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stlily

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Posts posted by stlily

  1. 4 hours ago, cbollin said:

    and I wanted to say that even though many people review and classify MFW in the Less rigorous approach, our experience was that it was still quality and plenty to do.  Rigor is a relative term in the decision.  less rigor does not mean bad.  My oldest still ended up very well prepared for college (you don't get 3 degrees in 4 years and end up summa cum laude without some serious work) in spite of the "less rigor" label of mfw.   results will vary of course.  but she would have burned out too soon if we had done too much more.  mileage will vary.  Just wanted to encourage you that if you something that is viewed as "less rigor" that doesn't mean inferior or bad. No one hear has said that of course.  But sometimes our mommy brains hear things and we get worried that we're going to fail our kids in high school without the most work or something.   It's a balance.

    ps: nothing wrong with using most rigor either. lots of right ways to get them ready. just wanted to share my personal experiences

    I appreciate you saying this.  You're right, sometimes we hear "less rigor" and we think "too easy" or "not as good".  Sometimes I hear "rigorous" and I think "burn out" .   What appeals to me about MFW is that I think she'll enjoy it and it'll leave some room for her to follow other passions.  I could always add more books too. Thank again, for the encouragement.?

    • Like 1
  2. 4 hours ago, cbollin said:

     

    to help you see the unseen.....  There are 6 books in the required literature in the ancients year.  But in the daily lesson plan, they have more optional reading at various levels.  So you can easily add to it and they give some suggestions or you can use any reading list you want. (and of course they are also reading the entire Old Testament during that time as well).  And then in the world history/lit year, they have a lot of optional lists to read and approximate times of year to do them (especially during time of the research paper).  So if you end up with using their stuff, they do try to help with suggested, but optional, reading list.  I forgot how many in US1 year.  but it was about 20 novels for literature to pick and choose from in the US2 year.  I think we did 8.  maybe?  It was enough.

    but you can add to it.  or use their ideas.  Those aren't shown in the package but are in the daily lesson planner and then you grab from library or used sales.  wanted to let you know that in case it helps you decide if it's right or not right for your needs.

     

    Thank you. This does help.  I went to the "Buy the Books for Year 1" tab and I'm guessing the books I would need are the ones that say "rhetoric" and "history". Would I also need the "Y1U1" books?  I guess I should call them. Thanks again for the info.  This helps a lot.

  3. 6 hours ago, Lori D. said:

    If this would be fun for you and DD, perhaps consider stepping outside the box of chronological classical Great Books study and see if you and DD might enjoy the Victorian/Edwardian Era unit study of Where the Brook and River Meet, based on the Anne of Green Gables books -- subjects include History, Literature, Writing, and more.

    Or, you could try a "DIY" approach to make it less dry (although, DIY is still a lot of work to pull together yourself). That also allows your student more input into their own education, and allows the student to follow interests and passions, and to make some great memories together during the high school years.

    For example, the year we did 20th Century World History, we "matched" our Literature and did classic works of Sci-Fi, as that is a Modern genre of Literature. DS was also very interested in Worldview, so we did a "Worldviews in Classic Sci-Fi Lit." for our Literature. DS says it was his all-time favorite History/Lit year!

    Another poster, 8FillTheHeart, created a year-long Lit & Writing course for her Lord of the Rings loving DD that dug into the literature that influenced J.R.R. Tolkien (see this past thread:  "x-post: Any serious Tolkien fans...") And yet another poster, Chrysalis Academy has a theater-loving DD, and created a 9th grade History and Literature program that wrapped around her DD's interests (sorry, can't find the thread at the moment). Here are links to past threads to encourage you if you think going the "DIY" route would bring joy to your studies this year:

    Past threads with general info on how to DIY:
    "If you make up your own literature course"
    "If you create your own homeschool lit."
    "Just reading vs. using literature guides"

