Masers
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Posts posted by Masers
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21 hours ago, 8filltheheart said:
Just repeating.....homeschooling is not school at home. My general rule of thumb is that academic seat time is approximately 1 hr per grade level. So 1st grade is about 1 hr-1 1/2 hrs of seat work. 4th, no more than 4.
For grades K-2, I focus on math, handwriting, phonics, reading. I don't add science and history until 3rd grade. I personally wouldnt use MP at home bc kids do not need to spend time filling in worksheets. You can discuss things with them; they can draw pictures; the 4th grader can write summations or create booklets.
I have been homeschooling for a very long time (since 1994). Making it work requires everyone in the family being on board to make it work. All of you need buy-in. Take time to deschool. Deschooling is allowing time to adjust to a new lifestyle. They will need time to adjust to not going to school just as much as you need to adjust having them home. Develop routines. Create a learning environment....reading times, nature walks and drawings, listen to music, encourage self entertainment, etc.
Success is not checking off workbook boxes. Success is kids wanting to learn. "Education is not filling a bucket. It is lighting a fire."
This is great advice. Follow this!
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On 4/4/2024 at 8:12 PM, Classically Minded said:
I don't think anything compares to All About Spelling for those who struggle with spelling. My DD20 who struggled with spelling used it and it was excellent, we did 6 levels. My DS11 is a natural speller and didn't struggle, so we used Spelling Workout workbooks for him and utilized Spelling City for the tests.
I think you’re probably right! Thank you. 🙂
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22 hours ago, amyrachele said:
I think that Math Mammoth was a huge fail for us because it didn't dive into the topics as much as he needed. I had read that Beast Academy explains everything very thoroughly. I was actually looking at the Good and the Beautiful for him and he placed into their fourth grade book. However I've also heard that it can be a really weak curriculum and I don't want to do him a disservice in the future.
I don’t get this criticism. I don’t know why it would be considered weak (although I have heard that on this board many times). I’m looking at pre-algebra programs for my son who has used TGTB the last three years, and he has already covered basically everything I’m seeing in several pre-algebra programs. I’ve looked at sample chapters of other programs and what he is doing seems above and beyond. I am confident he will be ready for whatever I end up choosing for him (probably either Derek Owens or Saxon).
My friend, who recommended it to me initially, had her husband review it before they selected it, and it got his stamp of approval.He was a math major in college and works in a related field now. My husband is very mathy and aced all the most advanced honors classes for math in high school and college, and he said he feels like the stuff our sixth grader is doing is what he remembers from pre-algebra and that he seems on track with everything. Granted, our memories of what we were doing in math in 6th grade is probably a little foggy at best, but still—I don’t have any reservations. (Whereas I had major reservations when we tried out Math Lessons for a Living Education…I was like, yeah, no, this is way too weak. Before we landed on TGTB, we had tried Singapore, Beast Academy, and MLFLE.)No, it’s not on the same level as beast academy, or some of the very advanced curriculums, but I feel like it’s at least on level if not above level. And some kids may need more review and practice, but I think like it’s actually been great for my mathy kid, because he doesn’t need a lot of practice problems. I feel like if there are five problems and he misses three or four, well, obviously we need to look at that concept again. But if he gets all five right, why does he need to do fifteen? He seems to understand and grasp everything from the video lessons, and overall I’ve just been extremely pleased.
But maybe I’m missing something here. I guess we will see when he moves on next year!
If your son only tested in the 4th grade level for TGTB, but he will be in sixth grade next year, I would probably want to look at getting something very foundational and ensuring that he has a strong base to move on from. It sounds like there are gaps, and switching curriculums each year isn’t going to help that! That would be three years in a row of doing a 4th grade curriculum, and so obviously things aren’t clicking for some reason.
