Dolphin
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Posts posted by Dolphin
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Carrie, Tracy and any others, Sorry for the confusion. It seems that I can come up with a good book title, however accidentally it might have been. I wish I could accidentally write the book too!:lol:
We use FLL3. That is the one we have started with so I don't know about 1&2. However, I believe it does fit as a rigorous curriculum. My mother who was always so upset by the grammar instruction that we missed on in school loves it. She tried to teach us grammar afterschool, but we objected mightily. It was so boring and dull. FLL#, is teaching me grammar as well as my son. IT also teaches other things like poem memorization. I was surprised by how quickly my son memorized his first poem. I thought it was cool, but I had no idea of how important it was until he did it. Now whenever he recites it, it is different every time. By spending the time memorizing it, he also understands it and now acts it out. Every poem since he memorizes faster and faster. It has also crossed over to WWE3 and really helps with his dictation.
For me, one thing I really like, is when curriculum's overlap and you can use them together. I find we are going into more depth, and it is taking less time with all the crossover.
We really like WWE3 too, I don't know how rigourous it is compared to other programs, but it has cured my ds's writing problems and he no longer hates writing.
Nicole
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My son is 8 and we are in our 3rd year of the history cycle. I am trying to plan for next year. A few problems;
1. We are horribly behind. This is our first year of HS and history got off to a slow start. We are only on chapter 12 of SOTW 3.
2. I have discovered TOG. We haven't started yet, but I have unit 4 of year 2 that we are going to do as a trail run (starts at chapter 20 of SOTW 3)
3. Now that I have really looked at TOG, I think that I am really going to like it, and I want to switch and use SOTW as an alternative spine with it.
4.My son is a very young 8 year old and very sensitive, I have been worrying a little about SOTW year 4 as I have heard some kids have problems with it.
So, those are my issues. What I am thinking about is next year doing TOG 3, SOTW 3 and some of 4 (where it overlaps) and then just skip 1900 onwards this time around and start 5th back with TOG year 1.
1. How important is it for him to be exposed to 1900-present before 8th grade (when he will next be there) Will he have a big hole in his knowledge that he needs to have during grades 5-7?
2. Are there just a few chapters that we could add from SOTW 4 to the end of the TOG3 year and call it good? In other words, what should he really not miss?
3. Our "plan" at the moment is to HS through 8th grade and then do part time public high school, part local CC, and part Homeschool. Would I be damaging this "plan?" (I put plan in "" as things can always change, but I do like looking at the bigger picture.)
Thanks in advance for any assistance. We have committed to this HS journey, but it is all still so new to me. Looking ahead to 4th grade from the perspective of having done this is totally different to starting last year.
Nicole
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We are really enjoying WTM method of science in 3rd grade. We don't do the writing part. We read the chapter in Adventures, look up the definitions in our science encyclopedia, do the experiment and then ds draws pictures of what we have done. Chemistry is so much fun, we are really having a good time and plan on following her recommendations for physics in 4th
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:iagree: I believe it is Hunter who has an awesome line in her signature. The superior curriculum is the one that gets used. :D
I do believe there are many providers where their material would qualify as rigorous, many of those names you will see over and over in posts.
:iagree:
Yes I am talking about Classical Theory in General. WTM, LCC, The Core, also, a lot of CM overlaps. The idea of teaching your children how to learn by giving them a good foundation in the basics.
As to Math, that was the area that I was the most scared of. I really struggled with Math as a child. I love Singapore Math. I don't know if it is the most rigorous, but I love the HIG. I didn't want a script, as if there was a question I might not know the answer. The Singapore HIG is teaching me math. There are 2-4 pages at the beginning of each unit that I can read through, it is helping to make me a better teacher, so it works really well for us. The few times my dh has taught a lesson, he doesn't bother with it as he is really good at math, but he is not our main teacher, I need the help.
When I am trying to pick a curriculum, I read what people are using on the board, look at the websites etc... Then I think about my ds, what are his strengths and weaknesses. Is this going to be easy enough to not make him hate a subject, while still teaching him and moving him forward. Then I look at my strengths and weakness. Is this a subject that I am comfortable with (writing, grammar etc) or one I need a lot of help with (Math, Science...?)