    Past threads on genres for DIY Literature:
    "Anyone know of a Fantasy and Science Fiction literature course?"
    "Roots of Steampunk literature"
    "Dystopian society or Sci-Fi literature study for middle school..." and "Utopian and Dystopian literature"
    "Science Fiction unit" and "Science Fiction"
    "Fairy Tale unit for high school" and "Need ideas: classics: Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, etc."
    "Literary spoof, satire, sarcasm, anyone?" -- authors that fall in this category for a Lit. study
    "Can I feel dumb here and ask about Victorian era, Pride & Prejudice and British Lit?" -- 19th century female authors Lit. study

    _____________________

    Three more rigorous, classical, Christian programs to look at in addition to Tapestry of Grace:
    Roman Roads Media
    Veritas Omnibus -- two 3-year cycles of History, Literature, and Theology/Philosophy, starting in 7th grade -- quite rigorous, and you could easily start Omnibus 1 in 9th grade (Omnibus I (7th) and IV (10th) = Ancients, Omnibus II (8th) and V (11th) = Medieval, Omnibus III (9th) and VI (12th) = Early Modern/Modern
    - Memoria Press - Literature, Classical Studies, American & Modern Studies

    ____________________

    Several less rigorous chronological History/Lit programs to possibly consider:
    - My Father's World -- and Cathy Duffy review
    - Pandia Press: History Odyssey -- and, Cathy Duffy review
    - Biblioplan -- and, Cathy Duffy review
    - TruthQuest -- and, Cathy Duffy review
    - Trisms -- and, Cathy Duffy review
    - Wayfarers -- and Cathy Duffy review

    ____________________

    Another option that is quite rigorous, classical, and a Great Books approach (History & Literature) and a 4-year chronological History study would be to outsource to online classes with The Well-Trained Mind Academy or Wilson Hill Academy. Not sure I would call those "fun", but they are certainly rigorous.

     

    BEST of luck in deciding how best to plan for high school History and Literature! Warmest regards, Lori D.

    Thank you, Lori D.! I didn't know all of this was out there. Thank you for taking the time to type it all out. I really appreciate it.?

    • Like 1
  4. On 6/13/2018 at 12:10 AM, Lori D. said:

    Welcome to the "big kid board" and planning for high school! : )

    I totally understand wanting to do a 4-year chronological study of History, ala WTM. I'm going to side step your question about comparing WTM and TOG to first suggest 2 important things to think through first, which could help you decide what's the best program or approach for YOUR family for accomplishing your goals for History in high school. And if you've already thought about these 2 things, then please disregard, and hopefully others will post with specific comparisons of WTM and TOG. : ) 

    1. Does your student *enjoy* History, and will your student *want* to do 4 years of chronological History in high school?
    I ask this, because it's next to impossible to drag an unwilling teen through just about any subject in homeschool (lol). And because high school increasingly needs to include the student's input and interests, as well as coursework that will support where the student is headed after high school. For example, if the student isn't that into History, and is a STEM student who is interested in going for an Engineering degree in college, then 4 years of chronological History may not be of interest to the student, and may not be the best prep or use of the student's time/studies in high school.

    [And just to clarify -- I'm not saying I don't think there's value in studying the Humanities (History, Literature, Philosophy, Culture, Arts/Music, etc.) even when not headed towards a Humanities field. Because I DO think EVERYONE benefits from exposure to the Humanities. ; ) What I mean is that how in-depth/rigorous you go into the Humanities, or what materials you use to study the Humanities, will likely need to be very different from one student to the next. So the key is to look at THIS student before you who is about to enter 9th grade, and think through what will best fit with or benefit THIS student?]

    2. Have you considered how a 4-year chronological History study will fit in (or not fit in) with a "college prep" set of credits?
    Typically, colleges require certain amounts of specific credits to have been completed in high school for the student to be eligible for admission to the college. This set of credits varies slightly from college to college, and esp. if wanting to apply to an elite and/or competitive university, but the set of credits that the majority of non top-tier/competitive colleges are looking for is something like this:

