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scott777

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  1. My middle schooler loves these two teachers http://historyatourhouse.com http://www.literatureatourhouse.com Both of them were teachers at the Vandamme academy for many years before going online on their own. http://www.vandammeacademy.com/index.php
  2. I belonged to the Robinson Facebook group for about a year, and it seemed to me that a large majority were thriving with the RC methods. As a matter of fact, many families had found the RC out of desperation because they were burnt out and failing from their previous homeschooling efforts. Just read the forums here to see such struggles. The RC is far more than a book list. It is a method that develops the student into an independent self guided learner. For my students, we have modified the RC curriculum so that we have added formal history and literature. We don't use the book list. Nonetheless, the method has been a God send with saxon math and hake grammar. You know, "Give a man a Fish....Teach a man to fish". Anyway, I am very thankful to have found this book by Doris Leclerc Ball that validates the advantages of independent learning. Revolutionizing Education in America:The TOTIL Method by Doris Leclerc Ball PhD Link: http://amzn.com/B005X8MQII
  3. Yes, outsource it to history at our house with scott Powell. I have mentioned in the past how great my wife and I think his teaching is. It so happens our 4th, 5th, and 7th graders are taking his excellent American History class this year. Truth be told, I love listening to the classes on my way to work. He offers live class subscriptions or subscriptions for the recordings only. We do the recordings for $20/month. He conducts the live class on webex and the recordings are available later in the day. We started last year in January and were able to finish the class by end of June by doing a class a day, so you can definitely catch up. The class has notes, test review, tests, and map exercises. A favorite part of the course is the history through art classes he does once every week or so. It is so enlightening and interesting. Your child is 5th grade, so would be in the upper elementary course. Check it out. Oh it is from a secular perspective if that matters to you. All 3 of my kids are constantly talking about mr Powell and how much they love his class. http://historyatourhouse.com
  4. Here is part 1 of a 3 part series by Saxon Author Stephen Hake on CCSS. His perspective is pretty interesting. I will be publishing parts 2 and 3 over the next week. http://wp.me/p4nApj-1j
  5. The big grammar book can easily be used as a consumable workbook. The type of question are answered by having the student circle the appropriate choice, underline a phrase, write 1 word answers, write a few sentences, and draw a diagram or two.
  6. XtraMath History At Our House (Webex) Literature At Our House (WizIQ) Quizlet for vocabulary
  7. JoJosMom / kwg, The website definitely WAS NOT a chronic problem last year for History at our House or the Literature at our House. It looks like they are trying to implement a new payment system this week, so they are making changes to the pages unfortunately. It looks like it is working ok right now. The main websites, historyatourhouse.com or literatureatourhouse.com, are for information about the program such as a the syllabus, school year calendar, and for registering for the courses. After you register for the courses, you are sent an email with a link to the content. There are differences for history at our house vs literature at our house. Scott Powell of HAOH uses Webex for the live classes while Luc Travers, who teaches LAOH, uses WizIQ for the live classes. Depending on the level you purchase, live classes or recordings, you will access them through a web link that is provided after registration. We had no issues accessing recordings throughout the entire year. Both teachers are very responsive so you can contact them directly with questions. Scott Powell's email address is: powell_sd@hotmail.com Luc Travers for Literature: luctravers@gmail.com Oh it also looks like Scott Powell has added an informational video to historyatourhouse.com site. Or access directly on YouTube Hope I have answered your concerns about the website. It really was an amazing history and literature program that the kids just loved. They are getting excited about the new year for both classes!
  8. My 4th and 6th graders loved these two guys. This is like a regular class setting over webex. You can buy a subscription to the online class and have your daughter sit in, or you can pay less for the recordings. We buy the recordings. I think Scott Powell does such a great job teaching the students history. http://historyatourhouse.com and Mr. Travers is an amazing Literature teacher http://www.literatureatourhouse.com
  9. kiana, I think that place value understanding really shines in Saxon's mental math sections. Right from 5/4, Stephen Hake starts teaching mental math strategies with regrouping, partial products techniques, half of 10, etc. that really cement place value knowledge for the students. I am bummed that my oldest only started the mental math with the 8/7 book, but even with him his ability has increased tremendously. Can't wait to see how my daughter who started the 5/4 book progressive on up through the Saxon series with these kind of mental math exercises.
  10. In general I would go with the editions that Art Reed recommends: http://www.homeschoolwithsaxon.com/newsletterpage-2013.php#0413 Some people like the simplicity of the 1st and some 2nd editions but it seems you need to be careful not to mix them around the 7/6, 8/7 area.