If it were ME, I would probably choose something mastery based, since it sounds like he’s not really getting things down pat before moving on, and then doesn’t retain what he’s learned in the past. I think I would go back to Rod and Staff, because that’s a pretty solid, tried and true, mastery based program. OR, if you really don’t want to do rod and staff, maybe Right Start. Is he your only kid? Right Start is more teacher intensive, so sometimes people with a number of kids have trouble using it, but it is more visual/kinesthetic AND more fun/engaging. Fewer worksheets, more games and manipulative. My friends who use it really sing its praises for giving a solid foundation.
Overall, the best math curriculum is the one you will stick with. So…I‘d really try to identify what you will enjoy using, what will work best for him, and then try to stick with it. If he needs extra practice, there are supplemental workbooks or games you could use on the side. Life of Fred is a very silly and fun program that we have used as a supplement, as well as stuff like Multiplication Facts that Stick (hands on workbook).
Good luck!!
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Beast Academy is a tough curriculum. My mathy kid struggled with it, because it’s presented in a conceptual way that really uses problem solving and critical thinking, and my kid does better just doing more procedural math. My son is good at math, but he just wants to get it done…he doesn’t play around with it for fun. I thought he would love the graphicsand comic book style writing, but it didn’t work. 😉
Are you looking for something more fun and engaging, then? It sounds like he has some trouble retaining his knowledge? Do you think a spiral method (continually revisiting concepts) or a mastery method (mastering one concept at a time) would work better for him? I’m not sure what math mammoth and rod and staff use, since we haven’t tried those.
But if you think continually revisiting previous concepts would work better for him, maybe look at either The good and the beautiful (fun! Pretty!) or Saxon (tried and true, and you could use video lessons if you think that would help. Nicole the Math Lady seems good, but there are others.).if you think he needs more or a mastery approach, maybe Math-U-See?
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12 hours ago, BusyMom5 said:
I had a little better of luck with an older kid using Apples and Pears Spelling by Sound Foundations. That would be my first choice for the 6th grader. Unfortunately some people just really struggle with Spelling. At around 8th grade I switched to Word Roots, I think it helped a bit. I also suggest looking at MegaWords. Our focus switched from focusing on Spelling to focusing on when to Google how to spell a word, picking the correct autocorrect, and homphones.
I'm hoping that AAS works with the 3rd grader, but Apples and Pears might fit him, too.
I would also do daily copywork.
Thanks! I appreciate the help. Lots of good options out there, at least! 😉
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3 hours ago, forty-two said:
Spelling You See was the first thing that came to mind. My oldest was a truly atrocious speller; turned out she couldn't perceive the insides of words, not visually or aurally - no wonder she couldn't spell. SYS's visual marking system worked wonders for helping her learn to pay visual attention to the inside bits of words. We actually used the SYS system with any and all dictation we did.
Level A (and B, to an extent) of SYS are different from the other levels - they're working on basic phonetic spelling - so him disliking that level doesn't mean much wrt to the rest of the levels. (Although disliking it could be related to finding it very hard; my dd hated R&S spelling for that reason.) I did Level C with my dd, and it was fairly independent. The first day I had her read the passage, and mark it with me watching and correcting, and then I had her do the copywork on her own; subsequent copywork days I let her do on her own. The only day that really required my sustained attention was the dictation day, once a week, and that's about 15min.
Interesting!! I had pretty much ruled out spelling you see due to thinking it would need heavy involvement from me. I do wonder if that’s what he has going on, I don’t know. A good example would be spelling “much” “mcuh”. Like the right letters but the wrong order. Although he can make all kinds of slip-ups…mixing up “off” and “of”, or spelling “any” with an i or e instead of an a. And then sometimes he correctly spells harder words that really surprise me. So I have no idea.
I’ll give it another look! Thank you!
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On 3/20/2024 at 9:27 PM, SilverMoon said:
Megawords. Starting with level 1. It hits syllabication right off the bat, and then the rules within syllables. Learning how to spell a syllable at a time was so much less intimidating for my spelling struggler.
They're working directly with the rules on every page and they don't memorize lists of words. And it was written with older learners in mind. It won't feel babyish at all.
