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I noticed for the Research portion that a History Encyclopedia is recommended. Is there a certain one that people use and like? I know he can look stuff up on the internet, but I also think we need a good history encyclopedia also since we don't have anything like that. Thanks, Lynn

I have liked the old Kingfisher History Encyclopedias, but haven't seen the most recent updated version. Kingfisher does contain some evolutionary material though. We've used mostly wikipedia this year, along with a couple of Bible dictionaries that have worked well for Bible related topics.

Blessings,
Carrie

I, too, have an older edition of the Kingfisher. But we also have a set of American history encyclopedias, and a complete set of newer encyclopedias I picked up at my library this year for $20. We use them quite a bit and I love having them.

I'm an absolute tyrant about not letting my kids click around the internet alone. If I know they'll need to research a topic, I do the prep work ahead. I might research and bookmark three different sites that would be helpful, then show them the three and let them pick which they think is best.

They often have to sit through my lecture of how Wikipedia is not a reliable scholarly source, but it does have great links to sites that are. We never, ever list Wikipedia as a source in a bibliography, etc.

Did you get the Usborne Ancients book (extension)?

I also tend to pick a few sites for them to look on to find their information on the internet. My dc have been in ps up to this point and I haven't built up my home reference library like I should. I am going to get the Usborne Ancients book and then I am looking to add a few others to it. My dd is still in ps and will be a freshman this year studying world history so it will come in useful for her also if I have more history reference books available.

We used Wikipedia this year, as well as an extensive Bible dictionary I had on hand. I liked that he could go right to the Wikipedia site and navigate it independently, and he liked that too. I'm always in the same room with him while he's doing it (we've decided not to let our dc take the computer in a room we're not in -just so they're always held accountable that dad or mom may look at what they're looking at). But, it's been nice that he feels confident doing the research on his own primarily, and then just discussing what he's found for answers to the questions with me. That just happened to be my goal this year - to train him to use 1 research site (Wikipedia) on the Internet well, and to have him check 1 Biblical reference each time too. Next year, with CtC, I'm planning on adding in an ancients encyclopedia, as well as continuing with Wikipedia and Biblical references as options. I love that he's learning answers cannot always be found in 1 place. We usually start with the Bible dictionary, and then move on to Wikipedia. It's been great for Wyatt to see the Bible as a reference material for things like triumphs, laurel wreaths, etc. Wikipedia always does have the answers (99% of the time) because Carrie checked for that. My ds is really enjoying the research, especially since it usually directly links to his history project.

In Christ,
Julie

I'm in complete agreement on the wikipedia restrictions. We almost didn't use it as a reference due to the sometimes unreliable content, however we did like the visual aspect of it and the fact that it is advertisement free. The ads on other sites are NOT what we want our kiddos seeing either. We do sit with our boys when they're doing the research portion of our guides, as it's a skill they're learning.

Blessings,
Carrie

Carrie, I agree that it being free of ads is a good thing! And while it's never something you could reference in a high school or college paper, there are always the best links at the end of the articles to places you could quote in a scholarly paper. Love that!

So true!

Blessings,
Carrie