Cabertmom
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Posts posted by Cabertmom
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Miss Marple, that's fantastic to hear that the author says doing just odds or evens as long as the concept is cemented is a reasonable option!
Tiramisu, that is very interesting information. She is a very visual learner actually--to the point that when I'm reading aloud to all the kids, she often comes to sit next to me and read along. She's also very artistic and good with her hands, figuring out how to make 3-dimensional objects in a variety of materials from sewing to leather to ceramics. On the other hand, her reading speed hovers around 30 pages per hour, which seems kind of slow to me. Does it to you?
After getting your daughter assessed by the optometrist and neuropsychologist, what were they able to do to help her? Or was it more something to be aware of and just helped by knowing what the best curricula and other resources were for her? Sadly, money is definitely an issue for anything like that, but if it helped....
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We have the same problem. My dc are VERY slow in getting their math work done. With my oldest, MUS worked best to address the speed problem. Saxon was a nightmare, TT was better. I am trying to decide what to do with my next one because math shouldn't take so much time that nothing else gets done the way it should.
At one point, I exchanged emails with the author of A Fresh Approach and agree she is kind and helpful. I'm wondering if she could make suggestions about the time issue. Perhaps give some advice on doing fewer problems, maybe a couple of easy ones to make sure they know it but then focus on more challenging ones. ??
Tiramisu (love the name), I don't want to say I'm glad you're going through the same difficulty, but it is sort of good to know that we aren't the only ones! I did just find and order a used set for A Fresh Approach to Algebra 2. I find myself wondering if just doing the odds or evens would be enough to cement the concepts--or maybe do the odds, see if she gets at least 90% correct, and if not go back and do the evens?
At this point, we're debating between that and intermediate algebra at the local community college, which would leave open the poosibility of something after algebra 2.
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The good--no, great--news is that your son is seriously interested in so many things that he's willing to forgo time just to veg to take some great courses and get involved in things that will definitely be great experience for a future lawyer. That kind of motivation is not universal.
The bad news is that he reminds me of an adult close to me who to this day still gets into trouble time wise committing to too many things in too little time and ends up forgoing sleep to get it all done or else disappointing people when he's made commitments he can't meet. It's not a good way to live, and I'm not just talking about college but an entire lifetime here, though it's effects on college can be profound.
One thing to consider is whether he has some good long periods of uninterrupted time in the midst of that schedule to really study and accomplish one thing at a time. I think we are all encouraged to multitask these days, and it might make someone like your son feel like his life is exciting and important, but learning to calmly figure out the most important thing that needs to get done and then doing it is better in a lot of ways. A book that might help him (it has certainly helped me) and that our whole family uses to varying degrees is a time-management book called Getting Things Done. It is intended for adults, but your son could probably benefit as well. The whole idea is to divide up tasks into actual appointments and to-do lists that are "next action" items in a way that makes it so nothing gets lost in the shuffle. If you're interested, I can give you some more details.
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I just saw the same thing and would love to hear more about this too. After Jacobs and then LOF Algebra 1 followed by Teaching Textbooks for Geometry, we're still looking for what works best for DD. She didn't like the stories in LOF (just wanted to get it done) or just the amount of problems in Jacobs (we stopped halfway through and switched to Fred, and even TT takes her a really long time every day. She gets almost all A's--it just takes a really enormous amount of her time.
Thank you, Miss Marple. Anyone else using this? Or has anyone tried it and decided against it?
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I think it depends on the type of writing too. For creative writing, it makes sense to form the characters and then "see" what they do without an outline.
However, for essays, I think an outline is invaluable. I say that as someone who would actually write the paper first and then make an outline from it in high school when they "made us" turn in the outline. It wasn't until college that I realized that all the hard thinking work goes into the outline. After that is done, writing the actual paper is easy.
We use IEW, and I really like the fact that he emphasizes outlines, but they are a simpler form of outline. When the paper is a research paper, it's all the more important. The idea I think is to get the plan of what to write on paper in outline form so that while actually writing the paper, it's possible to focus on the best way to express an idea rather just what to say.
There's my 2 cents anyway.
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This is something we're considering:
https://online.hillsdale.edu/101/info
It's Hillsdale College's Constitution 101 course. Hillsdale is a great conservative college run largely by Christians but not specifically religious. It's also free!