I just looked at this and it looks pretty perfect for my older son—but level one is for 4th-5th grade, so I think it will be too hard for my second son. I appreciate the suggestion!! I am going to order it for ODS.
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On 3/21/2024 at 5:45 PM, countrymum said:
I learned to read early, liked to write, liked school in general.... spelling however was a great big mystery. My Orton Gillingham class in college really improved my spelling. I'm using All about spelling with my dyslexic son and it is finally helping. He started to get it about age 11 and is slowly doing level 4 as a 12 yr old and spelling is slowly improving. He also does a lot of oral letter by letter spelling to practice words he struggles with.
If you have reason to suspect dyslexia for any child pick some Orton Gillingham based spelling program. Dictation will not likely work for those children... otherwise I really like alot of CM style teaching.
Thanks! I don’t suspect dyslexia, but I do think there is *something*. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I’m wondering! I do think all about spelling is very good. Maybe I should just stick with it.
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On 3/21/2024 at 1:16 PM, LauraClark said:
Seconding Dictation Day by day. I took a year off last year and did sequential spelling with my 4th grader who just kept guessing weird letter combinations-that seemed to fix it for him and we're back to dictation day by day this year.
That is great to hear about sequential spelling! Thank you!
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On 3/20/2024 at 9:27 PM, SilverMoon said:
Megawords. Starting with level 1. It hits syllabication right off the bat, and then the rules within syllables. Learning how to spell a syllable at a time was so much less intimidating for my spelling struggler.
They're working directly with the rules on every page and they don't memorize lists of words. And it was written with older learners in mind. It won't feel babyish at all.
Ooh that sounds good! Thank you! Looking into it!
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On 3/20/2024 at 9:04 PM, chiguirre said:
I really like using copywork and dictation to practice spelling. I've used Dictation Day by Day by Kate Van Wagenen. There are volumes for grades 3 through 8. It's available on Google Books.
Thank you! TGATB uses dictation, which they hate, but I can see how much that has helped. That sounds interesting!
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My two oldest boys are very poor spellers. My oldest (6th grade) is kind of a “typical” bad speller (reminds me a lot of my dad and brother, who are both strong math people (engineers), and atrocious spellers—but you can always figure out what they’re *trying* to spell.). My third-grader is a real mystery to me. He is a very strong reader, a great writer….and cannot spell to save his life. He has to spell out everything, and tries really hard…and half the time I’m thinking, “why in the world would he think it’s that letter?” He told me he cannot visualize the words in his head. I feel bad for him, because he LOVES writing stories, but it’s so tedious…he has to ask me how to spell every other word. We walk through it phonetically, and he often makes mistakes even then. My kindergartner appears that he is going to be a pretty good speller…and he is starting to correct his older brother’s spelling. Gah.
However—I can tell he IS making progress. We’ve been using The Good and the Beautiful, and he does pretty well with it. Spelling things out with the letter tiles app seems to work for him. And having the repetition is also helpful. I also have him doing Explode the Code books, which is good for him, and then I’m doing All About Spelling for all three boys—the same level, level 1, just to work on super basic foundational stuff. It’s obviously geared towards my kindergartner, but I figured they could all benefit. Ha.
However, I’m looking for something a little different next year. I’m going to stick with TGATB and Explode the Code, but I just want something supplemental for a little extra practice for my older boys.
Any recommendations for independent supplemental workbooks? I’ve used Spelling Workout in the past, which is just okay IMO. I’ve also used cheap workbooks, like DK. I’m thinking maybe Spelling You See (although I started with that with my oldest when he was in K, and I think I remember that needing parent involvement? Also he hated it.), or Sequential Spelling, but I’m very interested in other ideas!!
Thanks so much!
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On 3/14/2024 at 12:50 PM, seemesew said:
I'd look at the Good and the Beautiful math! My daughters are loving it and its fun without being too much at the same time. Its also spiral so it reviews a good amount.
