Melis
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Posts posted by Melis
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Just so you'll know my very bright 8 yo 2nd grader can't do a narration to save her life. Not of a TV show, book, movie, etc. I keep plugging on (give her a math book though and wow! Interest or inclination I don't know). Eventually it will click I hope.
*I* still struggle with narration! LOL
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If you use the WTM for writing, there is daily writing across the curriculum.
Oh, I see! Thank you :) We use FLL, WWE and SOTW, but I haven't read my TWTM book in forever. Once I picked out all of our curriculum (we're eclectic, but use FLL, WWE and SOTW), it went up on my shelf and I haven't read it since. I think I'm due for a review to see where we're at ;) I've also been meaning to get out my Home Learning Year by Year book by Rupp.
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Hello :)
This is exactly why I changed from Sonlight to TOG. The Sonlight IG was useless to me whereas the TOG manual was invaluable. I did Core 3, 4 and 5 with Sonlight. Well, sort of... didn't use the IG as it was useless.Does TOG give an in-depth study of American History?
Thanks in advance :)
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Good Morning!
:iagree:
My DS2 was ready for narration in first grade, but the physical act of handwriting was very difficult for him. We *struggled* with pencil grip and letter formation through K and 1st. Each year it's become easier for him and now he is "writing with ease"... well, for him anyway ;) We started WWE1 in first grade, but didn't really pick up on it until second grade. This year (third grade) he is beginning WWE2 and doing wonderfully. All this to say, I think there are some really good benefits to waiting :)
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I missed your question about the outlining... hmm... DS10 is in 5th grade and we haven't come across any outlining requirements for science or history, but that may be due to differences in curriculum? We use SOTW (World History)and SL (American History and Science).
:lurk5:
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Good Morning :)
now what about next year...the fourth graders are going to be 5th graders and the Well Trained Mind moves them onto Logic Stage. What do I do? Just continue on to WWE3 or what? What about History and Science? All that outlining? Should I start that or what until we are done WWE3 and continue on with the narrations?I am certainly no expert, but I would just pick right up where you left off. That's what we've been doing. My kids are not exactly where they should be for a variety of reasons, but they are thriving and I think that's the beauty of homeschool...to be able to tailor the curriculum to them and go at pace that works for your family.
Both of my kids started WWE2 in 3rd grade and it's worked perfectly for them. My oldest started there because I had just purchased the curriculum and from looking at the online samples, I felt he'd be fine skipping WWE1. My youngest really struggled with the physical act of handwriting so WWE1 was perfect for him in terms of the amount of writing involved (the shorter sentences). When we began WWE we took it really slow and honestly, I'm glad we did. It took us two years to get through those first books I purchased! :O Not because of the level of difficulty, but because they were still young and we only schooled for a few hours a day...spending our afternoons outside and/or out and about. Now that they are a little older, we're able to get more done in the mornings and we do WWE consistently each day.
I oftentimes struggle with the desire for my kids to be in the exact books (levels) for their age/grade, but I'm trying *really hard* to just go with the flow...
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Hello :)
I found WWE2 got increasingly difficult as we moved into it. Some of the passages I literally had to translate line by line. We started the curriculum later than most so my DS10 did WWE2 last year. He is very bright and learning comes easily to him, but he struggled last year. He is doing wonderfully this year in WWE3, but it's still challenging. What I've noticed the most (this early into it) are the dictations are a lot more challenging. There is no more copywork in this level.
