elah
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Posts posted by elah
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Loesje22000, is this the textbook you were thinking of? It is what CHC uses for biology (8th or 9th grade). I was looking at their 7th grade life science book but was not sure about the quality.
EDIT: I just looked and Kolbe uses the same Miller and Levine biology book for high school.
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Kolbe uses Holt Science and Technology: Earth Science, 2007. What is it about Holt science thru Kolbe that you like? What is the draw? Thanks!
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What did you use for 7th grade science and did you like it (why or why not)? I have no clue what to use next year for science as we transition from elem. to HS. We are Catholic so I am open to any science curriculum that is Catholic, Christian, Secular, etc. Thanks!
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Thanks for all the great feedback! I really appreciate it.
JMcElrath, I'm using Hooked on Phonics. She loves it b/c of the DVDs and stickers. If I would let her she would spend the whole day just doing phonics. And she really does get it. I'm blown away with what she can now read without any help.
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I have a newbie question here. My first grader is flying through her 1st grade phonics and will actually be done with it in about two more weeks. Do I just buy the next level (2nd grade) and keep going? We are not even done with the 1st quart of the school year! I really did have this planned to take the whole year but she loves it and has decided to do a whole weeks worth of lessons each day so that she can read the fun story at the end of each week's worth of lessons and earn a star each day instead of each week.
She is on target or slightly ahead in every other subject. Having fun and it is not taking all day either. Thanks for your input!
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Wow! Thanks for all the responses. I think that there are about 20 different ways of doing spelling/ELA just in this one thread! I have jotted down some notes and will have to look at things again. I had checked out AAS 1, but thought that it might eat up to much time (I have 3 other kids). But maybe if it has enough phonics in it I could use it as a two for one which would make the extra time a little bit easier to justify.
My daughter is already reading at a mid to late year first grade level, but hates writing with a passion. Not really crazy about reading either but she is good at it. Spelling tests would not go over well with her but if we looked at something that was not writing based for spelling that might go over better. I also like the idea of combining things a lot. Lots to think about now...
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Thank you everyone! I'm feeling much better and I think that the advise on the grammar makes sense too.
I knew I could count on you lovely ladies! :hurray:
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I'm thinking about waiting to start spelling until 2nd grade. I'm a little worried about the class load for my 1st grader. We are pulling her out of the brick and mortar school b/c the K program (using the common core curriculum) was not a good fit for her. The year was extremely rough on her and I feel like she needs an easier year to re-coop. BUT I don't want her to fall behind either. So here is what I am thinking about doing for next year.
ELA
FLL
WWE
HOP
Math
Saxon 2
History
SOTW
Religion
Faith and Life
Science
Local Nature Center classes
PE, music and art classes too.
So do you think that I need to add a spelling program or would we be okay without it? Do you see any other gaps?
Thanks!
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Anyone ever used the online class?
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I have a daughter who will be in 6th grade next year. It will be our 1st year of homeschooling. I am planning on using IEW for her next year either way, but I did see what IEW offer online classes thru their website. I watched the same class and think that this might be a good thing use.
Have any of you used the online classes through them? I would love to hear the pros and cons!
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That makes sense! I think that I will stick with my original plan for history then. Thank you all for your help with this.
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Next year will be our 1st year homeschooling and I am trying to finish up my curriculum decisions before our next baby arrives. I will have a 6th grader, 1st grader, 3 yr old and 6 month old when we start in August. Saying that, here is my question....
When I picked out my "what would be ideal" curriculum for each of the girls I picked out SOTW vol.1 for my 1st grader and All Ye Lands w/ the National Geographic DVD (using Angelicum's lesson plan) for my 6th grader. However, I'm starting to wonder if I should try to combine them into using the same text but doing different level of activities with each since they are covering the same time periods for the most part. And if I do that which do I use? I think that I would rather use the 6th grade one but then I worry about it being to dry and high level for the 1st grader. Is it just to big of an age gap to try and combine? If so, that's okay but it would be nice to combine something as nothing else can be.
Thanks for your thoughts!
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A friend just emailed me this from her local HS mom's email group. Thought you might find it helpful. I emailed her a few questions and if I hear back from her I'll post those answers as well.
