angela&4boys
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Posts posted by angela&4boys
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Looks great! Of course, I may be a little bias because your 6th is very similar ours. ;) The only core subject difference would be grammar... I'm still undecided, but considering Winston or A Beka.
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Thanks ladies. I need something ready to go and preferably budget-friendly. A Beka fits the bill along with the CLP TM.
We already have IEW in place along with Bible copywork and dictation as well as history and science narrations to round out language arts. Formal grammar is the thorn in my side. :glare:
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We live in Florida and got our tadpoles (and the water) from a pond near our home. We had a fish tank and just added a few landscape rocks and some twigs and leaves for effect ;). We also had some leftover turtle food from our former pet "Skittles" that we fed them. (He met his demise in the backyard when my then 5yo put him out to "get some sun". We found his shell about 3 months later.:bored:)
Anyway, we had frogs a-plenty and it didn't cost us a thing. If you can wait until spring or summer and you have water and tadpoles nearby, you can definitely have success the cheap way. The boys loved it!
Edited to say: We kept them in our home and it's generally about 78-F.
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I know it's recommended as an option in The Well-Trained Mind, but I'm wondering if anyone here happily uses it just for grammar studies? This would be for upper grammar and logic stages.
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Our favorites:
Bible:
The Children's Illustrated Bible
Victor Journey Through the Bible
Phonics:
Explode the Code (all my dc loved these)
Writing & Grammar:
First Language Lessons (when the dc is ready!)
historical non-fiction & fiction (a boy thing?)
IEW (We've only begun, my 11yo says he loves it!)
History:
Story of the World
notebook pages from Notebookingpages.com and holdthatthought.com (These are awesome and give life to an otherwise boring notebook!)
Nature Study:
Christian Liberty Press Nature Readers
Art:
Draw & Write Through History (wonderful compliment to our history study and notebooks)
Math:
Math U See
Science:
Apologia (elementary series as we've yet to use the upper levels)
I'd also add that implementing the Charlotte Mason idea of short, concise lessons has brought a lot of joy *and* better retention to some subjects.
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Bob Jones, A Beka, and Christian Liberty Press titles.
I prefer CLP because they are Christ-centered, affordable, have nice photos and illustrations, get excellent reviews (most of the time) and have simplified TM's. Of course what they don't publish themselves, they offer BJUP or A Beka in place of.
The prices are very reasonable at both their own site and CBD.com (Cbd also has reviews.)
Edit: Sorry, I should read posts carefully. I don't necessarily like textbooks for lower grammar, but from about 3rd or 4th up the language is not as choppy and over-simplified. However, the CLP Nature Readers are wonderful for 1st`and 2nd and my boys have enjoyed them a lot.
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My 9 year old son is such a good kid, but he is easily distracted. I can ask him to go put his socks in the hamper and half way down the hall he'll ask me "what was I supposed to do"?
I laughed out loud because my (almost) 9yo ds is the same way.
We have started some logic this year for precisely that reason. I found Logic Safari for him through the parent recommendations on this board. There are others at Prufrock Press: http://www.prufrock.com/showproducts.cfm?FullCat=151 You can purchase some of then at Rainbow, Amazon, and CBD as well.
He is also doing some Bible memory work this year, but I allow him 4 weeks to work on it. He reads it aloud daily to me.
Additionally, I have a weekly assignment sheet for him and his older brother. It has his daily independent work as well as chores with check boxes. He loves this and asks for it every Monday morning if it's not on his desk. I had to give him a visual reminder so I wouldn't constantly have to nag him. This way I just say, "Is everything done on your list?", or , "Have you checked your list?" instead of asking about particular chores or assignments. I can honestly say that this had helped immensely in our home.
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Let's see....
I'm sure more will chime in with ideas I forgot.
Oh my goodness - you didn't forget a thing that I can think of! Not the op, but this is an excellent comparison! Thank you.
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So, ya'll don't think MOH is like a textbook? 'Cause it seems that way to me?
I guess I'll go look at BJU. :tongue_smilie:
Honestly, this is just about the ONLY thing I struggle with figuring out.
You make a good point. The major difference I see is that the author of MOH talks in a more conversational tone whereas the BJU text is a bit dry. One thing's for sure, they are both hefty books with a *lot* of pages.
