Jump to content

Menu
Giving You and Your Child a Road Map to the Best Possible Education
The Well-Trained Mind Community

hermione310

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    101

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by hermione310

    Help with electronics and robotics after EEME

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Which class(es) has your child done? I'm trying to figure out which class would be best for DS 11. I don't just want a repeat of what he learned at EEME. 

     

    Thanks for the lead  ; )

    Debbie

     

    She took Edison Project I and II. 

     

    Many other classes (including a robotics class) are listed at:

    http://www.quickstudylabs.com/Common%20Files/What%20You%20Need.htm

     

    Joel Phillips, the instructor, responds to email pretty quickly. It might be helpful to email him directly to get an idea of the best fit for your son without repeating topics. 

     

    mr.p@quickstudylabs.com

    CLE 700 and/or CLE 800 Sunrise..Should we continue or change to something else after 600

    in Logic Stage & Middle Grade Challenges

    Posted

    We used CLE through 600, then ended up compacting most of 700, and skipping 800. We tried a number of options to dip our toes into algebra including AOPS pre-algebra (very frustrating for DD - guess the discovery method's not a fit for her) and Derek Owens algebra, and ended up coming back to CLE. We're now spending the time to complete 800. The early introduction of algebra coupled with plenty of spiral repetition proved to be the best way for DD to finally fully retain the material.

     

    We always loved CLE, and probably should have just stayed the course. I no longer skip problems -- we do them all. If that means she's a little bored, I've decided I'd rather she's slightly bored but can really do the computation as a brain-stem function and gets the concepts down. I also appreciate the consumer math in 800. The CLE approach strikes me as "old school" (not necessarily a bad thing) but highly effective.

     

    We plan to stay the course with CLE through all of their Sunrise Editions (currently Algebra 1). Sure wish they went all the way through high school math!

    • Like 2

    HomeSchool Spanish Academy Questions

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Great advice, I really appreciate it. 

     

    How old was your dd when you started?  

     

    I am thinking about starting my 9, 7, and almost 5 year old too.  

     

    How often do you do lessons? 

     

    We started 3 years ago. DD was 7. We started out 2x/week, then went to 3x/week, and now have lessons 4x/week. 

     

    They offer group lessons as well in the event you decide to go that route for your kids. 

    HomeSchool Spanish Academy Questions

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I'd do the 25 minute free sample lesson and see how it goes. The instructor will have suggestions based on the initial sesson. 

     

    We've been using Homeschool Spanish Academy for DD for several years and DD is now more or less in 6th grade. She's using their middle school curriculum; however, we continue to take 25 min. lessons. I prefer shorter, more frequent lessons for retention vs. less frequent, longer lessons. I asked DD's instructor what she thought, and she agreed with this approach. HSA does a great job of customizing the material to the student. 

     

    We love HSA. I think it's a great value and the teachers are excellent. Hope you find what works for you!

    Is there a structured programming or robotics course for a STEM-minded 8th grader?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    If you're open to electronics vs. specifically robotics or programming, it might be worth taking a look at The Edison Project by Quick Study Labs. 

     

    http://www.quickstudylabs.com/EdisonProject/Information/edison_project_intro.htm

     

    The classes are low-cost, easy to follow, and the instructor (Joel Phillips) is wonderful. My daughter took one of his courses a couple of years ago and I was really impressed by how closely he followed her progress, personally encouraged her, and provided detailed technical responses to her questions via email. He's clearly passionate about electronics and about teaching. We haven't pursued further courses as we have a full plate with our curriculum these days, however, the experience we had at the time was outstanding.

    • Like 1

    Which Latin Program?

    in Logic Stage & Middle Grade Challenges

    Posted

    Second the recommendation for First Form from Memoria Press. We're just finishing it and have been really pleased with the methodical way topics are introduced and reviewed for retention. It's used as early as 4th grade, so would most likely work well for a 6th grader just starting with Latin. MP also offers Prima Latina and Latina Christiana as a gentler introduction for younger children, which could be options for your daughter as well.

    Attendance/class tracker -- any recommendations?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I use curriculum plans from Memoria Press (with some tweaking) to plan our weeks, but have been tracking what we've actually accomplished in terms of completed classes, activities, field trips, etc. using Homeschool Minder. For whatever reason it's slowed to a crawl lately and I can't get a response from tech support. It's become completely unusable, which is a big bummer as I've invested a lot of time into using it. 

     

    Anyone have an alternative they'd recommend? Here's what I'm trying to accomplish:

     

    - Track completed classes after the fact 

    - Track field trips and extracurricular activities (ex: piano lessons)

    - Print daily records

    - Track attendance

    - Print attendance reports

     
    I'd really like it to be easy to use out of the gate. I researched these tools a couple of years ago and some of them required a secret decoder ring to even interpret the screens. 
     
    Thank you! I appreciate any pointers! : )
    • Like 1

    VPSA Algebra 1

    in Logic Stage & Middle Grade Challenges

    Posted · Edited by hermione310

    I'm considering enrolling DD in Veritas Press' online Algebra 1 course (through their Scholars Academy). I've seen very little feedback for their live online courses on the web. Would anyone care to share their thoughts about VPSA? We've taken their self-paced history and bible courses and have been very impressed with the content. 

     

    BJU 6th Science

    in Logic Stage & Middle Grade Challenges

    Posted

    We're using BJU Science 6 through the DLO. The videos reinforce the book reading and in my opinion are extremely well done (they reinforce study skills and appropriate review before tests as well as the concepts themselves). I've been very impressed. DD just did a lesson on atoms and the periodic table today independently and it went quite well. 

    • Like 1

    "More birds please!" (3rd grade)

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Memoria Press makes a great bird study. We used it this past year and DD absolutely loved it. Although the target audience is 5th (?) graders, it could easily be adapted for younger kids if the subject enthusiasm is there. The text introduces students to bird biology, habitat of individual birds, and a focused study of the songs/key facts associated with a core group of birds. The Peterson Field Guide and associated coloring book are also really well done. 

    • Like 1

    Which Greek and Latin

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Another vote for Memoria Press. We've used it for Prima Latina, Latina Christiana, and are now about 1/4 of the way through First Form. It's very straightforward, easy to teach, and geared toward true understanding and retention. I highly recommend the DVDs.

    • Like 1
×
×
  • Create New...