    4 credits = English
    3-4 credits = Math (Alg. 1, Geom., Alg. 2, and many colleges want a 4th math above Alg. 2)
    3-4 credits = Science, with labs (a few colleges specifically want Biology and Chemistry as 2 of those credits)
    3-4 credits = Social Studies (most colleges want 1 credit = Amer. Hist., and some also want 1 credit = World Hist/Geog., or 0.5 credit each Econ & Gov't; colleges also accept a number of other types of courses for the Social Studies credits: History of any time period, Geography, Anthropology, Archeology, Sociology, Philosophy, Political Science, etc.)
    2-4 credits = Foreign Language, same language
    1 credit = Fine Arts
    4-8+ credits = Electives (examples: Computer, Logic, Health, PE, Vocational-Tech, personal interest courses, additional Fine Arts, "Academic Electives" (additional credits beyond the required in the above first 5 subject areas), etc.)
    22-28+ credits = total credits

    Doing a 4-year chronological study of history via WTM or TOG or other, will more than fulfill the *total* number of Social Studies credits -- BUT, note that you would be missing the American History credit wanted by many colleges. That just means that you may need to add material focused on U.S. History in years 3 and 4 (Early Modern and Modern eras) of your History studies to accrue 1 credit of American History along with your chronological studies. It also may mean needing to squeeze in 0.5 credit each of Econ and Gov't along the way. Which may not be a problem -- or, it may be tough, if you have a student who wants to do a lot of Electives or Fine Arts or Foreign Language courses to follow their passion.

    Making a high school plan prior to 9th grade can really help define your goals for high school, which in turn, can really help you determine what materials are going to best help you and your student arrive at your goals. Things you want to include in a high school plan:
    - your top 2-4 goals you want to accomplish in high school (other than academics)
    - list any interests or passions or strengths of the student you'd like to make sure to make time for in high school
    - list any weak areas or things you haven't gotten to or want to be sure you get to in high school
    - list 6-7 credits from the above "college prep" lists for each year of high school you'd like to try and accomplish

    Write this out in pencil (because it WILL change as you move through your high school years), and be sure to NOT over-schedule (and burn-out your student on academics), and so that you leave flexibility and "wiggle room" for those inevitable changing interests or the unexpected opportunities and extracurriculars that will pop up that you want to be able to take advantage of.


    NOW... Consider how the 4 credits of a 4-year chronological History study fit (or not) with your high school plan. If that fits well with your goals and your student's interests, that's great! (And at that point, WTM or TOG or other rigorous classical chronological-history-based program would be a good fit.)

    If a 4-year / 4 credits of History is not fitting well with your high school plan, then consider adapting your History goal -- perhaps an abbreviated 2-year chronological study would still let you cover the entirety of History, just not in as much depth. Doing all of world history in just 2 years might look something like this:
    9th = 1 credit Soc. Studies = History: Ancients/Medieval
    10th = 1 credit Soc. Studies = History: Early Modern/Modern
    11th = 1 credit Soc. Studies = History: Amer. Hist. (which gives you more exposure to Early Modern and Modern eras)
    12th = 1 credit Soc. Studies = 0.5 credit each of Economics and Government

    Or, at another example in a different direction: if the student dislikes History, consider doing just 1 credit of American History and then let the student pick other Social Studies areas (see the college prep list of credits above) that would be of more interest. Example:
    9th = 1 credit Soc. Studies = World Geography
    10th = 1 credit Soc. Studies = Archeology
    11th = 1 credit Soc. Studies = American History
    12th = 1 credit Soc. Studies = Philosophy

    This would mean letting go of the plan for a 4-year chronological history study (and would mean using something completely different than either WTM or TOG) -- but it also means being able to maximize the student's interests and strengths and to better prep the student for life after high school...

    BEST of luck in planning for high school History, and for all of high school! Warmest regards, Lori D.

    Thank you for your response.  I will copy and save it for future reference:)  History is my daughter's favorite subject so she will study history all four years regardless of what path she takes.  The 4th edition of TWTM does an excellent job guiding parents on how to list the course descriptions and credits on transcripts when studying history TWTM way.  I guess what I'm looking for is a program that will be challenging, will prepare my daughter well for college, and is also fun.  We have always studied history "TWTM" way and she has learned a ton but it's been a little dry and a lot of work.  I want her to enjoy her last for years in our homeschool as well as be well prepared for college. Thanks again for your response

    • Like 1
  5. 7 minutes ago, Mom22ns said:

    I really just have a question. Have you used TOG before? I found TOG the most overwhelming and difficult to use boxed curriculum I've ever considered. If you haven't used it before and are considering it just to make your life easier, you should be very sure you've gone through their samples and made sure it will do what you want. For an open and go boxed curriculum that still has the whole book feel, you might consider My Father's World.

