Moira in MA
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Posts posted by Moira in MA
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Lots of good advice on this thread at college confidential:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggi-s-sat-prep-advice.html
HTH
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I bought one of his literature courses at a homeschool conference about 5 years ago --my excuse is that it was cheap and I was looking at everything at the time. I read it, then, I threw it away. I just wasn't willing to sell it on.
jmho
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I'm generally happy with our time allocation over subjects but I asked my eldest dd and her wish was that we'd spent more time on memorization and she's planning to do more during her last 2 years of high school.
Actually, we spent a fair amount of time on memorization during the elementary years -- at least 3 poetry selections, a speech and many Bible verses -- and only pulled back over the last two years as my dd's have been participating in the production of a full length Shakespeare play -- Romeo and Juliet last year, A Midsummer Night's Dream this -- but apparently memorizing her lines -- she was Juliet and is playing Puck -- doesn't count.
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My eldest dd will be 16 in a couple of weeks. Last Saturday we took her to the ballet to see Romeo & Juliet. Seeing this ballet was on her life goals list.
Any major productions in your area, or could you make a trip to see something special? We flew out to LA last June to see Wicked to help celebrate her dearest friend's 8th grade graduation. It was a ridiculous amount of money to spend but made for a very special time.
HTH
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Since she enjoys both, try Painless Poetry.
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Two authors: Elizabeth Goudge and Miss Read.
Other than that, 'Honey for a Woman's Heart' by Gladys Hunt has great suggestions for reading.
hth
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I separated my dd's for subjects as necessary. Latin was split when my eldest hit 7th grade, we still do Omnibus together (although I made my eldest wait until the younger was in 7th). Science split at high school.
But we still do readalouds. They are usually recorded books in the car. Since we nolonger always travel together I tend to have one for us all and one each for the girls. It's sometimes a challenge to get through the book before it is due back at the library and I have to get creative with field trips ;)
hth
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I picked option 3 for my eldest dd.
With my second I took a look at Foerster's Algebra I because I've been very impressed with his Algebra and Trig but decided that it was just too mathematical too early. We're again going with option 3.
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I am thinking about:
Rosetta Stone the Level I-III Pack (Can use for 3 children so the cost is not so bad)
In my experience buying the whole package at the outset is not necessarily the best way to go. The technology changes but, more importantly, goals and desires change.
We have used Rosetta Stone Spanish I successfully over a number of years. We upgraded from version 1 to version 2 along the way. This was $20 very well spent and no big deal.
But now my eldest dd is looking to college and beyond that to graduate school. Her goals indicate that a change in language is appropriate (we'll be switching to German) and younger dd is just plain bored with Spanish and wants a change for high school.
Of course none of this would be happening if we'd initially studied French which was my desire, but that is another story
ymmv
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I have to say that I have never found spelling programs to be effective. I have 1 dd who is a natural speller and another who, I'm being gracious here, isn't. The one who isn't a natural speller does just as well on the spelling tests as her natural spelling sister. It is a very different matter outside of spelling class.
Use of the spell checker and reading your writing aloud are required in this household. I try not to expose either of them to incorrect spelling which is harder than you might imagine with a Brit, a Canuck and 2 Americans living in the same home. ;)
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It absolutely would look different for my younger dd -- she didn't read fluently until she was at least 7. She just didn't see the need as she had 3 willing readers. When we all refused to read Garfield to her, she finally saw a use for reading.
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Thanks, I'll check it out.
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Stacy can you say more about the AATG? I'm not familiar with it.
tia
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I too plan to do American History (Gileskirk Americana w/Paul Johnson's History of the American People as a spine) next year with Omnibus III.
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Using Omnibus II and Gileskirk Christendom here. Elder dd (15) uses Speilvogel as a spine, younger (13) uses Story of Christianity (Collins & Price)
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I try to schedule basic school subjects for 36-38 weeks but there are always things that fall through the gaps or for which there just aren't enough hours in the day so those become focused summer courses, often online.