There are also some courses that I just found on http://homeschoolconnectionsonline.com/ that might fit the bill (okay--pun intended), but they are specifically Catholic, so I don't know if that would be good or bad in your mind. We're definitely going to do their Economics as if People Matter course.
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Lots of Tolkien fans here--myself included. One of my sons is currently reading a book called The The Gospel According to Tolkien by Ralph C. Wood. I haven't read it, but he said it was pretty good.
Peter Kreeft, as you mentioned, is wonderful. I'm looking forward to sharing some of the other suggestions here with my kids. I'm no expert, but here are a few things that I have learned and found helpful regarding LOTR:
- Tolkien said again and again that he hated allegory and that LOTR is not an allegory. It's so easy to see how it almost works as an allegory for so many things, but I think it's best to take him at his word.
- Tolkien's Catholicism, while by no means explicit in the book, is definitely important to really digging deep in LOTR. Though there is no explicit reference to God at all, Divine Providence is underlying the entire work. Also, there is a distinctly sacramental nature to LOTR. For example, the statement from the talkative nurse that the hands of the king are the hands of a healer.
- As Peter Kreeft said, the Messiah figure in LOTR is divided into three different characters--priest (Frodo), prophet (Gandalf), and king (Aragorn).
- I believe it was also Peter Kreeft who said that the setting of LOTR is best thought of as on Earth thousands of years before the coming of Christ.
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- Tolkien said again and again that he hated allegory and that LOTR is not an allegory. It's so easy to see how it almost works as an allegory for so many things, but I think it's best to take him at his word.
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Another option for a modern language that might work well with someone who is dyslexic but does well with a phonetic system is Italian. It's completely phonetic, has a great deal in common with Latin in terms of using it to figure out what Latinate words mean but without the complication (at least for me) of declensions. Given that the population of Italy is going down (like every European country), it may not be the most practical choice, but it's a beautiful country with wonderful people and a great place to visit.
In general terms, we tried Rosetta Stone years ago and found it not to be effective. We used Pimsleur last year, and while I liked it, most of my kids hated it. We're now using Fluenz, which again I like a lot. It's really much more of a traditional approach to foreign language with grammar and explanations in English. I think it's well thought out. My major was French and I lived in Italy, and I have to admit that my desire for perfection in this area has really slowed down our progress, but after nearly a year, I'm happy with this one, although I did have one of my sons go back to the beginning and make vocabulary cards as he was falling behind because he wasn't keeping up with remembering the vocabulary. It makes a big difference.
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Another great one for young kids just starting out with Italian is the Berlitz Italian for Kids tape set. It consists of songs and activities along with a workbook that goes with it. Our kids listened to it again and again, and I'm planning on using it with the little guys while the bigger kids do Fluenz, which I just purchased but haven't used yet.
That said, I would definitely not recommend the Berlitz adult Italian program. It may have gotten better, but while trying to use it before leaving for Italy, our Italian exchange student said that it was riddled with errors.
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I know you said you didn't want a computer-based program, so this may only be for others who come across the post.
We've been going through the same thing. I did study Italian, so I can help them but didn't want to "be" the curriculum. We did Pimsleur last year. It worked pretty well for my 16-year-old daughter who seems to have an ear for languages, but the other kids were complaining that they were completely lost, so we kept having to go back further in the lessons even though we had gone through them twice each time before continuing. As a result, we didn't get that far into the program.
I just bit the bullet and ordered levels 1 and 2 of Fluenz Italian. I like their method from what I can see. I found it used on Amazon at a considerable discount, and my 13-year-old who had the most vociferous complaints about Pimsleur said he really liked the sample lesson. We shall see.
My one determination is that whole family should study the same language at the same time so we can practice with each other.
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I am thinking about rearranging the order we do the SOTW volume 2 so that we go through all the chapters dealing with one continent and in some cases one country and then go to the next region of the world, etc. I'm wondering if anyone has done this and whether he or she found it efficacious.
I'll be using the audio version of this for all my bunchkins. This will be it for the littles, I'll be adding on The Old World and America for my middles and Light to the Nations for my teens, so I will already be doing a lot of work so that everything coincides. I did this last year too, and it worked quite well, but the one thing we kept in order was SOTW. However, my one complaint with SOTW is the fact that the leaping around the world makes it somewhat difficult to follow. Of course, Professor Bauer had to make the choice between leaping around in space or leaping around in time, and either choice would be reasonable.
Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone else has done this and if you thought it was worthwhile. Thank you!:grouphug:
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Dear Sandra,
I'm happy to help. It's the least I can do give all the tremendous help and wisdom I have garnered from this great forum over the last couple years.
Pax Christi,
Carla
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That's a great idea for getting updates.
I think Fred is tremendous for someone who is fairly good at making a few leaps here and there. I'll give you a run down on our experience so far:
16-year-old daughter: She had gotten halfway through Jacob's Algebra when we decided to switch to Fred. It was a real struggle for her, but math is not at all her strong suite. She just finished it after a little more than a year with the help of her younger brother, who is very good at math. She really needs something that walks her through step by step, so we are going to switch to TT Geometry for next year and hope for better things.
15-year-old son: He loves Fred! He went through beginning algebra, advanced algebra, and is now halfway through the geometry book. I actually have trouble getting him to put it down to do his other subjects, and he asks to do extra lessons whenever he can. There are times when he has to set it aside for a day or two (or call Grandma, who is a retired math professor thank God, because I am no help at all), but eventually whatever was causing the difficulty clicks, and he is on his way again.
12-year-old son: He started with the fractions and decimals book last year and then went through the 2 prealgebra books. He too has enjoyed them immensely, but this is the child who tends to rush through things (so he can go build forts a la Andrew Pudewa). He seemed to get it at the time, but I was noticing some gaps in what he recalls, so given his age, I am having him do the tests for Math Mammoth grades 5 and 6 first and then do any chapter for which he doesn't get at least a 90%. The author of Math Mammoth thought this would a good way to do it. As soon as he's done with about 5 more chapters, he'll be heading onto Fred algebra. FYI, he had been using Horizon until Fred/Math Mammoth, and I feel as though that didn't lead to very deep understanding of what he was studying. It was more formulaic, whereas both MM and Fred require much more figuring out what needs to be done to get to an answer. I say this after having been a big fan of Horizons for many years.
10-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son: We used Apples and Butterflies for these two just as a supplement, but much as I love Fred, I don't really see how these would accomplish much on their own. They were fun to read, and I get how Dr. Schmidt is really trying to keep math light and fun until they are older (perhaps considering it unnecessary as far as book learning goes), but having been there and done that with our oldest daughter, I think having a good foundation is important, so they are now using Math Mammoth as the primary math text, and I don't plan to continue with the elementary series of Fred. My 10-year-old will start on the Fred Fractions book as soon as she is ready for it and use that in conjunction with MM when she is ready for it.
Overall, I think Fred is fantastic. It combines challenging math with Far Side-esque humor that really appeals to all of us. However, I don't think I would recommend it to someone who struggles with math--at least not until some other means has been found to help with the struggles.
Hope this helps!
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Mine is AquinasHomeschool.wordpress.com. Now if I can just figure out how to get that in my signature...
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We just finished the last of The Joy of Science, and the kids are also doing a biology lab at our co-op. They started Apologia Biology before we did Joy of Science (which includes about 15 lectures on biology) and hated it.
I'm looking for a way to round out biology for two teens who are not very interested in the topic. We're looking at Brightstorm, Kahn Academy, parts of the Prentice Hall biology book we already own, or just focusing on human anatomy via several resources. Any suggestions?
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We are doing this with our oldest, most especially because she just needed some extra time for math. I hope it turns out for the best.
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This is just what we're doing now, and it's going well. Of note, you might find that Fred doesn't take an entire year per book. It really depends on the child. For my daughter for whom math is a struggle, she actually has taken an entire year for algebra I, but for my son who loves math, he has gone much faster.
I would recommend using the study guides where they exist. Also, if you go all the way through Math Mammoth and do Fred Fractions and Decimals and Percentages, that should be a really good, solid base for those. You could even do them at the same time.
FWIW, my now-12-year-old son was in 5th grade Horizons and then started on Fred Fractions, Decimals, and the 2 pre-algebra books last year, and we set aside Horizons. As much as I love Fred, I did notice a few gaps (could be because he tends to rush through things), so after getting Math Mammoth with my younger kids in mind, I spoke to the author of Math Mammoth who concurred that a good way to take care of those would be to give him each chapter test ahead of doing the chapter. If he gets 90 or above, he skips that chapter, and if he gets anything less, he does it. That's working well for us, and I think he should be ready to start on Fred algebra by next fall.
