HappyCamper
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Posts posted by HappyCamper
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Timely question. I have been considering the same change.
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DD10 is in the pre-algebra online class. She watches the videos, completes the problems and exercises in the book,then does alcumus. It seems to work pretty well. HTH
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DD practices 15 minutes every day with the same program (Type to Learn). I don't think it is the program so much as a little practice every day until they get where the parent/child wants to be.
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I am so sorry for your daughter's negative school experience. That reading program sounds awful! :grouphug: I have older kids and look back with some regrets that I thought it was so important for them to attend every day of pre-school and placed such a high priority on their school attendance in the lower grades. We started both kids in public school and it was not a good fit. I wish I had pulled them out sooner.
Every family and school situation is unique and it may make sense for your daughter to continue. Maybe for the same reasons you decided for her to go to school this year. But if you are planning on pulling her out at the end of this year, I agree with the pp it might make sense to do it around Spring Break.
Hope it gets better!
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I think that History Odyssey is something that a 4th grader and 6th grader could do together. You might consider dropping some of the writing assignments, but I think the reading level of the books would probably work. We read some of the books, like Beowolf, aloud together, so I could make sure DD was following the story. But in retrospect, while it was enjoyable to read the books together, I am not sure it was necessary.
If you have independent workers, it would be pretty easy to assign Lesson 1, etc. and then just review the end product.
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We have been using History Odyssey (Middle Ages) this year and love it! I like that it has every lesson outlined including writing assignments and that it includes historical fiction. The shortfall for us is that it hasn't included crafts, so we supplement with SoTW Activity Guide. HTH
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I like to have all our books in advance and buy used where possible. We probably spent about $120 and have mostly paperbacks.
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We had quiche for breakfast. DD9 and I made our first pie from scratch together - cherry! And we are having pizza pie for dinner. We plan on trying to memorize a few digits of pi beyond 3.14 this afternoon. The kids are quite excited and asked if we can do the same next year! :001_smile:
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We are going to be spending about a week in each city this summer and I am considering swapping out history for studying these cities for the rest of this school year. I really do love the way our history curriculum is laid out with writing assignments, geography, living books, historical fiction, etc. But I think the kids, my daughter in particular, will get oh-so-much-more from the trip if she is more knowledgeable about the history.
Have you heard of unit-studies on these cities existing as pre-packaged curriculum for the late elementary/early middle school set? If not, do you have any advice on how to go about focusing on studying the history of these two cities.
TIA!
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We also do Tuesday Tea. Our favorites include Jack Prelutzky and Shel Silverstein. Both tend to focus on humor and keep it light.
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We love it! I recommend using the entire package altogether, but you can use separate components. Each part (grammar, vocab, poetry) reinforces the other parts. You should be aware that it is extremely teacher intensive - at least the way we do it.:001_smile:
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We have used the MCT annotated literature books and teachers guide for Alice and Peter. For us, it has been terrific. We take turns reading the book aloud, including the commentary on grammar, literary elements, and vocabulary. The comments directly reinforce what is learned in the language arts program. I appreciate that the annotated books connect what we are learning in grammar, vocab, and poetry.
Since I spend all my "teaching" time with my daughter (and do no prep) and I am not super creative, I very much appreciate the quote quizzes, creative questions, and essay questions. If I did not have the teaching manual, it would not happen in our house. My daughter especially enjoys the creative questions and turns them into writing projects. We had great fun quizzing each other with the quotes. It has been a wonderful addition to our language arts program and created some wonderful times for us.
HTH
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We have used the Island level and are in the middle of the town level. I would not view Ceasar's English as a replacement for the study of Latin. It does reinforce nicely. You could do the poetry and literature components separately from the Grammar portion. BUT you should understand that the literature program reinforces the vocabulary, poetic elements, and the specific MCT approach to grammar (4 level analysis). It would be easy to skip or include the grammar as you would like.
As the pp noted, some people use the writing exercises in the program and some do not. We use them as DD9 finds them more enjoyable than workbook pages (much more creative) and I think they really help cement what she is learning.
Hope that is helpful!
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For math, it depends on what you are looking for. Life of Fred (Fractions, Decimals and Percents, etc.) can be done independently AND most kids find it pretty fun. AoPS pre-algebra can be pretty time consuming if you enroll in the class, BUT if you did it without the online class, he could do it on his own pace. Either program might be nice because they are pretty different than what he would be getting in school. You could try placement tests for the AoPS, Singapore, or other programs to see what might be a good fit.
