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farmwife

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Everything posted by farmwife

  1. I think the more the teacher knows about his/her student the better able they are to understand them and educate them. I understand your apprehension but I would welcome them with open arms.
  2. 5th Grade Bible-Rod and Staff Bible 5 English-Rod and Staff English 5(half year)Christian Light Language Arts 500 Math-Christian Light 400 & 500 Reading-Bob Jones 5th Grade History/Geography- Rod & Staff Homelands of North America Memory Work-Classical Conversations Foundations Spelling-Spell to Read and Write
  3. I have a large family and I used it for only one grade this year. I love it! I only really check the tests, the daily work I just look over and make sure they are getting the material and that everything is completed. The cons are that it does take longer. At first it was driving me batty since I felt there was a lot of fluffy stuff that wasn't necessary, but I find that my children love the fluffy stuff. For instance, in math they travel around the world and involve geography which makes it more interesting. My other children that are not using BJU distance learning are begging for it next year. My child who used it is not. So not all kids enjoy the format. As far as grading, I think ordering the tests for each subject that you are doing is a way of monitoring their progress without daily grading each subject, I think that would get rather tedious.
  4. I have also thought of Cybershala Math...however it is cost prohibitive for us. It runs $100/month. So if you figure on doing school for 8 months you are looking at $800/ year for just math and BJU runs about that for a whole grade including books. Just wanted to add that...
  5. I have only used BJU. My thoughts are based on the 2nd grade hard drive. The Math teacher is fantastic! I also use the Bible, Reading and Science portion. I do spelling, handwriting and grammer so I can't comment about those. It takes a long. time. The teaching portion on Math typically takes and hour since the students are expected to use the manipulatives to work out the problems. The pause is used a lot. So when it's all said and done and they complete the worktext and reviews. It is typically a 2-hour time frame. I am also happy with the Bible and reading. Science is also great and my children have done many of the experiments that she explains. Overall I am happy. I am going to use it next year for my 6th grader, she is jealous!
  6. 1. I like having my teachers master log in a primary learning log. I don't do a new one each year, I just review what I did the previous year. 2. I think it is totally acceptable for you older child to use a primary learning log...whatever makes life easier. This is not a hill to die on. ;) 3. If you feel you can integrate the AAS tiles into the SWR lesson...Go for it! I would still try to do some kinetic learning as well. Sandpaper letters, or a sand box really helps them learn those phonograms.
  7. :grouphug: I'm totally with you. My 9-year old just realized he is behind since his 7-year old sister has now caught up to him and they are using the same materials. I know I should separate them but I just can not find the time in my day for another curriculum. He is so incredibly talented at other things not regarding academics that he is pretty self-secure.
  8. I have a dyslexic. I bought and used AAS with him. He did great with the program with almost no retention at. all. I have found SWR to be fantastic with the multi-sensory approach to learning the phonograms. You still will need to do seperate reading with your child but this approach is what finally made some sense for my child, who could "do" other programs but not retain anything. I just gave him a diagnostic test today, he made some obvious errors but overall kept his grade average from the end of last year. Fantastic!! It is the one thing that has "worked" for him, meaning, he "gets" it, and retains it. I'll get off my soap box now. ;) You will need the training, it is worth the time and money, in my book.
  9. Don't define your children by your own ideals!! This has by far been the hardest lesson for me to learn. When my children were little I spent gobs of time and money investing in my ideal homeschooling dream. I had a lot at stake since my husband was opposed to the idea from the beginning. I researched and bought and sold and talked and discussed and read many late nights trying to come up with the best education for my children, and impress my family at the same time. Granted, my first-born was reading at 3, but only through an enormous amount of tears on her part and frustration on mine. School is a constant struggle for her, she does not think concretely. She is the artsy, creative type who enjoys drawing outside the lines. My second-born took 4 years to learn to read with thousands of frustrating hours together. He is the concrete thinker who argues over every nuance in our english language. My third-born is brilliant, but extremely strong-willed and does school on her own terms. All this to say, I wish I had studied my children more instead of studying the materials/methods/metholdogies. They are all different, unique individuals whom I was trying to squeeze into the perfect box that I had created. Celebrate them and enjoy who they are and learn to adapt to them and they will flourish. I am finally figuring that out after 7 years of homeschooling, a lesson learned the very hard way, with years of regret behind me.
  10. Honestly R&S 3 is going to be a challenge for a 2nd grader unless you plan on doing most of it orally, even that will be challenging. I would only do R & S 2 or use a different program. My daughter was 7 when she did 2 and it was a struggle for her and I thought she was above grade level in most areas. Now she is doing R&S5 and it is still hard. It is a very rigorous course so this is one subject that I wouldn't jump ahead on. Other than that I think it looks fantastic! I think the Veritas History looks awesome! I am not familiar with any of the greek, I did Prima Latina for 2nd grade but other than that and the history it looks very similar to what I did with my daughter when she was that age.
  11. You sound like me two years ago. I used OPGTR and it was a total bomb with him. What I used that seemed to help was Spell to Write and Read and finding books that interested him. He responded really well to books like Frog & Toad and some cowboy books. He is now nearly 9 and reading is still not his favorite activity but we do it every day and he is becoming proficient in it....finally. Steady plodding....he will get it. ;)
  12. I would simplify it somehow. Am I correct in that you are doing Tapestry of Grace with Classical House of Learning? I would try not to plan out the next 3 years just yet. See how this year goes, if it works great, if not you may need to change. Life changes so much from year to year, plus you have 6 kids. Are the others all younger?
  13. :iagree: That's what we are doing too! So excited!
  14. 5th Grade Bible-Rod & Staff 5 Math-CLE 4 & 5 Reading-BJU 5 Spelling-Spell to Write and Read English-Rod & Staff 5 Science-Rod & Staff God's Marvelous Works Book 1 History-Rod & Staff North American Homelands & Classical Conversations Latin-Latina Christiana 1 Art-ArtPac 5 Literature-various American History titles Super excited about this year! Can't wait to start!
  15. READ it! I don't care if it's a classic or not, it cultivates the mind and it has stuck with me for over 15 years and shaped how I view circumstances in life. Worth it IMHO! ;)
  16. I have a son who LOVES Pathway readers, the workbooks however are just icky. So if your son loves the readers as much as mine...KEEP them, but drop the workbook.
  17. Just wanted to encourage you. My mother was a MATH teacher who tutored me every night after school. She spent an HOUR each night and I still did not get Algebra. I had to retake Algebra and passed! Don't sweat it!
  18. YES! It's a point of reference that they will use the rest of their lives! Think of all the people they will meet from other states and if they at least know the capital of that state they will have some reference from which to base their geography from.
  19. Yep, here on our Wisconsin farm we have them. Chasing fireflies at night is a common summertime ritual. I love watching my children catch them! They are facsinating bugs!
  20. The sad, sad truth is that my husband and I don't get "alone" time very often. I agree it is a sacrifice but it is one I am willing to take, plus my husband loves the results so he doesn't complain. ;) My husband gets up early too so he isn't keeping me up, we both go to bed by 10-10:30 usually. Routines work best for me too, but i am sometimes late depending on different circumstances.
  21. The only secret is to wake up early. I try to get up by 5 a.m. and get running by 5:15, home at 5:45...shower and ready to feed baby by 6 a.m. I have six children and help on our farm as well as homeschool...it is do-able. ;)
  22. Julie...I feel better now. Our bill was only $515 this month. I guess it is one of the disadvantages of dairy farmers...high electic bills!;)
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