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TC5

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Everything posted by TC5

  1. These three boys and I have all read the Hobbit at least once, so I'm not worried about that. My DS16 might want to read the Silmarillion, but I haven't even checked yet to see how that fits into everything. I appreciate your perspective on how you used the program. DS16 and DS14 have seen the movies several times but have read only about halfway through the books, and DS11 has read only the Hobbit (and not seen any of the movies but has heard rave reviews from his brothers). So we will need to discuss the books more than you have, I would imagine, but I don't want analysis to ruin the books, so we will cut things if needed. But I am really looking forward to making those connections you mentioned and appreciating Tolkien's genius. We're all excited to dive in.
  2. Agreed. I do look at them to understand the intent, but then I make my own to do whatever I want. Thank you!
  3. This is all so very helpful, Lori. I am getting a much better sense of how this works now. I agree that this won't be enough for my DS16, and I think I have a better idea now of some options. A couple more questions about scheduling: 1) To clarify, you did LLfLotR only 2 school days per week, right (plus the actual LotR reading another evening)? 2) Did you do a little bit of the unit studies one day each week, not just when the publisher schedules them between books? Is this how you spread them out to cover them for as long as you wanted?
  4. Thanks, Lori. I don't know the trilogy, as I have read only the first book and part of the second many years ago. It is good to hear that it probably won't matter if I can't find the matching edition. That and my inability to contact the publisher were my biggest concerns. Do you think option 1 below is better, then? 1) finish LLfLotR before adding the other literature (speed up the entire LLfLotR program and then move on). 2) read other books at other times of the day or week. E.g., Read the 2 chapters of LOTR on Sun/Mon, do the discussions/unit studies on Tues-Fri, read a Shakespeare play or Beowulf on Tues-Fri. (approx 2 hrs literature/day, some independent reading or read-aloud and some discussion together). 3) Between each of the 6 LOTR books, when there is a break for unit studies, take a longer break and read other literature. I did find a little about scheduling you used in an older thread: "We also took 1 to 3 weeks to spread out and do one of the 12 additional units, which, in addition to the chapter notes, are the real "meat" of the program." When I get my copy of LLfLotR, I'm hoping I'll be able to understand scheduling better, but I won't get it for a while. The sample schedule on the publisher website, which is for the 1st edition, shows unit studies taking 1-2 days each and usually coming back-to-back with 2-3 unit studies between each LOTR book. Am I right in understanding that you paused your LOTR reading for 1-3 weeks instead of the 1-2 days on the sample schedule? Did you read other literature at this time that corresponded to the the unit studies? Is this extension of unit studies possible just by cutting out the fill-in-the-blank, comprehension questions, vocabulary, and tests. I do plan to cut those out and use other writing. I'm really looking forward to the unit studies. My 16-year-old just returned from a literature study abroad to England and wants to read Tolkien, Lewis, and more Shakespeare. I want to capitalize on his excitement and energy for him and for his younger brothers. I also need to be realistic, and I don't want to overburden them or myself. We'll be moving yet again sometime in the next few months (we've homeschooled through many moves, but this time will also require extensive home renovations at the beginning), and I have health problems that sometimes shut me down, so we'll miss some days of me leading things. This is why I am trying to get as much of a loose schedule ready as I can. i appreciate all of your insights and suggestions.
  5. Yes, I had thought about that, but you're right that I should plan for it. I'll probably try to do the discussions around lunch time, so they can plan to read at night but still have time in the morning if it doesn't happen. Thank you for the ideas and clarifications.
  6. Thank you, SilverMoon. I got interrupted during my previous post and didn't see yours. That's helpful information about the book version. Do you have any advice about scheduling? I don't imagine most people actually follow the schedule provided by the publisher, since most use the curriculum differently.
  7. I'm glad you saw my post, 8filltheheart, as I know you have used LLfLotR a lot. I want the program mostly for the discussions and unit studies, like you and mlktwins and most of the people I've read have used it. I'm not planning to use the fill-in-the blank pages or vocabulary exercises. I'm more concerned about whether I'll need a matching version to learn the literary terms. Does the TE give page numbers with examples of the literary devices that will be difficult to find otherwise? Maybe if I just review these lessons before I read the chapters, I will be able to find them more easily. An entirely new question (scheduling): In reviewing the sample daily schedule on the website, I wondered whether we could speed it up a little. Before I saw the schedule, I assumed we would read a chapter and discuss it on the same day, but these two tasks seem to be divided into two days most of the time. My oldest son, especially, wants time to read more this year, especially Shakespeare and Lewis (my 10th- and 12th-graders have already read most of the other related works, such as Beowulf, Gawain, Iliad, some Shakespeare, Narnia, etc.) Do you think it would work better to speed up the LOTR a little to fit other books into breaks along with unit studies, or would you read the other works at the same time?
  8. Thanks, mlktwins. I have read a lot about the program and appreciate your further review. I had considered using the 1st edition TE since I plan to do most of this as a group with my sons and plan to avoid the worksheets, but even used copies of the curriculum are hard to find (ether edition). When you used the LOTR book that matched your 1st edition, did you find it important that it matched? Do you think it would have been difficult to teach with another version of the Tolkien books?
