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KellyMama

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Everything posted by KellyMama

  1. Definitely don't use EG Plus. I didn't like it at all. My favorite book is actually EG 5 - I found it to cover the most material and we felt EG 6 was mostly review. We move onto the Growing with Grammar books after EG 5. Since your student hasn't taken either course I think you could do either EG 5 or EG 6 and be fine. :)
  2. I was thinking it might be fun to do a year of Latin with my 6th and 8th graders next year. Looking for something light and fun but thorough and possibly something we could continue with if my 6th grader enjoys it? They both have 3 years of French but no previous Latin (unless you count the Building Language MCT book ;) )
  3. We will be wrapping up Singapore (standards ed) with my DS early fall and I'm trying to come up with a game plan for what to do next - he is a rising 6th grader. His older sisters have thrived with CLE and our eldest transitioned with no difficulty to Lial's Algebra this year. He is definitely more mathematically inclined which is why we switched him to Singapore in 4th grade after a frustrating semester where he felt like he wasn't learning anything in his Abeka math. I'm wondering if it's a horrible idea to have him move into 700 CLE series and work it alongside his FAN math Problem Solving books to get the best of both worlds (ie a solid, basic pre-algebra that I know I can teach AND a problem solving side for the way his brain works). I know many people transition to AoPS but that just does NOT look like something I can teach. Singapore has been amazing but it has stretched me - to say the least! I took math all the way through AP Cal back in HS but that feels like 200 years ago and I'm definitely more of a "basic math" person vs a puzzle out the solution person. I figured he will move through the 700-800 books quickly and still hit algebra by 8th grade since he's only entering 6th in the fall. Pros or cons or other ideas I'm not considering? I've looked at online options but most of them are cost and time prohibitive for us right now.
  4. I can't believe I'm so late to this party! I just started researching options in earnest a few weeks ago. The WHA class seems like a perfect fit for us. I guess we will try to get on a waiting list! I'm not sure we are confident enough to use Jurgensen text with just the Duke TIP materials (which is a shame because they are so affordable!). I'm just not confident at all in geometry due to a horrible text/teacher combo in 9th grade, although I somehow went on to succeed in AP Calculus later in HS! My DH isn't strong in Geometry either, despite having all sorts of computer science and business creds. However, my DD looooves geometry so I'm praying her enthusiasm won't be dampened if we can't do WHA. I really think if we can't do it, I'll have to go with Derek Owens - unless anyone has other thoughts? ETA It seems we were able to register - hopefully I won't get a wait-list email! ;) Anyone know how it works if the class is already full (ie do they let you register and automatically wait-list you or somehow let you know)?
  5. We found ourselves in a similiar boat this year with my oldest as a freshman but still finishing her first go through the 4-year cycle. I debated keeping them together vs having her move onto a different curriculum for HS. It made my brain hurt trying to come up with something for her to do as Modern while I read SOTW for the others. We opted to have her sit in for our readings and map skills, but she wasn't required to do any of the additional activities or books or readings we did with the other 2 kids. She is taking a World History class at our co-op that covers all 4 years of the cycle in an overview style, so I still felt like it would work to have her complete SOTW book 4 with us. Her main coursework for HS credit is the work she does for the class, but I love having her listen to the readings and she was happy with that arrangement too. Best of both worlds for us.
  6. Our Apologia notebooking journals had something similar but they were to guide the students through the specific experiments in that curriculum. Also I think I found some on the Donna Young website one time. :) (ETA this: http://donnayoung.org/science/labsheets.htm )
  7. Orally here too. 2 years ago, DH sat down with the kids each weekend - he would read aloud a chapter (which the kids had previously read) and then they would all discuss and debate the questions together. It was a fun year. We will cover Thinking Toolbox the same way this Spring/Summer.
  8. We transitioned our now 9th grader from CLE 800 to Lial's Algebra this year and by her own admission it's been a smooth transition. I definitely don't think 800 was a review of 700 - far more in depth. Actually, DD1 said she credits CLE for making Algebra seem 'easy' initially. She isn't a math enthusiast, so for her this is high praise! ;) We will likely use 800 again next year for DD2 next year. DS is doing Singapore now and will follow a different math progression but for our girls, CLE has been a fantastic fit.
