capecarnation
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Posts posted by capecarnation
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Correct. Everybody is busy. I am not interested in explaining my position, nor does it matter to me that you think my OP was vague. Others didn't. Just because you don't agree that my OP was clear enough, or otherwise worthy of your time, doesn't mean I am wasting the time of others. I think too often people, especially when their post counts swell, automatically think they speak for the majority when that simply isn't the case.But other people have time to post responses to vague questions when specific information is provided often and recently? Every year, there's usually curriculum threads for every grade level. There's also worked/didn't work threads every year. With a quick scan, you can see what posters liked and didn't like and more importantly, the whys.
I mean this politely, but searching the boards is a great use of your time. No one curriculum suits every child and every parent best. At different ages, a child can have changing needs. Many parents have used different curriculum for each child, because another approach ends up working best. To ask such an overly broad question (THE classical curriculum), but expect specific answers seems unreasonable.
Everyone on these boards is busy: working, teaching, living. They offer their assistance out of generosity. If posters are saying the question is too broad and can't be answered, it might be a good idea to listen if you really want assistance.
Getting to know other posters, their children, and their history helps shape what I can glean out of the forum. Personally, I have posters that I go to when I'm looking to re-shape my teaching style or select curriculum. Certain ones I read for writing, some for science, others for middle/high school general guidelines.
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I think people read way too much into my OP. Have a little fun, people, stop taking yourselves so seriously or worrying about things out of your control. To those who decided to take the time to post your favorite resources and titles, I thank you! :)
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"...sometimes people seem to take those discussions as judgment..." Groan...
Some of my old posts keep resurfacing years after I've written them. Every time one does, I reread it with my teeth clenched, waiting to see if I still agree with my old self. They always seem to be the generality ones, too. Figures. So far, I've lucked out and I still agreed with what I said, but it is scary.
Thanks. : )
Nan
What I find interesting is that we can look at post we've written years earlier, and know, instantly, that it was something we wrote. Each of us definitely has own our own 'voice'.
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There is a great deal of irony in this statement.
Not everyone has the time to search the forums, if that's what you're getting at. On top of that some just enjoy fresh conversation or might feel that older information is 'outdated'.
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I don't know what happened to my post. I thought I hit send :( The reason, or reasons, I asked for others lists of they think would be THE classical curriculum for their classroom is that we are somewhat teaching our son using the classical education model --- as we interpret it to be --- and I wanted to see what others thought. Also, I just happen to like lists and reading others'opinions of what they are teaching (not looking to debate what is the best and what isn't). Who knows, maybe other classical education homeschoolers will see mention of something have never heard of? Maybe there are homeschoolers reading this and wondering what this classical education is all about? Someone mentioned earlier The Well Trained Mind book...ye, we do have that book and I believe I saw Susan at the GHC in Cincinnati :) When I have more time I will go back through this thread nd look into all of the sources suggested. Parents, please do not EVER think that what you have to say about resources isn't going to if value. It may not help today, but people do search the forums.
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OKBUD, I only asked for one thing in this thread. In my opinion it wasn't necessary to explain my what I planned to do with the data, nor was it necessary to state that I am a homeschool parent. I did not feel it was a vague question, and I feel everyone's input was valuable which. It was a question I felt would get more input if left as is.
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I am well aware that the posts here are created by humans and that I am not getting my information from a search engine. Having said that it very much is posdible to glean details about parent's teaching method, or the learning style of the student, from such a list. Just ask Google about this sort of thing. Again, my educational background is in information mining and using certain methods to that end. If one is curious as to whether I homeschool they can look at my posting history for more details.
