Hello and question about Story of Ancient World

[rjperez1]

Hi! I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Julia and I have 5 dc from 20 mo to 12 yrs. We are loking at CTC for my older two, but are wondering if there is a possible alternate resource for the Story of the Ancient World by Christine Miller. There are just a couple of pcs. ofart in that book that my hubby and I are not totally comfortable with. Has anyone else had this concern? They are sometimes small and b&w helps, but they still seem a bit too much for dc. We don't want to edit the book because that just creates more intrigue. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[LynnH]

The Story of the Ancient World is such an integral part of the program, that I can't see any way to use an alternate source. It is what links the bible history with the ancient history and shows how they are connected. My ds got so much from that book. It made biblical history real and not just "Sunday school stories". He was 12 when he did the program and I don't remember any pictures that were too much for him, and he is very sensitive. However I know each family has different standards. If it is just a few pictures then I would cover them up with a post it note or something along those lines. With my ds I could just tell him that I covered those up because I didn't find them appropriate and he needed to respect the fact that I had done that and leave it alone. Would something like that work?

[Heart_Mom]

We haven't gotten to CTC yet (we plan to use it next year), but there have been books from other curriculum providers that I have edited ... both the text and sometimes the pictures. I've used a Sharpie marker to draw clothes on the offending pictures. I really don't think it created a sense of intrigue in my children. Like the previous poster, I just told them that it was not an appropriate picture. We talk about modesty often here, so it's natural for me to explain to them that the picture was just not modest. I don't make a big deal about it. I really don't think it's been a problem for them. Each family and child is different, though.

I hope you can find a way to make CTC work for your family!

[raindrops]

Heartmom... I like your idea of drawing clothes.

You reminded me of waaaay back. I was in 6th grade. In my art classroom there actually a poster on the wall of a greek statue. Of course no clothes. So I cut out some little white boxers, drew red hearts on them and taped the new skivies to the poor guy. My art teacher never took them off of him either. LOL. Wow... public schools and their nekkie pics on the wall. It almost.... aaalmost.... seemed normal to my desensitived mind. So glad to be homeschooling my children! That greek statue wasn't near as bad as what I saw some of the other girls drawing pictures of.

It might be a good thing to teach your kids, "hey, I covered this pic up because I found it inapropriate. You can do that too, if you come across something gruesome or crude. We hide our eyes from evil".

[Heart_Mom]

Heartmom... I like your idea of drawing clothes.

You reminded me of waaaay back. I was in 6th grade. In my art classroom there actually a poster on the wall of a greek statue. Of course no clothes. So I cut out some little white boxers, drew red hearts on them and taped the new skivies to the poor guy. My art teacher never took them off of him either. LOL. Wow... public schools and their nekkie pics on the wall. It almost.... aaalmost.... seemed normal to my desensitived mind. So glad to be homeschooling my children! That greek statue wasn't near as bad as what I saw some of the other girls drawing pictures of.

That's a funny story!

It might be a good thing to teach your kids, "hey, I covered this pic up because I found it inapropriate. You can do that too, if you come across something gruesome or crude. We hide our eyes from evil".

And in extension to what you said about telling our children that "we hide our eyes from evil," you could mention the following verse:

Psalms 101:3 "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes."

[rjperez1]

Thanks so much to those that responded (if any of you are still watching the board). It is really a blessing to be able to ask a question and have others respond who are familiar with the materials. I guess I was still hoping there would be a book out there that does the same job of telling the story of the Israelites without the pics. Or maybe a text only copy. Most of the art is a wonderful addition to the study. Both my husband and I agreed that we would rather leave out the naked art for this time, but we love the other aspects of the program. Maybe the Greenleaf Guide to Ancient History since it tells the stories using the Bible as text. Maybe it coud work. Otherwise, I guess I will have to address it more directly.

Thanks for the help!