SorrelZG
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Posts posted by SorrelZG
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We have an old iPhone with no SIM card that DS uses with the Audiobooks app to listen to Librovox recordings. It's definitely more convenient than surrendering my phone or iPad, or even just the space on them.
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Don't forget that I can loan it to you for free no worries. Find out if it's truly useful to you before buying. I don't think you even need to read all the chapters. Maybe only 3 or 4. (Or I suppose you know already that if you don't find a purchased Kindle book to be a keeper, you can return it within 7 days.)Maybe this book needs to be read sooner than later. I need to think about that, though. All my reading about theory seems to important as I'm reading it, but as Stripe is saying, I'm not spending the time with students, or actually completing curriculum for my own self-education, as I could be.
I think I might tell myself I can buy and read that book on theory IF I read at least 3 novels, complete at least 10 Saxon Algebra lessons, and finish my "pretest" of all SWR lists R-Z. -
FYI, stm4him, when I mention your "simple" plans making me hyperventilate (so to speak), I'm not remotely criticizing what you do. I'm in awe of all you accomplish in planning and it action, and that is only multiplied exponentially in considering the circumstances in which you do it.
Another thought, since I'm just hanging out thinking thoughts, "simplifying" is going to mean such different things to different people. For some people "simple" will mean forsaking foreign language and for others it means paring back almost everything but foreign language. For me, teaching Latin IS simplifying my homeschool - for others I understand why Latin is first out the door when they need to simplify. I need to simplify in part because we need to learn the local language so I guess I can say that I have a Latin centered homeschool because I need to teach a modern foreign language. :P For me that is the easier path. For someone else it's the path of craziness. With that in mind I suppose I spoke loosely when I said, "I really need simple," in contrast to *your* plan since simple, I think, is subjective. My apologies. -
Good points, Hunter. But our founding learned multiple languages. In other countries they learn multiple languages. Why can't we? For most languages I only care that they can read it. For Spanish I want them to speak it and hopefully write it. There is a big difference.
What if I changed my instructional list to PreScripts, Saxon Math, and Saxon Phonics. Does that look less intimidating?
You didn't ask me, obviously, but I think you know your own capacity and priorities. If it's important to you and you have the capacity for it (time/energy/resources/whatever you personally need to get it done) then you can do it.
I originally intended to start Greek with DS8 next year and although we have the time, I don't think I have the mental/energy capacity for getting it done without compromising Latin and local language, but I'm tempted to get a book just in case that changes. -
I loved stm4him's original post and then saw the list filled out more in another thread and began hyperventilating. Not only do I personally really need simple, really, but I am apparently not a planner. I'm trying to pick up what I can from y'all without getting so discouraged about my own limited capacity that I give up in despair.
My oldest is 8 and that is how far I've "planned" so far. It looks like this:
• I get my children reading with ease and then begin Latin.
• Arithmetic, with the goals of a) solid comprehension, b) ease of use, and c) not expending excessive amounts of time on it.
• writing - letter formation transitioning up to copy work and dictation.
• local foreign language
Besides that, informally: a lot of reading (occasional twaddle but mostly "classic" fiction and of course non-fiction), silent and aloud, narrating and story telling, individual writing (journals, play, letters, etc.), drawing, listening to music, singing, attempting to read and play it, observing art and nature and pursuing interests (documentaries, computer programs, materials for constructing things, etc.), etc.
I wish I was more consistent and formal about music practice but besides that, everything else happens often of its own as part of our life and interactions.
Like I said, this is up to 8yo so far. It's working out well with the younger children. They are all very different.
Oh, and just a peep, from a few days this week, into what happens behind that "informal" that happens beyond my "simple" (because sometimes it seems that to some people informal=lower quality):
DS8 listened to A School History of the Great War (his own Librivox find) while drawing airplanes as part of his consuming interest in the World Wars, the history of flight, the history of planes in warfare, the engineering and physics of planes and flight (and birds, actually). The day before he listened to a short history (I think it was 1.5hrs when read aloud) written by the Wright brothers - he chooses audiobooks when there is a choice so that he can draw while imbibing information and stories. He also watches a lot of documentaries on the wars and planes, and is currently reading through The Story of the World 4 on his Kindle.
I've helped him select books to order and pick up when we are in the States but beyond that and the conversations we have, I don't know ALL the details of his history and science learning because a portion of it happens in discussions with his dad while I am mercifully absent. I honestly do not believe I could provide him with a better education in these matters at this time via formal history and science lessons. He does appreciate parental involvement, though. He is playing with scratch programming and learning what he can along side his dad as DH works on the diesel generator and prepares to install a solar system on the house. I keep my focus on preparing his foundational skills for upper level studies. -
What did CM say about book selection? My impression was that she was very careful and purposeful in her selections - that's a little like mentoring, sort of. It's an interested influence, at least. There is also a difference between destroying a story for the child by supplying a continual commentary on the one hand, and providing discussion, challenging ideas, sharing varying view points, additional factual information, etc. on the other. The latter is like "iron sharpening iron". In the case of a child who is not reading only from a carefully restricted reading list, it is also another way of shepherding. Not that I'm inclined to argue with CM, she just isn't raising and educating my children. I am and I just do things differently. It's taken a little while but I can now say that without an ounce of misplaced guilt. :)
Eta: Frankenstein was published in 1818 (I think). -
CM, it seems, never read Frankenstein.
