angela&4boys
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Posts posted by angela&4boys
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The song covers the name of the event/person and an occassional date, no other facts, just so you know. VP has a demo video on their website.
Thank you Elizabeth. Did you use this with your daughter and if so, did you find it beneficial?
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There is one song per group of cards, so one song takes you through all 32 cards.
Thank you Angelina. Do you know approximately how long the songs average in terms of minutes?
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It's my understanding that there are 32 cards, one for each week. Is there a new song/chant every week?
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Remembering the grass isn't always greener on the other side, it' just a green light shining on brown grass. (This is what I remind myself each time I want to try something new.:D
You're very wise Kysha. I fell prey to the grass is greener syndrome last year and re-vamped our language arts, history, and science. After a 6-week run of the new stuff, I realized how much we all missed our old way. It was a costly mistake (several hundred dollars!), but we're back to what worked and will stick to the mantra, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." :)
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Perhaps the Veritas Press New Testament/Greece & Rome History Cards?
http://www.veritaspress.com/prodinfo.asp?number=000200
(*Disclaimer*: I haven't used them yet, but am in the process of purchasing them to review with my guys over a several week period once we complete SOTW 1.)
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I'm waiting for SWB to decide what she will recommend in the 3rd ed. of TWM.
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We are doubling up lessons in our home because we are using Level 1 with my 8yo. He does 2 daily lessons (1 copywork and 1 narration) in Level 1 each day and it takes approximately 15-20 minutes.
I emphasize diligence because it doesn't take long, encouraging good penmanship and neatness. Also, SWB prompts you to remind them about proper capitalization and punctuation, reinforcing the concepts from the grammar lessons in FLL. It is such a rich study in the language arts that is very thorough, but not time consuming.
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Does the workbook have the stories included that the copywork and dictation are taken from? Are the stories in the text? Just curious.
All the stories are included in the workbook. (Only partially in the text itself, meaning you get a week's worth and then you supply your own for the next few weeks.) They are what SWB refers to as "passages"... a few to several paragraphs taken from various literature. They're excellent choices imho and my ds has often asked more about the story, prompting us to look at the local library for the titles.
Everything you need for each daily lesson (4x/week) for a full year is included in the workbook. It's really an enormous value.
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Imho, you can use just the workbook.
The main text is wonderful, and I own it, but I have not referenced it since implementing the workbook. I've even considered selling it, but am hanging on to it just in case I decide to use my own sources at some point. That's the greatest advantage in comparison to the workbook - that you can tailor the copywork, dictation, and narrations to your needs and/or preferences.
What the main text does provide, is a thorough explanation of the program with all the how's and why's... her philosophy. It also contains a jumping off point for each level every few weeks for those who do wish to customize the program as well as a end of year evaluation lesson in help with placement. If you don't need these particulars and don't need to be convinced of the benefits of copywork, dictation, and narration, then you'll be okay with just the workbook. It has a full year's lessons for both parent and child.
Hth. :),
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Hi Carly,
I think your plan looks great! Do you know what you plan to do in the area of composition? I did see that you mentioned journaling and book reports.
You have many options. You could do copywork, dictation, and oral and/or written narrations as well as a curriculum if you wanted to beef it up for your eldest. There are many great programs out there, but we recently settled on IEW. You're probably familiar with the myriad of curricula if you've been lurking though. :)
Welcome to the Hive!
Warmly,
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Another plug for GWG here. My 11yo ds and I love it. It has clear and concise lessons with just the right amount of practice. We plan on moving to GWG with the next ds after we finish up FLL 1/2.
When does GWG start diagramming.GWG introduces diagramming in 3rd grade.
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I considered both R & S and GWG before deciding on GWG for my 11yo ds. I knew the amount of writing would frustrate him with R & S, and frankly, my time is minimal with an 8yo and almost 2yo, so doing it orally wasn't an option.
Imho, the amount of work is similar in amount, but the child has less physical writing. Of course, the Christian content is missing in GWG. (I love the character and Bible within R&S!). But, practically speaking, GWG won out.
My ds said, "It's like the Math U See of grammar." He was in tears with other math programs before MUS, so this was a great plug for GWG! It is layed out simply and very straight-forward. He reads the lesson aloud to me and we discuss anything he might not understand. That takes about 5 minutes and he then moves onto the workbook, spending about 15 minutes on it.
With regard to review, I think there's plenty. There's a review at the end of each chapter as well as some sprinkled throughout some of the regular daily lessons.
