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dauphin

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Posts posted by dauphin

    Talk me down off the ledge...(sorta joking...but sorta not) be gentle

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    We are in this boat too. The fragmentation is really tough and kids definitely notice it as they get older.

    And even if they are lucky enough while homeschooling to find their "people" in some way WRT a shared interest, they still don't have those multiple points of reference like you described. And just don't see each other that often. I would have been SO happy to have been homeschooled but less and less certain that it's right for what DD would say she wants.

    • Like 2

    Talk me down off the ledge...(sorta joking...but sorta not) be gentle

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Well, the problem with dual enrollment as a homeschooler is that he's still the "outsider". He wants to be an "insider". With a group of friends, going thru the same difficulties as him, same curriculum, team sports etc. I think it's the fragmentation that he is not happy with anymore.

     

    The IB program would be very cohesive and tightknit, from what i understand.

    Oh this resonates with what we are going through right now....

    • Like 1

    7th grade: Geography? (MP? Creek Edge Press? Or just chill out and wait for HS?)

    in Logic Stage & Middle Grade Challenges

    Posted

    We've also done CC geography (Cycles 2 & 3 in a community and currently using Cycle 1 at home). This year, DD is also using (as her primary program) Mapping the World with Art by Ellen McHenry. It is quick and fun and she does it totally independently. She reads the 2-page spread and draws the map along with the video on day one (about 20-25 minutes?) and on day two she reviews by re-drawing a previously drawn map or two. Our goal is to know all 30 lessons well-enough by the end of the year to do them CC-style, mostly from memory.

     

    I, too, like the idea of Creek Edge Press cards, but I think that would be more involved and time-consuming, perhaps best if done INSTEAD of a history program rather than on top of one.

     

    I just went and looked at that one again too. Tempting. Yes, I agree about the Creek Edge Press cards, I think she'd get more out of it if she could devote more attention to it instead of feeling like it's an afterthought/rushed.

     

    Your list looks like enough already, to me.

     

    I would think of doing one of the mapping programs next summer on its own, or maybe towards the end of the spring when you are nearly finished with some of your other plans or outside classes are over or lightening up.

     

     

    Same idea, I think. I think my hesitation is that the Creek Edge Press cards, while an ideal in many ways if one can devote the time and attention to it, would end up feeling like something ELSE piled on, and would be completed in a more hurried, get-r-done manner. 

     

    DD doesn't love adding things to the routine after the fact and is probably hoping to have the summer off with siblings in school who also get the summer off. But we could conceivably make it into more of a summer camp/intensive for mapping/drawing, rather than schooling on it through the whole summer. And we could involve the next oldest sibling, who will be 8.5 by then and who also enjoys drawing and learning.

    7th grade: Geography? (MP? Creek Edge Press? Or just chill out and wait for HS?)

    in Logic Stage & Middle Grade Challenges

    Posted

    I am learning to draw the world this year with my 7th grader using this:

     

    http://map-of-the-whole-world.weebly.com/

     

    It is $15 to download all of the ebooks, or you can try the free ebook first. 

     

     

    You could combine the map drawing with Creek Edge task cards if you want to add in culture/history learning.

     

    I forgot that I had heard about this one. This might be right up DD's alley.

    And WRT combining with the task cards: nah, I'm good with just geography for now...it's more like I'm wanting to add some geography context to DD's history.

    Yes, I think DD would get more if I did this alongside her like you suggest, and I'd like to... but I don't need to add anything that needs to wait on my availability/attention...

     

     

    Have you seen Zombie geography? The last time I looked it was too pricy for an individual user. The interesting thing about the program is that it is applied geography. You need to find the best spot to live, figure out the ecosystem and how that will impact your new life, look at possible migration routes, etc. If it's still too pricey, you could look at the scope and sequence and apply it yourself.

