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Pata

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Everything posted by Pata

  1. Sounds interesting, life is the best classroom! I just had an idea about chemistry for the first year. You could study the chemistry of an egg. For example, solid(hardboiled egg) vs. liquid(raw egg) and how this affects movement(spinning, dropping, floating and so on). You could also dissolve the calcium in the egg with vinegar. This is a good chance to bring in the periodic table, show where calcium is, talk about vinegar being an acid(study acids and bases), talk about precision in weight and measurements as the size of the egg will change and you could measure the changes after 3 days. Just some thoughts. Let me know if you have any questions. I love science and it's nice to see others place importance on it and approach it from all different ways!
  2. We are finishing Week 23 today, that means 13 more weeks.
  3. We don't do Mother Goose either, my dd just doesn't like it. So I don't think you'll miss it if you don't use it. I dont' know about Hero Tales though, we do use this one and it's all that scheduled for history on some weeks, so I think I would replace it with something. As for the Begginners Bible for next year, we just went to the Salvation army and got a whole bunch for early readers for less than a dollar a piece. I plan on using those next year, but we are not doing Sonlight's LA either so it doesn't matter if they match up. Hope that helps you!
  4. I second this! It's always good to see all the different ways homeschool can be done.
  5. For my dd, we tried ABeka, which was great for learning letter names and sounds, but not for her for reading. Next we tried Sonlight's readers and have ended up using HOP which is working very well for now. :D
  6. We do 2-3 experiments a week as my dd loves experiments(and so do I!!)
  7. Thanks for the reminder of the ultimate goal! I so appreciate these boards, it is so nice to have a variety of opinions and ideas to read and enjoy!
  8. We also found WTM this year and are blending Sonlight and WTM. My dd is going to do Core 1 with SOTW1 instead of CHOW next year. We'll be adding in additional narrations for History and the Read-Alouds(we've done that this year). We are continuing with FLL and adding WWE next year for LA. I also wrote my own science curriculum to fit WTM ideas. In the end with all the changes, I couldn't let go of all the great books from Sonlight. I'm interested in how others are blending SL and WTM at the logic and rhetoric stages.
  9. At this point, I plan on having Earth Science and Astronomy availble in April and Chemistry and Physics available by next summer. I don't know about logic and rhetoric yet as my dd is not near that stage yet, but it's certainly a possibility at least two or three years in the making. Feel free to PM if you have any more specific questions, I'd be happy to answer.
  10. We love Sonlight history and read alouds and plan on using Core 1 next year with SOTW 1 instead of CHOW. I plan on continuing this combination, but I've hear it's hard to do with Core 3 & 4. I know from being on the forums that there are several people out there that use SOTW with Cores 1-4, so I think that it will just take alittle bit of work on my part but it is certainly doable. As for Sonlight Science, we opted not to. I also have a science background (BS in Biochem), so I put together my own plans using the WTM suggestions. You can see them at my wesite, there's a link in my signature. Hope that helps!
  11. Try Biology for the Grammar Stage on sale at Lulu. The lesson plans use the books recommended in TWTM. It has planned narration, experiments and ongoing projects. The link in my signature will take you to the website.
  12. We used the First Grade Text for Kindergarten and it's ok, it highlights everything but goes deep into nothing. It may be a bit different in the 6th grade text. I found to workbook to be useless, they give review questions at the end of each lesson and review test at the end of each chapter. These were more helpful tan the workbook. That's just my opinion though. We are switching are using plans I creating using WTM suggestion (see link below) from now on. Harcourt is a good textbook option for science. Hope that helps!
  13. I make a template in Excel and then make 36 copies and fill it in in pencil for the year. Then make changes as we go through, always in pencil!
  14. My first inclination was Sonlight, because they have the real books and spines for you so you don't need acess to the library. They also include great plans, discussion questions, maps and timeline activities, but not a whole lot of hands on projects. My second thought was SOTW and the AG with it, but then you have the library problem. You could easily skip the chapters on gods/goddesses, since there are 42 chapters and if you do a chapter a week you will have 6 extra chapters. After considering the two, I'd suggest what we are doing next year, blending the two! You could order a Core from Sonlight and instead of their spines(such as CHOW), use SOTW along with the AG. It's a little work on your part, but might solve the problem. We are doing Core 1 with SOTW 1 next year and I'd be happy to share what I've put together so far if you decide to go that way. Then where to start...I don't think it matters at this age your just trying to fill him with information. If he enjoys castles and knights, start with SOTW-2 and Core 2, just make sure you cover the four history rotations over the next four years. Hope that helps, PM if you have more questions.
