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Reeseepc

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  1. I am spending about an hour each week....but most of that is just reading the mom's notes and printing out worksheets. It's not actual PLANNING for the lesson...the readings are there. I just need to read my notes so I know where we're going. It is SO wonderful to have questions for the different age levels...but all on the same topic. We have family discussions, and I'm not pulled in 3 different directions. And, as someone mentioned, you can do as much or as little as you want...I love flexibility. :001_smile:
  2. We have an IKEA loft bed....bought it for my ds when he was 6! In that house, we had 8 foot ceilings...he didn't mind. In our current house, there is a cathedral ceiling, so it's not much of an issue....however....he outgrew the bed. (He's now 13!) So, my now 6-year old has taken it over. The one thing I have to say I have never liked about that loft bed has nothing to do with the space between his head and the ceiling, but more the space between my kiss goodnight and his face! I can't reach him. SO, when my now 6-year old moved into the loft bed, I had my dh cut off the legs a few inches so I could at least see his cute head when I kissed him good night. I'm on my tippy toes, but I'm happy. He has enough room to play under it (it's now his "fort") but it isn't tall enough for a desk underneath anymore. With that said, having the loft bed at regular height really did give us a lot of extra space in the other house. I was glad for it....but, I just didn't like not being able to see my baby asleep in his bed. :001_rolleyes:
  3. I know it's not 100% classical...but it's close. And it's not 100% "in a box"...but most of it is. We have used K12 for YEARS (http://www.k12.com) and I absolutely LOVE it. It's not for everyone, but it has worked well for us. If you're studying Ancient Greece in History, you're reading about Greek literature in the Literature lessons, Greek art in the Art lessons, etc. It is very well-rounded, but it's intense. I especially loved their History lessons when my children were in K and 1st grades.....they were PERFECT. I found that having the lesson, and then finding a book to compliment the lesson caused them to retain so much more than just reading a book. Their K & 1st grade lessons are very "story" oriented, so I think that is why they retained so much -- they remembered the story. If you are following SOTW or TOG, it is easy to combine their lessons along with the weekly readings from SOTW or TOG. We are using TOG along with World History A this year. It is working beautifully together. We really like having the TOG book list, as well as the Human Odyssey book to read from. It's a great fit for us. Happy Homeschooling!! :001_smile:
  4. I have two sets of Powerglide I purchased years ago (Spanish & Latin) that I tried with my kids years ago. We hated them. HOWEVER, I decided to try the new format of PG that was offered through K12 (we have used K12 for years with certain subjects, and I absolutely love it and wouldn't switch to anything else.) I have to confess: we really like the new Powerglide. I like the fact that it's more interactive (like K12), and that it's now "age appropriate". I can get a course for my 6 year old, and the course is designed FOR a 6 year old. I am not sure, but I think there are samples of their new program on their website. We are actually doing German this year. Auf Wiedersehen!
  5. I have a theory on teaching about religion and beliefs to my kids. I like to "teach them" without bias, but live my life according to my personal bias. The reason I want my kids to know about creation AND evolution is because they will be living in a world where they will need to know why others believe what they do, and know how to respond to them. We have used the K12 curriculum for different subjects for years (http://www.k12.com) and one of the reasons I love it is 1) it's classical, 2) while it doesn't emphasize a religious bias, it doesn't remove the history of religion from the lessons. You will learn about Judaism, Christianity, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. and where, in history, these beliefs occurred and how they impact the civilizations they are a part of. But one belief system isn't taught in their curriculum to be preferred over another. I like that. :001_smile:
  6. :iagree: I just wanted to say I have found in the short time that we've used TOG that I love the fact that discussion questions are not book-related, but topic-related. So, so long as you're reading about that week's topic, it doesn't really matter which source you're using. I found it very helpful because I have books already on my shelf that I can use that either compliment or replace books suggested by TOG. Have fun!!
  7. I'm in Gaithersburg...new to TOG. We lived in Frederick for almost 10 years, and I REALLY miss all the HS groups/opportunities up there. There were so many. Since we've moved to Gburg, I'm not that familiar with as many groups, and it has been a bit lonely. But we're hanging in there. :willy_nilly:
  8. That was a nice weekly plan sheet -- thank you for sharing that!! We are also new to TOG, and I have found it's much better to get the basics (Lang Arts/Math/Etc.) overwith FIRST, and save the reading for afternoon and bedtime reading. That way, the afternoons are not as stressful, and if we have appointments, they can bring their books in the car with them. :)
  9. I recently switched to TOG, and just a few weeks into it my UG dd and D ds are loving it. The reason we switched was because I was feeling too "removed" from their learning process with our other curriculum. I would assign their lessons for the week, but I had no idea what they were learning because they were doing the textbook thing, and answering questions in their notebooks. I wanted something where I could talk to both kids about the same subject, and they could work within their own levels. I'm only now beginning to discover the flexibility of TOG, in the writing assignments. I love that I can choose an easier week or a more challenging week....depending on the assignment for that week. It's very flexible, and I thankfully have been able to find *most* of the books at the library to keep costs down. So far, so good, and it's not as much work as I thought it would be. I think it looks more overwhelming than it is, especially if you realize you don't need to do EVERYTHING they give you the option to do. :)
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