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Kathie in VA

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Everything posted by Kathie in VA

  1. Actually I haven't done too much in this area.... However I do have a neat link that you might like: http://www.livingmath.net/Home/tabid/250/Default.aspx
  2. 1. What grades? Last year I had 3 kids in Foundations (grades 1, 5 and 6). This year I just have the 2nd and 6th graders in Foundations. 2. Did your children enjoy it? My oldest would have preferred more kids her age and gender but overall they all enjoyed it. 3. Did your children learn? Yes they are all learning. I have all my kids prep for their presentations by reading more on the current history sentence or one of the timeline cards. This builds some depth in the areas of interest. Even my 3 year old is reciting some of the history sentences. 4. Did you find it an enjoyable experience? Yes for the most part. It's not perfect but it's working. We are getting lots of memory work done... and zooming thru history. 5. Was there time for your children to make friends at the co-op? Yes... either during lunch or at recess. 6. Do you feel a GREAT education can be had by doing Classical Conversations? Yes 7. Did you use Saxon math? They do Saxon from 7th grade up. I am not partial to Saxon and I wonder if I could just opt out of that part. Has anyone opted out of the math? No we use a different math program but then again it doesn't matter in the Foundations program. We are not doing either the Essentials or Challenge programs. 8. What was the cost for your program? Was it worth it? That's online but this year is was less for me since I also tutored ... this is a paid position so it off set the cost for me. 9. Did this help you stay on track with classical education? Actually it threw me off a bit. I was trying to do a 4 year history cycle but *I* couldn't keep up AND do this course. Either way it's still classical, just a different method. It is doing a great job of getting the basics down for my boys. Classical Conversations offers three programs: Foundations, Essentials, and their Challenge programs. I've only chosen the Foundations program. I have already chosen Classical Writing for our LA, so I don't want to do IEW also... thus I see Essentials as overkill for us. I don't see us going for the Challenge programs either. They just do things different then I had planned. They don't specifically teach history which I think my kids still need. I don't think they specifically teach informal logic and I think they go thru formal logic too quickly ( but I can be wrong here ). I also don't see a specific course on Rhetoric basics, which I do hope to get to study. It's just a different progression then I hope to accomplish... but it's not a bad one. hth
  3. My 11yo ds is has trouble with comprehension questions (like those on standarized tests). So this year I got him 'Reading Detective' ... the 6th grade level. I got the Cd versions so he can do it himself, check it himself, and have fun with it (because it's on the computer). We don't always get to it but I do see how it helps. He reads a selection. The he is asked a question. Sometimes it's a factual question sometimes it's a inference question. After choosing an answer he then needs to highlight the sentence that best proves his answer. The computer offers explanations for all possible answers. The whole programs operates under a game like format where he is a detective rising in rank as he progresses thru the program. hth
  4. I really like picking the curriculum. I make the schedules with full understanding that we may do things in a different order but I need to ensure that they CAN get done in a day/week timeframe. My biggest problem is implementation. We either don't get started on time, or there are 'reasonable' interruptions. These are big like packing to move, unpacking from moving, tending to dh when he had a broken foot, major cleaning for major company, helping to build the deck, etc. Oh and what do you do when you combine kids in a subject like history or science and one kid is sick?? Well both skip it... ug. Then there's the last minute errands that dh needs me to do... and how much to you think the kids get done when Mom runs out? zilch. and now... here's the Flu. yeah!
