foofoobunny
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Posts posted by foofoobunny
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Which do you like better and why?
Can someone explain to me how dictation and copywork from WWE is helpful? I don't get it...
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We have used History Odyssey for 2 full years now. I showed my kids a few other options, and they looked at me and said, "Mom, please, we love History Odyssey, don't change that!"
We DO skip the History pockets, as my kids are not cut and paste and color kinds of guys :). I have one who is a bit of a history buff, and he has all kind of add-on books around the house, but many of those are also recommended in History Odyssey. He also reads his way through K12's Human Odyssey.
I love that it gives you a checklist, but you don't have to do everything on it; if something isn't a good fit, just don't do it (like the pockets). It also provides a pretty comprehensive additional reading list with each unit.
HO is one curriculum I think we will be able to use all the way through without worrying about the "one publisher bias" effect, because we can add in as many reading resources as we like. It's a guide, not a textbook.
Additionally, the program provides a very gradually ramped up writing and research program, moving from simple sentences into paragraphs and then into library research projects and outlining and then into papers, with guided steps the whole way. They really show the students directly how to take notes, find and store the important information when reading, and how to record it. They have a few books explicitly assigned, and include some literature guide type assignments, such as plot diagrams and character webs, helping the student learn to read critically and deal with more complex books, both fiction and non.
It is a very complete program, and I do appreciate the longitudinal thoughtfulness of it.
I'm seriously considering this one...how old/grade are your kids?
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We have used History Odyssey for 2 full years now. I showed my kids a few other options, and they looked at me and said, "Mom, please, we love History Odyssey, don't change that!"
We DO skip the History pockets, as my kids are not cut and paste and color kinds of guys :). I have one who is a bit of a history buff, and he has all kind of add-on books around the house, but many of those are also recommended in History Odyssey. He also reads his way through K12's Human Odyssey.
I love that it gives you a checklist, but you don't have to do everything on it; if something isn't a good fit, just don't do it (like the pockets). It also provides a pretty comprehensive additional reading list with each unit.
HO is one curriculum I think we will be able to use all the way through without worrying about the "one publisher bias" effect, because we can add in as many reading resources as we like. It's a guide, not a textbook.
Additionally, the program provides a very gradually ramped up writing and research program, moving from simple sentences into paragraphs and then into library research projects and outlining and then into papers, with guided steps the whole way. They really show the students directly how to take notes, find and store the important information when reading, and how to record it. They have a few books explicitly assigned, and include some literature guide type assignments, such as plot diagrams and character webs, helping the student learn to read critically and deal with more complex books, both fiction and non.
It is a very complete program, and I do appreciate the longitudinal thoughtfulness of it.
I'm seriously considering this one...how old/grade are your kids?
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I have only used Mystery of History and only for this past year. I have a 6th, 3rd, and K'er. We have really enjoyed it, and we're looking forward to moving on to volume 2 next year. The volume 1 book is divided into 36 weeks, with 3 lessons a week. The volume 2 book is laid out the same but with only 28 weeks. I have not looked at volume 3.
On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I read a lesson aloud with all 3 kids. It can take anywhere from 5-20 minutes to read, depending on how long that particular lesson is and how much we discuss it as we go. Then I assign one of the activities for that lesson, IF I think it's practical AND something they would enjoy OR something they really need to focus on. Sometimes I modify the activity slightly to better fit my kids. Sometimes if there is more than one good option, I let them choose which one they do. Sometimes we don't do an activity at all. My 6th grader usually does a different activity from the younger kids--he does the "middle student" activities while they do the "younger student" activities. I try to do at least one activity a week. With the reading and activity combined, it takes about 30 minutes each day, on average.
On Thursday, we do the map activity and make the timeline entries for that week's lessons. It probably takes us 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how much the kids talk and how detailed they want to be.
On Friday, we make the memory cards and do the exercise or quiz for the week, which takes about 30 minutes, if the kids are focused.
I have been surprised and impressed by the amount of Biblical history. I attended a private, Christian school from 2nd grade on, and I don't remember learning most of the stuff in this book. And the stuff I did learn, always seemed separate to me from "real" history. It was like you had the history of the world and then in a parallel universe, you had Biblical history. It's been a really fun experience to see how the two really did mesh together.