I took the liberty of viewing CLP's Story of the Middle Ages. Granted, it is targeted at 6th graders, but I couldn't help but notice it was only 130 pages in comparison to BJU's 7th grade history text of 621.
If he's mathematically minded, maybe he's turned off by excessive verbiage? I find that with one of my ds's. He is a "Just the facts, ma'am.", kind of fella. He checks out if I don't get the meat in right away. No fluff or twaddle for him. It's a literal waste of time reading aloud to him when he's "not there". KWIM? Maybe short, concise sources would be best for this subject.
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Maybe he would do better with textbooks? BJU is supposed to be wonderful and it might be the right fit for him.
:iagree:
This was my thought exactly while reading through the posts. If you (and he) can stomach textboooks, maybe BJU or CLP would be an option. They are more fact-based sources. I lean that way myself and like everything in one location... photos, illustrations, questions etc.... Traditional textbooks definitely have their place and my eldest ds used them when we had a toddler and baby for survival purposes. ;)
The outlining suggestion is wise too. I will soon be implementing this with our 11yo.
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Just a gentle nudge to encourage you to post this on the high school board if you didn't already. You may get more responses there. :)
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Whoops, not biology, BOTANY...sorry :tongue_smilie:.
Lol! I thought I missed a new title.
Honestly, I'd aim towards the 10 and 7yo. Whatever your 5yo gets from it, consider gravy. 5 is rather young for formal science.
Another option may be to do nature study 2 or 3x a week with all 3 and have the oldest do science on alternating days?
My 2 cents, :)
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I have Apologia Elementary Biology and the kit, but haven't tried to use it. I just don't know if the 5 and 7 year olds will want to sit still and listen to me reading about science, KWIM?
Yikes - I wasn't aware of an Elementary Biology! That'd be tough. I was thinking more along the lines of astronomy, depending on the 5yo's abilities.
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Fwiw, we tried MOH briefly to add a Christian worldview (Biblioplan schedules both it and SOTW), and while it was fine for my 11yo and I, my 8yo's eyes glazed over. That's not to say all 8yos will do the same, but that was our experience. We returned to SOTW 1 and the fire was lit once again.
I'm still looking for what to add when we start SOTW 2. It's vital for us to integrate a Christian worldview and there isn't a lot that I've found that does with SOTW. The options I've found are: MFW (as you already know, but it's too much for us), Biblioplan (doesn't tie it together as well as Ancients imho), and Veritas Press History Cards with a schedule from Paula's Archives. The VP cards and schedule will likely be the winner here as they are not overwhelming and give us a good visual. I intend to hang them as a timeline as someone suggested here a while back. On the back of the card they give a nice summary as well as pages to other materials to read including Bibles, encyclopedias, Christian history books, and good literature.
Additionally, I have my boys read a literature book that usually ties in with our study. It helps further their understanding and they enjoy history. My 8yo reads aloud to me as he is not quite ready for independent reading altogether. I highly recommend All Through the Ages by Christine Miller as a chronological literature source for pre-readers through highschool. It is a huge help and value. http://www.nothingnewpress.com/atta.shtml
As far as science, we've enjoyed Apologia immensely. It's pick up and go and my boys look forward to it. We purchased the kit from Home Training Tools for the experiments.
Hope this didn't overwhelm you. The one thing I hear in my head when I'm reading your posts is "Streamline!". ;)
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We really like First Language Lessons and Writing With Ease.
:iagree:FLL & WWE are so rich and thorough, yet they don't overwhelm the dc.
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I've coordinated SOTW and HL books into my master schedule and the kids enjoy them. I'd love to develop some vocab lists to augment the chapters, but that will have to wait for another day. :)
Oh Janie... if only we lived in VA! I'd be signing my guys up for your class. ;)
Seriously though, thanks for another confirmation. I think they will be a great addition to our history studies.
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Thanks MIch elle.
Do you think it's better suited as a read-aloud?
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I'm looking to supplement SOTW 2 for my 11yo and am hoping someone might be familiar with these.
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I really wish more homeschool programs saw this type of labeling as a benefit. Just having Level 1, Level 2 and not mean Grade 1, Grade 2.
:iagree:
We use MUS, WWE, and FLL and I'm so grateful for the creator's insight. We have avoided a lot of tears and heartache thanks to them. They get the job done... and very well I might add!
