ccolopy
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Posts posted by ccolopy
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It's taken me a few years to figure out what works for us in this department, but I've realized that I am only capable of teaching my kids the language that I speak well - French. I started French with DS in 3rd grade (we began homeschooling in 2nd and he had no interest in French at the time) and DD in kindergarten. We've used the Alex et Zoe series, as well as college-level textbooks and lots of books, music and videos.
For languages that I don't speak, we wait until the kids are old enough to take an online or outside class. DS began taking an online Arabic class last year in 5th grade and is doing very, very well. He's interested in adding another language, but I'm not quite sure how we'll manage that. He will likely dual-enroll at the public high school for Spanish, as they have native speakers teaching it and he has to take a class there to play baseball anyway.
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Very early thoughts:
Math: If he likes AoPS (we just started last week), we'll stick with it.
Science: Physics, not sure what we'll use.
English: WWS2 + modern literature. Maybe some pieces from MCT. I'm intrigued.
History: World history, 1914-present. Haven't picked a textbook yet.
Arabic: CTY Online
French: I'll throw this together, focusing on grammar, phonetics and literature.
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My 3rd and 6th graders can spell it, although the 3rd grader thought it was a kind of bird...
I don't really know what it means to be an 8th grade level word, but I would expect any word to be fair game for an 8th grade spelling bee.
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I generally don't buy ahead. Right now, I have math for DS up to the end of next year and enough French textbooks and resources to get them through a French major. Apart from those and a few things we'll reuse, I have nothing for after this school year.
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No experience with Plato, but DS is using and enjoying Rainbow Science. He does the reading/written work independently and gets together with two friends to do the labs. All three boys are doing well with it. I haven't actually read everything myself, but Rainbow is Christian and familiarizes students with both evolution and creation. We are generally secular homeschoolers, and so far my (agnostic atheist) DS hasn't found the Christian content overwhelming.
DS started Rainbow in 5th grade, but the other boys are a year and two older. It's recommended for 7th-9th grades on their website, but I would recommend it for 6th-8th.
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My DS 13 started working through this book this week at his own request. My son loves LoF and is interested in Physics, so he wanted to give this book a try. He has finished Algebra already and is half way through geometry, so I thought this book would be quite easy for him. I was surprised when he told me the Your Turn to Play sections were hard, and he had trouble understanding a few of the questions on the second day.
This is probably not what everyone else wants to hear, but it's perfect for us! I was thinking about having DS go through LOF Physics this spring (we'll finish his science program about two months before everything else) to get him geared up for algebra-based physics in the fall. He's read most of the elementary books for fun and has just started geometry with a different program.
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We've only used the lower levels of Noeo, but I highly, highly recommend Rainbow Science. So does my DS. :) He does the reading/written work independently, then gets together with two friends to do the labs. I walked them through the first few, but since then they've been on their own. Everything is completely laid out for you.
I really like the Rainbow Science text and don't think you need to supplement with another textbook, but you could definitely supplement with books on topics that he's interested in, or something like The Story of Science. There are some threads with lots of possibilities, such as this one.
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My 3rd grader spends 3-4 hours on schoolwork per day. This is including math, English, science, history and French. English and history (they're partly combined) take about two hours per day. The others are 20-40 minutes each. She also has a few chapters of assigned reading per day.
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It looks to me like he was just rushing. I'd go over the spelling for "people" and "buffoon", but I wouldn't be worried.
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My completely unscientific way for telling apart my fraternal twin brothers-in-law is their ears. They thought they were identical twins until they were about 10 when one became noticeably taller than they other, but I can even see in old pictures that their ears were slightly different shapes. If your boys' ears are the same, I'd say they're identical.
Yes, I know it's weird.
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Pant length for DS. He never grows out, just up. I'm not sure about DD. She never really seems to outgrow anything..
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DD (3rd grade) has to write in cursive for all of her work in English (narrations, dictations, journals, etc.) and history. For her other subjects, she can choose. She learned cursive at the end of 1st grade.
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According to DS: To Kathryn with love from ?eter.
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So much of this depends on the kid. DS read and enjoyed Where the Red Fern Grows, Call of the Wild, Holes and Carry On, Mr Bowditch in 2nd or 3rd grade and didn't have any issues with them. DD, on the other hand, would not handle Call of the Wild or Where the Red Fern Grows well at all and won't read them until middle school, if she reads them at all. She has enjoyed A Wrinkle in Time, Holes and Carry On, Mr Bowditch. For an average kid, I would suggest 3rd-4th grade for those three books and holding off another few years for Where the Red Fern Grows and Call of the Wild with a sensitive kid. I'm not familiar with Man O War.