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Heartlikealion, please know that you are not alone. My wife and I are both not the most sociable people. She gets along great with others, but guards her heart to a fault. She does not express herself well, at all, without being pressed to do so. Some of her most beautiful moments, where she has reeally opened up, has been in the middle of a heated argument. Trust me when I say that is my idea of alone time with my wife ;) She acknowledges this about herself, and while she hasn't really changed that about herself she does work to make sure that our son knows he will always have someone to share his thoughts with.Finishing our Kindergarten year. Ds will be 6 soon. I knew we might have another child (I'm expecting now, actually) and that did add perks to a couple of formats I chose (downloaded PDFs, can print for future) but I don't think it really influenced the actual curriculum choice much. For example, we chose Math Mammoth and if we had bought the printed book it would be in black and white. We got the PDF which uses up color ink but I think I like this way better. I figure if he messes up a page or we need to review we can reprint select pages regardless of whether or not I reuse the whole set.
I find it a struggle because while many other families have a child playmate for their child I do not. He's an extrovert and I'm an introvert so in order for one of us to gain our energy, the other suffers sometimes. He doesn't have local friends. We go out of our way (literally. And I don't like driving much) to arrange social time. I am hoping we continue to build our social circle, though. I feel like homeschooling chose us. Public schools aren't performing well. Private schools are out of town, expensive, etc. We moved here due to dh's job and since I didn't have a job lined up when we got here there was nothing stopping me.
This is a struggle as well... especially lately!! My son protests so much and has no idea what it would be like in a brick and mortar school as he's never been. If he would be more receptive to the idea of let's just start and get it done we could finish school so fast!
I am not as withdrawn, but I am really, really difficult to get out of the house. I have social anxiety so I well literally go sit in the bathroom for 15 minutes out of fear that I will "have to go" when away from the house, lol. When we walk into a restaurant or into the mall it has to be amusing watching us try to hold the door open for one another. I liken myself to Barney, the nervous fidgety type who wants to help the world but can't get out of my own way.
Our son? Thank. God. While he is pretty much a carbon copy of me, in interests, temperment and personality he shocks us everytime we go out in public with how outgoing and personable he is. I guess it helps that he is very cute so the girls tend to go into a trance in his presence (okay.. he would be mortified if he read that) :)
We, too, feel very alone in this process and I can not tell how many times I have expresssed lament over his having very few friends (one he spends the night with and the kids he sees at church), so while we don't always make the most of our homeschooling opportunities a conversation with my wife usually goes along the lines of "let's make sure we are providing our son with this, this and that .... and doing this, this and that because he sure isn't getting much social interactivity" :( We, too, live in an area where there are very few people homeschooling and to find others like us we would have to drive an hour or more.
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k8c you are always welcome to chat with my wife and I. We're probably a bit older than you, but we're kids, too ;)I am homeschooling an only DD who is almost 6 (at the end of this month). We are starting "year 2" in the fall, as we are currently doing 1st grade math and other subjects (2nd next year), and will be jumping to some 3rd grade reading comprehension/literature things for next fall. This is one of the reasons we have chosen to homeschool - as we got to know her, we (I) became skeptical as to the appropriate academic level the local public school could provide. She is also VERY busy and active, and while she does not have ADD/ADHD (we had her tested), she does tend to get into trouble when bored.
So far the greatest challenge has been actually sitting down and doing schoolwork. This year was very tough, as my husband traveled almost 80% of the time, and the combination of both DD and myself adjusting to that, and her adjusting to a more serious attitude we took toward school because it "counts," meant that we had a bunch of meltdowns and had to seriously change what we did and were mostly "unschoolers." However, over the past month or so we have done a much better job following our schedule and getting work done. It has helped that DH has also not had to travel much at all.
I only know a few other homeschoolers IRL and they all have 4-5 children, so we chose differently in that I just have to focus on my one DD. Most of them tend to choose complete curriculum like SonLight or My Father's World because it is easy to combine the various ages, and while I looked at those programs and liked the idea of them, because DD is more advanced and asynchronous, it has been better to pick and chose from different options.
I totally agree that it seems lonely homeschooling an only child. I really wish we knew more near us, or even had a "friend" online that I can chat with when I need to!
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Another father of one here :) My wife and I have been homeschooling our soon-to-be 8 year old son since he was four years old.
