Jump to content

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

Nam2001

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    319

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Nam2001

    Alveary Opinions? (and some bonus Facebook drama)

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    On 4/14/2024 at 9:44 PM, Nichola said:

    I think Cindy and Angelina only allow AO to be recommended on their Facebook page (at least that’s how it was in the past…I’m not on there anymore, so I don’t know if that’s changed). They see AO as the standard, and they often quote Charlotte Mason’s idea about giving children the best books, which they would define as the best-written books. I’m not familiar with the Facebook incident you mentioned, but based on things they’ve said on their podcasts (in general, not about the Alveary in particular), I would suspect that it wasn’t just one book that they had a problem with. I think it probably has more to do with the way the Alveary is choosing books in general. Just looking through the Alveary’s videos, I do see a difference in their recommendations versus Ambleside’s. The Alveary seems to choose at least some books based on the illustrations or because they look fun, where AO is more concerned with always giving kids the very best written language, regardless of the appearance of the book. The two groups are prioritizing different things. I think Cindy and Angelina would say the Alveary’s “fun” book choices are okay for free time but they wouldn’t consider them appropriate for school, at least not for literature class. If you really want to understand Cindy’s thinking about this, listen to her podcasts about the Building Blocks of Stories. I think that might give you some insight on why she prefers certain curricula over others.

    I don’t know a lot about the Alveary, but it doesn’t appeal to me personally because I like to choose my own books and create my own reading lists, and I want to be able to reuse books for my younger kids. The Alveary has new book lists every year, so that wouldn’t work well for me. 

    That being said, if the Alveary appeals to you, go for it. There’s nothing wrong with trying it out to see if you like it.

     

    Just wanted to clarify that Cindy actually had several episodes on her podcast interviewing people using many different CM curriculum options.  SCM, Alveary, CMEC, etc… They certainly favor AO, that’s for sure, but I typically get good answers in their group about other options as well. 

    • Like 2

    Puppy name

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    3 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

    Our dog is moving out with college girl next yr too. But Dh says no new dog. (Yet.😉)

    Will she be getting an apartment? She’s in a dorm now right? 

    Puppy name

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    3 hours ago, KSera said:

    Sneezyone on fire with the names today 😂. I’m not good at names, but that’s a gorgeous pup 🥰. 

    I know 💗💗💗

    Puppy name

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    1 hour ago, ScoutTN said:

    Oooh, I like Cookie. My first thought was Oreo, but it sounds like a boy name to me.

    Does your oldest Dd still have a border collie? 

    Hey there! Yes, we still have the border collie. But she will be moving out this summer with my oldest into an apartment. We are probably crazy for getting another breed with this much enthusiasm for life, but we do hear that this breed at least has an off switch. The border collie doesn’t have that. 🤣

    definitely lots of exercise and agility classes! 

    • Like 3

    Puppy name

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Grace Hopper said:

    Looks like a Sheila to me. So cute. Take your vitamins and keep running shoes handy, she looks like a breed that wants to be very active. Adorable!

    Yeah I’m betting so! 

    Geography - All Ye Lands, Notgrass

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I am hoping to do a year of world geography next year with my 8th grader. I was leaning towards Notgrass or Guest Hollow but someone mentioned All Ye Lands, by Catholic Textbook Project. We are not Catholic (we are Protestant). I’m wondering if that will be too much of an issue for a geography text. I’ll probably add extra reading from Guest Hollow whatever I end up using. 
    Thanks! 

    BJU World Studies

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    7 hours ago, PeterPan said:

    My dd, who loved history and was an avid reader, LOVED the BJU7 World Studies. Yes do it with the videos if you can. She watched maybe ¼ of it with a visiting missionary friend and we went back and ordered it to finish . 

    Thanks! That’s great feedback! 

    BJU World Studies

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Can anyone give me a review of Bju World Studies for 7th grade? I’m considering it with or without the teaching videos. We are adding a couple of electives next year so I’m taking a break from our typical literature rich history. This looks like an interesting sweep through world history. 
    thanks! 

    Geometry - HS College Bound

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    1 hour ago, royspeed said:

    I confess.

