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HeatherH720

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Everything posted by HeatherH720

  1. What are your thoughts on using Bookshark's 8th grade US history for 10th grade? A secular curriculum is a requirement for my 10th grader so it's been tough trying to find one, and it does say ages 12-16. My younger son used the Hakim books and I really liked them, but I know they are not high school reading level. I say that but I feel like I learned more about US history reading them as an adult than I ever did in high school, so part of me thinks, what does it matter if they're an easy (but enjoyable!) read? But then maybe it *does* matter when colleges look over your transcript and see what textbookss were used. Any input is appreciated! *We'd only use the history portion of Bookshark, not the lit. We're going with OakMeadow for literature.
  2. I ended up talking to the publisher about my concerns. She said it is not to be considered a high school level biology course. It is solidly middle school level, but that the genetics unit is the most difficult level in the curriculum and that it would seem much easier (more middle school level) once we passed that unit. So we're working our way through the genetics unit with adjusted expectations and plan to purchase a high school level course at 10th grade.
  3. Tammy, the early chapters are easy, I agree. Chapter 7 is when I began to have qualms about the details within the chapter, then reading ahead to chp 8 and 9 is when I began have serious qualms. I'm trying to balance realistic life use vs. what they'll need to learn for ACT entrance exams (which in that case, why learn all of the minutiae now only to recover in high school?).
  4. The labs are doable, yes. I would say the writing is on middle school level too. I'm speaking specifically about the details within the lessons. And not for students in a gifted program, but for an A-B student in a typical middle school course. The first few chapters were fine and appropriate imo, but once we reached DNA (chp 7) and reading ahead to chp 8 & 9, I don't know, the depth of material seems more high school level, or advanced middle school level for those intending to do AP level biology in high school. I'm all for a middle schooler having a foundational understanding of DNA/RNA, replication, cell division, etc. But to have to learn the sub-phases within interphase? Ploidy, haploid, and diploid cells in chromosomes? Seems like a basic understanding of chromosomes and genetics would be more appropriate for middle school level, unless you're looking at advanced placement, which in that case, this minutiae would be reasonable.
  5. Is anyone on here using RSO's new level 2 biology course? We're 7 chapters into it and I'm curious if anyone is finding the material covered advanced for middle school. When I compare what is covered in the chapters, I'm finding it falls more in line with high school standards than middle schools standards. I'm wondering if I'm alone in this observation or if I need a new perspective on the difficulty level. Thanks!
  6. Thanks for the input. I'd decided to not get the Usborne encyclopedia after all...glad to know I made the right decision. I got in my copy of OUP's Near East book yesterday. I've only read the first 4 chapters but so far I like it much better than K12's HO.
  7. I bought K12's Human Odyssey vol 1 for my rising 7th grader last month and have been reading chapters here and there through out it to see what I think. I do not like it. I think it's very dry and it puts this history-lovin' mama to sleep in every section. I jumped around from Mesopotamia to Rome to see if it was just Mesopotamia I personally found boring. (I love Roman history.) Nope, I even struggled to get through the reading on Rome. HO is definitely not the worst textbookish material I've come across, but it's still textbookish enough to me to not want to use it. Christian Bookstore has a few sample pages, I believe. I'm looking into The World in Ancient Time series now to see if it'll be a better fit. I'm also looking into Creekedge Press's task cards for ancient history and History Portfolio. Not sure on those yet.
  8. I tried Mr. Q's regular Chemistry for my then 5th grader. We ended up ditching it. I thought the experiments weren't very good. Mr. Q very much follows a public school science class: read this text, fill out these worksheets (busy work), and then here's an experiment or two that may or may not really cement the lesson. Here's a free middle school chemistry curriculum I thought was better. We used it and the elementary level version. It was almost information overload in the teacher's guide and I ended up feeling overwhelmed just by the teacher prep reading, which is why I'm going with RSO's chem for my younger son. As far as physical science, I haven't tried this curriculum myself, but I have a friend who did and her son really enjoyed it. It's secular and hands-on.
  9. Oh, and my library has the People of the Ancient World series (but not OUP's series, darn it). I checked out the one on Rome to see how it would work. I don't think I'll end up using it for Rome or Greek history. Right off the bat, I didn't think it gave enough detail on the myths of the founding of Rome. OUP's goes into the two different legends and then discusses archeological evidence that possibly backs one up. People of the Ancient World just had a very short blurb about the story of Remus and Romulus. That alone made me decide not to go with it as the main spine.
