarks. We also completed a lapbook for SOTW volume 1: Ancient Times.

How I’m using Story of the World as the spine for our school year.

Divided sections in our binders

Resources and our binders

This year I’m covering SOTW: Middle Ages with our eleven year old, eight year old, and six year old.

I chose to eliminate our reading curriculum this year that we did daily for it’s vocabulary and comprehension practice. Instead, I’ve created binders and separated them into five sections – Notebook (I found these at Tendingourlordsgarden.blogspot.com), Timeline, Vocabulary, Mapwork (that I copied and hole punched from the activity guide), and activity section.

I also put together Lesson Plans that will help keep us organized and accountable.

I hope you found this information useful, I would love to hear what your experience has been if you’re using SOTW. If you’re thinking of covering history with SOTW and have a question please leave me a comment.

Please click HERE if you would like to join our Homeschool Virtual Co-op.

Jenn

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