Bula Mama
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Posts posted by Bula Mama
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Please come back and report on it after you've used it for a bit!!!! :001_smile:
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We use the book as a read-aloud. I use that as my main read aloud with dd, though we add more in also (like the Penderwicks on Gardam Street at the moment).
They are very readable at that level, for the kids. My dd has read some of them in the past. I like doing the read aloud with her because I feel like I know the characters when we're doing the lessons, but you really wouldn't *need* to do it as a read aloud.
Thanks! :001_smile: And thanks for mentioning HSBC. Didn't know about it before!!! Might have to get another copy of WJ too for HALF PRICE (!) since mine has been gone for ages!!!
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Tammy,
I've never purchased the Arrow because it says the books are read-alouds and I like at least some of ours to be linked to the period of history that we're studying. I just took a closer look at the books on Amazon and most of them have the reading level listed as 8-12 year olds! Now I'm wondering if this would be perfect for my then 9.5 yo to use as readers alongside the Arrow????
How do you use it?
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Hum, will try to answer since no one else has! It's been a while since I've used it, though. Haven't been homeschooling the last couple of years but will start again soon with my youngest, so back on the boards. :001_smile:
When we started I had my then around 10 and 12 year-olds freewrite a couple of times a week (explained in the book). Then when we had a collection of their thoughts on paper I would have them choose one to work on towards a finished piece of writing. Julie gives a lot of advice in the book on how to do this but basically it's focusing on one skill at a time and not overwhelming the kid with everything all at once and moving on from skill to skill. We tried to end up with at least one piece of work that they had worked on polishing per month. They also wrote reports, etc, for their other subjects but this was just for writing.
With my then 7yo I would have him narrate something short to me and I would write things down for him. Basically we'd do the same process on a more elementary scale, but mostly focusing on him learning to express his thoughts in a comfortable way at that age.
We also did a weekly tea time where we'd read poetry, Shakespeare, do art appreciation that they would talk about, etc. This would often include them sharing their finished works with each other.
I have to say that my oldest who is now 18 and has just started college (in a different country from me, sniff!) sent me something that she wrote yesterday to look over for her. It was a subject that she is passionate about (our work in India) and I must say I was a proud mom to see what she expressed on the page! I think some of that credit at least has to go to Bravewriter!
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In the past we've started with poetry but have also done Shakespeare Stories, sketching, writing exercises (descriptive, etc), art appreciation, music appreciation, caught up on read alouds, etc. I've basically used it as a time for all the good 'extras' that I want to do but that we haven't always gotten to otherwise! It's very often been the best time of the week!
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Uh, oh! Had the print version before I moved overseas. Think you all just cost me $15 for the other version! (actually, thank you!!!!!)
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Serl's books do contain writing exercises. The general opinion I get from this board is that for the ages involved, that PLL and ILL do the job as a stand alone. I haven't used them yet, however! We'll start ILL soon and in the back of my mind I plan to add in WWE if I don't think it's enough (I AM a LA girl! :001_smile:), but I'm hoping that it will be fine on it's own.
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Your OP mentions that you don't think there's enough dictation. How about something like Spelling Wisdom added in? http://simplycharlottemason.com/books/spelling-wisdom/
This is what we'll use along with ILL soon. I plan to start with these 2 and add in WWE if I'm not totally satisfied.
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Here's the next book I want to read. Have seen a number of people recommend it here : http://www.amazon.com/When-Children-Love-Learn-Application/dp/1581342594/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1Q3P9D51Y7T5Z&colid=3EID5XRRI36CQ
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But then what would become of my "hobby" as dh calls it (curriculum research)?
No kidding! I've alredy googled several things already on this thread. :001_smile:
Think I'm pretty settled on this:
ILL
Spelling Wisdom
Grammarland (at some point)
SOTW 1 with lots of books and read-alouds
Strayer Upton Practical Arith. 1 (2nd 1/2)
Apologia Zoo 2
Memoria Press intro.to Classical Studies (includes Bible and Scripture memory)
GSWL quickly then Lively Latin
SL 4-5 readers
Friday 'tea times' with Bravewriter type freewriting, lots of reading aloud including Marvels of Science, poetry, Book of Virtues, etc.
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I haven't started using it yet but have SOTW 1 on Kindle. Think it will be fine! I hope they put all of them on Kindle soon!
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Next year dd will be in 4th....
Bible
SM NEM via Cybershala, TT Alg 1, HoE Verbal Problems
CC Essentials Grammar & IEW Ancient Writing Lessons
Calvert Spelling 6 cd
Reading Detective cd
SOTW 1 & Trail Guide World
RS4K & MPH
Lego Robotics & Scratch programming
Piano/Voice
Tennis
And lots of books!
