Sweet Home Alabama
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Posts posted by Sweet Home Alabama
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I use a product called Bona Kemi. It is specifically made to clean wooden floors. It is a concentrated liquid that I dilute and spray from a generic spray bottle. I use a broken Swiffer mop WITHOUT the Swiffer spray (I've heard Swiffer spray can hurt wooden floors.) to mop up the Bona Kemi.
You can buy Bona Kemi at flooring retailers.
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Hi Gwen!
We studied geology two years ago, and I think I can recommend some resources for you to check out.
Try www.sciencekitsforkids.com and look for a book called Myrna Martin's Rock and Mineral Identification. I think her company is called Ring of Fire.
www.rockhounds.com has lots of info about how to classify rocks. This is great if you want to break a rock and try to identify it. (I don't think there are pictures, but you'll find very relevant information.)
www.geology.com has pictures of the different kinds of rocks.
It's very easy to do a google search on whatever you want to know about rocks. I found tons of info when I was researching for a 5th, 3rd, and K.
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I am using it with my 2nd grader this year after completing SSL last year in 1st grade.
We spend about 10-15 minutes on it as well and usually do more than one page. My son loves it! I'll also use Rummy Roots game and some English from the Roots Up cards with him to supplement and to keep Latin "fun".
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We began using Rosetta Stone Latin-American Spanish last year. (I bought the 3-year homeschool version). It's fine for learning vocabulary, but not so much for grammar. We tried using the worksheets, but they were very confusing to my (then) 4th and 6th graders.
We are doing year 2 this year, but I'm supplementing with Getting Started with Spanish by Bill Linney. (Also the author of Getting Started with Latin). You can read fantastic reviews at Amazon. You can also find more information at www.gettingstartedwithspanish.com.
It is for beginners, but it is appropriate for both children and adults. I do not know if it would carry a beginner as far as Galore Park or Spanish for Children. I wanted to use it specifically to help us get through the 3 years of RS I bought. I can't imagine not using it since it was so expensive. We just needed something to clarify grammar for us.
Yet GSwS is so EASY to use!!! Linney introduces one new concept per lesson. There are free pronunciation examples on line. It's not expensive, and gets GREAT reviews!!!
My kids are really enjoying it!
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The student book has activities in it for the child to do. Each chapter has vocabulary words shaded so that the student can trace over the letters. There are also matching activities and some simple drawing activities.
If your friend does not intend to do these, one book will be enough. In this case, the kids could use the book to read the words to the songs and follow along as the mom teaches.
If, however, your friend intends to do the activities, each child will need a book. Unless..... maybe the kids take turns completing the different activities. I guess that is a possibility, yet a very non-traditional one.
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We've only used it one year, and my dd just puts up with it. BUT... she scored post high school on language mechanics on the SAT this year. I give AG most of the credit for that. She's wired with a bent toward language arts, but AG wasn't totally easy; it made her THINK. We'll be doing Season 2 this year. I've worked through about half of it on my own. To me, Season 2 seems a little easier because Season 1 was fantastic prep. I hope she has the same reaction as I did. It will make grammar that much smoother to do this year.
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I appreciate all of the responses, ladies! Anyone else?
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I hear such wonderful posts about each of these history curriculua. I ended up doing Biblioplan for ancients this year, but I'm not sure I want to stay with them for the long term.
I'll have one in 7th this year, and she has two brothers in 2nd and 5th. If we switched after this coming year to either one of these for history, which one of these would you choose to include grammar, logic, and rhetoric (high school) history?
Why?
I know there are differences between these two, but the the one I'm most concerned with is the amount of required teacher prep. MFW seems more open and go, but fans of TOG don't mind putting in the work to prepare for lessons.
I LOVE open and go!
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We are going to use MFW HS here as well. This is what I have done the past few years...
7th grade - Core 7
8th Grade - Core 100
Then she will move into MFW HS
My younger daughter will do the following:
6th grade - core 4
7th grade - Core 5
8th Grade Core 100
9th grade MFW HS
IF... I had it to do over again, which I do :lol: (I have 3 littles moving up) I would have just started and stuck with MFW all the way through. I have used MFW ECC and Rome to the Reformation. I switched because it felt way too light. However, when I asked my older kiddo's about their favorite years of homeschooling... well, it was those two years of MFW. They said it did not feel rushed or crammed and they learned so much! I guess we really did. We really learned so much in the RTR year!!
