beka87
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Posts posted by beka87
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Does TAN have anything other than ancients yet?
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Orally composing sentences and then writing them when ready is the usual approach. Something gentle may work, like English for the Thoughtful Child, vlm 1. I would do most, if not all, out loud, though.
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Congratulations! Thanks for sharing this. :)
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The book "A Little History of the World" and classics like 50 Famous Stories Retold would both work well for those ages.
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I am concerned that Primer 1 is a step back from Shurley 1 in regards to grammar. Am I over analyzing? I want something a little more gentle than Shurley but I don't want him to forget what he has learned in Shurley because we worked hard on that book. So, I was thinking Primer 2 would be a good because it teaches adverbs, adjectives, etc. On the other hand I was concerned that the copywork in Primer 2 would be too much. He can currently copy 2 or 3 sentences before complaining.
I used FLL1 and FLL2 with my daughter before we hit the Primer series. I was concerned about her losing what she had learned, not because she needs the grammar now but because, well, we did all that work...! Ha. I really shouldn't have worried. CP Primer reviews things very nicely and I decided to use Simply Grammar, but only Part 1, here and there because it feels a lot like CP (gentle), but serves to further review what we did in FLL.
If I'm completely honest, however, SImply Grammar is only really making ME feel better. Don't get me wrong - it's effective, short, my daughter likes it and does it in five minutes twice a week or so - but it isn't necessary. The upper levels of CP are going to cover all the grammar she needs, including teaching her how to diagram.
If you decide to switch to CP, don't worry about grammar unless it really bothers you. Then add a little something to review so you stay sane and happy. As far as spelling, don't worry about that unless your child is reading fluently. If you want more spelling now, I'd pick something like Simply Spelling - again, a program that feels a lot like CP and will be a quick, painless supplement to what you do in the Primers. I may use Simply Spelling with my next child. This current girl had already started Apples and Pears when I decided to use CP and I thought it would be more beneficial to leave her in the program she was in. Apples and Pears is pretty quick and painless, though, too.
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We have loved CP Primers here. I think for a young child, the spelling and grammar is enough. The copy work passages are delightful. The nature and picture study break up the week nicely. If you want/need to supplement spelling, I would (and do here). Grammar I wouldn't worry about too much at that age.
CP is gentle, thorough, and really a delight to do every day. My daughter says composition (as I refer to it) is her favorite subject. The lessons are short but cover quite a bit.
The upper levels of CP look great, too, and I can't wait until we get to dive into Fable and Song (in the fall! Yay!).
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We really love the artist/picture study portfolios. They are worth the money.
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We always begin and end with a prayer. I'm aiming for us to learn about three new prayers by heart out of the Carmina Gadelica.
We always have a song we are learning. I think we'll start with some songs from American heritage, then start including selections from Lingua Angelica. We also usually have a song in Gaelic that we're learning, but I'm not sure if this will be in MT or not.
We are continually memorize poetry out of The Harp and Laurel Wreath. I'm adding in some good, old fashioned nursery rhymes for my littles this year.
There will be a few lines from whatever Shakespeare play we are working on to memorize.
We'll review the fifty states and their capitals for a while. Also Latin vocabulary/phrases/etc.
Sometimes math in the form of skip counting.
Elocution - My two older girls read aloud from McGuffey's....different levels for each.
I read aloud fables from Aesop and one other thing. The one other thing rotates between American history/culture, Celtic history/culture, and My Book House.
There are candles and drawings and lots of questions asked. Works for us and takes round 30 to 40 minutes.
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Simply Grammar would be a nice fit, I think. Gentle, doesn't take long. We really enjoy it here as a part of the overall grammar scene.
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Cottage Press is meant to be a complete language arts program (WR is not), though I will end up supplementing spelling through Fable and Song, at least. At a higher level (Bards and Poets and up) there is a lot of meat there and plenty of room to be creative and to have great discussions. I think CP is a lot more streamlined than WR. While WR is a great program, I don't know that all of its components are strictly necessary to the extant they are included in order to teach composition and thinking skills.
