joyfulmomSDG
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Posts posted by joyfulmomSDG
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We used 100 level this year and my husband definitely needed it. I think it depends on your level of understanding of grammar and spelling rules. I probably could have gotten away without it.
Thank you all- sounds like it may be helpful for me to have on-hand. Grammar & spelling rules are not my strong suit!
Can I also ask if it is way off to be starting my rising 2nd grader in level 100? We did FLL 1 and AAS 1 last year, and she just doesn't seem to have retained them as well as my son did. Particularly when the CLE placement test says things like "circle the word that has the consonant digraph." She has no idea what that term means, but when I re-explain it briefly she gets it and moves along quickly with correct answers. She is a very strong reader but she seems clueless as to all of these terms and rules! Also, over the course of this past year, I have noticed that she is definitely more of a workbook-type than my boys have been.
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Thanks so much!
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Although they aren't expensive, I am wondering how necessary the TM is? Particularly at the lower levels (100-300). From what I can tell the student pages have a fair amount of info included.
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She might enjoy some of the American Girl series books.
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I had this same issue earlier this school year with my 5 year old. He was constantly discouraged and miserable about anything "school". I stopped forcing my "school plan" and allowed him to play with things like tangoes, c-rods, anything hands-on. This is a big change from my others who had a much more structured k year.
He will be 6 in less than 2 mo, and has had a drastic shift in the past few weeks. Particularly with actual pencil-to-paper writing! Honestly, I am really glad I didn't spend all these months with him in tears and me feeling like he would always despise school. He actually likes to work on math, phonics, etc...now. I would recommend just being a bit patient. In our case he just needed to mature a bit more. During that time, I did make sure he watched the Leap Frog letter video periodically, so when we picked our phonics book back up he had a fair amount of confidence in already clearly knowing his letter sounds.
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We used "Intro" also and I think it is intended to be an overview not really in-depth for that age. For us, it laid a good foundation so I have been able to say "remember when we learned about dilution..." and apply their basic knowledge to whatever we are currently learning about. I didn't use the Handbook of Nature Study because I was just overwhelmed by it...instead, I found info from library books or science encyclopedias we own. We are planning on using Chemistry for the Grammar stage this coming year.
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I can't offer much from experience, but we are planning to use Writing Tales 1 for 4th and will move into Level 2 if possible. I do plan to add spelling & grammar because, from what I see in the TG, the grammar is a bit light for 4th. It would be almost all review for us in Level 1. I will say, I am super-excited about this program!
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I echo the whiteboard recommendation! We have a medium size one for everyone to use & "personal" size for each child. There is just something about writing on them that makes my kids more motivated.
I also use tons of magazine holders like these: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50187340/
Several for my teacher books & each child has one for their student materials. I love that they are portable, compact and durable.
Oh, and I don't think I saw this mentioned but an electric pencil sharpener is a must! :)
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This isn't a backpack, but this Timbuk2 has a lifetime warranty...
http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/parcel-tote-bag/2114819
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Wowza! It sounds like open communication with her family is a must! I'm sure the first days will be an adjustment for all of you, but she will probably fall into your routine more and more each day.
This may be a little young for her, but you could try: http://pbskids.org/island/play.html or the regular PBSkids or PBSkids go websites. Or Kumon books for the older levels??
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Also, continue with our all time favorite reading list: http://mensaforkids....erAward/4_6.pdf
They also have other levels: http://mensaforkids....readeraward.cfm
This is awesome! Thanks for posting the link(s)!
After checking out all the plans above (thank you everyone!), this is where I am so far:
Math: Horizons 4
Grammar: FLL 4
Spelling: Continue w/AAS (but now considering Sequential Spelling)
Writing: WWE 3 (but now considering Writing Tales)
Vocab: Vocabulary from Classical Roots
Science: Elemental Chemistry
Latin: Memoria Press Prima Latina (w/siblings)
Greek: Song School Greek/Greek Alphabet Code Cracker (Greek was his request)
History: TOGY1 (finish unit 4) & work through TOG Y2U2
Plus extra curriculars.
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I have used Phonics Pathways for all my littles so far. A friend recommended that I have it spiral-bound at an office supply store. That way we can flip the pages to the back and not overwhelm my little ones so they see only one page at a time. I have even gone further and used a scrap paper to cover what we are not immediately working on on the page. Both of these have helped curb the discouragement drastically! I also only do a page at a time & sometimes even just a section of a page. My goal is proficiency not "getting through the book".
PP is the best resource I have tried for teaching reading...particularly if the child isn't ready for tons of writing! HTH :)
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We school year round but our longest break is in the summer. We take a solid 4 weeks off (usually June or July) so we feel like we are truly not in school-mode at all.
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Leapfrog it is! That particular one doesn't seem to be on Netflix... Boo.
Thanks!!
Yep, Netflix has the newer ones (which we do watch sometimes) but I find myself going to the original. Once they know the letter sounds pretty well we begin Phonics Pathways. This has been the most straight-forward & successful method for our family.
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The original Leap Frog Letter Factory video :)
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We use Horizons and it was pretty open-and-go for me at that level. It has the "problems" he is asking for and a fair amount of variety in each lesson as it is "spiral". It uses a workbook but we use a decent amount of manipulatives if applicable. If you were to start in the "K" level books they seem to start out slow but quickly advance so he wouldn't get bored. Plus, there isn't a ton of handwriting required. HTH!
