tm_burriss
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Posts posted by tm_burriss
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Has anyone done the online courses offered through them? Were they worth the money? Specifically looking at Latin and Logic.
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I'm going with K12's Human Odyssey for history.
I'll be pulling literature ideas form SCM's middle grades Lit and/or AmblesideOnline
Memoria Press Latin (We will be on Second Form for 8th grade)
I'm going through a crisis of homeschooling philosophy, so I'm not even sure what other subjects I will teach next year (other than math) :p
Oh, I keep looking at Janice Campbell's high school program (which starts in 8th grade) for writing and lit.
I am glad I am not the only one reaching a crisis of homeschooling philosophy :0) We are looking at Memoria Press Latin too. He did Latin this year through CC (Henle) and I would like for him to continue in Latin but it is not something I want to teach him. I am considering just going with IEW for writing since that is what my youngers will be doing in Essentials.
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I like Great Books and prefer the 4 year history rotation. I can plan for myself but am not averse to open and go. I prefer lit based, Christian. Science I am ok with secular or Christian ( we will probably stick with Apologia for science as they seem to enjoy it.). Thinking of Anatomy for science next year since that will go along with what my youngers are doing but I am open to suggestions. I would like to get in some computer programming electives.
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Hi all!. My son did Challenge A with Classical Conversations this year and while we liked the program he is not going to do it next year. Now, I am trying to figure out what to put together for him for next year. I need ideas/suggestions for most subjects. We are going to continue with Math U See and Life of Fred for math as that seems to be going well. I am trying to decide whether to go with something like SL or MFW or pull together things from different subjects I am open to anything. I would like to start something that we could continue through high school. I know this is a broad question but I am starting at the bottom right now and open to all suggestions.
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We use the library some but mostly buy. Partly because I like owning the books and partly because I am horrible at turning books back in on time.
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I learned up to 12 x 12. The kids are learning up to 15x15. They are also learning squares to 15 and cubes to 10.
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I am interested in this too as I have been asked to tutor. One of my close friends does this and I know she spends quite a bit of time preparing and timing herself so that she gets everything done during class in the recommended times. She also spends a lot of time preparing to make sure she herself has it memorized before she presents it to the class.
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We are still working through it but this is what we have so far.
Math: MUS Beta/LOF/CC
Grammar/Writing: FLL 2/ WWE 2
History: SOTW/MFW/CC
Reading: AAR2/3, various read alouds
Spanish: Rosetta Stone and conversational Spanish with our neighbor who is from Columbia
Greek w/Dad
Latin: CC
Science: MFW/CC
Art: CC/various projects
Music: Piano and possibly starting trumpet
Geography: CC
We are not set on MFW still trying to decide if I am going to use that or simply flesh out CC a little more and use some Literature set from Memoria or something similar.
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This was our first year of CC and we did Foundations and Essentials. Next year we will do F/E/ and Challenge. My oldest was 12 and my youngest 6 also so we did a year of Foundations/Essentials with my oldest before moving him Challenge. It can be a stand alone/spine if you are willing to flesh out the history and such. Challenge is stand alone. We also use Life of Fred, MM, AAR/AAS, SOTW, GD Handwriting, and other random items with it. Next year I am thinking of doing MFW with CC simply because I am wanting to add more literature and I am not good at fleshing out the history sentences. The website Half a Hundred Acre wood has some good information on CC. The history is just a history sentence like "Taxes, Slavery, unemployment and diseases all lead to the fall of Rome" you would have to supplement with stories and such to explain that. We simply read passages from SOTW and did some activities or watch a video about the time period. There are a few places that you can buy notebooking/journaling pages for the history and you can also use ambelside online to find books that fit the time period. You meet once a week with the tutors (kids grouped by age), they will go over all the memory work for that week and also do a science experiment and an art/music project with the kids. You then spend the rest of the week reviewing/learning the memory work and fleshing it out if you use CC for your spine. HTH.
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tell me more, my son doesn't write very well
It basically gives you a formula for each assignment and a checklist of what to put into that assignment. My reluctant writer liked that he knew exactly what he had to include in his writing. We saw a definite improvement in his writing using it.