  15. I'm trying to determine which level to order for next year. We just recieved FLL and have started going through it. I anticipate that we will be at the beginning of the 2nd part by the beginning of next year. Right now my dd is doing Sonlight's LA1 (without problems). It has copywork of 2-3 sentences and narrations of 3-4 sentences all of which she is able to do. I like Sonlight's LA, but it is missing some pieces and looking at the samples of Writing w/ Ease it seems more in line with what I want to be doing. I am definately going to order the book, but I am unsure what to do about the workbook. So my questions... Is she ready for the second workbook of Writing with Ease? Or should I just get the book and go through Level 1 and 2 at an accelerated pace over the next school year? Or should I just start with the first workbook since it is technically her first grade year? Thanks for the advice!
  16. I have detailed daily plans with Sonlight that we follow. For the subjects that I don't use Sonlight, I make my own detailed lesson plans. I have the detailed plans done before we begin the year. As for weekly, I put the subjects into blocks and schedule the blocks during the week around our outside classes. In the morning I lay out the books I need and we work through the stack.
  17. Yes, this is exactly what I was asking, and Susan, thanks for the answer!
  18. I was looking the samples alittle closer today and I am wondering do you have a list of the books used for the narrations and copywork included in the workbook? I was just thinking about trying to coordinate the narrations and copywork with books that we are reading aloud. Thanks for your help!
  19. Joanna-- I will try to answer, but we are using LA1, so it's a bit different. The grammar in it is the natural approach, not real specific, many people, including me supplement it. Writing, Sonlight has some really great creative writing ideas, but not alot of direction as to how to write, even so, this is my favorite part of Sonlight's LA. Spelling, this depends on which LA you are looking to buy, some include spelling, some don't. If it does, all Sonlight gives you is a list for spelling, sometimes there are activities that correlate with the spelling words like spelling it out with word tiles or oral fill in the blanks. Hope that gives you a better idea!
  20. My understanding is that the book explains the reasons why the curriculum is what it is and gives examples of how to implement it through the years. Somewhere on the website there was something about why the workbook made it easier. It said that the workbook had all of the 36 weeks scheduled, while the book gave you an example of one week and told you to do that for the next three weeks. If we order (I haven't made my mind up yet), we will get both. If you don't get the book, you will miss the reasons why and how. If you don't get the workbook, you will have to schedule things for narration and copywork. Hope this helps, it's what I understand about the program, maybe SWB will chime in and give a better explanation.
  21. Thanks-- This is what I was thinking and feeling, I just needed reassurance that I wasn't doing permanent damage! We love ETC also and it's good to know that it's enough. And I agree with you, at this age I would like to put the effort into reading, I just didn't want her to fall behind in spelling.
  22. I am thinking about just using Explode the Code with no extra spelling work. We will finish book 3 this year and I am going to use 4, 5, 6, next year. This year we have done some spelling lists sporadically using words similar to the ETC we are doing and every time dd gets them all right on the pre-test. So I'm wondering if it's worth spending the money on SWO or just wait until next year? Does anyone just use ETC for spelling and phonics? TIA
  23. We have just used LA for gr.1, so I can't speak to LA3 specifically, but I believe that they are similar in style. We are still debating whether to stay with Sonlight's LA, my dd has made progress, but I am not completely comfortable with the natural approach since LA is not my strong subject. There is writing in the program and I don't think that you would need a separate writing program unless you want something to help you teach more of the mechanics of writing, a common complaint on their boards. It's my understanding there is no spelling in LA3, so you would need that. Also, Sonlight's grammar is alittle disjointed and my dd has not retained any of it. If we use Sonlight's LA next year we will add grammar. I hope that helps!
  24. All I can share is what we are doing for first grade.. LA: I can't decide if we are going to try SWB new writing program or stick with Sonlight's LA, we are doing FLL and early readers that I picked up from the Salvation Army, plus the Read-Alouds from Sonlight's Core 1 Math: Singapore PM 2A/2B with Miquon to supplement History: SOTW with AG and books from Sonlight's Core 1 Science: Biology for the Grammar Stage Art: Drawing with Children Music: Classics for Kids (free weekly programs from their website!) The way I have saved money is to look for used books(either at the Salvation Army or Ebay or here), also, if I can get it at the library and need it for less than 3 weeks, I get it there. Hope that helps! :D
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