sandra in va
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Posts posted by sandra in va
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Tapestry of Grace
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SL 100 uses the Hakim books, and book 6 starts the Civil War. You could look at the sample pages of the IG online - they show week 1, week 18, and week 36. This should give you an idea of how far they get through Hakim's books at those points. I hope this makes sense!
Another suggestion that might be more age appropriate (or not) - Winter Promise has a lit-based program (also contains projects and notebooking) that goes from the Civil War to the present - American Story 2 (for younger ele) and All American History 2 (for upper ele/middle school).
Hope that helps!
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We used WP QAW last year with a 3rd, 5th and 7th grader. I liked it a lot. We didn't use many of the activities, but I liked the read alouds and the notebooking pages. Only thing is QAW uses Mystery of History as a spine - you may not need to use SOTW. I think MOH is probably better suited for the ages of your older kids. For each lesson, I read MOH aloud and then they read from the other reference books themselves and filled in the notebooking page. Great blend of together learning and independent work.
I didn't really like the readers too much. I much prefer Sonlight. Perhaps you could add some in from Sonlight 6? There weren't many readers with the WP program and you have to purchase them separately.
Actually - that leads me to another suggestion - if you want book go-alongs with SOTW, have you considered Sonlight cores 6 and 7? They go through all 4 volumes of SOTW - you could slow it down if you want to and take 3 years. They also schedule other reference books to supplement SOTW, read alouds, and readers. I think their Bible is much more developed than WP. They also include discussion questions for all of the books. The only thing I would add are some historical maps - perhaps from Knowledge Quest. (Just fyi, WP does contain mapping - comes in MOH.) It might be a little advanced for your 4th grader...you'd have to make that judgment call after you look at the books. Just another idea for you to consider!
Wish I could comment on HOD. I have no experience with it - I can only say the sample pages on their website look really great.
hth!
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We like Rod and Staff for Grammar - grade 2 or 3 and up. So your fourth grader could start with R&S 4. Two options I have used in 1st grade are First Language Lessons and Growing with Grammar 1. I liked both - one is more parent-intensive and the other a more independent workbook. We also do a lot of copywork in 1st grade.
Shurley English is also an option - they have levels from grade 1 through 7 (?). I've not used it, but I have heard good things about it.
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We use Sing, Spell, Read and Write (loosely) with ETC books.
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I agree that you might want to add in handwriting if it is not included in the phonics program.
Also, I love FIAR for K and adding in GTG is a great idea. I would just caution you to either do FIAR as your main program and add in some of the ideas from GTG as they fit or use GTG as your main program and do FIAR books as they fit in. Doing both full steam could be too much.
FIAR is fabulous on its own - but I did add in some extra read alouds when we used it. I got titles from the SL K program and also some biographies. SL's read aloud list is fantastic. Also, you can easily add in copywork from the FIAR books you are using. This is a great way to develop copywork skills and cement the FIAR book.
Hope you have a fun K-year. Sounds like you're off to a great start!
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Here are our plans for next year:
Math: Horizons Math (2B/3A)
LA: Rod and Staff English 3, IEW SWI A, Reason for Handwriting Cursive, Spelling Workout C/D, reading lists from VP and SL
FL: Latina Christiana 1, Spanish (La Clase Divertida)
Still undecided:
SL 3 or MFW Adventures for history
Science - SL 3 or Apologia
Bible - Veritas Press or Bible Study Guide for All Ages
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Just wanted to throw out some options for your rising 2nd grader (I'm currently researching Am history options for younger kids): Heart of Dakota does American history for most of its younger grades, MFW Adventures is American history in 1 year for 2nd-3rd graders, and WP has American Story 1 and 2. I've used the WP programs before and they are good for younger children, but the program is spread over two years - you could just select books from them.
Hope that helps a little,
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Two options come to mind - (I'm not sure the pace you're using for LCII) you could do LCII more slowly, to give her more time to digest the material or you could jump right into First Form 1. I think MP is now recommending that sequence - LCI, FF1, FF2, etc. so skipping the rest of LCII shouldn't be a problem at all.
I would suggest calling MP to find out their planned release dates for FF3 and FF4. I'm sure they will be out in time for your dd to use when she gets to them.
Just to add - for my older two, we used LC1 and LCII then moved into Henle which I've really liked. For my third who is close to finishing up LCI, I am considering doing the FF route. Like you, I didn't like LCII as much as LCI.
Hope this helps some, good luck in your decision!
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I'm glad to have helped. I hope you have a great year with it!
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Cat-
The continuation course isn't cheap - however, sometimes you can find it used. Also, you will probably be able to sell it for around $200 when you're done with it. We've used SICC A and B and really do like Andrew doing the teaching. It is so much easier for me. With Jill Pike's lesson plans (for 36 weeks), there is a set structure, but also we tweak and alter assignments as the need arises. Also, I wanted to add, that we spread the continuation course over 2 years b/c there are so many writing assignments. We usually do SICC A in 4th/5th grade. Using it for longer also helps justify the higher price tag! If you find you want to move more quickly, you could add more writing assignments, but we have found spreading it over two years to be plenty of writing for each year and gives us time for grammar and lit.