  9. For years, I have seen posts about Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings. Now that I am finally wanting to use it with my three youngest boys, I don't see many comments that aren't 5-10 years old. That wouldn't deter me from using it, but I can't contact the publisher (homescholar.org) via phone or email or their website comment form. I do see the Student and Teacher's editions are available from Rainbow Resource, but I'd like to ask the publisher questions. Does anyone know whether HomeScholar Books is still the publisher of LLfLotR? I'm also wondering about the one-volume LOTR and which edition works best with the curriculum, since I can't seem to buy directly from the publisher. The HomeScholar website has conflicting, confusing information about this, and ISBN searches on amazon don't necessarily work. From an ISBN search, I think I can use the 50th Anniversary edition I see on amazon: 1178 pages, published by William Morrow. But since I can't look inside that version, it's had to know. I'd appreciate any help you can give. TC
  10. My son finally got his PSAT scores in the mail yesterday. His first set. He started getting emails from colleges in January, which is when I thought scores would be out. So I came on here and realized they'd been out for a long time. I looked online and linked his college board account with our home address. Last week, my son started getting physical mail from colleges. And then he got his paper scores yesterday. I'm wondering if he didn't write his mailing address clearly on the PSAT and that caused the delay. I'm really glad to have the paper scores, as there is a lot more information than just the three numbers you get by looking online.
  11. That's a great idea. I think I'll do this with my next children. It was a struggle to find a school for my oldest to take the PSAT. Per the College Board website, I started early. Local high school told me in May that I'd have to wait until August to sign him up, so I worried all summer about whether they would let him. Late August, they finally gave us an answer: No. We found a public school in the next town that said he could sign up after Sept. 14. On the phone, someone said we could. In person, another person said we couldn't. Luckily we got in because we had the first person's name, she was there at the time, and she remembered talking to us in the phone.
  12. Thank you all! My 10th-grade son started at our local CC last week, and he suddenly decided he wants to get an AA before he graduates from high school. I had already heard that a semester at CC = a year in high school, but the Spanish classes at the CC are 101A, 101B, 102A, 102B. This made me stop to come here to look for answers as to whether I could treat each semester course as a year of high school. Considering they are 5 credits each at the CC, I think he can get 1 high-school credit out of each one! Taking just 2 of the 4 semesters will save him a lot of time. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge.
  13. Yikes! Now I'm kicking myself even harder for not pushing more for my son to take the PSAT this month. We made an initial attempt to sign him up, got knocked aside by the local high school, went home to double check my facts (yes he could take it as a 10th grader, yes he needed to sign up at the school and not online), and never made it back to the school to try again. Thanks for posting, so I can add these things to a list of prep items.
  14. My son did this two years ago with zero preparation. We were in the middle of a cross-country move, so it was great for him to have any kind of educational goal. He met it, but we didn't realize until too late that he could have had his book published. This year, I discovered the workbook, and he has gone through some of it over the past few months. He hasn't visited the web site yet, though I did see there were some webinars, which we missed. My son loves to write, do he does this for fun. I won't be assigning much other writing during November, though. And we will try to pay more attention to what is going on in nanowrimo besides my son's writing in a vacuum.
  15. I start formal spelling lessons with my children when they are in third grade, as I prefer to focus on reading and writing first. I was surprised yesterday when giving my 8-year-old his first spelling test. He still isn't as strong a reader as his older brothers were at this age, and I was actually surprised at how well he did with his spelling test (11/12 correct). On one word, he told me the spelling rule as he confirmed he had spelled the word correctly. I asked how he knew that, and he said it had been in his phonics book, OPGTTR, which he finished more than a year ago. Just anecdotal evidence to use OPG and hold off on spelling. If I'd had a child who loved to write at a young age and wanted more work and I'd had time to give it to him, I wouldn't be totally opposed to teaching spelling at a younger age (especially with Spell to Write and Read, which I like). But I've never had that kid or that kind of time. There are lots of spelling programs that are tempting, and I'm sure most would work with consistency, just as "winging it" will work. Using letter tiles is a great method to start with for young or reluctant writers. More fun at any age, really.
  16. For those of you using Joy of Science, can you share how you'll use it? I see that it is on sale right now (but still $125 for the video download version). It does look like a great overview before starting high school science.
  17. My oldest son used the above 5-8 Outlining book (Remedia). It was easy for him, as well, and he was very comfortable outlining other materials after using it. It is his preferred form of notetaking now. It's probably about time to have my second son use it, though all of that writing will be harder for him. He did just come to some outlining in Rod and Staff, but he didn't do the exercises. So as not to overload my children, they are required to read the writing/composition lessons in R&S but rarely have to actually do the exercises. As for where the outlining is found in Rod and Staff English, I have only books 4, 6, and 8 on the shelves right now. English 4 has no outlining but does start to talk about topic sentences. English 6 and English 8 have several outlining lessons in Ch. 4. I think outlining actually starts in English 5, but it isn't accessible to check right now. I hope that helps. Teonei
  18. I read somewhere on this forum last year that the even years are the most important for Rod and Staff English (Gr. 4, 6, 8, 10), so those should be studied the most. Sorry, but I don't remember who said it. It seemed to be a consensus in the threads I was reading. We missed a year of grammar and picked up in Gr. 4 and 6 for two of my boys (skipping Gr. 3 and 5), but my older son is doing Gr. 8 rather than skipping it to do Gr. 9 this year. All are doing fine. That would seem to indicate starting with Gr. 6 for your daughter would be a good idea.
