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wehave8

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Posts posted by wehave8

    Saxon, Jacobs, or MUS for Algebra?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted · Edited by wehave8

    I'd stick with Saxon.

     

    Personally, I would not put a child into MUS Algebra if you think they will need more than the basic math credit at university.

    I haven't gone through MUS Algebra yet, and I sure hope we are not making a mistake by doing so, but I have searched MANY hours days about this.  I had been under the impression that MUS wasn't enough.  Then this past couple months, as I searched, I came across a LOT of postitive reviews and SUCCESS stories.  I think the clincher for me was this one..

     

    http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/423083-bestmost-rigorous-upper-level-math/

     

    Scroll down to what Pegasus says in #22.  Pegasus

     

    Just pointing out another side.  

     

    Pam

    • Like 1

    Where to buy Rod and Staff?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Call the actual phone number: (606)-522-4348

     

    This isn't Milestone Books (they're a reseller), but the actual publisher. They're very friendly, and ordering is easy.

     

    Yes, buy directly from R&S.

    It takes forever to get things from Milestone, and returns are even worse.  I am thankful for all the samples they put up though.  :)

     

     

    Pam

    What are you doing for middle school (7th &8th grade) history?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    We've successfully used Heart of Dakota for most of our homeschooling years. It could be overwhelming if you tried to do everything. We make it work for us, choosing our own thing for math, language arts, and at times going with their picks for the rest...depending on the year. We really love their history and excellent book choices! :D

     

    How many levels at a time do you tackle?  And the ages of your dc?

     

    Pam

    Let's be honest

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I have the Lial books for Lessons with Jan in Tx.  if you are interested.  I have the Basic College Mathematics AND the PreAlgebra she uses.  I would have LOVED to have gone that route, and we were all set to go, but we decided last minute to do MUS.  I know that sounds like a weird flip, but it is going well, and it's what my boys need for the time being.

     

    Pam

     

     

    SCM spinoff

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Oh, boy!  Iknow what I'm doing this weekend!!!  :) :lol:

     

    (Ignore that post I just wrote today about keeping me accountable to not do any switching.  After all, we aren't doing history until second semester this year.  :001_tt2:  )

     

     

    Pam

    • Like 1

    I know this is late, but...my final line-up for this year.

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    We're into our 4th week of school.  I always plan early, start up, switch things up, re-plan.  :(

     

    What we are going with (after our 3 week trial run and a week of sampling :) )...

     

    Bible- Rod & Staff

    Math- MUS

    Spelling- R&S (We will go back to SWR when the lesson plans are completed)

    Grammar- Growing With Grammar

    Writing- Essentials in Writing

    Literature- Essentials in Literature (Reading selected books for ds10)

    Science (first semester)- Exploration Education (LOVE it!), ds10- RSO Biology

    History (second semester)- Biblioplan Medieval

    Spanish- Getting Stared With Spanish

    Art- Artistic Pursuits & See the Light DVDs

    Music- Homeschool Group Chorus, Piano, ds10- Piano and Guitar

     

     

    Help me to be accountable!  :)  I hope to bring up this post in May, 2018, with all checked off, complete!  :)

     

     

    Pam

    • Like 2

    What programs have you stuck with over the years, for multiple kids?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    At the beginning of the year (or the spring before more realistically)  I write all the categories from the SCM chart that I want to cover down the left side of a piece of paper. I then start putting things down that I already have in my head that I want to cover. For example, I knew I wanted to study Beethoven this year...so I put that down for composer study. I put Book of Virtues under personal development etc.... I go through each category with SCM's recommendations open and just write down everything I think we'd like to try for the year in its category along with anything else that pops into my head. The past couple years I've referenced the Wayfarers lists for this as well.  And just because I write it down doesn't mean we'll do everything. I just like having that direction in moving forward. Scratch that. I NEED that direction. My brain doesn't do open ended. And I don't do meticulously detailed plans, because they stress me out. But with this kind of loose system in place, I get the joy of feeling like I'm flying by the seat of my pants each day without feeling stressed out.  It's glorious.

     

    Anyway, once I have some ideas for each category, I decide what I need to buy and what I can just hold at the library. Then it's easy to just loop through the books. 

     

    For history I generally have a spine plus one historical fiction read aloud going at a time. Then I assign one book per child on their level for history from which they do their written narrations.  All the other categories tend to just be me reading aloud and then discussing them. It's just as simple as finishing one book and picking up another.

     

    Funny thing is that this very flexible system works very for us and yet I tried to rock the boat and go with new shiny curriculum. We dropped it in about 3 weeks, and I'm back to what I had plotted out on paper in the spring

    I'm saving this. Thanks!

     

     

    Pam

    • Like 1

    What programs have you stuck with over the years, for multiple kids?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I've only used one history guide. I more often will used the book ideas for a history time period and just read through them at our own pace. Also when Im planning our Family Time choices for the year, I like to use the entire curriculum guide as a reference for what subjects to cover. (Personal development, Hymn, Composer etc). Sometimes I use the recommendations for those subjects, and sometimes I have my own ideas...and maybe in a given year a little of both.  Anyway, once I have all my subjects sort of planned, we just relaxedly loop through them in the afternoons. Easy Peasy.

    Do you have any samples of your plan that you could share?

    Do you 'chart' it, just make a 'list', or ??

     

    Pam

    History - what am I wanting?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    And, for what it's worth, I also have a BF guide that I am referring to for assignment ideas. If nothing else I might just use the essay prompts. Sadly the Middle Ages books for SCM and BF don't match up very well, so I am not using BF as much as I thought I would.

    Sorry for a little highjack here...

