Page 1 of 1

A Child's History of The World

Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 11:06 am
by AmyB
I have a question for anyone who can answer or has used this book. I shared with someone that we are using the HOD curriculum and are looking forward to preparing in the coming months, I listed some of the books and they were shocked that we were going to be using the book "A CHild's history of the World". They said that it's viewpoint is very contradictory to the Christian viewpoint of history and creation. This wouldn't make me want to switch curriculums, but I just want to be as informed as I can, so if questions should arise or the content is not matching our Christian stand then we can be ready with the Bible to back it up. Anyones opinion or view would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Amy

Re: A Child's History of The World

Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 11:08 am
by netpea
this has come up before, I'll try to find the thread for you but I believe there was only one part that might be controversial.

this isn't the post I was looking for but this has some helpful info in it:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=791&p=5870&hilit=chow#p5870

Re: A Child's History of The World

Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 12:30 pm
by water2wine
This may be the one Lee Ann was thinking about. It has a really good explanation of the book. I had concerns as well until I heard Carries explanation and now I am fine with it and looking forward to it. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=385&p=2679&hilit=chow#p2679

Re: A Child's History of The World

Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 12:31 pm
by Rebecca
Hi Amy!
I asked this very question of Carrie before choosing Heart of Dakota. She gave me a very thorough answer. I am sure she will give one to you too!

I posted her email reply to me in the hopes that it is helpful. I know that I found it to be so. I hope this helps you. This is just a portion of the great response she gave me. The colored font is her written words.

When we do come to world history in "Preparing Hearts...", we skip the first chapters of Hillyer and weave in a large dose of Biblical history, directly from the Bible and using "Grandpa's Box" which is an overview of Biblical history. We also add in "Life in the Great Ice Age" and "Hero Tales". Our storytime read-alouds in Preparing are almost all from a Christian viewpoint.

The reason we use Hillyer, is because it a very living retelling of world history, written by a Christian man. At the time Hillyer wrote CHOW, Christians of the time believed that evolution was a way of explaining the Biblical story of creation. Charlotte Mason herself believed the same as Hillyer. Today, we understand that evolutionary theory does not directly line-up with the Bible and instead works to undermine Scripture. But, as a new theory it wasn't seen that way and was embraced by many avid Christians.

We feel that we take the best of what is available for Christian families (that also qualifies as "living") and combine it with Charlotte Mason's philosophy of slow, judicious reading of good books savored over time. We add in short lessons, hands on activities for geography (many of them offshoots of CM ideas), and a CM approach to oral narration, written narration, copywork, dictation, poetry, and nature emphasis. We do use Rod and Staff for English starting with "Bigger..." which is one contrast to the CM philosophy.

You will see a book or two that mention pagan gods in "Preparing Hearts...." such as Leif the Lucky, but that book also contrasts the paganism with his later conversion to Christianity. Even Aesop's fables which mention greek gods are discussed in light of the Bible. We feel that by laying a strong foundation in the Bible prior to teaching world history, we will have that foundation in place when it comes time to know more about the pagan cultures that surround us. Then, the paganism can be seen in a correct light and not glorified to be just something fascinating to learn.


God bless,
Rebecca

Re: A Child's History of The World

Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 1:08 pm
by netpea
water2wine wrote:This may be the one Lee Ann was thinking about. It has a really good explanation of the book. I had concerns as well until I heard Carries explanation and now I am fine with it and looking forward to it. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=385&p=2679&hilit=chow#p2679
thanks W2W, that was the one.
:D

Re: A Child's History of The World

Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 1:17 pm
by water2wine
Oh good. I love how Carrie explains things the way she does. It is so nice. :D

Re: A Child's History of The World

Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 4:07 pm
by AmyB
Thanks to all of you who responded. The information has made me much more at ease with the choice. Thanks also to Carrie for coordinating it all so well.

Re: A Child's History of The World

Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 10:21 pm
by Carrie
Amy,

The ladies have done a wonderful job of answering your questions. If you have other questions, ask away, as we're glad to help! We do intend to post our explanation of why we chose Hillyer on our website. But, we are just catching our breath after shipping out the pre-orders of the Preparing guides this week (and are also in the process of installing and setting up a brand-new phone system for HOD). :D

Blessings,
Carrie