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No, I am curious as to the responses. It really is interesting to me what each person lists as their favorite lineup of books/materials. If one looks closely enough bits of information about both the teaching and learning styles of teacher and student can be gleaned. I have a background in information mining, if that means anything ;)
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She wasn't being impolite, she was stating a fact. The op needs to do more background reading if she wants the conversation she asked for. From further clarifications, the conversation she asked for isn't the one she wanted, which only proves the point. If everyone politely refrained from telling her there is no such thing as THE classical ed curriculum, she'd be left wondering why we're such idiots who can't answer a simple question and would never learn it *isn't* a simple question. If she's going to post here, she needs big girl panties enough to cope with playing with the "big kids" (whoever she decides the "big kids" are.) This isn't rudeness. This is fact and a fact that will open her mind to more possibilities than she ever imagined and make the education of her children a far richer experience than she could think of the first time she logged on here. It's not rude to tell a newbie this because *everyone here* has had that same experience. Even Susan herself learns from this forum! While it might not look it on the surface, people are being welcoming and kind by telling her why her question is not the right question and what to do about it. The OP might be offended and go off in a huff. She might be offended and read the links anyway. She might not be offended. She might read the links and yell at her husband in frustration that nobody told her this stuff sooner. That's her business. Bringing her up to speed in the conversation is very polite, especially when one considers how often the old timers do it. They could have got bored and not bothered. And in only a few posts, she has clarified her question a bit, so she's already getting closer to what she wants.
Welcome to the forum, OP. :seeya:
What conversation are you talking about? I remember asking for participants to post their lists. I had no intentions in debating anything or being talked down to.
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I think she's just looking for everyone to spit out "their" idea of the best curriculum that fit the classical mold, whether everyone would agree or not, more like a game than trying to look for advice.
Since I like a lot of memorization for grammar stage mine would include Classical Conversations song CDs.
Mine would include WWE/WWS, FLL, OPGTR for Language Arts. And though I love BW I wouldn't include it as a classical program, I think it's more Charlotte Mason.
I'd have SOTW for History & Geography.
I'd have no idea for science since I do more Charlotte Mason for science.
All of these are for the grammar stage since that's all I've done so far.
Thank you! What you posted is exactly what I am interested in. Indeed, I was only looking for peoples' opinions on what 'they'thought were the best books/materials, falling in line with the classical educational model. No 'disrespect', 'cheating the system' or otherwise wasting peoples' time. I don't think it is ever a good thing to insinuate that someone else isn't doing as good a job at teaching, or isn't taking it as seriously as others. No one should label others as not knowing as much. This is a forum for discussion and for folks to help one another. If people don't want to participate in the thread, no hard feelings.
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Okay. Our child will be 8 years old this month. Let's play the HOF (Hall of Fame) game. Pretend it's baseball we're talking about. Pretend that every position is instead a subject. Now, given that very few homeschool teachers prescribe BY the book, imagine that you're making out THE curriculum for what in your mind epitomizes the average 'strong'student, academically speaking. Surely someone wants to play?
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.... that you could think of for every grade. Please list the age group / grade and then the subjects and books related to it.
This has been on my mind of late. I know there is an incomplete curriculum, based soley on the trivium, out there.
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We used Singapore Math, Standards Edition, up to last year. We loved it. It was a challenge for our son who will be 8 years old this month. This year we used the Rod & Staff Math because that is what came with the Memoria Press package we ordered. The R&S Math is just too easy, and too repetitive. This upcoming fall we will be using Saxon 5/4 Math. If it turns out to be a bit less dry than Singapore Math, and a bit more practical, then we will stick with Saxon. Otherwise it's back to Singapore Math! We're not too much into changing stuff around for the sake of change, or "because we can" :)
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What do the acronyms in this thread mean? It sort of reads like there is a discussion about the World Wrestling Federation or somesuch. It would be great if everytime an acronym was used that it would pop up a description when moused over!
