Rhondabee
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Posts posted by Rhondabee
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I find it odd that none of the postive things about SL that were mentioned in this thread made it into your thread.
Interesting...
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Bear with me, I think I'm getting it. So, the block scheduled students spend more time/day in class but not TWICE as much time/day in class as traditionally scheduled students?
Pegasus said her local school does block scheduling 4 classes a day for 90 minutes a class.
I'm sure there are other variations.
Here is the bell schedule of my local high school
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That's how it works at our local ps. Students take 4 classes per semester (classes such as health, speech are 9 weeks). Total of 8 credits per year.
Well, our local high school does 4 classes per semester, but they don't spend 100 minutes/day in each class. And, I know there's been some controversy because they have dropped the amount of time spent in class yet again this year (due to budget constraints). I don't recall the amount of time that students are going to be "in class" next year for each credit. I think it's between 120-130 hours?
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Frankly, I would do something different for 7th and 8th grade. I'd either do all of world history over two years or perhaps American history in 7th and geography in 8th.
:iagree: I would have a hard time doing Ancients so close together.
You could do SL Core 5, then SL Core 100
*or*
SL cores 6 & 7
*or*
SL Core Alt7 then MFW ECC (or SL Core 5)
or switch those last two
*or*
SL Core Alt7 then Core 100
I realize that most of those options put you using Sonlight for two years, and then switching over to MFW. Of course, there are probably other options I'm not aware of - I just am familiar with SL.
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Oh dear, I think what I said came out as a slam, and I *really* meant to compliment you, because I KNOW you guys work hard, and do WAY MORE than your public schools do! I was hoping the comparison would help you see how much you do!! So sorry that what I said made you feel LESS sure! NOT what I intended! [::doh!:: -- insert sound of hand smacking forehead here]
So sorry to hear you are having health issues! Hope this new year goes SMOOTHLY in all areas! My very warmest regards, Lori
No - no - no!!!!
Sorry - I have just been in a mood to wax philosophical lately, and have seen my name at the end of so many threads....
:lol::lol::lol:
I had actually deleted quite a long post because I wasn't sure how other people who might be reading along, and who don't know me very well, might take it. It's just been one of those kind of weeks, ya know?
I think I've actually got it figured out, now that I've (almost) got all the assignments off our weekly grids and into Word documents.
His "history" credit will be for all the history reading he did (60 minutes or more, 4-5 x's/wk not including Bible, which I had originally thought I would include - sometimes including notes) - I'm not planning on giving a separate Bible credit
His "literature" credit will be for reading Ancient literature & writing response or analysis papers
His "english" credit (or I might call it "grammar and composition") will include spelling, Vocabulary from Classical Roots, Fix-It Grammar, SWI-C, History Writing Assignments (usually based on IEW/SWI principles), High School Essay Intensive, Elegant Essay (what we did of it), research paper on Julius Caesar
Anyway - no harm - no foul. I didn't really want to bore you with the particulars of everything on this child's transcript. And, I figured no one really cares to hear me tell them all about my new-found, but completely hypocritical, wisdom about choosing *one* spine/method/curriculum and forsaking all others. But you know, I actually scrubbed the bottom of my above-the-stove-top microwave today for the first time since we started homeschooling. :w00t: Maybe that's not earth-shattering - but, hey, it's within my budget - :lol:. And, it's nice to have some time for something besides homeschooling, even if it is cleaning, you know?
Love you, Lori! No worries here!
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BUT, if we do this, I'll have the oldest on a different history cycle than her younger brothers.
Separate the oldest to do Ancients with MFW?
I am new to MFW this year, but MFW differs from WTM once you reach high school.
MFW High school is written to be done pretty independently by the student; therefore, there is no need to coordinate your high schoolers to your other students. Any 9th grade student will study AHL. Any 10th grader will study World History, etc.
Once you see the Manual and the related Answer Keys, it will make more sense how easy it will be to keep track of this independent student whose off doing his-or-her own thing.
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But Rhonda, are you really comparing REAL credits?
....Anything less than that IS unfair to your student.
And I would be sure to include somewhere on the transcript a notation that explains you matched the district's method of counting credits to accurately reflect what your DS accomplished.
