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Killian

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Everything posted by Killian

  1. Michelle, You might try the Ambleside Online Forums. Sage Parnassus is the blog of a lady who leads a Charlotte Mason co-op, and she is one of the moderators at AO Forums. The ladies there are very helpful. ~Killian
  2. I think perhaps I have not been clear. It is absolutely not my intention to combine skill levels. My plans are to combine all 4 children in their study of history only. So the three youngest would listen to the same spines, do modified notebooking, and work on history related art projects, etc. My eldest would be working independently, as she is currently. Each child would have their own level appropriate supplemental history books and readers. It is only in the study of history that they would be combined. The right side of the lesson plans in HOD would have the two youngest in Bigger and Preparing respectively, the two eldest in Rev to Rev...with expansion/modifications for the 9th grader. The left page content of the lesson plans (obviously with modifications to suit their individual abilities) is what I am planning on combining. Having studied the samples online, it seems like it would work to take the skills incorporated in the history and apply them to the modified history schedule. I would be keeping all the skill based aspects of HOD...just transferring them, or overlaying them if you will, onto a different content framework; this would entail taking the left page skills from Bigger and Preparing and modifying them to fit the content of Rev to Rev. The change would affect history only. In all other areas we would continue with the levels specific to each child. I certainly am appreciative of everyone's input. ~Killian
  3. I have. It is the skill content that has drawn me to HOD rather than the history content. Were it not for the skill building in HOD, we would just continue tweaking SCM. But thank you for the suggestion. ~Killian
  4. I have the samples practically memorized at this point. :laughs: The fact that HOD is skill based rather than content based is exactly why I am looking at HOD. I think I'm just looking for verification that it is possible to plug in other history content while keeping all the skill content. As far as continuing with the same history period, I'm beginning to realize that it may be a deal breaker. They already do all other subject areas individually, so I really want to honor their desire to stay together for history. As far as TOG or MFW, I have looked at both, but would most likely opt to stay with SCM and tweak that. We have enjoyed our combo this year tremendously. It is solely HOD's skill inclusion that has captured my interest. Guess I just need to make a decision. Thank you for your input...much appreciated. ~Killian
  5. We've been homeschooling rather eclectically for the past 10 years. We will have a 2nd, 4th, 7th, and 9th grader this coming school year. I find that tracking all of the skill building for the lower grades is becoming more and more tedious. HOD is looking very appealing for that reason. However, for our three youngest the best part of learning is following history together. They love the read alouds, the projects, the timelines, etc. Each would be doing their own age appropriate readers. They spend much of their free time acting out things we are currently learning in history. I am loathe to lose this. In all honesty, I am sure they would balk at having to give that up. So my question is this...is it feasible to keep them together in history (Rev to Rev)...bearing in mind that I have age appropriate reading for each level. Looking at the spines HOD uses, I am confident the youngers would be able to follow along just fine (we have used MOH/SCM this year). We have always tweaked various programs to suit our needs, and I would be fine transferring the skills in Bigger and Preparing history to the readers/read alouds we would substitute. It would only be the basic history we would combine; all other subjects would follow the individual guides. But is this a pie in the sky dream? I so want to use HOD....it is so appealing. But I don't want to order only to find out that it just isn't doable. I certainly appreciate any input. ~Killian
  6. I read this to my daughter, Emily (13), and she was wondering if your daughter might be open to establishing a penpal relationship. ~Killian
  7. When I googled "Praying for Noah", I was directed to a website about a little boy with a brain tumor. If that is the same child, he apparently underwent a successful surgery on Oct. 14th...sounds like he may even have been dismissed from the hospital. ~Killian
