arborite
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Posts posted by arborite
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I find the HH ebooks to be kinda dry as a spine. They are free because they are old, and the old language, even in a kids' book, is stilted. And there are no pictures to liven it up in the kindle versions! So I assign these books in very measured doses.
MP Famous Men has been our spine. It has pictures, it's digestible, it chronological. It gets him engaged with a character and period. Then I add on other readings.
We did a week on Cicero, for example. We read the Famous Men of Rome chapter on Cicero and watched a movie about him. On the HH website, they have a "Characters" search function. I searched for Cicero and out spit the chapters of the HH ebooks that were about Cicero. I assigned a couple of those, including one by Plutarch (cool!). We also read "The Lock," a very fun book. Rinse and repeat for each chapter of FM. He puts keys dates on his timeline as he reads.
Now that we are almost done with Famous Men, and so have a foundation, I have started added readings from more traditional "history books," including some of the HH books Since he "knows" just about all the characters from FM & other readings, he can now handle this somewhat drier presentation. We have K12, and he liked it fine. But he loves the Oxford University Press book is. He has read ahead of his assignments in that book!
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We are using the Ancient Rome study guide, and just bought Ancient Greece for when we turn to that period. We also have the CDs, which contain nicely formatted versions of out-of-copyright history and historical fiction books (e.g., Children's Plutarch, Story of Rome). We have loaded these books onto DS's kindle.
The study guides have some nice maps and summaries of key dates but are otherwise pretty thin. They reinforce our other materials, but they would not stand alone as a curriculum. The HH website is a great resource for choosing readings from the CD that supplement the study of a given period or character.
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I was admitted to Harvard College with three years of HS Latin and three years of HS Spanish.
My Spanish was too weak to pass Harvard's undergraduate language requirement but my Latin did the trick! To this day, I am conversationally fluent in nothing, but I can order dinner and ask for directions in any Latin country.
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Cuddling on the couch, by the fire, in the evening. They get limited computer time, so consider documentary time an opportunity to snag more screen time. Do Horrible Histories count as documentaries? ;-) They are a favorite. But so too are History Channel and BBC History.
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We are finishing up five months on Rome and are shifting backward to Greece. We started with Famous Men of Rome and ended with Oxford University Press's Ancient Roman World, and I think we will follow the same formula for Greece. FM is engaging and makes it personal, while OUP provides the broader social context. In between we will read lots of myths and learn the Greek alphabet. Heritage Histlory's Ancient Greece Study Guide will help us fill in our timeline, and its ebooks will give us more readings for any periods we get particualry interested in.
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The title of this thread gave me a great image of an escaped pet clam.
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DS 12 started the year with a very negative writing attitude. Bad experiences with a writing instructor started the downward spiral that drove him out of ps last year. I therefore started WWS expecting storms. I read both the Instructor Manual before each lesson and use its tips *before* he gets too stuck, to try to keep the positive feelings flowing. As of Week 11, only two essays have been crumpled up and thrown across the room, a much lower casualty rate than pre-WWS.
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Consider buying at least a few things that have excellent resale value, in case they are duds with your kids. Life of Fred appears to resell for 90% of its new cost, so that would be a great choice. Buy the whole set.
I agree with the Kindle suggestions, or the iPads. The latter paired with a Bluetooth keyboard (I like Zagg) and a DropBox account serves all my kid's schooling needs. He does not take any online classes, however.
If your kids are young I honestly would not get them laptops - the technology will change completely before they are of the age when they will use them intensively.
Heritage History CDs & Study Guides: Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, Medieval History ($50 each). Tons of open source books that have been formatted for the Kindle.
Thames 3000 science kit
Laser printer that prints duplex (HP LaserJet 3005 is a reliable workhorse)
a beautiful map of the world for your wall
A globe
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We are only at Week 11, so may not be at the tough parts yet. Are you using the Teacher Manual? I find its coaching tips invaluable.
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Life of Fred is a lovely add-on for math.
BrainPop Jr. Is strong on science and she could just click around. Mom might enjoy it, too!
The Magic School Bus books and DVDs. Ms. Frick is a great role-model for a little girl!
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Ha! I heedlessly read The Long Winter to my daughter the first winter we moved to Michigan, which was particularly fierce even for Michigan. The grinding, grinding, grinding of the grain in the coffee mill...the screaming winds...the long, dark days...shudder.
My favorite is The Long Winter, but it must be read in the heat of the summer.
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The student guide has some very good activities every few chapters. I select the winners and leave the make-work behind. The teacher guide is scripted for a classroom teacher ("Display the overhead from Unit 3. Point out to the students that blah blah blah.") It is gathering dust on the shelf.