BEST of luck in your new school year, Rhonda! Warmest regards, Lori D.
Oh...:001_unsure:...I think I have decided that it's a good thing my health issues came along and prompted a change for next year.
Thanks, Lori!
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In our district, the three top high schools are on a traditional schedule with students earning 6 credits per year. Most take PE in summer school or through the VA so they graduate with 25 credits. The other high schools are on block or modified block with students earning eight credits per year. The three top schools' students are not having problems getting into the top state schools--UGA and Georgia Tech. They also are getting into Ivies, etc.
Many students at the block schools are taking more electives or mentorship or minimum day by their senior year.
:tongue_smilie:
I think you teach in my district (Cobb County), don't you?
I didn't realize the schools were split that way. That helps! Obviously, I'll give credit for last year's work - LOL! - but I really want to simplify things for next year. Do less, but do it better (hopefully).
Thanks for posting!
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I don't have an answer because I am looking for the answer to "how many credits in high school and in what subjects". The answers I just got on another post is 5-7 credits/year.
What is MFW??
My Father's World.
There is a link in my signature.
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Around here, 8 credits per year is possible at the public high schools because of block scheduling. The classes are 90 minutes a day for a semester. If the student takes 4 courses each semester, they get 8 credits for the year.
I hate block scheduling with a passion so we won't be doing it that way.
Pegasus
Block scheduling is the main reason why we are homeschooling through high school. Well, that and the fact that my DS seems to become another person around girls - but that's another story ;). I won't even consider the christian school that's in our county because it follows the public school's example and uses block scheduling as well.
Are you just doing 6 credits each year, then, even though the high school is on block scheduling? If so, that would be very encouraging!
I know it would seem like if I live in a "really good" school district and still choose to home school that I would be an "independent" enough person to go against the grain on this one little thing - but I'm really not a very "independent" person, I suppose - LOL! I need a buddy!!!
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So they are graduating with 32 credits? Our state requires 24 (I think - last time I checked). Do you think they are being overly generous in awarding credits perhaps for courses that aren't all that rigorous?
I remember being awarded a credit for working in the attendance office! Worked well for me, but it wasn't anything academic...but was considered a privilege because one had to be nominated by ones teachers.
They are on block scheduling - which means they do 4 classes each semester. And, each class earns a full credit.
Although I would guess most kids are taking two academic and two elective classes, this practice allows the district to graduate some kids with Associate degrees. (We live in a really nice school district.) But, this type of experimentation is one reason I won't send my kid back to public school. He could wind up, for example, taking a foreign language or a math the Fall Semester of 9th grade, and then not taking the next level up until Spring Semester of 10th grade. This does happen, and when it does, there is nothing you can do.
So, I don't think *every* class is academic, no. But all kids are earning 32 credit hours. And, they are taking "real" classes, even if they are "Introduction to Theatre" or "Horticulture." Though, to be fair, our schools are also offering "Forensics" and "Analysis and Statistics" - things you never see offered in homeschool catalogs - LOL!
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I hear ya on the other threads...
And, I admit, my son is either gonna love me or hate me when he gets back from summer camp and sees the difference between his mom-planned history and lit from last year (Like WHOA - what was I thinking?) and the MFW-planned history and lit for next year (yeah - if he works as hard on this as he did last year, he'll be done by Christmas...)
OK - so we've got some adjustments to make in our thinking. And, maybe my IRL All-ABeka-mom friend (whose son is always done by 10am) will soon be adding some extra smirk to her "I told ya so" look. :lol:
BUT ------- that doesn't negate the fact that students in our district are earning 8 credits a year, and that those are the students that my DS will competing with to get into college. (if he stays in-state, which I admit I don't know *where* he's going)
I just feel so much pressure to earn 8 real credits a year! Am I the only one?????
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I just finished listening to SWB's writing lecture and she recommends the first. It's the only one she recommends because she says as a whole that vocabulary programs are useless and that children learn their vocabulary from reading. The only reason she recommends the first is because it does break the words down by their roots which helps them understand other words they may not yet know.
