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beka87

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Everything posted by beka87

  1. Can you rotate toddler duty with one on one time with the older kids? Sarah MacKenzie at amongstlovelythings.com did a Periscope about this.
  2. I think every child/family is different and what works for some may not work for you. The most important things are to 1)not overload your child, and 2)make sure you are moving at their pace and not skipping ahead when they need more time/practice in a certain area. In my house we: Present lesson, sometimes with white board/manipulatives Go through TB and problems (sometimes not all) to be sure the concept is understood WB problems are done independently We use MM when we have time/I think its really needed. We don't usually get to every MM sheet, but we get to most of them eventually. I'll even pull MM from previous books to review. We use all the chapter and unit tests because it serves as more review and my school district loves grades in the quarterly reports. We use flash cards many, but not all, days, some to review and more in what she's currently learning. There are certainly long periods when we just don't need flash cards in our lives, as well, because the material has been mastered. This is done during her checklist time (independent, completed at her leisure, and made of little things that I forget otherwise, like cursive practice, etc.) We do math every day, no exceptions, six days a week for about 20 minutes at a time. One of those slots every week is for games only. We do not use IP or CWP (we did in the past but it was FAR too much math for a young child), but I find Math Mammoth a nice supplement for certain topics my daughter needs more time with. We have a separate 15 minute Math Mammoth slot once a week. I really think that less is more with math, if lessons are focused and regular. Good luck!
  3. Honestly, 2 and a half hours is plenty of school for a first grade child. I have a third grader and we do 2.5 hours six days a week and cover everything - including fine arts, second language, literature, history, science, geography, etc...I would caution against adding anything other than what will be fun and enjoyable for both of you. And it doesn't have to be "school" or content - you could garden, cook, go to museums, read lots of books...I suggest enjoying the early years and not worrying about how much time you do or do not spend on school.
  4. We just finished six weeks of school and are on our break week. So far... Older daughter: Singapore Math - she has a love/hate relationship with math in general, but this works brilliantly for her Math Mammoth topic books - she'd rather not, but they are helping her multiplication facts along... :) Math games from RightStart - she LOVES these MP 50 States - she loves this GeoPuzzle of North America - I thought she'd love this. She HATES it. Huh. Home grown literature (Parables from Nature, The Hurricane's Children, Otto of the Silver Hand), history (Of Courage Undaunted, SOTW 4, Lord of the Nutcracker Men, picture books, Number the Stars), and science (physics with JVC activities and lots of books) - she LOVES all of these. :) Cottage Press Primer 2 - we both adore this series. I am so glad it exists. Apples and Pears B - she isn't exactly fond of spelling, but she doesn't hate it. This is a very effective program! Simply Grammar, Part 1 - I love this, she wishes we were still reading Grammar Land. ;) I may read it to her again late this year... Logic Safari book 1 - she doe this for fun.... :) Morning Time - loved by all, missed by all when it doesn't happen... Younger daughter... Right Start Math A - looks great, seems perfect, but we only just started it, so we'll see Alpha Phonics/First Start Reading from MP - FANTASTIC combo. My little girl loves her learning to read time FIAR vlm 1 - LOVE. Of course. :)
  5. Charlotte Mason style programs are very reading heavy and focus on whole books. Have you looked at Ambleside Online? They have extensive book lists across lots of subjects for all grades. It's a great place to start.
  6. I haven't used ELTL, so I can't say much about that program, but I have looked at samples. I always felt like it wasn't as cohesive/thorough as it could be and the use of book selections bothered me somehow. I think only getting a little bit of the story all the time would annoy both me and my daughter (in fact, it annoyed us both when we used WWE). We love Cottage Press, though. Thorough and well thought out, easy to implement because of the work book format but still so full of beautiful things....fables and fairy tales and poetry. I plan on sticking with it straight through. :)
  7. We've used Primer One and are in Primer 2 and loved both. I've also obsessed over the whole big picture scope, sequence, and methodology of CP for too many hours. Way too many. It's a great program and I know now that we're in for the long haul. For the early years, especially, I don't think it can be beat.