Probably more info that you asked for... hope that helps.
Thanks! You know, there isn't a perfect curriculum as we all know, but I hear so many compliments about MFW! I wish I had known about it from the beginning as well.
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Thank you, ladies!
Can anyone tell me the grade or ISBN number of the Life Science sample text on their web page? It has a colorful green frog on the cover. It would be great to own the corresponding text and use the helps on the web page.
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Can anyone tell me the best way to get a copy of this text? I looked at their web page, but didn't find it. Is it possible to buy one used? Or use it on-line?
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If I could start over again, I would have a plan with the end in mind. Now, it's impossible to plan for everything, but when I started out, I really lived from one year to the next without that long-term vision.
I started using WTM years after we started homeschooling, but last year I began to use it to help me plan our homeschool with kids in 1st, 5th and 6th grades. It is so packed with information, that I really use it only as a guide because we're not on "schedule" with the history cycle or science cycle following history.....
It has really helped me to see the differences between grammar, logic, and rhetoric stages. I've been able to better understand what kind of work/goals to expect from each stage. It gives me a framework to help me stay focused and organized.
Change is inevitable, but make a plan. Know roughly where you want to finish. Choose curriculua carefully. Ask those who have homeschooled successufully any questions you may have. Pray. Be humble. Be flexible.
I am so aware that without the Lord to carry us through this adventure, I am not able to be successful. Homeschooling IS for me Hebrews 11:1. My children's futures (loving Jesus, having productive lives, passing on the Faith) are the things I hope for. I absolutely do what I can in my own strength to help these along. But, I soooo have to trust the Lord to cover me when I fail and to complete in my kids the things HE intended for them in the first place.
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My first grader finished Song School Latin last year as a 1st grader, and he LOVED it! He requested Latin in 2nd grade, so the search for an age/grade appropriate Latin program began.
In researching lots of popular curriculua, I can't remember any that were recommended for 2nd grade. The minimum age stated for each was 3rd grade. I decided we needed another year of grammar before branching into the next phase of Latin. My favorite has always been Lively Latin.
Many 2nd graders use LL, but I was not comfortable with it. Now, what I decided on for this year is a combination of Getting Started with Latin by Bill Linney and Rummy Roots game with English from the Roots Up cards. I need Latin to be *fun* for my ds. If we had tried a Latin curriculum after SSL, I think it would have been too much and become discouraging.
As it is, we can take Latin at his pace, and start LL or something similar in 3rd grade.
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I had it. I watched some of it... not all. I sent it back. Now, my kids are NOT in high school yet, but I did not think it could help us in grammar/logic stage writing.
I didn't think it would be a good fit for rhetoric level either, but like I said, we're not in hs yet.
From what I remember, the teacher starts off with a basic sentence. Then he adds more and more words to make that basic sentence longer, more descriptive, and complicated. It seemed to me that his method was the opposite kind of skill that any student needs to learn for summaries, reports, and argumentative essays.
Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like students need to pick out the narrative line in non-fiction, outline it, and rewrite from that outline so that the point being made is clearly communicated.
The kind of writing instruction in Great Sentences might be better suited to writing fiction where it would be important to "paint" a picture with words or hold someone's attention in a good plot.
Like I said, I might be totally wrong here. This was just my opinion after watching about half of the program.
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Amiee,
That is exactly what we are doing! I bought Diana Waring CDs to go with it, and I already had Drive Through History: Greece and Rome. We'll add that in too. We'll use Cool History, and Usborne.
We are also going to use LLftLotR over 2 years. We'll read kid friendly versions of Gilgamesh, The Iliad, and The Odyssey. My kids LOVE LOTR.
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You mentioned making these years fun, so I thought I would let you know something we did. My best friend and I both used MOH Vol. 1 the same year which is Ancients. We had monthly get togethers for fun days. We watched movies, had crafts, food, games, etc. We just picked a prominent time for civilizations and had special days for each civilization. For example, when we did Ancient Greece, we had our own Olympics, the older girls wrote about The Iliad and performed it, and we even went to a Greek restaurant one day. It was lots of fun to do it with friends, but it would be fun as a family, too.