  5. Can you explain how the setup is different? I find this discussion interesting as these are three of the math texts that I'm considering. (Other one is Lial's since we are using Lial's BCM). I'm very interested in understanding any and all differences between these texts. tia
  6. We are doing Classical Conversations- Foundations so the majority of our memory work is already picked out for us. Some days they just view/listen to the power point CD with most of the memory work on it. Other times we play games like Jepardy or Baseball ... points based on correct recitation of memory work when prompted. Sometimes we just chant what we can remember while cleaning the kitchen. We also have some of it on audio so we listen in the car. It's always a toss up whether to work on the new material or review the past material. Right now I'm doing this with my 11yo ds and 8yo ds but my 3yo dd tends to sing or chant along with us. Oh I also put our Bible verses on a big wipe off poster in their bathroom. And I put a copy of the timeline work in both their and the main bathroom and inside one of the kitchen cabinets(my cheat sheet!... hmm need to do this with Bible also!). They also do some memory work within their own programs. My 11yo ds is doing CW Aesop B so we review those terms weekly. My 8yo ds is doing FLL so that memory work is done just within those lessons. hth
  7. My dd did okay with math but really hated it. We switched to Lial's Basic College Math and she likes it just fine. I like that it covered enough so that I didn't need to worry about any gaps from switching. She likes the color. I love that it has a mastery approach. It also includes review after each chapter in prep for the chapter test. Then there is a cumulative review for chapters 1-current which we also do. It basically goes from about 6th gradet thru pre-algebra. Now I'm not sure what we will use for Algebra. Lials does have an Algebra book that I'm considering...but I'm also considering Jacobs Algebra, Foresters or maybe even Teaching Textbooks. We will probably need to do a separate Geometry course from one of these sources. hth
  8. My dc started this way also. At this point they don't "write a paper" they write their draft. It's a draft till it's called done and then it's a paper. I also tell them that it is my job to help them improve their paper... if I don't find anything to fix (beyond spelling and grammar) then I didn't teach them anything and they didn't learn anything and we all just wasted our time. So they now expect me to ask for changes... that's the point of doing a paper for writing class. Now my ds tends to miss some of my suggestions.... so we now stable all drafts together.. newest on top. This way we can see the development of the draft to paper. The final gets put freely into their binder. hth
  9. Thanks everyone. I'm really not worried about the progression of the CW program. Although, one thing I did notice was that if my dd started in 3rd grade she would be in or past Diogenes by now and I wouldn't have a problem with history at this point. It all boils down to dealing with skills at different levels. I'm just confused on what to do for logic stage history. Doing more narratives is great for writing, but the history papers aren't just for the sake of more writing ... they are also a tool to analyze what you are reading in history. Julie had a good point though, I could have her do comparison charts and then just use that for discussions. hmm, wonder what else... perhaps some venn diagrams, lap books?, comic strips? historic journaling? All neat ideas. I wonder if there is a way to write a narrative that is more appropriate for the dialectic stage then would have been for the grammar stage. Perhaps something like... write two seprate narrations, each describing a different viewpoint of an event, place or person? ( ex Original Jamestown colony/ Second Jamestown colony, Union view of the Civil War/Confederate view of Civil War, etc.)
  10. I'm trying Calculadders this year with all my kiddos. I know I can get worksheets to fill in from many places but these give me a time goal for each page. We keep track of each pages score and time on a graphical chart that they provide. It's a great quick view of their progress... and yep I make them do the same page till they can meet or beat the time. :eek:
  11. When I followed our text and taught division as the opposite of mult. my dd didn't get it. She didn't get WHY she had to suddenly do math backwards! So I told her not to worry about division, it is really only a short cut anyway. All division problems can be done by repeated subtraction. We did it with a few small problems to prove it. (I also related all the problems to a word problem that she understood... something to do with ordering hot wings). I let her go on some problems with the requirement that everything gets written down. It didn't take too long for her to ask me to show her the shorter way. Then I just circled the number of times she subtracted a specific number... and wow just the number we need for the division part! Showing her the relationship between the repeated subtraction and the division is the only thing that made it click for her!! hth
  12. Art of Argument would be my alternative to Fallacy Detective and Teaching Toolbox. hth
  13. I really needed one that dd could do on her own. This is it. I also like that it reviews everything... no gaps.
  14. I haven't seen it yet but it has been promoted by HSLDA. I don't think it covers a full year but you can always supplement.
  15. Now I know there are more CW users here, this board still moves sooo fast! Thanks Beth. You're right, the later levels teach the 'logic' level of writing. Since you just follow what has been taught so far in CW, do you do anything different in your history in the logic stage then what you did in the Grammar stage (other then the level and amount of reading)? Anyone else? So what do you all do for history in the logic stage? What type of papers do you ask for?
  16. worked great for both my boys. We liked it because it was low key and simple... no flash cards or manipulives. We just sat together on the couch and read a lesson. It was quick too, about 10-15 min a day. Although in the beginning I sometimes used a white board. I supplemented with ETC and Bob Books. hth