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I just signed up for a sample month but would love to hear the same thing. Does anyone have experience with this? Is it worth it?
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Thank you, everybody, for the replies so far. I concur with so many of them and am learning from others. Even after 11 years and counting, I'm definitely still learning--especially to find the right balance between relaxed and classical.
Cassy, I agree completely with everything you said! I too went through about a 4-month stint of unschooling when my oldest was about 7 I think. The kids really enjoyed it but never got around to learning much other than the dynamics of sand and Legos. I think it could possibly work with the right kids and the right parents, but not for us.
Also, whoever said that she learned from experience to plan and not just consider it "teacher busywork," wow, do I agree. I'm sort of embarrassed to admit that this is the first year that I really planned out the entire year in detail to the day, and it has been wonderful--not least of all because it keeps me from just taking the day off when life gets busy since it would mean reworking months of Excel spreadsheet.
I'd love to hear more responses. I'm hoping this will be of help to us "oldies" and even more to the new homeschoolers who are trying to map out their way.
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I am curious to hear how other homeschoolers who have been doing this for at least a few years would answer this question:
If you had to do it over again, what would you do differently?
I'll start.
We've been homeschooling for 11 years now. If I had to start over again over again, I would have been more confident of my knowledge of my own children, and during the early years of homeschooling, I would have been both more consistent about making sure it happened every day as well as more open to stopping a subject as soon as I saw my children's attention waning.
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Yes, that's correct that only level I of AAR is out so far, though readers for level II are already out. This is my 5th child, and to some degree I have to ask myself if this is simply a question of curriculum envy coming into play.
When I was teaching my oldest children to read, the only things out there that I knew about were 100 EZ Lessons and Writing Road to Reading, both of which we used. As far as I'm concerned, AAS is the easy method for busy moms to use Writing Road to Reading.
On a positive note, I have to say that of everything having to do with homeschooling over the years, my absolute favorite is watching that lightbulb go on when a child learns to read. Isn't that awesome?
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Thanks, Merry. I did look at All about Reading Level I and think he's pretty well beyond it. I'm not sure if it would work to start with Level II or if we should just continue with 100 EZ until it's done, All about Spelling, Explode the Code, and handwriting practice. We're also doing Bob books. I think overall what he needs is just more practice. I did go ahead and order one of their readers to go along with AAS level 2, which he'll be starting soon too.
Do you think AAR would be helpful on top of all the other things or not really?
I will do what you suggested regarding keeping sh and wh and ch in his review for AAS.
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My 6-year-old is nearing the end of 100 EZ Lessons (about lesson 80). He is already using All about Spelling and nearly through the first book.
What I'm wondering is whether he would benefit from All about Reading. I was a little shocked by the price of it, and I'm wondering if it's worth it. He's not to the fluent reading level yet and definitely still needs work on silent E's and combinations like "sh" and "ch" and "wh." He gets them as phonograms in All about Spelling, but he always has to be reminded of what sound they make in 100 EZ.
We definitely have a dyslexic streak within the family, so I'd like to help prevent the difficulties associated with it as much as possible.
Of note, he is also using Explode the Code and Handwriting without Tears.
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This is a long time after the last post, but I have used 100 EZ Lessons (along with Bob books, All about Spelling, and Explode the Code) with 5 kiddos now. We're on lesson 78 or 80 with my youngest. Nobody loved it, but I do like the method of teaching blending.
I would say that rather than doing it every other day, try doing it every day, but don't feel like you have to get through a whole lesson every day. I stop when I see attention fading or frustration growing.
Typically at this point in the book with my 6-year-old, we do the first half of the lesson one day and the story the next. He repeats the story only if I think he didn't read it fluently enough the first time. Also, since we're using All about Spelling and just starting using Handwriting Without Tears also, I just skip the writing part of it altogether.
Hope that helps.
Would this be enough for a physics lab?
in High School and Self-Education Board
Posted
Has anyone used the Hewitt text plus the Kinetic Books virtual lab? We'll be doing physics next year with my 3 teenagers (and I have never taken physics). None of them particularly enjoy doing experiments, so I'm wondering if anyone has done this combination and found that it worked or didn't.