  10. I'm so glad I'm not the only one! I bought HO too b/c of the glowing reviews. I've sat down and tried to read through different sections and it puts me to sleep every time. And I love history! I've definitely read more textbookish history, so this one isn't the worst, but it's still too boring for my taste. I'm glad I bought HO used and didn't spend a lot of money on it, though I still don't like it was $25 used. I read the excerpt of OUP's Near East book on Amazon and decided to buy it to see if it's better. I purchased a used copy for $11 (including shipping). If I like it, I'm going to get the Greek and Roman one also, but use books from the library for the other time periods. I've read on this forum that the Egypt book isn't as good. We have the Kingfisher encyclopedia of history already, but I don't feel like it gives enough detail to use as a spine. But I'm planning this for a 7th grader who is ALL about the details. I've wondered, though, if the Usborne ancient world encyclopedia would be better.
  11. If you got with IEW, I would start with level A, unless you have an advanced reader and writer. A & B cover the same writing lessons, but B has more advanced and longer passages that they write from, and I think you're expected to go at a faster pace. I started IEW A with my 4th grader, but we are taking it VERY slow. He only did half of it this year. I don't intend for him to complete it until 6th grade. One of the units is writing a multi-paragraph report from multiple sources. That's not a skill I'm interested in him learning until 6th or 7th grade. I also started my 6th grader on A along with my 4th grader, and also only covered half with him. The plan is to switch over to their ancient history writing for 7th, do SICC B in 8th, and get him to high school level material in 9th. So it's possible to start IEW A with an older student and still get the skills in.
  12. I'd like to hear some feedback from people who've used Homeschool Journey's History Portfolios. I'm considering it for my rising 7th grader to go along with OUP's The World in Ancient Times. What did you think about the product? Would it be too easy for 7th grade? How is the map work?
  13. I'm looking into OUP's World in Ancient Times series instead of K12's Human Odyssey. I found the old post where someone matched up HO and OUP, which was incredibly helpful! I also read where a couple of people didn't like the ancient Egypt book, which is good to know too b/c I have a book we can use instead. But what do people think about the Ancient South Asian book? Is it necessary? Is there a substitute that would work in its place? Thanks!
  14. Ok, I keep trying to read this book and I'm finding it so boring! I wanted to love it, I really did. I've skipped around to different time periods, thinking maybe I just find Mesopotamian history boring. I thought Confucius was boring, Rome was boring. I'm a bit history nut...it's my favorite subject! So I don't know what gives. I think the book reads like a textbook and not much at all like Joy Hakim's U.S. history books. :sad: I guess I'm back on the hunt for a spine for 7th grade ancient history. Maybe the World in Ancient Times series?? SOTW is too easy for my 7th grader.
  15. I'd argue WoW is educational too. :tongue_smilie: We're just a household of geeks here, I guess, and all of the humans with Y chromosomes in my house are into gaming. My 12 year old was absorbed in WoW for a while too. He began talking about characters with me and we researched the mythological & fantasy roots of many of the characters, we talked about the hero's journey in stories. He used WoW in creative writing by writing about new mythological characters and story lines for it too. These were all spontaneous learning opportunities we simply took advantage off by thinking outside the box of what could be "educational."
  16. Same here. My son has been studying programming since getting into Minecraft. He taught himself how to make his own skins and texture packs using Gimp. He's now learning java through Lynda.com & taking a Udacity course this summer...all because of his interest in Minecraft. Whether or not it's "educational" is determined to some degree by the parent. Are you willing to find an educational slant and direction? But maybe the kids want to use it just to veg at times, and there's nothing wrong with that. In my book, Minecraft can be highly educational. Even before the programming, I would let my boys (10 & 12) build buildings that tied into our history (medieval) and literature (Harry Potter). They built castles, the Forbidden Forest, & and Hagrid's hut to demonstrate their comprehension of the material. My oldest also writes about Minecraft, creating new characters and worlds and story lines. It's also helped my oldest son (who has always struggled with making friends) find his "tribe" so to speak. He's meeting kids who also want to design mods & mobs and they talk about ideas face-to-face, they play online together (on a server he built for Minecraft), and some kids are now asking him how to do their own skins and such. I'm firmly in the good camp! :hurray:
  17. It's being released by Millcreek Entertainment. It looked legit to me when I found it yesterday. Looks like this company is re-releasing it and at a MUCH more affordable price! I pre-ordered a copy. http://www.millcreekent.com/liberty-s-kids-the-complete-series.html
  18. I have a 12 y/o who did SWI A this year. I asked Jill at IEW what to do next year. She said since SWI A & B are similar, not to spend money on the B, but to go with one of the theme based writing curriculums.