     

    I've never used TOG.  Someone else suggested My Father's World so I'm looking at that one too. I've heard from others that TOG can be a little difficult to figure out.  Looking at MFW, it looks like there are only 6 books covered for literature.  I guess I could always add a few more. Thanks for your response.

  6. 2 hours ago, Bambam said:

    I picked this up from another topic in the Chat board this morning - about having your 18+ year olds include your name on the HIPPA forms at the medical offices, and doing this medical power of attorney form.  Thanks to Techwife for mentioning this! 

    I'd never heard of that, so I investigated. Yep, we should have done this.

    So, add this to your calendar when your kids turn 18.

    https://www.consumerreports.org/health/help-your-college-age-child-in-a-medical-emergency/

    Thank you for sharing this.

  7. This fall I will have my first high school student.  I would like to follow TWTM recommendations but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I'm playing around with the idea of purchasing a box curriculum for my ninth grader that will teach history chronologically over 4 years.  I'm looking at Tapestry of Grace but I was wondering if there are other programs out there similar to TOG that I can look at and compare. Also, what are your recommendations:  TWTM for high school or packaged curriculum? Advice, suggestions, things to consider with both. I looked at TOG briefly today and it looks like they have the student read "sections" only of some of the literature selections whereas, TWTM recommends the entire book.  I appreciate your advice. Thank you.

     

    Lily

  8. I have the 4th edition of TWTM and Modern Times: The World from the Twenties to the Nineties by Paul Johnson is one of the books recommended as a basic text but there are three others:

    1) Asia: A Concise History by Arthur Cotterell

    2) Europe: A History. A Glorious Chronicle of Europe, From Kings to Peasants, From the Urals to the Faroes by Norman Davies

    3) Modern Times: The World from the Twenties to the Nineties by Paul Johnson

    4) America: A Narrative History, Brief (10th Edition)

    It looks like you would need all 4 to cover modern world history. We haven't made it to this period of history for the rhetoric stage yet so I can't tell you much about the books themselves. Hope this helps.?

     

    Lily

  9. 3 minutes ago, stlily said:
    3 hours ago, freesia said:

    We used it for ds. I bought used   Someone had given me a lab kit. If I do it again, I'll probably buy the kit that Quality Science Labs sells. High School science labs don't have to be specific to the book. There tend to be general ones that all texts do. 

    Also, did you purchase the digital courseware student license?

     

  10. 3 hours ago, freesia said:

    We used it for ds. I bought used   Someone had given me a lab kit. If I do it again, I'll probably buy the kit that Quality Science Labs sells. High School science labs don't have to be specific to the book. There tend to be general ones that all texts do. 

    Thanks for responding.  Which components did you buy? My understanding is that there is the student text, teacher text, student lab book, teacher lab book plus the lab kit.

  11. What is everyone using for high school Biology? The 4th edition of TWTM recommends Miller & Levine Biology but it's a little pricey ($285) plus I would have to order lab materials in addition to the books. Is it worth the cost?  If you used this program, what did you purchase and what has been your experience?  If you used something else, what was it and how did you like it?  Thank you.

  12. We used this program a few years ago and we enjoyed it very much.  I still look back at that year with fondness, however, I left because of some of the same concerns that you have: are my kids getting enough, grammar, writing, and science instruction?  The thing is that Paths of Exploration is wildly different, you may even be able to say opposite, from The Well Trained Mind Classical philosophy of education.  POE believes students should learn American history first.  TWTM recommends students learn history chronologically. POE teaches spelling, grammar, writing, and science in an integrated method, kind of like a unit study, whereas TWTM promotes teaching the skills subjects (not science) in a systematic way without skipping anything.  As you know, TWTM recommends studying one field of science for an entire year vs. a few weeks on life science, a few weeks on physical science, and a few weeks on Earth  science.