"A few people have asked me about how our year is going at Fisher More Academy, so I thought I would write about my experience and send it to everyone in case someone was wondering about a school for next year.
First, I would say that I believe Fisher More to be unique in the sense that they are only an on-line school. They do not offer classes that are not on-line, like Mother of Divine Grace, for example. Also, their classes are live and they are offered Monday through Thursday from morning until afternoon. In this respect, they resemble a regular school day plan. It is necessary for students to attend these classes each day or they will not be able to keep up with the work and they are graded on attendance as well. For us, this part of the arrangement has been an absolute God send! Children have instructors that hold them accountable, students that they interact with and deadlines they have to meet. The classes are live, but if there is a need – illness, appointment, death, etc., the teachers can be contacted and the classes recorded.There are three time-zone schedules that families can choose from – Central, Eastern and Pacific. If you are early risers, you can take the Eastern time schedule and begin classes at 8:30 Central time. If you are late risers, like we are, you can choose Pacific Time and begin classes at 10:30 and finish at 1:30. Certain classes – Math and Foreign Language are held every day. The others are held once a week.Each year, children are scheduled for a standard curriculum of History, Literature, Math, Science, Religion and Foreign Language. If there is a need, the curriculum can be amended to fit the child. We, for example, dropped Science for this year. If it is necessary, children may take longer to complete their High School Education – five years for example. Or they may move more quickly through their courses and take classes for college credit in their senior year. Because FisherMore Academy is also a college, it is possible for students to take some courses on-line.All in all, I feel Fisher More is a great school. There are some rough points though. We feel that it is a pretty tough school. There is a lot of work. Some of the books are difficult. (Warren Carroll’s History of Christendom is the freshman History book --- NOT easy at all!!!!) There is some flexibility with deadlines, but not much. We had some difficulty with this in the first quarter. In the second quarter, we knew the parameters. We still needed extensions, but we were better prepared and the teachers were more accommodating for some reason. In fact, I was very pleased with all the help provided. The Latin teacher, for example, spent at least 10 extra hours, outside of class, to help students who were having trouble. And the wonderful thing is that this was all done at our kitchen table! That is awesome!I should also mention that the week for exams and papers is called “Dead Week.†The children don’t attend classes, they only work on their papers or exams. It sounds easy, and we were very fooled by this. It can be brutal! Our first quarter I told the administrator that “Dead Week†was a very appropriate name for it because by the end of it, I was almost dead!!!!!! You may be wondering why it was ME that was almost dead and not my daughter, but there was a lot of whining and late nights (almost all nighters!!!) and lack of understanding of material and deadlines and ill preparedness, etc., etc., etc., Furthermore, any shortcomings that your homeschooled children may have will really become obvious when someone else is trying to teach them….All that being said, while we have our shortcomings, I will say that some of the teachers have shortcomings, too… They aren’t perfect - I’ve had differences of opinion on some grading, manner of teaching and speed at which students are expected to move through material. I have also felt that at times there was too much work for them to do. But I can also say that this second quarter there were improvements in many of these areas. I also reminded myself this quarter that this is a HOMESCHOOL opportunity. So, to a certain extent I have taken back the reigns of working with my daughter and making allowances for her when they are needed. For example, we do the History class together. She does her own quizzes, but I help her to arrange her material for papers and homework. We also read the book together, I might add. And that has been good for me – Warren Carroll does have a lot to teach his readers!!!!!!All in all, I think it’s a great school. We fully intend to return next year. I love hearing the teachers pray with the children. I love hearing them talk about the saint of the day. I love my daughter having the wholesome environment. And the reason I’m telling all of you about my experience is because I hope to bring more people to this opportunity for schooling. I think we need to support environments like this. Today we need offerings like this more than ever and what they offer is unique. I’m not getting any kick-back from the school or anything like that. I just know that for me, when the day came to choose a high school, it was a nightmare. We stewed and suffered over the whole thing. We didn’t want to lose the home school environment, but my daughter was not taking enough direction from me for her to ever receive a high school diploma. FisherMore allowed us to have the best of both worlds. I also wish that there were more people giving their input of various school experiences. We could all help each other that way. I know I could have used some ideas last year.Whew!!!!! Well that was LONG winded! Please feel free to pass this information along. And, God bless all of you!" -
I'm also bringing my 5th grader home for 6th grade and have looked into them as well. I thought that maybe it would be an easier transition for us. Hopefully someone else has experience! The one thing that makes me leary is that I signed up to be invited to their webinars back in the fall. They said that the info would be sent out in January for the Feb. ones. I have yet to receive any info on it and I have also sent them 2 follow up emails trying to get them to respond with no luck. Not sure how to take that!
