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TXMary2

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Posts posted by TXMary2

    When is too late to join boy scouts?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Joining at age 15 with a goal to reach Eagle would be pretty ambitious. The reason to be an Eagle scout shouldn't be so you have something good to put on college applications. As the mom of a dedicated scout, I can confidently say if your son has no interest in scouts then he shouldn't join. The boys that are being forced to be a part of scouts by parents are often a hindrance to the other boys because they don't put in effort and sometimes cause the other boys more work. Is there something your son could do that he IS interested in?

    Bible Curriculum?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    We've been using Apologia's "Who Am I?" curriculum - the text, cd and notebooking journal. We don't do all the notebooking things becuase it is just too time consuming. We are are going to do God's Great Covenant next and I am really excited about it.

    Creek Edge Press Task Cards

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    It seems like folks are using them in conjunction with something else. Could they be used on their own if one used all the supplemental material and followed rabbit trails? Particularly for American history?

     

     

    They can definitely be used on their own. They are for K-8th though, except for Art and Artists - they meet high school standards for Fine Arts.

    Classroom Organization

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    My schoolroom was so disorganized I "had" to buy new shelving/furniture to make it work for me. I bought all IKEA stuff to make it happen.

     

    I use magazine holders, baskets/IKEA boxes (to hide things that previously cluttered the room) and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Desktop Apprentice that I bought at Staples - I keep it smack in the middle of our work table so we can all reach pens, scissors, stapler etc from our seats. I also use binders and a label maker to label the binders.

     

    I organize all the books by subject and I keep the basket of related manipulatives etc., right in the same section.

     

    You can see pictures at my blog.

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    Does anyone HATE MFW?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I'm doing the curriculum hopping in my mind! I simply can't decide between MFW & TOG. I'm leaning strongly toward MFW though just because of the planning involved with TOG.

     

    Have you looked at any of the TOG planning threads? It really isn't that bad- the weeks are laid out already, all you need to do is choose what you want to do. I liken it to a menu, you aren't going to eat everything, just an appetizer, main dish and a dessert.

    Do you use a record book or a planner/plans?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I designed my own planner - by designed I mean, 1) I made some pages on my own, 2) I used premade pages from various homeschool planners that are free online and 3) I bound it with my Proclick.

     

    I got tired of wasting money on planners that I never fully utilized. Not it has exactly what I want it in and because of Proclick it is spiral bound like I prefer. Binders just got too bulky for me.

    Chemistry besides Apologia

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    This year ds has been doing Apologia Biology along with Miller/Levine, with plans to take the AP Biology test in May. Next year he is moving on to Chemistry and again we will use Apologia and the AP Prep books, but I was wondering if there was a popular alternative Chemistry text out there that homeschoolers not using Apologia use.

    Khan Academy How Comprehensive?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    We are about to finish up Algebra I with Teaching Textbooks, and move on to solely Khan Academy for Algebra II. Because ds has struggled with Algebra (although do really well now) I am going to have him start at the beginning of the Khan Algebra videos. We will use the knowledge map, watch the videos in order and work through multiple practice problems. The plan is to do two videos per day with exercises. I noticed not every video has a "Practice this Concept" button, but it is usually because the first video on that concept is introductory, then you watch the next video and THEN do practice problems.

     

    I noticed there is a "Class Profile" where parents/teachers can view the stats on their student's progress and what they are doing. You each need a separate account but then you link them together. It is pretty darn cool!! In addition to Algebra, there are videos working through every SAT practice problem!!! I can't express how excited I am that this resource is FREE. I am going to sell our TT Algebra and be able to use the funds on other curriculum.

     

    DS has already been using the videos to better understand concepts and he likes Sal Khan's teaching style much better than the TT guy. Now we will just be fully utilizing all the Khan offers for Algebra I an II.

    And while we're at it...TOG

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Thanks so much! This is really helpful. Can anyone tell me if it is easy to combine different ages/stages in TOG? Thanks!

     

    Yes! This is one of the big plusses in my opinion. You can combine levels easily since they all are doing the same theme at the same time. My younger guy sits in on the socratic discussions I have with my high schooler. He sometimes pipes in, but mostly listens. We discuss vocabulary and famous people together too. The read aloud is good for all levels too.

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