    Yesterday I saw that @Nam2001 had gone nine hours with no responses to her query. Also, I knew something others may not know: that the universe of alumni of my wife's Geometry course is TINY — she usually has fewer than ten students per year; I didn't recall seeing any of those parents making regular postings here.

    So I confess: I looked into our records and sent an email to roughly a dozen parents who had direct experience of Diane's Geometry and who might be able to provide @Nam2001 with a useful perspective.

    If the comments of those parents are an unwelcome intrusion, I apologize to everyone, including to you, @Farrar, whom I deeply respect.

    @Nam2001: Are you sorry to see the comments of those parents? — If I've done wrong by you, the original poster, just say the word; I'll never do anything like it ever again.

    Thanks Roy. I’m glad to see the reviews. 
    It’s fairly easy to find reviews about the English classes but harder to find them for Diane’s classes. 
    Thanks to all who gave feedback. 

    • Like 4

    Geometry - HS College Bound

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Kimberly A.Q. said:

    "It was one of my favorite classes" - from my son Derin (who took every class they offered over a six-year period!).  You WILL NOT FIND a better program.  These are professionals: people who thoroughly know and are passionate about the subjects they offer, and then take the time and care to get to know their students as well.  They somehow combine the rigor of a high-level course and appropriate expectations of a student with a firm but gentle guidance and encouragement that keeps a student's love of learning intact. My son was well prepared for AP classes (he focused on AP Govt. & Politics) and received a scholarship to University of Maryland, College Park, and STILL says his classes with HSCB (the Speeds) were the best... I cannot believe how truly fortunate we were to have had them be such a profoundly positive part of our high school experience.  - Kimberly 

    Thanks so much! I appreciate your thoughts! 

    Online High school World History

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    We enjoy classes with Schole Academy. We haven’t done a history class yet but I’ve heard wonderful things. My daughter’s good friend has done a couple of history classes with them and raves about them, especially those with Phaedra Shaltanis as the teacher. Their new schedule should come out in the next few weeks, but I’ve noticed the history usually stays the same. 
    https://scholeacademy.com

    • Like 1

    Where the Brook and River Meet - Cadron Creek

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    10 hours ago, 8filltheheart said:

    IIRC, I thought the history was too disjointed and superficial. It also includes topics that just didn't work for our family. I'm not one to follow prefab plans in general, though, bc I never like them.  So for me to dump the majority of something and rework it to fit my needs is no biggie.

    Like I stated earlier, I didnt really use the book other than for general ideas and deciding how to integrate the parts that I wanted to include. Anna's Anthology and LMM's correspondence with (iirc) Ephraim were both suggestions that I incorporated. I just added a lot more. 

    Thanks! 

    Where the Brook and River Meet - Cadron Creek

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    3 hours ago, 8filltheheart said:

    It is way more than enough for a  high school lit credit if you read all of the works that Anne reads (there is a lot of epic poetry--Marmion, Siege of Valencia, Edinburg after Flodden, Idylls of King; plus Shakespeare, Pope, Wordsworth, etc.)  My dd fell in love with epic poetry that yr.

    We tied it to Canadian and British history.  I didn't really use the WtBaRM book except for the sequence of Anne's readings and some supplemental materials.  Not really much for history.  

    FWIW, I wouldn't use it with most 7th graders.  My dd did it when she was in 7th grade, but she was a very advanced language student who was enthralled with all things language.  (She was also studying 2 foreign languages at that pt.)  My current 7th grader is also advanced, but she is growing like a weed and always tired.  She is also a lazy worker.  There is no way she could have done it this yr.  I might do it next yr with her, but I may just wait until high school.

    Thanks for your thoughts. So you’re saying you didn’t do the history but just went your own way on that? Was the history included just not appealing or were you aiming for something else? 
    The 7th grader probably wouldn’t do the English portion. She’ll outsource writing and do lit with me - not sure what. 

    Where the Brook and River Meet - Cadron Creek

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Hi ladies- I’ve done some searching on here and have seen several people talking about beefing up this curriculum to make it high school worthy. I particularly would need this for history. My daughter will outsource science and most likely English but I’d be keeping history at home. I’d love to hear exactly how you flesh this out with this particular guide. I like to gather materials well in advance to make sure this is the route I want to take. This would be for a 10th and 7th grader. Thanks! 

×
×
  • Create New...