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Thank you for your HONEST feedback! That is exactly what I am wanting, the facts of how it worked or didn't work for people. It's not a super popular one so it's hard to find people who can give me any feedback. I also realize that every child and family is different and not every curriculum will work the same for everyone.
I wonder just how different the online discussion groups between the secular and Catholic versions? I might see if I can listen in on a couple classes before we make a decision. I really don't want to spend that much money on it if it's not what they say it is.
I did print off some other classical book lists by grade level to compare to their book list but have not done it yet. I'm thinking that maybe I should do that next. I was hoping that they would have great discussion questions, etc in their lit guide book making it easier on me.
Thanks for letting me know about the other mom too. I'll contact her if she doesn't post!
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I have spent a lot of time reviewing homeschooling options for next year and I am really leaning towards Angelicum Academy. I will have a 1st grader and a 6th grader (a newborn and a 3 yr old under foot too). My goal is to find something Catholic, Classical to semi-Classical, and easy to use.
I would LOVE reviews from people who have used them in the last couple years or are currently using them. Overall experience is great as well as how user friendly their lesson plans are, how much time do you spend schooling to get it all in, grading services review, customer service, etc.
Thanks so much!
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Mother of Divine Grace may be an option as well. It is Charlotte Mason meets Classical meets Catholic.
Do you know if they grade written work or just tests?
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The soon to be 6th grader is not really a reluctant students. She is self motivated, works really hard, and is not afraid to ask questions. She gets all A's and B's in school. The reason she is falling behind in math is that the curriculum is moving to new topics to fast so the student's don't have time to really get it down before they have to learn another new concept. Her math grades are still great but we feel it's only b/c the tests are multiple choice and you can see her math work on the side is wrong but she is a good guesser. Her NWEA assessment from this fall shows that she is right on par with where she should be. BUT to watch her do the math you can see really quick that she doesn't really get it.
So the oldest is a big time reader. She would read all day if I let her! I was looking into a couple different programs and would love to hear any feedback. I was looking at the Angelicum Academy. It seems like they are heavy on the lit side which might be good for her. Also, she would have the ability to have some discussions about what she is reading which would help with the social aspect. They do let you break it up so I could start her at different level of math then her other subjects. When I looked up reviews it seemed like older reviews were very negative but the more recent ( last 2-3 years) where positive. I really like having someone else grade the papers and look over the girls' writing. I am not the best at grammar and don't have much confidence in my ability to correct it properly.
Thanks so much for all the feed back so far! It has been a huge help and I hope you keep sharing your wisdom with me. I'm green and I know it :)
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I don't do a packaged curriculum, either. I agree about the placement tests for math. My dd12 was not enthused when I pulled her from ps, either. I let her have some say in her schedule and literature selections. That has helped. Also, I have made sure that she has been able to stay in contact with her close friends and has plenty of opportunity to connect with other homeschoolers through Girl Scouts, 4H, and athletics. Her biggest worry about homeschooling was the social aspect so as long as I continue to address that I think we'll be ok.
As for the 3 year old, I wouldn't worry about any kind of curriculum. Just read to her and let her tag along with her sibligs. They are total sponges at that age.
Your 12 yr old DD sounds like mine! I think that the key will be keeping her connected and involved with kids outside our home. She is a social butterfly and a very good athlete. She really gets most of her self-esteem boost through sports.
She is also an avid reader. She is always sneaking away to her room to hide and read where it is quiet.
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FWIW, if your Ker is bored in school now, is there are good reason for you to leave him/her there to develop bad habits and a dislike of school/learning for the rest of the school year? I am assuming you are already home with the toddler. If I were you, I'd pull the younger one, get your feet wet with that, and have a half year under my belt before bringing the older child home. School for a Ker is short.