As for what I'm going to do, I have no clue. I own both and was going to use the second until I listened to her lecture. We had tried the first before and my son hated it but maybe we'll give it another try now that he's a bit older. Sigh...decisions, decisions...
We tried VfCR the first time using the WTM recommendations and hated it. My kid is just NOT a flashcard person.
Then I got the Teacher's Manuals, and developed a weekly routine, using the information in the TM. This made it more teacher-intensive; but more enjoyable and more memorable. Later, my DS "got it" and told me that he no longer needed the introduction on Monday, or the Guided Practice preceding the Worksheet on Wednesday. (But, he did much better on the exercises when I didn't skip those things - LOL!)
He really did notice those words popping up in his literature last year (we did Ancient lit last year), and we've only completed through VfCR level C. So, definitely worth it, I think, though I can't compare it to another program.
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I am such a dummy! I had not realized there was a sample guide on their web page. I think it looks great!!!
My ds is above average in some things, but he is NO fan of history. I am hoping a GB/WEM approach will appeal to him.
Thanks also for the heads-up on that one work (can't spell it) that you said was abrideged in Susan's book. I do have that resource. In fact, I certainly have no shortage of resources!
I need to look up the info on a "response" page. Is this in the WTM book anywhere? Or just on a PHP download?
Thanks, again. Very helpful. The reality is that we just need to jump in and get done what we can get done. I need to stop fretting. I was stuck at home all. day. yesterday. with an A/C repair, and I was just getting overwhelmed.
You're no dummy. There's just too much information! :glare:
The best advice I can give you is "definitely get the PHP download!" It wasn't available when we started out last year, but would have really helped. (Actually, get *all* the PHP downloads!)
Yes - Stop Fretting! Instead, plan how you are going to grade, and how to keep track of the grades. That was been my biggest downfall, because so much of my grading was based on discussion (especially in history) and I would get busy and forget to "grade".
And plan less, not more. I planned 40 weeks. NEVER AGAIN!!!!
Best wishes! You can do it!!!
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I actually just had this conversation with my 13 year old daughter who wanted to know why I didn't work.
I went through all the reasons (I wanted to be home with her and her brother when they were young, I have health issues, their father died, etc).
Then I told her if I went back to work she would have to go back to public/private school.
She began to cry.
End of any thought of me working.
Yep - I meant to say somewhere in my post that it's not the working or not working.
It's the recognition of the parent's motivation.
(I wish I could say, "It's the recognition that the parent is motivated by love." Unfortunately, I think alot of problems today are caused by teens realizing that their parents are really quite immature and aren't motivated by love.)
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Can you elaborate a bit on how it went? How much time did you spend per day? Can you tell me a bit about what the guides are like. I notice that his schedule has each week broken down into two blocks of reading assignments (at least this is how it appears). Can you tell me how you did your discussions, used the guides, etc.?
Thanks!
I'm not sure that any of this is really helpful - LOL! - because I didn't actually use thegreatbooks as my spine. Luann in IN *does* use that as her spine, and I believe she breaks her week up into the two reading assignments as suggested by thegreatbooks site. Maybe this will help more.
First, understand that I have a very average kid who didn't start homeschooling until 5th grade (and don't you have a pretty advanced kid?).
And, second, we started out the year with SWB's book, trying to do the new WTM recs. Didn't work. Just too many minute details. (Interestingly written - imo, it didn't focus nearly enough, quickly enough on Greece and Rome, which is what we ended up spending our history time on. Admittedly, she does refer the reader to Herodotus and Thucydides, and maybe another book. And, it all depends on what you've studied before whether or not it will meet your needs.)
But my experience last year is, I think, why I feel so strongly about not spreading yourself too thinly. Actually, we tried to do "World History" and did pretty well covering the whole world until we got to Greece. We had covered Arian India, and my plan was to go back to India after we covered Alexander the Great, but there was just *so much* to cover. So, what I ended up doing was assigning a research paper on Buddha's life and teachings in writing class to cover the rest of India. And, the rest of the world just sort of faded away....
