amyc78
-
Posts
309 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by amyc78
-
-
We love BrainPop and BrainPop Jr in our house. I would love to find something similar that would be a quick devotional type time for my kids after breakfast while I'm getting ready for the school day. We tried the free trial of JellyTelly but that seemed to be more long videos and games. I like that BrainPop is short and not overly stimulating with games, etc. Any ideas?
-
We love BrainPop and BrainPop Jr in our house. I would love to find something similar that would be a quick devotional type time for my kids after breakfast while I'm getting ready for the school day. We tried the free trial of JellyTelly but that seemed to be more long videos and games. I like that BrainPop is short and not overly stimulating with games, etc. Any ideas?
-
CLE has a lot to recommend it, and it would fit your criteria for not so teacher-intensive and more review. It may not meet his need for games and challenge, though, so definitely consider that as you give a light unit a try. You might also consider Math Mammoth, as it meets many of the same criteria but presents topics with a bit more variety of formats, and with some color.
If you'd like some thoughts on thinking through a philosophy of math, as well as thinking through your personal preferences, take a look at my article on how to choose homeschool math curriculum. http://kateshomeschoolmath.com/how-to-choose-homeschool-math-curriculum/
Thank you so much, Kate, I just read several of your blog posts. What do you think of combining MUS with CLE? We are on lesson 24 of Gamma right now (double digit multiplication with regrouping) and I am slowing it down to just keep practicing this concept for a while and work on memorizing through the 12s times tables (just for efficiency sake). If I slowed down MUS and added CLE 300, would that be too much? It seems like he's already covered the concepts of the first part of CLE 300 but this would be a more traditional application (plus fill in with lots of real life math work and memorization). We've done no fractions in this point of MUS but he is mathy enough that I think he will be able to grasp them quickly.
-
Hmmm. You want CLE :).
We left MUS for some of the same reasons you mention.
"1) not enough practice at the Gamma level- once multiple digit multiplication started, we've had to slow down and add in some extra practice, which is not a huge deal except that it requires a little extra legwork from me.
3) I have to supplement for math fact memorization, telling time, weights and measures, money, graphs, etc. I keep hearing that all of this has been or will be covered but either I've missed it or its not often enough. We haven't even discussed whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, etc.
5) He seems to forget what he's learned very easily. I don't know how many times we have gone over the difference between area and perimeter but it's just. not. sticking."
#1, we didn't make it that far, but there wasn't enough review. This ties into #5 about lack of retention. Ditto with my kids. I retaught SO many times. Especially time! #3! Craziness, only taught in a block once a year. CLE starts teaching all of those items in #3 in first and keeps at it. It has ongoing mixed review of ALL the previously taught skills so they are not forgotten. It scheduled flash cards and includes speed drills for fact memorization.
#4 will be fixed because CLE is very traditional.
We have really enjoyed CLE and given my children math confidence. Despite the fact that I was ideologically committed to MUS, CLE's spiral approach with ongoing review was a game changer for us.
We still use the blocks and MUS place value methods though!
I'm looking at CLE now. The fact that we could try out a unit before committing to the whole year is attractive. If he is finishing up Gamma now, would I start him at Grade 3 Light Units next year? Are the answer keys and teachers guide both necessary? How much teaching time does it require from you?
-
I am really starting to panic over which math curriculum to use for DS8's 3rd grade year. We are on lesson 24 of MUS Gamma right now. He has always done very well with MUS… my only issues with the program are:
1) not enough practice at the Gamma level- once multiple digit multiplication started, we've had to slow down and add in some extra practice, which is not a huge deal except that it requires a little extra legwork from me.
2) Using Steve Demme's method (place value notation) for multiplication is confusing to BOTH of us, so I've been reteaching him to do multiplication in a way that makes sense to us… this makes me wonder if this is just a one time occurrence or if I will find myself reteaching in Delta as well, in which case maybe we just need a different program?
3) I have to supplement for math fact memorization, telling time, weights and measures, money, graphs, etc. I keep hearing that all of this has been or will be covered but either I've missed it or its not often enough. We haven't even discussed whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, etc.
4) I did not learn math the way MUS teaches. I love the conceptual foundation it has given DS but if he has questions I am often at a loss for how to explain it to him, find myself rewatching the DVDs with him so I can try to understand how to explain...
5) He seems to forget what he's learned very easily. I don't know how many times we have gone over the difference between area and perimeter but it's just. not. sticking.
