Caroline4kids
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Posts posted by Caroline4kids
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I switched my natural speller over to Spelling Wisdom. She really likes it (although she still spells everything right!) A vocabulary program, as someone else suggested, might be good as well (or instead).
:iagree::iagree:I love this program and it really is challenging.
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It looks really good. I have been trying to find "spines" myself. :)
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I bought the Rainbow Rock cd at a homeschool sale and it looks like a really fun supplement to my daughter's MUS.
I was wondering if these cd's can be used without the textbooks? I know they say they are a supplement, but they seem pretty involved. They seem to have an overview before each exercise and challenge problems as well.
I have NO need to get Singapore math as my kids are already doing Strayer-Upton/MUS/Systematic Mathematics and the Rainbow Rock was just an impulse buy. I have always been curious about Singapore though. So, how much of Sinapore Math do these cd's cover? I am wondering if Vroot Vroom and Wiggle Words are worth it as a supplement to what I am doing already. I love the fact they are animated games which may break up our routine once in a while.
What do you think of them?
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The conservative Christian world view is under direct, specific challenge from the culture in a way that is pretty unprecedented. We are in a post-Christian culture. Just look at the difference between how clergy are portrayed in modern movies vs. 40 years ago, or in how routine moral decisions are portray likewise. The sort of generically Judeo-Christian point of view that pervaded our culture up through about 1960 is pretty much gone.
In addition, many educational disciplines directly question or flat out contradict Christian/Biblical teachings--archeology, anthropology,history, biology, geology, physics, even secularized or liberal Christian texts do this. I recently read a textbook called "The Hebrew Bible" which was intended for use in an upper division Near Eastern Studies university course as well as for entry level students in a theological seminary. Even I was shocked, and I thought I had kept up pretty well. Basically this book, intended to be taught to prospective pastors, taught that the whole Old Testament is factually erroneous (but that that is not the point of these writings, doncha know). The book presented this view as fact, not open to contradiction, not a 'point of view' or an opinion. Just established fact. I pictured people coming into a seminary, planning to serve God their whole lives, and finding their classes incompatible with their beliefs. This has, of course, been happening for 150 years or so, but this particular example seemed particularly egregious to me as it is from the university I attended, and where I was taught very differently.
I also am planning to use a Biblical curriculum next year that includes serious consideration of contemporary social issues from a conservative Christian POV. It's written for 8th graders. At the same time we will be studying epics explicitly and in more detail than in past years. I want to develop the vision of what a real hero is.
What Biblical curriculum are you going to use? I agree with all you are saying here and yet I am not sure what direction to take. Quine's work is the only comprehensive high school curriculum I have seen that takes the approach I want, but I am not clear on his history perspective. I know he likes Schaeffer (spelling?).
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Me too!
We started but are going at a slower pace this summer.
Preparing:
My 11, 10, and 8 year olds
11 and 10 year olds are reading extentions from Bigger
Little Hearts:
My soon-to-be 5 year old little girl
We will either be doing Queen's Language Lessons/ DGP grammar (4 year old is only doing Queen's for phonics).
Math is MUS and Systematic Mathematics
The other things we are adding are typing, Simply Music (piano) and First Form/Prima Latina Latin.
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Well, I agree with you in that kids should get what they need from home, but I know my own faults and I don't know if I am always equipped to doing it in as thorough a manner as I would like.
For high school I am leaning towards Starting Points by David Quine and the books that follow. I like that it is open ended and not "textbooky". IEW also has writing lessons that go along with it. He takes modern movies and books and filters them through scripture.
So many times I completely miss the propaganda being spewed at us constantly and I think it would be good for me as well.
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Have you ever tried Shurley? The only reason I mention it, even though we dropped the whole program years ago, is because the jingles really, really, helped my kids and continue to help them.
I bought the fourth grade level and we lasted about 2 months, but the jingles are something we use all the time. It was a way for my grammar-phobic kids to retain parts of speech, prepositions, etc.
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I own LOF Algebra too. It is plenty meaty, but my kids learn better with dvd instruction. I was going to have them do LOF once they finish sytemath. I have the LOF Statistics book too (dh used it to review) and it is VERY meaty! :)
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I would just read through the www. systemath.com site and look at the exit tests for each module. They also have a math rescue program to get up to speed if you are headed into Algebra.
I haven't previewed all the dvds yet (there are hours and hours), but I own them all, and will post here when I get the chance.
So far my son is really enjoying Level 6.:)
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My oldest son has only one more module to do in order to complete Algebra. I will say this. . . Mr. Paul Ziegler has become a dear friend to our family and we've never even met him! My son soon overcame the poor quality of the dvd lessons and the times when Mr. Ziegler would write something on the board wrong because deep down my son was learning and he knew it. Also, the quality of the recordings got better as he went through the modules.
Caroline, I made it a game with my son to see if he could 'catch' his teacher when he made an error. : ) And, Mr Ziegler always caught the error before too long and would talk his way back to the beginning in order to find it which taught my son how to go back and check his own work.
You bring up a great point too. Teachers in a classroom, or a tutor for that matter, will have mistakes from time to time. It keeps kids on their toes and makes sure they are paying attention.;)
I bought these dvd's used at a homeschool book sale and the lady raved about how her children grew to have a great affinity for Mr. Ziegler too.:) They thought it was like having their "Pa Pa" teaching them algebra! She said they really learned a lot and the only reason she was selling the materials was they had used it all the way through.
I like the fact that his lessons are well thought out. Any occasionally computation error is made up for the detailed lessons he lays out. The "why" seems to be strong focal point.