    My advice to you is this, revisit the goals you have for you students, re-evaluate what  educational philosophy makes that most sense to you and go with that. You can either continue with the TWTM method of education and find ways to streamline it. Maybe ask here on the board how people teach spelling, writing, grammar, etc.  to multiple students, you know, what everyone's schedule looks like. Or, you can go with POE and use it as is without adding anything to it except for math.  There is A LOT to POE. You will be working on it all day because it does cover so much. I tried to supplement like you're thinking of doing and our days seemed never ending. 

    POE is pricey but the books selections are excellent.  If you decide to go that route, I highly recommend jumping in with both feet, resist the temptation to doubt whether or not you're doing enough, resist the temptation to add to it and just use it as intended and enjoy it. Your kids will be fine.  At that end of that year you can re-evaluate.

    I'm curious to know what method of education you've been using so far and why are you looking to change/tweak that?  I know you mentioned that you want to keep your kids together as much as possible and that you want to be more consistent with science.  Are there any other changes you'd like to see happen?  What aspect of your current method of homeschooling is working?

     

     

  13. Language Arts study includes: *Reading: Skills (this is learning to read, developing fluency, developing reading stamina), *Reading: Literature (these are the Great Books that coincide with your history study), SpellingWritingGrammar, and Handwriting.

    Language Arts

    Subjects

    Kindergarten

    1st Grade

    2nd Grade

    3rd Grade

    4th Grade

    Reading: Skills

    *This is teaching your child to read using a primer like Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading, Teaching Your Child to Reading in 100 Easy Lessons, All About Reading, etc.

    *This will include a phonics workbook like MCP Plaid Phonics or Explode the Code

    *This also includes using Phonetic Readers like Bob Books then later beginning chapter books like Frog and Toad

    *The next stage would be reading longer chapter books like The Boxcar Children, The Littles, Stone Fox, etc.

    *Begin primer

    *LOTS of read alouds

    *Nursery Rhymes

    *Songs

    *MCP Plaid Phonics (2011) – Level K

    *Continue with the reading primer

    *Add phonetic readers when child is ready (may happen in kindergarten)

    *LOTS of read alouds

    *MCP Plaid Phonics (2011) – Level A

     

    *Continue with the reading primer (*Primer is usually finished in the 2nd grade but continue in the 3rd grade until complete)

    *MCP Plaid Phonics (2011) – Level B

    *Begin short chapter books when child is ready (may happen before 2nd grade). The books selected should be at the student’s “instructional level” meaning they should be slightly challenging but not to the point of frustration.

    *LOTS of read alouds

    Continue with the reading primer until finished

    *MCP Plaid Phonics (2011) – Level C

    *Child may (or may not) be ready for longer chapter books.

    The books selected should be at the student’s “instructional level” meaning they should be slightly challenging but not to the point of frustration.

     

     

    *Student continues to read books slight challenging books.

    *You won’t continue with MCP Plaid Phonics level D because the activities in Spelling Workout will begin to overlap with this (if you go with Spelling Workout)

     

    Reading: Literature

    *This is the list of Great Books that you choose to read that coincide with your history study

    *Parent/Teacher reads the Great Books to the student.

    *Parent/Teacher reads the Great Books to the student.

    *Student may be able to start reading some of the Great Books on his/her own.

    Student reads some of the Great Books on his/her own.

    Student reads the Great Books on his/her own.

    Writing

    *This includes, copywork, narration, dictation

     

    Writing With Ease Level 1 – There is only one book to purchase. Teacher book and student pages are all in one book.

    Writing With Ease Level 2 – Teacher book and student pages are all in one book.

    Writing With Ease Level 3 – Teacher book and student pages are all in one book.

    Writing With Ease Level 4 – Teacher book and student pages are all in one book.

    Grammar

     

    First Language Lessons Level 1 – There is only one book to purchase.

    First Language Lessons Level 2 – There is only one book to purchase.

