Jump to content

Menu

Laura W.

Members
  • Posts

    353
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Laura W.

  1. We're doing Biblioplan Year 2 right now and are really enjoying it. It will definitely incorporate the Biblical/Church history you are looking for. There are not many K-2 readers for the Reformation, but you can use the 3+ or 5+ readers as read-alouds. We used the Martin Luther book by Maier mentioned by another poster; it was very good for the younger set. We're also using several of the Louise Vernon books as read-alouds because most of my dc are still young elementary, and they're enjoying them. The SOTW AG has some good picture book recommendations that I used to flesh out the BP Reformation Unit. I just ordered BP Year 3. It continues with Christian history, using books that focus on the Christian character of key historical figures, missionary biographies, and some historical fiction that shows the beliefs/struggles of different groups of Christians during that time period. I haven't seen BP year 4 yet, but imagine it is similar. Blessings, Laura
  2. The God's Creation series mentioned by another poster is really nice. The author, Michael Carroll, has also written other books, including Dinosaurs! Volcanoes and Earthquakes Lightning and Rainbows Oceans and Rivers Deserts and Jungles I've also found the books by Jean Henri Fabre are written from a creationist viewpoint. However, because they were written before the current debate of young earth/old earth, there is not much emphasis on age of the earth in them. (I recall one sentence). I have Story Book of Science and Animal Life in Field and Garden. They are excellent. You can find a number of other books he wrote on amazon. Blessings, Laura
  3. It sounds fine to me. When they're little, just follow their lead on what they are ready for. My youngest is 3. All I'm doing with him is Before FIAR, age appropriate chores, and lots of free play. Occasionally he listens in with older siblings, but that's his choice. Blessings, Laura
  4. We're using Teaching Textbooks here. My oldest, a 6th grader, has struggled with math since she began school, and placed into TT5. She likes it because she's understanding concepts. We've finally figured out she needs a very incremental, step-by-step program. I have a 3rd grader in TT4, and a 2nd grader about to start TT3. For us, TT has the following advantages: 1. It's independent - I need that with 5 school-aged dc. 2. It's very step-by-step (see above) 3. Some of my dc really like computer-based learning. I've read the comments about TT's "creative labeling" and other things. I'd have to agree - just ignore the labels and do the placement tests. I'd heard someone mention the benefits of having math presented in different ways, so we're going to use a Life of Fred/TT combo as soon as soon as each dc gets to that point. (Dd really liked LOF, but didn't have a good enough foundation to do more than a few lessons. She's looking forward to doing it again). TT doesn't have 180 lessons in each level, so it will be easy to supplement with LOF in the future. Blessings, Laura
  5. Sonlight science presents both theories. It seemed pretty balanced to me when I used it. It's balanced enough that some people complain there's too much creationism, while others complain there's too much evolution. If I'm remembering correctly, science K barely touches on the creation/evolution topic, while science 2 covers it a little more thoroughly. Other (higher) levels of SL science also address this topic. Blessings, Laura
  6. My second ds is a late bloomer. Right after he turned 5, I tried to begin phonics with him (his twin sister had already learned almost all of the letter sounds at that point). We spent 2 weeks with me trying to help him learn 2 letter sounds - nothing stuck. Thankfully, he has an October birthday, so he didn't officially start K until he was almost 6. While he can pay attention to detail (spends hours with blocks, was able to sew more neatly than his 9 yo sister when they did a sewing projects, actually has pretty neat handwriting), he is slower at grasping reading and math concepts. I think it's partly maturity and partly that he's one who needs lots of repetition. I've got him working through the pre-ETC books, and they have the amount of repetition he needs. I'm getting a very incremental math program for him, too. Blessings, Laura
  7. Although I haven't used CLE LTR, I think it would be a good choice. We use CLE Reading 300, and it is really good! I'm moving my younger ones into CLE Reading 100 very soon. I haven't used LTR, because we were already using Explode the Code. It's another good program. We have also enjoyed using Happy Phonics in the past. Blessings, Laura
  8. I've enjoyed using RS4K here. For 1st grade, I would use pre-level 1. You can do as a previous poster said, and do 2 pre-level 1 courses in a year. Or you can stretch out the biology by adding a lot of other things in. I used RS4K pre-level 1 when we did a year of biology (dd was in 2nd, and ds was in 1st that year). We added in a lot of animal studies, and a little bit more about plants. It worked out pretty well. Blessings, Laura
