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LatinTea

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Everything posted by LatinTea

  1. I love these ideas! My dd would sleep until noon if her stomach didn't get her up before that; school is NOT an incentive for rising earlier. She is not a morning person, but she does like food, so I might try those sausage biscuit thingies. She has an obnoxious alarm clock, but it's right by her bed and she is quick to just shut the alarm off. I think I'll move it across the room. If that doesn't work, I do have a few water bottles around here. :)
  2. I wouldn't, at this point, throw away the 5-paragraph essay. What I mean is why not just have him write like he always has, BUT tell him to add or delete paragraphs in the body as needed? I have Essay Voyage by MCT and in it, the 5-paragraph model is used to some extent. However, MCT stresses that it should be expanded when necessary to include many more or fewer paragraphs. For older students, Academic Writing by MCT is all about getting the student to write correctly for college. Here's the link: http://www.rfwp.com/series78.htm#824 You might check that out.
  3. Yes, he is an amazing man. What could be better than having a father, who is a scientist, working right beside you every day? Every one of his children have followed in his footsteps. They have modeled his life in a textbook way without using textbooks! Well, I suspect they used their share in college. :) I tried the Robinson way, but not having my husband here all the time exploring scientific theories kinda put a dent in my big plans. ;) We didn't make it to the calculus/physics question, so I can't answer that one, but I do think his children probably got some physics along the way just by being with their dad.
  4. True. My ds didn't want to go away to college, even 45 minutes away. He got it in his head to do mostly testing for college (hmmm, where did he get THAT idea? :001_smile:) and wouldn't be persuaded to reconsider. He has a plan to finish his bachelor's, get a job for a year to build cash, and then pursue a master's degree. As a Christian, I gotta trust God that He will lead my ds down the right path and I gotta let it go. That's the hard part.
  5. I would just write to DIVE (or call) and ask about how this CD is set up. From what I know of Dr. Shormann, I would assume it is not secular in any way, but does discuss the theory of evolution in the light of knowing about what it, but not in the belief of it.
  6. Thanks, Donna, I almost went back and changed my post earlier on that part! But I was fading fast (have a nasty cold). Anyway, yes MFW does do more than just American History in those two years. Government, Economics, Worldview, and some Geography mixed in and I'm glad to hear that the second part is focused on those issues. I wish MFW would get a pdf up for that 3rd year so I can see how it is laid out better. World history (now interwoven with American history) will probably then be gone over once more. Sounds good to me!
  7. We changed over too. I used most of Sonlight's cores, from 2 through 400. I loved the books, but the IGs just bogged me down. Especially in the high school cores! My ds, a very good student, never could wade through all those pages and pages of information in the IG. He barely made it through all the assigned reading. I stuck with SL for him, but wish he had done something else. My dd is now doing the Ancients with MFW. I know her and I know she could not handle SL's high school cores written TO the student. There is just too much in there. And she needed a bit more spiritual guidance this year so I thought AHL fit the bill nicely for her. MFWs guides are way less intimidating. In my perfect world though, I would like their guide to have a bit more information about what my dd is reading (maybe I'm just spoiled by SL!) . Just a few more comments, but not like there is in SL. History, bible and lit just can't take 5 hours every day when the student is in high school. I like that MFW does all this in less time. I wouldn't be concerned about the writing aspect. Sonlight still needs to figure out how to teach writing to high school students! Language Arts has always been their weak spot. MFW is okay in this regard. Actually, I like their stuff better. It is more to the point and not 'out there'. They use a somewhat edited form of Smarr's writing guide for instruction. I would say it is adequate, not amazing, but useful. MFW has many writing assignments. I DO like the lit writing assignments. They help the student analyze what the author had to say and help the student dig biblically into the questions. The main lit questions are only comprehension, but Smarr has a few critical thinking ones in each lesson that are very good. I am concentrating on those (along with the end of the lesson larger writing assignments) instead of the comp ones. Also, SL has the student read the bible throughout all the cores, but I like that AHL focuses on the Old Testament and WHL on the New Testament. I don't like the choice of the extra biblical books in MFW though, but those are easily changed. We are subbing Do Hard Things for one of the books and have deleted another one. I own SLs 200 core from a few years ago when it wasn't so BIG, and am still debating on changing back to that when we get to WHL. The reason being is that I like the bible study books better than those in WHL. And I am not sure if I want to race through the rest of World history in a year and then do 2 years of American history. I like the idea of combining the 20th century, World and American, so I'm a bit torn on this too. (**See my post below on this**) I am hoping that by the time next year rolls around, SL will have satisfactorily addressed the many issues with their high school cores so I might be able to consider them yet again. Did I say how much I love their books? :)
  8. We also have Art Reed (for Algebra 2). I used to own Saxon Teacher Alg. 2, but could not handle the woman's voice. Mr. Reed sounds better to us, nice and not too fast or too slow. I also like his note in the CDs about loving to teach math and why he did this series. Seems to really care about teaching. So far, Saxon is mostly review in the beginning and having just finished Alg. 1, there's not much new yet. We did watch one lesson and he offered a different way of doing Scale Factors that I really liked (and my dd did too) so I'm hoping that will be the case throughout. I kinda wish he hadn't placed that picture of Einstein directly next to him; it's a bit distracting at times, but I figure it was put there for a reason. Maybe to remind the student of excellence. :001_smile: I have not used DIVE for Algebra so cannot comment on those.
