MyLittleWonders
-
Posts
2,661 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
1
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by MyLittleWonders
-
-
What's CWH for history? Not that I need to even look at another history book. :lol:
-
So I wonder if I should just repost instead of adding corrections here and there. :lol:
LA/English: I've decided to have ds11 and ds9 to Intermediate Language Lessons. Ds6 will be doing Primary Language Lessons. I also am debating Analytical Grammar only for ds11 (2-3 year track on that, so just a couple times a week). But I'm not sure and haven't ordered anything. They are getting grammar through Latin (which I was always a little unsure about until I started seeing it happen). Maybe I'll just use Our Mother Tongue (which I own) and do some work with him in small units.
History: I think when we get there, I'll be switching over to Light to the Nations as our main spine. But, I need to read through it first; K12 HO is written at a level where they get it and I've heard LttN can be a bit more advanced in terms of information. Maybe just for ds11 and have ds9 reading independently from Old World's Gifts to the New or Old World and America. I'm still working that out.
So, I'm glad I'm still working through the end of this year so I can keep changing my minds on next year. ;)
-
Am I the only one whose first thought was "Phoebe's Grandmother's recipe?" (Friends) I think I have forever linked chocolate chip cookies to that episode. ;) I used to love the Nestle recipe before going GF; now I'm still on a hunt for the best GF recipe. But, I will echo what others have said: chill the dough before baking, especially if it's a warm day.
-
To quote you again ;) ... did Vin do ILL as an 11 and 12 year old?
ILL teaches everything that's in WWS1, just in a non direct format and much more relying on the teacher. I mean, I took notes, there were a few lessons that might be useful, but a few lessons is not worth a whole book.
What I've found with ILL is that the guided story prompts (on reports, dialogs, whathaveyou) that the kids really let their creativity out according to their maturity. Meaning, last year Vin (then12) would give me two pages of a fictional story off of a dialog prompt and Nate (9) would give me a few paragraphs. Which is a reasonable outcome, I thought.
-
Thanks for the review. I think I'll get it, if anything to mine the lessons that I think might ds9 mature a bit in what might be a slightly gentler approach before beginning WWS 1 with him. I started WWS 1 in the spring of 5th grade with ds11 and it was not very successful. Between last spring and this past fall, I think we did about 15 weeks, but in the end he was not quite ready for it. Ds9 is a bit more advanced in terms of his abilities at the same age, but emotionally he's younger than his academic skills.
I do know that we I start WWS 1 with ds11 this summer/fall, I will be teaching it rather than giving it to him. I think that is what also didn't work so well the first time we tried. But, I still struggle with ds9 and placement. He can do so much that his older brother can do (though maybe not with the same amount of output), but he is 2 1/2 years younger (2 grade levels), and despite his academic advancement, he is still a very young one for his grade (5 days before the cut-off, which when he began first grade was December 2). I vacillate between having him do advanced work because he can (for instance he did FLL 4 between the end of 2nd grade and the end of 3rd grade, and did it well) and keeping him back a little bit because of emotional maturity.
Maybe having ILL on hand, so I can flip through the lessons, will help me work a plan for him for 5th grade before expecting him to do all the work in WWS 1 in 6th. I also like the idea of guided story prompts. The boys are all enjoying Freewrite Fridays via BraveWriter, and I think ds9 would do well with a bit more structure, yet with a lot of freedom within that structure to write. And, maybe doing the lessons in ILL (even if we don't do them all), will help give him a bit more foundation and confidence and time to mature to be that much more successful with WWS. Although, that means I need to carve out 3 different time periods for teaching writing to each boy. Thankfully the lessons in PLL look short enough, at least in the beginning lessons that they shouldn't take nearly as long as a WWS lesson.
ILL teaches everything that's in WWS1, just in a non direct format and much more relying on the teacher. I mean, I took notes, there were a few lessons that might be useful, but a few lessons is not worth a whole book.
What I've found with ILL is that the guided story prompts (on reports, dialogs, whathaveyou) that the kids really let their creativity out according to their maturity. Meaning, last year Vin (then12) would give me two pages of a fictional story off of a dialog prompt and Nate (9) would give me a few paragraphs. Which is a reasonable outcome, I thought.
