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Literary Mom

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Literary Mom last won the day on November 19 2013

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    Mother of two girls (13, 11) and one boy (9)
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    Marin County, CA
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  1. I updated my earlier post, because I seem to have found a fix to our history problem - thank the Lord :hurray:
  2. Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings Exploring Creation with Biology (Jay Wile) Irasshi Japanese CLE Sunrise Algebra You'll notice history is missing. That happened yesterday. We were doing it the WTM way, with the History of the Ancient World, and it turns out, she can't stand it. She loves history, but not the time period (well, not until the Greeks) nor what she perceived as the dry writing style (no offense to SWB, to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for helping to get us this far starting in the first grade). So I am on the look out for another curriculum, still focusing on ancients...or I may just decide to put it together myself. I am doing MOH with my younger two (after two cycles of SOTW, we needed a change), so there is the option of beefing that up (has anyone done that? I'll search the threads after this). She actually did MOH modern times last year for 8th grade and really liked it, but ancients seems too light (even lighter than SOTW). We are in a weekly supplemental homeschool program at our local learning center, so we get history through that as well, and it's chronological, so this year is ancients as well. That's also where she gets some grammar review (she completed AG last year, all in one year, with flying colors), as it covers all subjects. If anyone has a high school ancient history curriculum they love, please share about it. Thanks! UPDATE: I rummaged through my curriculum archive and discovered Beautiful Feet Ancients. Because we started the junior high version four years ago, I even have most of the books for it, so we are off and running with the senior high version (both versions are in the BF curriculum). She wasn't ready for it then, but it seems to be just right for her now, right on down the literature list, which she finds much more appealing than reading the actual classics from the ancient period. As much as I wanted that for her, I see that she is not ready, and nothing good can come of forcing it. I honestly don't think I would have been ready for the original works (albeit translated) when I was in ninth grade - granted I didn't have the classical-ish homeschool education she has had. Still, I think it has to do with cognitive development as well, and we just aren't there yet, which I actually think is a good thing, because you only have your childhood once!
  3. This is very helpful. She has been resistant to literary analysis (thinks it takes the fun out of reading), so this sounds like a good way to get her feet wet, since I am pretty certain she'll love the books (fantasy and history are her favorite genres). I tend to "beef up" whatever we're reading with my own insights, but just informally through discussion. Since I know LOTR fairly well, I am hoping that LLftLotR will be the catalyst to make me better prepared, though not as thoroughly as what you did (that sounds amazing!). I had hoped that reading/discussing The Eternal Argument this past year would give her motivation to go deeper, but alas, while she loved it, she is just as resistant to writing anything beyond summaries (lengthy ones, lol). That's one reason I'm actually glad we're going back to ancients, because I'd rather save novels for the last couple years of high school when she'll be more mature and equipped to analyze them. SaveSave
  4. Just wanted to let you know that we are drop-outs from the Logos Online program (because of Omnibus' theology component which was way over the head, and ignoring the heart of my then 13 yr-old) and I still have the literature books for Omnibus III, if you would be interested in buying the lot at a bargain price. I didn't purchase all of them, but have most for the first semester. I sold the textbook recently on Amazon. That thing was pricey!
  5. I have been contemplating doing that as well. Did you use this? http://www.homescholar.org/LOTR%20Curr.htm SaveSave
  6. Thanks for these ideas! I have two younger ones as well (grades 4 & 6), that I am planning to use MOH with, but still dip into SOTW some (I've been through two cycles of it). Our reading list will also be integrated with / complementary to a new group learning experience created by a family in our church that operates a learning center (until now, she was a CC director - some of you may remember my "Is Classical Conversations Neither?" thread, so this is a wonderful answered prayer). They are working on publishing a curriculum that will be available as a free download (with a hard copy for purchase). So we will be beta testers :) What they are doing totally meshes with the four year history cycle (and they are using SWB's books as spines). Check it out here: http://www.chronoscohorts.com http://goldengatelearning.center/chronos-cohorts SaveSave SaveSave
  7. I am starting with the lit list in the WTM, but I would like to balance/lighten it with other less heady but still relevant/worthwhile book selections, e.g. young adult historical fiction. Our history spines will be The History of Ancient World and Mystery of History. I would appreciate seeing other people's reading lists who are correlating literature with history for this time period. I am open to other curriculum suggestions as well. I am a last minute planner, so this is just my rough draft. Thanks!
  8. I have read that the older edition, which incorporates geometry, is lacking about 30% of what's needed for college admission tests. And some tests have to be taken before the student would take algebra 2, so they won't even have the further geometry needed at that point. I also gathered that the geometry component isn't well integrated - sort of an afterthought tacked on at the end and/or erratically interspersed. Is that a misperception?
  9. I've actually done a lot of research on this and found pros and cons with both editions: What you already know https://drshormann.com/2012/02/08/differences-in-3rd-and-4th-edition-saxon-algebra-1/ Another perspective http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/375341-saxon-math-algebra-1-3rd-of-4th-edition/ Another perspective http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/313846-any-reviews-on-saxon-algebra-4th-edition/?hl=%22saxon+algebra%22 Thorough review/comparison http://cathyduffyreviews.com/homeschool-reviews-core-curricula/math/grades-9-12/saxon-math-54-through-calculus Same as above but for geometry http://cathyduffyreviews.com/homeschool-reviews-core-curricula/math/math-grades-9-12/saxon-geometry
  10. I think I am questioning whether in the long run, the spiral approach has worked well for my daughter. It seemed to when we were using CLE (through the 600s), but not since switching to Saxon and pre-algebra. She tends to do well with the lesson practice, but miss a lot on the mixed review, so that's why I'm wondering if a mastery approach would have been better. I am not sure whether Saxon is the problem or having used a spiral approach all these years is. Or if it's just that pre-algebra covers so much material. I have read that algebra is actually easier, since it's not as much review as pre-algebra. Thoughts?
  11. I think we are going to try Saxon, since we already have it. If we start encountering the same frustrations, then I will likely order CLE. And next year, I may get their 700s for my younger daughter instead of switching to Saxon 7/8 like I did with my oldest. All three of my kids (two daughters, one son) have done really well with CLE. I just had always heard (in these forums) that I should switch to Saxon for pre-algebra, so that's why I did that. Maybe that was before they had made Sunrise Algebra? Would be cool if they revise geometry by another year from now...but it sounds like there are other good options either way...
  12. Used CLE (swimmingly) until pre-algebra when we switched to Saxon and it took us the last two years to complete...with much gnashing of teeth. I currently own the 4th edition of Saxon Algebra, but with my upcoming 9th grader and I both somewhat traumatized by our experience, I am considering either going back to CLE or trying something new like Jacobs (new edition coming out in September) or Foerster or Lial. So I'm resurrecting this thread in hopes of getting some updates and input...
  13. All this feedback is great! Thank you for sharing. I'm sure it will be helpful to other people as well. I definitely agree with the first two books of W&R being quite good, the third okay, but the fourth I'm not as hot about. I will have to see if it picks up in the second half - we put it aside to finish up AG (2 hrs a day on language arts was too much!), but will return to it after next week. We have been going through about a book and a half per year. Art of Argument seems to be a winner, so I'll be buying that for sure, and looking into the other recommendations.
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