All of the above may or may not be resolved in finding a new curriculum or it just may be issues that occur no matter how you teach math...
DS is good at math but he doesn't LOVE it. He is a perfectionist who needs some confidence building review without being bored. We originally chose MUS because as a 5 year old, the blocks were very attractive and the short assignments were about as much as he could handle. Now that he is more mature, he can handle more work at one sitting (but not a ton more) and he no longer uses the blocks.
SO what do I want in a math program? Honestly I'm not 100% sure and I'm not even sure how to know what i want. I want DS to be adequately prepared for college prep high school math, whether that be at home, through CC Challenge or public or private school. I need a program that is not teacher intensive but provides enough support that I can help him without being totally lost myself. He personally likes colorful, games, "codes", etc to keep him interested. He is very science-y, excellent at memorization, has great spatial ability and an engineering mind, so I would like to encourage these gifts through math if possible.
In the past week, I have looked at (and been convinced to buy, haha) Abeka Arithmetic 3, Saxon Intermediate 3, Saxon 5/4, Horizons 3, Teaching Textbooks 4… Or the option to stick with MUS but supplement with Life of Fred, Kumon workbooks, math facts games, Kahn, etc.
If anybody could give me any insight into what formed your math decisions, that would be so helpful. Opinions about specific curriculum would also be helpful, but at this point, I'm not even sure what my own 'math philosophy' is or how to form one… And I've got a rising first grader who I've got to make these decisions for as well… {sigh}
TIA for any wisdom and insight you can share!
-
1
-
-
His math and subtraction facts are not an issue. They are not automatic but he can do them mentally relatively quickly. His multiplication facts he uses skip counting every single time. That is one of our projects this summer, to memorize the times tables themselves because the skip counting is wearing. me. out. :)
He is already doing single and double digit multiplication. So if Saxon Intermediate 3 is just introducing multiplication, that may be behind where he is. But if it would be a good intro to the *way* Saxon does things, it may be worth a little remediation...
-
The more I think about it, the more I am leaning towards moving away from MUS after we finish Gamma. I love the conceptual foundation MUS has laid for my DS8 and I think it was exactly what he needed for K-2. But as we move into 3rd grade, DS no longer needs the manipulatives and I am finding the way that MUS is taught is so different from the way I teach and understand math that I am unable to help DS (who is also very confused by some of the methods). So I am looking at some other options.
Today I am looking at Saxon Intermediate 3. He is probably ready for the concepts in Saxon 5/4 but since we have only used MUS, I thought Intermediate 3 might help with the learning curve of a new curriculum. He is sorely lacking in math fact memorization and 'real world' applications of time, money, temperature, weights and measures, etc. Cathy Duffy describes Intermediate 3 as being pretty independent which is hugely important. However, if we move on to Saxon 5/4, I have the advantage of using the Teaching Tapes (anybody have opinions on these?).
Thoughts on Saxon Inter3 and 5/4? What do you love/hate?
Other options I am researching are Teaching Textbooks and RightStart
-
Current plan which is subject to change 1000 times :)
Bible- (done as a family) Daily Devotional; Whats in the Bible; Daily Reading in Vos Storybook Bible; weekly Scripture memory
Math- MUS Delta
Language Arts- Reader list taken from SL and other lists; Copywork and Dictation from readers; Weekly writing assignments
Handwriting- Prescripts Cursive History Sentence Copywork
Grammar- Growing with Grammar?
Spelling- AAS 3/4
History- SOTW 1; VP Self-paced Old Testament & Ancient Egypt
Other- Weekly CC Meeting and related memory work, weekly PE class, seasonal sports, Lego club
updated plans...
Bible- Vos Storybook Bible, Scripture Memory and Integrity Time
Math- MUS Delta (I think??) plus LOF
LA- (strongly considering) ABeka Language 3 (minus Spelling) with additional narration/dictation/copywork
AAS 3/4
History- SOTW 1, VP Self-paced OTAE
Science/Health- Exploring God's World; Abeka Health, Safety and Manners
Art- Abeka Art projects w/ younger sister
Various interest led readalouds
Other- Classical Conversations, weekly PE, soccer, horseback riding, Lego club, lots of free creative play time
-
Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't change from MUS. We like it… LOVED Alpha and Beta. But I have not been as enamored with Gamma. My son no longer uses the blocks and the way that Steve teaches multiplication (particularly when he starts the 2 and 3 digit multiplication) is confusing to us. I ended up reteaching it to DS in a simpler way.
