2_girls_mommy
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Posts posted by 2_girls_mommy
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On 4/19/2020 at 9:41 PM, RootAnn said:
I have a kid who has a hobby of exploring 70-90s music. Though her fashion scene can be described most as "flannel."
I am completely against mandated standardized testing. Especially annual testing.
I give my kids a standardized test in 4th, 6th, & 8th grade. (After that, we switch to ACT/SAT college tests but my current high school junior hasn't taken an official one of those yet.) Before and even at the 4th grade level, my kids' results don't reflect their later abilities because I have late bloomers. They are generally late to read, bad at math, and spend more time thinking about other topics than the tests in front of them. By high school, they are at least better at concentrating on what is important (which may or may not be the test in front of them).
The test results help me to see if I'm missing something -- if they are struggling in an area that I didn't know about. But mandate them? That would increase anxiety, possibly encourage cheating, and mean some would spend time teaching to the test. No, thank you!
I am totally against mandatory testing too. We did zero standardized testing, absolutely none, until the PSAT.
My odd actually received a letter from Harvard asking her to apply (and from Yale and other top schools, ) so I have found this whole article funny. They obviously reached out to mine knowing she was homeschooled after her ACTs. We visited Harvard and talked to admissions officers on campus and when they were here about homeschoolers, and they had no qualms about homeschooling whatsoever and advised us on what they wanted to see from their records. We had the same experience with Yale and other admissions officers we talked to. She was a Questbridge National College Match finalist. She didn't get into Harvard (very few do, but we had to try!) but is waitlisted at one of the country's top schools. So she wasn't quite first choice, but she's done ok. She'll go to our state's honor college (unless by change a spot opens up for her, fingers crossed!) and keep trying her best to reach her goals. Yes, mine is a great student and a high acheiver. But I have no doubt that her potentials were reached because of homeschooling and the freedom and flexibility it gave us.
I know, anecdotal, but we have zero regulation in our state. Zero testing requirements. I did what I found worked for me as far as test preparation when it came time for her goals, and I used my own methods for keeping tabs on how they were doing. I focused on educating my kids, not test prep. We prepared for what I knew she was capable of and interested in. My next kiddo is a different type of student with different goals. We will focus on her goals and individualize our approach with her as well.
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1 hour ago, JoyKM said:
Thanks! I’ve had that in my Thriftbooks cart several times but was on this huge waitlist with the library to see if it would work for how young my kids are. Now we can’t get holds! Would you say this book works for all ages and can be reappreciated as songs are studied again a few years later?
The history is over my ker's head. But she's used to sitting for older read alouds. Then I just look the hymn up on YouTube and play it on the TV after we've read about it. I enjoy the history readings for sure. My teens definitely gain from it.
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2 hours ago, JoyKM said:
Thanks! What is the name of your hymn book? I am actively looking for a good, child oriented hymn stories book—the only series I have come across has about 12 songs per book, and I’m searching for one that has more in it if that exists. I have never heard of WYKNTK—thanks for the recommendation!
101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth Osbeck
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12 minutes ago, CuriousMomof3 said:
I'm trying, the other day I learned I'm supposed to have something called a proclick. Now it's a basket. I am clearly failing my children.
I do have a library card and a whiteboard. Do those get me any points? I supposed the library card is worth more when the library is actually open.
I'm a long term failure- no proclick here! I just, gasp, 3 hole punch and put lessons in old recycled binders. ....off to hide my face now.
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Op, I like to keep a copy of What You're Kindergartener Needs to Know (and each grade level,) on hand for this purpose- perfect for nursery rhymes, common sayings, songs, short readings on all kinds of topics, stories, fables, and so on.
Currently in ours is a book of hymn stories (for everyone,) a state history book with short readings and pictures (for everyone,), Little House in the Big Woods ( for everyone,) George Washington's Rules to Live By (for everyone,) the Story Of Western Science (for teens,) science picture books ( for ker,) historical picture books (for ker,) an art history book (for teens,) and What Your Kindergartener Needs to Know.
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20 hours ago, CuriousMomof3 said:
Oh, we do something sort of like that twice a day. Except we apparently missed that we were supposed to use a basket. I guess that's a rookie mistake.
That picture of a beautiful basket is just a staple in the collective homeschool mindset of the perfect cozy family reading time. 🙂 Gotta have a basket. 😉
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Yes, I could tell you what I use for my ker using a 1st grade curriculum, and I do use mostly from one publisher in that grade level. But then I pull in from other publishers that I like for their expertise in another subject. So if you are saying you want curriculum from all in one place, we can give you that. But it won't be online from here. The Well Trained Mind is a very traditional, classical style of education, and doesn't encourage a lot of screens (nor multiple choice which a lot of those programs use, mirroring testing, but not actually teaching.)