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My son is still young, so we haven't encouraged him one way or the other yet, but he's shown a lot of interest over the last few years in international relations and intelligence. He's not sure whether he's more interested in the civilian or military side of things, but if he does decide to go military, he'll be applying to a service academy.
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Madeline
Matilda
Meredith
(Growing up, I planned on having three daughters.)
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First off, I really love both Sonlight and Oak Meadow, so I don't think you can go wrong either way. This year, we're doing Oak Meadow US History/English 5 and using the books left over from when DS went through Sonlight D&E. It's making for a fun year. :)
We haven't used Oak Meadow 7 or Sonlight G yet, but I'm in the process of deciding between Oak Meadow 6, Sonlight F and Sonlight G, so I'll be :bigear: for more opinions. We've been very happy with the move from Sonlight C to Oak Meadow.
A couple things I'm thinking about now: Oak Meadow 6 begins a two-year history survey, so that might be a better place to start. But, history is combined with English in Oak Meadow in 6th grade. But, Oak Meadow English is great and it's easy to skip the vocab/grammar/spelling sections, or some fo the writing if you want to. But, the books used in Sonlight G (and H) look a lot better than those used in Sonlight F. I probably won't make a decision until the summer, but I'd be interested to hear what you go with!
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Try not to be too overwhelmed. :) You have 6- and 7-year-old boys who can read well, write paragraphs and summarize. You're way ahead of the game!
I can't be much help because we haven't used most of those programs, but I think your instinct to separate them for literature is the right move. I've been investigating the MCT literature program and I think it looks just right for 3rd/4th grade literature, leaving lots of time for reading whatever else interests him. I would also lean toward separating them for the rest of language arts.
There is a placement guide for WWE here. You'll likely be able to tell just from looking at it which level will be better for your boys. I started my DD in WWE 2 (shortly before she turned 7) and moved through it fairly quickly, then spent an entire school year on WWE 3.
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DS loves Python, but he's started learning Java as well. I'll ask him what he's using in the morning and post.
I don't count programming as part of school. I would not consider it a science at this stage.
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DS is active on two baseball forums. I had DH check them out beforehand, but I trust him to conduct himself well on the forums and let one of us know if there are any problems.
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I used Latin Alive! 1 with my son over the course of 4th & 5th grade, without any problems. He'd done Latin for Children A in 2nd grade, but didn't remember much by the time we got to Latin Alive.
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I would go with Island in your situation. The grammar will be mostly review, but the writing is so different from WWE that it should keep him interested and a little challenged.
My DD is 8 and just about finished WWE4, but I've decided to start with the Island level. We're skipping Grammar Island (she's done FLL3 and JAG) and Building Language, so we'll get through Sentence Island and Music of the Hemispheres by the end of this year and start Town next fall.
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We're easing back in. DS started his new math book and caught up on some reading today. Tomorrow, DD will start back with science and history, but we'll leave everything else to Monday.
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My kids are way more into poetry than I am (I'm not sure how I've managed it!), so I'll post their current favorites. We've never formally memorized poetry, but they always know a few good ones by heart to show off to the grandparents.
DS: Duello, by Robert Service
A Frenchman and an Englishman
Resolved to fight a duel,
And hit upon a savage plan,
Because their hate was cruel.
They each would fire a single shot
In room of darkness pitchy,
And who was killed and who was not
Would hang on fingers twitchy.
The room was bare and dark as death,
And each ferocious fighter
Could hear his fierce opponent's breath
And clutched his pistol tighter.
The Gaston fired - the bullet hissed
On its destructive mission . . .
"Thank God!" said John Bull. "He has missed."
The Frenchman cried: "Perdition!"
Then silence followed like a spell,
And as the Briton sought to
Reply he wondered where the hell
His Gallic foe had got to.
And then he thought: "I'll mercy show,
Since Hades is a dire place
To send a fellow to - and so
I'll blaze up through the fireplace."
So up the chimney he let fly,
Of grace a gallant henchman;
When lo! a sudden cry,
And down there crashed the Frenchman . . .
But if this yarn in France you tell,
Although its vein be skittish,
I think it might be just as well
To make your Frenchman - British.
DD: In a Station of the Metro, by Ezra Pound
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
When a Child has Birthday, Do They Get out of School?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
We do school on birthdays and save any fun birthday activities for the evening when DH is home, or the weekend when friends can join us.