razorbackmama
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Everything posted by razorbackmama
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physics instead of chemistry?
razorbackmama replied to razorbackmama's topic in High School and Self-Education Board
Hmmmmm I wonder how I would do that/what I'd have them cover then..... -
BJU math - can it be independent?
razorbackmama replied to razorbackmama's topic in High School and Self-Education Board
Oh no problem there. I just can't teach it every day. I fully expect to have to help sometimes, even if he went to public school. I just wasn't sure if their textbooks were written to where there HAD to be a teacher of some sort. Thanks! -
physics instead of chemistry?
razorbackmama replied to razorbackmama's topic in High School and Self-Education Board
She's more of a humanities type - art and whatnot. Definitely not STEM, and I'll be SHOCKED if she goes into the medical field (just not her bent). There has been a lot of chemistry in ICP, so they definitely have an exposure, but it's not a full-blown chemistry course. The one who will run out of time is leaning toward the Navy at this point...possibly electronics, but he's not sure. Maybe he should check with a recruiter about the chemistry.... -
2 of my high schoolers are finishing up integrated chemistry & physics (what they took instead of physical science). They will both take biology. For their third credit, could they take physics (which they both enjoy) or is it best for them to take chemistry (which they both hate)? It would be IDEAL for them to get 4 science credits, but one student probably will run out of time, and the other one would like to take marine biology for her 4th. Is chemistry essential? They did get a lot of chemistry in ICP - so much so that they thought they were taking chemistry for some reason LOL. Neither one of them know what they want to do as a career yet so college may or may not happen. If it does though, I don't want to allow them to shoot themselves in the foot by not taking chemistry if it's essential....
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That makes sense but OY. LOL! That's what I'm doing right now with my high schoolers' MFW stuff. I haven't figured out if I like it better or just the MFW grids. But like you said, with math, English, etc. you might as well have it all in one place. I'll have to ponder what I want to do.... Thanks for sharing!
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<<if you are jumping into a higher guide it is ok to take a few weeks and teach them how to use the boxes. Does that make sense?>> Makes TOTAL sense - thanks so much! I think my 5th grader will be fine. My 6th grader, who is used to skating, may have more difficulty. But this will be good for him. ;-) I'm expecting a baby in mid-Feb., and we're finishing MFW CTG at the end of Jan., so I'm planning to start our HOD journey at the beginning of March. Low-key, of course, to help them get used to the new format, and because we'll have a newborn in the house. ;-)
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Thank you so much ladies! Good to know about DITHOR - just what does it cover anyway, that the regular HOD guides and the books they read wouldn't? Should I plan on having my middle schoolers use it, to ramp up for more formal literature study in high school? Is that its intention? Will the hands-on things for the older kids require my help? Do y'all have any idea how frequently they are coming out with the high school programs? Has it been one a year? Or one every 2 years? Or is it just sort of random? I'm REALLY excited about the World History for my 3rd child to be able to use. I would totally go that route with my 2nd child, but he'll have already completed world history - he's needing American history and government, which isn't out yet. I'll be eagerly awaiting it! I'm especially excited to see how any work with the parent needs to be done in the high school levels - it tells the student exactly what to show/say to the parent and what the parent should be doing. Such a relief. For your independent kids, do you make copies of the lesson plans to give to them? I'm thinking about doing that and then highlighting on there the things they need to turn in to/do with me so that it doesn't get missed. Or are there other ways that y'all have found work better? Oh, Jan, you mentioned that you like LIttle Hearts for K, which makes sense. Do you stretch something over 2 years then, since there are only 9 guides available before high school, including Little Hands? How is that supposed to work out - there is a year missing, it seems.
