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CoffeeMusicLaughs

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    mother of 4
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    Philadelphia suburbs
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    singing, piano, cross-stitch, reading

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  1. Hello folks, Forgive me if this has already been covered. I did a brief search for this question and didn't find it. I have a quite-bright rising 8th grade son, and I'm trying to decide on a logic curriculum for him. He's already done Critical Thinking 1 & 2 and he enjoyed them. It looks like WTM recommends for the next step either Traditional Logic I by Martin Cothran or Discovery of Deduction by Classical Academic Press. I like the idea of DVDs, as found in Cothran, but I've read mixed reviews on the quality of these. (I've never used DVD instruction before, but I am getting increasingly busy, and worried about fitting everything in). I'm wondering if anyone out there has an opinion about how these two curricula compare. My son is a great reader and super-advanced. I'm also hoping to use the same curriculum (at a slower pace, if necessary), for my second son the following year, who is also bright but not as advanced (also not as old within the school year). Any feedback is appreciated, thanks!
  2. Hi folks, I am starting to plan for next year. My oldest will be in 6th grade. I looked through WTM in the logic chapter, and it looks like SWB recommends using "Critical Thinking" Books 1 & 2 by The Critical Thinking Company. I found a used copy from 1998 on Amazon (only Book 1) and a 2002 Book 1 and a 2005 Book 2 on Rainbow Resource, but when I went to the website for The Critical Thinking Company, I couldn't find those titles anywhere. Are they out of print? Do people still use them, or is there a different recommendation? We used "Building Thinking Skills" this past year. I appreciate any help you can offer. Erin
  3. Hello all, My oldest son is in 5th grade & we're back on biology. He was excited about doing more "real" science, but so far it's been a bust. I've been trying to follow the recommendations in WTM but I'm running into roadblocks. I'd appreciate any help. I couldn't find the right Bio Dome that was mentioned, so I bought a similar one. Smithsonian brand, but slightly different. It came with triops eggs. Only 2 things hatched, and I don't think they were triops. A bit of a dud. We bought Carnivorous Creations. So far, nothing has sprouted even though it's been 2 months. I know it's not a warm time of year (we're in Pennsylvania), but I have it underneath a lamp that I turn on every day. Any ideas? My son's getting discouraged. I tried to buy Basic 5 Animals Dissection Kit. It was hard to find the right one, but I think I found it (from Carolina Supply, right?) I put it in my cart, but then it asked me where I was having it sent. When I entered "home," it said this product could only be shipped to a school. I filled out a "Contact Us" form explaining that I'm a homeschooler, but I didn't get any reply. Does anyone know about this? Have you successfully received this product, or did you go with a different one? I know there are other kits out there. I would appreciate any advice. So far this year my son has had almost no science and I'm feeling like I'm failing him. Thanks. Erin
  4. I have homeschooled for 4 years. We never did public school. Each of my kids did Montessori preschool before starting school at home in 1st grade.
  5. Hi folks, Well, we had a long, boring summer, and now we're gearing up for the school year. Unfortunately, it's hard getting started. I was hoping for a "soft opening" of doing a few subjects last week, and we did do a little, although less than I had planned. They're already complaining. Even my oldest, who usually doesn't complain as much as the next two, is talking about how he thinks traditional school would be better. This has been a grueling year for me in my personal life, in many ways. There are things I really like about homeschooling (mostly the teaching/subject matter) but dealing with their behaviors is really tough, and I don't know how much I can hold out. I'm also having problems with our co-op community. I'm wondering, at what point do you throw in the towel? We're about to meet with a psychologist to see if we can get any help with our second child who just turned 9. This is the third time we've tried to get help. He's so difficult. I'm feeling really alone and exhausted. What can I do? Homeschooling takes a lot of energy, and I wonder if I'm just making myself crazy for nothing. How do I decide? How do I deal with not knowing if school would be better for them? Would appreciate some advice and encouragement.
  6. Thanks for your help, everyone. I'm not disappointed with MM and BA, I just wanted to know about this other curriculum.
  7. Hello folks, My oldest is entering 5th grade, so we'll be in the logic stage for the first time. I'm trying to adjust to the changes. I read in WTM about SWB's recommendations for history, and I'm going to try to follow them closely at the beginning. I saw how she recommended having my son color maps from The Geography Coloring Book by Wynn Kapit as we go through history. I'm wondering, for any of you who have used this, how did you do it? It looks like each area of the world is covered once (with a few variations), but some areas are discussed multiple times in the history encyclopedia (Babylon, Greece, Rome, etc.), so did you just have your child do each area once, or did you photocopy and have them do it every time it came up? Is there another way I should use the book? Just a little confused since the book wasn't written explicitly to accompany WTM. Previously I leaned heavily on the SOTW Activity Book for mapwork. Any advice you have is appreciated, thanks. Erin
  8. Hello all, I'm preparing for my fifth year of homeschooling. My oldest son is entering 5th grade, and this past year we completed the SOTW cycle. I'm a big fan of WTM, so I was planning on going with her recommendations for the logic stage for history- not having a basic text but using a history encyclopedia as a spine and then outside reading, etc. I just stumbled upon The History of the Ancient World and realized that she has written a textbook and a study guide. It says grades 6-12. I'm wondering, have any of you used this? Is it for middle school, or more for high school? What are the pros and cons of using this book rather than following her previous recommendations? I appreciate any input you have, thanks. Erin
  9. Hello all, My oldest is 10 1/2 yo, entering 5th grade. He's bright and I'm wanting to keep him challenged/interested in math. I have tried multiple curricula. Right now I'm doing a combination of Beast Academy and Math Mammoth, which is fine. I just heard about Making Math Meaningful, and it sounded interesting. I'm wondering, should I look into it? What are the pros and cons of this curriculum? Do you know about how it does with 5th and 6th grade? Thanks. Erin
  10. I had the same question, and this reply was helpful. Thanks for the Duolingo suggestion. It looks good, and the price is perfect!!!
  11. Thanks, everyone. I like the idea of doing U.S. history. I already had some materials about the states that I was going to try to incorporate. My rising 3rd grader is definitely on the sensitive side. I think what he liked so much about SOTW was listening to me read the chapters. He liked the story format. Do any of you have recommendations for something that's similar to SOTW 1-3 in story style, but focusing on U.S. history and/or info about the states? Thanks. Erin
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