  19. I don't see this posted anywhere, but I apologize if it already has been. I got an email today saying The Teaching Company (The Great Courses) has ALL of its courses on sale 70% off today and tomorrow. Free shipping code: 104475 within the United States. Of course, first check your library, and Audible may be cheaper, but I know some people wait for sales like this one and didn't want you to miss it. :)
  20. I'm so glad I found this thread today. I have been debating about getting some Vandiver and Daileader courses from Audible or waiting for a sale on the Teaching Company web site. Getting them from the library won't work because there is just one copy of each series, and they have holds, so I know I won't be able to keep renewing for months as we use 2 lectures/week. With the sale and a coupon code I found in my inbox, I got the lectures I wanted. Sure, I paid more than I would have on Audible, but my hesitation was that I really wanted the Course Guidebooks. They aren't vital, of course, but I know I won't have time to listen to all of these lectures, and I'd like to have some idea of what my son is learning. The Guidebooks apparently aren't included on Audible. I was happily surprised to find that not only is the PDF Guidebook included with the audio download, but so is the entire course transcript. That is going to make discussing this with my son so much easier! It did work out to almost $7 more each than I would have paid at Audible. So if these PDFs aren't important to you, go with Audible. I might in the future if I don't care about the PDFs. I'm using the Daileader Middle Ages lectures as a spine for my son this year, so that was important to me. Oh, and here's a $20 off coupon code in case it helps anyone. I think it expires in about an hour, though: CD7P
  21. It is very helpful to hear your perspective. Thank you so much for all of your time. I am feeling more confident now.
  22. You are helping a lot, actually. Aside from "Listen to the lecture and write about it" what can I do if I don't know what the lectures are about? The titles don't tell much. I could have him write a list of important people mentioned or events or just 10 things he remembers. I'm a visual learner, so this would be difficult for me, but my son is more auditory. Any more insight you can give me about how you use the lectures would be great. Take notes while listening, listen and discuss, listen and write... I need to spend a week just on this, but I can't. OK, most important is probably -- do you recommend using every lecture, or can some be skipped? In the interest of fitting things into a year, I want a general schedule first. I'd hate to get started before I have everything planned out only to decide I should have skipped some of the first things we already did. KWIM?
  23. I want to be sure I understand how Audible works. Is this right? I could get the entire Early Middle Ages set (all of the lectures) as a free audio book upon enrollment. Then after one month, I would pay $14.95 and would get another audio book so could choose the High Middle Ages. Then another month later, I'd pay $14.95 and get the Late Middle Ages? I can cancel then or keep getting more audio books (Elizabeth Vandiver... Ooh, what a great way to get these courses cheaply. Exciting.) Once I buy these, I can download them, burn them to CD, put on an mp3 player, etc., right? Am I understanding that correctly? Do you use a lot of Audible's offerings in your homeschool? Do you buy them through the amazon web site or audible? Does it make any difference in terms of price or service or anything else? I was originally thinking my son and I would watch the Daileader DVDs together. Then I would know what to talk about with him. If we're doing the audio only, which I think my son might prefer, assuming the class doesn't rely on visual elements, it will be much harder for me to get it done. Without the guidebooks, I'm not sure how I'll discuss it or make essay assignments. Do you listen to each lecture, too? Sorry for all of the questions. I feel like I am getting close and want to work out all of the details. Thank you so much for your patience.
  24. Thank you all so much! I am feeling much better already about handling this year. SilverMoon, thank you for the idea to use the Daileader lectures as a spine, along with Spielvogel. It seems so obvious now that you've said it, but it didn't occur to me to look at the lectures that way before. I think my son would be happier focusing more on the literature than the history, too. So basically, we can do 1 history credit that is about half history and half great books and 1 English credit that is about half literature/Great Books and half composition. That makes more sense than the other things I was thinking. Dare I even think of it, as I plan (but not on the transcript), as 1 Literature credit, 1/2 a history credit, and 1/2 a Composition credit? That is a great deal with Audible. I have purchased audio download courses directly from The Teaching Company, and they included PDFs of the study guide book. Is that included with the Audible purchases? If not, have you ever missed having it? You're right, we will be using SOTW 2 at the same time. To be honest, I haven't looked to see how many topics are in common between the various books. That would make it easier to decide. Great idea. I'll take a look at the Timetables of History to help decide on topics, too. About getting all three stages of the Trivium, it's complicated. We are basically off track for my oldest right now because it puts three of my five children in the "right" years at the "right" times. I don't want to expand the history rotation. I was just wondering whether others have resorted to this to fit in HOMW and HORW. Thanks, Kendall. I'll check into this, too, before I decide.
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