Basically, I bought thegreatbooks guides for the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Mythology, and the Bhagavad Gita (which we didn't read, and which SWB abridges in HOAW - you might just want to read her abridgement to be honest), and the Tao the Ching (which we also didn't read together, but my DS has enjoyed :tongue_smilie:). There is a sample guide on the website which is fairly representative of what you get - they are quite different than Cliff's Notes, for example.
ETA: I did use these guides, but only as a supplement. Usually, after the plot & theme was discussed and understood. (*I* would need something like Well-Educated Mind to discuss the book first, before using these guides. Maybe someone else wouldn't, IDK.) Well, the Mythology I used a little differently. The guide was for Hamilton, and we read Bullfinch. But basically, I read the guide, and just added in whatever comments I felt were appropriate from the guide as we discussed the stories.
I guess I need to back up...
After it became apparent that doing "The Great Books" study ala WTM wasn't going to work, I ended up splitting history and literature into more traditional classes. And, honestly, I overplanned, and he spent alot more than 2 hours a day on history and literature combined. (But, remember, my kid is more average...yours isn't - so you can't necessarily judge what will work for you based on what worked for me.)
I wound up using Smarr Literature basically for it's schedule (I know - an expensive schedule!), and Heroes of the City of Man along with Well Educated Mind. I took away some of the Smarr Literature and added some in. We had already finished Genesis. I took out Trojan Women and I think another play, added in Madea, switched some around to make it more chronological, and added in The Birds. Unlike Smarr I had my DS write papers on *every* work (though not every piece of mythology!), however towards the end of the year, I let him do "response papers" using SWB's directions in the high school writing download available from PeaceHill Press. He really appreciated that!
I found literature went best when we each had our own book, and we read along while listening to an audio book. This made my DS slow down and it forced him to HEAR how words are actually pronounced instead of just guessing. (We did this for The Iliad and The Odyssey - those were the best experiences. My DS LOVES!!!! those books. He also think Sophocles - the tragedist - is hilarious. He still goes around saying, "You can't kill us. We're the chorus.") If we didn't have an audio, it still went best if we discussed every day. MY health problems interferred later in the year, and I don't think that made my DS *enjoy* the reading any less. I'm just not certain of his understanding, and his papers are shakier because he didn't get to talk things through first.
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that I might need to add a separate writing program for my 5th grader this year. EEEKKK!! We use R&S for grammar. Is that enough?
Yes, if you apply what you've learned.
Admittedly, we have not done much in the way of writing in the past, other than summaries of what she has read.
Good. That's good.
Should she be composing poetry or other creative writing?
Nope.
Writing book reports or simple research papers?
Nope. Not even WTM is *that* horrid.
HELP!
ETA: I did notice SL core 3, which we are planning to use this year, has mini-reports and research projects listed. Maybe that's all I need in addition to R&S?
You could certain use the writing in SL if you wanted to. I don't know specifically what's in SL Core 3. I'm a bit of a WTM'er myself. So, I would tell you to apply what you learn in R&S to your history, science and literature. Write narrations (summaries) and/or reports in those subjects once a week per subject, practicing the things you learn in R&S, and you're good to go.
(Yes, you will have to recycle the lessons over and over again.)
And, if you want to do outlines on top of that - then you're just a true WTM'er at heart and didn't even know it. ;)
ETA: If you use the 4-Day Week, maybe you could arrange it so that your day "off" in each of those subjects is a different day? Nah...probably not.
And, BTW, in 5th grade, those "reports" are paragraphs - not page-long thesis papers!!!! And WTM says that even if those paragraphs are 3 sentences long at the beginning of 5th grade, thats OK! (And people think WTM is just "so torturous" - LOL! - I don't think they've actually read the book.)
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Okay, so I ran my GB list by a friend who has a PhD in history. He says my list is "too Western." So, now I am thinking of incorporating some of the books from the Jeff Baldwin site, http://www.thegreatbooks.com since this has some Eastern materials. So, here is my problem. I was planning on using Spielvogel's History Odyssey. This material is arranged on a "unit" basis (Mesopotamia, India, China, Greece, Rome) whereas the list at the great books site is more chronological. I would be combing the WTM list, the Omni I list, and this list. I will NOT be doing all the works on all of these. I think I have a manageable list, but my question is: should I try to stick with chronological or should I do it more by culture? Honestly, I think it would be easier by culture b/c this is the way the HO book is arranged, but I don't want to "mess" ds up by not doing it chronologically. If I did it culturally, maybe adding in a timeline would help.