So for an all in one type of program someone here might use you can look at Memoria Press. They have full, classical curriculum packages for each grade. That will give you an idea of what a lot of us put together into our own homeschooling programs. Rarely does anyone actually use a whole fully put together package like that, because there are so many variables.
In first grade, I almost use a full Rod and Staff curriculum. By 2nd grade I peal some of their materials out to put in things I like better, and by third I am only using the R&S math, English, and spelling (if it works. The spelling didn't work for my dyslexic child.) and use other materials from other publishers, mostly from Well Trained Mind suggestions for the rest.
Or you can read The Well Trained Mind for an idea of how to put together a curriculum yourself. It is really hard to want to purchase a whole curriculum for just a few weeks to finish a year. You would be better to work on reading, math, some fun experiments, etc. for now, while looking at curriculum and reading books on homeschooling to set up a full program for next year.
If you are just finishing up this year, have you looked at the Scholastic Remote Learning activities for science topics? If you did math daily and the remote learning, plus the active ideas, did some reading to your kids and had them reading daily, you could easily finish up this year, while researching and planning for next.
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Haven't read all of the answers, but just on the books- look at the Dollar Tree. They had several series with stickers that go in the right places and others that my ydd loved from the age of two and up. there are so many fun learning books there with all kinds of stuff. Most they won't need you much.
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13 hours ago, Ellie said:
There's no need to do a pre-algebra. There are many WTMers whose dc used R&S through 8th and then went directly to algebra.
R&S is definitely not "behind." It is a very traditional math series, but that does not mean it is "behind." I would have no qualms about using R&S until we went to algebra.
Yes to this. We worked straight through grade 8 and then moved into Algebra with both of mine. R&S 7 and 8 gave a perfect prealgebra class for mine.
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We used Rod and Staff phonics (not necessarily at WTM suggestion, but it worked really well for my older, and I love all things R&S.) My mdd could memorize and recite those phonics rules like nobody's business when it was her turn. If I sat right with her, reminding her of the rule, she could then self correct on a word. But it never progressed from there. Finally we realized she learned differently and had to research dyslexia, get some therapies, and learn different teaching methods to use in our home. Learning to spell phonetically does not work for her. She will never be a great speller, but we have learned a lot about how to help her more. And knowing those phonics rules still can help her when I tell her a word is wrong and remind her of a rule, even if they don't help her to spell them correctly in the first place. 🙂
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Ok , guys, I am loving this. I have a Ker and teens. I agree the history isn't anything more than SOTW level, so it is nothing my teens need, but the articles and questions and labs are very good. And dd6 and I made a plague mask today and we will make the hand sanitizer and talk about the soap. It is all very good for her. And since we are also in a modern history year, the Spanish Flu articles are perfect. I also picked up the new Thinking Tree Economics workbook for my dd15 to do with her economics in the next year, but the last section of it is all about pandemic history and effects, so we are pairing it up with this. It works for finishing up some relevant modern history for my dd17 and for history and science labs for my dd15 and to alleviate worries for my dd6. I am loving this along with other freebies we have gotten during this pandemic to round out our year and change things up. It helps to have new things to do while being stuck at home.
We have been slowly reading through the Story of Western Science by SWB, a chapter a week, and again, this goes perfectly with this unit and with dd15 doing Biology and all of us in a modern history world! Thanks for posting it.
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On 4/19/2020 at 2:55 PM, wathe said:
We've been using this for a week now. I really like it. We've enjoyed the linked articles and videos in the history section (the 1918 flu article from a medical journal was particularly insightful and interesting. It was published pre-COVID). It's been easy to adjust the level of difficulty. It's been accessible for my 10yo and still meaty enough for my 12 year old - we've fallen down a few rabbit holes along the way, which is great. It has stimulated a lot of really great learning!
Where do you find the links for the history section? I am new to this company, and we started this today. We got to page 16, and it says to read this article and gives questions, but there are no links. I am missing something!
ETA... asked too soon. I found them!
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On 4/14/2020 at 6:07 PM, serendipitous journey said:
Well, I tried the unit today and am disappointed in it. Apparently the first bit is representative of Pandia Press' new "History Quest" program. Hmmm.
There is just very little actual information. Neither of my children learned anything about the Black Death (first section) that they didn't know already, and I think the littler one has a lot of room to learn something new. The subsequent section is on the Spanish Flu and COVID-19, and elder was very interested in this topic, but again: extraordinarily little information. At least this section is intended to be rounded out by linked articles; today we were just working from hardcopies, tomorrow I'll begin chunking through the links and will try to report back after we've gone through it more thoroughly.