I don't think a high schooler will have as much time for stuff like this, so it might be your best shot at it.
These are such wonderful ideas! You make my heart somber to mention this might me my best shot at making this time "fun". Where has the time gone? I'm a softie at heart.
You know, I've always struggled with how to fit everything in... academics AND fun. As my three dc get older, I struggle even more.
My thoughts of "fun" included the Cool History pages from BiblioPlan and the CDs from Diana Waring. Our daily schedule has us doing school work from 8 am- 3:30 p.m. M-Th and till lunch time on Fridays.
I think I'm pretty comfortable with the schedule this year. I'm always amazed at how different a schedule can look just based on the personality of the one making it.... and the personalities of the children.
Thanks so much for your comment! I am really going to try to enjoy this school year more than the others and try to laugh with my children more. It is such a blessing to have them home with me. I dearly love home schooling! It is my prayer that I can improve each year and that my kids will continue to learn in an enjoyable way.
The clock is soooo ticking! I remember when my oldest was just in 1st grade! She's in 7th now? High school in only 3 years away? That just can't be!
Aren't we all glad that the Lord is in control? These are His precious children. I have great peace as I consider that He knows every hair on their heads, and that He has a plan for their lives! Amen!
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Ah - Well if money has already been spent, then why worry about whatever you're gonna do two years from now? After all, you don't even know what's gonna be available in two years.
I remember 3 or 4 years ago lamenting that I just couldn't choose between TOG or SL for high school - and how I wished they could "get married" and have a classical curriculum that was actually high-school level with daily lesson plans - LOL! Now I feel like I've found a pretty good compromise between those two curriculum in MFW - but at the time I was worrying about it, and YES I was "worried" about it, MFW only went up to 8th grade. I regret that I wasted so much time worrying about something that was so not worth the worry. Really, my best advice is to be determined to not let worries about high school curriculum choices steal your joy in the next two years. Have fun instead!!!
Wonderful, Rhonda! I have a working plan for high school now which was the only thing I was hoping to do at this point, and I have scheduled in MFW to use in 2 years. I am finished with long-term planning. I really hope to do MFW, but I'm with you. We'll see what happens in 2 years. This will even give me time to find ancients used.
With high school creeping up, I didn't want the summer to end without having an idea about the direction we need to go in the upcoming years. I'm a little freaked about teaching high school, yet so many have done it. I'm trying to plan early so I won't MESS UP! :001_smile:
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Thanks so much for responding, ladies!
Anyone else? So far I have 22 in all to separate and let oldest go with MFW and 0 for keeping them together! (I asked the same question on the K-8 board.) This has been a very enlightening poll!
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Does the 4 year cycle of MFW have to be done in the order of 9th - 12th? Could you keep the same cycle going by doing the last 2 years of MFW for 9th and 10th, then go back to Ancients in 11th?
Actually, it is written to start with ancients and progress from there. I emailed that very question. The years get progressively harder, so I don't think anyone would choose to change the plan.
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I posted the same poll on the K-8 board and I've gotten several responses. Does anyone on the high school board use MFW for high school? I think it's a fairly popular curriculum, but this makes me wonder what most high schoolers use if MFW isn't so much of a contender.
Any thoughts? I'd love to hear from the high school board.:001_smile:
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I decided to put my dc in different history cycles this year, too. I've worried a lot about it, and then finally concluded that it wasn't going to be that bad. My dd14.5 and ds10 just finished up the Middle Ages, and so next year should be Early Modern.
However, dd5 (almost 6) will be starting with ancients. I wanted my youngest to start at the beginning, and I wanted my oldest to finish out the cycle (since she started hs later after being pulled from ps). I wanted to make sure that she got at least one complete rotation.
Anyway, the more I thought about it, I realized that dd5 would be needing lots of hands-on help from me, and that the girls would obviously be doing very different activities even if they were in the same section.
I basically gave ds10 the choice to continue on with Early Modern or do Ancients next year. I assumed he would want to do E.M., but he surprised me and picked ancients. I reminded him that the E.M. period would have a lot of "neat" stuff to learn, to which he replied that he felt like he may have missed some stuff. (We did ancients our first year homeschooling, so he may have! I did the best I could...) Anyway, he loves greek myths, so I think the lure of studying those more in depth, pulled him back to ancients.
