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Hedgehogs4

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Everything posted by Hedgehogs4

  1. I would say we are relaxed only in the sense that I have learned not to stress terribly when my plans get derailed. We have a definite routine, employ a certain amount of rigor, learn things like great books and Latin, and sentence diagramming, but I also have learned to let go of what I think must be part of a classical education according to what "they" say should be done. Everyone in the world has a plan for how things should be done and the best way, but you have your kids and your life. It will not work their way for everyone, which is one of the major reasons we homeschool anyway, right?
  2. I'm nervous (not worried) about leading a co-op of rhetoric-level students. I am the primary teacher for writing, government, history and literature. It's a lot of prep.
  3. we got Ranger Rick for years and now the kids are really enjoying National Geo kids.
  4. Hi Bloggers, I didn't post much last year--we had a weird school year, and I lost track of the "weekly updates" blog posts. We are back at life, and was wondering if y'all still do that and on what board? TIA!
  5. To the best of my knowledge it is not taught in the schools, but then again, I never really checked or cared. I teach it because it is the best way to define and understand grammar. If you can diagram a sentence, the meaning is bound to be clear. My son has gone all the way through Analytical grammar, except for the few usage units he is finishing this term, and he is a master! He absolutely gets grammar. I am so glad we stuck with it.
  6. My son did it. If it is from a creationist point of view it won't convert your child. It will, however, teach them a ton about how to write a good lab report and how to properly follow lab procedures. He enjoyed it, said it was interesting and would have done it again if we didn't have a lab situation already set up for this year. I didn't even think about the creationist / evolutionist point of view, but if that is the hill you want to die on...then I guess it's worth looking into.
  7. My son (who is not artsy) has been doing a timeline. He color codes it and enters dates and important events. I think it's important to help give context to the information they are learning. He will be completing his four-year project this year, I think.
  8. My son is in the process of getting his Jr. SCUBA certification. It has been fun and challenging, and I really think he should get credit for it. How should I go about doing that? .5 credit for classroom time, more depending on how many dives he logs, etc? Any insight appreciated.
  9. well, this thread is interesting because I am just about to start TOG / R with my first, a 14 yo boy who has been very motivated in the past with TOG. I have written a syllabus for the co-op that I do with three other families. I have predicted about 12 hours of work on TOG subject matter in an average week, but we will see how that works out in practice. We only plan to cover 3 units this year so as not to make the work too overwhelming. I want them to get the depth of the material, but I am scaling back the amount in favor of a more enjoyable work pace. I'll be interested in others' responses. :lurk5:
  10. My 14 yo has a natural wake up time of about 9:30-10:00, but we have agreed that starting next week he will be setting his alarm and getting school work started by 8:30. He has made this decision because he doesn't want to be working on school past 3:30 or so in the afternoon. He feels very demoralized when he feels that he has no escape from school in the afternoon.
  11. I'm suuuuuper fortunate to have one other family with whom we have done a co-op for the past five years and another has done all years but one with us (due to a new baby in the family an other stuff.) Other families have been involved at different levels of for the same amount of time, but it has been us three pretty consistently. That said... I love it because it provides a level of accountability for the parents and fun for the kids. It's been completely positive, and the kids look forward to that day all week. I would be very sad if this little co-op came to an end.
  12. I have found that All About Spelling was the fix for struggling spellers. I would have used it from the beginning if I had known about it (it didn't exist when we started). It was ideal in its entirety for a boy who needed the hands-on, and was easily adapted for my dd who didn't enjoy fussing with letter tiles, but both are solid spellers now, after trying nearly every program recommended, including SWO.
  13. Thanks for the links and pointers to the other threads. I have read through them. I think I will continue as we are and supplement the MUS with other programs. I have Jacob's on my shelf and there is Kahn academy, which we do well with when we need support in math, as well.
  14. I just read the Witch of Blackbird Pond for our book club that I host with my kids, but I loved it for me! I had never read that one!
  15. Has anyone here used Math U See's higher level math curriculum through high school? How did your kids do on SATs? We are not a "math" family, but I want my kids to have a solid foundation. I plan to send him to community college for dual-enrollment classes starting in his Junior Year. He is completing Algebra 1 and going into Geometry. I always have this nagging feeling about it, but he always does well and it has seemed to get the job done. We tried Saxon, and, while he was able to do it, we both wanted to stab our eyes out with the tedium.
  16. We have listened to all of Ramona and Henry Huggins over and over. My kids and I love them. They are so genuine, and I agree with a previous comment that sibling rivalry and neighborhood challenges are always resolved in a healthy way. Love them. Possibly my favorite children's author.
  17. We have used it and are currently on season 3. It's no walk in the park--it is rigorous and I had to allow my ds to take his time getting through it because it is tough and the exercises take longer the more detailed they become. That said, though, it has been a fantastic grammar program and I'm so glad we used it.
  18. Check out Compass Classroom - They have a video logic program that looks pretty good. I've ordered it. Waiting for to arrive. Obviously since I haven't tried it out I cannot recommend it, but it's worth a look.
  19. AAAACK! I am just dipping my toe into these waters. My ds will be a freshman, and here's what we're planning: Geometry, MUS online class Tapestry of Grace Year 2 units 3 and 4, Year 3, units 1 and 2 for the following: - history - government elective - literature - writing - worldview - geography Biology Latin 1 online Formal Logic 1 Computer programming elective hopefully this summer he will wrap up Analytical Grammar and Phonetic Zoo spelling. If not, whatever of that remains until it is completed. PE through his regular CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting training
  20. The Bible The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis Pollyanna (read with the kids) The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson Same Kind of Different as Me Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas
  21. Does he have the Dangerous Book for Boys? My son has really enjoyed that and it includes so many topics like this, but it's written to and for boys.
  22. Have you considered the Primer level of TOG that they now have?
  23. If I had worried about that I would have lost my mind. I had two completely different readers. One completed a entire reading curriculum but couldn't read anything outside of his reader. Then one day at age 6 1/2 he was a completely fluent reader. So weird. My other was the most pedantic, slow-moving reader. She dragged her feet and hated reading but listened to LOTR in its entirety unabridged, along with many, many other books. Now she reads beautifully, but it was not a pleasant process for me, mainly because I worried that she would not ever advance or become a lover of reading. She did--and she does. Just keep reading, teaching, and patiently working through it, and model a love of reading yourself. They'll get it, eventually, assuming that there are no extenuating circumstances or special needs.
  24. Definite hits around our house-- Tapestry of Grace: Still works best for us for humanities. Love. Visual Latin from Compass Classroom: LOVE! DS loves it, enjoys the videos, and is doing really, really well with the exercises, which are getting challenging, but he is undaunted.
  25. My son does burpees. The worse his attitude the more burpees he does. The nastier he behaves the more burpees. Sounds awful, but when he is done he is humbled and the exercise has helped him work out his difficulties. Very, very effective in most cases. I would not implement a discipline like this without fair warning...But when he knows and expects it...For my son it was pushups when he was younger, and then when those got too easy, burpees came to play. My son is generally compliant, but he is definitely mastering the "age of contradictions." IMO, staying in a place (with Dad backing me up all the way) where I maintain authority and he knows he must show me proper respect keeps the school day running smoothly. Along with this, though, I am not a tyrant. I listen to his opinions, say yes whenever I can, allow him a lot of say in what choices he makes. Plain old attitude and drama, unkindness, and disrespect for any family member is met with physical exercise discipline.
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