-
So I just received Primary Language Lessons in the mail from Amazon. :lol: I think it'll be great for ds6. Now I'm debating getting ILL for ds9; he'll be going into 5th grade and I was going to just have him do WWS 1 along with ds11 (who will be in 7th next year). But maybe a gentler approach using ILL for another year or two wouldn't be a bad idea. I struggle with him because he's advanced, especially in L/A, but he's also very sensitive and WWS might be too overwhelming for him even though he could probably do it. Any thoughts?
I am so looking at PLL for ds6 now. Trying to figure out how to justify it (I already own WWE 1-4, FLL 1-4 except workbooks, and love using The Wand, though that could just be turned into our copywork - I don't necessarily plan on buying more because I get the general ideas of how the lessons are put together and why). He actually seems like the right kid for using it. Isn't it available free as an ebook somewhere?
-
Now that I finally have 2nd semester 6th grade planned, I can think about 7th grade. <shiver>
Math: Singapore 6B/LoF PreAlgebra 1 first semester and either Dolciani PreAlgebra Accelerated/LoF PreAlgebra 2 -or- MUS Algebra/LoF PreAlgebra second semester. We have to wait and see as we work through first semester. We dropped Singapore 6; there just wasn't enough there for ds11. We are now working through Lial's PreAlgebra (opted for Lial's over Dolciani because I feel very strongly about having word problems/application problems in every lesson if possible; Dolciani seemed lighter in that department). We will continue Lial's PreA in 7th grade combined with LoF PreAlgebra (both books if possible - he does these much more independently).
History: moving through Ancients (Greece and Rome) with K12 Human Odyssey plus a couple Catholic history books into Medieval Times using lessons/maps from History Odyssey level 2. I think we are moving our spine to our Catholic history book and using K12 as our supplement. I'm not positive as I like them both. Plus, I may keep with my spring-time experiment of having ds11 and ds9 (5th grade next year), read through assigned pages and then taking time together to discuss/do mapwork/etc. Up until this spring, I had been reading out loud for them.
Science: I'm pretty sure we'll do REAL Science Odyssey Biology level 2. I'm waiting for it to be released so I can look at samples, but out of the various curricula we have used, we all liked the REAL Science Odyssey year the best. If I don't like it, I'm not sure what to do. Maybe we'll try the So You Really Want to Learn Science (I think that's the right name). We are actually going to do REAL Science Odyssey Chemistry (level 1- I know it's supposed to only be for 2-5 grade, but I'm adding some extra books and activities to make it a good introduction to chemistry for ds11).
Literature: "Good Books" list books; some read aloud and some assigned, discussing them with Teaching the Classics.
Writing: A mix between Bravewriter and WWS
Grammar: I'm seriously considering Analytical Grammar for ds to spread out over a three-year period (finishing sometime in 9th grade). We get a lot of grammar through Latin, but I think AG will help solidify some stuff.
Latin: Latin for Children A (also taking care of vocabulary and grammar) We are going to add Lingua Angelica to our Friday Latin studies for fun.
Logic: Not sure yet what to do with this. If we go with a curriculum, I lean towards Classical Academic Press materials. But really I don't know.
Religion: Faith & Life 7; I might introduce a couple Amy Welborn Prove It! books as I think we'll be done reading through Marigold Hunt's books. And Bible. And Saints. F&L 7 will either be independent or not done; we just started a catechism called Totally Catholic, which is written for the 9-12 year old crowd, but covers all the Sacraments (ds11 and ds9 will both be entering the Church next Easter so I feel we need not only regular religious ed., but Sacrament prep too).
I think that covers it.
-
Well, I think I've already changed the plans for ds11 and math. :lol: I really like the "look" of Dolciani, but there aren't enough word problems/application for my tastes (nor dh's). So, I think we'll be going with Lial's as our spine. I just have to get used to it feeling more cluttered. And, I think we are going to ditch Singapore 6A/B completely. He likes the program (could have fooled me!) but there's just not enough at this level for him and I don't have enough time to use it as a supplement as I have him doing Life of Fred supplementally/on his own. So, math for ds11 in 7th grade, until further notice ;) , will be Lial's PreAlgebra plus Life of Fred. That may change.
-
One of my boys' favorite is "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." We took about 4 weeks to memorize it (basically from Thanksgiving until Christmas) and they "performed" it for family. My older two (6th and 4th) just memorized "America for Me" by Henry Van Dyke. It should only have taken us about 3 weeks, but I got a bit inconsistent for a couple weeks there, so we worked on it for about six. They just started "O Captain, My Captain," which I figure will about two weeks. I'm trying to find poems that are at least 3-4 stanzas long and a bit more substantial than what they have done in the past (a lot of Robert Louis Stevenson). And like happypamama above, I plan on having them learn non-poem pieces like the Preamble (and we do Bible verses for memory work as well).