So far we've used this approach for focused writing classes: espository essay (Bravewriter) and Mold Your Prose (Scholars Online), reading Shakespeare (Scholars Online), math for science (Beginnings Publishing's Bridge Math). Some of the classes are my pick, others are my daughters'.
The girls' piano teacher requires 4 hours of instruction over the summer which we take as 6 x 45 minute lessons during the same time.
Courses I'm planning for this summer: Practical Grammar and Bridge Math (rising 9th grader); Theoretical Grammar and Summer Shakespeare III (rising 11th grader)
HTH
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I haven't used the Writer's Jungle but I did have my eldest d take an expository essay class last summer at the end of 9th grade. She already wrote well but I wanted her to add polish to her essays.
The asynchronous class was a great experience and has had exactly the results I was hoping for.
HTH
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I emailed Susan Richman on this subject recently and received the following, very prompt, response:
We'll have full info and online tuition payment all updated by early May. Looks like we'll have all of our current courses and teachers back *except* for AP Statistics, and Dr. Gary Beihl for AP Computer Science. Which courses were you interested in at this point? You are very welcome to email the teachers directly, based upon their course descriptions shown for this current year.[/Quote]HTH
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Have you checked out Rosetta Stone? It is immersion with everything in the target language on screen although some of the ancillary material is in English but you probably wouldn't want that for such young learners.
There is a new version 3 that has just begun shipping. If you call they will be happy to send you a free demo disk.
HTH
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My dd is using the series of books by Mark Sarneki from Frederick Harris Music - these are the texts used to prepare for the National Certificate of Music theory examinations. She has found them easy for self study.
There is a compendium text: 'The Complete Elementary Music Rudiments' which contains the preliminary level, level 1 , level 2 and the answer book.
HTH
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I considered the Spectrum Chemistry for my dd but switched to a co-op class using Chemistry: the Central Science. I may still use Spectrum with my younger dd as we really like the chemistry/physics year of Rainbow Science.
I can heartily recommend the Bridge Math program prior to starting chemistry. DD says it was invaluable.
I'm not familiar with Singapore's chemistry course but almost any Teaching Company course wins high marks with me although the high school ones we've watched seem rather hokey to us (World History and How to be a Superstar Student).
HTH
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Michelle, thanks for posting.
I'm planning to use the Oklahoma State University courses plus the Rosetta Stone German. This way they get lots of language lab practise.
Regarding flexibility of the program, it is self-paced. You start when you want and go as fast as you want. The offices are staffed over the summer and they offer a discount for two homeschool students in the same family.
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The website is singularly uninformative, isn't it?
I may just have to breakdown and go to the mall to see it, there are a couple that have Rosetta Stone direct sales fairly close to me.
As for the credit question, Beth, I do not give any credit for Rosetta Stone. It is part of my dd's foreign language studies -- similar to the time I spent in the language lab when I took French in high school -- but the credit is for the whole package. We use parts of Breaking the Barrier, several easy readers and Spanish conversation to earn a credit.
HTH
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I just want to encourage you by saying that pre-reading will be helpful but really isn't essential to use the Omnibus program successfully.
It has just not been possible for me to pre-read all the books in Omnibus I & II and to be honest I doubt I'd have been able to get through them without the encouragement of the sessions and discussions we've had along the way -- this is tough stuff.
I read the assigned material at the same time as my dds, we discuss the material but *I* have the teacher manual -- oh, the power ;)
The Omnibus sessions from the teacher training were very helpful before I started the program.
HTH
At what point do you give up on a book?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
The Grapes of Wrath is one of those books that I'm glad I've read but was certainly not a pleasant read. You have to decide whether it is worth it to you to read it. If you want to have something by John Steinbeck in your 'read' pile there are other shorter books.
That being said the 'Book Lust' lady, Nancy Pearl, has wonderful formula for how much of a book you should read before you choose to abandon it. She calls it "the rule of fifty" -- if you are under 50, give every book about 50 pages before you commit to reading it; if you are over fifty, subtract your age from 100 and read that many pages before deciding to commit. This means that at 100, you get to judge a book by its cover!
Sounds to me that you've read enough to make your own decision.
Enjoy being in control.