So, what do you all think?
I think the same people (the proverbial "they") complain that we try to teach a mile wide and an inch deep, and then "they" complain that we're teaching "too narrowly" and we must broaden our scope, which then, of course, necessitates that we cannot go as deeply as we had hoped (in this case, into Western history or literature).
But... I digress.
If I were you, I would use HO as my spine, and read the works by culture. I wish I had done this, because we ended up running out of time, and China got left out last year. (I guess not completely - LOL - My DS reads the Tao teh Ching book sold by thegreatbooks site in the bathroom - LOL!)
The study guides from thegreatbooks.com are wonderful, and the audios from the "extra" books are also wonderful. We used the "extra" book list as read-alouds this (last) year - a wonderful change from Ancients and heavy-duty reading!
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:iagree: I think their pride is more based in Mom facing a new situation/challenge than in her 'actually doing' something.
That is what has happened here, too.
My MIL was having health issues...Well, I *thought* she was having health issues, turns out she was just hitting the bottle 24 hours a day and ruining my DH's business - but either way, I was faced with homeschooling the kids at his office and training to take over her job (for free), or watch the family business be ruined.
Once your kids are teens, they are cognizant enough to know the sacrifice that a decision like that entails. Old enough to know that I would really rather not *have* to pack up lunch for four people and books and trudge us all over to the other side of town and answer the phone in the middle of lessons, and do invoicing for 2 hours a day, and sit and talk to my MIL for *who KNOWS* how long (she will tell you the same thing OVER and OVER again) and ...well, you get the picture. And, they know that I do it, and do it nicely, out of love. And they respect THAT, and have told me so.
My daughter, nah....she doesn't care.
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SWB mentioned somewhere in TWTM about library trips when she was a child (please correct me if I am way off on this). IIRC she was required to pick books from a list of categories each trip. So, one poetry book, one biography, etc.
If you want to create a paper trail, (or feel the neeeeeeed to start your weekly file folders) you could easily decide that each week each student needs to copy a poem that struck them from that week's book, and do a KWO on some non-fiction topic, and do a notebook page (narration/summary) on a literature piece (can be a chapter of a book if needed). And of course you could keep a list of the books used.
I think it's actually in Jessie Wise's Introductory chapter, if you want to look it up. We did that for a while last year, and the boys really liked it.
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It was either because so many policemen were Irish in Boston and New York' date=' or [b']because it was used to haul away drunk Irishmen to jail[/b]. Nice, eh? :001_huh:
I figure this might be it after I realized the word was Paddy-wagon, but my brain was associating the definition of "band-wagon" to the word.
(I have only been taking Topamax for about two months, and this happens more frequently than I would care to admit. Someone - usually myself - says one word, and I associate it with another, completely unrelated meaning. I know now why they call it "Dopamax" - LOL - which, I guess, is somewhat related to the tenor of this whole thread, after all - LOL!)
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I'm looking for something that isn't going to be anti-Catholic. I had planned to use Notgrass but the slant is certainly somewhat anti-Catholic.
I'm open to other suggestions...
Stacey,
Jean in Wisc has a schedule for completing most of Spielvogel's Human Odyssey. I'm not sure if she did it in one year or two.
hth
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I know exactly what it is. It's the nose.....:lol: I know, I'm a freak. But for me, the nose makes the face. A cute guy can be ruined by a bad nose. I like the roman kind. Nick's is AWESOME! Next is the eyes and the attitude. All together, it's a great combination.
Con Air and Family Man are two of my all time favorites!
Loved him in Family Man!
Don't like the new hair...
But, I must say I think Demi Moore is CRAZY for letting Bruce Willis go. What was she thinking?!?!?!
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Paddy=Patrick
Nevermind - I have Topamax-brain today.
S/O breadth vs. depth: what about best vs. pretty good
in High School and Self-Education Board
Posted
Oh, I think I might cry. The "Friend" at the beginning is just the right touch.