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With a background in education, and having first-hand access to people who have taught using other homeschool curriculums, as well as relying on my own extensive research in this area, I am immeasurably confident that MP accurately represents the structured learning environment, with a Christian theme, that MP wishes to portray. The MP boxed curriculum has its faults, even at later grades, that aren't always resolvable without bringing in other curriculum, but I commend their efforts! Everyones' teaching methods, as beautifully illustrated in this thread, is different, and sometimes we as homeschool teachers have a tendency to defend our teaching styles or the learning styles of our students, rather than discuss the material itself. Even public school teachers aren't immune from this phenomenon ;) Obviously the information provided in this thread, relating to ealier versions of MP than the typical 7th grader might need, is of little relevance to the premise of this thread, but it is my hope that some reader here will take into account the range of experiences, at different 'grade' levels, partcularly with the MP curriculum, before making a purchasing decision. All The Blessings!
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Mamakelly, and whoever else recommended Timberdoodle, thank you so much!
I am unable to find the full listing of books used in the core curriculum packages (they can be found individually), such as the math book used, and some of the core matetials might be a little weak, but overall....wow!!! :)
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I am sure all curriculum become much more challenging in the junior high years, as they should. I still maintain that MP is a bit weak in the earlier years. I don't think it has much to do with writing being a supplement to Latin, but rather too much time is spent on spelling and writing sentences without descriptors. Being able to write descriptive sentences is not quite the same thing as writing full-blown stories or essays. That they offer Latin is not an excuse to put teaching the primary language of this country, English, on the back burner, if that is truly the case.
We found another, much more in-depth and engaging Latin program and will be going with that one.
MP is flexible, and we found the orderliness of the package attractive, but deep this curriculum (at least 4th grade and lower) is not.
We spoke to a rep at the GHC in Cincinnati and she said that, though the 9th grade and up material is purchasable in its raw (as used in their school) format, she said it is going to be quite some time before those grades are packaged for homeschoolers. She also said that because of peoples' difficulty in being able to acquire suggested books they are looking to rewrite material to cover the resulting gaps, and/or going to using different books to help with the core.
If you like boxed sets MP is one of the better ones, but if you wanting a strong assebly of courses you will have to build that yourself. We will keep an eye on MP to see if things change.
I wish the OP the best :)
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In my experience Memoria Press offers a well-rounded classical education, but at the 2nd/3rd grade level it just does not have a lot of meat. No science. Very little history. The math is weak. The readers at the second grade level did not interest our son, and my wife doesn't think our son is going to want to read Charlotte's Web. Their approach to teaching Latin at this level is not as good as it could be. My wife, who teaches the English/Humanities/History side of things said the Reading is hard to complete because the books mentioned are often not available at local libraries or are out of print (apparently you can pay a pretty penny to get them from MP), and the Grammar & Spelling takes too much time teaching new words and not enough time teaching how to write sentences. Even at the 4th grade level in the material she looked at the problems mentioned above still persisted. We like the "curriculum in a box" approach MP takes, we just feel it is rather incomplete. Once you get up to the 8th grade, according to the MP sales lady we talked to, you can buy the curriculum they use at the school itself, it just isn't packaged for homeschool use.
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It hadn't occured to me to check the date on the thread. :) Is the OP still breathing?
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We are going with Saxon 5/4 this year. We skipped the previous Saxon math because our son is coming from Singapore Math and knows his stuff (I"m teaching the Math, he knows how to do a basic Algebra equation, understands a bit about percentages and fractions and can multiply double digit or greater numbers). :)
Singapore Math is just too dry. What I feel has happened is that the English version for the homeschool classroom s a literal translation of the Singapore version for a classroom full of students. It just doesn't translate well. My son, while executing the math well, and remembering much of it without needing refreshing, just isn't finding Singapore Math fun.
What would be THE classical education curriculum
in K-8 Curriculum Board
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Levelma, I have no intentions in debating what classical education is or isn't. I simply asked for people to post a list of what they felt the ultimate classical education curriculum would be. Some played along with it, and I am indeed grateful for their suggestions. So, I am left with the choice of debating curricululms and classical education, or saying enough other than a big thank you to those who played along with what SHOULD have been a fun exercise, and then leaving those intent on either putting me in my place or wanting me to entertain their wishes for discussion feeling ignored. J am sure that if you created a thread on the in's and out's of classical education you would have discussion coming out your ears ;)