Heart_Mom
-
Posts
531 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by Heart_Mom
-
-
Mind you we are only on day 2 of MCT but my kids that HATED English are LOVING Grammar Island. I am sure you would probably want to start at a higher level but the format of the program is what is intriguing and has my ADHD son paying attention and labeling nouns and pronouns on day 2...I love Rod & Staff, but we left it this year for MCT...My son is in 5th and LOVES MCT...He said R&S was okay, but he enjoys MCT much more...
I miss it a little though :o, but won't give up MCT for it...
Would someone be kind enough to tell me what MCT is? :001_smile:
-
:iagree: I ordered A and B for my 8 year old as a math- themed book. We have devoured Cindy Neuschwander, David Adler and Greg Tang. I'm hoping these will add to the fun.
Thanks for mentioning these authors! I just ordered LOF Apples today, and I'll check the other authors' books out of our library!:001_smile:
-
I would love to have a pre-made notebook for this program. Any chance anyone has already created one and there is a link I have not seen? I don't feel like I know how to make a "pretty" notebook and want ideas at least...
I'm about to start this program (the primary version) with my daughter next week and I'm curious too! :bigear:
-
I'm sorry, I just had to thank you for this! It gave me a great laugh! (and it's a really clever idea)
I wish I could remember where I heard it so I could give credit where credit is due!
This actually might be helpful :). My little guy is exactly the kind of guy who would find this fantastic!Oh, I hope it helps him. I think it somehow takes the pressure off them to remember, and somehow assigns it to just this silly hand of theirs that keeps wandering off!
:)
-
Oh! I feel your pain! Ouch!:grouphug:
-
Maybe a little humor would help? I read somewhere of the idea of naming the left hand, let's say "Mikey". So you tell your son that "Mikey" has a job to do: to keep the paper still. Then if "Mikey" is not doing his job, you can talk directly to "Mikey". As in, "Mikey, where did you go? Can you help my son out here?"
This probably sounds pretty corny, but it helped my son out. It's probably just a habit to keep his left hand down in his lap, so it might take a little while for him to get used to his left hand actually having a job to do.
HTH!:001_smile:
-
My ds is using Cheerful Cursive and he loves it!We are loving cheerful cursive. My son is using it and he's 8, but my daughter wants to start it too and she is 6. They make it pretty fun so I am going to start her on it next year as well and just take it slower with her.
It is a great program.
Here is a link for Cheerful Cursive.We also really like Cheerful Cursive. My 7 year old daughter is about 1/2 way through and has really been enjoying it.
It didn't work as well for my son a couple of years ago, and we switched to HWT cursive for him. His cursive still isn't flowing all that smoothly, come to think of it!
-
Heart of Dakota's Beyond would be great, although depending on your child's skill levels it might be better for 2nd grade. You can look at the placement charts on Heart of Dakota's website to see.
Another option is Early American History (Primary) from Beautiful Feet Books. This is a literature-based program with lots of nice, meaty picture books.
Heart of Dakota is an all-inclusive program, whereas the Beautiful Feet is just History (with some Bible too).
HTH!
Edited to add: Oops! I just saw that you already know about BF! Sorry!
-
I wanted to mention that when I called to order a revised guide to replace my current Early American Guide today, they gave me a discounted rate!
So if you are re-purchasing any of their revised guides, they will only be $10.00! (The guide I ordered retails for $17.95.)
To get the discount, you'll have to order by phone...
Just thought you might like to know! :)
-
Thanks for posting this! I'm about to start Early American with my 7 year old, and I might just buy the new guide and the one new book they are using with it now. :001_smile:
I just ordered the new guide along with one of the two new books that they've added into the program: The Horseless Carriage. (I already own the Benjamin West biography.)
Thanks again for posting this. The samples online of the new guide look like it will be much easier to use...
:001_smile:
-
Thanks for posting this! I'm about to start Early American with my 7 year old, and I might just buy the new guide and the one new book they are using with it now. :001_smile:
-
Well, if I remember correctly, a big part of BF's American History is Stories of the Pilgrims, which you already read in Beyond. If it were me, *I* would have a hard time wanting to read it again, even if dd didn't mind.