  9. My 6th grade dd started Jump In this spring. It is exactly what she needs - more of the opinion and essay type writing (she does a lot of creative writing on her own and would be happy if I would just let her do that). I like it - it guides the student through the writing process step-by-step. She really hated it at first (writing her opinions about things was "too personal", and other times she couldn't even come up with an idea for the assignment). Now she's doing it with much less struggle and no complaints, which is good progress considering she's only been doing it about 6 weeks. We're definitely going to keep on with it - I hope she'll eventually like it - but...even if she never likes it, she needs to learn those types of writing, and Jump In presents it very well. Blessings, Laura
  10. I really like it. The grammar is excellent, the writing instructions/assignments are adequate for now. Spelling and handwriting - well, we're still getting used to CLE style of doing things. I'll be transitioning my younger dc into CLE language arts over the next couple of years. Blessings, Laura
  11. Sonlight WinterPromise Time4Learning Hope you find what you all need. Blessings, Laura
  12. We're using CLE Reading 3. We follow the CLE schedule. For other reading, we use Biblioplan recommendations and our home library. Blessings, Laura
  13. dd # 1 - Egermeier's book of Bible stories in K. She loved it, so I repeated it again in 1st (when the curriculum I bought for that year didn't work out). dd # 2 - I had a baby and packed for an international move during her K year. I have no recollection of what we used for Bible. When she was in 1st we did Bible Study Guide for All Ages. ds # 1 - Bible Study Guide for All Ages in K; Animal-themed devotional books in 1st twin dd and ds - in K now, just following along with older siblings. We used an inductive Bible study for children, but did it orally. By spending 2-3 days on each story, and asking the "who, what, when, where, why, and how" questions, then drawing a picture, they're really retaining better. In 1st grade they'll be doing CLE Bible 300 (orally), along with older siblings who will be in the 3rd and 4th grades. (I really like CLE Bible 300 and 400; we may try other years later). Blessings, Laura
  14. Thanks to all who posted, I'm looking for any gaps in the plan for my dd next year. This is our plan: Bible: Alpha Omega Bible 7 Lifepacs Language Arts: Lighting Lit 7 (finish), then begin Total Language Plus continue with Jump In! Math: Teaching Textbooks 6 & part of 7 (she's struggled with math since K; goal is to get her through TT pre-algebra by the end of 8th grade) Life of Fred Fractions as a supplement History: Biblioplan Year 3 (America and the World 1600-1850) Science: 1st semester: Considering God's Creation (Astronomy units), Home Science Adventures: Astronomy, Elementary Physical Science 2nd semester: Considering God's Creation (Earth science units), Earth Science supplemental text and labs, co-op classes Latin: Latin for Children A Greek: Hey Andrew! levels 2 and 3 Critical Thinking/Logic/Worldview: Critical Thinking in US History, whodunits, puzzle/riddle books, How to be Your Own Selfish Pig Blessings, Laura
  15. I used Apologia Astronomy with my oldest when she was in second grade. It was too much detail, and some of the projects and activities were too advanced for her. I wouldn't recommend it for a first grader. For young children, I like First Encyclopedia of Space (put out by Usborne) as a spine. It has internet links, which allow you to dig deeper. For additional hands-on for that age, the Magic School Bus kits are great. There is one called Secrets of Space. Another book I like is A Child's Introduction to the Night Sky, but I expect it would work better for a child who's slightly older. It might be useful for digging deeper into some topics, though. Blessings, Laura
  16. I've ordered TT3 and am looking forward to its arrival. My two oldest already use TT. It's good for us - very independent (I need this), incremental with lots of review (some of my kids need this), and computer-based (the one who'll be doing TT3 really enjoys that format). We use CLE for language arts and reading, and are very pleased with it. From the samples I've seen of their math program, it looks just as good. I went with TT because it was the best fit for my 2nd and 6th graders (it didn't matter for my 3rd grader, either one would have worked for her). I just wanted everyone doing the same program so I could reuse it. Blessings, Laura
  17. I'm currently using SOTW with Biblioplan year 2. It has not been a problem to read out of order. Occasionally the introductory paragraph to a segment will reference something we haven't read yet. Usually it says something like, "Do you remember ... ?" then ties it in to the current topic. I skip those few sentences, and just move on into the topic. Blessings, Laura
  18. I have a dc using CLE LA 300, and I haven't used the TM yet. Of course, we're only in the second workbook, so that may change. Blessings, Laura