  9. Haha! I guess I missed that recommendation when I was browsing on the IEW website! At least I know I'm not totally out there in not being able to find the information in my teacher book! I actually reached the same conclusion you did this morning - I will have to use her book for her lessons either before or (in today's case lol) during! ;) Thanks! And FWIW, I'm thinking the engineering degree is one of the reasons you 'problem solved' this issue by reading ahead and taking notes! It's how my DH's mind would also work! :D
  10. Anyone who has taught IEW - EE to their student care to weigh in for me or share what worked for you as you reviewed the material? :)
  11. I've read through the program and love it. My daughter has the student book and I have the teacher book - the part I cannot figure out for the life of me is how I'm supposed to give the "mini-lectures" they suggest in the teacher book?? My book has NONE of that information. I've assigned my dd to read chapter 2 for tomorrow. In my book it says I'm supposed to go over the 3 types of essays and the purpose for those essays. Ok, not a problem, I have a writing degree, however, she is supposed to take notes and I'm assuming there is some standard information I'm supposed to present her with to that end - right? Nope - can't find it. Am I just losing my marbles? It is the first day back to school here so maybe so?? lol
  12. I'm trying to find something similar to L'art de Lire but minus the expense of having to print all the work texts (or ship internationally). Also, there have been so many errors in our books that for a parent who doesn't speak the language I find it very frustrating to grade. I catch most of it because I've paid attention and I did take Italian and Spanish in college, so I know somewhat how to conjugate verbs etc, but it's quite frustrating. The problem is - my kids all love it!!! I am torn between taking our time and completing all 6 units before declaring it a French I credit for my 9th grader (she is beginning Level 4 in the fall so I'm not sure it's reasonable to think she will complete it this year?) or replacing it with something like French Essentials that offers a more traditional scope/sequence (and hopefully fewer errors). If I do that, I've thought about supplementing the 'fun' side of it with the FrenchSmart workbooks to keep it enjoyable for my 5th gr ds. Has anyone used either of these programs? Thoughts? :D
  13. We did the Studies Weekly papers with my 4th grade ds last year and he LOVED them! Very light and fun way to add in some state history for 4th (we were doing SOTW and I just wanted a quick/painless way to add in state history). I really thought I saw they had a set of papers on virtues or civics but I can't find it anywhere on the website - which is difficult enough to navigate! ;) Am I imagining it or does anyone have a link to these?
  14. LL = Lightning Lit ;) We are planning to do LL7 + IEW Narnia for my 7th (I let her pick the theme) - if she finishes it, I ordered an extra student manual for Elegant Essay and we will move into that with her whenever she's ready. She's completed IEW - SWI B as well as most of Jump In! and WWW5 as well as a couple of mom-led research papers, book reports, and a year of history narrations. She is definitely more structured in her writing than my 9th grader but that's also partially because my 9th grader didn't learn to write *at all* in school and we brought her home in 6th (we've been playing catch-up ever since!) ;) My guess is that my 7th grader will be ready for EiL by 9th so that will make it a little easier to plan out English 9 for her lol!! GL with your plans! :)
  15. Haha I did find several by her! Amazing wealth of info! I will go and search specifically . . . ;)
  16. My 7th grade dd finished SWI-B + Figuratively Speaking in 6th, and has also worked through most of Jump In! Now I'm at a bit of a loss for what to do with her in 7th? I initially thought I'd have her and my 5th grade ds work through IEW SICC-B but I'm not sure he is ready for that (he did SWI-B with his sisters and mostly kept up with few modifications from level A to supplement). I was thinking he might benefit from a slower pace and we might enjoy doing ATFF together. So then I wondered if I could bump my 7th grader up to work with my freshman dd who needs another year of dedicated writing instruction. I'm thinking of doing a semester each on EE and WttW - would that be too much for a 7th grader? I've looked at the programs online but it's difficult to tell, really, so if anyone has experiences to share, that would be great! :)