The boys especially love all the lessons about things like the legend of the Trojan war, the gladiators, Hannibal, etc. And even some of the "boring" subjects turned out to be really interesting for them. For example, on the day we read about Isaiah the prophet, the lesson mentioned that he was killed by being sawn in half. I tell you what--the boys went from slouching in their chairs to being all ears and sitting on the edges of their seats. Boys....
Other than History Channel documentaries and the added exploration required for some of the lesson activities, we don't supplement. Since it was our first year homeschooling, I wanted to be as bare-bones as possible to make sure we didn't overwhelm ourselves or burn ourselves out. It has worked really well.
Hope this helps!
Thanks so much for your detailed description! Do you feel like there is too much talk of saints and missionaries in the text? I think I've heard that before...also, do you feel it is meaty enough for your 11 year old?
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We are staring our second year of homeschooling, and I feel like I'm more conflicted this year than last about choosing curriculum. I'm debating among the above for history...we did Biblioplan last year and I liked it, but not sure if I want to do the timeline, cool history questions, and mapwork again. Could get boring after another year of it.
What are your opinions or experiences with History Odyssey, Veritas Press, Biblioplan, Mystery of History? I'll have a 4th and 6th grader.
Thank you so much for any insight you can give!!
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Thanks so much - off to order!
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Just wondering if this is appropriate for my 3rd grader? It says it was designed for 1st grade? Our daughter didn't learn any cursive at public school in 2nd grade so it is all new to her. I started with donna young printouts, but realize I need a curriculum!
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I want something to put in our portfolio after my child reads a book. We are doing study guides that I ordered through progeny press, but my daughter reads a lot of books for enjoyment. I would like to document these too with a short quiz or test of some sort. I think an AR test would be great, but unfortunately, doesn't seem to be available to homeschoolers. Is there another similar resource out there??
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So there's the wall mounted, magnetic 3x5 that is used exclusively for spelling and grammar. Then there's the double-sided easel that is used for messages, math, etc, etc, etc. There is also the magnetic 2x3 that is lugged all over the house, but mainly used for magnetic letter and number activites. And let us it forget the 2 good quality lap sized dry erase boards that I used to carry for schooling on the go, pre-iPad.
It would seem I have 5 whiteboards, and perhaps a problem. :leaving:
Funny!!
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I found this cute website...
http://www.gallopade.com/client/electionsForKids/index.html
and an Election lapbook...
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If so, for what subjects?
What size? Is it mounted to the wall, on an easel or it is small enough to be handheld?
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Hello,
I am officially taking my ds out of ps this week (he will be entering 3rd grade) and I am incredibly nervous. He's sad about not being around other kids, (especially his BFF) but otherwise seems somewhat interested in the upcoming year.
If any of you would take a look at our curriculum and let me know what you think, I would appreciate it. All opinions welcome. :001_smile:
Math - Saxon
Grammar - Rod & Staff, First Language Lessons
Writing - Writing Strands
History - SOTW (text and audio)
Geography - Complete Geography
Latin - Prima Latina (text, DVD's, and a tutor 2x a month)
Spelling/Vocabulary - Spelling Power
Music - basic guitar (courtesy of DH), piano, composer study
Art - Art in Story
Also, lots of reading - for read-alouds we are currently we're working on C.S. Lewis. For his personal reading time, he is a Harry Potter fanatic; obsessed with all things wizardry, and doesn't leave home without his wand.
Extras:
Theater camp
Swim team (through October)
Curriculum we still need:
Cursive handwriting (he learned the basics in 2nd grade, but need something to keep it up)
Science
Art projects
Thanks in advance!
Hi there :) I'm a newbie this year too. My daughter will be going into 3rd grade. We chose Saxon 3 Intermediate (she was using Saxon in ps and since we are familiar we are sticking to it). Intermediate has less manipulatives than the regular saxon 3. My hubby is a Chemical Engineer, a whiz at math, and really likes Saxon for our daughters. I'm not a whiz at math, so I'm going with his opinion.