-
Maybe some Lois Duncan? She has some scary stuff. I loved them at that age, but I don't remember if there is anything that could be considered inappropriate.
My girlfriend and I used to read her books when we'd want to get freaked out (maybe they aren't as freaky as I remember them as I'm kind of a scaredy cat ;) ). They aren't classic literature, but I also don't remember anything about them that would be inappropriate.
-
I agree with kiana. I don't think that is a good idea at all and that you should look at your priorities in terms of subjects. Here, religion, math, and literature are our top three subjects. On tight days, sick days (sick enough not to feel great but not sick enough to be in bed) we only do those three. If anything gets bumped of those three it is usually literature (read aloud). So, I would look at everything you are trying to do in a school day/week/year and prioritize them, drop what isn't necessary at this time, and then restructure your day.
I am currently only teaching math to three, but I also do daily "school" stuff with my dd (Down syndrome) which includes reading, math stuff, physical therapy stuff, etc. So, essentially I am schooling four. Maybe the programs we are using aren't as teacher-intensive as Saxon (I've never used it), but I give each kid a 15 minute lesson or so (a bit longer at times for ds11 who is doing PreAlgebra). While I work with one, the others might be doing something independent (their assignment if they already were given a lesson), typing, playing with their sister, etc. Our math/independent work block takes about 1 1/2. I make sure to start with one of the older two boys who need a full lesson. Ds6's math is still just open the workbook and discuss the topic/concept together while he works problems.
To me, math is a subject that needs almost daily input and not just drill/skill work. I know if we even do only four days a week for too long my boys start to get rusty. As it is, we continue to do math through our "summer break" just to make sure they don't forget key concepts. I don't think doing 6 months of instruction and 6 months of drill will help them build a strong math foundation to see them through the high school years.
-
My boys have fun with it, but they go in spurts. My oldest, especially, will use it the most, but if you averaged how much time he spends on it, it'd probably be less than an hour every week or two. It's not mandatory, and they do not have free access to media in the first place (iPads/computers/etc). So, when they have some free time, they will go and watch videos of experiments, sometimes get inspired to do something, and then upload it. I think ds11 has about 12 things uploaded in a variety of skills. He has earned a couple badges for doing at least three per skill. Yesterday ds11 spent some time responding to some comments he had received since the last time he was on there. For us, it's just a fun site/app that occasionally gives them ideas for fun "experiments"/activities they can do on their own and share. But, overall, it's just fun and extra around here; it is definitely not part of our curriculum or structured school day. And yes, I would (and have) recommend it to others.
-
Right now we are using K12's Human Odyssey for Ancients. (I am such a book junkie that I bought all three at once - they are fantastic books and filled with original source documents/stories/etc.) I also have CSTP's Light to the Nations (as well as Old World's Gifts to the New and The Old World and America) for the Catholic perspective. And, I have Mills's Renaissance on the shelf. I think we will stick with K12's as a spine interlaced with CSTP's books.
On a slight side note, I am tired of reading everything out loud all the time, so I decided to make history, at least for the rest of the year, our "Little House on the Prairie" subject. (We've been reading/listening to all the stories.) In other words, the older two (6th and 4th) read through an assigned set of pages in the K12 book and then later have to answer questions from me and/or orally narrate the lesson. ;) It has totally freed up some time for me (I do plan on doing map work and such together after they finish a chapter).
-
Does the added security include the "prove you are not a robot" part before you are allowed to post? I responded to a thread and then pretty quickly responded to another post within the same thread (forgot to add something before I hit post the first time). Before the site would allow me to post, I had to enter the random strings of letters/words like what you find on blogs (I'm sorry I don't know the technical name).
-
These might not be the level you're looking for, but my kids have liked the Fr. Lovasik Catholic Picture Bible.
Also, Golden Press in the '50s published a 2-volume children's Bible, gorgeously illustrated, in both Catholic and Protestant versions. Take a look:
http://www.flickr.co...in/photostream/
The GP volumes are hands-down our favorite children's Bible. There is no limit to the reading aloud from them.
So, I had to go find them both on Amazon and order them. :lol: I have no self-control, especially when it comes to older/vintage books.