  17. In my pp I was on the fence about a writing/lit programs but I've done a little more research now, so I wondered if I could get opinions on this plan . . . In reading some of the threads on WttW it seems it would make a good one semester writing course. Would it be redundant to do Windows (first semester) and Elegant Essay (second semester) - it seems one focuses more on essay construction and the other focuses more on writing a literary criticism essay? I figured those two courses will meet my dd's need for dedicated writing instruction, then we can use the LL8 course for Lit (because she likes the books) but not worry about how light it is in the composition department ;) If we do this, I'm thinking next year she would be ready for something more consolidated like Excellence in Literature for 10th which is my goal, but I don't feel she is ready to tackle that yet. Would this make a solid English 9 credit? Easy Grammar 9 + IEW (Windows + EE) + LL8 + Sadlier Vocab
  18. Thanks, Sebastian! :) Yes, I've loosely planned her 4 years for History - I was planning to cover the last half of the book (not in front of me now) because it will tie in with the vol 4 study for SOTW. I think it's a good chunk and not too overwhelming. We have this Glencoe book and I planned to use WTM to help me add in additional reading resources. For transcripts, I thought I'd call it "World History - Modern Era 1700-Present" or something like that (or I might be less detailed and just call it World History)? The next year I thought we might do European History (10th), then American History (11th) and finish with US Government and Economics in 12th (which loosely follows my own HS trajectory). I've read through many of the threads above but I think I need to do it again now that I'm pinpointing specific issues in my planning. I'm perpetually trying to walk the tightrope between "not enough for credit" and so much work she's drowning in it! ;)
  19. Thanks, that's the conclusion I'm reaching also! ;) Now to figure out how to do that giant textbook in any shape or form! :scared: lol
  20. Thanks, Debbie! That does help. I think if EIL is a big jump from LL8 then we may be better off going with a year of LL8 + IEW and making the jump to EIL when I'm not trying to do more writing instruction. By 10th she should have enough of a handle on things to be able to tackle EIL and make a better transition. I did like the look of the literature in LL8 and felt it was fine for HS credit but yes, LL is definitely light on composition which actually is one of the reasons it's on my list because I want to spend our comp time on IEW instruction. Thanks for sharing your experience! :)
  21. Also looked at Windows to the World today - I bookmarked it ages ago and forgot about it. If I did WttW would that be too much alongside IEW SICC? Anyone . . . :willy_nilly:
  22. I want to use either IEW-SICC (we finished SWI-B this last semester) or Elegant Essay (or both if we can get to it). Last year we did LL7 as my then 8th grader needed a gentle intro to literature study. We found it worked well with the IEW-SWIB course without being too much writing (just enough if we selected the shorter assignments in LL). This fall I want to be sure I have enough for a Lit/Comp credit but I don't want to overwhelm her with too much writing - she still needs some dedicated writing instruction as we only started HSing in 6th grade and it took us a year to figure out where the "holes" were in coming home from traditional school. If you've used Excellence in Literature, do you think it would be a more challening option than LL8? I don't mind challenging her and she is an excellent reader, so the book selection for either one is fine. I just want to be sure we won't be overloading her. I'm finding it difficult to compare the programs online. Also, is it even ok to have LL8 for high-school credit along with EG9, Sadlier vocab, and IEW? Is that solid enough for a credit - too much? I am stradling the fence on wanting her to be well-prepared for writing ramping up in the future but not wanting it to be a horrible year with too much on her plate. Thoughts?
  23. My dd has finished L'Art de Lire 1-3 and we find it works very well for her (and I like that we are using it with all the kids - but that's just a bonus, really). Is there a reason that I couldn't have her complete 4-5 for a French I credit this year? I have a French (native-speaking) tutor lined up and she will provide whatever we specify during the week to supplement - I was thinking maybe 30 minutes of conversational French along the lines of whatever topics we're covering that week in L'Art de Lire and maybe working together on some written output to accompany it (that she can grade) - for an hour of tutoring each week. Is that sufficient? If it IS sufficient, what would we do next year for French II? If it isn't enough, where do we go from here for a FL credit hour given all of the French I books I've looked at seem to be "starting over" and she's already covered a good amount of material. :confused1:
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