  8. Agreeing here with the Pentel Twist-Erase pencils. We've found that we have to go with a mechanical pencil that has a metal stylus. The plastic ones all seem to squeek...drives us crazy! ~Killian
  9. Our 6 and 7 year olds loved the Klutz "Pop Bead People" and "Pop Bead Animals".....kept them entertained for hours. Now, I'm still finding the beads in the car, but they were definitely worth the pick up. We tried a few magnetic games, but they didn't seem to hold their attention for more than 15 minutes or so. Have fun! ~Killian
  10. Our local high school is also set up on a block schedule. The intent being that each semester a full year's curriculum is completed for each 2 term class (90 minute classes). Our eldest will be attending as a freshman this year, and half of his first semester is taken up with those graduation required "fluff" classes. We have intentionally focused on getting those particular credits out of the way so the academic subjects can follow uninterrupted. One of the biggest downsides to block scheduling is the large gaps that can occur in subjects that build upon one another...i.e. maths and foreign languages. Our son's schedule (note that our school only allows 2 terms of P.E. per year): 1st term Oral Communications (grad req) P.E. (freshman req) H. Eng 1 H. Geo 2nd term Technology Applications (grad req) Health (grad and freshman req) H. Eng 1 H. Geo 3rd and 4th terms H. Bio H. Integrated Geo/Alg 2 (they need 3 terms to complete Geo and 3 to complete Alg 2) Modern World History French 1 Again, we decided to get all of the 1 term classes out of the way, so he wouldn't have a gap in his maths and foreign languages down the road. To each his own. I would have preferred the standard school schedule to the block, but one works with what one has. Regards, ~Killian
  11. How about "Pride and Prejudice and the Zombies". I kid you not! My daughter and I nearly fell over when we saw it prominently displayed front and center as we entered our local Borders. : pauses a moment to allow Jane to finish rolling over in her grave: From the back cover, "P&P&Z transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you'd actually want to read." :shakes head: I guess I should take comfort that he allows the original is a classic. Happy reading? ~K
  12. Had to keep our three y/o home for a while after we heard him singing "The Farmer Goes to Hell".....i.e. "The Farmer in the Dell". Never did find out what the farmer was doing in that dell! :lol: Thanks for the laughs...we love mondegreens here. ~K
  13. Thank you so much, Latinteach. While I have usually have no qualms about foreign lang. pronunciation, the looks on the kids' faces is hard to be unaffected by. The eldest remarked on the two youngest's propensity to repeat all things Latin....I do believe they will not be joining us on any shopping trips in the near future! We've had enough strange looks with "ducebat". :laughs: And thanks for the Wheelock's link. I had bookmarked their site previously and promptly forgot what a wonderful resource it is. Appreciate the reminder! Much thanks! ~K
  14. Thank you. I was wondering if you could explain the disparity between Wheelock's pronunciation and what appears in our text. Our text: "A short 'a' is pronounced something like 'u' in 'hut'. A long 'a' is pronounced something like 'ar' is 'far'." Wheelock's: long 'a' as in father", short 'a' as in "Dinah". While the long 'a' appears to be the same, I would not pronounce the short vowels the same way with those two examples. Have we been wrestling with pronunciation that is not the norm here in the U.S.? :treading unfamiliar waters: ~K
  15. I was hoping so...however, our text (Latin Prep) indicates that the "a" in the imperative form is short. The text indicates long vowels with the use of a macron. Unfortunately, the "a" in "fac" does not have a macron. Could it perhaps be a difference between Ecclesiastical and Classical pronunciation? We are following Classical, fwiw. (Although Eccl. is looking better and better!) Thanks, ~K
  16. We've come across a word we are all hesitant to speak outloud..namely, "fac"- first person singular imperative form of "facere". Oh please, oh please, oh please, tell us it isn't what we fear! Many, many thanks. :with fingers crossed: ~Killian
  17. Thanks...yes, that is what I am asking. I do understand that subtracting is adding the negative. I just don't understand why one HAS to change it to addition. Why can't one simply subtract? It doesn't seem as though the formula is being given to make the problem easier to solve. It seems to be being taught as a concrete concept. And there are times when if one works the problem both ways (as a straight subtraction problem and as a reversed sign addition problem) that the answers do not concur with one another. Why? :grins: Oh, for another math class in lieu of all the foreign lang/eng classes I took! Thanks again, ~Killian