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What comprehension level do you think is best for the sassafras twins books? I just looked at those...my kids retain SOOO much from Story of the World and Magic Tree House. I'm wondering if they would like these as well...
I'm not exactly sure of the reading level, but from the preview I saw on their site, it looks more suited for your 3/4 grade level to read alone. I was planning to read it aloud to incorporate my younger ones. (I also considered using the accompanying Logbook) From my understanding, there are more planned in the series, so it will be a continuing series. I just thought it would be a fun addition!
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I think 8 years old would still really like Story of the World 1 starting with Ancients. It's SUCH a fun year, and the activity guide and map work and extra reading really beef it up. You can jump in anywhere really, but that first year especially, jump in somewhere fun!
I agree! And you may want to take a look at Elemental Science for a pretty straight-forward/planned (yet classical) way to do science.
We began homeschooling our (then) 4th grader using a very packaged curriculum and it was pretty miserable. I quickly realized that my mindset needed to change from the idea of having to recreate the classroom setting my daughter was used to. Homeschool is not like a classroom!! It was defiinitely a huge transition for us!
There is a lot of experience and wisdom on this board. I hope you have a great first year!!
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I would recommend returning to SOTW (with additional readings for your older one) since they all love it! Especially if they are retaining the material and it is easy for you to implement. We use TOG also, but SOTW has been sort of a "spine". I have now morphed into using SOTW along with MOH (which I already owned) with my LG level kids since they like the together time. They just seem to retain better from both author's writing style as opposed to the encylopedia style. I will say that TOG is awesome for the D/R levels!!
Regarding science, I too have a lot of trouble implementing the experiments. I even broke down and purchased the suped-up kit just to make my life easier but it hasn't helped. I am returning to Elemental Science (Chemistry) this year because it was simply the easiest for me to use and best year of science we have had so far. I will be also be adding their Sassafras Twins book - because my kids will love it!
Although I am totally comfortable with the material, I'm convinced that science will just be one of those subjects that we do outside the home as my kids get into high school.
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Hi! We are using Horizons this year with our 3rd grader and I understand your concern with the "teacher help" issue. It's a bit vague...to say the least! I was planning to move to another program next year (Abeka) which has the basic lesson instructions at the top of each student page. After taking a look at the Horizons 4 level, it does seem to have the same type of format. The teacher instructions even say something along the lines of "read the explaination for lesson X together and have the student complete the sheet". I am really glad we are sticking with Horizons because I really didn't want to have any gaps. Although it is a worksheet style curriculum, the activities are varied and spiraled so there is constant reinforcement/practice of concepts. Honestly, math for us is just a "get it done" type of subject so we can move on to history, science, etc... (p.s. Saxon was a total bust for my older daughter in the 5th/6th grade range so I haven't had a ton of experience to compare)
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I have a digital+print version but for the LG level the digital version has been fine for us. I reference it to preview the week and make a week-plan. After that, I don't really need to refer back for this age. When we cycle back through, though, I will definitely want a printed copy.
Regarding books to purchase, I second the SOTW and any of the other books that are used for more than 5 weeks. For all the others I have found either the primary or an alternative resource at the library. This is especially easy for LG level. HTH!
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Here is the thread I started not too long ago if you want more ideas!
Thanks so much, this is just what I was looking for!
It is not independent at this age. I used Calvert 4 with my son last year and I was so impressed with it. I wanted to do Calvert for both kids this year but couldn't afford it. I was kind of glad because Calvert is a lot of work. But in the end I noticed a lot of things.
1. We actually do art with Calvert, and it's really well done classical art- they use Hillyer's art history and lessons in 5-8th. My kids are both artistic so I feel this is a real failure to provide for them.
2. My son learned so much in 4th grade writing lady year that the only reason he did well this year was jumping off of the momentum from Calvert 4. The writing is superb.
3. I end up buying more stuff and junk when I'm eclectic. I stress more because I'm always researching.
4. I miss the wonderful lesson manual
5. Calvert's online spelling is excellent.
6. Variety. We do more variety when it's planned in.
We did like WWE a LOT and FLL but it certainly works and my dd has enjoyed the poetry memory. FLL has made it so she's way ahead of the curve in grammar, and fairly painless. We will miss some aspects of both of those, but I'm not sad about it, only because I know how Calvert 4 is and I know I like it.
Calming Tea, thanks for your insight about Calvert. I am torn about starting a new curriculum for any of our core areas - especially because they are going so well. But, as you mentioned, the eclectic thing is really stressing me out now that I have more school age kids. I am finding myself perusing Bob Jones & ABeka catalogs more & more!
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It looks like I have a similar line-up in core areas as your 9yo this year. Is Calvert more (or completely) independent?
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I was wondering if a 4th grade plan thread had been started yet? I am thinking about revamping a lot so I'm looking for inspiration :)
CLE Language Arts...is the Teacher Guide necessary?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
Thank you! I don't want to be redundant, but I do want to make sure she is really solid before moving on. She does work on grade-level so the review at the beginning of 200 may be enough along with a refresher of the terminology.