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Other possible options:
Learning Adventures:
http://www.learning-adventures.org/
Veritas Press:
(Although science is not formal in the grammar stage. For example, when studying Ancient Greece, they suggest Archimedes and the Door of Science.)
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My Edit: Sorry Terri, I see that you asked specifically... HOD or MFW?... Hope I didn't cause you more confusion. I would add one more thing though... Simplify! ;-)
I was on the same merry-go-round at one time myself. I discovered after several years that as much as I loved the idea of having a program spelled out for me, in all practicality it works better when I piece it together. (Fyi - We have done MFW K and Adventures.)
Of course, Math and LA generally need to be seperate for each child, so that leaves Bible, history, science, art, and music. And MFW does a great job of combining these for your age group. ECC might be a good choice and although I didn't use it, a df did when her girls were 9 and 6, and she had a 3yo as well. Overall she was pleased, but she did grow tired of the geography only and added A Child's History of the World about halfway through the year.
If you're happy with HOD, perhaps you could do the eldest dc's curriculum for everyone in terms of subjects you can combine?
Another option may be to do something like Biblioplan which schedules Bible, history, literature, read-alouds, mapping, and timelines. It does a great job of suggesting books for target age groups and you could implement book basket from the suggestions as well. We are finishing up Biblioplan Ancients after almost 2 years and loved it! Between the Bible and SOTW, it kept the boys interested. You would then only need to plug in science which I find very easy for elementary ages. And if you desire, you're experienced enough to choose music (maybe Coloring the Classics?) and an art program 1x week.
Hth.
Warmly,
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We'll be adding this to SOTW 2 this year:
Veritas History Cards:
http://www.veritaspress.com/products.asp?dept=1038
Schedule:
http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/sotwvp.htm
I know the cards incorporate Biblical history and have suggested reading from several sources including Victor Journey Through the Bible, The Children's Illustrated Bible, and The Child's Story Bible thru New Testament/Greece & Rome. I believe they include titles like The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History and The Church in History for the Middle Ages. They also include beautiful paintings or photos and have other suggested reading from various secular resources.
OhElizabeth and some other ladies have more experience than myself, so maybe they'll chime in if you have interest in them.
Hth,
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I'd really like to get some more opinions. I am so torn. It is a good thing I have a little time to make this decision because it is really the only thing I just can't pin down.:confused:
I'm interested to hear too. Just a thought, but have you posted this on the High School Board? I'm sure the moms (and dads) could help there. :)
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:iagree: with Nicole and Heather.
I would also add that I like being able to tweak if needed. For example, if FLL isn't working and you love WWE, then you could look for another grammar program without having to drop the writing portion as well. Whereas with Sonlight, it's more of a complete program and I personally have trouble doing just portions of a program meant to work as a whole. (My personal hang-up, of course. ;))
We love FLL and WWE. One of the many reasons is that they reinforce each other so well. They meet my desire to mesh some Classical and CM elements. The bonus is that it's pick-up and go.
If it's cohesiveness with your SL study that you desire, you could have your dc narrate from the read-alouds, history, and or science... oral or written depending upon their abilities. We do this on notebook pages. My 11yo does the written narrations himself while my 8yo narrates to me, I write it down, and he copies it on his notebook page.
Hth,
ABeka users, I have some questions...
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted · Edited by angela&4boys
My eldest ds (now 19) used both their math and language arts from 3rd through 8th. (We did deviate some with Winston Grammar and Saxon one year.) I felt is was thorough and he always scored very well in annual testing.
I believe he did well because he's an independent worker and grasps concepts easily. He liked the math much more than Saxon, but the grammar and writing just got the job done. I was careful to cut out some of the excessive practice problems within grammar and that alleviated some of his dislike. I will say that the composition was a little weak, but we supplemented in the areas of science and history as well as requiring monthly book reports. He writes phenomenally now and always had A's in high school English, but I do attribute some of this to his voracious appetite of reading.
One reason I liked these two A Beka subjects in particular was the ease of use for mom. I had a toddler and a baby at one point and there weren't a lot of options available that were both independent and budget-friendly.
Also, if you haven't already, please consider Christian Liberty Press for TM's and Tests for your 5th grader. It's just what you'll need at a fraction of A Beka's prices. Infact, I'm considering this for my 11yo now, but need to get my hands on the materials because it's been a while. (Grammar only though, as we are using IEW for composition.)
Sorry, but I'm of no help for 9th grade as he attended ps at that point.