CP is not talked about as much because 1)it is newer and 2)WR is from a much larger and better publicized company.
While I appreciate the WR sentiment behind making the progym more "creative", I think that ultimately a resource that teaches well but minimally is what will actually give my kids the room to be creative. Also, though not as important, I totally disagree with the grade levels in WR. I think CP is much more realistic in terms of teaching the progym steps to students old enough to understand the process and purpose behind each.
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OP - I should have mentioned that in my house, my third grader (who will be 9 in April and in fourth grade this coming year), works anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours, plus half an hour of MT all together. I really think it is plenty, especially since she fills her days with other things that are good for her brain and body. Time spent per grade is REALLY arbitrary. Grades are arbitrary, come to think of it. Take a good look at Language Arts, since that seems to be the thing you are actually worried about, and see if you want to add or change things there. Otherwise, I really think it would be a shame to disrupt that little girl's days. She sounds like a bright, curious child and I think you can mostly be glad that her childhood gets to be full of things like fishing and making jewelry. You're doing fine.
FWIW - Language Arts here is something like this:
Apples and Pears for spelling - no more than 10 minutes, 4 times a week
Copy work - daily
Studied Dictation - once weekly
Grammar - Simply Grammar, no more than 5 minutes or so twice weekly
Oral narration - after most readings; once a week she writes a narration; for science, she doesn't narrate out loud, instead she makes a page in a blank notebook that can have words and pictures (her choice)
And we have a language rich home - we sing, memorize poetry, read poetry out loud to each other, I read to all my kids, my daughter reads to both me and her little sisters, she loves to read on her own time, etc. It's good and full and she's doing fine.
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I just saw the above schedule, OP, and I think her day sounds full and rich. Language Arts COULD be longer, but I don't know as it needs to be....maybe don't worry too much for now. :)
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Every child is different and there is no set amount of time that one should or should not be schooling formally. If she is engaged and challenged and focused, twenty minutes of math might be all she needs. I think adding written or oral narrations for content work might be a good idea, but also look at the rest of her day. How does she spend her time? If her off school hours are spent in interesting and productive ways, I wouldn't worry about it.
ETA: Also, if her off time is not interesting and productive, more school isn't necessarily the answer. It might be just as beneficial to add in hobbies, handiwork, a musical instrument, a physical activity, etc. Not all learning needs to be out of a book while sitting at the table. :)
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Apples and Pears from Sound Foundations uses copy work, dictation, morpheme analysis, and spelling patterns. It's a workbook format, one book for the student and one for you. It's very easy to work for five minutes or twenty, whatever you feel like doing for the day. It's been working very well for my 8 year old daughter, who tended to memorize rules but never apply them, memorize words for a test and then forget them,....there are very generous samples and also placement tests on their website.
If you like the idea of dictation (the way Spelling Wisdom is set up) I would recommend looking into Simply Spelling from shoelacebooks as well, which uses copy work, dictation, and gentle rules. I love the look of it and may use it for my next daughter if Apples and Pears isn't a good fit.
Good luck!
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Our library has a copy of Minimus & Minimus Secundus. They have just the student's text which seems perfectly fine to use without a teacher's book (and starts at $4 used on Amazon).
Rainbow Resource shows a brief sample page: https://www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php?id=001165&subject=Foreign+Language/15&category=Minimus+Latin+Program/7087
Thank you! :)
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Not to hijack a thread, but I tried to find Minimus samples and couldn't, then looked at the whole program and was rather shocked at how expensive it is. Am I missing something?
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I think some basic writing instruction would be good for next year, grammar optional. If she is learning and loving it and so are you, just be happy you've found your groove and enjoy. :) Good for you!
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Kindergarten in our house:
Right Start Math (or Singapore...I've got one in each)
First Start Reading alongside Alpha Phonics (I LOVE Alpha Phonics), and things like BOB Books and early readers for Phonics
Home done copy work for handwriting (this does not need to be painful and it does not require a curriculum)
FIAR or Memoria Press K-Enrichment (whichever I'm more in the mood for ;) ) You said you have your extras figured out, but I'd caution you not to go overboard with K level extras. Too much too soon is quickly regretted at that age. Take a look at some of the suggestions here for Phonics and Math and try to picture yourself teaching the program every day. Unless there is something obvious about it that you think would absolutely NOT work for your child, then pick the program you feel like you could teach....your consistency will be more important than anything else.