All of this, just to say, I think when there is a spread in ages, it ends up not mattering as much. If my dc were just a few years apart, it would matter more. I'd let the high schooler do what you thought would be best.
Thanks, Amy! That is really encouraging! I didn't think to include the grades of my other kids. At the time my dd will be in 9th, I'll also have a son in 7th and another son in 4th.
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I so appreciate all of your responses, ladies!
Anyone else?
:001_smile:
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My oldest will be in 7th this year, and I'm beginning to plan HIGH SCHOOL! I just can't believe it. My biggest "bump" so far is with history.
I have 3 kids, and we've stayed together in history the whole time. When we started homeschooling, I really didn't know about the 4 year history cycle, and so we've never been on the "right" years of that schedule. Yet, we've completed SL Cores 3-4 American history, and to keep the logical sequence, we'll study ancients next.
By the time each gets to 9th grade, I'm thinking of letting each of them do MFW high school. I love this curriculum. I feel like it will teach history AND it will cause them to spend time growing their relationship with the Lord. It will also foster independent learning as well as incorporating literature. It also teaches argumentative writing (persuasive, maybe.... I've been listening to SWB's lectures! :001_smile:) If we do this, there is a significant consequence:
Problem: If my oldest does MFW hs in 9th, my boys will stay together and continue the next consecutive year in the history cycle. While dd is doing ancients, the boys will be doing Early Modern. This would be the first time we would not be together in history.
Is this going to be a problem?
It's up to me really, because I don't have to use MFW. If we use a different curriculum, my kids could all stay together. They would all do Early Modern together when dd is in 9th. I just can't find something for that "route" that I like as well as MFW.
Should we:
* Stay together? Oldest will start Early Modern in 9th and finish with Middle Ages in 12th. What is your favorite curriculum for this choice?
* Separate so oldest can start MFW cycle? I love MFW high school!
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My oldest will be in 7th this year, and I'm beginning to plan HIGH SCHOOL! I just can't believe it. My biggest "bump" so far is with history.
I have 3 kids, and we've stayed together in history the whole time. When we started homeschooling, I really didn't know about the 4 year history cycle, and so we've never been on the "right" years of that schedule. Yet, we've completed SL Cores 3-4 American history, and to keep the logical sequence, we'll study ancients next.
By the time each gets to 9th grade, I'm thinking of letting each of them do MFW high school. I love this curriculum. I feel like it will teach history AND it will cause them to spend time growing their relationship with the Lord. It will also foster independent learning as well as incorporating literature. It also teaches argumentative writing (persuasive, maybe.... I've been listening to SWB's lectures! :001_smile:) If we do this, there is a significant consequence:
Problem: If my oldest does MFW hs in 9th, my boys will stay together and continue the next consecutive year in the history cycle. While dd is doing ancients, the boys will be doing Early Modern. This would be the first time we would not be together in history.
Is this going to be a problem?
It's up to me really, because I don't have to use MFW. If we use a different curriculum, my kids could all stay together. They would all do Early Modern together when dd is in 9th. I just can't find something for that "route" that I like as well as MFW.
Should we:
* Stay together? Oldest will start Early Modern in 9th and finish with Middle Ages in 12th. What is your favorite curriculum for this choice?
* Separate so oldest can start MFW cycle? I love MFW high school!
Can someone recommend to me
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
Getting Started with Spanish by William Linney. See it at Amazon or on his web page www.gettingstartedwithspanish.com. It is very affordable: $18.00, and it can be used by children and adults alike. The book's pages are black and white, but it's beauty lies in its simplicity. It is a one-concept-at-a-time book. You learn a new concept and translate a few sentences. I've been thrilled with my kids' response to it. It has made learning a foreign language fun.
As a beginning book, it would be great. It may not get you as far along as other curriculua..... I'm not sure about that. But, it is easy and effective. We are using it to supplement Rosetta Stone because RS doesn't teach grammar in a way my kids can learn it.
My 2nd grader is working in Getting Started in Latin, and he loves it.
It would be worth you looking at these. They have gotten great review.