Lesley,
You could do SWI A this year, then the Ancients theme-based course next. I'm fairly sure that would put you in SICC B for the next video course (skipping SICC A). From what I remember, the ancients theme-bsed course is similar in content to the SICC A. You should call IEW for more info - they are really helpful and will help you design a curriculum plan using IEW materials.
Hope this helps!
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How about the Beautiful Feet Medieval Guide for Jr. High?
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Thanks so much for your help, everyone! You basically confirmed what I was thinking and what my husband was saying, but I guess I was looking for a perfect easy fix. I should know by now there is no such thing!!
I appreciate the options you brought up - delaying grammar, GWG, and doing R/S more independently. Thanks for taking the time to give me some extra help in this area!
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Hi,
We've used Rod and Staff for the last three years and really like it, however, this year I'll be teaching 4 levels (2nd, 4th, 6th, and 7th) and I'm a little burned out by the whole program. (FYI - We've tried FLL for 1st/2nd grade in the past (then transition into R/S 3), but FLL was hard for me to schedule in - some days taking very little time, others taking a lot. So, I was just going to do R/S 2, mostly orally, this year.)
So, I'm considering putting my two youngers or even just the 2nd grader into Shurley English. I've heard that it can be quick, the kids learn a lot with the jingles, and kids seem to enjoy it.
Would you please share your opinions about Shurley and how it would work to alternate Shurley with Rod and Staff? I'm pretty sure that we would continue to use R/S for 5th on up, but I'm thinking that Shurley looks gentler and easier to implement through 4th grade.
By the way, since we use a different writing program, I am only planning on using the grammar portions of Shurley (as we do with R/S).
Thanks for any help on this. I keep going around and around with this decision - I hate changing something that's working, but I just don't know if I have the time or stamina to do 4 different levels of R/S this year, esp. with a new baby coming. I would love to hear about how much time the grammar portion of Shurley really takes - esp. when doing two kids at two different levels.
Thank you!
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All of your suggestions are great!! Thanks. What would you suggest for history then for middle ages for 8th grade.
We're scheduled to do Middle Ages with 8th grade next year, here are some options we were considering...
Beautiful Feet Jr. High Guide to the Medieval Ages
Mystery of History vol. 2 (used in Winter Promise Quest for the Middle Ages, also schedules in activities and other spines/readers)
Tapestry of Grace year 2 dialectic level - units 1 and 2
My Father's World Rome to the Reformation year
Famous Men of the Middle Ages/Famous Men of the Reformation-Ren by Greenleaf with guides
WTM suggestions - outlining/narrating with spine and extra reading lists
hope this helps~
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Hi,
The book I have is called Liberty! How the Revolutionary War Began by Lucille Recht Penner. It is a Landmark book ISBN 0375822003
The title is different from the one in their catalog, but my cover matches the cover on their website. Also, it is the version used in the IG I own (2006).
Hope this helps~
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So helpful, as always, Lori D!!!
Thanks for sharing. What do you use for your other LA curr?
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I PM'ed you.
I'm interested, too...can you share with the rest of us? :D
We've used LL7 this year, and because we started in Jan, we only had half a year. I think we will come fairly close to finishing b/c my dd read much faster than the schedule in the teacher's guide. We didn't do every worksheet or writing assignment (though we have tried hard to do one writing assignment per chapter). Also, we didn't do the vocab. I'm hoping to have more time for these things next year since we'll have the whole year. Personally, I felt rushed. I'd rather have it spread out with more time to think about/discuss the books. (We also use IEW, so we stay pretty busy with the writing assignments from there. We take a break from IEW to do the LL assignments.)
That said, I think it is a very easy program to tweak and adjust to your needs. I think I have read on the Hewitt yahoo group of others who do speed the LL7 and LL8 programs up and complete it in much less time than written. You could definitely try to do both in one year and then adjust down the road if you want/need more time.
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I wrestle with this very issue! We've used MOH with the WP program, mostly because we've used WP in the past and I've gotten spoiled by the schedules. I like having the read alouds, notebook pages, and activities scheduled for me. One thing that WP does that can be considered good and bad is that they group the MOH lessons in unit studies by civilization - Egypt, judges/kings of Israel, Greece, etc. This appeals to me because we like unit studies. The difficult thing is that you can't always use the quizzes/review sheets in MOH which is a big draw for me.
MOH is a great program on its own. I like the simplicity of using MOH on its own and just adding in some extra books. I think for me, though, my need for a schedule will win out, and we will continue with QMA next year. To save on expenses, I do just buy the guides and WP exclusives from them and use the library or buy books used.
If you have any more questions about the WP program or organization, send me a pm!
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We use IEW. I think it is easy to use, especially with either the theme-based books or the DVD courses (SWI or SICC). It does not include any grammar, so using Shurley along with it is a good idea. We are not Shurley users, but I know some families just skip the writing portion of Shurley and only do the grammar.
