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wehave8

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Posts posted by wehave8

    For those of you who plan ahead, how far ahead, and what's your approach?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I have never thought to use excel for my schedules as I always use that for financial stuff. I actually use MS Word with inserted tables. I schedule for the while year in advance by subject because if I don't the the sceduling doesn't happen. I usually hace 4 pages per subject per child that is divided into 9 weeks. I use this as a guide of where we are supposed to be if we get behind. I usually leave two weeks at the end of the year for makeup time. If by chance we don't have anything to make up then I will fill it in with dvd documentaries, free reading and PE.

     

    i know you are set with Excel but let me know if you would like to see a sample done on Word. .

    :) Ilm going to check out what I have been missing. ;)

    I'd like to see it. I have a STACK of "pencil and ruler" type planners I made (before we had computers) and a ton of files of Word planners I've tried over the years. I always just printed the grids and filled them in by pencil.

     

    I am looking at HT+, Excel, and Scholaric. I like Scholaric, but I'm not sure I like the online part. I thought I'd do planning while the 3 dss were taking piano lessons, but there is no internet there.

     

    Back to looking......

    For those of you who plan ahead, how far ahead, and what's your approach?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I plan my year in advance. I put the days/weeks as columns with the subjects down as rows. I space the subjects out so that they will all take about 180 days to finish.

     

    Each week, I will print off the appropriate columns and we can use it as a checklist. That way if DS wants to do all of his math on Monday, he can, he just needs to finish everything by Friday.

     

    Heavily influenced by Sonlight's IG. :001_smile:

     

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmUsFdXVXIPQdGlaS2diUGllcDVTMTZ3cHFsY3J3QXc

    Is there a way in excel to "bump" one subject (not bumping the whole day)?

    How do you plan lessons?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Three ideas:

     

    You could assign numbers to each lesson as some curricula like History Odyssey do. So instead of daily plans you would plan say 90 lessons for history and break that into approximately how many you want to do per week. If some are more and some less due to changes in plans you adjust as you go.

     

    In a related vein, you could break lessons into chunks (chapters, etc) with a plan for how often they should be done per week -- leaving wiggle room-- and do a plan like that. Here is an example:

    http://www.shirreware.com/Curricula/GradeFive.pdf

     

     

     

     

    When I was doing Calvert, the lesson plans were done by Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Lesson 3, etc. Then the lessons were done by subject in a row.

     

    Lesson 1

    Math X, y z,

    English X, Y, Z

    History X, Y, Z.

     

    Lesson 2

    Math X, Y, Z

    English X, Y, Z

    Science X, Y, Z

    Art X, Y, Z

     

    Lesson 3

    Math X, Y, Z

    etc.

     

    When we needed to end before the day was done, I just drew a line where we finished. The next day we'd start there, finish lesson X, and begin lesson Y. I think it's rather similar to the loop schedule. :001_smile:

    I can't believe there are planning ideas I never tried! These look interesting to me. I am going to look at HST, also. Any advise as I try the basic download edition?

    Please tell me about Primary Language Lessons (PLL)

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    All I know is that it worked for 2 of my children to do it PLL/ILL style and wait until jr. high years (6th-8th) to have most formal. We didn't do drill style even then. They sang School House Rock grammar rock though. we never drilled it..We just sang it for fun.

    The standardized testing says they are fine. They can write sentences and papers and all of that.

     

    My goal wasn't about diagramming sentences. It was to write sentences and revise them.

     

    Maybe it's like potty training... start at 1 done at 3. start at done 2 done at 3.. start at 3 done at 3. ??

     

    maybe?

     

    -crystal

     

    Crystal-- Thank you :)

     

    My husband thinks it's really important for our boys to know grammar well. He wants them to be able to write papers, etc., but even more so, he feels a solid grammar knowledge will help them study/teach the Bible better. I just wondered if they go through both PLL & ILL will they lay a solid foundation for them? I see now I can add heavier grammar AFTER them IF I need to.

     

    Anyone else want to share what they use AFTER ILL?

    Please tell me about Primary Language Lessons (PLL)

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Well, I doubt seriously that those that use PLL are using it just to be sweet. :glare:

    It is good, but anyone's opinions on it being enough will not be worth a hill of beans when everyone has their own idea as to what that actually is.

     

    I'm thinking it looks like enough to me as long as I go deeper when they get older. :) I just hope when they get older there is enogh foundation laid with it.