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We have used the MCT annotated books and teachers guide for Alice and Peter. For us, it has been terrific! We take turns reading the book aloud, including the commentary on grammar, literary elements, and vocabulary. The comments directly reinforce what is learned in the language arts program. I appreciate that the annotated books connect what we are learning in grammar, vocab, and poetry with an exciting story.
Since I spend all my "teaching" time with my daughter (and do no prep) and I am not super creative, I very much appreciate the quote quizzes, creative questions, and essay questions. If I did not have the teaching manual, it would not happen in our house. My daughter especially enjoys the creative questions and turns them into terrific writing projects. We had great fun quizzing each other with the quotes. It has been a wonderful addition to our language arts program and created some wonderful times for us.
HTH
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I don't know how helpful this will be, but my 9 year old daughter really enjoys using Rosetta Stone for Latin. She said it is much easier to use than doing Lively Latin with me. She seems to be learning tons, but since I don't speak latin, I have no way to verify that she is. Her vocabulary seems to be huge; she enjoys doing it; and it is 15 minutes of completely independent learning every day.
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We are going to try Dirty Jobs to our qeue and see how the kids like it.:001_smile: Great suggestions for netflix. Any recommendations on the best King Arthur movie or Robin Hood movie for late elementary or early middle school kids?
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Our goal for the end of the year for DD9 is 50 wpm. She started out at the beginning of the year as a complete novice (less than 10 wpm) and is now at 40 wpm. She does Type to Learn for 15 minutes 5 days/week. She plays piano,so that probably helps. I think the trick is to do a little bit every day. And she gets to pick out a new screen saver every time she improves by 10 wpm.
We set our goal based on her brother's 5th grade teacher requirements. He was required in 5th grade to type 15 minutes/night as homework, and his teacher kept increasing the time requirements as she tested the class each month until the entire class was typing 50 wpm. She said that she did it to improve their writing (and make the writing process more enjoyable) and to make the students more efficient for middle school.
HTH
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My daughter is in the AoPS pre-algebra class, so we are on their schedule. Once she has completed the section in the textbook and watched the videos, she does the corresponding alcumus section. It doesn't work at all if she does alcumus first. She does it in 30-45 increment blurbs; usually with the goal of completing the section rather than doing it for a certain amount of time. HTH
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Great thread. I am so glad to learn about the scientists in the field series.
Right now, DD9 is gobbling up The Great Brain series by Fitzgerald. For school this year, we are reading the MCT Literature program - Alice and Wonderland, Peter Pan, and The Wind in the Willows. This has been a much bigger hit than I anticipated. We also are reading books related to our history curriculum such as The Door in the Wall, Beowolf, and King Arthur.
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I have been so tempted to sign DD9 up for cybershala. It would be so wonderful for her. She insisted on the AoPS Pre-Algebra class, and it is a huge time commitment. More than I estimated. Maybe cybershala once AoPS is over in May. If you don't mind my asking, how much time does your DD spend on cybershala, classes and homework? I admire your math choices, and am curious how you schedule it. Thanks!
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It's already been said, but the whole is much better than the parts. The poetry, grammar, and vocabulary all work so well together. We added the literature component to the Town level and it reinforces the concepts so well.
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DS 11's school (as we expected) is a terrific fit in terms of challenge. Students take math placement tests at the beginning of the school year to ensure appropriate instruction. All math classes start at 8 am, so that students can move to alternate classes for appropriate instruction. We knew all of this going in. The joyful surprises were the understanding that just because a 10 year old understands advanced math, he still may need help (lots of it) in learning how to be responsible re: homework, etc. The teachers' expecations are developmentally appropriate. The most wonderful surprise of all is the acceptance by the students that everyone has different strengths and it is expected that someone can write brilliant, insightful poetry and/or be a math mover and/or be working very hard on a music piece. They really seem to have figured out how to motivate my son to take pride in and love his school work. Of course, the tuition is a shock. I wish our public school had worked out.:glare:
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I would check the school out. DS11 is at private HG school for four years and it has been the answer to our prayers (his and ours).
Top 10 "must reads" for 7th and 8th
in Logic Stage & Middle Grade Challenges
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