-
Ok, so the first part of Noah's Ark states that the world was full of wicked people, that God decided to sweep everything away in a flood of water and that Noah & his family were the only good people left in the world. After that, it focuses on the building of the ark, the rain itself and then safety on solid ground after the flood. As a read aloud, the beginning part could easily be skipped.
-
You already mentioned the two I was going to recommend. :) I need to keep working through TWSS but I've watched TtC nice through and plan on watching it again (and again). It is fantastic and finally convinced me that I can do literary analysis.
-
I don't care for white. I have a bed frame from Ikea.
It's a lot like this one:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S59931590/
Surprisingly it has held up well. We have had it for 10 years and have moved 5 times (and taken it apart and reassembled it each time). It's still going strong. We bought a latex mattress from a local furniture store.
Most of our bedroom furniture is built in. It is white. I like it ok. DH has a big closet he brought from Germany. Kinda hard to describe what it looks like. It's unpainted wood.
We have that bed frame in white as well as the matching dresser. Our closets are built in and also Swiss Coffee white. Our walls are a pretty sepia like color and our bedding a pale bluish color. Ilike the contrast the white furniture/closets give to the walls.
-
It sounds similar in a way to All About Spelling. We do the words for that lesson (I read them out loud to the boys - they don't see them on a list) and then I give them 3-4 short dictation sentences that utilize those words. So, four days a week, we'll do ten words (we tend to do the lesson two days in a row but with different words; so we are focusing, say, on the au/aw spelling pattern with a variety of words) and 3-4 sentences dictated (they are probably about 7-8 words long and have only one or two spelling words in each sentence and the rest are all review from things they already have learned). On Fridays, if we have time, I give them about 5-6 dictation sentences from that week's lesson(s). By the way, the dictation sentences are a variety of statements, exclamations, and questions. I also want to add in some dialogue (I can't remember if the upper levels of AAS have dialogue; we took a break and then went back a few levels to relearn a few spelling patterns/rules that were a bit shaky).
-
I used to teach Island to fourth graders. It was "appropriate" in content (though some found it sad/depressing), but I think the story would be better received/understood by older children. I had kept it on the shelf for my boys; we will probably read it next year when ds9 is in fifth.
As for Around the World, dh just started that tonight as a read aloud. He's excited and thinks it will be a great story for the older two (ds6 spent tonight with me; usually when he's reading a book geared more for the older two, I'll read younger books to ds6).
I agree with Susan and Lori D.; I think some books are better kept for older kids even if they "can" be read by younger kids.
-
It does have Noah's Ark in it; if you want, I can check the text in the morning to see if there's much scariness (in terms of focusing on the others not in the ark), as well as the other stories told. My ds6's favorite story is the Good Samaritan. :) The pictures are beautiful and often have things to look for while reading (for instance, on one of the Noah's Ark pages, it have a little spot on the bottom of the page that tells you to find as many pairs of animals as you can.
-
We watched the Easter Service live on our spanish channel. Dd and I were in tears when Pope Francis hugged the boy. I was so touching.
Here's a video if you haven't seen it. Pope Francis
Just beautiful!
-
Funny enough, my kids would watch them as they seem to be addicted to any screen time they can get. :rolleyes: I might have to get both the Gregorian DVD plus the CD/Teacher's Guide for Lingua Angelica.
-
This is my youngest son's picture Bible: My Catholic Picture Bible. He loves the stories (they are short and very colorful) and will usually ask for a few each night. Catholic Child Catalogue has some images of the inside.
Scheduling
in Pursuing a Classical Liberal Arts Education
Posted
First, I'd love to see people's schedules or routines, especially with multiple kids.
Secondly, I'm not sure how to fit what we do within the Great Books Academy sample schedule. My kids would love science four days a week, and if I have the older two read history independently, we can use Friday for map work and such. I also want to rework a bit the order of our days, but I feel a bit stuck in the order. Here is our current schedule:
Religion and memory work
Math and independent work
Literature/read aloud
Break
Latin
Spelling
Writing
Break
Electives (when we get to them; we start so late for a few different reasons, none of which include me up at 12:35 am asking about schedules!)
I like starting with religion or read aloud (we can start with prayer even if our Bible/catechism/etc comes later) But I'm debating switching our language arts with math just for something different knowing that we will get math done even if it is later in the day.
Has anyone yet been successful in implementing the GBA sample schedule?