Hope that helps!
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Sandra,
Have you heard of a program call MEP Math?
with the 1st Grade MUS/Horizon - and the not linking - you di not find this confuse her?
Thanks..
Kate
I haven't heard of MEP Math! I should research it, I love learning about new programs. :001_smile:
Wrt my 1st grader - she had used Right Start A for K. When I switched to MUS/Horizons, I started just with MUS b/c I thought that would be enough for her, esp. since it was so different from RS. Also, Horizons was advanced for her. I started with a little bit of Horizons after she mastered the blocks and place value, and she would do a page or two every once in a while. So, honestly, we did not do the combo long enough for there to be too confusing. For the time we did use both, she didn't have any problem toggling between the two. Hope that answers your questions!
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Kate,
My answers are below in green. Hope they help some. :001_smile:
Hi,I wanted to see if anyone has combined Horizons math and MUS - I'm thinking of combining these for 1st Grade - Horizon 1st Grade and MUS Alpha:
- What has been your experience like?
We tried this combo for both 1st and 3rd grade this year. It worked well for my 3rd grader - he does one page in MUS and two pages (selected problems) in Horizons. I think they really do go well together. MUS helped with learning the math facts since it focuses on one fact family at a time. Horizons gave us breadth in our math - with lots of problem types and constant review.
My first grader did not do as well. Horizons moved too quickly for her. Even MUS did not give enough practice problems to learn her facts, so we switched to Saxon 1 which moves more slowly and really drills the facts. So, it was her learning needs that required a switch. This doesn't sound like your daughter's case, I just wanted to share why it didn't work for my dd.
Challenges - math takes longer and you have to keep up with 2 programs. Also they do not link perfectly - so you'll learn some things in Horizons before they get to them in MUS. (or vice versa - like you learn to multiply 2 2-digit numbers in MUS before you do in Horizons)
Rewards - they get to see math from two viewpoints - two types of problems, book presentation, solving techniques.
Her (dd) - we did the place value sample lesson, she understood the concept, and liked it but after a few days using the MUS sheets she asked to go back to her Horizons book, because she liked the way it look better but she added "we can still do this one (MUS) but not all the time, can we Mom?" - And that's what we've been doing, each time Horizon brings back a Placement value exercise in the workbook, we pull out those sample sheets and do them...
I think that's a great way to combine them. If she can handle doing both everyday, the MUS worksheets are pretty short compared to horizons and can be done independently.
Btw, I don't think developing a dependence on manipulatives should be a big worry. Manips are useful when showing how to do a problem, or if they get stuck...but I think you'll know when she's relying too much on them. Most of my kids would rather not use them b/c they take more time. It is faster to solve the problems on their own. For my 1st grader, I let her use the abacus (from Right Start) to help her when she's learning a new fact family, but then take it away when I feel that she's gaining proficiency to encourage memory/mental math.
Right Start is a program that came to mind when you asked for alternatives that do both. We used all the levels of RS and loved it. However, it just takes too much teaching time for me to continue, so we switched to MUS/Horizons combo this year.
Or if you have an idea of another program that would be a stand alone math curriculum, but combines the features of both of these, do let me know..
Thank you in advance...
Kate
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I have also thought about this - I was wondering if it is possible to do ECC in the summers over 2-3 years while we do the 4 year history programs during the regular school year. Like Dawn said, we would just do the Bible and geography (possibly some of the science?) and do 2 continents a summer.
What do you think of that idea? The positive side of this is that you would be reviewing geography more often than once every 5 years.
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My oldest did Core 100 for her 9th grade year, but I added a lot to it.
My middle dd has been doing the 1st half of Core 100 this year for 8th grade. I intended to have her do the 2nd half for 9th grade and add a lot more to it. Now I'm thinking of switching her to Oak Meadow's American history program. They get to the Civil War by the 11th week (vs 17th for Core 100). I could spread the last 26 weeks of Oak Meadow's American history over 36 weeks of school (instead of the last 18 weeks of Core 100's over 36 weeks). I've been thinking of using Excellence in Literature's Intro to Lit course with it. I'd still have my dd read: Nothing to Fear (my oldest dd's favorite book from the Core), Farewell to Manzanar, Call of the Wild, and To Kill a Mockingbird.
What kinds of things did you add to Core 100 for a ninth grader?
Anyone not like HOD? Need your honest opinions....
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted · Edited by sandra in va
I'm looking into HOD for my 4 younger kids (not counting the baby :)) for next year and I really like the look of their programs (esp. BHFHG and higher guides). Before I make a switch into a new program, I'd like to know if it is really as good as it looks. We really do like Sonlight and would need as close a "sure thing" as possible to make a change. Have you tried it and not liked it? What didn't you like about it? Which levels did you use?
(Just fyi, some of the things I like about HOD - built in narration/copywork/dictation, poetry work, activities and notebooking to go with history and science, that all the subjects are interwoven, easy to use teacher book for me, and that each level is age-appropriate.)
Thanks for your help!!