ChrissySC
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Posts posted by ChrissySC
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I consider 5-8 to be the logic stage of education. Thus, you can see my lineup through the 7th now. It is on my blog. I am only beginning to document the grammar stage, and my educational plans and schedules are not posted yet. HTH. :) I have a bunch of "gunk" on there from those years, including reading lists, copywork, research hunts, etc.
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This has been so interesting reading how everyone does it a bit differently, and why. Thank you so much for sharing. While we have our own way of doing things, I have to be careful with myself to be sure to question and challenge myself somewhat regularly, to see if this is really the way I want to be doing things.
I do fall into the CM "camp" in terms of some of what she said about trying to prevent a student from seeing the wrong spelling -- from getting that wrong "picture" of a word in his/her mind. As such, prepared dictation really suits us. Even with programs of grammar where a main activity is to find all the things wrong with the text -- I just don't really want to dwell on the "bad" examples, at least with elementary kids (my thoughts on that change as the student gets older and has the experience needed to more confidently do that).
However, I do like some of the advantages of holding a longer passage in one's mind, as with SWB's dictation passages in WWE. And I actually have WWE but don't use it on a regular basis. But all the various comments have me thinking through some things... and that's a good thing. :)
Longer passages ... This is where I like Simply Spelling. And, agree with your reasons as well.
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After R&S 5, I went to A Journey Through Grammarland. It is not a traditional approach, and it is a much more gentler handling of grammar.
My dd was bored with grammar, and not yet done with mastery.
If you find R&S to be too rigorous, and you want to break free a little, try it.
A great read ... http://www.howtotutor.com/journey.htm
The link includes sample pages too. This reminds me of Life of Fred for grammar. :)
I would like to place a thumbs up on Analytical Grammar too ... loved it with my first. My second child is not a workbook fan, and I homeschool so I can adjust a little, LOL.
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I have in a manner of speaking. I will say that it is a great prep for moving into prealgebra as stated.
My pros were ....
It is workbook format.
I bought the digital download one time for two students, and I can reprint lessons past or present to focus on content.
I purchased the green and gold sets to work with additional materials and review as well.
I love the Math in Real Life books. They work wonderfully with my older student.
The font and color were pleasing.
Tests are just long enough to objectively gauge if subject matter has been understood.
I like the closeness in which the program borders a spiral and mastery approach.
I appreciate being able to easily identify a problem type and choose how many we do or do not complete for a lesson.
I like the review at the end of each chapter.
I like the way in which chapters are content grouped and concepts evolve and are applied.
I feel that there is a good focus on mental math as well.
I use a folder method for planning, ie 36 weeks of folders for each student, and I can add the lessons loosely.
Great links for facts and practice to generate more worksheets. (I made a dry-erase facts using the generated worksheets.)
BTW, MM now has videos too.
My cons...
I really would appreciate more teaching instructions and tips/tricks. You have to know your math.
The lessons are not easily divided for the year.
You will need to prepare your lessons and teaching methods in advance.
You have to understand the lesson prior to teaching it. There are no lessons to "read".
You have to print it, and this means paper and ink must be a consideration in the total cost for a digital download.
I think that there should be more fact and practice focus, but I do this by assigning quizzes several times a week or grabbing from my gold and green books.
Does that help? I am not in the best "posting" mind today!
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I enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts. I will simply add how and what we do for reference ...
Studied dictation is more of a Charlotte Mason method, and as such, you should browse through the dictation sections on the CM sites (a good Google will get you there). Simply Spelling uses studied dictation, and it includes the how-tos as well. I use this, and love it. Not only are common word spellings kept visible, but new and more complex words are introduced. In addition, the student is studying sentence structure as well. I read the sentence(s) aloud, and my daughter then translates to paper with appropriate spelling and grammar. She spends no more than 10 to 15 minutes 4 days a week with her passage. Grading errors is the most difficult part. I count the grammar and words. From there I deduct a point for what is incorrect or missing. I will be using this method through high school. We started in the 5th grade. You could start as early as the 3rd grade with Simply Spelling.
I prefer the studied dictation method for the OPs very reasons. I am also able to omit quizzing on grammar and spelling word lists! I consider this a win-win for everyone.
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The only reason that Killgallon worked so well in our lessons is because we were using R&S. I believe that the grammar should come first. If they, the student, can diagram well, then you can gain benefit instead of aggravation from the Killgallon workbooks.
We moved from R&S 5 to Journey Through Grammarland with Elementary Diagramming to change things up, but the focus is on the parts of speech and to the mastery of identification. My history is for reference. What are you using for the POS? diagramming? Sentence development and structure before the parts is like trying to make a chicken from a chicken without mapping the DNA! :)
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Phonics Pathways ... http://cathyduffyreviews.com/phonics_reading/phonics-pathways.htm
(I cannot link for some strange odd reason. I will figure that out later.)