This has been a really great fit for all three of my boys so far. I’m impressed with it.
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23 hours ago, OakParkOwlets said:
Subscribe to his email list if you haven't already. I have seen at least two 50% off coupons sent out for the Algebra I/II bundle in the past few months, and I know there is a coupon at the end of the free pre-algebra course for just Algebra I if you try that and like the format.
Thanks!!
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On 2/16/2024 at 4:54 PM, OakParkOwlets said:
My daughter wants to be an Engineer as well and keeps telling me how much she loves algebra and wants to get to calculus ASAP. LOL. She did Math Mammoth for grades 1-6 but didn't want to do their pre-algebra this year so we went kind of a random route. She did Learn Math Fast books 1-2 as a review. Then did the free Pre-Algebra class at Easy Hard Science https://learnwithdrscott.com/course/free-pre-algebra-won/, which only takes about 6-8 weeks. Now she is doing Learn Math Fast books 3-4, then we will move directly into algebra. We are planning on doing the Algebra I/II classes at Easy Hard Science since she likes his video format. I emailed the person who presents the courses, because it looked honestly too short and easy, and he assured me that, as a chemical engineer himself, it was plenty of algebra preparation for a child who wants to pursue an engineering degree with the exception of proofs if they are interested in that. We have a MiaPrep lifetime subscription so my plan was to have her take the Algebra tests they have on their site just to confirm she was retaining the information and just keep moving forward. 🙂
Interesting! I have never heard of this! I looked at the site. It does look fairly easy….I looked at the algebra 1 worksheets and it was stuff he is doing now in sixth grade math? I think? I also have no clear understanding of the scope and sequence of pre-algebra/Algebra/algebra2. That’s awesome that it’s a chemical engineer doing it! I’ll keep this in mind! It looks fun and pretty self-explanatory.
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23 hours ago, seemesew said:
Have you thought of doing Thinkwell? I've heard some great things about it.
I looked at it! It looked good, too!
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On 2/14/2024 at 8:34 PM, ByGrace3 said:
She is doing her undergrad in exercise science with the goal of physical therapy school.
That’s awesome! Thanks!
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On 2/12/2024 at 12:50 PM, ByGrace3 said:
My oldest graduated last year. She completed College Algebra, Precalc and Statistics through DE all before she graduated. She felt very prepared.
Excellent! Did she go into any sort of STEM/math field, by chance?
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8 hours ago, 8filltheheart said:
I don't have any real suggestions for you if you want completely hands off. One recommendation I would make for the rest of 6th grade might be to supplement with something like Hands On Equations Verbal Problems Book. I use the book with my 3rd-5th or 4th-6th graders (depends on their general math abilities). The word problems are great way to start thinking about how equations work and simple algebraic thinking with working on both sides of an equation or simple substitution. There is a completely worked out solutions manual, so you don't have to understand yourself. The SM provides great explanations.
Fwiw, my kids have only ever used DO's pre-cal and physics courses. 2 of my kids had zero problems with his approach and excelled. One felt there were gaps in his explanations and she couldn't bridge the information without finding explanations. So, I had to work with her in addition to his teaching to make sure she understood and help explain concepts that were not as well developed.
Thanks for this. Did you feel like DO’s stuff was hands off for the two kids that didn’t need extra help?
I do hate being *that mom* who is l Ike, “I don’t want anything to do with math, has to be totally hands off,” but I really feel like for his benefit, I should not be doing much. Ha. When he runs into trouble with a problem even NOW, in 6th grade pre-algebra style math, I’m like, “hmmm…” Usually I can figure it out, but, not going to lie…today I couldn’t. I finally had to just give him the answer, and then he worked backwards from that and figured it out and explained it to me. Ha. Like I don’t want to do him a disservice!! He needs someone way better than me!
That supplement sounds great!! I appreciate the suggestion!
