Michelle in MO
-
Posts
2,998 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by Michelle in MO
-
-
and Dr. Wile really writes to the student. I've read portions of my oldest daughter's chemistry book, and for the first time I can actually understand chemistry, i.e., balancing equations.
The physical science book does have a lot of experiments; however, you can always modify those and pick out one or two per module that seem very worthwhile to do; at least, that's what we've done. It's worked for us!
-
Grammar - 30 minutes/day
Vocabulary (WW-11) - 15 min/day
Writing (now, two overlapping tutorials) - 2-3 hours/day; this will drop off by the end of February; Bravewriter tutorial ends tomorrow; Intermediate Progymnasmata tutorial with Cindy Marsch ends at the end of February
Math - 1-1/2 hours day - Geometry
Apologia Chemistry - 6 hours/week
Omnibus II - 1 to 1-1/2 hours/day
Piano - 30 min/day (not as much as I'd like, but it's our compromise)
Voice - 15-30 min/day
Altogether, probably 6-7 hours a day.
I get plenty of complaints from my dd about our schedule! I'm trying to learn to spread things out and lighten things up when I can, but it's not always possible!
-
"How to Understand and Appreciate Classical Music" - Professor Robert Greenberg. All of Greenberg's courses are excellent, but this one has been a best-seller with TCC for years!
"The History of the English Language" - Professor Seth Lehrer. Excellent! Even my husband is thoroughly enjoying this course!
"Foundations of Western Civilization" - Good; the professor is not quite as engaging, but the material is excellent.
We also own many others, but the first two are outstanding.
-
so much of what I'd wondered about myself for a long time, only in her own inimitable way!
I know that, in the past, when I've tried to make my kids stack up against other people's kids, I always feel like I come up short. If I learn to love these children of ours as God created them, I can still use TWTM and classical methods to help them achieve their best.
-
the most well-educated kids, we sometimes push too much on them, too soon. I would agree, especially in the area of science education, although I would have to say that the private school our daughter was originally at was more guilty of forcing abstract concepts too soon in that area and in other areas. One of the things that attracted me to TWTM, besides the promise of an excellent education, was that it just made so much sense: the expectations at each stage of learning (grammar, logic, rhetoric) was so age-appropriate. I also agree that we do need to be careful of intellectual snobbery; one of the main goals, no matter what our religious beliefs, should be to have our children grow up with sound character.
Susan Wise Bauer wrote an excellent article a few years ago, entitled "A Balanced Classical Model" which addressed some of these concerns. She addresses the need for parents and classical Christian schools to stay balanced and, in my interpretation, stay out of this mode of "competing" to produce the brightest kids. I admit I sometimes want so much more for my kids, but they often desire a lesser amount themselves. I do what I'm able to do with them, but oftentimes I have to back off, not from a classical education, but realizing that they're simply not ready. These stages are not fixed in stone, but fluid and flexible. My youngest is in 5th grade and still needs much grammar-stage instruction; my oldest does too, in certain areas! I wanted my oldest two to pursue Latin all the way through high school, but after finishing Henle I, it was apparent that they just didn't want to go any further! That's OK---even though we all weren't the most stellar Latin students, they had exposure to the language in such a way that will benefit them greatly in the future, I believe.
Here's the link to Susan's article, in case you haven't read it:
http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/How_To_Homeschool/articles/articles.php?aid=226
I don't know how the "link thing" works on these new boards, but I believe you should be able to copy and paste the characters onto your browser.
-
"The classical educationists instead advocate a method that is fundamentally rationalistic; they promote abstract thought, logic, integration, and universal truths, but it is a world of abstractions that is disconnected from the concrete, perceptual world around us.
The negative consequences of a secular classical education are legion. Fundamentally, such an education fails to deliver on its promise to give students the knowledge and thinking methods they need for adult life. It fails to provide a true understanding of the crucial facts that students need to know, and it trains them in a method of dealing with abstractions that leaves them incapable of knowing what they are talking about—while simultaneously assuring them that they do know."