    KeriJ,

    Have you ever used Biblioplan?

    How long hve you used SCM?

     

    I am using BP this year, but I really debated between the 2.

     

     

    Pam

    I'm failing at parenting a tween

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Please don't quote.

     

    I feel like such a failure and have shed many tears.  I am at a loss when it comes to ds10.  I'm frustrated with the attitude, I'm not responding well, and I am to the point where I don't enjoy him anymore.  It feels like everything is correcting instead of having any kind of fun together.  Honestly, I feel like the worst mother in the world. 

     

    Book recommendations?  Blogs?  Been there, done that and survived encouragement?  I feel so discouraged . . .

     

     

    We're ALL failing at parenting our tweens.  

     

    Because tweens.  

     

    My 10 yr old DS is such an awesome kid.  He runs to open doors for me (including our car door).  He goes the extra mile in being helpful, being giving and kind, etc.  At times, I look at him and I think, "YES!  Character training right there, Baby!"

     

    And then, quick as a flash, he is my most difficult.  Challenging my authority.  Second guessing.  Talking back.  Mumbling under his breath.  Throwing shade whenever I (specifically me, never his father) corrects him, tries to teach him anything, etc.  You should have seen the attitude the boy gave me when I took him to the batting cage for practice.  

     

    Like I didn't know squat, despite the many years I played.  "Are we done yet?  This is boring.  I'm hot.  Oh, let me guess, you want to pitch for <insert sibling name here>, too".  

     

    Just...nasty.  And discipline under such circumstances results in a power struggle.  I WIN those power struggles but I'm left wondering...did I really?  

     

    And then the next day, he's back to his awesome self again.  I see this as an inner struggle, lol.  Which side will win?  And what am I in for when he actually hits his teens and those hormones surge through his body?  

     

    I don't really have any real advice, except to just love him as much as you can.  Build the relationship as well as you can.  

     

    A friend of mine, who's successfully launched a number of kids into successful adulthoods once told me, "Rules without relationship will lead to rebellion and do your very best to get them to love you enough that they won't want to hurt you with the choices they make".  

     

    I think that's wise.  And it's the approach I'm taking.

    You have been here lately??????????

     

    Pam

     

    And he is our 8th!!!  (6th boy)  I never expected this.  :(  I wasn't ready!!

     

    Pam

    Another Scheduling Question

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I've been mulling around a type of block scheduling, and come here to ask if anyone else does it, and I find 2 threads JUST started with similar questions!   :)


     


    SO.....


     


    I am really thinking of doing our Math and Literature every day as usual.  History and Science each one semester.  Grammar and Writing each one semester.  Art and Phys. Ed. each one semester.


     


    Anyone else do this for elementary and middle school?


     


    Mine did some Apologia Young Explorer's books and seemed to really retain with that deep immersion learning.


    Can it work for this plan in History, Science, Grammar, & Writing?


     


    What is your experience?


     


    Pam


    Looking ahead--MUS

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

     

     

    Don't know what to suggest here, other than to strongly recommend that you NOT SKIMP or do too LITTLE with Algebra 1, as it is absolutely foundational to the rest of your high school maths. JMO: Far better in 9th grade to take a longer time (say, two 45 minute sessions of Math a day, one in the a.m. and one in the p.m.) and thoroughly understand the concepts, because it will be an absolute nightmare later on in the high school grades if you get into a higher math and realize your DS is missing the fundamentals, and in order to do Algebra 2, you have to go all the way back and re-do chunks of Algebra 1 first to get that solid, and THEN try and move forward at a scrambling pace to catch up again. I have seen several families on these boards have to go this route. :(

     

    Do you think MUS covers the fundamentals?

     

    I didn't mean to skimp, but I was thinking if MUS works in the way I've been reading it does, it makes concepts more clear without just having the dc do more problems and hoping they catch on.  Does that make sense?

     

    Thanks you so much for your input, Lori D.!

     

    Pam

    Looking ahead--MUS

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Welcome to the "big kid" board!  :laugh:

     

    THANKS! As you know, I have older dc I've homeschooled, but I didn't have access to forums like this back then.  :)

     

    DS#2 has mild LDs in spelling, writing, and math. He got stuck in MUS on the graphing linear equations, but he got stuck on that *topic* both when using Jacobs Algebra 1 and then when we re-did Algebra 1 the following year with MUS. He finally sort of "got" the Algebra 1 level of that topic when later doing MUS Algebra 2. The abstract math topics of Algebra 1 and 2 were very difficult for him throughout homeschooling. I had him re-do Algebra 1, so it ended up taking 1.5 years. And we had to re-do so many sections of MUS Algebra 2 (two, three, and sometimes 4 re-dos), that Algebra 2 also took all school year and all of the following summer to complete.

     

    Was there anything you got stuck on that you couldn't help him with?  I think I would be able to figure it out with the video lessons, but I just don't know for sure.  I never took Algebra 2, Trig.,  or Calculus.

     

    Finding and hiring good local tutor who is esp. good with math strugglers and who is willing/able to walk alongside with whatever math text and you go with would be very helpful.

     

    I've heard wonderful reviews of WTM board member Jann in Tx and her My Homeschool Math online classes -- she works with a lot of math strugglers and goes the extra mile tutoring students through the rough patches.

     

    I actually was just about to have ds start in Jann's math classes, but I am still wondering if he wouldn't do better with fewer problems and make sure he understands the concepts.  I don't think spending 2 hours a day will make understanding more effective.  Not saying Jann assigns tons of work, I appreciate her and her willingness to offer classes for such a reasonable fee.

     

    Good luck! Warmest regards, Lori D.

     

     

    Pam

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