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We are currently using MFW. It's going "OK". It's getting done, but that's about it. I'm looking at switching (to something - doesn't have to be HOD...but HOD is sticking out to me right now, along with TOG), and here are some reasons why: My senior is finishing up WHL - should be done in Dec. He has done AHL and now WHL. From the very beginning (and I'm still there), I have felt absolutely lost when it comes to the parent conferences. I think this is a "user" issue because other parents don't seem to have this issue. I have no idea what to discuss or how because I don't have time to read through all of his materials or search all over the internet for discussion guides, and there is no parent guide in the program. So I'd have to rely on him to tell me what he's learning. His comprehension isn't the greatest (a problem he is well aware of - it's part of a now minor learning disability he has), so I can't necessarily rely on the information he provides in order to have meaningful discussions. My sophomore is finishing up AHL - he should be done in Dec./Jan. Same deal as my senior. I feel like they are missing out on a pretty key piece of the program by not having the discussions with me. I'm doing CTG with my 9th, 6th, 5th, and 2nd graders. We'll be done at the end of Jan. or so. (The reason my 9th grader is sitting in with us is because we started it when she was in the middle of 8th grade, and I'm having her finish out the year with us.) I feel like they aren't really getting much out of it. I read aloud, they do what few notebook pages are assigned (not many), we talk a little bit about what has happened in what we've read, but that's it. There's not a lot of "output" for my older 3. My 6th grader is the one I'm most concerned about switching for. He's a visual-spatial learner, dyslexic, dysgraphic, and has CAPD. He does much better and retains more with some sort of hands-on activity. And he retains very little when it comes to reading aloud. He also is quite lazy (this manifests itself in all areas of life, not just school, so I know it's not just his learning disabilities), and his 5th grade sister is pretty much the polar opposite school-wise. So he sits back and just lets her do all the talking/doing when we're doing school. I'd like to get him to be more responsible for his own work and to actually produce something rather than just sitting back and letting info. halfway flow into his brain and right back out. I feel like he needs something that will cause him to have to engage more, if that makes sense. At this point my plan for when we end everything in Dec./Jan. is as follows: senior - do BJU DVDs - U.S. History double-time and American Government so he can be done at the end of May (ships off to Marine Corps boot camp June 15th) sophomore - BJU DVDs - World History freshman - BJU DVDs - Cultural Geography 6th, 5th, 2nd - ?????????? I had considered BJU DVDs for them too, but I'm not sure. I'd been considering TOG, but I really like things already laid out for me on a daily basis. I've used TOG twice in the past, and that was one of the biggest problems I had. I also am not sure that I'll be able to commit to the discussions, even if the parent guides ARE provided for me. I have a home-based business and will have a newborn come Feb. (along with kid who turns 5 in Jan. and a 3yo). So as much as I love the idea of TOG and probably could make it work better than I feel I'm making MFW work, I don't know that I'll be able to do it justice. So I dug out my Cathy Duffy book to see what she suggests for Wiggly Willys (or whatever they are called) since my other kids are easier to plan for. It's my 6th grader that's the tricky one. I saw that she recommended HOD. I've always, ALWAYS looked the other way because it's harder to combine and I couldn't do all those levels - only so many hours in the day. Plus they didn't have high school. I read her review...turns out I've been misunderstanding. Once they are my 5th & 6th graders age, they do very little with me. (Right???? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!!!) And now they are coming out with high school levels! (And truth be told, I think my 9th grader would LOVE their World Geography. But I've already got the BJU stuff purchased. :-( ) So what I was thinking is this: CTG ends with Alexander the Great, whereas HOD CTC ends with Christ. So I was thinking about getting CTC for my 5th and 6th graders and starting with Unit 23. We wouldn't be doing the full-blown program since that would be hard. But just focusing on the time period and getting used to the program. Then doing RTR (or whatever the acronym is ROFLOL) next year for them. I was planning to just concentrate on the 3Rs for my 2nd grader once we're done with MFW CTG - she's a bit behind on those. Then next year I'd most likely use Bigger for her. I'll have a Ker also - not sure what to do with him. I've used Little Hands in the past and wasn't thrilled with it, so I don't know