My friend uses Rod & Staff and loves it.
We are using Story of the World too - along with Biblioplan.
We are doing Apologia Science - Astronomy. I just got the book out today and it looks really good! Lots of activities and projects.
I ordered Art Lab for Kids on amazon because it was recommended here :)
For reading, it sounds like your son is advanced like my daughter so we are doing literature studies by progeny press. She picked out 3 books for the year so far. Child reads and has a study guide to go along with...
donnayoung.org has all kinds of resources - we are using her printables for cursive. I don't really want a formal program, but want her to work on it at least once a week. She has a lot of different activities for cursive.
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What is your schedule like?
How many days a week do you do science? Do you read the text all in one day, the workbooking activities one day, and then the project the next?
I have a 3rd and 5th grader so I was wondering how to space out the activities.
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Newbie here...
This us our first year homeschooling and I'm thinking my 3rd grader will do 3-4 hrs per day and my 5th grader will do 4-5 hours per day. We are very academic-oriented at our house and I feel that is roughly equal or possibly more instruction per day than they get in public school when you think of all the wasted time they have there.
I was getting overwhelmed with it all last week and my friend sent me a quote that went something like,"remember our ultimate goal is not to prepare a child for Harvard, but to prepare him or her to get to heaven."
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We got an electric piano - looks and plays - like brand new for $300 on craigslist.
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We're in Ohio as well, and my uderstanding is that it doesn't mention how long you have to spend on it either. Meaning that a day here and there to talk about Thanksgiving/President's Day/July 4th is technically good enough.
Good to know :)
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Judging from the notification section here, It doesn't look to be yearly. You can cover Ohio when you get to it chronologically, or even in the summer instead.
If you go to the homepage for that website they link to a Yahoo group for Ohio homeschoolers; might be worth joining for your state specific questions.
Thanks! Will do!
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Have you double checked the wording of the law? Often it just says state and country history must be taught, but doesn't mean every single year. As long as you get it covered somewhere it's okay.
If you really have to do both every year, I'd grab something like Don't Know Much about American History and an Ohio book from the library and call it good.
Oh, I need to go look at the wording. I was assuming every year...
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I've spent hours deciding on a history plan and I want to do Biblioplan Ancients with spine of Story of the World.
Ohio law says I have to cover US history and Ohio state history. Blah. The girls have done this since kindergarten.
What is a simple US history curriculum for a 3rd and 5th grader that I can add so that I won't be teaching history all day long???
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I think I've blown up this board with my questions in the last few days:001_unsure:
I have been all over this forum and I just can't make up my mind. I was thinking Story of the World, but I'm not sure about the story and reading aloud. Both of my girls are advanced. Does anyone have any input on how a lesson from SOTW would go?
If I go with SOTW, should I add the Kingfisher Encyclopedia and Complete Book of Maps and Geography? Is that too much?
What are some other multi-age history curriculums? I need an easy-to-follow curriculum for a first timer!
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I have a very bright 8 year old who just finished 2nd grade at the top of her class. She was not challenged at all. I am second-guessing my curriculum choices for english and spelling. I've chosen 3rd grade materials for her...bju english 3, spelling workout 3.
I assume if the 3rd grade is easy for her that she will just be done earlier than planned for the year? Do you stop and order the next grade up? What do you do in that situation?
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I think either would be fine. We did Intermediate and really liked it. We are not manipulative types here.
I agree the placement test is unnecessary. If she did 2, just pick either of the 3's.
Ok, thank you :)
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Oh I agree! I think you'll find the people here are really nice, I often ask them to elaborate on condition, send a picture, is there anything else I would need to teach this, and everyone has been honest and helpful.
Is there anything specific you are looking for that we can help with? The ladies (and gents!) here are EXPERTS and willing to answer questions.
I updated my first post with what I'm looking for.
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If she's been using Saxon, the placement test will not give you correct placement.
No? Hmm. Now what?
Good/Bad? History Odyssey, Veritas Press, Biblioplan, Mystery of History?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
Awesome!! Thank you so so much!