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siloam

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    Hsing Mom of 4.
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    Oregon
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    Sewing and Roses
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    Home CFO

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  1. It made sense to me, but we are generally more on the concrete side, not random thinkers or learners. The way so many writing programs are structured I feel they work best for random learners/thinkers. I can tell you all my kids have done Classical Writing (CW) and while they hate it they appreciate what it has taught them. The sequential building on concept approach works well here. The best thing they have learned is a fluidity with changing sentences, moving words, ideas and phrases in order to either fix a problem or to achieve the best result in what they are tying to convey. My college students are glad they had it to prep them for WR 121. -Siloam p.s. lol! That signature is a bit outdated, now to go find out how to fix it....given my son is now 17.
  2. I will keep Math U See in mind. Watching videos isn't generally not our best learning method...kinda...lol. To explain: I was watching a video on youtube about a knitting stitch and kept getting board watching the knitting between row transitions, so I would skip ahead, then have to go back because I missed something. I probably wasted more time with my back and forth than if I had just watched it in the first place, and I know this, but I still did it anyway. Thus my fear is that my daughter will zone out when she can see where it is going, then not be paying attention and miss something important. Heather
  3. Jacob's is what we have been using. We can make it work if I have to...but she has gone from math being her favorite topic to one of the least favorite. The Spanish and Chinese proofs where she had to figure out what was being said was almost driving her to tears. I felt so bad because she would be so close and yet not get it. (The Chinese has a x type shape and the proof is supposed to be that the lines intersect at the middle, and the end of the proof is that the angles are equal, her answers were about how the angles were supplementary, bisecting, and such, where were all true but not what the proof said.) I'll check out Holt, as that describes my daughter to a T. She tired Miquon math and hated the discovery part as well. Heather
  4. What we are using isn't work, because it is too abstract. Also I haven't done Geometry in 25 years, so I need precise answers and what we are using now, I feel, leaves the questions opened ended enough that the answer might be physical angle A = Angle B or that they are supplementary or perpendicular, but the answer key only has one right answer, which is fine when I understand enough to jump the gap but when I don't I have to force my daughter to guess around to find the right answer. Not to mention the times the answer key just gives an answer and doesn't explain why at all, so both my daughter and I have to skip it because neither of us (both being concrete) get it. Help! Heather
  5. I love RS, but unless the child is struggling in math it probably isn't needed. Hmm, don't really have any recommendations either. Just keep in mind that middle school math often does a year a reviewing 1-6th grade math before moving into pre-algebra, so you do have some wiggle room. Also keep in mind that Singapore is very problem solving oriented, so if your child really hates story type problems that might not be a good fit, and if they like them they it might be a perfect fit. Level 3 explains how to do the diagramming so you really want to start there, but move more quickly. I used to be able to use the regular books and Intensive practice in one year, so if you are only using the main books you probably can get through 3 and well into 4 in one year. At one time I also used Math Mammoth to supplement RS for days when I couldn't get to the one one one teaching. It worked OK for most my kids, but not my son. He loves patterns, and would get so focused on the pattern work in MM that he would not do math. Thus it did nothing to help him remember his times tables. I eventually quit using it for him and just printed off worksheets I found free online that covered the same topic he was on in RS. There can also be some frustration if you are using the topical math series. Why? Because it is as if they just took the problems from the regular series and put them into topical order. That is mostly OK but you do run into problems that deal with topics you haven't covered yet and either have to sit down and explain it or let the child skip a couple problems. Easy if you have a child who asks, hard if you have one who refuses to and just sits there and gets frustrated and wound up instead. Hope you find a good solution! Heather
  6. We are all dyslexic to some degree here as well. You are ahead of me, I was always too busy with LA to get to Latin when they were young. Thus I start them in 4th grade doing 1 page a day in Lively Latin. They do well for the most part and enjoy it till the end where it starts to speed up and make jumps they don't follow. All of my kids started out liking the program but ended up so very glad to be finished. I would recommend the program, but only if you are OK with it getting rough at the end and maybe stopping or if you know Latin you can explain it more fully. I've tried Minimus, which my kids did enjoy for the most part. It is put out by Cambridge, but the TM's are so expensive I hesitate to recommend it. My oldest went through First Form Latin 1. That was a lot of conjugating and not a lot of fun, so I haven't used it again. Cambridge 1 is ideal for a translation program, but I can say that unless you really know Latin, don't go there. I was lost (but my only experience was Lively Latin 1). My oldest managed to work her way through about 1/4 of it on her own before she asked for something else. She has always waned to come back to it but never has. If I had more time to figure out things it also would have been fine but my son turned out to have the most sever issues of all of us, so he took up most of my time. The last program I tried (because it was a winner here) was Ecce Romani. It is a combination of translation with grammar work with great explanations. I have three in it right now and all still love it and understand it without my help. (win! win!) Hopefully some of our journey will help your road to be more easy. Heather