     

     

    This sounds fascinating! But I'd be good with flat-out memorization for right now :)

    7th grade: Geography? (MP? Creek Edge Press? Or just chill out and wait for HS?)

    in Logic Stage & Middle Grade Challenges

    Posted

    Background:

     

    We did CC cycle 1 geography (Ancient Empires, Africa, Central America, and Canada) at home in 4th grade (not as deeply learned as when we were in a community for Cycle 2). Cycle 2 (Europe, Asia) was done in a community in 5th grade and she mastered it pretty well (Memory Master). Sixth grade was US geography and history (independent of CC), also mastered fairly well. For 7th grade we are outsourcing history/lit in a great-books style course locally. This teacher supplements for her own students with Maps, Charts, & Graphs but that seems more like map/graph skills than actually geography content and frankly I don't know how much they have already covered through doing WTM-style history more systematically over the years than we have so that may be all they "need"....(we started homeschooling in the middle of 4th grade).

     

    I love the looks of MP Geography just to make sure we systematically cover our bases and get a good foundation before high school. I know it is targeted a little younger but I don't mind it being easy as long as the content is there, and it seems like it is written in an engaging format and is all laid out for us. I like ready-to-go. HOWEVER I also aspire to Montessori-style so the open-ended Creek Edge Press Geography and Culture Task Card Set is calling my name at the moment (and DD feels like it is more appealing than MP). For those not familiar with it, it involves open-ended research questions so the learning is more student-let (but more engaging), but still has the structure of a scope/sequence to cover. I already own the task card set as well as many of the atlases needed. I also have a bunch of the supplemental/optional/fun items in my Amazon cart at the moment. 

     

    So why the hesitation?

     

    I feel like we may be finally finding a balance with volume of work that DD can begin to do more independently, finish in a reasonable amount of time, and still have time for extracurricular activities that cut into the "school week." (DD really needs to do her work during the school week as she has two siblings in brick and mortar schools so she doesn't generally get work done in the evenings or on weekends b/c she wants to play with them and they usually don't have work to do after school). But I had planned to do Geography this year and am not happy with what we are accomplishing this year WRT content. But maybe we've done enough and more than most would do before high school anyway? But.... I want her to be well prepared for high-school level discussions of history and to have an understanding of how our physical and cultural geography have contributed to/been a major player in our world history and current conflicts. 

     

    Here's what we are doing this year:

    History/Lit: Outsourced to local class

    Logic: Introductory Logic, outsourced to same teacher

    Bible: *in transition, possibly Most Important Thing You'll Ever Study*

    Math: AoPS Pre-A 2 online class until Feb, then Alg

    Writing: WTMA Expository Writing 1 online class

    Spelling: Phonetic Zoo C

    Vocab: WordBuild Elements 1

    Science: Rainbow Science (double-paced to finish in 1 year, DD wants to be able to take HS science next year, even this pace is pretty easy for DD)

    Art: Meet the Masters

    Music: Classical Kids; also trying to arrange Piano lessons

     

    Ooh, just thought of:

     

    Mapping the world with Art....or ChA-style geography work (I don't think DD would tackle that as successfully without a group of peers to compete with, though). 

     

    For what it's worth, when I said I wanted to add something back in, DD asked to do CC geography. I suspected that may have been because it seemed easier than other options so I kind of dismissed it considering we have covered all 3 cycles so to speak. But it also may fit with how SHE would like to learn. So maybe I should rethink it. If we did it, no need to repeat Cycle 2. Cycle 3 would be redundant with last year's US history/geography focus. But I suppose that we could go back and do Cycle 1 again. Admittedly, when we did it we memorized it more in terms of lists rather than assigning names to locations (hey, newbie homeschoolers!).

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Algebra as a 7th grader

    in Accelerated Learner Board

    Posted

    Common Core moved some traditional Algebra 1 topics to the Prealgebra class ( called 8th Grade math) so more knowledge is expected on the first day of Common Core Algebra 1.  It is harder to skip Math grade levels.

     

    Google "Eureka Math" or "EngageNY Math"  to see a true Common Core Math implementation. Look at the Common Core New York State Regents Algebra 1 exams.

     

    It sure sounds like it! If you have an AL, at what point can/do you accelerate? Like, does it have to happen by 1st-2nd grade or not at all? Also makes it harder to move in and out of the school systems, I would imagine.  Sigh.

    Help me find this Bible curriculum? (covenantal overview?)