  9. One other thing I just remembered, we have this cool drawing book titled, I Can Draw Star Trek. There a few of these available through Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Starships-Star-Trek-Can-Draw/dp/0689809212/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286980713&sr=1-3 It's mostly technical type drawings, but still fun to add to the mix! :)
  10. My dd would love this! She is my huge Star Trek fan around here. Thanks for reminding me about doing this kind of year. As for ideas, I would add science fiction in general. That would definitely fill up a whole year. AND I think you mentioned Astronomy for Science or there's Physics (as also was mentioned). It's always good to tie the lit in with science if at all possible and this is, well, all about science so that's great. Now, just to figure out when to schedule it all! :001_smile:
  11. For a slightly contrary opinion.... We used DIVE Physical Science for my 9th grade dd (along with the older BJU text, which the CD fits perfectly). After seeing her struggle with this, here are my thoughts. 1. This curriculum is for students who love math and love doing extra math with their science. Algebra 1 completion is necessary, but not only that, the student needs to do math quickly as many of these lessons involve quite a few problems. 2. The lab is extensive and some of them could cause issues in a homeschool situation, unless done outdoors. They involve lots of lab equipment too. 3. The lessons' numbering always bugged me. There are week, lesson, and lab numbers. These do not coincide after awhile. For instance, week 14, lesson 15, and lab 13 are ALL in the same 'week'. Why this is like this, I don't understand. It could have been easily fixed with using letters to denote additional lessons and labs within the weeks. 4. The lessons consist of deep science and are thought provoking. I just wish my dd was able to keep up with it all. 5. These CDs cannot be resold which is a consideration for many. Although, it is a great bargain IF it works for your student. It seems many here have had that experience; just not us. :glare: All in all, a solid science course for the student that enjoys math and for the mom who likes intense science experiments and is willing to spend the extra money on the equipment.
  12. I owned it briefly. I did not like the LONG paragraphs it used as examples. These were just too unrealistic; each should have been broken down into 3 or more paragraphs. The content was outdated or just plain odd. Can't remember any specifics, maybe something about a 'boom box'. :D I did like the format of teaching the grammar, but the lessons seemed rather repetitive to me. My dd was too old also when I attempted to use this; I would think middle school would be a better age group. I have also heard and option is to just skip the first book and do the advanced one. Just my experience; looks like others use this curriculum with great success. :)
  13. Art Reed discusses Saxon's sequence in detail. Here is the final paragraph of a chapter sample of his e-Book: "The geometry learned through the first half of Advanced Mathematics is all that is needed to be successful in that area on the ACT or SAT tests. I see no reason to add another separate geometry course. However, if parents desire that students take a separate geometry course, they should not place that course between Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 . During the time lapse, which could be as long as twelve to fifteen months, the average student will have forgotten many of the concepts encountered in Algebra 1 necessary for success in Algebra 2." Here's the link for the whole chapter on Geometry: http://www.homeschoolwithsaxon.com/review-credit.php I also pasted a brief excerpt of Dr. Shormann's (author of DIVE Cds) description of his new Geometry course below. The link to that page is: http://www.diveintomath.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=CGEOB "Saxon Geometry is recommended for students who used another curriculum besides Saxon for Algebra 1 and 2, or for current Saxon students who do not plan on attending college. In this case, Saxon Algebra 1, 2, and Geometry would suffice for high school mathematics, although Dr. Shormann encourages all students to do more than just the minimum requirements. College-bound students should finish Advanced Math, and preferably Calculus, as many studies show a direct correlation between college success and the level of mathematics completed in high school."
  14. Well, it looks like TT didn't give him what he needed for Algebra 1 or else he would be cruising through Saxon's text for the SAME level. I wouldn't spend and more time on TT, since their Alg. 1 is supposed to be better scope and sequence-wise than Alg. 2.