  19. I do. This last year, especially, has gone really well. I do weekly lesson plans. I put in history, science, and Bible assignments before the year begins (we're very consistent with those). I leave the math and language arts sections blank, because even though we're consistent with it, we sometimes move at a slower or faster pace for a few days or weeks than what I originally planned, and that would throw off the rest of the weekly plans for the year. The whole year. No, I do that on a weekly basis. I buy books and science supplies before the year begins. I've based my plans for the next two years on what my oldest needs to cover before entering high school. They are the things she hasn't covered thoroughly up to this point. The younger ones will cover the same history and science topics as she does. I do a 4-year history rotation, and a looser 3-to-4-year science rotation. Yes I developed my own planning spreadsheet. It helps me to have some planning done for me. For example, I do NOT like planning history from scratch. I use Biblioplan - it's flexible enough for me to tweak, but the main plan is already in place. I transfer those assignments into my master plan sheet. On the other hand, I do plan out our science courses. I haven't found it too difficult to go through the books and activity kits I choose and break them out into weekly assignments. Because I want my children doing math and language arts more independently, we use a lot of workbooks in those subjects. It's pretty easy to plan # pages/day or # lessons/week with that type of curriculum. Blessings, Laura
  20. My third grader this year is doing: Bible - adapted Kay Arthur Bible study for kids Language Arts - CLE Language Arts 3; CLE Reading 3 (she did not need any more phonics instruction) Math - Teaching Textbooks 4 Science - RS4K and several other science books History - Biblioplan year 2 My third grader next year will need phonics. Here is the line-up for him. Bible - CLE Bible 3 Language Arts - ETC, Cheerful Cursive, FLL, CLE Reading 1 and 2 Math - Teaching Textbooks 3/4 Science - Considering God's Creation History - Biblioplan year 3 Blessings, Laura
  21. I use SOTW with 5 children from K through 6th grade. Your plan is definitely doable. For your 3 younger children, definitely use the SOTW AG. Your oldest might do well with the AG's suggestions, or you might find that something like Biblioplan will add that little bit of extra needed. Biblioplan has worked well for us. My 6th grader uses the BP maps and timeline, plus the logic stage history and reading assignments. We use the BP schedule (which includes SOTW) and book recommendations, but all the mapwork, etc. for my younger students comes from the SOTW AG. Blessings, Laura
  22. My 4th grader next year will use: Bible: CLE 3 (will group her with 3rd and 1st grade siblings) Language Arts: finish CLE 3, begin CLE 4 Reading: finish CLE 3, begin CLE 4 Math: finish Teaching Textbooks 4, begin TT5 Science: Considering God's Creation History: Biblioplan year 3 We will be in the US for the spring semester, and will be doing a lot of hands-on things during that time - art classes, museum memberships, zoo membership, field trips. Blessings, Laura
  23. Everyone's in the same time period here. We use Biblioplan - SOTW is our spine. I read SOTW and the K-2 readers to everyone, then the older one reads her other history assignments on her own. Blessings, Laura
  24. It'd likely be a pretty stiff pace to use both MOH 2 & 3. BP covers the Middle Ages the first 15 weeks, then takes 21 weeks to study the Renaissance/Reformation. I use SOTW 2 - it's been great. No Most of the other resources I bought were the readers and read-alouds. I got the Magna Charta book. It was good, plus you can use the 4th section of the book when you study 1600-1850. I didn't get The Church in History - most of my children are younger and I decided to wait until the next time around. Yes. It was very good. I really enjoy using BP with my children. We all read SOTW together, then my oldest reads the logic stage history assignments on her own. We haven't read all the readers and read-alouds, but have enjoyed the ones we did read. If you like the lit suggestions, I would definitely stay with BP. Hope you can find some books used or at the library. You can save a lot of $$ buying the history spines used. Blessings, Laura
  25. We start with combined studies (Bible and History), then my oldest goes off to do her independent work (I give her a weekly sheet). After that I do combined science with my K-3rd graders. They then get a break while I put up the Bible/History/Science things and get out their math and LA. I work with my younger ones on math and LA, then when they're done I try to check back with my oldest. She's pretty independent, but does run into trouble occasionally. One day a week I skip math and LA with my younger ones, and focus on my oldest, doing review and discussion, and working through problem areas with her that day. Blessings, Laura
×
×
  • Create New...