Bee
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Posts posted by Bee
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Calvert has their own board. OM has a yahoo group. Those are the only two specific ones I know of though I'd guess there are others. There is certainly a lot of secular curriculum out there. I know that Sycamore Tree sells secular curriculum as individual items and as packages for grades 1-12 (I get a catalog from them once in a while). OM uses textbooks for their high school courses but doesn't have TMs for them.
My favorite hardcover, school-like textbooks are the reading series put out by Mosdos Press and OM's high school level music course. I like Hakim's History of US but dc can take it or leave it. We do use a lot of workbooks; things like Wordly Wise, Spectrum, and Key to Math series. My children don't really enjoy textbooks all that much so I don't use them for most subjects.
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hits for both were Time Traveler (esp. for younger dd), Maps and Globes, Aesop, and Castle Diary. Older dd also loved Ginger Pye and White Stallions of Lipizza.She also says she liked Good Queen Bess and The Cricket in Times Square. She says she doesn't remember any of the others so "obviously they didn't stand out." I did skip School Story. Mostly because I didn't feel dd needed to read yet another book about children and school and partly because I felt it wasn't a really wonderful book that she really needed to read. I did skip most of the read-alouds for younger dd. She read some of the easier books but simply wouldn't pay attention to the read-alouds. I'll assign the "must-reads" as I feel she is ready for them.
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Currently mandatory vaccines are on hold in NY. I will not get the children vaccinated. My dr's office doesn't have any vaccine available, and when and if they get it my children are way down on the list of eligible recipients. I'm ok with that. Dh isn't eligible for it either and doesn't want it.
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Since they often have them on sale. The music history one we listened to one year worked very well on audio. Though if I were doing an art course I'd probably want dvds. I have a half credit music course that I got from Oak Meadow that is a high school course designed for the student to do independently. It is called the Study of Music and uses the text, "Music: An Appreciation" by Robert Kamien. The text was the most expensive part of the course, followed by the cost of the accomanying cds. The syllabus itself was only $25 (it does not include the answers) but schedules everything out with 18 lessons, each broken down into smaller parts that can be scheduled as desired. None of those are specifically Christian but they are the options I have found that I like best so far so that's what I'm recommending. Of them all, I'd say the Teaching Company lectures would be the easiest for a student who just needs to get the credit but doesn't want to really work at it. Unless you had your student write papers, take tests, or add something to it on your own.
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We felt that being in age-segregated classrooms for 13 years was an artificial environment. We wanted our children to feel comfortable around people of all ages. Academics plays some part in it. Dh would like the children to be academically advanced but the children don't seem to care about that at all. Our school district is a "good" one but it isn't great. Maybe if we could afford a "great" school we would send them there.
Older dd has no interest in ps. She likes working independently and getting her work for the day done early. Younger dd would like to go for social reasons only. I suspect we would be having discussions with her teachers if she ever does go to school.
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Like I said in my other reply, I was raised as a child by my grandparents. My grandmother was an artist. We went to art shows, she brought us books and other things from places she visited, we went to libraries and visited child- friendly places. I lived with my dad when I was a teenager and he didn't really care what my siblings and I did as long as we went to school when we were supposed to, made the meals,helped on the farm, and kept the house reasonably clean (and stayed out of trouble, IYKWIM). If we missed school when we were sick, we would write our own excuse and he would just sign it. We did have a lot of time to be independent and we learned to look after ourselves, which wasn't a terrible thing.
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I took college courses for my degree where at least half the courses were self-study and practical experience. and I loved that. High school was boring. I felt like I wasn't really learning anything new, just reviewing what I had learned in previous grades. As a child, I lived with my grandparents who supplemented our ps education with tons of books,games, and learning "manipulatives" of the Montessori sort.I can remember more of what I learned at home than I can from school. After I had children and was considering their educations I thought about all that and it seemed like hsing was the closest to that practical experience, self study, lots of books, and discussions that we felt might lead to better education. Dh was a "problem" student who got in tons of trouble in school because he was bored. He did well in the classes he was interested in though. I too, was bored in school but I did just well enough to pass with B's mostly. If I'd tried harder I could have done better but there seemed to be little point to it.