    First Language Lessons Level 3 – Teacher book and student workbook are separate. You need both, in my opinion.

    First Language Lessons Level 4 – Teacher book and student workbook are separate. You need both, in my opinion.

    Spelling

     

    Spelling Workout Levels A & B (This is per SWB recommendation with the goal of completing all levels by the end of 6th grade

    Spelling Workout C & D

    Spelling Workout E

    Spelling Workout F

     

    Handwriting

    Zaner-Bloser Level K

    *You don’t need the Teacher’s editions for any of the levels.

    Zaner-Bloser – Grade 1

    Zaner-Bloser – Grade 2

    Zaner-Bloser – Grade 3

    Zaner-Bloser – Grade 4

    *SWB says that skills subjects like phonics instruction, spelling, and grammar should be taught systematically (in order) and without skipping any levels.  I don’t know what grade your kids are in. The most I would skip with your 9 year old in regard to grammar would be levels 1 & 2 because they are pretty repetative. You may also be able to skip levels A & B with spelling (your call). As far as the reading primer (phonics instruction) goes, SWB highly recommends that yo finish whichever primer you started.  She says parent may be tempted to stop the phonics instruction when reading clicks for the student and the take off.  She says that often these kids never learn the skills needed to read harder, multi-syllable words and reading issues can develop later because of this.

     Hope this helps.

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  14. I am looking for a pen pal for my 6 year old son (will be in the second grade in the fall) and my 7 year old daughter (will be in the 3rd grade in the fall). We live in Texas and would love to find pen pals from a different state.  Please message me if you're interested. Thank you.

  15. I purchased a used copy of the Saxon Math 3 Teacher's Edition and I discovered this morning that lessons 60 and 61 are missing!  Would anyone who uses Saxon Math 3 (original set-not the new one) mind sending me a picture of those two lessons? Or does anyone have other suggestions of what I may be able to do until I can purchase a new copy?  Also, is there a way that you can message me privately (not sure now to do that on this site) and I can send you my phone # for the pics.  This is a lot to ask, I know. I really appreciate your help. Thanks

  16. What you can do with Saxon 8/7 or whichever program you decide to go with is, have her take the test and the end of each chapter/section/unit. So long as she does well on the test, you move on to the test for the next chapter.  You keep going until she takes a test she is no longer passing. You then have her start the book in the chapter that she starts having trouble in.  For example, let's say you have her take the tests for chapters 1-12 (in whichever book you go with) and she does well (85+ or whatever level of mastery feels right to you). Then, let's say you have her take the chapter 13 test and  she scores a 70.  You would then have her start the book at chapter 13.  This way you are not going ALL the way back to the beginning. I'm doing a terrible job of explaining this.  I hope it makes some sense.  Have her take one test a day, unless she completes a test in 20 minutes and you think she can handle another one.  Just an idea. Hope it helps.

  17. Some time ago, I shared what we do for our history during the logic stage.  I'll copy it here and hope it's helpful.

     

    This is how logic stage history study looks in our home. If you are using a separate writing curriculum then the writing your student does for history and science will be less.    They should still write across those subjects, but not as much.  If the writing your student does for history, science, and literature is your writing curriculum, then they should be doing more it.   

    In the 4th edition of TWTM, SWB says that the focus of logic stage writing is to order ideas. "Students need to continue to practice narrative summaries, learn how to write brief critical responses to literature, and--above all--learn to outline." (p. 450).  This means that a logic stage student should be writing narrative summaries and outlines in grades 5th-8th.  

    SWB also says that we should consider how much overall writing your student is doing in a given week, before you assign writing in history and science.  For example, we use Writing With Skill as our writing curriculum. Some days, her assignment was to simply read a passage.  On those days, I would assign a 3/4-1 page narrative summary or report in history or science.  Some days she would have to write one and a half page paper for WWS. On those days/weeks, I would only assign a one paragraph narrative summary or report. 

