momto2Cs Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) I have decided that with our rather hit-or-miss approach over the years, that I need to buckle down a little, at least with ds, since he's officially of "middle school" age/grade in the fall - yikes! :ohmy: I've decided on the basics, and have narrowed history and science down to 2 options each. With history, I want to simply be able to read aloud once or twice a week, and let ds (and his sister) explore the rabbit trails. Science, well, you can see below. I would love and appreciate some feedback on this! Language Arts: Brave Writer Lifestyle, with some written history/science narrations as well. We'll be reading Grammar Land, and ds reads voraciously in his free time. Spelling: Natural Speller, Vocab: English from the Roots Up Math: LOF Fractions and Decimals & Percents once or twice a week, then Math Mammoth Blue series the rest of the time. History: Option 1: k12's Human Odyssey, volume 1 Option 2: start reading through OUP's World in Ancient Times Science: Option 1: Story of Science (Hakim) with the T&K Milestones in Science kit to make the hands-on easier Option 2: Science units based on books like The Way Things Work, The Way We Work, etc., gradually covering various fields of science. IF we go with this option, I may add The Story of Science as a supplement to history readings. Foreign Language: I am thinking Spanish would be best at this point, since we live in a heavily-Hispanic-populated area. Any recommendations for something good but NOT terribly expensive? Other: We listen to a lot of music of various genres, do a lot of art projects, garden, are trying to do Outdoor Hour Challenges, read a lot, etc., so I'm not concerned about extras. I also really want ds to have the time to continue exploring his own interests and passions. IF we do Logic, we'll use Stottlemerier, since I already own it. Edited March 15, 2012 by momto2Cs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) . Edited April 21, 2023 by SilverMoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 I am only planning on having him do LOF once or twice a week, the rest will be MM. I'll go back in and add the spelling, etc. Oops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 It looks good. I like option #2 for science, BUT if you tend to be "hit or miss" as someone else I know who shall remain nameless is...ahem, then #2 sounds like it might be harder to keep up with. Also, what about geography? Any plans for that or is it just included with history, reading, etc as it comes up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I know you said you want to just read & explore for history, but I vote for Option 2: TWIAT with the teacher & student study guides, even if only for a few of the volumes. Have you looked at the samples for them on amazon? They look like they'd make the teacher's work (for WTM-style logic stage history) a lot easier. Primary sources, maps, literature tie-in suggestions, etc. are all in there. The study guides have vocabulary, discussion questions, writing assignments, and more. Maybe I'm preaching to the choir and you're already great at getting those parts done on your own, or maybe it's not your style, in which case ignore my plug for a product I haven't actually used. :) I do have some of the main books checked out from the library right now, though, and I own K12 HO vols. 1 & 2. I prefer the way TWIAT reads over K12 HO at this point. I also prefer your Option 2 for science, it just sounds like more fun. Science biographies and important dates can be added in easily. Caveat: I like hands-on science and want to know how and why everything works, so a historical focus on science for a year doesn't much appeal to me. Do what appeals most to you & your children. Whatever you're enthusiastic about is more likely to rub off on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 It looks good. I like option #2 for science, BUT if you tend to be "hit or miss" as someone else I know who shall remain nameless is...ahem, then #2 sounds like it might be harder to keep up with. Also, what about geography? Any plans for that or is it just included with history, reading, etc as it comes up? :lol: I wonder who that person could be... Anyhow, thanks to everyone for the replies. I am leaning toward option 2 for both history and science. Oh, and as for geography, it would be tied into history. I bought Map Trek from Knowledge Quest some time back, so it might be nice to use! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorningGlory Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 A warning on the Hakim Story of Science books... These books are very, very good! They were so engrossing to my ds that he read all 3 of them in a short time and thus "ruined" my year-long history of science plan! I had planned to spread them out over the year...add in biographies and a few experiments and writing projects. But ds snuck them into his room at night. He LOVED them! So we have added in bios and such on the back end of the Hakim books. Just to warn you! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 I know you said you want to just read & explore for history, but I vote for Option 2: TWIAT with the teacher & student study guides, even if only for a few of the volumes. Have you looked at the samples for them on amazon? They look like they'd make the teacher's work (for WTM-style logic stage history) a lot easier. Primary sources, maps, literature tie-in suggestions, etc. are all in there. The study guides have vocabulary, discussion questions, writing assignments, and more. Maybe I'm preaching to the choir and you're already great at getting those parts done on your own, or maybe it's not your style, in which case ignore my plug for a product I haven't actually used. :) I do have some of the main books checked out from the library right now, though, and I own K12 HO vols. 1 & 2. I prefer the way TWIAT reads over K12 HO at this point. I also prefer your Option 2 for science, it just sounds like more fun. Science biographies and important dates can be added in easily. Caveat: I like hands-on science and want to know how and why everything works, so a historical focus on science for a year doesn't much appeal to me. Do what appeals most to you & your children. Whatever you're enthusiastic about is more likely to rub off on them. Thank you - I'll definitely take a look at the teacher/student study guides for those. We're reading Early Human World right now, and both my 9yo and 10yo really enjoy it, so I think we're going to be sticking with TWIAT for the time being! I didn't even realize there were student guides... :blush: A warning on the Hakim Story of Science books... These books are very, very good! They were so engrossing to my ds that he read all 3 of them in a short time and thus "ruined" my year-long history of science plan! I had planned to spread them out over the year...add in biographies and a few experiments and writing projects. But ds snuck them into his room at night. He LOVED them! So we have added in bios and such on the back end of the Hakim books. Just to warn you! ;) Thank you! This sounds just like my son. I tease him regularly because I find both the Usborne and Kingfisher Science encyclopedias in his bed. I think I may just let him read the Story of Science on his own! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 A warning on the Hakim Story of Science books... These books are very, very good! They were so engrossing to my ds that he read all 3 of them in a short time and thus "ruined" my year-long history of science plan! I had planned to spread them out over the year...add in biographies and a few experiments and writing projects. But ds snuck them into his room at night. He LOVED them! So we have added in bios and such on the back end of the Hakim books. Just to warn you! ;) Oh my goodness, I can't believe it, but I just realized I was confusing the Hakim History of Science (that I've never seen) with Beautiful Feet's History of Science. :tongue_smilie: BF's is pretty dry, IMO. Sorry to comment like that on things I've not seen! Perhaps Hakim makes it come alive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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