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See if you can tolerate all that entails. I 've seen more than 1 new graduate nurse spend 2 or more years in school, graduate, and get a job, only to find out in the first weeks and months that they hated it. Most have quit the profession entirely, others found office jobs and the like instead. If you decide to be a nurse, the money is usually good but the schedule can be very difficult. As the newest hire, you have least seniority. That usually means you work the shifts and days no one else wants. You often have to work the major holidays. Some places mandate employees so be prepared to have to stay a few extra hours or even another whole shift. The work is physically and mentally demanding. Years ago, when I was a teenage nurse aide I thought being a registered nurse would be easy; it's not. Often, you don't have enough nurse aides (and often, not even 1) so you are doing all that sort of work as well as the assessments, dressing changes, passing meds, charting, and calling the doctors too. It is not unusual for me to be at work for anywhere from 30-90 minutes past the end of my shift and to work 8 hours or more without a break.
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You don't have to do it all. My oldest dd has been doing all the readers and readalouds independently since halfway through core 3. But she's a strong, fast reader. I do highly modified cores with my younger dd who doesn't like read-alouds and doesn't like to read quite so much. Older dd is doing core 100, splitting the history over 2 years and doing most of the fiction reading this year. I skipped some books, replacing them with others that I thought she'd like better. I plan to have her do the readers for Core 200 next year. Younger dd is doing core 3 using some of the history reading (I'm skipping Landmark) and reading the readers. We are skipping the read-alouds unless she asks for something to read and then I go through the pile and pick a book I think she might like. There are so many books that I don't think it's the end of the world for most children if they skip some.
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be a bit too easy for 4th graders. However I found the 5th grade book to be even a little advanced for 5th graders- so could I use the 4th grade book with my third grader who has good reading comprehension but prefers to read short selections rather than books? I'd really like to use this particular program and I hate the thought of waiting another year before starting a reading program with dd . Does the workbook require a lot of writing from the student?
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There was a set in my house when I was a child, for my younger brother's use but I loved to play with them even though I was older and already knew my alphabet. When my younger dd struggled with learning the alphabet I used the sandpaper letters for her too.
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was too simple. Older dd,using core 3 for third grade, was reading Hakim's history books too at the same time. But when I needed something for younger dd to use for 3rd grade american history I decided to go with Story of the USA for my history spine because it is so basic that it isn't overwhelming (we also use SOTW). I think it depends on the child. Not every child needs or wants the amount of history that Sonlight tucks into cores 3 and 4. After doing core 3, older dd begged not to do Sonlight the next year. The overwhelming focus on american history burnt her out. Now, with younger dd, I pick and choose the books that I feel she will enjoy and learn the most from now. There will be time later for her to read some of the harder books.
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the teacher's guide had the schedule for each week and the answers. So yes, you would need it to get a decent value out of the program. The workbook pages only have 2 assignments per topic per week. The TM scedules 5 days worth of grammar assignments but the student doesn't use the workbook every day. It's really set up to meet the needs of a variety of learners (visual, auditory, and such). There are no tests or assessments.
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I"d recommend that your child have done some grammar studies prior to using this since it spends a week on each topic and then moves on to a new one without any further review. Oldest dd liked the program but didn't like the Schoolhouse Rocks cds and ended up not using them. I liked the program and plan to use it again with younger dd in the future. Although the program is put out by Sonlight, it was completely secular. It really isn't your typical boring textbook-like grammar program. Dd was in 6th grade when she used it but it could be used by a fifth grader and up through the middle school grades very easily. Even by a high schooler who needed remedial work.
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My district currently takes the attitude that since hsers are unwilling to accept the option of ps in its entirety then we cannot participate in anything that is school sponsored. So right now I'd doubt their motives for asking such questions and take it that they are just looking for ways to lure us into their system. I wouldn't answer the first question and I think I'd call and talk to someone and find out why they were asking before answering any other questions.
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All mixed together. I never saved any hair from their first haircuts though. Maybe it's an ancestral memory/superstition type thing. Then again, we'll probably save any of the puppy's teeth too if we can find them when they fall out.