He seems to be pretty natural at math although it's not his favorite subject. I love that MUS is DVD-based and I love the foundation it has given him… just not sure it's what's best for the future. If we stick with CC thru the Challenge years, he will eventually use Saxon anyway.
-
As of now...
LA: AAR 1/2 (will probably add AAS after Christmas)
ETC
Getty Dubay Book B
Write About Me and other 'gentle' creative expression assignments from SL LA1
Various readalouds and SL readers as she progresses
Math: MUS Alpha
Bible: (as a family) Vos Storybook Bible and Integrity Time
Extras: (as a family) SOTW 1, Abeka Science and Health, Abeka Art, Family Readaloud
Other: Classical Conversations, Weekly PE Class, Gymnastics, Horseback Riding and lots and lots of free creative play time :)
-
Writing: "Write About Me" workbook ("Just Write" program by EPS, same people who make Explode the Code - it's *awesome* for a gentle intro to creative writing or reluctant writers). Evan-Moor Nursery Rhyme Pockets.
thanks for sharing this, this looks great and exactly what I need to go with AAR/AAS for 1st grade!
-
I don't know that this is the case with every subject and grade level. If you have previewed the teachers manual and liked what you see, you will probably be fine. I don't think there are a lot of extras for grammar at this grade. I think most of the moving parts are in math and phonics and language arts at earlier stages. This is where all the flashcards and visuals come into play. You would probably be fine with this for 3rd grade grammar. In fact, I was recently looking at just the language book (I have one son who loves colorful A Beka workbooks) and was thinking I wouldn't even need the full LA curriculum guide since the instruction is right there in the workbook. That is, unless you are planning to include their reading and other language arts subjects. Their handwriting is probably pretty open and go as well.
yes! i felt like i could do without the TM as well… although the Abeka sales rep was totally against the idea. But I didn't see anything in the language workbook or the cursive workbook that needed a TM. She did mention that all creative writing and composition assignments were in the TM so that is something to consider...
-
We use MUS. My 2nd grader is halfway through Gamma. We really really like it. However, when I look through traditional math programs like Horizons or Abeka, I can't help but feel like there are so many things that MUS doesn't cover (telling time to the minute, adding and subtracting money, weights and measures, graphs, etc). For those of you that choose to supplement, what do you find is a good choice? I don't want to add an entire other curriculum to it. Thought about Life of Fred…?
-
I am interested in this question too, I looked at the Abeka DVD program yesterday and was told I had to use it as a 5 subject package, however if I could use one or two subjects that would simplify my life :)
-
I find there are too many pieces for me :). I have a hard time figuring out what I really need. Soooo many test books and answer key books etc. I did teach my oldest DD to read with A Handbook for Reading and their first grade readers and nothing else. Good phonics. We use CLE for LA. Much easier for me to figure out.
Would you explain this in greater detail? When I looked yesterday, it looked very simple but I didn't look at the Teachers Guide in much detail. Seemed like I would hand him either cursive or LA3 workbook and most of the work was self-explanatory. We are not using their spelling and he no longer needs reading/phonics instruction...
-
Thank you for all the great, honest replies!! Exactly the kind of info I was looking for.
To answer some of the issues mentioned (not that any of you are trying to convince me one way or the other, just working this out in my own head :001_smile: )...
We are not looking at using ALL Abeka by any means. I just need something to simplify Language Arts. We use Sonlight LA3 right now and many days only the copy work and reading gets done because we don't ever get to the parts that require me to explain. I guess I could hand him the teachers guide but that seems silly. I had a chance to look through the Abeka Language 3 stuff yesterday and here is what i liked… the main workbook is simple and doable, would be generally independent for my DS and seems to lay a clear foundation of grammar and composition. I have no problem with skipping stuff if it gets redundant or fluffing up with creative writing, dictation/narration activities as the opportunity arises. But this seems like something that at a bare minimum I can just hand to son and it will GET DONE on the days I cannot be involved.
I liked the cursive workbook as well because it seemed to combine some reading comprehension, dictionary skills, etc that would interest my son beyond just 'copy this cursive copy work'.
Spelling we would skip or use as an extra but we like AAS for now and plan to use Phonetic Zoo eventually.
As for other subjects, we use MUS and LOF for math, VP Self-Paced History, SOTW (some narration and journaling work will come in here), CC memory work and LOTS of interest led reading and crafting. And his 4th grade year, we will go into CC Essentials and use their language arts (unless we hate it). So I'm not even worried about Abeka long term, just for this year...