  7. I've used Tapestry, MOH and STOW. SOTW mostly as an addition to what ever else we are doing because my kids like the audio (the old ones, JW puts them to sleep, sad to say). MOH (Mystery of History) works the best for us and I use it as our spine now. But my oldest out reads everyone (she read Lord of the Rings in 2 weeks...all three books). Thus I still use TOG (Tapestry of Grace) to keep her in books, to provide extra mapping at times (I don't like separate geography programs) and to supplement anything else I feel like pulling out of it. I already own it so why not? I don't use TOG exclusively because my kids don't do well with Usborne/Kingfisher type books and many of the spines when I started were just that. I doubt they are at the level I am using it now, but we all like MOH so we are happy to continue as is. I also have never found the time to do discussions, though that is largely because my kids are dyslexic like me, so we have other battles to fight. To the heart of what you are asking, I keep them together by taking advantage of the multi-layered system, by assigning my older kids extra reading/writing/research to keep things on their level and by not getting caught up in academics in regards to history till my kids are in high school. At one point I had all of them doing the lower level activities in MOH, like an ice holding contest for the lesson on the ice age, together. Eventually that quit working, so we moved on and found new ways to do stuff together (challenge memory cards) and some things just stay separate to keep everyone learning and I stay sane. Mostly remember that in the end, math, English, writing...these are the biggies. History is important to cover but not to master. You can keep more of an attitude of kick back and enjoy the ride. Heather
  8. I use Word Builder. I have my kids make flash cards and review them to help them with retention. So far I am happy with the results. Each lessons focuses on one root. It may or may not introduces a couple suffixes and prefixes. Generally if it does it uses them. The only thing really lacking in the program is review, which is why I have them make flashcards.... they do review the suffixes and prefixes because they keep using them, but they drop the roots. I'd prefer review worksheets but the cards seem to be working. Heather
  9. I mostly just do what interests us and works...as in gets done consistently. Most of the time that is MOH (Mystery of History). Next year I would like to take some time to focus even more on American history but I can't find a good audio to go with. I might just have them do independent reading for a while. So many good books from the time, but not many American history spines I enjoy. When I get back to year 1 I want to use Susan's History of the Ancient world as supplement to MOH 1 for high school. My oldest was middle school last time we covered ancient history so it just didn't work out I could use it then. I'm looking forward to using it soon. Heather
  10. RS just clicked here. Singapore was like pulling teeth because it makes logical leaps my kids didn't follow, and I used it back when many levels didn't have HIG...and even the ones it had have since been re-written. The hands on of RS showed why so well. We stopped fighting over flashcards, flashmaster, calculadders and such for math facts and they enjoyed the RS cards games and finally learned their multiplication tables. I'd use RS again without hesitation (all four of my kids have graduated out of it). But the fundamental difference is that RS is a total hands on program that demonstrates why and multiple ways to approach the same problem (it teaches...I think four different ways to do subtraction). It rarely takes logical leaps. Singapore base is teaching problem solving. Always reaching ahead to higher level concepts and doing them with lower level math abilities. Singapore was my first love, and will always be. But my kids are not intuitive problem solvers who like to chew on it. They just wanted to get math done. Heather
  11. I'd second Merry's post. Mostly I want to say that as a diagnosed dyslexic myself, you will probably never defeat the spelling monster. It will be less of a problem or more of a problem, but they will still have those days where a word just looks wrong and no matter what you try it doesn't look right. I once spelled which four different ways in one document, all phonetically correct, but only one was the correct spelling. But it wasn't that I didn't know how to spell the word, it was that whatever wires got crossed in my mind that blocked me from recalling it at the time. Annoying. I've been able to spell a simple word perfectly one day, struggled and looked it up, verified it and still felt it "looked" wrong the next, to being able to spell it perfectly again the day after. Very annoying. Despite it I have done well in life. I am just very upfront about my problem with spelling when at a job interview, with all the spell check situations these days most people didn't care. If I were you spend less (but not eliminate it) time on spelling and more on typing/composition. Heather p.s. I'd recommend Barton for children who stuggle with reading. For those who just need help in spelling I'd go with AAS. Their are those who finish Barton and still do AAS or other spelling programs. That said AAS moves quickly and needs to be slowed down for most dyslexic students or they just end up overwhelmed.