  8. Ha! I've never heard this! But it makes sense. Thanks for all the replies, ladies. :)
  9. So, I know this question has been asked before and I've used these books myself, for crying out loud, but what ages are they really meant for? I was under the impression that they were primarily for 1st to 4th grade. I always felt like my daughter, when she was in 1st grade, would have benefited from waiting a year. I plan to do this series with my other kids from 2nd to 5th. On the WTM Press website, the series has always been described as for use with "elementary" age children. But when I was over there just now to check out some Jim Weiss, it said (Middle School) next to the name of the series but kept "elementary" in the description. So what ages, exactly, does SWB recommend these books be used for? And what do you all think? Does it depend on the kid/family? I know how I want to use them, so it's not that important, I suppose, but I found it frustrating nonetheless.
  10. I sent a PM but haven't heard back.
  11. Also, Afterthoughts.net has a lot of advice on scheduling AO. Excellent blog!
  12. Ha! I read the OP all wrong...sorry! I have the same issue with AO history. I like HUFI, but even that needed tweaking to work in my house. Plus, it only goes through 6th grade (at least that's all I ever found).
  13. HUFI is one of the sources I use when making my own, in addition to AO, A Mind in the Light, and others.
  14. I use AO and several other sources, plus lots of my own research, to make my own CM style curriculum. If all you ever did was AO, your children wouldn't suffer. It IS thorough and it IS well done. BUT. It isn't the only way to implement Charlotte Mason's philosophy and methodology, and I think it is unfair that AO gets represented as the sole option. The book choices all looked great to me, too, when I first looked at it. The more I researched their selections, however, the more I saw a bias in their history and a decided lack of science. If you want to use AO as written, again, I think your kids will get a good education. But I'd recommend doing the research - even if you just research one year at a time before you use that year - to be sure that those books are in line with your family's beliefs and preferences. Part of what makes AO so effective is the work of the parents using it day to day, doing their darnedest to follow CM's advice and instructions on HOW to educate children (because she had a lot of pretty awesome stuff to say about that ;) ). Speaking from my own experience, choosing high quality books and then putting your energy into habit formation and consistency over time will be effective - no matter where the list of quality books came from. AO even warns parents against using their curriculum without understanding the methodology and philosophy that it was written for. That said, if you and your family like all you see on AO - jump in. Education through living books; the skills of narration, copy work, and dictation; the ability to focus the mind and listen or observe; the inclusion of beautiful things such as poetry, Shakespeare, and great artists not as an "extra" but as integral to the whole education.....this way of bringing our children through their school years is truly wonderful and worth the effort. Just be aware that you don't NEED AO to do it.
  15. We use Cottage Press. I love it! I'd recommend starting at whatever book looks like it will meet your child's needs and go from there. I also wouldn't worry about gaps...schedule it out to leave time for your child to free write, apply what they are learning in Cottage Press to other material they are reading, etc. You need not do all of language arts every day of every school year and Cottage Press is written to give you flexibility. If it pulls at you and you think it would work well for your children, I highly recommend giving it a try.
  16. I think that no matter what Progym-based program you choose, you'll have to teach yourself as well as your kids. I just grabbed CC teacher guides or the first our level used at a sale so I can start teaching myself before I try to teach my daughter (I've got one year before we start the progym). I haven't quite settles on CC or CAP....CC looks so straightforward and uncluttered and true to the intent o the progym. It also looks dry. :) CAP looks like a lot more fun and seems like it will accomplish what CC accomplishes. But it's so hard to know from looking at online samples. I wish I could easily compare books side by side. I sometimes wonder if CAP has too much extra.... In any event, I think spacing out the books a bit is a great idea. Whichever program I ultimately end up using, I plan on teaching one book over about 12 weeks (ideally), then taking about 12 weeks to apply what we've learned to written narrations, then taking about 12 weeks to teach the next book, and so on. It'll take longer than CAP's recommended grade levels, but I'm okay with that. I hope someone who has used more of CAP will chime in!
