Inquiring minds want to know :)

[KellyB]

HI All

We began Bigger a few weeks ago and are enjoying it. As I look through it though, I see that in the last weeks a tremendous amount of time is spent on the Wright Brothers and then it seems a lot of history is skipped with just a smattering here and there about the Vietnam war and some other topics in the remaining 2 weeks.

There is nothing that I saw really about Henry Ford, or WW1 or WW2 or the great depression or other major topics of the 20th century. I realize these aren't all light and happy topics, but I am curious. Perhaps some of the extension books cover these topics in more detail??

Please don't take this as an attack but a request for clarification, to understand where Carrie is coming from, so I can better comprehend her philosophy . I realize that in 1 year it is tough to cover American History completely, and really, thats part of the reason I chose HOD. We've done quite a bit of AH already (unfortunately a lot of Colonial -civil war), but I was hoping for a bit more depth in the later years when I saw the Unit titles.

Thanks for helping me understand

Blessings
Kelly

[mamas4bugs]

Howdy!

We also started Bigger not long ago. We're having a great time as well. I copied this sentence from the Bigger home page:

"Coverage of the wars in the later years of American history is purposefully omitted until students are older."

I think the idea is to save the heavier topics for when the kiddos are older and more mature. I know that the world wars are touched on next year in Preparing, and then I'm sure they will be covered more in depth in the modern guide (to be released next year, I think) since that one is for much older children.

HTH!

[water2wine]

I think mamas4bugs hits it perfectly. I am sure more detail will be covered in later guides. I am really finding it a blessing not to cover those heavier times until they are ready for it. Times seem heavy enough just with how we live now. On the flip side some of my kids have learned some just with their own reading because HOD has them fascinated with history. I am looking forward though to covering those times with HOD in the future.

[arstephia]

Yes, they are covered again in later guides. DD just finished Preparing and covered some of that. I am glad the younger grades aren't too heavy on things the kids can't really understand.

[Tree House Academy]

The newest guide (Rev to Rev) covers more American History and they seem to get into much more detail at that age than the younger ages (I have not done the guide, but have looked at the books that will be used).

[Carrie]

Kelly,

The ladies have done a great job of answering your question. It is also good to keep in mind that Bigger Hearts' history has a biographical focus, meaning that we focus on getting to know the people who lived during this time (and the events of history are happening in the background of these people's lives). It is amazing how much more meaningful history becomes when you look at it through the lens of the lives of those who lived it! So, for example, in the final units we're not just focusing on the Wright brothers, but we are focusing also on the lives of the people that they interacted with and on what was happening during the time period in which they lived. The Wrights traveled many places outside of America, met many famous people, and lived in interesting times. For example, they lived at a time when the military was preparing to use their planes in the impending war, they tested their planes many places, worked to sell them to various kings and countries, and became known for their inventions throughout Europe, and all of this happens in the background of their lives. Kiddos great a great picture of life in America at the time of the Wrights, but even more importantly they see how the Lord equipped these men who had no formal education beyond high school to do great things in the area of aviation and science.

In the upcoming guide for Rev2Rev, kiddos will get an entire inventor study, reading biographies of Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Eli Whitney, Samuel Morse, Michael Faraday, Robert Fulton, Thomas Edison, the Wrights. They will also read The Story of Inventions, which devotes chapters to a myriad of other inventors like James Watt, Enrico Fermi, Elias Howe, Cyrus McCormick, Henry Bessemer, Johann Gutenberg, Nikola Tesla, Marconi, John Baird, George Stephenson, John Holland, Goddard, and Werner Von Braun. You can see we won't be neglecting the study of inventors and their inventions! We feel kiddos need to be a bit older to be able to understand the science behind the inventions, which is why we wait to more deeply cover these particular inventors.

We will hit the events of history more deeply, again through the people who lived it, in Rev2Rev and in Modern Times, and the kiddos will have to read about war, war, and more war. But, in this first approach to American history in the early years, we strive to acquaint kiddos with the men and women who make history come to life, simply by they way they lived their lives. We desire for kiddos to weigh the character of the man or woman and not simply the events, so we spend time getting to know these people through the way they lived their lives, and we measure their actions in the light of the Bible. Bigger is more about a "living" history approach that emphasizes Godly character that we hope your children will learn from, remember, and enjoy.


Blessings,
Carrie