Hmmm... what if you finish Bigger at full pace and start Preparing at half pace.... have you calculated out if she reaches 9yo before you hit Greece?
Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is, if I were in your shoes, I'd be more inclined to find something to use for a bit (a partial year - or however long you need) inbetween Bigger and Preparing rather than go back to BF. Maybe a unit study on something she's interested in (Doesn't BF have a horse study?) Or what about a state study? Or a geography study? Or what about MFW's ECC to use up a year? (Disclaimer - I've never used it) You could use the pattern of assignments in Bigger to make sure you were still requiring appropriate skill work from her.
Thanks for your response, Lynn!
I had forgotten that Pilgrim Stories is a main book in BF Early American. I looked at the guide and saw that it's used in a little less than 1/3 of the lessons and I think we'll be okay with that.
I had forgotten about the BF Horse Unit Study. That may be an option for the future if I want to take another little HOD break...
I like the idea of using Bigger's assignment patterns to make sure I'm staying on track with assignments for her...
Thanks!:001_smile:
Anyone else have an opinion on my plan?
-
Hi!
We have been using HOD since August of 2010, and we really love it. Because my son was behind in some areas, I started out by combining my oldest two in Beyond when they were 9 and 6. The past August we started Bigger with my now 10 year old adding in Extensions and my now 7 year old doing it just as written.
This was fine for a time, but then I started realizing how quickly my 7 year old daughter will get to Preparing if she stayed at full speed in Bigger. Because we like to delay introduction to certain aspects of early history (greek gods, etc.), I'd like her to not get to Preparing until she is 9. (I'm not interested in discussing whether or not delaying exposure to these topics is a good idea! :001_smile:)
A couple of months ago I changed to doing Bigger with her at half-speed and doing it a little faster than full-speed with my 10 year old son since he is improving by leaps and bounds now! (He will be starting Preparing pretty soon.) My daughter is just finishing Unit 14 of Bigger. It's going fine, but I feel like we're losing continuity by not going full-speed.
I'm thinking that it makes sense to do something to extend the time that it will take to get to Preparing and here's what I'm thinking:
What if I take a break from Bigger and instead do Beautiful Feet's Early American Primary Curriculum with her? (I already own this.) Once we finish that, then we could return to Bigger (at full-speed!) and finish it out before we move to Preparing.
It might seem strange to stop right in the middle of Bigger, but I think that the BF curriculum is easier than Preparing. It might be quite a jump for her if we finished Bigger, then did BF, then went to Preparing. (She will also be listening in on LHFHG when I start it with my K'er in the fall.)
So does this seem like a reasonable plan? :bigear: Any alternate suggestions for me?
Thanks so much! :001_smile:
-
Well...you guys just answered my other questions, thank you!! I am going to get Preparing but am going to be starting Phonics Road, which will require some time and I just don't know if I can do DITHOR just yet so...
You can pretty much pick it up whenever you can it sounds like..that is what I was hoping for.
Can anyone compare it to Progeny Press, I guess DITHOR does not have comprehension questions because you can pick your own books. I just don't know if I would like it, I think I want a more "read these pages of this book" and then answer questions etc...with answer keys..ha!
You definitely can just pick up DITHOR whenever you want. Some people just do a few units per school year.
DITHOR does have questions based on genre, but they are generally more literary analysis or character based as opposed to comprehension based. There are pages they fill out about facts/characters/setting, etc. of the book, though. So you are sure they are really "getting" what they are reading.
It's definitely NOT like "read these pages, then answer, with answer keys". Pathway Readers are like that, though! :)
HTH!:001_smile:
-
Thank you....I wasn't sure what all DITHOR covered but when I go to the website it says "required" under packages so...I wasn't sure if there were many references to it in the books themselves, like Preparing?