This is a very complete program. It is multisensory, and as such, it does not have a lot of writing.
Yes, you need the TM. However, you do not need to spend time preparing. I open up and start the lesson. There is lots of room to add or omit as you decide it is needed. I do not use the second set of reading books or the second workbook. I did purchase the workbook for reading comprehension. I do not think that you absolutely need this one at the first level.
A draw back for some may be the black and white presentation. There is no color. I do allow my little drama queen to color in her books. This means that I cannot recycle the materials, but the cost was such that I do not feel that I will be losing more than we gain. We write in the workbooks as well.
1 set of books
1 TM for 3 sets of books (you do not need to purchase a TM for each set)
1 composition notebook or manuscript paper to practice writing new words
I purchased from the Christian Bookstore, but Amazon, Rainbow Resource, etc. All have the parts.
Questions? Just give me a shout. You have to be persistent. I tend to get lost in the next project (as you can tell by my lack of blog updates! LOL)
Have a great holiday!
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I have tried, with three 10 years a part, a variety of methods. My favorites are the folder method and the event method. For an event, we purchased timeline sheets and added our timelinefigures (purchased ;) ) to cover the event as well as wrote in specific dates, i.e. the Civil War or the Egyptians. Now, the folder method requires you to date the folder and add continent sheets for the placement of the events/figures. The folder method is not so much concentrated on a line but rather a collection of events and figures. I have used a very detailed folder method and a very liberal folder method. What is nice about the folders would be the ability to look geographically at the events. What is nice about the events would be to view the linear chronology of the event.
I never liked the book method or the wall method. HTH :)
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Amongst all of this, the age is a factor, but you never mentioned what you are using now for studies. I would suggest a more focused Charlotte Mason method for everything but Math. Honestly, it's the freedom that they need. My dd is doing Early Moderns for the year, just as an example, and she will research and outline her way through the time period. I will provide an essay question every so often for testing (important to develop this type of testing for college) and allow her only her notebook (really a binder). I even drop her off at the library, letting the librarian know of course, and allow her to completely study and research on her own. She has rules and follows them so that she does not lose her freedoms.
This sounds like she is challenging for space. It is time to give her some. We have to let them grow up too. Homeschool often ends up being very confining. Find ways to let her be independent and experience things safely. It may not work for you, and things may be worse than perceived in text, but I hope it helps you some to know you are not alone. They all go through something like this.
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Just to make some sense of this ... if you consider that you are doing geography and not history studies, you really have to consider how many different people (cultures), landscapes (environments), and physical locations there are to study. This would not mean that you would exclude the history of their development as a society/culture, but you would not focus, for instance, on the world wars and their associated battles unless they absolutely had an effect on the people. As you look at it from this perspctive, and depending on how many different cultures you address, you could very well stay in Europe for years. :)
Now, consider that the normal classical cycle is a four-year or five-year history cycle. You are going to cover the world's people and their differences, and as such you should expect years of study too. I actually think this is a great idea for the second cycle. I'm glad you mentioned it! Let me know how you find the studies and what you do to condense the physical studies. It sounds like a wonderful experience. I love CM's way of letting children research and discover.
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I compromised on the book report. My girls keep bookmarks. The bookmark has two primary purposes. As they find a word that they feel is worth remembering or one that they do not know, it goes on the front of the bookmark. When they finish the book, they rate it by coloring in the stars and write a summary on the back of the bookmark. We do WOW, or words of worth. WOW comes from reading and is used for writing. It is a means of finding super awesome words that they can choose to use in their formal writing and essays. Long story, but it is our compromise to writing an actual book report. In this way, the girls keep track of favorite books in a series they are reading too. Sometimes, the WOWs are few and sometimes, as was the case with the Cat of Bubastes (did I spell that right?), they are numerous and require margin notes too.
If you are set on a book report beginning, I remember long ago reading about a method. 1) photocopy the front of the book 2) write a summary that includes the author, illustrator, and page numbers (more like a blurb of the setting, plot and characters) 3) insert into a clear plastic sleeve with the photocopy as the front and the summary as the back. Insert the sleeve into a 3-ring binder. I used something similar with dd 1 who is now long gone and working in the real world. Look for a book report template that would meet your wants. :)
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I would look at a blend of utilities - copywork and studying spelling versus actual memorization.
Read my bits. I have dd on level D now and we are still working through dictation book 5. I am in no hurry, but I do believe we may reach book 6 end of year, LOL.
This year is quite a bit more independent for her. HTH
Megawords is an excellent source for those students that lack a firm foundation in phonics or verbal pronounciation skills.