  18. Thank you all for taking the time to answer. Susan, we have already worked through the Keys to Algebra...but thank you for the recommendation. :smiles: And thank you, Caroline, Moni, and Kiana for working through various examples. Fractagal, I certainly appreciate your detailed explanation of the whys. I have a very, very faint glimpse of understanding. :chuckles: Yes, this is what I was asking ( the "I know what to do, but why do we do it"). I do understand the application of the formula, but feel like, for lack of a better analogy, that we can speak a language fluently, but haven't the slightest idea what we are saying! It seems to me that the answer should be the same when subtracting polynomials whether one reverses the signs or not...but that is not always the case. Why can't we subtract without reversing them? What makes it necessary to reverse them? I know that "when one subtracts polynomials, one must reverse the signs of the polynomial being subtracted and then add"..that's the formula. But it's like a foreign language to me. If I understand you correctly, it has to do with the distributive property of multiplication over addition. (I'm still a bit murky on what that has to do with subtracting in this case.) But it still makes no sense that one cannot simply subtract. At any rate, I certainly appreciate all your responses. And I will continue digging around, rooting deeper, learning more..about this mysterious world called math. :grins: Thanks again, ~Killian
  19. Okay, so we're working our way through polynomials, with Jacobs, btw. No problems there. The concept of reversing the sign of each term being subtracted is understood. BUT...we have no idea why we are doing it. Any help? I've googled until my eyes are swimming, but am just not finding any explanations. We'd like a bit more info than "just do it, nevermind why". Thank you so very much! ~Killian (a math weary mom)
  20. Tis the season....to watch your purse. CUTE charity idea! :chuckles: ~Killian
  21. Let's see...just made up our grocery list for tomorrow. Cheese: gouda, fontina, parmesan (grana), sliced jarlsberg Pizza dough Pepperoni Whole wheat tortillas Cinnamon raisin bagels Honey Carrots:mini, rainbow Celery Mixed squash Jalapenos Parsnips Onions:red, yellow Potatoes:Yukon, sweet Tomatoes:grape English cucumber Green onions Avocado (if not ripe, guacamole) Mushrooms Plums Kiwi Asian pears Lemon Yogurt:French vanilla, Vanana, Greek Eggs Ricotta Bruschetta:fresh, jarred fresh tortellini Spaghetti Spaghetti sauce Pizza sauce Harvest mix (quinoa/Israeli couscous) Jasmine rice Tongol Olive oil Garlic naan Frozen: grilled chic. strips, gr.beans, peas, broc, mixed veggies, spinach Oatmeal Joe's O's Almonds Vanilla spiced chai Berry granola Poptarts Blue corn chips Dog treats The kids love the Mandarin Orange Chicken, fishsticks, eggplant parmesan, waffles, New York cheesecake, French bread, brie, proscuitto, Applegate Genoa salami, Fig Walks into a Bar, fruit leathers....shoot, the list could go on forever! :chuckles: Enjoy! My parents always make a trip when they visit. Oh, and don't forget to keep an eye out for their Advent calendars end of Oct/ beginning of Nov. ~Killian
  22. Thank you, Karen. I've been following your ToG posts with the avid interest of a near stalker. :grins: I certainly appreciate your response. Our son is just entering the dialectic stage, so I'd really like to give him a few solid tools to use prior to hitting those dialectic discussions. Now I just have to decide what course to take. Thanks again, ~Killian
  23. Our eldest son has difficulty with reading comp. We have tried several reading comp builders, but to no avail. It was my plan to have him work through LL to provide an analytical framework to aid him in tracking while reading. However, now that we have decided to go with ToG, I am wondering if it would create an unreasonable workload to do both. Would this be overkill, or is it realistic to incorporate both? Or...does ToG provide the literary analysis skills that LL seems to? Thanks, ~Killian
  24. Our eldest is finishing up Singapore 6b. He has been concurrently working his way through Keys to Algebra. His understanding and retention of the material in Keys to... has been solid. I had been planning on using Lial's BCM for next year, but am now wondering if perhaps it might not be overkill after KtA. Would you recommend continuing on to Lial's as originally planned, or moving directly into an algebra text? Fyi, I had Foerster's lined up for Algebra I. Thanks, ~Killian
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