To me, this shows an extremely fundamental misconception of what a classical education is all about. In no way does a classical education and its proponents (including Douglas Wilson, SWB, Jessie Wise, etc.) promote a "world of abstractions that is disconnected from the concrete, perceptual world around us." My kids aren't finished with school yet, so I can't speak with real authority, but just in the curriculum we use for Great Books, Omnibus, the discussions are extremely practical in taking abstractions and applying them to everyday problems. There are just too many moms on these boards with success stories regarding their homeschool graduate kids to say otherwise. This article seems to assume that classical education takes place in some sort of vacuum, i.e., that the child is mindlessly taught to decline Latin nouns without learning how to make a salad, that they are taught about Aristotle and Herodotus without learning how to use a computer! Give me a break! I hope others on these boards can offer their much better informed, tried and true experience than I can, but I believe my children will succeed and be able to cope well with life!
-
We do Abeka for Grammar & Composition; that takes approximately 30 minutes per day (this is for my 10th grade dd). We also do two vocabulary books a year---Vocabulary from the Classical Roots in the fall, and Wordly Wise in the spring. We're also doing four writing tutorials this year, which are fairly time-intensive in and of themselves: two with Cindy Marsch (Beginning and Intermediate Progymnasmata--two sessions of the latter). Plus, we're doing Omnibus for literature---not all of the books, but most of them. I think in any English class in h.s. they'd be lucky if they covered more than 4 or 5 per semester.
So, under English II (for this year---10th grade) I'm giving my oldest one credit for: Abeka Grammar & Composition, the two vocabulary books, and the four writing tutorials. I may possibly even give her a separate Composition credit, depending on how the hours look.
I'll award another full credit for literature. She's worked really hard this year, and her test scores show that her comprehension of grammar and all things verbal is very high. So, I'm giving at least two credits for English----English I and Literature, and possibly a third for Composition. She has almost 280 hours logged so far for all of the above, and will probably top 350-400 by the time the year is over.
HTH!
-
We just finished Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain, and on pp. 197-198 (Part VIII, Chapter 12), it states that the Britons tried to move the rocks of Stonehenge with "every conceivable kind of mechanism." It says then that ". . . Merlin burst out laughing. He placed in position all the gear which he considered necessary and dismantled the stones more easily than you could ever believe. Once he had pulled them down, he had them carried to the ships and stored on board, and they all set sail once more for Britain with joy in their hearts." Maybe this fellow's discovery was the kernel of Merlin's success! What I have a hard time swallowing, though, is Merlin's claim (or was it Geoffrey's?) that the stones originated in Africa and were used by giants to bathe their feet because of their medicinal qualities! Somehow the stones were transported from Africa to Ireland, and then from Ireland to Great Britain by Merlin.
Interesting stuff! I enjoyed the video, and so did my daughters!
-
and do the Introductory Algebra book. The Intermediate Algebra book was quite difficult for my oldest; however, we did it after Introductory Algebra and she was just too young for the material. The first few chapters (4, I think) of Intermediate Algebra review the material in Introductory Algebra.
As far as the DVT instruction, they cover the concepts fairly well, but the teachers aren't the most exciting I've ever seen. However, they get the job done.
HTH!
-
I haven't used Bob Jones, so I can't compare it with Apologia. However, we've had good success in our family so far with Apologia. Even though the regular Biology doesn't have the human anatomy and physiology component, the student is exposed to that in the General Science course. Frankly, I think it's better done in two courses, myself. I was a non-science major, but still took college-level biology, inorganic chemistry, and a full year of human anatomy and physiology. Since there is so much information in human anatomy and physiology, I liked having it as a separate course.
I also believe that, depending on your goals, Apologia will give your child a firm foundation in science. My children probably wont major in a science-related field. My oldest is doing the Chemistry course now, and believe me, it's far more chemistry than I ever studied in high school.
One of the things I think I would like, if I used Bob Jones, is the DVD component. I think the audio-visual aspect of that helps. However, there are hints that Apologia may head towards the same. Last year I e-mailed Dr. Wile, and received a response from Rusty Hughes (I *think*) that they were going to do a trial module of the Apologia Biology with a DVD component over the summer. I hope that they do; for some courses that would make it much more interesting and understandable, as well.
HTH!