  11. Yes, I am very surprised how much Saxon gets criticized for lacking conceptual instruction. In fact, I thought the teaching of pi was excellent through 3 of the books. As a matter of fact, Math 7/6 had an excellent investigation activity that cemented the understanding of pi for my son. Now in Math 8/7 it is a given to him. In my opinion, Stephen Hake and John Saxon really thought thing out with the program especially the balance between concepts and practicing. Oh and the mental math is INVALUABLE in my view.
  12. elmerRex, Course 1 = Math 7/6 = 6th grade Course 2 = Math 8/7 = 7th grade Course 3 is 8th grade. Keep in mind that the Course books are not officially offered to homeschoolers. Some homeschoolers choose to buy Course 3 from 3rd party sources and use it between (Math 8/7 or Algebra 1/2) and Algebra 1. You can read the author's opinion on this in my discussion with him on my blog. http://homeschoolingodyssey.wordpress.com Yes, if you can acquire the course books, then you could do 5/4, 6/5, Course 1, Course 2, Course 3.
  13. According to the Hake Publishing site, not much was changed. http://www.hakepublishing.com/common-core-state-standards.html How much revision did Grammar and Writing undergo to meet Common Core? Very little. Because of the already extensive nature of the Grammar and Writing series, nothing whatsoever was changed in the hardcover textbooks. The authors added between three to five new lessons at the end of the student workbooks, and that is all. In what ways does Grammar and Writing exceed the Common Core Standards? Grade-appropriate Core Knowledge® content (not to be confused with Common Core) is embedded in the examples and exercises to reinforce learning of other subject areas, including literature, geography, science, the Constitution, and America's founding. By combining a rigorous language arts framework with a proven pedagogy developed to stimulate exceptional student achievement, Grammar and Writing creates a rich educational experience surpassing the scope of most state standards.
  14. I would definitely NOT describe Saxon Math as "drill and kill". That was a negative description used by the education establishment in the 80s and 90s to disparage John Saxon and his books because his books were making the "experts" look like fools - because they worked so well and the test results proved it. What i love about the Saxon books 5/4 and up are that they DO teach the concepts very well. I do read about many people not liking the books below 5/4 however (i have never used those). The concepts are taught clearly and succinctly so that my children can read them independently and truly understand them. These books make the math books and education that I received in the 80s look like a cruel joke. The problem sets, which attract the "drill and kill" tag, are the key to the program. These 30 review problems are crafted to include a certain mix of problems to strengthen the understanding of these problems and to move that understanding into long term memory - so called automaticity. Ironically, a true drill and kill program is more typically found in conventional unit programs where concepts are presented in chapter units. In these programs, a concept is taught and then 30 problems of the same type are assigned. This drill and kill, as I found with my children in their public school days with Everyday Mathematics, resulted in a temporary or short term memory mastery. How frustrating, boring, and ineffective it was for them to drill 20- 30 of the same type of problem. Even worse, the material was soon forgotten. I think it is funny that some people term these unit programs as "mastery". Far from it in my opinion. Not so with the Saxon problem sets. They are a challenge and more interesting to the student, because the child's brain is shifting from one concept to the other. More importantly because of it being done OVER TIME, it becomes truly mastered. This is really how we learn everything in life. Math is the most difficult language currently known, so there must be some rigor to learning it. I also have a feeling that exercising the brain over 30 mixed problems in this fashion leads to a better understanding of mathematics as a whole. I can't prove this and have not found any studies, but to me it makes sense that the child's brain is making deeper connections with the relationships of math. I think what I am trying to say here is better said by John Saxon himself in his introduction to Algebra 2 3rd edition: "Concepts that were confusing when first encountered became familiar concepts after they had been practiced for a period of weeks or months - until finally they were understood. Then further study of the same concepts caused additional understanding as totally unexpected ramifications appeared. And, as we mastered these new abstractions, our understanding of seemingly unrelated concepts became clearer. Thus, mathematics does not consist of unconnected topics that can be filed in separate compartments, studied once, mastered, and then neglected. Mathematics is like a big ball made of pieces of string that have been tied together. Many pieces touch directly, but the other pieces are all an integral part of the ball, and all must be rolled along together if understanding is to be achieved."
  15. Thankfully there doesn't seem to be much change at all. It says no changes to the Grammar portion. http://www.hakepublishing.com/common-core-state-standards.html
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