Finally, with a few things when I can not decide and I have it down to 2 choices, I let my ds look and make the final choice. It is always a better experience when he sees that his opinion matters.
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I think it comes down to the individual parent and child. The main strength of homeschool is the ability to customize your curriculum. I think of my son's handwriting. I don't know what is more rigourous, but he was learning Manuscript in his private school, and it was horrible. Tears, anger, couldn't read it etc... So, I read an article that said that italic and manuscript use different pathways, and that manuscript works with more children which is why it is used. We switched to italics and it has been a dream. We are using Getty Dubay now. I don't know if it is more rigorous, but for my child it is getting fantastic results.
It keeps going this way, is your child a natural speller, or do they have problems. What are those problems? The best most rigorous program is going to be the one that you are able to use to teach your child best.
I hope that I won't insult anyone on this board of all places, I do believe that the Classical Theory of Home School is one of the most rigorous of the methods that I have seen.
Nicole
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Done and shared, they have less than 250 to go. I would LOVE that code
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This makes me so much happier. I had a brief thought that I would show her this poll when she comes over next... but then I realized the poll won't matter to her. I asked a bunch of nutty homeschoolers, so of course they would all be strange like me:lol: (Have I mentioned that I am the ONLY one of my friends or family that homeschool)
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Honestly, I would seek the professional help. I think sometimes people wait, but it really isn't that big of a deal. My son has gone about 6 times to a kids counselor. 2 times he went twice and 2 times it took only one session. I have found it to be a lot of help.
The one we go to does play and art therapy. DS was acting really strange when I was pregnant. That one took only one session. She was in with him for only 20 min before she came out and asked if I wanted to come back. Turns out he had heard about fires and was scared that there was going to be a fire at the hospital when I was there. We had been trying to figure out for weeks what was bothering him, it took her all of 20 min.
Look at it as a parenting tool. Someone else for your child to have that will listen. Help is there, ask for it, use it.
My rule of thumb is, it won't hurt to go spend an hour with a professional. It might hurt to not do it.
Best of luck.:grouphug:
Nicole
ETA: Check with your local Hospital, they might have a free program. Another option is your church, sometimes they just need another grownup to talk to
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Cool, so I am not totally un-American.
I have an OXO too, love it!
now I wonder about the electric kettle...
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My friend was over the other day and commenting on how she loves my kitchen as it is so different than other peoples. (My mother and dh are both English) , we have an electric kettle, tea making implements, I think beans on toast is a fine dinner etc... I acknowledge that some of my things might not be main stream America, but she thinks it very odd that I don't have an electric can opener. I just never saw the point of spending money on something that will take up counter space for the 4-5 cans I open in a week. The manual one is so easy and I think takes about the same amount of time.
I am curious, and I am going to try my first poll
Nicole
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As homeschool is so personal, I did it that way. A 10 would be doing all that I want to be doing with the kiddos. I am at a 7 right now(70% of what I want to be), but it's my first year and I am still trying to figure the whole thing out.
That being said
a. I am doing a lot better than the local public school (I have seen what they are doing)
b. I haven't quit.
Nicole
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I look at this too. My kids can do want they want in life, but I don't want them to miss out because I did something wrong. I look at Stanford and Oxford(dh is from the UK) I figure that if I aim on having them be able to be able to go to those 2 schools, then they have their pick. DS is only in 3rd grade, but with things like Math and Latin, it is good to look now and have them on the right path. Here are the links from their sites
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I homeschool because
1. As a child my career choice was anti-social hermit
2. I hate mornings
3. To irritate my family and friends. (I am the ONLY homeschooler in the whole group)
4. because I am so lucky to live next door to a great school. I look at our local public school out of my window.
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We do big chunks too. We do 2 big days of 6-8 hours of school a week, and then little bits in between. We like going and doing stuff. I have to keep reminded myself the same thing. THIS is why we homeschool, we get to do what works best for our families and our kids, however unconventional it is.
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I would do the text of 2A, and then do 2B regular. We started on 3A and had to go back. If your kiddo has not started division, I highly recommend learning it the Singapore way. We are doing just the text and doing it mostly orally, but we are learning so much.