Can you tell me how you get the links? I printed a hard copy, and there aren't any links to the articles, which is what I wanted my teens to read through tomorrow!
ETA... Ok, after panicking I found them in the teacher's guide. Sorry to bug you.
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update guys.
Well, it was a wild ride, since we were in no way prepared in advance for all that these schools require. But we did it. DD was interviewed at about half of her Questbridge selections. We toured one amazing top school in the fall and had a great American History/vacation trip. Thankfully we did it then, as we wouldn't be able to now. She did not actually get to tour the school that was her top choice. She did get interviewed three times for it though, so we felt they were very interested in her. It seemed the best fit and is very near the city we toured that she fell in love with. In the end, she was waitlisted there. So fingers crossed, she may still have a chance, but we are moving forward with our other plans.
We continued touring and meeting with our state school's honors program and classics dept. She got very good scholarships with them, and will be able to live in the dorms (if they open in the fall!) paying fully for her part from her work savings and work study with no debt, which was ultimately the goal! Originally she was going to commute from home to the school 45 minutes away. I am thankful she will not have to commute.
In all, I think it was a good experience. I know that my letters and such were probably very unprofessional, but I think we did a good job, the best that we could, and she did great. She grew so much, having to interview so many times and to meet so many deadlines with all of the essays and scholarship apps, and scheduling the interviews. I am so proud of her. She got a crash course in adulting and is more than prepared to handle her college life. I hope that it gave her the confidence she needs to go for whatever she wants, and to know that she has as much a shot as anyone. I also think she learned some things along the way that didn't go well and can use that too. My next one is not the same type of student, so we won't be under the same type of pressure, but I am about to start the ACT studying and driver's ed everything all over again. Then I have ten years to help navigate the course for my ydd. Who knows what that will look like then. But I have some good experience under my belt now for both of them.
Thanks for all of your help in the process guys!
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For presidents we just used a list. We chanted them, a few at a time, adding the next grouping each week.
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I second One Small Bead and Aesop's fables. Basically I would suggest one or two books from each time period or culture, not necessarily one from every chapter. We have a large elementary eyewitness type book on Ancient Egyptians. We read a section a day from that over a long period, just moving forward in SOTW. A good book on Greek mythology. Aesop's fables, bible stories, Romans, etc. The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia provides pictures from all cultures. We didn't read it much in elementary, but we used it in middle school. It was nice for pictures in elementary.
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10 hours ago, MomN said:
We are finishing up SOTW 1 this year. We read a lot of library books. The books that I purchased included Rosemary Sutcliff's The Wanderings of Odysseus and Black Ships Before Troy, but if I had to do it again, I'd save the Sutcliff books for the next cycle and go with something less intimidating. We loved Tales from the Odyssey by Mary Pope Osbourne (6 books total). We also enjoyed Adventures in Ancient Egypt and Adventures in Ancient Greece by Linda Bailey.
Many have loved D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths but it wasn't a hit for us. Jim Weiss has some CDs on Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome as well. We tried the Ancient Egypt one but didn't love it.
I'll try to think of some more.
I found the Sutcliff books and the D'Aulaires books perfect for middle school read alouds. They were too much for elementary for us.
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Something for counters- we have counting bears, but will often use different things to change it up. A regular battery operated clock on the wall to which I laminate a bigger circle to mount behind it with the minutes written around for help telling time and counting by 5's. We also have a chalkboard clock thing with hands that turn that she can play with. That isn't necessary with the real clock to look at, but kids like it. I have good dice, all kinds. I have very large dice which are fun to play with and regular dice for dice games. I have dice that have numbers by 2s, 5s, 10s, etc. I have different shaped dice with all of the platonic solids, etc. Also a set of geometric shaped figures are good to have too. I keep a good children's calendar on the wall and a 100s chart for skip counting and other activities. I made my own number bond triangle cards by cutting triangles out of manila folders. I create flashcards of math facts with a magic marker and index cards.
I think daily that is mostly what I use. I do create learning posters to go with my particular math curriculum which creates posters to explain concepts.
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I have a senior about to graduate, a sophomore in biology, and a ker. I think I will add this to our read aloud pile and do some of the activities with the ker. Thank you for posting!
ETA, just read through this, and it is exactly what I need to finish the year. I needed a lab day for Biology. We had done some, but I wanted to add some more. This is perfect to finish off her year. We actually needed to do some canning for a girl scout badge we are working on, and there is a canning activity too. We can knock out two birds with one stone!
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How has it gone for everyone this year? I can't believe we are wrapping up K!
