Mama Bear Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 As the kids get older, I'm thinking about how to broaden the home library and wonder about the courses from The Teaching Company. How do you use their materials? Do you find that an accelerated kid is more likely to get into them? Does the whole family like them? Are they mostly for you? Do you purchase them or borrow them (library)? TIA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan M in WA Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Our library has a nice selection of these courses, but there is a long waiting list for almost everthing. Also, when items have a waiting list, we cannot renew them, so we have only 4 weeks to go through a course and that has never really been enough time. For some really big courses, our library has begun breaking them up into parts and it makes it easier to get the later portions of the course if we can get through the first part. I have begun buying several courses. Originally, I could not imagine spending my money on these individual courses which were typically supplements as opposed to full courses, but each one we bought was so good that it was much easier to justify buying more courses. Also, I have begun purchasing audio downloads for those course that are appropriate (meaning doesn't need the dvd) and that cost is even cheaper than the sale price on cds. We have an iPod that will play through our car radio and this has make "car schooling" very interesting. So far, we have bought the following: Biology The Science of Life - we used this as a supplement to Apologia Biology and Adv. Biology. The kids took the AP Biology test after two years and did well. This course is a good supplent to a rigorous biology study. Anatomy and Physiology - This was also a supplement to our biology studies but was enjoyable and informative for the whole family. How to Listen to and Understand Great Music - I am the only one who has listened to this one so far but it is such a great course that we want to make time for the whole family. Physics in Your Life - supplement to CC physics Art Across the Ages - we just got this for Christmas and can't wait to have time for this one - I have two young artists and they are always inspired when we take the time to look at classic art. Economics 3rd Edition - Fabulous course. We used this as a supplement to a high school economics course. I learned a lot from this though and highly recommend this one for everyone. History of the US - We are listening to these in the car this year. They are wonderful but we are only about 1/4 through the series. Some that I have downloaded, but not used yet... Tools of Thinking Books that Have Made History History of English Language Shakespeare - Comedies, Histories and Tragedies The Odyssey of Homer - listened to a couple of lectures but want to hear more. I am a big fan and we are now using about $200 or more dollars per year of our budget on these courses. Be careful becaue it is easy to get hooked on thiese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 We have liked just about everything we've gotten from TTC. We LOVE *everything* by Elizabeth Vandiver - Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, Greek Tragedy, Greek Myths.... We're going through the math series now as a review - we've liked some of the teachers better than others. We've borrowed Chemistry and Human anatomy and physiology from the library. The bad thing about getting from the library is you don't know exactly when they'll come in - and I've had several sets come due before we were done with them. I would say definitely older students will "get" them better than younger - certainly that's true of the science and math courses. But the youngers well benefit from the history and literature sets. :) Maybe see whether your library has something that strikes your fancy - or see whether your library can ILL them - I've gotten several that way as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenKitty Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 We enjoy these very much. We borrow them from the Library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Comedies, Tragedies, Histories is GREAT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lux Et Veritas Academy Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 I agree with the above posters- I try to buy on sale and download the ipod version when the visual is not to crucial. We just finished CS Lewis with a 7th grader, I am doing John Milton right now and we are going to start Art History-Impressionism in February. I think some of the courses can be used with the middle grades. I started CS Lewis with my daughter wondering if she would be happy- an she absolutely loved it. She would clean the bathroom and bedroom while she listened. I felt like it was great lit study! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elinor Everywhere Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Wow, this was really helpful. Thank you! I like having the exact title to look for--makes it so much easier. I'm going to start out by trying a few from my library, and then slowly start adding to our home collection. Any time you come across some that you particularly like, I'd appreciate it if you'd post the details! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne/Ankara Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 We've used many of the courses, simply as supplements. In particular, I recommend the History of Us, Art Across the Ages, Great Ideas of Classical Physics, Scientific Biography (story of doctors), and the Great Books of Wester Literature. We also liked the Early Middle Ages, High Middle Ages, and other history titles. Other good ones were the High School World History, Chemistry, Study Skills. Soon we will watch the High School Geometry series. See if your library has them first, and you can see whether this is a good style to learn from. They are good supplements! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elinor Everywhere Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Thank you, Anne! I've copied all those into a file. My dd currently wants to be a doctor (ENT specifically, but she's very young yet), and she may especially enjoy Scientific Biology. I will definitely try the library to see if we will listen-we are visual learners, but I still want to give these classes a whirl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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