frankiec
- Reviewed on Thursday, July 29, 2010
- Grades Used: 2-3
- Dates used: 2008-2010
I used WP's American Story 1 & 2. I was a little intimidated by the price. However, once I got started I understood it has lots of great books and activities well worth the price. There is a wide range of topics covered. The reading level varied so some were rather easy and others challenging for my son. Most were just right and he stayed up nights reading "just one more chapter".
These programs are similar to Sonlight Core 3 and 4 history. The main difference is Sonlight has more writing/narration whereas WinterPromise has more activities. My son is a hands-on learner so we went with WP. I definitely made the right choice. However, there are a few things I don't like about them.
First, your order arrives in several shipments. During the busy season July-Sept many books were back-ordered. I had to wait to start AS1 until late October because I was waiting on one of the books used first even though the order began arriving in August. There weren't as many back-ordered books for AS2. A few of the backordered books arrived direct from Amazon at not extra cost to me. Still, you should place your order well in advance to help insure having all the items on time.
AS1 had a Native American focus which I didn't use. In fact I thought it focused too much on what the Natives were doing even without doing the obviously Native activities. I wish you had the option of leaving off much of the Native items. While learning about Natives is important, this went overboard. Still, he had a lot of fun with the readings and activities. He enjoyed the 3D maps and journal prompts.
AS2 has the African American focus optional. I did not order it. You still learn about the Underground Railroad, George Washington Carver, and the civil rights movement. It was a good balanced perspective.
I thought AS2 covered a lot of war compared to peace time. They were supposed to do paper dolls of Civil War soldiers and re-create battles. There was a rather graphic book about WW1. I left both of these out and substituted 2 books about conscientious objectors during these periods. Other than that, the book selections were good.
I found the schedules jerky with the workload not very well spread out. After the middle of AS1, I modified it to do history 2 days/week. I mainly used to to coordinate the activities with the proper books for AS2.
I was glad for all the coordination between resources WinterPromise put together. I don't like textbooks but doubt I'd be able to pull together a program like these on my own. Overall, it gave a good perspective on US history for elementary school students. Even my young daughter enjoyed listening to many of the read-alouds.
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Alyeska
- Reviewed on Wednesday, January 13, 2010
- Grades Used: K
- Dates used: 2009-2010
A couple years ago, I ordered WP's Children Around the World when it was brand new to the market, which I sent back after pre-reading some of the books. So I was hesitant to order another program from WP for fear of running into the same difficulties as before.
To avoid customer service issues, I ordered the teacher's guide and WP exclusives only and ordered the other books from Amazon.
When I got the Animals and Their Worlds K teacher's guide in the mail, I was very excited! And then the books from Amazon showed up. Unfortunately, Animals and Their Worlds really shouldn't be advertised as a K-2 program. (We used the K schedule, as the IG contains a schedule for the older students as well) Much of it went over my son's head. We stopped using the spine of the program because it was just too much and my son dreaded that book. Not only that, but some of the book selections just stunk. There is TONS of good quality literature out there and the read aloud selections could have been different, imo.
I guess THE main problem that I have with WP (aside from book choices) is the lack of consistency. The books are either too difficult for the age advertised, or too easy. The projects suggested are either too difficult or too easy. Please hear me out on this. I understand that each student is different in his/her abilities. And there is NO WAY that a company can cater to each student that way. BUT if a program is advertised for a K student...then all the books should be K level, right? I have not found that to be the case with either of the WP programs I ordered.
I am not trying to be harsh, just honest. Anyway, this was our second strike out with WP. I WANT to like it. I WANT it to work for us. But it just won't. I am disappointed. We will be using MFW and SL (again) next year.
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CAylen
- Reviewed on Wednesday, January 06, 2010
- Grades Used: 3-6
- Dates used: 2009-2010
What I like about it:
There isn't a lot of writing involved.
Most of the subject material is interesting (we chose Children Around The World theme unit)
I can completely ignore the schedule and make up my own.
What I don't like about it:
I found the catalog confusing, the only way I was able to order was with the help of a friend who had ordered from them before.