  17. We have a small farm, so breakfast and then farm chores are first every morning. Then Morning Time at 8:30. Depending on when the girls are up, they sometimes have some playtime before we start, sometimes don't. Morning Time is for prayers, songs, poetry, Shakespeare memory work, and a read-aloud. The read-aloud rotates between Celtic culture/history, My Book House, and American history (6 weeks each). After MT we start lessons. We have a six day school week, which means my eldest daughter only has to spend 2 - 2.5 hours a day in academic work (depending on how she applies herself). Every day is a little different. Because I have six days over which to spread our subjects, I can arrange things so that we change up the type of work she is doing frequently. These short, varied lessons are golden - she accomplishes more with this set-up than she ever did with a traditional block of time for each subject. I have a printed page that shows what subjects we are doing in what order for each day that hangs on the fridge where she and I can see it. My oldest daughter's lessons are arranged in such a way that she ends with a block of independent work. Anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes worth, during which time I start K lessons with my second girl. The littlest often tags along for these. Then the girls EHAP the house while I make lunch, they eat, we read out loud for a good while, rest time/naps, and then the afternoon. I use rest time for exercise and housework, and the afternoon for to-do's and dinner. The girls have farm chores (goat and chickens) and occasionally some extra chore for me, but are otherwise free to do as they like. I schedule our schooling for 6 weeks on and one week off (aiming for 6 weeks of schooling every two months - this gives me margin time that doesn't interfere with our week off), and we school year round so that I can take time off when we need it or want it most. Rest, as someone pointed out above, is as much attitude as it is anything else. My schedule suits our family perfectly, but people are people and life is life (especially on a farm) and sometimes it all gets tossed out the window like so much rubbish. And it's okay, because tomorrow we get to try again. Aiming for being in fellowship, so to speak, with each child no matter what the day brings is my biggest schole secret. All the schedules in the world can't take the place of that. Good luck with your talk!
  18. We used the Origami Fun Kit for Beginners from Dover.
  19. I compiled a list of poems from Harp and Laurel Wreath for us to memorize. We also read a poem per day from one poet using AO resources. Once a week we have Poetry Tea Time - just tea, treats, and us reading poems out loud to each other. That's been a great start. I plan on working in the poetry course from Memoria Press next year, but only the third grade selections (in goes up to sixth). I wouldn't start with this, though. I think it works out much better to build a love of poetry simply for its own sake before peppering kids with comprehension type questions, etc. Good luck!
  20. I have heard from many that book 4 of WandR is a sticking point. Most people find it effective for the 12ish year old. I think the program is solid, but I don't agree with the stated grades. If you took it slower it may work fine for you. Or put off book 4 until you think your child is ready....I personally can't see a ten year old (for the most part) doing well in Proverb.
  21. Is there a reason you don't just want to do Narrative 2 and go in order?
  22. If you like the look of Writing and Rhetoric, you might consider Well-Ordered Language. This is a new grammar curriculum from CAP and I bet you could easily do it with all of your kids at once. I'm not familiar with the reading program you're talking about, but do they really need a reading program? If they are reading well and on their own, couldn't you just assign a certain amount of reading from good books every week and either talk about it/let them illustrate it/let them write about it once a week or so? I'm guessing that dropping the reading program would free up some time for you. I'm not a fan of total LA programs...as your kids have different needs and your spelling is already working, why grab CLE and then skip bits? I think you should stick with what's working, cut what you can (even if you keep the reading), and focus on helping your kids improve their writing skills. Treasured Conversations may be another good option to look into. TC and WOL may not be independent enough for you, however. Easy Grammar would work well there. So would Fix-It Grammar and much of the work found in the Cottage Press materials. Hope this helps, and good luck! :)
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