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Most of the time we are pretty relaxed. And some days we unschool. It depends on what is happening that day. I've generally tended to use methods and materials that suit each child but sometimes it really has been a matter of finding what fits into our daily schedule. I think that dh and I would really prefer it if the children would take more control and initiative in educational decisions and we encourage that to the extent that the children are willing to do it within reason (neither child would willingly choose to do math on their own).
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Not the end of the world but much less comfortable. If I died sudenly they would be financially stable but emotionally I'm pretty sure they would be lost without me. Not that I think that highly of myself. It's just that I know how many of the day to day decisions I make.
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Unless something really important is happening. An inspirational speech from the president (whoever he is) isn't going to motivate my children to do any better at their schoolwork. Frankly, I know my children would only want to watch because it would mean time spent not doing real school work. But we probably won't be home anyway.
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I haven't used it so I can't say how good it is. I'm sure it is secular though since everything else at the high school level is.
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or their list of books used on-line to decide if they use enough of the Great Books to suit you or not. They don't use them in strict chronological order and some of the adaptions they use are written at a somewhat easier reading level but in general I'd say that they cover more Great Books by far than your child would read if they went to public school and maybe even private school. I find that I can read the Great Books as an adult and get things out of them that I never could have as an adult. So, I find myself agreeing with Sonlight's philosophy that the Great Books may be better saved for a time when the person is better prepared to read them. At the same time, I don't always like the choices Sonlight offers (especially the easier books scheduled in the upper cores) and I replace those with selections from WTM book lists. Consider your child/children and what they like to read and what will bore them to tears. My oldest dd loves to read but I'd drive any love of the classics right out of her if I forced her to read most of the books in Omnibus. Just because I'd read them and enjoy discussing them doesn't mean she would. AAt this point she doesn't have enough life experience to get much more out of books than can they tell a good story.
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Oldest at 4 was doing pre-school and workbooks and learning to read. Youngest had no interest at all in anything schoolish until age 6. I never did do pre-school with her. She simply wasn't ready. We did a very simple kindergarten, really what most people would do with a 3 or4 yo and when she was 6 and showed readiness, she picked up reading in just a few months. She learns differently than oldest dd and I have had to change things a little to meet her learning style. (Biggest reason why youngest dd learned to read was so she could play video games and on the computer on her own...she could have cared less about reading books. It is only in the last year or so that she has begun to read books for pleasure.)
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I work 2 8 hour shifts and then 2 12 hour shifts. By the time I've finished that on Monday morning I may be a bit tired and grumpy.(The children would scold me for falling asleep while they were reading.) I try to schedule any work that the children need me there for first and then I can sleep while they finish up doing any independent work. It was most difficult during the years when a child couldn't read. Once they were able to read well enough to follow the directions then it got easier. Even if you are not a big fan of workbooks, they are good for days when you can't be sitting right next to them. So are any books they can read to themselves.
Up until this year I never scheduled any outside activites on my work days.It limited us a bit in the amount of hs activites the children could participate in but the family likes my schedule.
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Hsing 9 years this year since oldest dd was pre-school age when we started. We used BJUP math and flash cards, drug store workbooks and lots of library books the first year. We did a very strict school at home sort of schedule and I was easily frustrated when dd could learn something one day and forget it the next. The next year someone introduced me to Sonlight and we got a computer and I learned about all the different methods of hsing, TWTM, and the Rainbow Resource catalog. Now we are eclectic; we use what fits each child best as much as possible. I've learned a lot more patience. I'm better able to tell when I need to push a child because they are being lazy and when to back off and give them time. I tend toward a CM/ neoclassical/literature/unschooling approach.
SL Users - Help!
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
on the child. Older dd was reading everything to herself halfway through Core 3 except Landmark and the bible readings that we didn't use.Since then, she's done all the reading independently. Younger dd, who doesn't seem to retain much with RA but does when she reads to herself, is doing a modified Core 3 now where I've chosen books she can read to herself. I think that's why I keep going back to SL-it's so adaptable.