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Oooh! Another idea would be to do states and capitals and some light geography this year and then work on American History in 3rd and 4th, moving into Story of the World (for World History) in 5th through 8th... just a thought! :)
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:iagree:
Thank you Kelly! That was awesome :)
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Hello there :)
We are working through Story of the World Volume I this year. My DS's are in 3rd and 5th. We are also doing American History I (through Sonlight). I've been trying to get through Volume I for 3 years now and it just wasn't happening for a variety of reasons. When they were younger schooling was lot more intense (teaching reading and writing) and we spent most of our afternoons outside and at various activities. This year, now that my youngest is reading and writing on his own, it's been a lot easier. Prior to that, there just weren't enough hours. I really wanted to do science and history with them together, so it's worked out fine. DS10 will have gone through World History by 8th grade and DS8 will be in 6th. I'll be doing American History II, Government and State History/Government with them together as well. I stressed for a long time over the whole rotation thing, but as time has gone on, I've realized it's not that important (to me) *when* we get to it, so much as we do it altogether and enjoy it as much as possible. I hope this helps a little! :)
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Hello there :)
I can totally relate to what you are saying. I oftentimes have to stop and make sure my boys are listening. If it's something that is not interesting to them, it's easy for me to lose them. I just try and remain patient and if they miss too many questions I end up having to read it over. I find they dislike this as much as I do and they usually do much better the second time around. I, myself, struggle with the narrations so that helps me empathize with them. I found that in level two there were a few stories that I literally had to translate. Line. By line. It wasn't easy! :O My oldest is in 5th now and using WWE3. I think his narrations skills have really exploded! Some days he still draws blanks and it's not a good day, but overall, it's become much easier. Both of my boys still dislike doing narrations, but I honestly don't think that is going to change. It just doesn't interest them at all. I am now at the point where, if we are having "one of those days" or I am frustrated/low on patience or time, I just won't even attempt to do WWE with them. We're just gonna take our time... ;) I hope this helps a little :)
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Good Evening :)
We're using Sonlight for American History I and Reading. So far, I'm not loving it either. I really like all of the book selections, but I'm not overly impressed with the discussion questions, mapping and timelines. We're only in Week 4 so I'm hoping this will change. I feel like the questions just aren't clicking for us (it's hard to explain) and we do better discussing it on our own, which is fine, I just feel like I'm losing out on that value. Also, I feel lost with regards to the mapping and timelines. There seems to be a lack of direction/instruction to go along with the mapwork and timelines. I can figure it out on my own eventually, but it's taking time that I thought I'd save by purchasing the program. I also find map references that don't seem in line with the story. I don't know. Like I said, I'm hoping it will get better as we move further into it. I definitely don't feel like it's as pick up and go as Story of the World, which we use for World History, but I want to give it a little more time.
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Good Morning :)
Another vote for Story of the World (with the Activity Guide)! We love it :)
We are currently working our way through Volume I and I find it's very informative, yet unbiased in terms of early religion. It was such a huge part of ancient history so we have read about the Israelites (some Old Testament stories), Egyptians and their many gods and Greek mythology.
We belong to two, large secular groups where several (aetheist/agnostic) families use this curriculum and are happy with it. I hope this helps :)
Have a great day!
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Good Morning :)
Here's another thumbs up for ETC's Get Ready, Get Set and GO for the Code books!
Have a wonderful day!
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Good Morning! :)
I bought the teachers guide for 1 and 2 but never found them necessary. Especially since we were doing OPGTR and AAS as well. We really just use ETC for the workbook pages.:iagree: However, I do pull out the TM's for the Post Tests.
If you are going to use ETC exclusively, I would recommend them. Had I known all that ETC offered in the TM's, I might have used it for phonics/handwriting/vocabulary and spelling. At that point, I had already purchased other curriculum that I was happy with so ETC was (and still is) used as a supplement.
I hope that helps! :)
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Hello there :)
What level of AAS did you jump in to? After looking at AAS Level 1 tonight (just arrived) I would hope that 100EZ would have them at a much higher level than AAS1. Maybe level 2?When I first reviewed AAS1 I thought it might be too easy as well and it would have been for my DS10 who is a "natural speller". However, DS8, who is a GREAT reader, finds spelling difficult... it's a whole other ballgame for him between reading a word and spelling it. AAS has been a real confidence booster for him. It's given him lots of rules that help him decide how to spell the words. We did move through AAS1 quickly, about a Step per day, but he definitely benefitted... especially once we hit Step 16.
I hope this helps :)
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Hello there :)
- How many pages does your student(s) complete in one sitting/lesson
We use ETC as a workbook to compliment other programs we are using (or have used and finished) and to review/reinforce concepts that have we've previously covered. (it ends up being a review/reinforcment when I can't make everything flow! LOL) So depending on how much the topic flows with what we are doing and how much the kids have scheduled for that day, ETC work ranges from no pages to about 2 pages per day.
- How many times a week do you have a ETC lesson a week?
I do not do the lessons from the Teacher's Guides. When I first began homeschooling, I purchased 100EZ Lessons to teach phonics/reading and the ETC books to compliment that program. I went ahead and bought a separate vocabulary (Wordly Wise) and handwriting (Handwriting Without Tears) program not realizing that ETC could serve ALL of those subjects. 100EZ Lessons wasn't the right fit for us and I really wanted to have readers to follow-up each new skill and lesson so I switched to Reading A-Z. If the readers hadn't been so important to me, I would have used ETC exclusively. It's been difficult trying to match up ETC to what we're doing in other subjects, but the kids and I really like the workbooks so we've stuck with them ;)
I think you'll find that many people use ETC differently, based on what they are using for curriculum and the child's learning style and ability. I hope this made a bit of sense and helped a little! :)
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Good Morning :)
I have the same dynamic between my two and it really can be challenging!
