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BeachyMum

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About BeachyMum

  • Birthday April 18

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  1. I'm late to this, but we just subscribed to Supercharged Science (online edition). In a few weeks we'll buy her boxed set.
  2. This year, Easy Grammar and Daily Grams. Previously, Sonlight. Next year, CC's Essentials, Easy Grammar and Daily Grams. But of course that is today's plan... :-)
  3. What a wonderful bundle of resources...thank you for posting all of this!!
  4. The Reading List is separate, I guess because for those using non-literature based curricula they would need it to be. (I used Calvert for a year, and this would have been the case.) Since we use Sonlight and a Charlotte Mason/Classical approach, it seems redundant...but since I was asked about a reading list during an evaluation last year I use the feature. It's much easier than a Lesson Plan, though...only takes a couple of minutes. Go to Student -> Reading Log. Select 'Add' and a pop-up appears with your entire Library. One click and it's done. A feature I haven't used (again, I only started a few months ago) but *will* next year is the 'Notes' section in the Reading List. I may include my own critique, or the respective dc's....but this is seemingly a good place to plant remarks that I can refer to at a later date. I've also not made enough use of the Memory Work or the Field Trip sections. For both planning/scheduling *and* end-of-year reporting, this will be great. I fully expected this program to be something that wouldn't be my ideal; rather an experiment wherein I'd use something that was built for someone else. I'm consistently amazed at the level of customization possible.
  5. LOL....last year at our evaluation I was asked if we had a reading list. Um, no....you mean that the three-inch overstuffed binders full of work from each child isn't enough evidence of the fact that we're not slackers???
  6. Ha! I'm usually the one totally out of the loop on HS brand abbreviations, sorry. I tried *everything* to get myself organized. EVERYTHING. Could never ensure that everything was covered, was flipping through too many files/spreadsheets/workboxes/etc. I finally have peace. One of the best things (for me) is that once I create a lesson plan (for example, 2nd grade across all subjects) I can import that for a subsequent dc's second grade program and have an entire year done in just a few minutes. Of course, if I want to modify courses or such that is easy as well. I never tried the free regular version (heard it wasn't so great) but the '+' version was about $50 and includes lifetime upgrades. I do like that it's a software and all of my dc's data sits on our own computers as opposed to web-based programs that don't provide the same level of privacy. We use Sonlight for most things, plus a bunch of supplements and our own unit studies....so the volume of books in our house is pretty ridiculous. ;) There is a master 'Library' feature wherein you enter all of your books (there is an ISBN look-up linked to Amazon) which makes that process pretty painless. You can also use that tool to schedule books you need to borrow from a library or friend and set alarms for returning. (Ditto if you loan a book to someone.) It will be nice to have complete transcripts of the kids' schooling all the way through, and certainly makes pulling reports for annual evaluations easy as attendance, field trips, memory work, yadda yadda can be included. And no, I'm not affiliated with the company in any way. I'm just a HS mum who is finally keeping her head (barely) above water. :D
  7. YES, YES, YES! My dc's are close in age, so they can now 'play' flash cards with each other...but I love that Flashmaster times/tracks scores and has a very clear display with the problem and answer. We don't do video games, so I was hesitant...but it's not video 'gamey' at all...it looks like it was designed by a real math geek, which makes me very happy.
  8. I don't think it's particularly advanced...but it's also not dumbed down, if that makes sense. Because it's a literature approach, I find that the children can take as much or as little information away from the lesson as *you* guide them to. As for the amount of time we take, I can honestly tell you I have no idea, lol. :D There are weeks where we get some Science read every day, but those are rare. Typically we do Science 2-3 times per week. For perspective, I use HST+ to manage the numerous IG's, schedule, supplements, etc that we have across all the kids. I don't use it to keep me glued to a daily checklist, rather to make sure I cover the plethora of topics/subjects/supplements within a 1-2 week period. My kids *love* books, and they aren't interested in just reading 1-3 pages. If their interest is piqued, they want to keep moving - which I think is a good thing. Therefore, we may typically cover 2 or 3 'lessons' in one day. In that sense, I think the timing would work well for you. As for the DVD, it's simply examples of the experiments. The kids *love* it, and they think it's cool that they get to watch an experiment and then do it themselves. And (*ahem*) it's been a good tool to assist this non-Sciencey mum look like she knows what she's doing! It's definitely *not* a DVD-directed program...I personally don't care for those, but have been thankful to have these as reference for the 'labs.'
  9. I just posted in another thread....our two best tools have been the Flashmaster - a sort of video game for memorizing math facts (up to multiplication/division tables - and the CC Math Memory work songs.
  10. We couldn't get *anywhere* with traditional methods (flash cards, etc) - the two things that have made the greatest impact are the Flashmaster (a video game sort of math tool) and the CC Memory Work CD. Initially I was frustrated that my dc's had to sing their way to the answers, but at least they were getting them!
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