As far as what curriculum to use - Cathy Duffy has a book (and website) that can be very helpful for figuring out what you might like. I found the book helpful for considering what kinds of students my kids are, and what kinds of learning environments people choose to use (classical model being one of them).
We have discussed pulling her mid-year. There are 4 good reasons why are not going to be doing that. One big one is that I am due in mid-March. There are 3 other reasons as well. I will have to see if I can get Cathy's book from the library. Thanks!
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I agree, most math curricula will have placement tests you can use to see where you child is. There are many great ones out there, just depends on what you think your older kids can work with. What you are doing with the 3 year old is very on par...that is what a 3yo should be doing :)
I would say for your oldest child, see what kind of learner she is and see what it is about brick and mortar school she likes. An online school can be a good choice for some...many of the public online charters have clubs and field trips for instance. If she is used to a B&M school it could work out. If the whole structure of public school has her messed up then an online school may not be the best solution for her. Online schools are good if you have a child who can manage their time well or does not need a lot of pushing to keep up with schoolwork. It is easy for many to slack off when doing online courses (I know I do). If you had issues with her getting things completed in a B&M school then its quite possible you will have the same challenges in an online school as well.
She LOVES the social aspects and the sports. She lives to play sports and she is really good at it. She gets her work done on time and is not afraid to ask us for help when she is stuck on something. She is self motivated to study the night before a test etc.
Good to know that most do have placement tests! I did sign up for K5 learning trial to see if that helps my 5th grader with her math until the end of the year. I thought that it was interesting that all the tests for math and English came back mid-year 5th grade level. However, the questions where all multiple choice and she has become an excellent guesser b/c of the way they teach the kids to do that in their current math classes. :( My K daughter tested at mid-year or end of year 1st grade on every subject. Both girls loved the lessons online and ask everyday to do another lesson on the computer.
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First let me start with my confession... I am reluctant about homeschooling. There I said it. Most of my friends home school and I have never had an 'issue' with it. However, I felt like my kids were receiving a high quality education in our local Catholic school. Unfortunately, things have changed. They have bought into the common core curriculum and after 1 1/2 years of this we are done. As of the end of this school year we will homeschooling. As I am 100% sure I can provide a higher quality education then what they are getting now.
Saying that... I have lots of questions to help me be less reluctant and ready to jump in with both feet!
I will be starting in August with a baby, a 3 yr old, a 1st grader and a 6th grader. Looking to use classical education that is either Catholic or at least doesn't undermine our faith teachings. I would also prefer a 'package' style instead of me creating my own yearly plan. I just don't want to make it to hard on me knowing what life will be like with the littles demanding my attention too.
1. My daughter in 5th grade is currently using Envision common core math by Pearson and Journeys ELA by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Do you have any 6th grade curriculum suggestions that would make the transition easier going from these textbooks to classical?
2. Another thought I have for my soon to be 6th grader is to enroll her in Fisher More Academy or a different online school. She is not going to be one bit happy about homeschooling so my thought was that this might be a bit easier of a transition for her. Thoughts and recommendations?
3. My soon to be 1st grader is bored at school. Her teacher is giving her 1st grade math worksheets to help keep her from getting into trouble. My soon to be 6th grader has really fallen behind in math thanks to the lack of depth in the new curriculum. However, she is still getting really good grades which is upsetting since we know she really doesn't understand it. Do you know of any type of testing we should do to assess what grade level of material to use? Does it really just depend on which curriculum we go with?
4. For the daughter that will turn 3 yrs old this fall I was just going to do a loose preschool of learning while playing. Nothing structured since I will have a big learning curve with the older two. Does that seem okay and not irresponsible?
5. Any other words of wisdom that I might be in need of but missing would be openly accepted! Thanks so much.
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I'm a newbie to the forums and am just testing out how it works. Looking forward to posting questions and getting some great feedback. I've been quietly reading posts for sometime now. Thanks!
Catholic Textbook Project Question
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
I am currently using All Ye Lands for my 6th grader. It looks like Light to the Nations is the next one in the series, but when I looked at the table of content it appears to have a lot of overlap. If you have experience with both textbooks I would love to hear your thoughts. Would it be to much repeat? Which book do you think is a good fit to go next? Thanks!