Mary in GA
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Posts posted by Mary in GA
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the student really is prepared to go to Alg I. I have no experience with the programs you are looking at, but all the pre-alg programs I did look at were overly simple after going through SM. Ds went from 6B to Foerster's ALg I, and I'll do the same with dd at the end of this year. You can always take a slower pace if you need to since time is on your side.
MAry
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Many people coming from another program begin with the B level of the previous grade. The word problems throughout the program go way beyond traditional grade level texts requiring more higher level thinking and many steps to solve. Many problems introduce algebraic thinking well before the student is doing actual algebra. The textbook models drawing various types of pictures to help the student solve the problems. The IG has the solutions for the workbook exercises complete with diagrams, and I've found it really helpful at times. I'm on my second time through SM. There were no IGs first time around, and I'm a bit math challenged! Dd is in 6A now, and we also work through a "good" traditional 6th grade test to gain exposure to all the topics she'll meet in standardized testing. The word problems are really lame after working in SM!
Mary
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I have used TOG off and on for years but didn't use the writing portion after our first year with TOG. IMO it introduces too many compartmentalized types of writing too early. You can easily adapt assignments/question from TOG to fit other writing programs. For logic stage, I just required summaries a la TWTM.
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Thanks! That thread about why folks aren't using NEM was very enlightening. Now to figure out what to use with this dd-pretty bright but no big fan of math.
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Are you using NEM exclusively or supplementing? Do you plan continue with all 4 books in the series? What about the SAT?
I used NEM 1 with ds, now graduated, but switched to Foerster. I am considering what to do with dd who is doing SM 6 this year. Thanks!
Mary
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I know there are many of you who frequent this board and use Singapore in conjunction w/ another math curriculum. There are also many who use Singapore exclusively. For those of you who fall into this latter category, do you ever look back and wish you had supplemented w/ another program, whether it be for extra review or drill or perhaps just another approach?? Do you think your kiddos would have been better off had you used another resource alongside the Singapore texts, or are you fully satisfied w/ the results of Singapore alone?
I've been using Horizons and Singapore for a few years now, and while I've been very pleased w/ this combo, I'm starting to think that I'd like to drop Horizons and focus exclusively on the Singapore books (ds will be starting 4A in the fall). I'm a bit nervous, though, as the combo provided a safety net of sorts; I felt secure in using the two b/c I was sure my boys would be well covered that way. Now I'm just wondering if it's necessary... any thoughts??
I have done the opposite of what you're planning. I used Singapore exclusively in the lower grades and then supplemented more in levels 5 and 6. The reason for this was I did not plan for ds to use NEM, so I wanted exposure to a broader range of topics.
With dd, just finishing 5B, I'll supplement through level 6 even though I've not decided whether to continue with NEM or not. Also, I think she needs more work on percentage concepts.
It can really be a hassle to coordinate 2 different programs, but sometimes I think it really is necessary.
Mary
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Winners: GR 5 dd 11
SOTW 4
Latin Prep :001_smile:
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Well, for my very haphazard ds the school of hard knocks was the best teacher of organization skills. Ds did joint enrollment his senior year, and after losing track of due dates and test dates and assorted information, he got his organizational act together. I am happy to say he made good grades, but there were some scary moments.
I think your ds will learn good organizational schools as he goes. Part of it is finding methods that work for him. He still has plenty of time to develop those skills. Good luck to him and you.
Mary
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until reading all these post! Seems like I'm always looking ahead. We've homeschooled 10 years and just graduated our first! Now I'm in tears! Sniff!
Mary
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First, as a disclaimer, I want to say that the subject of formal logic makes my head spin off.
We have never used CT, but ds and I did Fallacy Detective and Intro Logic in 7th. Then Traditional Logic I, II in 8th/9th. I had a lot of trouble with Intro Logic. I found it disorganized and confusing, especially at the Interm Logic level, so I dumped it and went to Traditional Logic. Traditional Logic is very organized, and I kept up with ds through book I, but largely left him to his own devices through book II. It has served him well in college.
Now after saying that, the newer Intro/Interm Logic series is improved over what we used. And having worked through some of the Traditional Logic myself, I have no trouble with the Intro/Interm logic series. In fact, it contains some interesting things such as truth tables and the logic of mathematical proofs that the Traditional series does not contain. I am seriously considering the Intro/Interm Logic series for dd for 7th, because I want to work through them now.
I've probably only confused you now!
Mary
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Ds did grammar up through 11th grade. Otherwise, he would have forgotten 75% of the rules by the next school year. But some kids probably do not need that.
Mary
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I just have to post this. Ds is doing dual enrollment, and the college he attends requires a class titled Critical Thinking as a prerequisite to any computer programming courses. The class is a combination of formal logic and, I guess, what you would call modern critical thinking. We did the Traditional Logic series in 8th/9th, and ds is now one of 5 students who has an A in the class out of about 50 students, and he's exempt from the final. Most of his public school counterparts had no clue. A warm fuzzy for me!
Thanks!
Mary
:001_smile:
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and I feel free to make all kinds of substitutions. However, I was not comfortable doing that my first year or two with TOG, especially since I was using it at the rhetoric level. Using Y3 now with my younger dd, I incorporate SOTW, alter discusion material, and use whatever substitutes are available for titles I can't easily find. I don't think substituting with a spine of your choice would be a bad idea at all.
BTW, I can't wait until we're back on Y1 so I can use the redesign!
Mary
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Thanks again. And I'm sure I'm going to have some questions!
Mary
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Hey, I had saved several posts of yours about your process of getting your own homeschool accredited. We had a hard drive fail on our old computer, and I have lost all of them. Would you please link me to whatever document it was that explained this process, and maybe briefly outline how you went about it?
I got ds accredited at the 11th hour, and he is doing dual enrollment now. But I wanted to explore different options for dd -and not at the last minute! Thank you so much.
Mary
Can this be done or am I CRAZY? Please advise
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
OhElizabeth's post was excellent. I tried something very similar with my friend next door last year when she was new to homeschooling (and she came into homeschooling rather reluctantly). It took up too much of my time. Things that we ordinarily completed very quickly took much longer. We finally reduced our together subjects to literature study and associated projects. This year they are doing K12 which my state offers free.
Mary