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I'm wrestling with this, clearly. When you say "do the sheet," what exactly does that mean? Do you just hand them page 2 and they write the answers on their own paper? Again, this is based on the samples, but it seems like a lot of them lend themselves more towards doing them orally: describe, discuss, compare these two passages, how does this apply to us today. Bible Drill seems like it would be more fun with other kids to complete against (younger two are in school). Do they do a narration daily? Do you have them do it orally or written? I see map work...and no maps included, just a link to general map resource websites, so there's more prep work for each day/week.

     

    Or do you mean the coloring pages from Calvary? (I just noticed your oldest is 7-8)....

    Help me find this Bible curriculum? (covenantal overview?)

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    We love Foundations for our bible time.

     

    Yep, I was sorely tempted by this, everything all laid out and planned out. But right now I am wanting less teacher intensive and when I see: drills, memory verse, "discuss," and activities, I think "I'm going to be right there almost the whole time, aren't I?" And eventually I think I will be ready to, I think that the discussion will be important. But I need a little space right now, and I need something that gets done. Consistently. Independently.

     

     

    The sword studies are wonderful! They are available for different age levels. When my kids use them I study the same material with the High School level. There is also a logic stage and mid elem. level. They are not however an overview of the Bible. They are an in depth study of a book with Greek and Hebrew word studies and lots of cross references.

     

    Ooh that sounds SUPER cool. On my list, just not for right now.

     

     

    Bible Road Trip doesn't have to be parent intensive. A savvy fifth grader could surely just use the planning page herself to see what came next.

     

    When we used Victor Journey I usually did one spread a week. The extra boxes offer a variety of fodder for extra assignments, such as tracing a map, looking up a lady of verses, copying the names of God, and such. The WTM 5th grade list of facts writing assignment could work here, as well as writing summaries. Think of it as the Kingfisher History Encyclopedia for Bible.

     

    On a second look (and focusing on Dialectic and not Grammar), that's a possibility. I saw all the questions and figured that DD would prefer answering them orally. Hence the impression of teacher-intensive. I suppose I could have her write/type them instead? It also is rich with options/activities for each week. I worry that it might be overwhelming for DD at first (particularly if the list of assigned activities is significantly edited...).

     

    But I'm really hoping to get my hands on a Victory Journey book. It's not a curriculum, but it IS a plan, isn't it....

    Help me find this Bible curriculum? (covenantal overview?)

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I haven't used it, but I have heard of some using Most Important Thing You'll Ever Study by Starr Meade.

     

     

    Oooh! I didn't know about this. We loved her book Teaching Minds, Training Hearts and my husband is going through her book on the Heidelberg Catechism now with the kids.

     

    This definitely has my attention! I like the workbook format of the Most Important Thing (plus the title speaks volumes!), but hello! WSC (Is that Teaching Minds?) and Heidelberg. I like how reviews say she is great at presenting conceptually complex ideas at a level kids can relate to.

     

     

     

    You could look into this: https://story.biblemesh.com

     

    A reformed church I went to used it for the teenage young men's group.

     

    I like a LOT about this, and could see this as being something -I- could benefit from but I"m not sure she has the maturity to have so many choices/freedoms (particularly online!) and I'm not sure I want the full workload for her (but if we don't follow as is, how much prep/planning time is it going to take). It might be the closest we can come to VP's Self-Paced Omnibus....

    Help me find this Bible curriculum? (covenantal overview?)

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    R&S is dry. We tried to like it, but it made Bible such a chore.

     

    We've used Victor Journey Through the Bible in a WTM-history sort of method. It has cultural and historical context for passages in an encyclopedia type format. You could spread a section across a week and go deep, or do 2-3 sections a week to move faster.

     

    You might look at Bible Road Trip too. This is straight Bible with notebooking pages, some extra book and DVD recommendations, activities, and such to choose from. No devotionals.

    R&S She saw some interesting things in the sample, but looking over a whole book (I bought it already before I decided to bring 2nd grader home) and their scope & sequence, I am highly suspicious of it being too dry.

     

    I think that what she liked about R&S would be done SO much better in Victor Journey Through The Bible. I might have liked a little more of a curriculum plan to go with it but I like the other poster's suggestion of having her notebook, or write a summary or draw something, or similar.