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I think it depends on the kid, how well they comprehend what they read, and whether or not they have an interested other person to listen to them and their ideas. Some books left alone in the hands of a child can lead to some very weird ideas....but those same weird ideas can be the sparks of some great learning and conversation/ writing.
I agree (especially having read Frankenstein). DH was just commenting to me (I hadn't talked to him about these things) that many of those whose success stories he has heard had at least one person invested in them. A mentor, perhaps. I personally lacked both good books and an interested other. A varied community would be even better. -
I read a lot but apparently nothing of great value because it's all forgettable until 11th grade and senior English when we had to read things like Lord of the Flies, Of Mice and Men, 1984, and Brave New World and then actually think about them. Rumor had it that this particular teacher had wanted a job with a university, not a high school, and that this explained our reading list and the expectations to think, discuss and write about weighty themes. I think this disgruntled rumor reveals something about the quality of my public schooling. So, apparently "just reading" benefited me, personally within my own circumstances, as little as my formal education (in the largest part).
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I don't think this has happened to me either but, unrelated to the forum, I did have to forsake my yahoo email address because of it being hijacked by a spammer. Spam still goes out under the guise of that email address even though the account was shut down quite some time back (I occasionally get spam from my own old, now non existent, email address). I will never open another email account with yahoo.
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Wait, does the theme of boy(s) traveling back in time to witness historical events accompanied by a talking creature remind anyone else of another conservative history resource?
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I'm in the midst of The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Heartfelt Discipline by Clay Clarkson. I keep one fiction and one non-fiction going at a time and have to discipline myself to maintain that limit as I tend to either start too many books or else get bogged down in one until I'm not reading at all. One of each is my balancing point. :D Meanwhile, I have a list as long as my arm that I'm working through and trying not to add to it. I have been avoiding the book-a-week thread for this reason and probably shouldn't continue reading this thread, either. :P
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I asked (history lover) DS8 to be specific about what he meant when he said he didn't like math. In response he shared a personal observation that he seemed to respond poorly to unexpected subject changes. He wanted to be forewarned and given time to ready himself for the new material. He then drew an illustrative example that began something like this, "You know, it's kind of like The Hague Convention when ..." but it all got fuzzy after that because I was all like, "Wait, the WHAT convention??" and various other confused inquiries about context and details that had nothing to do with his point from which my mind had been entirely derailed.
We never did regain focus on the point of what he was trying to explain to me about his problem and yet - a good couple/few hours later - it began to dawn in my mind that maybe, .. maybe, .. he HAD made his point.
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I was never going to have a use for Spanish.
I was never going to live in Texas.
I was never going to be a house painter.
I was never going to work in early education.
...and then I found myself painting and assisting in a Montessori school in Texas, and at least half of all my friends and associates spoke Spanish.
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I finished it. Honestly, I read through chapter five, sped read through six, began skipping pages through seven, skipped most of eight, and picked up reading again at nine - not because of anything wrong with the book but because the subject matter was excruciatingly painful (CC/public school specific stuff). I loved the introduction, chapters 2 and 9, and the conclusion. Those were more on liberal education with chapter 9 laying out what a true common core for high school should actually look like, with a brief overview of the why behind the book selections and progression and an idea of what the child would have accomplished/read prior to it (very briefly) in order to be prepared.SCGS, I asked my library to buy the book. They are HORRIBLE about ILL, but they let me request that they buy up to 5 books a week, and usually will buy about 4 out the 5 I ask for. I was wondering how you liked the book after reading it. Thank for the offer of borrowing it! Let me see if the library buys it. I bet they do. If they do, it will just show up in my holds list in 1-3 weeks, as "on order".
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I'm going to consider the idea of taking myself through the plan he lays out, though it would take me longer than four years. I will continue plodding along with Latin, also, being patient with myself in all these things. Meanwhile, I am encouraged in the path I am on regarding the children in my care.
I was debating whether to post you this update on this thread or not the Quintilian/LCC thread. All these things are stewing in my mind. Meanwhile, I was just the other day thinking of the quote in your signature about math and leaven, thinking that I want to ask you about that quote, and then I wander into a thread where you mentioned that quote just "today" (today for me, at least) and linked to a book which is now on my Kindle and lined up for my next read. Since I'm feel all focused about Latin and literature, my approach to math is looking quite unruly and in need of revision (we are on break from formal math until that is accomplished).
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Usually always but the last sale only reached 40%.
