shinyhappypeople
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Posts posted by shinyhappypeople
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I've made radical changes in the past few days. We're saving World History until next year (DD1 will be 2nd, DD2 will be 1st) when we can do (and afford!) Sonlight Core 1. I'm teaching both of my children together in everything except math and reading/phonics. Anyway...
Reading
Pathway Readers
Phonics
Smart mama DIY program :D
Math
MEP :thumbup:
Supp. with Miquon Orange and Red
Science
Rod & Staff Patterns in Nature
Book of experiments (the name escapes me at the moment)
Field trips to Yosemite, the Aquarium and (if we have time) all the way up to Lassen.
History / Geography
A Beka My America & My World
Me on the Map, and similar books
History Pockets (Colonial America)
World Cultures
Read-aloud: Then and Now, Living Long Ago, Wild Places, I Heard Good News Today and Stories from Africa
Spanish
La Clase Divertida
Literature
Read-alouds, borrowing liberally from the Sonlight book list and whatever else I find at the library.
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I haven't used Ambleside, but I'm considering it and will be watching this thread with interest. :lurk5:
I wanted you to know that I'm there with you with the unemployed husband (going on 7 mos. now. Argh!) and not wanting to tweak. Anyway, thanks for posting this question and hang in there!!:grouphug:
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For those who used FIAR, how long did you take to get through a book? Five days in a row or five days stretched out over a couple of weeks?
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Thanks ElizabethB, I'll check those links out. I've never heard of Webster's Speller before.
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It looks fine to me, but I might add a very small amount of handwriting practice every day (unless you are lucky enough to have children who take to handwriting very easily).
How long do you think handwriting practice would take?
Would handwriting practice take more than 5 or 10 minutes, you think?
I'm concerned about making their days too long. They're smart, but YOUNG, kwim? My goal is to keep the total time for academic work to around 1-1/2 hrs (2 hrs MAX) a day, some in the morning, some in the afternoon.
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Helpful input... thank you. I totally spaced on phonics. Duh! :blushing: I am wide open to more feedback :)
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My "going on 5" DD will be starting Kindergarten this fall, her 6 yo sister will be in 1st grade. They are both extremely bright, motivated people. This will be our first year homeschooling, so I could use some input.
My goal is for it to be gentle and developmentally-appropriate but still give them a strong foundation. Also, I want to teach them TOGETHER as much as possible. They're only 15 mos. apart.
It's not "by the book" WTM, though I've been heavily influenced by it (esp. the focus on mastering the 3 R's in the early years) Anyway, here's the plan thus far:
Daily
Pathway Readers and "read alone" library books, with narration.
Five in a Row - with a narration activity added in.
Math: MEP 1a (DD2) and 1b/2 (DD1)
M/W/F
Spanish: La Clase Divertida 1
Handwriting: Queen's Cursive (DD1) and HWT Letters & Numbers for Me (DD2)
Once or twice a week:
Science: Rod & Staff Patterns in Nature (read aloud, answer wkbk questions orally, so DD2 can participate too), read related library books and do experiments in More Mudpies to Magnets as much or little as they want.
History: "Ancient World Cultures", discussing the cultural/religious/political highlights of the best known ones, e.g. Egypt (mummies, pyramids, King Tut, etc.), Rome, China, and so on. Lots of craft projects because we all love doing them :) and use picture-rich books from the library books.
Thoughts? Feedback?
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Has anyone used Rod & Staff's gr. 2 science curriculum "Patterns of Nature?" I'm looking for something to use with my 2 DDs together (will be kindergarten and first grade). I liked the look of the samples and the story narration format of the lessons. It seems like it would be a great program, especially if I supplement with some relevant picture books... but I'm still not sure. So... any experiences / thoughts / suggestions? Thanks :)
Did you choose a math curricula based on longevity of the program??
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
It's my preference to find one program to use throughout the elementary school years. When I was an elementary student we moved A LOT. I think I went to around 7 or 8 different elementary (K-5) schools. I was a very bright student but had major learning gaps in math because the schools all used different curricula and taught different things at different times. It was very frustrating and had long-term effects on my education and self-esteem. By the time my parents stopped moving (Jr. High) I had given up on math, because I thought I wasn't any good at it. I was wrong about that, but I was an adult before I was able to get in touch with my inner math geek :)
So, unless our program of choice (MEP) simply doesn't work for my girls, we're sticking with it into Jr. High. I do like the idea of supplementing with things like Miquon and Living Math to give the girls an even richer math experience. However, the basic program will hopefully stay the same.