that I'd go that route again. But K is the least of my worries right now LOL! Does this sounds like a feasible plan? I still have to do spelling (AAS), writing (WWE), and grammar (Winston) with my 6th grader. And I still do writing (WWE) and grammar (FLL) with my 5th grader. I like that with HOD they'd be responsible for the majority of their own work and would be less likely to just "skate" by (in the case of my 6th grader). I'm also looking at the new World History program for my current 9th grader for next year when she's in 10th. If it's anything like the World Geography program, I think she'll be in heaven. How easy is it to sub out/totally eliminate some of the LA things, since we've already got things that work? I don't want to switch to HOD's recommendations. I can see where it would be difficult to do 3-4 of the HOD programs that are heavily dependent on the parent, but if you're only doing 1-2 of those and then some of the older programs, am I correct in assuming that it just might be doable in my situation, with 9 kids, 6-7 of whom are in school at any given time? I really like the idea of doing a hands-on project each week - how have your kids liked those? Is DITHOR pretty much essential for the older kids? That's a program I've been sort of leery of because I haven't been able to figure out how it would "look" with severall levels. Can anyone give me any guidance there? Help???
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Thanks! I dug out my Cathy Duffy book and Heart of Dakota caught my eye. I've always looked the other way due to all the bajillion separate levels, thinking I'd be teaching each one independently. But apparently it's designed to help the child grow in independence. So now i'm looking more at it as well. Maybe it might be a better fit than TOG. Sigh.
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Have you ever tried out one of the sample units? They are free, and a good way to test drive all theories and hopes for TOG. :) (I think I've totally screwed up the formatting on this post...I really hate this new board!) Yes, I've used not only the sample units, but I used TOG for 2 years straight back when my oldest was roughly 6th-ish grade.
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Yes, I gave up on "ideal" long ago and am willing to settle for "done for the most part." However, that isn't happening right now. It MIGHT be able to happen (with a lot of extra work on my part) for my younger kids with MFW, but it's not possible with my high schoolers if they continue with MFW. Hence why I'm trying to figure out what to do.
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That is good to know, but wow, you are the first person I've ever read to do all of this each weekend. (So now I'm thoroughly confused!) I had been planning to do a lot of this at the beginning so it was ready to go each week. (Not the way Marcia says to do it, but more doable in my situation.) I've seen several people say they plan out all their materials and assignments ahead of time. I do know I'd need to do #2 each week. We would not use their writing, so #3 wouldn't have to happen at all. I was planning to plan out which projects we were going to do at the beginning and purchase everything then so that I'd have it ready to go. If I have the books from the Bookshelf and the the different CDs from TOG, why would I need to go to the library, search on the internet, etc. unless I were doing something in the alternative assignments? I thought that was the point of buying from the Bookshelf and buying all the million CDs they sell? #6 I was hoping to do ahead of time (and adjust if necessary during the year) #7 would be done along with #2 Is doing it this way not possible? :confused1:
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<<WOULD YOU BUY IT if it WEREN'T being offered to you used?>> Yes. She's actually been offering it to me for years and years, and I've been telling her no way. I most recently was looking at TOG straight from their website and was planning to buy it from TOG directly (if I could ever figure out HOW to buy it from them...their website is confusing!!!). Then I remembered that she probably still had it. <<how are read alouds with TOG better than read alouds with MFW and SL for that 6th grader? >> There are more books for HIM to read rather than just be read to. And there are way more hands-on things and other alternatives (movies, etc.) already listed in the assignments rather than me having to come up with something on my own. <<how is it easier to LOSE the daily plans you have with MFW and have to start all over with that than it is just to get some comprehension guides to go with the MFW books?