  12. Pearson is their publisher, so it is the only place you can buy the teacher materials, as far as I know. If you buy from Pearson you need to give them documentation of homeschool (from the state) and they will set you up. All I had to send in was the initial letter of recognition of our intent to homeschool. Once you do they will allow you to buy all the teacher support materials. This also allows me access to buying any of their products. The teacher's manual makes life a lot easier as it has all the answers for the translations, exercises and workbook exercises. You can also buy the supplemental Romans Speak for Themselves with answer key. This text is referred to in the main student text, but you can also skip it. They sometimes have bundle deals that end up quite a bit lower in price then other places. But those also often change, so it just depends on when you catch it. Heather
  13. Honestly reading your post here and below I have to wonder if it is not just developmental. She can work through the concept with you there to help her but on her own she just isn't developmentally quite ready to recognize it and figure it out on her own. Also keep in mind that unless you have an advanced student, Singapore goes through level 6 then into algebra. So you really can use the program a year or even two behind and still have enough math for what most students need. If they decide to favor a math related field later on, then can do extra math then. (For instance, my oldest decided to go into languages so she doubled up on her Latin program to get more of it done). If you want to stick with Singapore then consider going to some of the extra practice, lower level intensive practice or word challenge books to kill some time. I haven't used MUS, after I used Miquon my oldest two hated rods and would not consider a program that used them, sigh... (discovery methods is NOT the way they learn) Right Start is what we switched to, and is an excellent program for very hands on math. I first switched to RS using Singapore as a supplement. It was MY first love in math programs but I am mathy and an adult who already knew the math, so Singapore was fun. My kids are not as inclined in math and Singapore just made too many logical leaps they could not follow. Eventually I did admit Singapore just wasn't for them and moved on. Heather
  14. My all time favorite is Right Start, but it is NOT independent. It also is light on practice and I was slow at getting through it with four students so I generally used something else as well. I've used Math Mammoth. It works pretty good, depending on the child. It has a lot of pattern work, which was fine for my 3rd dd but my ds would get so focused on the patterns he quit doing math, so then I would end up printing out practice worksheets with no pattern to get him to do the math. Singapore is great, but again, not independent unless you have a very advanced student. They intend the program to be more challenging. My oldest also ended up with problems because she could do the math well in her head but couldn't tell you how she got there. That wasn't an issue for my 2nd dd, so it just depends on the child. After using RS I had my kids go through Lial's BCM. It is mastery based and totally independent, if the child is at least jr high age. That made sure they had all gaps filled before they went on to algebra. So just keep in mind that no matter what you do you can always fall back on something like that. Generally jr. high math, for a normal student is 7th grade: review of 1st-6th grade math and 8th grade pre algebra. I belive above average students skip the year of review and go straight into pre-algebra. Heather
  15. Jag does not. I would suspect it is in their mechanics book. Heather
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