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I agree that with older kids I would start with Level 2. We do at least one lesson a day sometimes two so we could do two Levels in one year. We don't really watch years though. I just finish a level and move to the next.
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We didn't really have any misses but there are some things I am going to change out and do a little differently.
Math Mammoth - We liked this but my kids are requesting one where they can watch a video and do their work so we are going to try Math U See along with MM and Life of Fred. Also my oldest is entering 7th so he has to move to something else anyway.
Story of the World. We like this but I almost feel like it is too simplistic for the age of my kids. Some of that is my fault for not expanding on things more.
First Language Lessons - Loved and will use again next year.
Writing With Ease - Loved and will use again next year.
Classical Conversations - Foundations- My kids really enjoyed this and we will do it again next year.
IEW - We didn't love it but it is very effective and even my reluctant writer was turning in better work.
Essentials of the English Language - I really like this as a grammar program. It is very thorough and being the English geek that I am, I love the diagramming and proofreading.
All About Reading/All About Spelling - We are happy with these and will use them again next year.
My oldest will start Challenge next year so a lot of things will change up for him. I am going to do My Father's World with my younger two. I am one of those that I think will feel more relaxed if I have a check off list to do everyday without having to plan it myself. We are also going to add in Spanish as my neighbor is from Columbia and has offered to teach my kids.
All in all, for our first year of homeschooling, I am happy with how the year went and looking forward to next year.
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We finish everything. I am not teaching to public school standards but to my own standards.
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I emailed and got this response (very quickly, I might add!)
Alfred’s Basic Prep Course was designed mainly for students who begin piano study at around 5-6 years old, and it presents the elementary concepts of the piano at a slower pace thanAlfred’s Basic Piano Course (7-10 year old beginners). The basic books you’ll want are the Lesson Book, the Solo Book, and the Theory Book. There are additional supplemental books that are excellent, but these 3 are the best as a foundation.
My kids do Alfreds and they use 3 books: Lesson, Technic, and Theory.
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I said MM but we actually use MUS, MM, and LOF.
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If you haven't done it yet, call around to your local churches. Many of the pianists there are willing to give lessons but don't advertise as they only do it on the side.
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We are using All About Reading and All About Spelling this year and I am happy with it.
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We are currently using Math Mammoth and I like it; however, my oldest is entering 7th grade and my younger has asked to use a more video/computer based curriculum. Any suggestions. My oldest enjoys math and is good at it. My younger one is competent at math but has to work a little harder. I also have a 1st grader who seems to be picking up math concepts quickly. He finished MM 1 in 6 months. Any suggestions? I am good at math but not a mathy person. I can do it and have been through Calculus but I don't enjoy it. We also do Classical Conversations and they recommend Saxon but I am not sold on it. We do LOF for fun.
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Yes, of course. I don't consider the cost unfair. :coolgleamA: As I am really evaluating my goals in joining CC and after having some lovely WTM forum discussions I am realizing two things. I have my OWN set of goals and I think that CC will hinder my progress with those; the goals I have for the kids are non-negotiable and I believe that in order for CC to work and be worth the cost we have to devote more time/energy than I initially realized. Second, memory work is one of the draws for me but when I break down the actual cost I'm not excited about spending that much. I also realized that my little ones will be "alone" in their classes as I can only be in each child's group once every four weeks.
I don't know. I guess that I am finally understanding what they'll be doing in CC and I realize I don't need it and I'm not willing to give up my previously determined goals.
I also have to give up my "free day" each week in order to do CC. As I truly count the cost for my family this is turning out to be a deal breaker. We need that free day and my physical health requires it :coolgleamA: . Must have time to grocery shop and take care of music lessons without spilling into the late nights or weekends.
Sigh and shrug. Oh well. I'm so grateful for this forum and the opportunity to toss around ideas and perspectives and experiences.