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I notice that while under base 8, adding the digits of each multiple until a single digit is reached will always result in 7, under base 10, starting from 7 and going as far as you have listed here, they end up like this:Base 10: 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 70 77 84 91 98
7, 5, 3, 1, 8, 6, 4, 2, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1, 8
That's kind of cool too. :)
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In addition to what others have said, they really don't even need to comprehend everything in a story to enjoy it. Especially so young. Expecting them to can limit their reading, though. Unless I am using a book to discuss and impart some specific lesson (in which case I will be a lot more involved anyway) I am happy with my 8yo simply enjoying what he is reading.
I involve myself in his reading by asking him about it and really, his summary or retelling is sufficient to demonstrate if he comprehended the story or not. If I don't know it myself then asking questions according to my own curiosity or confusion will reveal anything he must have missed and if either of us care that much, we can go back into the pertinent part of the book together - or I will by myself to satisfy my own curiosity and then mention what I learned later (he may or may not care). If he is excited about it he will talk endlessly and is happy to read the whole book again (by himself or with an adult) if it means getting even more out of it.I talk to him about what I'm reading also (in varying degrees of detail depending upon the content and his level of interest). He is the one that got me interested in reading Treasure Island and I inspired his interest in The War of the Worlds. No doubt he didn't comprehend them to the degree I did when I read them but he LOVED them. He'll come back to these books as he grows and will think about them more deeply when it's fitting. Right now all that is relevant in his young mind is adventure. While I contemplate humanity, and maybe even literary devices, he is sailing the high seas, battling alien invaders and directing his imagination towards the night sky in either case - and that's more fun to be involved in than discussing literary elements (for mom and younger siblings). :leaving:
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Sounds gorgeous.
Two more books I haven't read. :-/
I'm only Up to chapter four in The Story-Killers. I've learned that I have to pace my non-fiction reading and intersperse it with much fiction. I finished The Island of Doctor Moreau after chapter two and was trying to decide which H. G. Wells novel to read next while reading chapter three when the author used The Scarlet Letter to demonstrate the difference in how literature "discussion" is typically done in school these days and how it should be done. That's another book I haven't read and I was inspired to do so by the discussion. Meanwhile, I actually spent the evening reading Hawthorne's autobiographical introduction which has rekindled my curiosity over early U.S. History. I learned he was a friend of Longfellow's.
I'd like to see the list you draw up. I've missed quite a few key works. I feel like I need to take myself back to the nursery rhymes and tales and work my way back up. I just don't feel "grown up" enough to read some of these oft listed books - like when it becomes apparent that these guys read their fairy tales and my meager childhood Disney diet has been found wanting. Reading to my children has helped some but I need to do it more. They are the only reason I understood the Blue Beard reference in The Island of Dr Moreau. (Although I wonder who actually reads that tale to their children these days considering our modern sensibilities .. besides me, I mean.)
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Thanks for the links.
I ventured over to amazon to read the description of what this book was about and what it described about literature teaching us how to live is exactly what I've been reading about in chapter two of The Story-Killers. It was an awesome read. (Hunter, if you ever have a break in the big long "to read" list and want to peak at it, let me know and I'll loan it to you)
This is a tangental thought but I constantly have to battle this inclination to associate the reading of literature with indulgence and laziness that people who are diligent and vigilant over the proper use of their time do not do. I even struggle with the crazy thought that keeping my house in a state of dustlessness is a more worthy use of time than indulging myself "selfishly" in literature. (this doesn't mean I spend my time cleaning instead of reading - it means I spend my time reading but feeling guilty and "not worth so much") *sigh* I guess my culture (or whatever) has taught me how to live more so than literature and I have learned that to live well means to be busy and produce much. My inner being is in rebellion against it but imbued with guilt for the fact. Reminds me of the Beast People on Dr Moreau's island wrestling between their natural instincts and The Law that has been impressed upon them to keep them under control.
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I use to enjoy it but after so many mistakes combined with now having only one opportunity a year to pick up books and no library to fall back on if I miss something or something doesn't work out ... gah ... I feel the pressure and it's not so much fun.
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The old pre-"traditional" texts I prefer very clearly teach the concepts involved in beginning arithmetic (making obvious the connections between addition, subtraction, mult., div., and fractions), AND provide varied drill for the purpose of mastery.
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The one thing that concerns me is that some parents go with a "traditional" program that looks most like how they were taught and they have no idea that they don't know what they are teaching. The conceptual heavy programs seem foreign to them for this reason. They think it's a "foreign math" like the world has foreign languages. I don't believe these programs ARE (just) for the "mathy" students but (especially) for the very ones for whom it appears foreign.
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School stuff is the least of my problems when it comes to the house being clean so I would have to say "No". lol
Robinson, TJE, DEAR–What Happens When Students "Just" Read?
in General Education Discussion Board
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Yes, it can be loaned once. That seems to be once *ever* and not once *per person* but I haven't see that clarified and stated specifically so I'm assuming that is what is meant, as absurd as it seems to me personally.
Since this is sort of related to this thread, I figured I'd ask here - do I want to read TJEd? All the (negative) things I've heard about DeMille and expensive seminars and zealous followers has left me disinclined to "go there" to see for myself. But .. maybe there is something true and useful and beneficial without whatever has made such a negative impression on others? Thoughts?