    Regarding outlines, I have my daughter write an outline once a week and we alternate between history and science.  If she is writing an outline for history this week, then she won't write one for science.  The following week she'll write an outline for science but not for history.  This ensures that she writes at least one outline every week. The outlining progression SWB recommends is the following: 

    5th Grade

    • 1-Level Outline of one page (or 5-6 paragraph section ) of text 

    6th Grade

    • 2-Level Outline of 1-2 pages (or 5-10 paragraphs) of text 

    7th Grade

    • 3-Level Outline of 3 pages of text 

    8th Grade

    • 3-Level Outline of 3-4  pages of text 

    This is simply to show the progression.  A student may be ready to write two-level outlines in the 5th grade.  You, as the teacher, progress them to the next level as they become ready.

     

    I will copy a sample schedule for you to look at below but I do want to clarify one thing.  My daughter doesn't always read an entire library book.  For example, if she wanted to write about how John Rolfe grew tobacco, I would have her read the pages from the library book that provide that information and nothing else, UNLESS, it was a book I felt she should read in its entirety. She reads a lot for literature, history, science, self-selected reading, as well as for a separate literature class she is taking.  It isn't always realistic for her to read every library book we check out.

     

    I apologize for the length of this post. When I was first starting out with the logic stage I wanted and needed a lot of details and examples.  I'll end this post with a sample schedule of what our weekly history study looks like.  I hope this helps and doesn't overwhelm you:)

     Monday

    Late Renaissance – early Modern (1600-1850)

    Chapter 8: The Middle of the East 

     SOTW Vol. 3 – Section 1: “The Persian Puzzle”, pp. 81-84. (I have grammar stage students as well so we read this together then my 7th grader goes off and does her assigned work)

     KIHW: Safavid Persia, pp. 346-347 (This is the Kingfisher Illustrated History of the World.  We have several history encyclopedias and I'll assign reading from the one I think provides the best information.  If they're all pretty close to the same on a given topic, we'll use the Kingfisher History of the World)

     Facts: List 6-8 of the most important facts, in your own words and in complete sentences.

     Summary Write a ½-1 page long summary on the Safavid Dynasty (some times I assign topics and some times I let her choose)

     Map Work: Complete the map activity for student map p. 23 (She does the same map work activities assigned in the SOTW activity guide that my grammar stage students do but I give her a  blank map to label. She does this without referring to an atlas.  When she's done, she compares her map to the an atlas or a map that I've labeled and then makes any necessary corrections.  I also have her label additional locations that I think are important.  Finally, she locates the area under study on a wall map, globe, and atlas. 

    Tuesday

     SOTW Vol. 3 – Section 2: “The Ottoman Turks”, pp. 84-88.

    □ Additional Reading: The Ottoman Empire by Adriane Ruggiero (she could choose to write about "Ottoman Cities and Towns" or "The Decline of the Ottoman Empire", etc.)

     Brief Summary: Write a summary on the Ottoman Empire (whichever topic she chose above)

    Wednesday

    □ Time Line: Add important dates to your time line along with the accompanying caption (we get these dates from the SOTW or the Kngfisher Encyclopedia)

    □ Additional Reading: Countries of the World: Iran

    □ Outline: Select two pages from your reading and write a three-level outline

    □ Additional Activities: Sometimes we'll watch a YouTube video, do an an activity/craft for the SOTW activity guide, cook, watch a movie, dress up, field trip, etc.

     

    One last thing, I don't have my daughter re-write summaries or outlines.  I'll make editing marks and discuss things with her as necessary.  If there is something she needs to work on, for example transitioning from one paragraph to the next, I have her focus on that on the next piece she rights. I hope that makes sense.?

     

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  18. Has anyone assigned or read Natural History: General and Particular by Georges Louis Leclerc comte de Buffon?  This is on the list of suggested source readings in TWTM 4th edition for the  high school Biology year but I can't find a a copy to purchase.  There seem to be several volumes and I would only need those that cover life science. I'm having a hard time finding out which volumes cover life science.  There is a volume 2 Kindle version on Amazon that looks like it might be the right one but it's hard to tell how readable it is and I'm not super confident it's the correct one.  Also, I would prefer a hard copy over a digital version.  Thank you.

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