  19. Well, Nancy Larson is going to be strictly secular. We tried NL this past year. I thought the program was very easy to use. Very much open-and-go for me. However, I was trying to use level 3 (the highest level at the time) for 4th & 6th graders and it was just too easy for them, meaning I had to supplement so much to beef it up that I didn't think it was worth the money. If I had younger kids, I think I would have liked it. In level 3, the program starts training kids how to highlight important information in the text, which I thought was great for future note taking.
  20. A & B teach the same units. B is geared towards middle grade students, A elementary. I believe B works through the early units much faster than than level A too. If you need specific help selecting which level, I highly recommend joining their Yahoo group and asking. I'm saying that even though I despise Yahoo groups. I use theirs, though, because it's that helpful They are extremely helpful and there are a lot of extra downloads and file helps.
  21. My 4th grade son is a very reluctant writer. We started SWI-A this past school year. We will only get through unit 4, but I'm okay spreading A level out over two years for him. I'm not going to say he now LOVES writing, but he complains a lot less. Doing the keyword outline and having the structural steps helps a lot, I think. He also likes Andrew in the videos too. I don't think there are set writing expectations with the program. I feel like Andrew is good at recognizing some kids progress faster than others. I believe he has a severely dyslexic child, so he of all people knows about tailoring to fit a child. The teacher guide (which I highly recommend getting the teacher/student combo package) tells you not to get bogged down in units 1 and 2, which are the basics of keyword outlining and writing simple paragraphs from those. They recommend covering one unit per month, 9 units total. Obviously I'm not following that schedule, and that's ok. I recommend signing up for their yahoo group, even though I hate yahoo groups. They have a ton of downloadable helps to go with each unit. They will also answer any question you have, if you run into problems. Jill helped me plan for my 6th grader (late writer due to language disorder) that will get him to high school level by high school. Very helpful people!
  22. Has anyone used Hakim's History of Us TG and student study guides? We using Hakim's book for upcoming 5th grade and I wondered if the TG and SB are worth getting. My main goal for my 5th grader is just enjoyment of history, but would like to start adding in map work and rudimentary note-taking, plus engaging discussions about the times. (We're starting Hakim's program at book 3 From Colonies to Country.) My secondary goal is to make things easier on myself too. I've pulled together our history and science lessons on my own the past two years and I'm ready to reduce some of my prep workload. Would the TG and student book fit the bill? Could I get by with just the teacher guide?
  23. BTW, she's developing a dvd program you'll be able to buy outright instead of a monthly fee to the site. I'm not sure when it's to be released or what all it will entail, but I know it's in the works.
  24. We used it for the 2nd half of last school year. My boys (3rd & 5th grade at the time) enjoyed it. I personally like video instruction programs, as long as the instructor is engaging and passionate about their subject. So I definitely liked that about it. I also agree with her on getting kids to get excited about science by doing instead of reading. Her philosophies really speak to me in that regard. She is definitely secular. If you're young earth, I'd steer away or carefully select her stuff on astronomy. The price is a consideration. At the time the monthly fee just included access to the site...I still had to purchase all of the supplies for the lessons. I found it difficult to navigate the text information on her site. I like a printed teachers manual I can read thru, highlight, and that gives me clear steps & information. You can print her stuff, but again that adds to the cost of the program. But still, her site seems...hmm. How to describe? Chaotic, maybe. It's information overload for those without a scientific background, imo. My boys also struggled with keeping a science journal, which is the basis of her program. I'm sure if we stuck with it it would get easier. Overall, it's still a program I keep in mind for them, perhaps another year or so down the road when I've gained more confidence as a "teacher."
  25. Someone pointed out Creek Edge has link resources on their site, and they recommend Knowledge Quest's mapping curriculum if you want a click and print maps. It's under their "At Creek's Edge" tab on their site, under each era's "Supporting Links" tab.
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