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I love it because it gets done! We read a small section and they narrate-- voila! done. :) My kids retain it and that is important, the most important things IMHO.
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I have all the Systematic Mathematics courses (6th - Algebra 2) that my 11 year old just started. So far he likes it a lot. I will let y'all know how it goes. ;)
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Have you looked at the other Queen's things? I think that if you do your math, Queen's LL, and Reading Reflex and just add in a nice science and history book you would be set. You kids are young so practicing the fine art of narration would be plenty at this age. You would only have to do a few books aloud, but in small chunks. She has a nice volume called Hearth Stories and animal biographies that are really nice.
If you are looking for a packaged curriculum that covers everything and can be used with what you already have, I would recommend Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory by www.heartofdakota.com . It has everything all scheduled but there is not so much that it is overwhelming. Beyond would fit your kids' age range.
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My four year old is learning both with an emphasis on reading print and writng cursive. I had many issues with spacing and reversals with her older brother. Cursive was definitely neater for him. I just say that printing is what we read more and that cursive is the way we write more.:)
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What is column addition?
It is adding a long column of numbers first from the bottom to the top, and then checking by adding from the top down. You only add in the sequence listed. For instance if this were an addition problem:
3
4
5
1
8
__
You would first add in this way: say, 8, 9, 14,18, 21
Then you would check down: say, 3, 7, 12, 13, 21
At that point you would place 21 in the answer slot.
It works like flashcards, but in a less redundant way. :)
It then progresses to much longer and wider problems, with many more place values covered.
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One of the things I really, really liked about Practical Arithmetic was the column addition. It forced my son to learn the combinations quicker than any flashcard or computer game could have done. I was insistent that he add the numbers exactly in the order they were given . . .not looking for groupings of '10' as he was previously taught in Abeka (also how I was taught). I think the 'grouping' approach hinders children and slows them down and more often than not causes mistakes by overlooking a number or two; whereas column addition, once mastered, speeds up quick adding abilities. This is just my humble opinion having witnessed it with my own son. :001_smile:
I had never learned to add this way either. I sometimes do it with them and they can see I am slow at it. :tongue_smilie:It really challenged me at first, and you are right about it being better than flash cards. My kids groan a bit every time they do it, but I know the little wheels are turning and they really can see their progress. Plus they know they show their mom up. :)
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My rising 5th grader will do:
Heart of Dakota: Preparing Hearts for His Glory w/ Extentions
(includes: bible, music, history, dictation, copywork, written narrations, science, poetry, and art)
MUS Epsilon
Rod and Staff Grammar/ Queen's Lanuguage Lessons Elementary Child 2
First Form Latin
Daily Bible reading out of the Day by Day Bible
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I would use books that are suggested at www.heartofdakota.com or you could do what I am doing, and that is using all my Sonlight books we haven't read yet. :) I also like to use referece books that list read alouds for children and divide them up by genre. I think the one I have is Books Children Love to Read, but I may have messed that title up a bit.
I love DITHOR because you can be so flexible.:)
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Here is ours:
HOD: Preparing Hearts for His Glory
MUS Delta/Epsilon
First Form Latin
Artistic Pursuits
Rod and Staff 3 with Queen's LL Elementary 2
...oh, and bucket loads of library books.:)
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My husband used this to brush up for an Army course he needed to take. He loved it and I have to say it was nice to see the end in the progression of courses with Fred. He was quite impressed by the scope of this book.
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I don't know if you do things in a CM way, but I really, really like www.simplycharlottemason.com . I love it because I can put my resources in and drop things out as desired. I put my planned curriculum into it, like HOD and MUS, and add individual books as needed. I even put nature study, PE, and piano into it. :)
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My 11 year old is in Epsilon and it takes him about 30 minutes for systematic reviews and 15 for new lessons. He is also reviewing Gamma and Delta with his younger brothers.
If the lessons are easy and she is getting them all right I would move on to the next lesson. We sometimes do three lessons a week, or we may sit on a lesson for three. It just depends on how well they are getting it.:)
If long multiplication is new to her then you may have to camp out on those lessons for a while before moving on to Delta.
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She's actually 8 now (well, on the 15th-- so close enough!).
She has done R&S2. She completed it in 1st grade (big mistake!) b/c she was so academically ahead, I just considered her as a 2nd grader and got everything for 2nd grader level instead of realizing I could mix and match grade levels. I have learned my lesson now...LOL. We took her 2nd grade year off from much grammar, just completing the weekly lessons in Heart of Dakota's Beyond Little Hearts. She has retained enough to move on so that's why we're doing level 3. So far, it's going well! I might have her do a less intense grammar next year for 4th after doing R&S3 in 3rd. I like to have that break...and 4 is a big jump!
I think many kids do a level or two behind their grade anyway, right?
Most definitely! :) My 7 year old could do level 3, but I am having him do 2 because he can be so independent with it. Grammar has so much repetition anyway. You could always do R & S 3 at half pace. HOD has so many nice written narration exercises in Preparing. She may benefit by just having the opportunity to use what she has learned for a while and then ramp it up when you get to Preparing. You have plenty of time.:)
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Then again...
If you wanted to start with grade 7 you could do that by having your child get familiar with the various terms first and then just jump in. :) You really learn by doing in this program. I love how you live with just one sentence per week. I think it creates a nice "hook" for your memory of the definitions and applications to hang on. Since it is only one sentence, it is not going to be terribly overwhelming.
Why can't I find the 'perfect' homeschool curriculum?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
I'm a tweaker too. It is a disease that strikes when you pocketbook least expects it.
:tongue_smilie: