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AngelBee

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    Sonlight or My fathers world?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    We are looking MFW 1st right now and loving it!!! We also use many, many of the SL books. Both are beautiful programs. MFW 1st is easier for my to teach reading with as of right now.

     

    I own SL phonics program with is also good. I prefer workbook and worksheet pack though in MFW.

     

     

     

    Exactly. Just add SL books as your "Book Basket" in MFW. Besides, as you go through the years, you'll see numerous SL titles on the Book Basket list here and there (in addition to others, and video titles, too). It really doesn't have to be an either/or in this case.

     

    And if your son is near the end of MFW K and finding it easy, that's a GOOD thing. That means he's learned something and has grown while using the program. ;) Next is MFW 1st, which actually covers two years' worth of phonics skills in one. (In fact, you may reach a point where you have to slow down to work on a particular skill for a bit before moving on... and this is normal with any phonics program.) But it also covers many other LA skills, so it's not *just* phonics. It's really a complete language arts program for that age. I also love how MFW ties the Bible overview study and Proverbs memory verses in with the reading and LA skills via copywork, narrations, notebooking, etc.

     

    After MFW 1st is completed, then you'll choose separate LA materials (as well as math) for your child's individual skill level in those areas. (This is one of the things that makes MFW doable with multiple ages in the family, for those who are schooling more than one child.) You can either use their recommendations for math and LA or not. But you can keep adding SL books through the years, as time and interest allow. :)

    Where are large homeschooling communities in the US?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    We live in MN and find it very easy to homeschool here. :) There is a TON of options and groups.

     

     

    The Twin Cities metro area (Minneapolis, St Paul, plus lots of suburbs) in Minnesota has a big homeschooling community of all types: religious, secular, unschoolers, etc. I think people can find a group of pretty much any kind, and at least where I'm at in Minneapolis it seems pretty accepted. The possible downside is that Minnesota is a state that requires testing...but you don't have to submit the results (you just agree to seek additional testing of your own choice if the student is below the 30th percentile), and any nationally normed test is accepted so it is pretty easy to meet the testing requirements. Oh, and it's cold here. :laugh:

    Blog -- "Why I left TOG and Sonlight" though this was good and worth sharing

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Yeah...I'm 2 years in TOG and committed for the long haul. Can't imagine throwing away the money and time I have spent. I own TOG1, TOG2, and TOG3. (Haven't used year 1 yet)

     

    I use tons of SL books and haven't had an issue. Also have purchased used on ebay and new from the Bookshelf Central.

     

    No way am I giving up now. Lol Now for each child I can leave out as much as I want and still feel like I have gotten a great deal. I will be using TOG until 2034 as of now. :0 :lol:

    TOG/Sonlight?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Thank you for taking the time to type that out. That is really helpful! :)

     

     

     

    Well, I make more work for myself at this point because my son does both upper and lower grammar, and I add in lots of other things. So, having said that...

    First, I print out the pages of reading assignments for each week, front with the recommended and back with the alternates. I go through and make a list on the computer of every book used that has title, author, and which weeks they are used. I bold the ones I already own and look to see which ones are used a lot so that I definitely want to buy. Then I check to see if my library has the rest. I note in small letters below each checkbox on the reading assignment pages if I own it (or will definitely buy), the library has it, or I definitely don't want it. Then I glance through each page to look at what wasn't marked to decide if I want to buy it or can use something else I already own or something else from the library. Then, I get out my SOTW activity book and add any books from the recommended reading in there to each week with SOTW listed. I write those right on the reading assignments pages. I also add in Sonlight books or other favorites.

    I go through the activity suggestions for each week in TOG and in SOTW and choose which ones I'm willing to do.

    Then I make a list, by week, of what I'll need to order from the library each week and what supplies I'll need to gather each week for activities.

    I also print out any map work, evaluations, student pages, etc., that I'll need. It all goes in a binder with 36 tabs, each week filed behind the week number. Each week, I look ahead to what I'll need for the next week and order from the library and make sure I have supplies.

     

    Let me know if that doesn't make sense. There's a lot of noise in my house at the moment..

     

    Common core in a nut shell for those interested. You may be alarmed!

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    This is the crux of the problem w/ CC, IMO. If you take a state like MN, we do pretty good overall. If you look deeper at the numbers it gets more interesting (for lack of a better word). White kids who live above the poverty line do really, really well for the most part. Minority and poor kids are trailing way behind. CC does nothing to address this core problem. When the federal govt' mandates this stuff there is usually a huge expense and if history is any indication very little change in outcome. Now you are stuck with no way out of CC (in theory), and it becomes harder all the time to implement change locally when you trying to meet the new requirements the feds throw at you every 5 years.

     

    The deeper problem is that I don't think anybody knows what TO do. So, you throw more money and mandates at the problem, because those are the only tools you have in your toolbox. You hope that one of these times you start seeing improvement; I'm not holding my breath.

     

    In MN also and totally agree with you.

    Using Tapestry of Grace with The Well Trained Mind

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Second, I find my kids working at the lower age range for history and the upper age range for literature. My dd would not have gotten much out of the UG history readings this year, but she did UG lit without a problem.

    I am the one with a weird kid. She is in 5th grade and is doing all D literature but struggles with the history and does mostly UG history. :)

     

    I use SOTW with TOG and use the SOTW AG.

    TOG Year 1 with SOTW spine chronologically?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Being the glutton for pain that I am, I have decided to rearrange TOG to fit with SOTW. I feel pretty good about it, though...let's hope I still do once we're putting it in practice :)

     

    I did move one chapter of SOTW and I combined some (consecutive ones) since I needed to put 42 weeks into 36. I won't be doing all weeks of TOG but since it's supposed to be "pick and choose" anyway, this reformatting is actually helping me do that. I also compared the books (for the first 9 chapters of SOTW AG) with the ones for TOG and there is some overlap, so I'm ordering them all from the library (we have a really good system here in the SF Bay Area) and will use whatever seems like the best fit.

     

    The hardest part (besides the reworking) was philosophical - choosing between using a chronological approach (SOTW) and a Biblically ordered one (TOG) so I actually let the kids decide, and they wanted to go in order - the apple doesn't fall far from the tree :D

    I would be interested in seeing your schedule and knowing how it went for you so far. :)

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