>> I've been looking for guides for the MFW books (when I have the time) but either can't find them, don't have time to read through them all, or something. It would definitely be easier to split up the weekly assignments into daily assignments instead of searching all over the internet for the information I need to conduct semi-decent discussions. And then there is the issue of I'm not even sure what all we're supposed to be discussing.... <<are the activities you're wanting from MFW actually in the curriculum or in the activity books the unit uses? Can you just look at Bookshelf, buy those books, and select activities to pencil into your MFW?>> They are suggested in the curriculum itself. The activity books just have the instructions. <<Just because this opportunity presented itself doesn't mean you have to take it. It's a huge expense, and that lady is probably sitting there going YES, YES, WINDFALL!!! It's a windfall for her and could be an albatross for you.>> Not the case at all. Sorry I didn't make that clear in my OP. I definitely am not thinking about TOG because she offered it to me. I'm thinking about TOG because MFW isn't working. I actually was planning to switch all my kids to BJU DVDs for history once we're done with this level of MFW. (And that's what my high schoolers will be doing.) But boy, ya wanna talk pricy??? Yikes. <<I would not consider buying used print versions. I think the market is going to shrink on that because most people want the features of the DE. So to assume it's going to be an easy resale *might not* be correct.>> Actually when they came out with the DE stuff, they weren't printing except rarely. My friend only has the first 3 levels of TOG because they didn't get Y4 printed by the time she needed it. But there were so many people who didn't want the DE (she didn't want it, and I don't want it - I imagine there are many more like us who don't give a flying flip about all the so-called "features" of the DE and want to be able to resell it afterward) that they apparently started offering print versions again. I'm not sure how long ago they started doing that. We stopped using TOG about 5 years ago, and that's when they were stopping the printing. Apparently that idea of theirs flopped. <<Just because the questions are *different* in the guides you would find online doesn't make them *bad*. They'd just be different. And you know, I sat in on a class the Somerville girl did online supposedly teaching how to approach lit, and I thought it was HORRIBLE. That's great that somebody else liked it. I'm just saying quality is relative to where you're coming from. It's not like TOG is the RIGHT way and we are all failing to attain if we do something DIFFERENT. Maybe look for a free list of generic discussion questions? WEM has has that list. Or was it WTM? I think it was WTM. Or maybe SWB gave it out as an online handout for a workshop? I don't remember. Around that junior high age I printed it out and popped in a page protector to use with dd. That's really all you need. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to cram a SN child into a curriculum. I'll say that again. You get that curriculum and then have all these writing assignments and this and that that you have to decide to use, not to use, it's just frustrating. If MFW gets you 80% of the way there, SOLVE THE PROBLEM. If MFW was only getting you 20% of the way there, then yes you should jump. But if it's getting you 70-80% of the way there, you should problem solve. Frankly, if you have unusual children or an unusual/challenging mix and it's getting you 60% of the way there, I would stay put. Because when you have to recreate that 60% just to have the addition of the 40%, that's gonna be a lot of work.>> That's the big question. I know with my high schoolers I'm lost. Absolutely lost. I've tried asking the MFW people, and they've been so nice, but apparently I'm an oddball that I can't get it to work for us like they say they do. I know that with my 6th grader, part of his issue is that he relies heavily on his siblings to do the answering for him (in addition to him not being an auditory learner), so MFW isn't meeting his needs at all. He needs to have more expected from him. But I don't have the time or energy to drum up all sorts of additional/different assignments for him on my own. TOG has been one of many curriculums I've been looking at as I plan to jump ship from MFW. So far BJU DVDs have been in the lead until now. But that's got its own set of issues too, I know. I haven't been able to find anything else either. I looked at Simply Charlotte Mason and Ambleside Online, but they all require planning too, and those are just books books and more books it seems. I've even been looking at KONOS! I may dig out my Cathy Duffy book again. I know I won't find "the perfect" curriculum due to the mix of needs we have going on, but I'd like to find something that isn't not doing my kids justice. MFW isn't (at least not the way that I'm able to use it). (The EASIEST thing would be for MFW to come out with parent guides to tell us exactly what we should be checking on/discussing each week! I have no idea if there are plans for that or not...anytime I've talked to them I've gotten the impression that they haven't even thought of it before and that the problem is user error.)