TT Alg 1 for 4th! Wow, what a math whiz you must have!!!
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I have Famous Men of Rome & D. Greek Myths if you want to borrow them. Let me know. And I have an extra copy of SOTW 1 if you want it.
I got SOTW on Kindle so it will be more portable since we'll be back and forth a bit. Hum, VERY nice offer on the others but I'm wondering if you really want me to take them back and forth to India. Things get REALLY dirty here! :001_smile:
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I don't think it would be overkill. I would not skip the history pages. Even if some of it ends up review, that is never a bad thing. The people who seem to not like LL have usually not used to as written, but instead have skipped parts of it. I think the way LL is organized gives the student time to really digest the heavier grammar, rather than rush through the material. It is a gentle approach to Latin, but of the 5 programs I've used it was the most effective as well. :) In your situation I would suggest a LCC approach with maths, Lively Latin, writing, & B1ble daily. You could make a list of 5 other subjects to hit weekly. Maybe SOTW, Intro to Classical Studies, nature studies, literature, & a fun hands-on topic chosen by your ds#2. This would keep your days short & give you lots of time for those other things. :D Let me know when you plan to be at the place you stayed at before. I'd love to catch-up if you've got time. You are welcome here as well, if you want to drive north we could :party:
Again, great advice, thanks!!! Really appreciate it! I've thought LL looked really good and your ds #2 is probably quite similar to mine!
We'll be at 'our place' in and out (out over the weekends) after the New Year for a few weeks. Doubt if we could catch up this trip since our main focus during the week is settling dd #1 in for Uni, but we'll be back in 6 months!!! :001_smile:
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I used Lively Latin with ds#2 at that age. We had tried LC1 & PL, but all 4 of us found that curriculum really dry & boring. The next year I put ds#2 in LL1, ds#1 in LP1, & dd in SYRWTL Latin 1. Dd worked mostly independently & really enjoyed the study. Ds#1 worked with me, but struggled after ch3 when the difficulty really ramps up. Ds#2 worked with me & has a better grasp of Latin than either of his siblings. He finished all of LL1 & more than half of LL2 before beginning PS this year. He has chosen not to continue Latin at PS as it is only offered to the top class & he needed to take other electives to meet his career goals.
Lively Latin takes a very CM approach to Latin. It also covers English grammar, derivatives, Classical History, art appreciation, & a bit more. This would simplify what you needed to teach, giving you more time on other subjects. We aimed to cover 1-2 activities daily, taking 15-45 minutes depending on the activities. I liked the way the topics varied from day to day as it gave ds#2 time to process the Latin & really learn the material. Latin was ds#2's favorite subject. When we visited family in the States for a month I put a couple lessons of LL & a few lessons of MUS in am 1" binder with a blank book to use as a journal. I had him do 1-2 pgs of Latin & Maths + write a page in his journal each day. This easily completed in less than an hour & helped us to not lose our routine of school.
Lively Latin is available in pdf download, so maybe you could use your i-pad, saving a bit of weight in your suitcases ;) If you want to have a look at LL, give me a ring when you are here in NZ. PM me & I'll give you my phone # & cell #.
JMHO,
Thanks so much, Deb!!! Really appreciate the review!
I'm planning on SOTW 1 with a few other books and read-alouds and would really like to do Memoria Press' Intro. to Classical Studies as well (D. Greek Myths, Fam. Men of Rome and Bible in the same guide.). I think together these won't be overwhelming. Do you think LL would add that much more history to be overkill, too, or possibly just compliment????? Guess we could skip portions of that if we wanted to.
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I've looked quite a bit in the past and have only been able to find ILL, too. Don't know why!
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Here's what I'm planning so it's as of yet untried, but I'm pretty sure my 4th grader will approve too!
-Interm. Lang. Less.
-WWE
-Spelling Wisdom
-Strayer-Upton Practical Arith. 1 (2nd half)
-SOTW and related books and read-alouds
-Apologia Elem. Zoo 2
-Memoria Press Intro. to Classical Studies for classical studies and Bible
-Getting Started With Latin done quickly and then probably First Form Latin
-Grammar-Land for a couple of weeks with online worksheets if later think he hasn't had enough grammar from Latin.
-SL readers 4-5.
-Friday 'tea times' with poetry, Book of Virtues, Tales from Shakespeare, and Marvels of Science. Various 'How to Draw' books.
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Getting Started With Latin If you like the grammar and translation of Henle but need a lighter intro, you can't go wrong with GSWL :).