In the Preparing Teacher's Guide the following is listed on 3 out of each 4 day unit in the Language Arts Box: "Help students complete one lesson from the following reading program: Drawn into the Heart of Reading"
That is the only way it's used in the Preparing guide. It's very easy to just do a different reading program instead, if you would prefer.
Also..is it difficult to teach from?I would say it's not difficult to teach from. It takes a little time with the DITHOR teacher's guide when you first get it to figure out how it works, but then it's pretty much open and go. I tend to alter the lesson plans as need to fit my child or the amount of time we have that particular day.
It is by no means and integral part of HOD, though! :001_smile:
-
I had the DITHOR book once and it looked complicated, is it easy to teach from that, especially if this is a weak area for me? Grammar, Writing, Composition, Literature..yikes!
We're using DITHOR right now, and the program covers reading and literary analysis. It is not a grammar or composition program. (You may have already known that ... and if so, sorry for restating the obvious.)
It's no problem to use HOD without DITHOR. We use HOD, but alternate between DITHOR and Pathway Readers/Workbooks.
HTH! :001_smile:
-
I had decided in January to to do a schedule like this:
August through May: 4 days per week
June through July: 3 days per week
(with a few weeks here and there for breaks)
I really like the 4 day per week schedule, but since I've found out I'm expecting baby #5, I've not been able to let myself take off one day per week. I guess I'm not sure how long it will take to get back into the swing of things after the baby's born. But I don't think it's ever taken more than a month, so I'm thinking I should probably be willing to go back to my above listed plan!:001_smile:
-
Going to go look at AAS more....and probably will come back with more questions.
I highly recommend AAS. At first glance it seems like it's not simple with the white board and tiles, but it is really so easy and clear to teach. I absolutely LOVE it!
-
I used to tell Abby "Baby B runs away and Baby D loves his daddy." Then we would write Bb and Dd so she could SEE it. She would check it occasionally and be fine with that. She still reverses some things, but I don't even comment typically because it is very typical at this age. She'll be learning cursive this year and there's not as much chance for reversals there.
Oooh! I really like this idea. My 5 year old will love it too! :001_smile:
Thanks!
-
I wish I found these earlier:
1. Heart of Dakota
2. MUS
3. AAS
4. R&S English
-
Hi, Melissa!
I'm using HOD, but I'm not familiar with the other programs you mentioned. I know that the HOD author says that it's okay to use your own programs for those areas, so I wouldn't think it would be a problem. I do know that the older levels of HOD have lots of writing intertwined with the History and Science lessons.
Hope that helps!:001_smile:
-
What about if they have already been taught to read cvc words and some blends but are reading way more on their own? Is AAS on its own okay? I looked at AAR but we would be starting at like lesson 18 and flying through it. Also when is AAR Level 2 being released? My dh did not want me to get both. Thoughts?
Hmmm... you're right that the beginning of AAR starts with CVC words, but it does get more advanced with words like: bullfrog, song, glasses, check, wing, etc. by the end.
I'm not sure when AAR 2 is scheduled to be out...
I'm really enjoying AAR with my 5 year old, but she's really at the beginning stages and it's perfect for her.
Maybe AAS would be better for you?
-
I've used AAS with my oldest for a couple of years, but still went ahead and got AAR for my 5 year old. You could use AAS to teach reading, but AAR is so much better for that purpose. I do love AAS for spelling, by the way. It's worked wonders for my son! :)
-
We are required to test starting in 3rd therefore I like to use a formal writing in addition to r&s and hod. HOD does not teach persuasive, expository,narrative ,etc. writing, at least not at this age.
We enjoy WWW, short and comprehensive.I also use Evan Moore paragraph book, it's excellent as a supplement. He is also enjoying Wordsmith Apprentice. WE alternate between these programs.
You will probably get more answers if you post in k-8 board.
Hi!
What's WWW?
Thanks!
Thinking of leaving R&S English next year, but for what?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
Thank you!!! I know lots of homeschool abbreviations, but there are still a few that have me stymied! :tongue_smilie:
I'll check it out!