     

    The grammar in PLL is not from parts of speech approach, nor with "formal" rules. I would place PLL in a "charlotte mason" wait until 4th grade-ish for formal approach. The rules are definitely in ILL. no diagramming (that's a plus for some of us at this age.)

     

    The grammar in PLL is covered informally... with copywork and some discovery time -- such as rules of demonstrative adjectives (lesson 136 is a good example of that) Say them in context, write them in context.. then develop the rule from that style of practice.

     

    Or in lesson 37.. copywork for subject verb agreement with irregular verb, then you try it on your own with the missing word in next section.

     

    I'd also place PLL in the style of application over identification.

     

    so, a composition sentence that is learning how start sentences with prepositional phrases is done like this:

    Copy these sentences filling the blanks with words that answer the question Where? (or in other lessons it will be "when")

     

    _______ stood a large pine tree.

     

    So, instead of teaching definition of prep phrase and saying write sentences that start with them... it's done a different style of teaching... Then later in upper grammar years, they learn the definition first approach.

     

    overall, I've enjoyed PLL.

     

    -crystal

     

    I just didn't know if drilling R&S way or gentle PLL way would bring us to where we want to be when they get older. KWIM? Is the gentle approach for grammar an effective way for laying a foundation for later? I seem to want rigor and drill thinking they memorize so well at young ages, but then, I think general more gentle foundations work better to build upon for later.

    Decisions!!

     

    Pam

    favorite poem for 5 year old

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

     

    My 4 yo ds has memorized these, as well as many more :):

     

     

     

     

    A Wise Old Owl

    By Edward Hersey Richards

     

     

     

    A wise old owl lived in an oak;

     

    The more he saw the less he spoke;

    The less he spoke the more he heard:

    Why can’t we all be like that bird?

     

     

     

     

     

    There’s a Neat Little Clock

     

     

    Traditional Mother Goose

     

    There’s a neat little clock—

    In the schoolroom it stands—

    And it points to the time

    With its two little hands.

     

    And may we, like the clock,

    Keep a face clean and bright,

    With hands ever ready

    To do what is right.

    Dolphins...need ideas

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Dolphin Tales was promoted as a big homeshool movie. They had a a website that had a lap book the student could make. My daughter had a lot of fun making the lap book. You should be able to google it??

    :iagree:We liked this, too.

    Atelier DVD Art Curriculum at Homeschool Buyer's Coop

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Have you ordered from Homeschool Buyers Co-op before?

    Do you know what the service fees are for or HOW MUCH they are?

     

    I was about to commit and then saw this in their Terms & Conditions:

     

    "PAYMENT: The Co-op will charge your credit card for the purchase price AFTER we get to 151 orders or the expiration date shown above, whichever comes first. We will also charge your credit card for the service fee. The service fee is non-refundable. The charges will appear separately on your credit card statement."

     

    Pam

    Atelier DVD Art Curriculum at Homeschool Buyer's Coop

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Have you ordered from Homeschool Buyers Co-op before?

    Do you know what the service fees are for or HOW MUCH they are?

     

    I was about to commit and then saw this:

     

    "PAYMENT: The Co-op will charge your credit card for the purchase price AFTER we get to 151 orders or the expiration date shown above, whichever comes first. We will also charge your credit card for the service fee. The service fee is non-refundable. The charges will appear separately on your credit card statement."

     

    Pam

    Please help me choose a science: God's Design or Christian Kids Explore

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I can't comment on Christian Kids Explore because I haven't used it but we've used God's Design for the past 2 years and will be using it again next year. I think it's perfect for someone who has kids of multiple ages because it's designed in a way that shows you how to take it down a level for younger kids or how to ramp it up for older kids.

     

    My kids are upper elementary/beginning logic stage so we add a lot of the activities suggested at the end of each lesson. We also add additional reading sometimes and or bigger projects that must be worked on for several weeks, such as tree identification using field guides, or a full size human body outline that we add the differrent body systems to as we study them, or an owl pellet dissection when studying animals, etc...

     

    It's definitely YE and has been a huge blessing to my family.

    I don't have the new color edition, but I was able to pick up a CD Rom with the worksheets on it at a convention. Do you think the Color Edition is worth buying a whole new set for? I see the reading is exactly the same in some of the samples. They just added a paragraph to say to a younger group at the beginning.

     

    Pam

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