:D
-
and are enjoying it more than Omnibus I (although we didn't get nearly as much done on Omnibus I as we would have like!). We are not doing Bede's Ecclesiastical History, but we did read Eusebius's Church History, and I thought it was very engaging! We just finished History of the Kings of Britian (Geoffrey of Monmouth) and that also was very good. We're taking one week off, and then we start Macbeth and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. We're only doing the Primary Readings, however. My girls have read many of the Secondary Readings, and I find it very difficult to do ALL the readings!
-
I just know from previous experience with my oldest daughter that these tests took a while. You are right, Jann---the factoring doesn't go away! After doing well with Intro. Algebra, my oldest daughter struggled so much with the factoring in Intermediate Algebra. The tests took her forever, and I finally had to drop the text. Based upon her age and maturity, I should have sandwiched geometry in between the two algebras for her. I don't want to make the same mistake with my middle daughter. I'll print out your message and look at the test again----it just seemed rather long to me, and when she took two hours with the Chapter 5 test, I thought, "Oh no---not again!"
Thanks for your advice!
-
My middle daughter is doing Lial's Introductory Algebra now, and seems to be doing pretty well. However, the tests are rather long. I was just working on lesson plans for February and noticed that the test for Chapter 6 (this is the 8th Edition we're working out of) is 30 questions. When she did the test for Chapter 5, which was 25 problems, it took her about two hours. Is this reasonable for a test of this length? Would it be wrong for me to reduce the number of questions for the Chapter 6 test? If so, which problems could I eliminate?
Thanks for any and all help and advice!
-
The Fellowship of the Ring again, The Writer's Jungle by Julie Bogart, just finished What's So Great About Christianity? by Dinesh D'Souza. My husband just finished Mornings on Horseback by David McCollough, and I want to read that, too! However, when I finally get a chance to read for fun, it's 9:30 at night and I fall asleep after the first few pages! I'm also studying for the GRE in March, so that's taking up the little spare time I have!
-
Congratulations to you and your dc! Scholarship money is soooo great these days! We're very happy for you!
-
if it would have been easier to have boys!)
I do know that some things, like the extra calcium and potassium, have helped me. I need to gently push her in that direction, along with the B-vitamins, etc., to help her out.
Thanks for the good advice!
-
My oldest daughter has incredible mood swings around that time of the month. I do think that some better nutrition would be in order during that time, or for a week or two before. When she keeps track on her calendar, I can remind her to drink extra milk (for calcium) and eat extra bananas (for potassium), because those two nutrients have helped me quite a bit.
Are there any other supplements that I can give her that would help even out her mood swings? Sometimes I feel like I'm going to pull my hair out every month between her and my middle daughter!
Sorry to post this on this board, but I really don't frequent the other boards!
Thanks for your advice!
-
I'm having trouble navigating these new boards, too! I miss the old format---where I could easily scroll down the board and find the topic of interest. Even if I wasn't interested in a particular topic, I could find out what others were discussing.
I think part of the reason for the change may have been security; those who try to post Spam and other nonsense will have to register.
I do wish we could turn back the clock and return to the old format!
-
Shock! I woke up this morning and automatically checked TWTM boards, and it's sooooo different! I guess I'll get used to it, but I miss the old format already, where I can browse through and at a glance see everyone's topics of concern (and the answers) for that day!
Hmmmmm....I'll have to think on this one!
:confused:
Update on dd and I's argument for those who responded below
in High School and Self-Education Board
Posted
some (but certainly not all) homeschoolers do what I would consider a "marginal" job, i.e., good enough to pass the GED, but not enough to continue on to college. Since my dd's are friends with some of these kids, it irks them sometimes that they have to do "so much more". Sometimes they also mistakenly fall into the trap of assuming that because they're homeschooled, they are by virtue of that fact doing so much better than their peers. I told them---don't bet on it! A year or two ago the valedictorian of our local h.s. went to MIT, so that's not a shabby accomplishment! So much depends on the motivation of the kids! I think it's difficult for some homeschooled kids to realize that the grass isn't always greener on the other side!
Anyway, I'm glad you did the poll, and it sounds like the results might have helped your dc see things a little bit differently.