That has been my one complaint, giving up a day a week. I rotate among all three of my kids classes every week and the tutors all stagger when they do presentations so I get to see each of them do those. I do understand what you mean though. It's definitely not a fit for everyone and I don't know that my kids will do it through high school. We are fairly new homeschoolers so it made our first year a little more structured and made me feel less stressed LOL. My only ultimate goal is to make sure we survive homeschooling and know how to read and write at this point :tongue_smilie:
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We have been happy CCer's for 6 years. I've tutored Foundations, Essentials, challenge A, and Challenge B. My oldest ds is currently in Ch. A and my youngest ds is in Foundations and Essentials. The Foundations program provides skeletal material/lesson plans and the parents get to decide what to do with it. IMO, that is part of the beauty of the program! Parents with young kids may choose to soak up what they can in class and enjoy some of the memory work songs and that is it. This is a-okay! They will then likely be able to focus on reading skills and hands-on learning. Some families frame all that they do around CC. This, too, is a good option for many because it provides a good giude for things to cover across many subjects. Other families (like us!) use CC as their source of memory work and do their own thing at home.
Foundations definitely does not have to take over your homeschool! The day after our CC classes, we usually take approx. 30 min. on our memory work. This day takes a little longer for us because we always read through the history highlights (extra info about the history sentence that you can get on the C3 Community). We also read something from our science encyclopedia to provide a little context for the science fact. We only spend about 15 - 20 minutes on memory work on the other days of the week. The rest of our homeschool is centered on what I feel is best for my kids!
It is definitely beneficial if you truly try to work on the Essentials assignments at home. It is quite different than Foundations. But, even in Essentials, the parent decides how deeply they will delve into the material. Essentials is intended to be a three year program, and each year the child should work at a more advanced level. I highly recommend that you take a look at the guide so you can gain a better understanding of how the program is structured.
CC has been a HUGE blessing to our family because my kids have gained a strong foundation of basic facts in many subjects. We would never have endeavored to memorize as much as we do in Classical Conversations! My kids have memorized a historical timeline of 160 events, math facts thru 15x15, English grammar info, science facts, and much more. When we encounter things in our reading or in everyday life that we've learned in CC, connections are always made and an opportunity for deeper learning is usually easier because they are already familiar (or partly familiar) with he grammar of the topic. CC has also been a wonderful source of friendships and support from like-minded homeschoolers.
Well, I've rambled on enough! Don't be overwhelmed by the memory work! Free yourself to use all that fits nicely into your homeschool, and enjoy the brief exposure to information that you think may be too much for the current season you're in. You really will be able to stay in control of your homeschool and be in CC at the same time. The intention of the program is to be a tool for parents that can used to provide a classical education for their children at home. :)
Totally off topic but I have a question. My oldest moves to Challenge A next year but I am not a fan of Saxon math. That approach just doesn't work well for us. Does it create a big conflict to be doing a different math curriculum than Saxon? I am looking at TT or MUS or any other suggestions. We prefer more of a mastery approach.
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I know this is an old post but I wanted to respond. Saxon is the math they use in Challenge but you don't have to use it. The difference will be that when they are doing the math seminar your child will simply be listening rather than working through some of his work.
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Thanks for sharing. I figured out the approximate cost for our family for Foundations only and it is more than $80 each week..... Off to read your blog post.
Keep in mind that your fees cover the cost of paying the tutors (they spend a lot of time preparing), the building and all the materials for the science experiments and art projects. It can get pricey though. Especially when you get in the Challenge Levels.
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Maybe this is a spin off, but I have just never understood the "accountability" factor that is often referred to when discussing CC. It just never made sense to me.
I mention accountability because I knew my kids would be reviewing in class and I knew they would need to be prepared for that and for presentations. It kind of gave me a track to follow and it gave them a little bit of healthy peer pressure to learn the material. I tend to chase rabbits a lot in school so this helped me to focus a little more especially when I added in the fact that it would be obvious if my kids hadn't worked on their memory work at all.
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We do geography daily and I also have blackline maps that my kids trace a few times a week and label in the places they know. We are working on drawing and labeling the entire world by hand along with capitals and major land forms such as mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans, etc. They enjoy it and it helps them understand historical events and even some science better.
8th grade curriculum ideas. All subjects.
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
I think we are going to focus on American History for next year as he hasn't done that one since we started homeschooling and it is what my younger ones will be doing. I do need to make a high school plan and work backwards. My issue is that we are military so I have no clue which state we are even going to be in when he "graduates" so I am going to have to go with very general requirements.