Wildwood
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Posts posted by Wildwood
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Brambleheart by Henry Cole...here's the description from Amazon:
"In the Hill, animals work as Weavers, Smelters, and Carvers—but Twig doesn’t know who he wants to be. He tries very hard in all his classes, but his imagination wanders to his favorite books or the delicious mayapples growing beyond the scavenge yard . . . and then he loses his focus. After Twig makes a big mistake in front of everyone, he sets out on a secret journey to discover himself. But as he wanders deeper into the Yard than he’s ever wandered before, Twig finds a curious colored globe. A dragon’s egg—which hatches in front of his eyes.
Now protecting the baby dragon is all Twig wants to do. But when he learns that his secret might hurt others, he’s forced to make a choice between his place in the world and the feelings in his heart."
Bayberry Island, the sequel, was wonderful, too : ) My daughter loved these books and others by Henry Cole.
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:grouphug: Ugh -- much sympathy! I can hear the frustration and edge of desperation. :grouphug: It will be okay. I know you are doing the best you can, not being able to open up your child's head and look inside to see what needs oiling or tweaking, or what curriculum "part" would fit in there best. ;)
It sounds like DD might be on her own later timetable for "clicking" with Algebra. One idea might be to set aside Algebra and do Geometry next year, and then come back to Algebra. Another idea would be, as you say, delay starting Algebra and focus on getting solid with Pre-Algebra and foundational math (the 4 functions of add/subtract/multiply/divide with positive and negative numbers, and with fractions and decimals).
You know what might be helpful... Keys to Algebra series, and then Jacobs. Honestly, Jacobs really is mastery-based, and very gentle/incremental. Oooo! I know, what about Power Basics Algebra? Power Basics are specifically designed to be very simple and incremental.
Or another idea: when DD starts to feel like it's moving too quickly, switch over to Keys to Algebra for just the topic she needs more time on, which will allow her to sit longer with that concept, and then when it clicks, back to the No-Nonsense as the "spine", until it's moving a bit too fast, then back over to the Keys to Algebra for more time on a topic... etc.
What's great about the Keys series is that each workbook focuses on just one topic, and presents it in several different ways to help it "stick".
Not a problem. :) We're all on this journey together. :)
Thanks so much for your helpfulness!
I think either pausing in algebra when a topic is sticky and using something like Keys To...might be a really good idea, or stepping back to pre-algebra might work well. She definitely needs more time to sit with, and practice a concept. I do think she has some gaps with some basics...fractions/decimals/percent, that she has had a hard time retaining. My gut tells me she would probably benefit most by working through pre-algebra now and through the summer, and hopefully, by the start of 9th she'd be good and ready for algebra.
I have never heard of Power Basics. I will definitely check that out. Thanks so much for the suggestion : )
Thanks so much for taking the time out to help me think this through : )
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What has your older DD been using, and has it clicked well for her? Can she continue with it into the higher maths? Or if it doesn't go that far, what about something like Horizons Algebra 1, Lial's Basic College Math (which is Algebra 1), or Videotext Algebra? Or Saxon or Teaching Text?
She has used sooo many math programs....my fault! Some Saxon, BJU, TT (and more). She's now using No-Nonsense Algebra, and it's working okay. She was using TT Algebra just prior, but made the switch to No-Nonsense because she felt TT was moving way too fast for her and she was overwhelmed. She is now feeling like No-Nonsense is moving too quickly. We've come to the realization that she really needs a mastery-based program that will allow her to sit with a concept for a good while before moving on. I am also realizing that she probably needs to step back to pre-algebra before working on algebra. I've made so many mistakes along the way with math choices, and I'm sure that has contributed to her feeling less than confident and not well prepared with math overall. I really would like to have one of those reset buttons so I could do everything over! I feel like I really hijacked this thread - I'm sorry for that!
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Well, if it helps, DS#1 (highly auditory-sequential) loved Miquon and Singapore Primary, and went on to love Jacobs. And I understand that Math Mammoth falls in a similar category as Miquon and Singapore, so if your student clicked with any of those, then Jacobs might also click.
Those who don't click with Jacobs tend to complain that it is "too wordy". I always scratch my head over that because I never felt the teaching info was long at all, BUT... what I think is going on is that those who find Jacobs "too wordy" are wanting "just the facts, ma'am" -- just the algorithms and steps for how to do the math topic of that lesson, and don't need or want the "big picture" example of how the math topic is used in real life that Jacobs opens every chapter with.
Because of that "big picture" example and that it shows tangible ways that intangible algebra is used, I thought that Jacobs would be a good fit for DS#2 (highly visual-spatial). And it was okay, but I just think Algebra (an abstract subject that requires very sequential steps to complete the processes) just never was going to click very well for DS#2, who is all about the concrete and random processing.
Does that help??
Yes, this does help!
I'm thinking Jacobs would likely suit my younger daughter, but not my "just the facts", older daughter.
