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Michele B

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Posts posted by Michele B

    How to get it all done?!

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I go to the library and look for a book about modern children in the country we are studying for history. There are a couple of series, but I cannot think of the names. :tongue_smilie: I know there is a series called "Look what came from...." This would incorporate "social studies" into your history. Note any famous landmarks on the map from the SOTW activity guide.

     

    I alternate spelling and vocabulary either by day or by week. The lessons are so short -maybe 15-20 minutes.

     

    Of course dd10almost11 spent 3 HOURS on her math today. And then we had to correct 3/4 of it. :banghead: So we did not fit everything in today - but that's a whole other problem!! :tongue_smilie:

    Any CM followers left?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Michele B,

    I'm just beginning to prepare for Plutarch (yes, we are just now starting this with my 9th grader). We should compare notes, if you'd like. I'm starting with Brutus, which I know is unconventional, but we'll be reading Julius Caesar by Shakespeare soon and I wanted to read Plutarch's Brutus and Caesar before reading the play. (Shakespeare was said to base his ideas of the characters from Plutarch's biography of them.) I know I could use all the help I can get.

     

     

    I would love to have a Plutarch-buddy! Seriously, I have to work really hard to figure this out before I go over it with dd10almost11. I hope soon she will be able to help me! ;) I started last Monday with Poplicola/Publicola using Anne White's guide from Ambleside. http://www.amblesideonline.org/PlPublicola.shtml

     

    I have printed out the section for each week and inserted the vocabulary definitions and helps from the study guide right in the text. Week 2 has gotten pushed back 2 days, and I hope to get it done tomorrow! I thought it would be a good time to start because we are in Year 3 and the Founding Fathers also studied Plutarch. I love that Anne White's guide is divided into 12 chunks, but really, it could be divided into smaller chunks.

    Near to being a CM dropout

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    have you seen the Handbook of Nature Study blog? http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogpspot.com she makes the book WAY less inimidating and leads you through it in small steps that are completely do-able. (Now if the weather and the bugs and other stuff didn't get in the way it would be perfect.... ;)

     

    :iagree:

     

    The Handbook is intimidating, but Harmony Art Mom breaks it down into do-able and pleasant chunks. I highly recommend her blog and her ebooks!

    Near to being a CM dropout

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I wavered back and forth between CM and Classical. I really do believe that CM is a version of Classical. It is set up differently but I think much of the goals are the same. CM is often portrayed with some very generalized statements. Unfortunately, even many books written by authors who are supposed to be well-versed in her ideas and methods are the very ones who often put forth these statements. There really is a lot more to CM. I'm still reading her works and I still discover more all the time.

     

    :iagree:

    I thought that was a great post BTW!

     

    The SWB article I linked gives specific examples of what you said in the quote above.

    Near to being a CM dropout

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I am the last person to encourage you to follow a homeschool philosophy to the letter - the thought of that makes me itchy!:) I'm a Tweaker by nature.

     

    I have recently begun reading CM's original writings as well as the writings of her interpreters. Here are a couple of links that have provided me with food for thought. Good Luck on your journey! :grouphug: And homeschool is a journey not a destination! ;)

     

    http://wildflowersandmarbles.blogspot.com/2011/06/balanced-whole-in-charlotte-mason.html

     

    http://wildflowersandmarbles.blogspot.com/2011/07/considered-booklist.html

     

    http://4real.thenetsmith.com/

    Geography for 2nd grade?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    We started reading Hillyer's Child's Geography, and dd7 colors maps and finds things on the globe as they are mentioned. We chant the continents and oceans from largest to smallest. Not sure what we will do next, but she enjoys finding things on the globe!:001_smile: And we do the mapwork in SOTW.

    If you don't think ETC is a complete phonics curriculum...

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Pacing mostly. Kids typically learn to read at a faster pace than that. I have had kids go from reading cat to Philadelphia and chandelier w/in 3-4 months. A reading program (like SSRW) with built in readers and workbook can help give a bigger picture of the pace that earlier readers can progress.

     

     

    That sounds about like what we do. Both girls learned to read with ETC, but now with dd7 she is reading at a higher level, but ETC makes her consider the rules and makes sure she is not "guessing."

     

    In the beginning ETC is all we used besides stepped readers from here and there.

    s/o - Why is everyone unsatisfied with science?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    One reason I am intimidated by science is the pre-planning aspect- not my strong suit! ;) And yes, after actually gathering all the materials for many experiments, I have had some real stinkers! I think I followed the directions and part-way through I realize it is not going to work. I suppose I should work out the experiments on my own to make sure, but that doesn't happen. I want to say I have had experiments bomb from various curricula, not just one or two. Was it I at fault or the writer of the experiment or both?:001_huh:

     

    Another problem for me is the sequence. Grammar and math have definite sequence that builds year after year. The four-year history rotation makes perfect sense and works well. But the various fields of science are so inter-related that I constantly second guess what should precede what.

     

    It shouldn't be this hard. I guess it is a personal block with me.:tongue_smilie:

    Do you have a "car library"?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I have had a couple of books get a bit mishapen in the heat. I try not to leave ANYTHING in the van in our Georgia summers!! I find that binders with the clear covers get shmooshy, and so do some books bound with glue. I don't ever leave my iPod or Kindle in the car in the heat or the cold. Also I have had book covers fade. Maybe that is my climate. Maybe keeping books in a cooler in the back would help.

    Do you have a "car library"?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Oh, yes!! I have quite an audio library on my iPod which includes librivox recordings, teaching Company lectures, and music from composers we study. Dd10 always brings books with her. I try to rotate weekly a selection for dd7 to "rediscover" in the car. This includes nature magazines as well as science books and classic literature. We are on the road a lot Mon- Thursday so I haul many school books in the van in the hopes of finishing some things with one daughter while the other dances. It actually works fairly well because there are fewer distractions in the van than in the house! I also bring my Kindle full of free children's classics as well as novels and history books for me. I also find myself with traditional books usually history or cookbooks. When I get home in the evening and am faced with hauling it all back out, I'm not so thrilled!:tongue_smilie: But I cannot stand the idea of being out and having expected or unexpected time on my hands and nothing to read!

    Besides dd7's weekly selections, I don't permanently leave things in the van. On purpose anyway!

    s/o do you aspire to, or believe you are doing, "school at home"

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I might have misunderstood the original question. I thought it was about "curriculum-in-a-box" vs. the parent cobbling the whole thing together.

     

    Is this about schedules and scope-and-sequence? I don't try to plan too far ahead on paper, although I do have 12-year goals. I don't quite understand un-schooling, but there seems to be quite a broad spectrum to the definition.

     

    We have work that needs to get done, (sometimes on the way to 10 billion dance classes), but we do plenty of things spontaneously a walk, a swim, a read aloud on the couch, nature sketching... I encourage the girls to seek out books on topics they are interested in, but that is above and beyond, not instead of math facts, grammar, latin, piano practice etc. So around here, School still means School, but with all the delightful addends like art, music, dance, poetry etc.

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