And for composition, we will be starting IEW soon.
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I try to be careful not to squelch the joy out of our homeschool. After all, isn't what brings us joy what we want to remember?
Although I don't let the children dictate (or at least I don't let them think they do ;)), I do pay close attention to their natural interests. I believe it's called delight-directed learning in some circles.
For example, my 8 yo ds was introduced to coin collecting by his Nana. This started a firestorm of passion with not only regard to coins, but states and countries. He has learned more about geography than I could've ever taught him with a textbook. He found the globe and U.S. and World maps and I pulled out the atlases for him. I never thought he'd be delighted to see a used world atlas in the mail, but he was!
Both my 11yo and 8yo guys love to watch Survivor Man and Man vs. Wild. We got them both some basic supplies... pocket-knife, canteen, and various other items at the Army surplus store. Well, they have a "fort" complete with rooms, coverings, made a fishing pole, a small floating dock, and even dressed a wound with vines and a piece of cloth they tore from one of their boxers! (I had to bite my tongue on that last one!)
:),
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We memorize the VP timeline cards and listen to SOTW. It is amazing the connections that the kids make.
Do you hang the VP cards up as a timeline? I recall someone here doing that.
Also, does anyone use the memory CD?
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I've not used later sets, but I think using VP, particularly for the Reformation would be a nice way to fill out that part of SOTW.
Thanks Jami. That's encouraging because we will begin SOTW 2 in a a couple of months. :)
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I'd like to add the Biblical/Church perspective in, but don't want to overwhelm my dc.
Please share your opinions if you have implemented (or researched) this idea.
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Usually, I say if it aint broke don't fix it, but, if you're really interested in beefing up Abeka or using a more challenging program, I'd look at Singapore. There's a placement test on their web site.
:iagree:
Folks here sing it's praises and I have two df's that love it.
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My guys have used the one for Greece and Rome this year. I wanted something other than the coloring pages included in the SOTW AG because neither of them have any interest in those.
I too wanted to use it for art and it has worked out fairly well. It is definitely a jump from the coloring page. I agree with the tiffany k in that it is advanced with having to draw, then erase lines.
Overall though, I would recommend it because there's just not a whole lot out there in terms of budget-friendly, history-related products. And, I'm pleased with the boy's final drawings.
I should note that I let them dictate how much they want to attempt at each weekly lesson with a minimum effort of 15-20 minutes. I figure the slower and more methodical we go, the less likely they'll be frustrated.
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I understand about not wanting to study animals again (and I don't blame you!), but do you know she's writing a human anatomy book for the elementary series? On her website cover page, it says it's due out this summer. We were going to look elsewhere too until someone on the boards mentioned this.
There is also a chemistry and physics title in the works as well, but it's not due out until 2010.
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We are using Apologia. My 7th grader is not a strong reader. So he listens and reads along with the CD. Also next fall Apologia is starting online classes at Apologia Academy. I will likely be putting all three of mine in that.
Thank you for that information. I did not know about the classes next fall. It's definitely in the running. :)
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Thank you ladies. I have about a year or year and a half to decide, but wanted to start researching now. I know there is not a plethora out their for the Logic stage. At least the field is narrowed and I won't lose my mind researching this subject to death. :blink:
I am familiar, somewhat, with Apologia in that we've used a few elementary titles and my eldest ds used one year of the upper levels. I like it, but my 11yo is not an avid reader and have heard the upper levels are best for those who enjoy reading a lecture as opposed to hearing and seeing one. At that point I'll have a 5th grader and preschooler and my time will be at a premium, so reading with him may not be an option.
I have heard that BJUP is best used by a mom with a greater-than-average knowledge of the sciences (not me :tongue_smilie:) and am excited to hear that a dvd program is an option. And Lizzie, thanks for the idea of watching the labs for now and waiting until highschool. I do think it's enough for their ages to just watch.
And Sue, I'll also check out ABeka at our state conference.
Thanks again. The Hive is awesome!
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Please share your schedule and etc. How much of SOTW do you do? Do you get extra reading and projects in? How is Apologia working? What makes GWG easier than FLL? Do you follow a schedule and what do you do with the little one? I have a soon to be 2 year old and I need help!
I pm'd you. :)
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...Christian view preferred. :)
Saxon vs. Teaching Textbooks
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
For those you have researched and/or used, please share why you prefer one over the other. And fwiw, I am concerned with Saxon 7/6 or TT7 and above.