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6 hours ago, ByGrace3 said:
Mr D does go through Calculus. Mr D's convention talks are always excellent -- not sure if he is the one going to be there but if he is, he is great!
Thanks! Are your older kids graduated? Did you feel Mr. D adequately prepared them for college? (If they went?)
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3 hours ago, ByGrace3 said:
We have been very happy with Mr. D Math. My oldest completed Algebra 1 through Precalc. DS pre algebra through currently doing Precalc. YDD preagebra through currently doing Algebra 1. Happy to answer any questions you have!
That is great to hear! Thank you. He goes through calculus, right? I am going to a homeschool conference next month and they are having someone from Mr. D come to talk. I’m going to go to all the math talks before I make a final decision. Leaning towards Derek Owens, but Mr. D is a strong contender.
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On 2/9/2024 at 3:19 PM, ktgrok said:
I don't know if it is rigorous enough for a really mathy kid, but Dennison math is a huge hit here. Very well done, very clear, absolutely NO frustration with anything as far as videos/solutions/etc. It's designed to be VERY predictable - There is a short video lesson where the concept is taught and then he works out sample problems. The sample problems are in the student notebook - it is always a 2 page spread, and always EXACTLY what is on the screen. They work them out along with the teacher. Then they work a problem out and see if they get it right (pausing the video). Then they see the solution. Then the actual assignment is also always a 2 page spread. That predictability seems silly, but it really helps math anxious kids feel confident - they don't waste brain power wondering how long the lesson is, they can just focus on the math. Every single problem is worked out in the solution manual PLUS there is a solution video for every lesson - where every problem is worked out on the video. Every test has a review first, and practice test. Then each test has a second version - if they don't do well on the first try they can retake it using the "version B" which is same format but different numbers/problems. Again, relieves anxiety knowing there is a do-over which frees them up to just focus on math.
Sounds like your kid doesn't need that - but wanted to mention it in case.
It doesn’t sound like this kid…but it does sound like my second kid! Thank you! I’ve never heard of Dennison!
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18 hours ago, Green Bean said:
Isn't TGTB releasing Math 7 this summer? That might be an option to consider if your guy is loving it. We use teaching textbooks for our pre-algebra to algebra 2 sequence. Clear, easy to understand, and use.
They are! But, unfortunately, Math 7 is not considered pre-algebra, which is what he needs to take next year. Their math 7 is going to be more of a review/strengthening of the concepts taught in math 6. They won’t release their pre-algebra course until 2025…too late for us!
I’ll probably use something more like teaching textbooks for my second son, who is more oriented towards language arts and less math inclined. But since my oldest is very adamant about engineering for a career, i feel pressured to make sure he has a very strong math background. Teaching textbooks reviews are just a little top mixed on that for me to feel comfortable! It’s great to hear you love it…my friends who use it irl also love it.
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On 2/8/2024 at 8:53 AM, Asker123 said:
Good decision. If he did not like beast academy than AOPS pre algebra could be a challenge.
That’s what I was thinking. It seems like AOPS is the gold standard around here, but beast academy was a miserable flop for us. Again, it was less a matter of his ability to do it and more about how it was taught and practiced. Each lesson was a struggle with tears.
Is Sonlight a good program?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
Sonlight is fantastic, IMO. We don’t follow the instructor guide, because I can’t stick to it with four kids at all ages. But we have done the cores from preschool through now Core D, and will do Core E next year. We just read through the books at our own pace. But the books are rich, and we really enjoy both the readalouds and the independent readers. My kids do separate math and language arts. If I had just one kid, I would probably follow it more closely. I have a friend with an only child and they have done it for years, and love it. I feel like it’s definitely a full education. It’s honestly pretty rigorous, considering how many books they read (and great books, too). And then of course you can go as advanced as you want with math and science.
It’s solid.
But also…don’t get married to the idea of sticking with one curriculum no matter what. Kids change, circumstances change. I love that we can make the curriculum work for us…homeschooling is wonderful, because you CAN make things flex and adapt to fit your family.