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bluebonnetgirl

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Posts posted by bluebonnetgirl

    Anyone using ACE for their schooling?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    SilverMoon,

     

    I am wondering if ACE Math has changed A LOT since you used it as a child.  I would bet it has based on your impressions.   Both my sons really enjoy and are doing really well with ACE Math (they are presently doing ACE Math 7, but started with ACE Math 5). I have found the instructions to be very clear and I rarely need to reexplain concepts.  My boys need mastery not spiral.  I think the diagrams, color and examples in ACE MAth are done really well.  If you get a chance, look at their current materials - 6th grade math was revised in 2006 and 7th grade math was revised in 2013.

     

    My youngest was realy struggling with Math when I began homeschooling him after 5th grade.  ACE has made him a much stronger math student.  He finally has mastered concepts and facts that were weak after coming from the public school ( a good public school mind you).

     

    I use Teaching Textbooks as a supplement and this combo of ACE Math and TT works out really well.  I find TT to be about a half year behind ACE Math, so it is a good review for them when starting both at the same time.

     

    7th grade line up - suggestions?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

     I am starting my second year homeschooling my youngest, who is 13 and going into 7th and am hoping to get some feedback on our curriculum and specifically if anything is missing.   This is our line up this year:

     

    Ace 7th grade English

    Ace 7th grade Math and Teaching Textbooks 7 (I use TT as a supplement since he needs extra practice with math)

    Total Language Plus (Carry On Mr. Bowditch, Bronze Bow, Where the Red Fern Grows, Witch of Blackbird Pond)

    Science (outsourcing ) ..............Life Science (Exploring the World of Biology, Exploring the History of Medicine)

    Social Studies (outsourcing)...Texas History

    Art (outsourcing)

    Religion.....My Catholic Faith Delivered (Faith and Life)

     

    I am not sure how much writing he will get with Total Language Plus  and ACE English.  Maybe we should supplement?  I was going to have him begin IEW next year in 8th - hope that is not too late.  Is there a light writing program that could be added this year as a precursor to IEW next year?  Maybe an online option?

     

    Also, I am looking for some literature to go along with the Texas History class he is taking that is Catholic friendly - maybe a book about a saint or two that was important to Texas History - any ideas?

     

    Thank you for your thoughts!

     

     

     

    Social Studies for grades 5-8

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Hi everyone,

    I am hoping to get some feedback regarding Grades 5-8 middle school social studies. I have narrowed it down to Notgrass and The Catholic Textbook Project texts and workbooks.

    My son is a teen on the autism spectrum and he is presently reading and comprehending at about an early 5th grade level. He did How Our Nation Began last year and then Christian Light Edcuation's (CLE) Into All the World this year.

    I am trying to plan out social studies for the next 4 years.

    Option A:

    Grade 5: America the Beautiful 1
    Grade 6: America the Beautiful 2
    Grade 7: Uncle Sam and You
    Grade 8: From Adam to Us
                                                                               
    Option B:      

    Grade 5: From Sea to Shining Sea
    Grade 6: All Ye Lands
    Grade 7: Light to the Nations I
    Grade 8: Light to the Nations II

    A slight revision to the above is to start instead with CHC's "Our United States of America" and then continue the above sequence through grade 9.

    My son is a visual learner and struggles with abstract concepts, making connections, and understanding nuances and perspectives so history beyond the straight facts is going to be a challenge, but I want to give it a try.

    We can also try some literature to go along with these texts and workbooks and have the literature suffice as his reading, particularly if it is paired with some kind of study guide. He does better with worksheets vs having discussions as he has a true receptive and expressive language processing disorder.

    I see the Notgrass texts have accompanying literature, what about the Catholic Textbook Project curriculum?

    Looking at all the samples of the texts my son would probably enjoy Uncle Sam and You the best as it is very fact based, picture rich, here and now, ties into his love for seeing new places and architecture. When not traveling he loves to look places up on Google Earth.

    However he is also very Catholic and we are too, and having the Catholic influenced history would be nice, though not completely necessary.

    Thanks for any input.

    Most flexible umbrella school for high school

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Kolbe sounds like it might be our best best, particularly if we happen to like their history and religion classes.  Does anyone here have experience with those at the high shcool level?

     

    I will have to look further into NARHS...thank you for mentioning it.

     

    We have used CLE social studies in the past so I am familiar with it.  Can the 3 credits per year be in electives by chance?

     

    Thank you!

    Most flexible umbrella school for high school

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    I am starting to plan for high school as my youngest is  in 7th now.

     

    I think/hope my son will go to college, however he is going to have to work very hard to get through the college prep courses.  He is distractable, talkative, creative, right brained, and not the most academicaly motivated, but he is capable (As/Bs) with mom keeping him on track (i.e. lots of supervision/prodding).  He wIll probably wind up majoring in visual arts and doing either graphic design, animation, cinematography, and eventually production/design/direction.  He is best at literature and writing, and struggles most with math.

     

    He is very social and talkative and really benefits from small group discussions.  We are Catholic. We have a wonderful Christian coop nearby where I outsourced general science last year  and it was a good expereince for him.  This year for 7th grade, I will outsource Junior high life science (with labs), State history, Art instuction and English (Total Language Plus)   I will continue to do Religion (Catholic) with him at home and Math with him at home (an area he needs more tutoring) as well as additional some English (ACE) for the extra grammar since I heard Total Language Plus is a tad weak in grammar and we are already doing ACE English.

     

    In high school, I see ourselves continuing in the same way with many classes at the coop, but will probably do history courses at home or online to gain the Catholic perspective.  Also, he would likely pick up Writing and a foreign language at the coop.