When I received my order, I received it in SEVERAL different shipments, so I could not begin until I received everything. (WP does not carry all the books listed in their catalog. Instead, they send them to you through other companies like Amazon, etc.) I admit that I did not order as early as I should have, due to a very busy summer, but because of the slow delivery process we are weeks behind schools in our area.
Math and Science are not included in the schedule, you have to make time for those yourself.
Most of the reading material from a few of the textbook type books is WAY too advanced for children in grades 3-6. It's too much reading and the subject matter is heavy, with topics like industrialization and economics. So...we don't even open those books anymore.
The 3rd grade readers are much too girly for my son who doesn't even like to read in the first place. So these books certainly didn't appeal to him. I'm having to buy his readers separately.
It's January and I still have not received 3 books. I contacted WP and they said they will send them asap.
There seems to be a lot of work to cover and we haven't been able to find the time to get into the "cultural enrichment" activities or even things we wanted to do on our own like woodshop, sailing lessons, etc.
For what we got (which includes a lot of photocopied paper I had to buy binders for) and some books we can't use, it seems a little pricey.
This is how we do it:
We've completely cut out some books.
We work "across" the schedule, choosing to do a week of one or two subjects in one day rather than a little bit of 4 or 5 subjects each day. Doing this has helped us pick up speed and catch up on our lost time.
I'm focusing less on the CATW theme unit work right now, and we're focusing more on grammar, math, literature and we're only just now about to start on the science.
I'm skimming over the book "Children of Many Lands" and I just read random interesting facts to the kids that I think they'll actually remember. There are no comprehension questions or any way to help them remember dates and names of historical events or figures. For some of the countries featured, there are 4 or more pages of finely printed text, out of all that I'd be impressed if they remembered two facts later on.
I have no idea what curriculum we're going to try next year.
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kilbee
- Reviewed on Monday, May 04, 2009
- Grades Used: 1st and 4th
- Dates used: 2008-2009
Review of WinterPromise American Story 1
Whoever writes and designs the WinterPromise catalog is a marketing genius. Reading through it is so inspirational. And what a fun curriculum it is! The literature approach is so appealing.
Our favorite part of school this past year has been sitting together reading such fascinating stories as The Birchbark House, The Fighting Ground, and The Sign of the Beaver. We've become acquainted with Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. We've followed the events of the Revolutionary War, discussed the treatment of the Native Americans and pictured the hardships of Lewis and Clark. Currently we are imagining life as a pioneer. Before the year is over we will discuss slavery and learn of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.
The manual is well-organized. The year is divided into 36 weeks. Each week is divided into 4 days. Everything for the day is spelled out for you to do. By design, there is far more to do than is possible. The idea is that you will pick what works best for you and your students. Included are crafts, notebook activities, historical fiction and non-fiction books. You are encouraged to make a timeline as you go and a game is included to help learn important dates. Additional resources are listed such as movies you can find at your library and internet links.
There is one thing that concerns me with this curriculum. Although WP is a Christian company, American Story is not a Christian curriculum. It includes a few books and stories that present difficulties for those holding a Biblical worldview. While The Birchbark House is a fascinating tale, it's main plot is how a young Indian girl learns to listen to and communicate with spirits. This book actually led to much productive discussion with my children, and I was glad we read it, but I probably would have omitted it if I had realized what it was about. I was also offended by a few stories in The American Story, particularly its negative slant on Jonathan Edwards and the Great Awakening. I chose not to read that one. Most disappointing was the little attention given to the Pilgrims and their arrival in America. In fact, our rich Judeo-Christian heritage is left out. I compensated by adding in two books by Peter Marshall (The Light and the Glory, From Sea to Shining Sea) and several of the Trailblazer Books by Dave and Neta Jackson. However, these books are intended for ages 9-12 and are probably over the heads of most 1st-3rd graders.
I like WP because it has given me a workable plan. However, I ended up adapting and adjusting it every week. I substituted books, got bored with the crafts, added field trips, and generally changed everything. Although that was part of the fun, I realize that in the future, it will be better for me to follow a general outline of a time period and find my own resources. But I'll keep the catalog for inspiration.
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