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StartWrite software - you can copy and paste anything. I love this. I can add memorization items and copywork from across the subject content. It has the options to add dots and arrows for letter formation, and you can even add graphics.
I think this is a must when you conisder the value of being able to incorporate penmanship into another subject area entirely. It means less work for the educator.
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Each of my girls have a memory book (designed long ago and on our blog). With that noted, we do silent work, reviewing each page as reading material, and aloud, reciting as much as is possible from memory. Review is the key. Songs and pneumonics are often temporary solutions for storage. You remember the months of the year, but often you do not remember the song or poem memorized. :) The review is of grave importance.
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Saxon 87 includes pre-algebra and mastery of the skills in MM6, which I also used. I am using Saxon 87 now. I will move forward with Saxon Algebra as well. I appreciate Saxon. I second the LoF books as well. My girls have always loved them. I one just starting this year again. :) There is nothing wrong with not mastering the skill as yet. Another year, and another text/program, would give a different view and light. You may want to ensure that the math facts are well cemented too. This will cause a student to struggle each and every time. Go backwards to address some of the foundational math properties, theorems, and postulates, i.e. cummulative, transitive, etc. The full understanding of the theory is important. The student needs to be able to work within the complementary and inverse operations.
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No. :(
We still have our air conditioner on. It will cool off in the South eventually, right? -
Ack, I'm still having to run the air conditioner! LOL
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Have you ever read Faithmanor's thread about the lizard?
There are many of us living with unusual and not really welcome guests in the name of home education.
This made me think of the snake that the dog ate that had to be disected. :glare:
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Oh my goodness, you have not been reading! LOL
Comedy ... just start with the maggots that I came home to after a long day of work that dad and the dear little girls scavenged from the water-filled trash can. These had to be investigated, observed, and allowed to grow - ewwwwww!!!!!
Consider that they found "dinosaurs" in the back yard. Ummm, it was the family bet. This led to tears. :-(
All you need to do is consider that many of us push for nature study and science led investigation. Look for the mom who had road kill open on the kitchen floor!
Now this .... this is homeschool. :D
(Don't forget to look up the foregin language quibs too!)
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Could be the car ... my hound acts like we are going to kill her when she gets close to the van. :-/ Otherwise, she is a happy dork - yes, dork.
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I'm an Adobe and Corel user. Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro are both great tools. You can get an external drive and save them all to store in a fire proof box. (This is one of my "what-if" things if we had a fire.) So, you will have a much better time and experience. I would think. Both have great online tutorials. You can do some amazingly neat things in both programs. I have blended photos, created negatives and washed with color, fixed red eyes, sharpened the contrast and adjusted brightness with relative ease.
I vote that you not use a cloud/online solution. I think you should manage this on your own with quality software.
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It is hard. I have to combat the same feelings each time my girls are introduced to public school classrooms. I am just wondering what the purpose is to all of the remediation. Then, I remember the "No Child Left Behind" and that most of the kids are not anywhere close to having the same academic ability and drive that my child has. Most of us on the Hive have supported learning to such a great extent that the public school will always serve as a disappointment on some level. You can't measure it against what you could or would do. Use it as a tool. Expand topics and develop interests and subject content outside of the normal school day. You will see better growth in your child as a person socially and academically.
Yes, just afterschool. I consider school a great tool for mastery and development. You do not have to be satisfied with the content they present.
BTW, for grammar, I love A Journey Through Grammar Land, and for math, Life of Fred. Both are excellent weekend resources to help develop critical standards for any age. :D
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I tend to agree with the "NO". Do it at home. He can read to you and work on pronounciation and comfort. He won't get that much practice in a classroom for goodness sakes.
AS well, you will be holding him back from developing his reading skill, knowledge base, and vocabulary.
I see more harm than good. He may even serve to be an outsider to the group that he is in. The group may feel defeated based on the ease with which he can read.
Ask the teacher to meet and address your desire to change. Explain that after reflecting on her opinions that you would rather see him promoted according to his actual reading level. Let her know that you will work on reading orally at home with her help. You see more harm than good both academically and socially. She should respond well with you "needing help" and presenting a factual case on your son's behalf.
Lessons learned from homeschooling and working
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
I work at home and away from home. The biggest thing that I did was label 36 folders and buy HST.
I have one milk crate for each child with 36 hanging files labeled "week 1", "week 2", etc. I stuff everything in there. Their books are even in there. The next best thing was sticker stars. In our house, that means see me first.
Lastly, HST has been my best friend for planning and recording. End of year is a breeze. I grab from the weekly folders and print from HST. Done.
Otherwise, shut your door, make some coffee, and turn the ringer on the phone up (in my case, all three!).