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LOL Merry that would SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO not work here (what you do)!!! Yes, my plan is to figure out some sort of daily plan...trying to figure out how and when to do that. Everything TOG puts out that explains how to plan says to plan on a couple hours a week to do this. I do not have that. I've been ATTEMPTING to find out from other TOG users how they do it, but my goodness, getting a response from the FB and yahoo groups has been like pulling teeth.
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I've asked my friend what all is included. She says "everything." I'm trying to get specifics LOL. It really stinks that they won't provide the Loom to people who purchase it used. What if the original purchaser simply lost the CD or it got damaged somehow? I've read that it's not a huge deal to not have in the lower levels, but in the upper levels it can be very helpful. (No clue - just going off what I've read.) Print versions that come as part of the DE+print package aren't supposed to be resold. I honestly can't figure out why I'd need the DE version at all - that's just not the way we operate around here. The only thing I'd want is the updated stuff, so that's my top concern when it comes to getting a print version. I do best with a pretty open-and-go, "do this next thing" type of curriculum. That's why I'm so scared to use TOG again.
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I have used TOG twice in the past. The first time around, it was with the classic, and it was when my oldest was in 1st or 2nd grade. I was pretty overwhelmed! The second time around, I think my oldest was in 6th grade or so. It went OK, but I never left the "Fog." I think I finally realized that I needed something with daily assignments. Since that time we've used Sonlight some and My Father's World some. We are most currently coming from MFW. My oldest 2 are using their high school levels, and while I really do like it, it provides no guide for the parent, so I'm LOST. And I can't just wing it when it comes to discussion. They aren't fabulous in the comprehension department either, so I can't just rely on them to tell me what they've been reading. My 6th grader is my trickiest when it comes to school. I held him back in kindergarten due to maturity (he has an April birthday - he'll be 13 this next April), but as it turns out he also has dyslexia, dysgraphia, Central Auditory Processing Disorder, and I suspect some other sort of processing issue. (Finding help for any of my kids has been nearly impossible.) He fits the description of a visual-spatial learner to a T. Consequently, all the read-alouds in Sonlight and MFW haven't really done anything for him. There are some hands-on things in MFW, but not a lot, and not nearly as many as what I remember there being in TOG. I also like the alternate resources like videos in TOG - I think those would be great for him. So I'm considering a switch back, and I've been trying to read up on planning so that I don't stay in the Fog this time. We'll be finishing up our current levels of MFW in Dec.-Jan. I've already got figured out what my 9th, 10th, and 12th graders will be doing for rest of the school year, so at first I'll just have UG and LG students. But next school year (provided all goes well!) I'll add in my then 10th grader. I'll probably have her do D as she transitions. I'm looking at using Y1U4 starting in Jan., since that will be right where we'll leave off in our level of MFW (Creation to the Greeks). I'm leaning toward the print version since resale is pretty important to me. I couldn't quite understand what I'd be missing out on when it came to updates though as compared to the DE. Help? Also, is there anyone else who prefers daily plans that have made TOG work for them? That really was my biggest issue before - I didn't know how to break down the weekly assignments into daily chunks. I also have a friend who has all 4 levels of the print version for sale. From what I can tell on the TOG website, I would have to pay for any updated pages with substituted resources, if i purchased from her? Am I understanding that correctly? How would I find out what else I would need as far as MapAids, Pop Quizzes, Loom, etc. go?
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Saxon Physics - Test Solutions?
razorbackmama posted a topic in High School and Self-Education Board
Is there a solutions manual for Saxon Physics tests? We have the test answer key and the textbook solutions manual, but we can't seem to find anywhere that has the solutions to the test problems. My son can't figure out where he's gone wrong on some of the test problems and would like to know.