Good luck and enjoy the year! It goes too fast. :)
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My eight year old, soon-to-be-9, has been using Cottage Press materials for almost two years and we'll be continuing next year into fourth grade. It covers grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and composition all in one place. It's a gentle program, but still does a thorough job teaching and stretching my daughter's mind. It doesn't require much from me.
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When we read SOTW 3, we enjoyed supplementing with The Matchlock Gun, Sign of the Beaver, Of Courage Undaunted, and 1801: Year of the Horseless Carriage. All are chapter books except for The Matchlock Gun, which is somewhere between picture and chapter and deserves to be read anyway. They were all very good choices.
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How do you mark her papers as far as pointing out errors? My little perfectionist prefers pencil, so she can correct and then erase all evidence of ever having done it wrong. When she's at 100%, she gets to star each problem herself in whatever color she chooses. I'm sure doing something like this won't solve your problem, and you've gotten a lot of good advice, but little things do add up at the end of the day. I hope you find something that works for you both soon. Good luck!
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That's too many extra's outside the house for my taste, and I think that part of it would be hard on my kids. But if the activities are fun for them, then I don't see a problem. I guess the morning does seem hectic, when you actually add up time as PP's have done.
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Pandia Press is great for an all planned out, open it up and go, first grade level science. If you stock your "lab" supplies t the beginning of the year, you're all set. They use easy to find items and we had a really good experience with all the activities - simple, but informative and no weird supplies needed. I loved Biology.
Also, Berean Builders has a great textbook for this age, as well, also with easy to perform experiments that don't require a lot of weird stuff. Good luck!
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I like what SRoss5 said above about using the sentence for copy work, then dictation. This is a form of studied dictation and is really effective, especially if you sit and discuss concepts with her before she copies and before you dictate. Depending on the length of the sentence, it IS okay to break it up or repeat a portion, especially when she is just beginning dictation as a skill. When she is comfortable with this and doing fairly well, DON'T immediately lengthen the dictation. Instead, tell her to study a short paragraph, noting all punctuation, capitalization, etc. and making note of words whose spelling might trip her up. Train her to be able to do this on her own. Let her study the passage as long as she likes, then read one or two sentences from it as dictation. She doesn't get to know which sentences you are picking beforehand. From here, you can gradually increase length of dictation to a whole paragraph. This takes a lot of time and I would modify whatever curriculum you use as necessary until the skill is acquired. Dictation is a fabulous tool, but it can't be rushed. I also prefer studied to unstudied dictation for anyone not in high school.
FWIW, I don't have a problem reading slowly or occasionally repeating a sentence or phrase. I don't think too many kids, in the beginning, at least, can here a whole paragraph once and write it from memory. Ideally, of course, that's how it works, but I say just use your discretion and just keep slowly moving toward that ideal (whether or not you ever get there).
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RightStart A 2nd edition
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
I'm using RSA, 2nd edition for the first time with my daughter now. She'll be six in July. I think it does move too fast, but I'm quite willing to stop for a few lessons and play games/repeat activities for things I think need more practice. I've also noticed that a lot of what feels too fast comes up again and again in the lessons and that my daughter does get it, just not on the first go round. I'm used to Singapore, which I use with her older sister, so this is a bit odd for me...I have to remind myself to just help her where she needs it, do it consistently, and trust her brain to grasp things (which she usually does). I also think that a lot of A is exposure to certain things (like grouping a bunch of fives - she's not actually multiplying, just seeing that grouping that way is one way to combine numbers). I like it okay, but I suppose we'll wait and see how I feel at the end of A. We're only just past half way through A at this point. I figure if she isn't ready for B at the end of A, we'll repeat lessons and practice with games until she catches up a bit. Or, if it all ends really badly, I'll kick myself for spending the money and look for something else...*sigh*