Thank you, Lori D.!
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:thumbup: If I lived closer, you could borrow my old edition. Alas, DS#1 has *adamantly* stated he wants me to keep the Jacobs Algebra and Jacobs Geometry 2nd ed. for him, as he loved them that much. So I don't dare let them out of the house now... :laugh:
Lori D, what type of learner/kid do you think would jive well with Jacobs style/format? I don't own a Jacobs text, but have considered it for my daughter. Thanks!
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Hi, I'm interested in seeing what books others are using for 9th grade-ish reading and/or lit. study.
If you have a list of what you are using/planning to use, or links to lists, that would be great : )
And if you have specific lit. study guides or methods you use I'd love to hear that as well. Thanks!
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And by the way, my daughter just dropped out of a program mid-year, so something that's pick-up-and-go would be really helpful as we scramble to get the rest of her 8th grade year up and running!
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My daughter (almost 14) wants to study modern history via books that are mostly non-fiction as opposed to historical fiction. I'd need a good schedule/program and would love if it included writing related to history/literature, and discussion helps.
I am considering TOG, but really want to look around more. I've looked at Sonlight, but it's just too much historical fiction for my daughter's liking. What else is out there?
Thanks!
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Lori D. is such an encourager! Makes me feel bad for being such a downer in my post ;)
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I don't think you are crazy. The workload is kind of ridiculous. We started Ch. A this year and I am so far feeling like I probably made the wrong decision. I mainly enrolled my daughter because she wanted to. She wanted the organization and the community time. I would imagine the student eventually gets into a groove and learns how to keep up with the weekly schedule, but I think the joy of learning is pretty much lost in the process. For my daughter, anyway. My daughter feels like she is just making her way through a checklist and most days she's just wiped out and unmotivated.
Anyway, that's my rant. We did get the ArtK12 Canada and Greenland geography book (mentioned above) and that has been very helpful for my daughter. With Latin...I won't allow it to go past an hour and won't allow it to take over and make my daughter overwhelmed. I told her just do the assignments as written, and if they stick a little that's great. If not, then we move on and call it good. I look at it as a cursory run through Latin and that's it. I'm not concerned about mastery at all at this point. Latin just doesn't rank high enough over here for us to get overwhelmed by it.
We do a different math than the scheduled Saxon. So, it seems to me you could do math on your own schedule and not worry about the pace of the class. Our tutor pulls problems from the warm-up section from Saxon and my daughter just goes along with it even though she uses a completely different math program.
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I've never used this, but thought of it when I read your post...
https://winterpromise.com/science/human-body-forensics-for-7th-12th-grade/
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Yes, my daughter uses the notebooking journal. I can't imagine not having it! It really helps keep her organized with the daily schedule and helps keep her on task through each module. It's nice to have one book for her to enter all her work neatly into the various categories....the lab/data sheets, study guides, On Your Own pages, etc. It's formatted nicely and visually appealing which I think helps it to be even more engaging.
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Yes, the answers for the Module Summaries are found in the Solutions and Tests guide.
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Hot Fudge Monday by Prufrock Press/Randy Larson is a fun, engaging one.
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You might like the updated versions of America's Story series (3 volumes) by Angela O'Dell. She partnered with Master Books to revise and update the series. It looks really nice. You can see samples on the Master Books website. Looks like CBD will also be offering the books when they release this March. The grade level is elementary, so might work for you.
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Maybe CLE...They have a new American History text Changing Frontiers for 8th grade. It looks well organized and seems really user-friendly for a kid that wants to work independently. There's the light units to go along with it that would include quizzes, if needed. I'm contemplating getting it for my daughter for next year.
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Thanks, Ellie. Do you have any thoughts about Wordsmith and LLATL? Those are programs I'm looking at for writing/grammar. Brave Writer is our base and its philosophy of education dictates how things are implemented around here. I do like having lots of resources around as I am a picker and puller from a variety of programs/educational tools. Anyway, looking at Wordsmith/LLATL as possible resources. Thanks!
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Thank you! I didn't realize EG was so despised, lol. My daughter is 13, has had some grammar instruction in the past, so was thinking EG might fit for a more focused year or so of grammar.
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Wondering where Daily Grams fits in as far as Easy Grammar goes. Is it meant to be used along with EG or on its own at some point? Thanks!
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I think it can be used either way. For my 4th grader it is perfect as a stand-alone. Between the video presentation, hands-on activity, suggested supplemental links, and optional assessments, it is well rounded and plenty. My daughter happens to love science, so we have lots of books here that can be used along with any of the topics.
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Thank you so much!
Resource for quality, modern literature
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
Hi, I'm wanting to put together a reading/read-aloud list for my upcoming 6th grader.
We have tons of historical fiction and a good collection of lit overall, but I am hoping to find a resource for more modern titles. Any genre would be great. My daughter especially loves animals/nature/adventure stories.
Thanks!