mrsbushman
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Posts posted by mrsbushman
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We are also VERY secular and use SOTW. Someone mentioned Pandia Press, which is History Odyssey. I will tell you that is a much less secular option because it uses Child's History of the World which is quite religious.
I encourage you to try SOTW. The Old Testament Bible stories are simply stories about Jewish history. At least that was my spin I put on it for my own kiddos. We also found oportunity to discuss the similarities and differences between some of the origin stories of various faiths. I truly don't think you'll feel uncomfortable. If you find something off-putting, just modify as you go along.
My kids also love to do History Pockets. Personally, I fold them into SOTW but they would love it if that's all we did. :001_smile:
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I started memory work with my kids when they were very young. People are often amazed to hear my 5 year recite all the states in alphabetical order as well as the U.S. Presidents in chronological order. We did this by learning songs. We would watch a youtube video of a song. For example, we used the Anamaniacs president song. Then we would focus on learning 2-4 lines a week from the song.
I know this isn't traditional memory work, but it has been useful information for the kids to know and they were very motivated to learn it because they liked watching the videos. This year we will start out learning the Anamaniacs states and captiols.
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My kids usually need a mid-morning break. Also, I found they do best when the subjects alternate in terms of what is expected of them. For example, History and Science usually require them to do a project, listen to me read and possibly watch a video. Math and Language Arts require them to sit still and write. Therefore, I don't put those similar subjects back to back. This kind of alternating can make just doing something different feel like a break.
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Yes I do mean Writing Road to Reading. I just checked the 5th edition of the book from the library and Wow! It is exactly what I've needed. I wish I had found it 3 years ago! It is definitely the way I am going to go. So glad I didn't drop that $215! Thanks everyone!
Thanks too for the information about PR being Christian. I had no idea.
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Elemental Science is very low cost and the experiments include things that I really do have around my house!
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I was also very interested in PR, but the price was my hesitation as well. On the other hand, I REALLY wanted a comprehensive LA program. I ended up getting a 5th edition copy of Writing Road to Reading (which I first checked out for free from the library). In my opinion, this is essentially the same program but without someone explaining it to you via DVD. If you are more of a self-starter, I would recommend WRTR. Check it out and see what you think!
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I have a LARGE weekly schedule posted on the wall along with a LARGE monthly calendar. The kids and I can clearly see it from our homeschool table. If I try to skip a subject or make any other variation, they always call me on it. This is the single thing that has kept me on task.
I will also mention that I used to do subject as SWB recommonds--every other day, but that I switched to all subjects being daily M-Thurs with a short day of special subjects on Friday (Art and Music). This simplified schedule was a HUGE improvement. (I also found that the kids didn't forget where we were in our history/science lesson when it was done daily.)
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Yes, we are secular too and I would prefer advice about a secular program. However, I don't want to rule anything out.:001_smile:
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I came across Phonics Road and it seems so great! We are currently using Growing with Grammar, Soaring with Spelling and Winning with Writing. It is just too many subjects and too many worksheets. I am thinking seriously of buying Phonics Roads, but the price is so high! If I am going to spend that much on something I need to be sure there is nothing else out there that will fill the same need. I looked a bit at Writing Road but my first impression was that it was less organized.
Are there other comprehensive Language Arts programs out there? What do you like or dislike about them?
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We currently use Math Mammoth and like it pretty well, but I came across information about an older program called Math-It which looks like a promising supplement. It claims it can be used to teach mental math with amazing results. Has anyone used it?
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Sorry! I will do that.:001_smile:
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We currently use Math Mammoth and like it pretty well, but I came across information about an older program called Math-It which looks like a promising supplement. It claims it can be used to teach mental math with amazing results. Has anyone used it?
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We are secular hsers too. We are currently using Real Science Odyssey. It isn't very meaty, but we supplement by checking out every age appropriate book on the subject from the library. RSO features projects rather than experiments.
The "What your X grader should know series" has worked well for us in the past for science as well. We just use a section of the book as a base and expand from there with library books. Since these books are only about $5 on ebay, it is a pretty cheap approach!
For a third option, a fellow secular hser shared this site with me offers a free science cirriculum: http://www.eequalsmcq.com/classicsciinfo.htm
Math Facts
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
There is an older program called Math-It which makes pretty extraordinary claims about results. Might be worth looking into.