chellesnead
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Looking for 7th grade history w/ living books suggestions
chellesnead replied to chellesnead's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
These are great suggestions! Thank you! -
Looking for 7th grade history w/ living books suggestions
chellesnead replied to chellesnead's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
Oh, I really like this, and it's written to the student! It might even be exactly what I'm looking for...except that it's not all of world history in a year. But, that may be too much to ask for. 🙂 -
I have 4 kids with very different strengths and weaknesses and am hitting a roadblock planning history next year for my 7th grader. She is a great reader and would like a history curriculum next year that is based on living books. She will need to do this primarily on her own as my time needs to focus on my kids' weaknesses, and this is a strength for her. We did Sonlight for many years as a family, but because of other commitments no longer do that. I do not want to just hand her a Sonlight core and say, "Go for it." I'm looking for something a little lighter than that. I am hoping for something I don't have to create myself, and hopefully someone here can point me in the right direction. My preference would be world history (though I'm open to American history...we have just done that more recently) with some sort of spine, some books she reads in chronological order along with the spine, and some sort of written work to go with it. She flies through books, and I want to make sure she is processing what she reads and remembering some dates, people, places, etc. If I had to buy today I'd probably choose a volume of Mystery of History and use some novels with it. What I don't like is that it would only be 1/4 of world history, and I'd rather have something a little more broad that she could go through all of time in only a year. I know..I'm asking for a lot. Does anyone have any brilliant ideas? She did a geography course through The Potter's School this year and will likely be doing an Ancient History course her 8th grade year. There was not a good fit for a class for her this year. So, really I'm looking for something that uses her strengths and can be done in a year. Thank you for any suggestions, even if not exactly what I'm looking for. 🙂
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We don't skip problems. I put the link and recommended that the poster read it, as there is far more good information at that link than I could post here. As I tried to decide whether or not to continue with Saxon as my daughter was complaining about how long the lessons took, I found invaluable information at Art Reed's site that helped me understand what she needed to do and did not need to do as well as the rational behind it. This is a great link for why NOT to skip any of the problem set -- the July 2015 entry. http://mail.teachingwithsaxon.com/newsletterpage-2015.php#0615 This is a great link for when and why you can skip the the warm-up box and some of the practice problems -- the February 2016 entry. http://mail.teachingwithsaxon.com/newsletterpage-2016.php#0216 I highly recommend taking the time to read through his newsletters for anyone using Saxon. There was so much wonderful information that helped me understand how Saxon is written and why. Additionally, for my daughter who does very well with math, the videos have absolutely been worth the 5-10 minutes a day, and I highly recommend them in addition to the text. In addition to what Hunter said, the extra practice at the back of the book is fantastic when you do need to slow down and give extra review for a concept. It may mean you don't finish the book in a year, but your child will master the math.
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Actually, I'm going to disagree. My daughter has used the Art Reed DVD's in addition to the 7/6 textbook. The videos are 5-10 minutes and she reads the full lesson. Art Reed gives lots of tips to help the student solve the problems. My daughter loves the videos and is doing fantastic with math this year. She's constantly mentioning things that Mr. Reed has taught her that are helpful. I also spent a lot of time reading through his site and got lots of helpful tips for how to use Saxon in a homeschool environment (what you can skip and not skip and why). http://www.homeschoolwithsaxon.com/ My 2 cents. :)
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While I haven't used this yet, I've signed my 5th and 6th graders up for writing classes with The Potter's School for next school year. TPS came highly recommended by several friends, so I finally looked into it for writing as I'm struggling in teaching it well. There is not a 4th grade writing class, but it would be worth looking into for your 6th grader. It meets live once a week for an hour and a half and there are 4-5 hours of outside homework a week.
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Spelling Vocab combo for upper elementary?
chellesnead replied to chellesnead's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
How old is your older child? At this point, Vocabulary with Classical Roots seems closest to what I'm looking for. -
I have used and loved CLE for LA this year, but my upcoming 5th and 6th graders will be doing an online writing class that has a strong grammar emphasis as well, so now I'm faced with a curriculum change I wasn't expecting. Since their grammar will be covered through their online class, I've got a gap now with spelling. I am thinking about some sort of spelling and vocabulary combo for them with an emphasis on roots and word parts. I'm sure there's something out there like this, but the only thing I'm familiar with is Wordly Wise 3000 which isn't exactly what I'm looking for. I'm hoping for something that is somewhat independent (though I don't mind a few minutes a day on my part) as I'm balancing 4 homeschooling plus a toddler. Thank you!
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Looking for writing to supplement CLE LA?
chellesnead replied to chellesnead's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
I was looking at that but honestly I'm so confused! What would I need to buy? Thank you also for your other suggestions. I will look into them. -
How much of CLE do you use and love?
chellesnead replied to EliseMcKenna's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
I use CLE LA for my 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and it's been great! I'm currently looking for something else to add to it for the writing but we didn't love W&R Fable. I'm also using CLE Math 4 with my daughter who struggles with math and it's been fantastic! My girls have done the 5th grade reading this year, but I won't continue with it next year. It's been good, but with the other things we are doing it doesn't seem necessary. -
I have done CLE LA with my 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders this year and it has gone so well! I'm amazed at how much they have learned and how the mechanics of their writing has improved as a result. CLE is however very weak in teaching writing and I'd love some ideas of how to supplement that. I am thinking that I will likely alternate CLE LA with a writing program or assignments, but would love input on what to use or how to do that. I'm open to thoughts of either a program that teaches writing or a philosophy of how to use what we are already doing (thinking our reading in Sonlight history, reading, or science) to improve their writing. I'm having a hard time figuring out which way I want to go with this! I used writing and rhetoric for half of this year, but we really didn't enjoy staying on the same topic of fables for so long. Now I'm just assigning little assignments to go with SL topics we are reading, but I feel like I'm struggling with how to improve their writing once they've written something that maybe isn't all that great. :) Thanks for any input!
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New math curriculum for struggling 5th grader
chellesnead replied to 2ndGenHomeschooler's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
I moved my 4th grade daughter from BJU math to CLE math this year. It has been a game changer for her! The new topics are taught in very small chunks that are easy for her to grasp, and the old topics get lots of review. There's also speed drills and flash card review every day. When she'd get to cumulative reviews last year in BJU math, she struggled. When an old topic came back around 4 units later, she had forgotten everything from 4 units before. But now, she is remember and understanding so much better. It has been perfect for my non-mathy daughter! -
Help Fitting in Science (3rd through 5th grade)
chellesnead replied to chellesnead's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
I'm definitely going to try out Mystery Science. Thank you for the suggestion! Any other ideas? -
I am overall pleased with how this school year is going, but I am really struggling to fit in any science. My time is spent between 2 third graders, a 4th grader, and a 5th grader, plus a 2 year old. We are doing well fitting in the basics of reading, writing, math, and living in China, also Chinese. I have a great curriculum on the shelf that I was excited about, but the truth is, I just can't find the time in my schedule between teaching the basics to fit it in. I'd love any suggestions for how to outsource science to the kids through reading, videos, journaling, etc. I want to make sure they are getting at least some science content, and feel like this is the area I have really failed them this year. I really want to make sure we fit this in over these next 4 months. Thanks for any and all input!
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Math for the 4th Grader who "hates" math?
chellesnead replied to chellesnead's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
Thank you for all you wrote! I may go take a look at Horizons again and see if I need to just start her in an earlier book. I think it would be between that and CLE.