  17. Does the Gingerbread Man remind you of a Jedi? It did for my 6th gr ds.
  18. My oldest dd is 13yo, in 7th grade. She is working her way thru Homer A this year... slowly as we have a lot going on. She can write a narrative easily. However for history I started to think that since she is in the logic stage now I should have her write papers that compare and contrast something she read or tell why something did or didn't happen instead of a simple narration of what she read. ug. We hit a road block and I just don't know how I didn't see it coming. She says she knows how to narrate but doesn't know how to do a 'report'. So here is my question: do I work with her and show her how to research, take notes, form an outline to the report and write the paper -OR- should my history paper assignments stick to what she has learned in CW for now... meaning she should just keep narrating what she has read about and perhaps add in the descriptive details, dialogue, etc. like we do with CW Homer?? In this case, do you do anything different for "logic stage" history then you did for "grammar stage" history? Perhaps we should just discuss the whys and comparisons and leave the writing for later years? tia
  19. I prefer to teach phonics for reading first. I know you can work both but I prefer to focus on reading.... for us it tends to go faster. I also tend not to require any writing (especially for boys who aren't ready). Phonics for reading is learning that when you see this (& I point to the days phonogram) you say that (& I tell them what sound it makes in todays lesson).... if applicable I'll point out any helpful phonics rules. We use AlphaPhonics which is based on Orton Gillingham research (the basis for WRTR, SWR, etc.). For spelling I just couldn't find what I wanted. So far How to Spell seems to work well. It is also based on Orton Gillingham so the phonograms and rules are similar. Spelling also tends to require writing, so I also prefer to have done some handwriting before beginning spelling.
  20. Yes, I do under use what I have. However sometimes I think that it's a good thing. I think that some subjects may need to be taught in a way that is best for that specific subject to be taught (by you to that dc at this stage in your lives .... ). Take spelling for instance. Sometimes just going over misspelled words is enough. Othertimes you need to do a systematic study (of phonograms/rules or patterns etc) for your dc to learn how to spell. In these cases, a separate program really makes sense. Perhaps its the same for handwriting. You can teach it with tracing and copywork but for some a program is better so they learn how to form each letter. I tend to prefer to do dictation from our spelling program while doing copywork from FLL or CW.... at least until their spelling starts to take off. I keep thinking I should do it daily with our memory work or history but never seem to have the time or want to raise the priority of it to make more time then what arrives with our writing programs. But I also get confused on whether I'm under-using or over-using! For this year I got CW Homer for my 7th grader but I also got Lightening Lit 7 and Vocabulary from Classical Roots A and allowed her to take a creative writing class. LL and VfCR tends to not get done but then again I am getting some vocab and lit. analysis from CW... so perhaps I didn't need the other two??
  21. Sorry for the confusion. I meant to ask about the differences between the two main courses for formal logic: Traditional Logic by Cothran published by Memoria Press and Introductory Logic by Nance & Wilson published by Cannon Press. ITA
  22. I seem to keep going back and forth on which to use. I'm thinking of doing formal logic next year with my rising 8th grade dd and 7th grade ds. We are working on Fallacy Detective now and hope to get and go thru Teaching Toolbox before next year... if not perhaps we'll do it along side each other. I know Informal Logic from Cannon Press has recently been updated/revised so going back to older comparisons might not be accurate. Has anyone been able to compare these two? TIA
  23. I seem to always get out of bed hoping/praying for a good school day... which means little to no discipline or interruptions and lots of work (maybe even our whole schedule?) would get done! .... doesn't happen though. After reading these posts, I think I'll go back to reading aloud first thing in the morning. Now that my youngest is 3 perhaps this will work again. We are currently reading a story that a friend is writing... so we only have so much available at a time. It's fun for all of us. I had been saving it for the afternoons with the idea that the core work should get done first thing and this is the reward. BUT we don't always earn that reward. :o Maybe it's time to put it first in the day. Tell them I will start reading whether they are ready or not :eek: and if they aren't then they'll miss out and can read it on their own later. ;) Thanks for this post, it's been helpful. Oh, wait. One more thing. If I've recently started a new post or am following a recent post, then checking this message board might make me excited to start the day :D
  24. I was just wondering which way most of us tend to homeschool. Do you teach the subject based on what you know or learned (ahead of time) from the curriculum or do you tutor ... ie help your kids understand the material by reading the lesson with them right out of the curriculum and only explain things differently if they need it or if you prefer to do something a different way.
  25. My oldest is now 13 and still struggles with spelling. I've used How to Teach Spelling but eventually realized that it wasn't working with her. I tried Sequential Spelling and she liked it but we were consistant with it so it really wasn't working. I now have her in Apples Daily Spelling. We like it because it is a quick workbook page a day (no waiting on Mom to be done with baby), it does teach phonics and rules, and it includes lots of review. With this I've also increase her writing. She writes a paper for an outside class, a paper & dictation for CW Homer, sometimes a paper for history, and she keeps connected with friends via email. Not all is actually done in a week but there is always writing going on. This actually has helped the most. Oh and I also encourage her to ask me how to spell something (otherwise she would just skip the word). ...Oh and I always spell a word by grouping the letters into syllables and phonograms and sometimes note any spelling rules ... just to remind her.
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