FWIW, I wanted to mention that my DS8 is just beginning WWE2 and my DS10 is just beginning WWE3. WWE3 is challenging enough for DS10. I can't even imagine DS8 doing WWE3 right now. I think that would frustrate the both of us :O
If I were in your shoes, I would hold off on WWE3 and focus on the other things that you are finding challenging. I know it might be redundant, but maybe you could go back and do some of the stories in WWE1 and WWE2 just for review and retention? OR follow the same outline (narration, copywork, dictation and narration/dictation) using history? If you are doing SOTW, that would perfect!
With regards to grammar, I bet there are enough activities in FLL1/2 that you could repeat the curriculum and use the more engaging activities for practice and retention.
We have really taken our time with FLL, WWE and SOTW. At first I was concerned about not being "on level" but I see so much spiraling that I'm no longer concerned and it turns out, they are doing great right where they are. I am still doing FLL2 with DS8 and DS10 is doing FLL4.
I hope this helps! :)
Have a great day!
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Oh, I forgot to mention that once he had some words to learn, I let him decide "how" he wanted to learn them. I didn't require that he do the sheet where where he checks things off and writes sentences. Many times I would just write his words up on the white board so that he could "see" them spelled correctly throughout the day. When I decided to try this, my thought was "we'll give it a try" and if he doesn't learn the words, we'll go back to using the system as it was written. I think DS10 has a photographic memory of sorts so he just didn't need to go through the exercises and more often than not, would spell the words correctly the next day. At first I was a little concerned about whether or not he would retain the words, but it hasn't been a problem. I like how the words show up in reviews and such. I've also been known to keep a little list of the words he's missed and add them on my own to the daily tests ;)
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Good Morning :)
My DS10 is a natural speller and a perfectionist, but he also doesn't *love* to do school (big sigh). Anyhoo... we use Spelling Power because I feel that since he is a natural/gifted speller, I'd rather find out what he needs to learn, rather than wasting his and my time on word lists that are just too easy. When we first began the program, I explained this to him to no avail. I told him that the point of his daily tests was to find words that he DIDN'T know so that his time would be best spent working on building his skills rather than on "busy work". He still got upset when he missed words. We started Spelling Power in 2nd grade and this went on until about last year, when he hit 4th grade. I think he just grew out of it (those feelings) more than anything.
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Thnak you for this awesome post! :) :grouphug:
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Hello :)
I think it's about finding what works for your family. It sounds like you are doing wonderfully with reading, writing and math. I know that for our family, one curriculum just doesn't work. I like the idea having it all put together for me, but even when that does happen (through science and history), I can't guarantee we can stay ON pace with it. There is always so much going on... so many opportunities to go out and SEE and DO things that I just can't commit to a regular curriculum and schedule. Our curriculum is pretty eclectic, but thankfully, my two have the same learning styles for the most part ;) I don't know if that answers your question, but I hope it helps :)
Have a wonderful day :)
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I just wanted to give you (((hugs)))... it's definitely not easy!
I never used Singapore, but I can tell you that DS10 came from public school, having used Everday Math as well. He transitioned very nicely into Horizons math. I am really happy with it.
Some days I've had to sit right there and watch my youngest do his work to make sure he is doing it correctly and not rushing through. It can be VERY frustrating... especially when it's not even legible. That was only way I was able to nip illegible/careless work from happening.
If it's any consolation, it's taken us years to get through the first book of Story of the World. I LOVE it and the boys enjoy it too, it's just that there are only so many hours in the day. You are in a very *hands on* stage with your kids so a lot is being demanded of you. Be gentle with yourself.
As others have stated, and I often have to remind myself, it's most important to focus on reading, writing and math. I find consistency is THE most important thing for us. It's so easy for me to throw my hands up and call it a day... that's when I know that I'm expecting too much from myself and my kids. Also, I think you could definitely hold off on WWE for another year. It's a great curriculum and very easy to use at your own pace. DS8 (3rd grade) is WWE2 and DS10 (5th grade) is WWE3. They are both very bright and I don't feel it's below their level at all at this point. It gets very challenging as you progress levels.
I hope this helps! Hang in there! YOU CAN DO IT! :)
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Hello :)
I used Explode the Code for skills and writing practice and Reading A-Z for the readers. I think both are really great, but it took some work to make everything flow in terms of having a lesson, a worksheet and a reader that all flowed together. I wasn't able to find one program that combined it all.
Have a great day!
AAS for older grades?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
:iagree:
I wanted to use AAS with my both of my kids, but my oldest falls into that "natural speller" category so AAS wasn't needed/going to work.
If you are looking for a curriculum for a natural speller, I recommend Spelling Power because you spend your time finding and learning words he doesn't know. I believe the time investment is 10 minutes per day! Can't beat that! ;)
Have a wonderful day! :)