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I saw a t-shirt once that I really got "I am an English major, YOU do the math!" That is me in a nutshell. I struggled with math all my life. My dh did first year University Math and Chemistry (in UK) and his dad was the head of the Math department.
That being said, I found out somethings, turns out, a lot of "Mathy" people are really bad at/don't get statistics, where as that was the one area of Math that I got.
So anyway, I am and have always been bad at Math. Yesterday with Singapore math I taught my ds division with a remainder thanks to Singapore math. ME! I am really loving Singapore Math more and more as we are using it.
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We are doing Latin, I tried starting last year (ds in 2nd grade) with Prima Latina and we just never really got going with it. I would not spend the money on Prima Latina, I would wait until next year and get Latina Christian 1. It is designed as an entry point for third grade, and you are just about there. I would get the set with an extra workbook, that way they could both do it together.
I do not know any latin, so far it has not been a problem. We got it with the DVD's. We do Latin about 3 days a week. Day 1 ds watches the lesson, day 2 he fills in his workbook, as much as he can. Day 3 he watches the DVD with the workbook and finishes it. Then I just use the teacher guide to correct. For me, there is no prep, and it is a welcome break.
Every 5 weeks there is a review. During that time we spend a few weeks reviewing. I figure if he is not 100% comfortable the next lessons will be harder. I print off the extra worksheets on Memoria Press's page, we use the flashcards and then move on. It is one of ds favorite subjects.
Memoria Press is nice as they also have a new course that moves on from Latina Christian 1. First form Latin. It looks great, and we plan on using it next year.
The Latin is nice as it reinforces the grammar. It helps with spelling and vocabulary. I believe that if we continue with Latin now it will make learning any of the romance languages easier in High School when ds can choose a modern language.
Hope that helps.
Nicole
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I have ordered 1 unit of TOG to try, I am nervous and excited!
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We just got ours last week. dd3 was happy, but ds8, was also loving it. We sat for over an hour playing with the manipulative s. I can not wait until we start!
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We got the costco trio of maps too, although only the world is up right now. It was 16.99 for the three maps.
I get the bulletin board things for teachers and adapt them. I turned the Dr. Seuss ones into mobiles, and I have monsters all over the place.
Amazon is good. The cheap charts, they are all about 2 bucks. Here is a link to the periodic table that I have. Type cheap charts in the search and all sorts come up, lots with prime.
Here is my room, pm if you have any specific question on anything I have.
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Here is a thread I started about CC and foundations. It was more to do with Geography. I invested in the foundations guide and I wish I hadn't. In an e-mail they sent me they told me that basically if you aren't doing a CC program, and you have a question or need something to implement, tough luck. Spend your $50 elsewhere, I really wish I had.
Nicole
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I only got through page three, I am going to finish reading tomorrow.
I was abused when I was in college. It was a guy who was older and more senior in the group (we were on programming board together) My Dad told me that I had to tell people. Being quiet keeps the abuser hidden in the shadows, talking about it puts them in the middle of the street with the lights on. It was uncomfortable, a few people didn't believe me, but it was the right thing to do. Two other girls felt sorry for the guy as everyone was being mean to me, 6 months later one of them came to me and apologized as he had started doing th same thing to her.
Your dd is 10 now, when she is 20 and off at college, how do you want her to deal with a situation like this. Be quiet and hope it changes, or to stand up for herself?
Talk about it, tell people. Yes it might get uncomfortable for awhile, maybe some people won't believe you, but she is probably doing this to other kids to, and it needs to stop.
Good Luck
Nicole
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One thing you can do is let them see how sad it makes you, don't try to hide it. If you want to cry, cry.
I don't allow it. When my ds says something mean, I explain to him how it makes me feel when he says that. I will give an example of something I could say in his world that would be similar. If it hurts my heart, I tell him. He really doesn't like to make me sad, and knowing he has done that is usually enough to change that.
When I was a teen, my mom started taking things away from me. I got mad cause she dies my new white concert shirt blue, that was the last load of laundry she did for me. She marched me to the laundry room and showed me what to do and said if I was that unappreciative I could do my own laundry, I was 15.
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I came out of my homeschool closet and my girls made the front page!
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
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