-
1
-
-
I greatly need to simplify next year. I am looking at using Abeka for my 3rd graders Language Arts for the very reason that it looks simple and it will get done. For the past 2 years we have been using a hodge podge of Sonlight Language Arts, CC memory work, grammar workbooks, All About Spelling and pseudo classical exercises (dictation, narration, etc). All the different pieces are overwhelming and Abeka just looks so SIMPLE and DOABLE.
But I also know Abeka is not super "popular" with the CM/WTM/Classical crowds and I'm curious to know why.
Thanks for any insight you can give me!
-
I am intrigued by LLATL. It appears to be a mainly CM, slightly classical all-in-one program in workbook form? Mostly independent? Sounds too good to be true :)
Do you do one lesson per week? How much time on average per day?
I have an excellent reader who needs to spend more time on the mechanics of writing- both penmanship and sentence / paragraph structure. He needs a thorough intro to grammar but sentence diagramming is not necessary.
-
Which do you prefer and why?
We've played on starfall some but only the free portion of the site. We're currently doing a 2 week trial of Reading Eggs but I'm not sure I love it.
Thoughts on both as a supplement to AAR- which is working great for us, we are just looking for some fun supplemental stuff
-
Thanks for all the great replies!
Does LOE have the same money back guarantee? We may need to just try it over the summer and see if we like it...
-
We did MFW and Reading Eggs for kindergarten. This year, we did CLE Learning to Read until December and it was just too much--moved way too fast for her. So now, we are doing Explode the Code and Bob books.
Did you sign up for reading eggs as a teacher or parent? I am looking at trying it for my kindergartener but don't see a homeschooler option...
-
I was looking for some comparisons of AAR and Logic of English. I have seen a few threads where people switched from one to the other. What do you like/love about each program? What works great? What do you dislike? Is LOE very time consuming?
We are about halfway through AAR 1. It is *working* in that my DD5 is learning phonics and blending at a satisfactory rate. She doesn't love it though. The readers are fine, but the fluency sheets and word cards are monotonous. She definitely needs that practice but it bores her (and I don't blame her). The 'games' that it has every few lessons are ok but nothing great. What I do love about AAR is that it is totally open and go.
I am wondering if she would like LOE better. There seems to be more games and activities but I am concerned about the prep time for those. I also like that all the elements of language arts are included in LOE, right now we do a separate handwriting program. If we continue on to AAR 2, we will have to look at adding AAS next year and possibly grammar/composition...
Interested in any and all opinions on the two programs!!
-
We are tagging along with my father on a business trip to Colonial Williamsburg in a couple weeks. I've never been! We will be there 2.5 days. What should we do / see / eat / know in advance?? We are staying at the Kings Creek Plantation, my kids are DD5 and DS8. DS loooooves all things related to the Revolutionary War. Looking for any tips, suggestions, advice!!
-
Current plan which is subject to change 1000 times :)
Bible- (done as a family) Daily Devotional; Whats in the Bible; Daily Reading in Vos Storybook Bible; weekly Scripture memory
Math- MUS Delta
Language Arts- Reader list taken from SL and other lists; Copywork and Dictation from readers; Weekly writing assignments
Handwriting- Prescripts Cursive History Sentence Copywork
Grammar- Growing with Grammar?
Spelling- AAS 3/4
History- SOTW 1; VP Self-paced Old Testament & Ancient Egypt
Other- Weekly CC Meeting and related memory work, weekly PE class, seasonal sports, Lego club
Critique my 3rd grade plans
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
You all have been so helpful with my curriculum questions over the past few weeks! I'm starting to make some concrete decisions for 3rd grade. Much of this we will start in the next couple of months. Would love opinions on any holes in our plans, does it seem like too much, etc.
Math- CLE 300 and MUS Gamma/Delta
Language Arts- Abeka Language 3; AAS 3/4; Abeka Cursive;
Bible- Vos Storybook Bible; Integrity Time; weekly Scripture memory or Bible grammar
Reading / Literature- list of books compiled from Sonlight, VP, BF, etc for independent reading / readalouds
History- SOTW 1; VP Self Pace OT-AE
Science / Health- Exploring God's World; Health, Safety and Manners 3
Other- Classical Conversations, Abeka Art, weekly PE class, soccer and horseback riding, lots of free time for Legos, drawing, creative play
Would love to add piano but just not sure we have the time…