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DS (12) will be studying Ancient Greece later this semester. I plan to use Oxford's The Ancient Greek World as our spine, with lots of add-ons to enrich, including Famous Men of Greece, mythology books, and the Heritage History curriculum. Hs anyone mapped out a curriculum that links the Oxford book to these other sources? Would you share, if so?
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I look here, at homeschoolclassifieds.com, half.com, or paperbackswap (usually have to wait for what I want, so it pays to plan ahead). Really hoping the Classifieds here are searchable soon!
There is a workaround that allows you to search classifieds. An admin posted it in a sticky. Go to Google, and type this in in the search box:
site:forums.welltrainedmind.com/classifieds/ {KEYWORDS YOU ARE SEARCHING}
Voila, classifieds search!
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Pre-Algebra potpourri here.
-We went through LoF Fractions and Decimals and are now on Pre-Algebra with Biology. We did LoF Elementary Physics for a while but it was more physics than math. I hope to use it in a physics curriculum next year.
-We supplement with Khan Academy drills where he is rusty. I first tried supplementing with Saxon Algebra 1/2, but their spiral approach is not useful for drilling in on a weak topic. I am eyeing Keys to Algebra for drill, but perhaps that would serve the same function as Khan, and I need to curb my lust for new curricula?
-We have started on Zaccaro, doing a chapter every couple of weeks. Really nice, intuitive introduction to algebraic concepts (balancing equations, isolating variables).
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Good for you! I recommend the Teacher/Student functions. You can track what he is doing and watch where he struggles. Really informative; there is a record of his every answer and how long it takes for him to answer.
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I meant no insult, I hope you did not take it as such! We all have topics we like more or less, and kids sense it. I am planning to outsource art for that reason - I haven't an artistic bone in my body.
Couple more curricular thoughts:
- We are going to start using Algebra Keys for some practice. Nice, digestible packets of problems that focus on a specific skill. It kind of reminds me of Khan Academy, but on paper.
-We use Khan when he runs into a roadblock. Having a third party explain the topic, and having the computer to curse at instead of me, defuses the situation.
Good luck!
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It took a couple of weeks for the online app to be cleared, then we received an email to schedule the appointment. You have to open that email and book an appointment within 30 days. There was a lot of availability within the next couple of months (I had to change it a couple of times, and there was always availability within a few weeks of the original appointment). There are interview sites at all of the major airports, as well as in many of the major cities.
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Real World Algebra by Edward Zaccaro is a super-straightforward introduction to algebra. In my experience as a student and teacher (college, master's, PhD-level), calling something an "axiom" makes a concept alien and terrifying. Generally, it's common sense expressed in scary symbols. Zaccaro explains things intuitively.
If you, the teacher, are scared by the symbols, having someone else explain and defuse it may well be the answer. She may be sensing your insecurity on the topic and adopting it herself.
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Not the best quality but I think it is readable!
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DD is in public school, DS is homeschooled.
I keep DD home if a) she otherwise would infect her classmates and/or she is too sick to have the energy required to make it through the recess/classes/socializing. She was home with the flu all last week, and I had her on Khan Academy and Timez Attack to boost her math skills and reading at least an hour a day.
DS can stay wrapped up on the couch and work even if he would have been too sick to *go* to school. He sleeps in late if he feels poorly, but the work gets done. That said, he is healthy as a horse; he missed maybe one day when he was in public school.
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Thank you for all the thoughts and ideas!
I am thinking we will do physics next year, so I was kind of holding out on Mini Weapons and Backyard Ballistics for then. I would love to find something equally fun/humorous that focuses on chemical reactions rather than physical ones!
Thames & Kosmos does look good but it's rather serious-minded. Any kits out there with more of a mad-scientist vibe, to complement our more substantive texts?
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Definitely no vomiting on the teacher. That's where I draw the line!
8th grade plans
in Logic Stage & Middle Grade Challenges
Posted
1) Medieval History & Literature - Oxford University Press & Famous Men as spine, lots of movies, lots of living history books. I already have some work trips scheduled to Europe, so we will be visiting castles! Might do LLOTR as a literature component, otherwise just lots of books that align with the period under study.
2) Algebra - LOF Algebra, plus Zaccaro books. Periodically drop "traditional" algebra textbooks on him to make sure he can handle them.
3) Geography/Art: Mapping the World by Heart - I am SO psyched about knowing the world by heart. Maybe the kid is too!
3) Lively Latin Big Book 2
4) German - Rosetta Stone
5) Physics - LOF Elementary Physics. Backyard Ballistics. Quick Study Projects for some electronics fun? Not sure what else, need to figure it out.
6) Writing with Skill 2 & Bravewriter (Lifestyle/online classes). We are doing WWS1 now, and will do a Bravewriter class later this 7th grade spring. DS is an excellent freewriter, and I think BW will work well for him. WWS does not let him freewrite, but he needs its outlining skills.