  15. Did I miss something in this long thread? Who left Apologia?
  16. My son is 20 years old. I don't like him watching it, but he is old enough to make his own decisions on this. He doesn't watch it much now since I've helped him to realize the hidden messages in the show. I just wanted to express my opinion and possibly encourage others to listen intently the next time they view the show and consider what is funny and what definitely is not. That's all.
  17. I realize many people like this show, but generally I am too busy cringing at some of the comments James Roday makes in regards to women to smile much at this comedy. My ds bought this series on DVD and is mostly oblivious to these remarks (that's how I even knew about the show). He is homeschooled afterall, but I was not. Try this one on for size: Shawn is jerking his body as usual and blurts out 'Poker' (in regards to the father's son playing poker and gambling). Then he says, "Poke her, I barely know her". Um, okay that is unnecessary. Just be aware that when you watch this, look for these one liners, especially in reference to women and s*x. Our kids are hearing all this too and internalizing it, even if they don't catch the meaning the first time around. EDIT: My original post above makes it sound like there are many of these comments per show. In reality, there are one or two of them, but they are so potent that, to me, they stand out bigger than the comedy itself. Just wanted to clarify that.
  18. I rewrote that so many times that it ended up sounding like gibberish! Glad you could figure it out. I meant 'they don't cost too much for a used text'. Dear, I think I should have had my tea first before replying. ;)
  19. I really like my Kindle. I have the 2nd generation one and would like to own the latest gen. I am planning on giving this one to my 16 yo dd for Christmas so she can read the classics i have loaded. I don't buy books, as of yet, because there are so many free ones I haven't read (neither has my dd). The main thing (to me) that differentiates it from iTouch is the way the page looks. The screen is like a piece of paper, not a tiny computer screen. So, with that, my dd can still have the look of a book. Also, as you mentioned, she will also get an instant look-up (in the dictionary or even Wikipedia), which is a step up from waiting to look the word up. I agree that, with a paper book, waiting is the best policy, but with the eReader, I love to look the word up right at the moment of reading it (takes 3 seconds, tops). ALSO, another feature that is useful is the highlighting and note taking feature. I LOVE that as writing in the margins of books is just so hard for me to do. There's never enough room and it just bothers me to writing in a book like that! I know my dd feels the same way, but does like note taking with her other gadgets. I hope I didn't stray too much from the subject. :001_smile:
  20. I wonder if you could get a Saxon 1 text just for the concepts (they're not too much used just the text), so when he is stuck he could see how it was explained back in Alg. 1. We are just beginning Saxon 2 and they do review each concept from last year, but in way less detail.
  21. I looked at my friend's iPad recently and it seemed to me a small laptop computer. (I have a Kindle so I was comparing it to that.) My son has a laptop and uses that for his college work so why would he need another one that actually had less capabilities? For instance, the iPad cannot utilize DVDs or CDs. For instance, my dd uses math CDs and we need to be able to insert them in the computer. So the iPad wouldn't work for that. Of course, neither would a netbook (at least I don't think it does) so I guess we'll stick with a laptop (and desktop) for now. My ds does have a iTouch, which, he feels is a more useful device for him than the iPad, the main two differences being the size and the cost. The best of both worlds, in his humble opinion. :D
  22. We are loving Tell Me More! It is computer software and includes a headset for learning correct pronunciation. It covers all the levels of French we will ever need. The only thing lacking is a grammar book with exercises to write out. I'm off to search for an earlier recommendation here to team up with TMM.
  23. Wow, I didn't expect so many replies! You guys are great. :) My dd is struggling with getting her math done. Last year she did it first thing in the morning and it seemed to wreck the day, kinda like a train wreck. This year it's first thing after lunch, but she just doesn't seem to get much accomplished before it's time to move onto something else. Obviously, she's not fond of math, so maybe no time slot will work great, but I think there's gotta be a time that will work better. I am going to go back and reread the posts (and all the rest I hope to get today!) to see what might work for us. Thanks!
  24. I would like to know when most students do their math. We are struggling in finding the best balance in trying to get it all done. So far, right after lunch isn't working any better than first thing in the morning. Maybe it's just the math and not the time! ;) Thanks! Edit: Feel free to choose a time for each student. I'm sure not all students in each family will do math at the time same time of day. Hopefully this won't mess up the results. First time in doing a poll so we'll see.
  25. You mean that Latin is NOT too hard? Ah, since I am a Latin drop-out, I must politely disagree. :) It IS too hard and I'm not gonna do it any more (is there a stamping foot smilie?). We are studying French this year instead. I can deal with talking about croissants and cafes, but if I hear one more sentence about Caesar's army taking hostages, I'll scream! Oh dear, French means....Gauls....oh no!! :D
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