Hey, this looks pretty good!!! I wonder if we could work hard and get through this pretty quickly as an intro. to First Form? Do you all think that would be a good plan?
LFC does look good, too, and I've seen a lot of chatter about Lively Latin. Does anyone know how Lively Latin compares to First Form (just because I've done a good share of Henle in the past so it's what I know.)?
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If you end up looking for Hindi, one of the Australian curriculum suppliers has been trying to get rid of a level of Rosetta Stone for ages so it's heavily discounted.
Rosie
Wow, that is a GREAT price!!! And we'll be in NZ at one point where we could have it sent........hum.
I just wish it was Bengali!!! :001_smile: I would have to stay away while he was doing it or it would totally mess up my Bengali since they have similarities.
I will have to think about this for a bit!!!!
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My dd started Henle halfway through 4th grade after doing GSWL. I highly, highly recommend GSWL as a brief intro before starting Henle with a young kiddo. It's all grammar and translation, similar to Henle albeit much simpler.
As for whether to start, I don't have any advice but I am :bigear:. We started Henle about a year ago and we've been taking it very slowly. Now there's a chance dd might go to school next year for 6th. The school offers French and Spanish, and I'm confident that what dd has learned from Latin provides a nice background for either of those. She'd have a chance to take more Latin in high school.
What is GSWL????
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Could you go through LC at a faster pace and then move into First Form or Henle? I don't think I'd start Henle with a 9 year old, but I've heard that First Form is like Henle with a better format.
Definitely take the opportunity to teach him Latin. He's at the perfect age to begin.
Could be good! Glad to hear First From is better. I had a love/hate relationship with Henle.
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This is basically what I'm doing too. The only reason I didn't initially say just go for LFC is because I wasn't sure about completing three levels in 2 years and I was thinking you would want to go for as much mastery as possible in the shortest time period. I used Prima Latina between Song School Latin and LFC and we also found it boring.
I just looked at our LFC A to see how many lessons are in there. We go a little slower than the recommended schedule because my dd is young and we're in no hurry so I wasn't sure about the length. It has 32 lessons. Theoretically I guess you could probably get through all 3 levels in 2 years. I think adults learn Latin in seminary in less than 2 years. So far my experience has been that dd (who is 6) learns foreign language more easily and retains more than either myself or any other adult I know so I guess it can be done. DD loves LFC and I think if we were pushing we could spend about 20 - 30 minutes a day and finish at least one lesson per week. The videos are engaging and she enjoys the website and activity book. It's one of her favorite subjects. I have no Latin background. I took 2 years of Spanish in high school and 1 in college but don't remember much of it and I haven't found teaching LFC to be difficult because of the dvd's and format of the curriculum.
I've never really looked at LFC but will now. Thanks for all of the info!!!!
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I'd vote learning Bengali together. The two of you are bound to remember different things, which would help you both progress. Creating your own curriculum to teach him would be horrible, but couldn't it work if you studied as co-students? I'm thinking back to one of Ester Maria's posts where learners would sit opposite each other with the learning materials and mess though it, basically.
Rosie
I will really have to think about this because it could be good but wouldn't be easy. The problem is that there are NO beginner materials not written for adults. And those aren't great. There are books but they assume the child already speaks the language. I'm probably 1/4 to 1/3 of the way to fluent (know grammar and good basic daily vocab.) so I COULD teach him. My main insecurity is that while I can read it, I really don't spell well in the script (it's not always logical) so I know it would be a lot of work for me to come up with something for him.
I was wrong. Just checked and since the school is in a different part of India they don't teach Bengali. Bengali would help in learning Hindi (structure and some vocab. but not alphabet) but it still wouldn't be what he might study later. But would prepare him. But so would Latin. So know I will have to choose!!!
Thanks for making me think!!!!!
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I would teach him while you have the chance. I would just plan 2 years worth of study possibly even using a program geared towards getting to translation and lots of derivatives quickly. I think Henle might work for that objective but I haven't looked at it because we're using lfc and don't have the time limit you are working with. I know others here are using it and could probably provide better details. I think you can cover a substantial amount of Latin in two years.
I used Henle with my dds's. We used Latina Christiana first which did include a lot of derivatives but we found it fairly boring. They liked Henle much better.
Anyway have an opinion about what might be good for the above goals??????
Brave Writer Arrow?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
Just popping back in to say that I purchased the 2011-12 set. From what's out so far I agree that they are vastly improved and looked really, really good! So for those who want to pick and choose, I would choose the newer ones for the new format. Looks like it's enough detail to get into the meat of things but not so much that it would be overwhelming!
Can't wait to start them!