     

    Bible Road Trip is more parent-intensive, I am suspecting, although there is a lot going for it!

     

     

     

    My favorites so far have been...

     

    Sword Studies - 1 John was my favorite, but all are awesome.

     

    Inductive for kids - better than most. Less fluffy than most.

     

    Both look appealing but less of an overview than I was hoping for. The covers of the Inductive studies books (it's hard to find a sample?) suggest they are written at a younger age level...but are you using it with the kids in your signature now? 

    Help me find this Bible curriculum? (covenantal overview?)

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Here's what I think I want:

     

    CAP's God's Great Covenant but for older students, with more independence. I really like the presentation of an overview that provides the overarching covenantal theme as the context for all future readings/learning. 

     

    But even in 5th grade, DD could do GGC#1 pretty much independently; but it's not meant to be used that way (?) and it often got left out when DD had to wait on me to progress and then it got forgotten about, and it just never got finished. And now DD is in 7th grade. 

     

    We got BSGFAA because it is multi-age friendly but then I decided to put 2nd grade DD back in Montessori school. I like some of its thematic elements but it is also a bit young for 7th grade DD  (using the Advanced level because both girls were fairly kinesthetic and listen better with something to do with their hands; the Unit Study Guide did not seem like the right choice for our family)

     

    R&S's 5th-7th grade Bible series was appealing as far as the level of in-text teaching and independence....but looked a bit dry perhaps (CAP does a good job with being...er...not-dry) and not from a covenantal perspective, so much?

     

    Recently we have been trying to do a One Year Bible Reading Plan which has been good because it is structured for us, already waiting for us each day (have an online access with just the day's readings posted along with a devotional)...but I find myself wishing I had provided DD the kind of overview we would have gotten with CAP's GGC, to have a context to put these readings in. It also feels pretty dry.

     

    EDIT: We LOVED the presentation style and overview/context provided by VP's Omnibus Self-Paced. But that would be completely overkill since we are already doing a local great books course. Plus expensive.

     

    As you can tell, we're sort of new to doing Bible study as a family/part of HS'ing. 

     

    Thoughts?

     

     

     

     

    Ease doing math mentally but struggling with writing it all down?

    in Accelerated Learner Board

    Posted

    I'm going to be the odd one and say it's organizational skills and stamina w/ the organization and writing required to show your work in math. She needs to learn to write it out because it's imperative in higher maths. My DS struggled with this as well in Algebra last year. He also hated to show his work when he was in lower grades and usually didn't need to. The hardest part of Algebra was learning to organize his paper and writing. He also had troubles copying the problem wrong and with his messy organization leading to wrong answers.

     

    I know putting it on the white board would be easier, but I wouldn't let her only do that. It will be harder the higher up she goes without learning how to easily copy the problem and show her work. Maybe you could do 1/3 on paper and 2/3 on the white board at first with the goal of transitioning to all on paper as she builds up her stamina. Also, when I say stamina, I don't just mean physical stamina or the ability to sustain concentration. For my DS, it was a matter of building up his stamina for tolerating things he dislikes. He disliked showing his work and it was difficult for him to sustain patience to force himself to do it for an entire page, kwim?

     

    OMG this resonates SO much. 

     

    We go back and forth about writing problems out because I share the opinion that it is necessary for higher maths. I feel like she just doesn't BELIEVE me about that, KWIM? 

    • Like 2

    DYS Young Scholars - test scores only?

    in Accelerated Learner Board

    Posted

    Okay. After talking with the psychologist, she confirmed that DD had hit ceilings on both of her highest subtests within her highest index (PRI), and thanks to a calculation error that she discovered, DD actually DID meet the cutoff. DOH! 6 months too late! 

    I also went looking again at what DYS offers and now I'm eyeing the potential benefits of the private discussion forums; I'd really rather not start posting scores and other observations of DD quite so publicly. Nor would I like to lay out the other concerns I am having about schooling decisions (re-evaluating homeschooling...) and why.... And I find myself anxious to get some counsel sooner rather than later (February/March is a LONG way away and I would like to have decisions made about next school year well before then.) I have a call in to GDC and am thinking about requesting a consultation....

     

     

     

     

     

     

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