     

    I am looking to partner with an umbrella school that would allow me to make these choices.  Can anyone recommend an umbrella school that is easy to work with and allow the flexibility we need, while providing a trascript that colleges will like, and some feedback on class choices for credit if I need it?  Accredidation would be a bonus too.

     

    Thank you!

    Hobbies at home to replace video games and screen time

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    What are your best hobby and activity suggestions for a 12 year old boy to replace screen time?

     

    I'm talking about in the house activities that are not chores, reading, cooking, or schoolwork.

     

    Caveats...we live in the suburbs, not in a farm, there is only one other sibling and they don't always want to be together. Most of the kids in the neighborhood are indoors hooked on their screens or are in organized sports away from home. We already do some sports and I'm looking at volunteer opportunities.

     

    However, what I'm really looking for are in the house independent activities that can take the place of screen time and are pretty engaging and maybe even useful for future skills?

     

    Thanks so much for all your ideas!

    Anyone using ACE for their schooling?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    We are ACE fans here.  I have used all subjects for one of my sons except BIble and it has been really a great curriculum for him.

     

    Next year I will be using for *both* my sons who are working at roughly between 4th-6th  grade levels.

     

    Literature and Creative Writing.........4th and 6th grade, respectively

    Word Building....................................6th grade for both

    English..............................................5th grade for both

    Math..................................................6th grade for both (I also supplement with Teahing Textbooks for fun as it is enjoyable and helps with extra practice and explains concepts in another way)

     

    They will be taking Science at a homeschool outsource class (to get the hands on labs in), but I will be supplementing with AHA Science which is online and wonderful.

    If we did not have the outsource class available I wold do ACE Science without hesitation.

     

    I did ACE Social Studies for 3rd grade but wont be continuing social studies with ACE as there is a heavy Baptist/Protesant slant which gets more and more obvious with the upper grades and we are Catholic and I'dd rather a neutral or Catholic persepective (to balance things out a bit as ACE is aleady pretty fundamentalist even in the other subjects).  We are likely going to use Land of Our Lady (Founders of Frredom) for Social Studies or just do a Geography course (My World of Neighbors thru OLVS) or CLE's Into All the World.  I am leaning toward the latter for both kids.

     

    Overall I am very happy with our choices.

     

    I guess you could say we are a workbook/online program kind of family.  It leaves room for other things in life (extracurricular classes, chores, cooking, sports, coops) and besides there is plenty to discuss with literature and history anyways (ie plenty of mom involvement as it is).

    CLE Reading

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I will be homeschooling my rising 6th grader for the first time this fall and am considering CLE for most subjects, including reading.  I know there is a diagnostic test for LA and Math, but not Reading.  I am wondering if I should place him at the 5th or 6th grade Reading level.  He is a mostly B student at a rigorous public elementary school.  How hard is the CLE Reading for the average student?

     

    I am also considering ACE for him.

     

    Thanks!
     

    Total Language Plus - 6th grade boy

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Kristi,

     

    Thank you so much for your feedback.  I have been wrestling with this decision, especially since it will be my first year homeschooling him and I am not sure he is truly ready for this class.  Unfortunately I cannot substitute out other novels in this outsource class, the books are set by the teacher.  Looking over the selections it seems these would be better choices for a 7th grader.

     

    I will likely use CLE Reading or ACE Literaature and Creative writing this year to really get a good guage on what his true abilities, strengths and weaknesses are.   Next year seems like a good year to do this TLP class.

     

    Thanks again!

     

    Beth

     

     

    Total Language Plus - 6th grade boy

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    My rising 6th grade son has the opportunity to do Total Language Plus as a homeschool outsource class this fall with a group of about 8 students in 6th-8th grade.

    The books they will be covering are:

    Carry on Mr. Bowditch
    Where the Red Fern Grows
    The Bronze Bow
    The Witch of Blackbird Pond

    My son is an average student. Would this be a very difficult or heavy load for a B student?  Would it be better to wait until 7th grade for this class?

    Thanks!

    Founders of Freedom Series?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Thank you for your review.  I would love to see a sample of the comprehension questions at the end of each chapter.  Are they mostly multiple choice, fill in blank, matching, or more discussion questions?  How do you intend on using it for assessment?

     

    Thanks,

     

    Beth

    History Timeline in a binder or foldout

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Hello,

     

    We getting into American history (4th grade level) and I would like to have my son create and keep a history timeline, hopefully to grow with him throughout the next several years..  We really do not have the space for a wall timeline, so a book or binder would be best.  I am not too crafty, so some kind  of nice  already made book or foldout template would be best.

     

    I  am looking for feedback or any comparison of the following:

     

    History Through the Ages Record of Time

    Wonders of Old

    Add a Century

     

    Any feedback is appreciated.

     

    Thanks!

     

    Beth

     

     

     

    Zane Education - so excited to find this!

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    As some of you know, I have been posting and asking questions about multimedia curricula to study history especially for kids with autism or mixed receptive and expressive language disorders.  I really was not finding what I needed so I got off all the homeschool boards and ventured out into the internet and came across Zane Education.  I am so thrilled to find this.

     

    They offer nearly 2000 educational videos on a variety of subjects (including history) with lesson plans and interactive quizzes for all ages/grades.  The combination of a picture for nearly every sentence, with the audio, AND closed captioning is such a benefit for my son who has autism and mixed receptive expressive language disorder. From doing the sample lesson on Beethoven, his attention, retention, and accuracy on the quiz went up about 30% versus just reading or being read to.

     

    Here is the free sample video lesson of the day:

     

    http://www.zaneeducation.com/Videos/freevideo.php

     

    Hope this helps someone. 

     

    Beth

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