This is how it has gone for us:
1st semester, Finsish the Rod and Staff ABC series- completed, Start R&S Math 1-yes, works great. She picked it all up so quickly! She did dance, girl scouts, found a library storytime around Nov. that we started attending regularly that had great activities. Did homeschool group government activities and field trips around the state. HWOT did not work out for us. I just couldn't work it in beside every once in awhile to play the CDs and play with the blocks, but we did copywork from things like Draw Write Now around our content studies, and her writing seems to be going fine. For everything else she just followed the holidays and around the girls' studies . She did Dover historical coloring books about pioneers, fashion, the Revolutionary War, New England famouse homes, colonial life, etc. which I read to her and from picture books. She watched cartoon shows on topics, like Liberty's kids, etc. She did several girl scout events and started meetings, did a Christmas dance recital, saw a ballet.2nd semester we started up with Rod and Staff reading and phonics grade 1, alternating phonics one day, reading the next, a couple of times a week. It has gone SO well. She has really picked up reading well. She hasn't mastered it, but the desire was there. We have done units from What Your Ker Needs to Know, done lots of read alouds and field trips mostly government related, but others too. She won honorable mention in the State Bar Association's Law Day art contest that our co-op entered. She sold girl scout cookies with her troop and with her sisters.
And then the world went crazy, lol. I got super sick the first two weeks. Who knows what I had, because I couldn't get a test or even a doctor's appointment, but I got better. We took a week of spring break, two weeks of me being sick, and now we are back to it. We started the Scholastic Remote Learning as part of her daily school and she loves it. It is like a mini unit study I would put together for a co-op preK/K class all done for me. I just have to click on it to get her started and do one or two of the activities with her after the online stuff. I really like it. Dance classes are on zoom in my tiny living room, but at least she sees her friends. And she plays endlessly alone in our backyard and with her teen sisters. It's been crazy, but good really. We are blessed in that everyone we know personally is healthy. So praying this ends quickly, but K year is still going strong here.
How has your year been?
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On 3/26/2020 at 2:17 PM, Classically Minded said:
Yes, we did and I plan to do so with my ds7 as well when he gets to 3rd grade. Here is what we used:
Math - Saxon Math 3
Grammar - First Language Lessons 3
Writing - Writing With Ease 3
Latin - Prima Latina
Spelling - Spelling Workout C and D (we also added in All About Spelling because my dd had issues with spelling)
Science - Chemistry with Usborne Encyclopedia and Adventures with Atoms and Molecules (lots of extra kits)
History - Story of the World 3
Adventures with Atoms and Molecules! Yes, that was the name of the WTM recommended book for third grade science. Worked like a charm.
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In middle school, I loved the free materials and booklists from the then active blog, The Classical House of Learning. I bought all of the books for the first two years of it (she was creating the program to coincide with the four year chronological history,) and printed the materials. The last time I looked the blog was still up, and I could print most of the materials. In the end, I at least have my already printed sheets that I can reuse with my last upcoming homeschooler, even if some are filled in.
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Yes, we did, though there is no exact way to follow WTM. I definitely used it as our guideline all the way through high school. For third for us the first time through it looked like:
English: Rod and Staff English and spelling. Dictation added from other sources.
Rod and Staff math
Story of the World vol. 3 w/AG, meaning mapwork and narrations, book lists for additional history books, and arts/crafts projects. Memorywork lists, whatever WTM suggested for that year.
Science: Chemistry. We used the experiment book listed in 2nd edition. The $8 book had all the same experiments and explanations that the expensive Apologia books had. An outside science fair competition. Notebooking. We later joined a co-op and they often used Apologia, do we used it done too. I much prefered WTM style science for the younger years. We also did some Memoria Press materials at different times.
Prima Latina
Music, some kind of composer studies. I often used something What Your Third Grader Needs to Know for an idea of art and music to study for the year. That book also gave us poetry and short stories.
We did LA and math daily. And one other subject each afternoon.
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8 minutes ago, 8FillTheHeart said:
Our house is cleaner bc I am not driving to activities. I really deep cleaned a lot yesterday bc I normally have to drive across town twice. I gained several hours in my day.
Gas bill will be a lot lower.
Sad bc daily Mass is no longer an option, though. Glad we went this morning.
Same here on the house. We were taking a spring break because of the kids' jobs this week anyway, so I'm still not doing much school this week while we deal with practicalities and adjust here. But I think I'm going to gain time for more read alouds too which I'm looking forward to. Definitely I'm doing small projects around the house already, things I don't usually get to focus on until summer break. So that should clear up time in summer for other things.
Harvard Magazine Article: "The Risks of Homeschooling"
in The Chat Board
Posted
Yes, they definitely have an agenda. It's about more than homeschooling.