Jump to content

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

chai

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    865

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by chai

    I'm having a little panic attack about writing.

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Since your daughter is just in 9th grade, why don't you begin the year with a review of the modern essay writing at the end of CW Maxim and Chreia? There is plenty there for review. Your daughter could work on mastering those forms since she hasn't done that as yet. Then work on Literary Lessons... and the creative writing that she wants to do. Save Herodotus for 10th grade. We will be working on Herodotus about mid-year, and I don't see picking and choosing with that text. It's point A to B, at least in my mind. Also, the corresponding reading in Herodotus is significant. This seems like a perfect time for your daughter to explore her passion with creative writing and Tolkein. Btw, it's normal to dislike writing reports. They are boring!

     

    I think that this a great idea. It just messes up my plans. :tongue_smilie: It's nice to hear from someone who knows CW. Herodotus is in the mail and I will be able to look at it soon. I have not made her write any real research reports. When she had to write one for a science class last year, she had no idea how to cite references. Oops! On the other hand, I don't think there is anything too tricky about them--good grammar and sentence fundamentals will get you a long way.

    I'm having a little panic attack about writing.

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    She didn't get to be a good writer by accident. She got that way because you've been teaching her! I wouldn't stop teaching. Thank you for the vote of confidence! I feel somewhat able to help her with writing fundamentals, but creative writing has me running scared! Probably, what I would do, is this:

     

    Have her work through Herodotus, doing only the language arts type assignments and the logic. Skip the writing assignments and sub in hers instead. Maybe go through the book and pick out a handful of writing assignments for her to do (ideally ones that are more argumentative, rather than merely reporterly), just so she keeps up and works on her essay writing skills. I'm not sure that I want to skip parts of Herodotus--the program is so meaty that I want to do it right.

     

    Two caveats:

     

    1.At some point, she will HAVE to get good at essay writing, even if she hates it. If she goes to college, a lot of her work will be evaluated in essay form. Even if she doesn't, life calls for the ability to write cogently on topics that you believe to be important, at least from time to time. So, essays must be done. Before you toss everything, you better figure when she will develop this skill. I totally agree. There is some writing in LLfLotR and I know that I could add in essay-type assignments. I keep telling her that she doesn't get to skip this no matter what she thinks of it. The trick is getting her best work instead of just good enough.

     

    2.Putting the writing that she loves in her school work could, possibly, cause her to hate the writing, if she associates it negatively with her schoolwork. That's a matter of prudence based on what you know about your daughter and her emotional relationship to her schoolwork.

    Up until now, this has been my philosophy. I let this be something she does on her own. However, I think that she has enough talent to take it much further. I've thrown out the idea of a tutor/mentor. She seems to like the idea in theory, but sometimes reality is a bit different.

    I'm having a little panic attack about writing.

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Every time I think I have a plan in place, my dd throws me for a loop. I desperately need some advice and clear thinking in the area of English and writing.

     

    Some background: My dd is very advanced in language arts. She has already scored a near-perfect score on the ACT in English and reading. We have used Classical Writing since second grade and I have been very pleased with the rigor of the program. I had planned moving into CW Herodotus this fall along with Intermediate Poetry. (We had Poetry scheduled for this year and never got around to it.) I also have scheduled LLfLotR for this fall--she has just become a huge LotR fan and is super-excited about it. She is a good writer when she wants to be. She needs some work on essay-style writing though. She hates writing reports.

     

    Here's my current plan for 8/9th grade. (I may use these as high school credit.) I think it is too much.

     

    LLfLotR with all unit studies and reading Biography of Tolkien, portions of Canterbury Tales, MacBeth, Beowulf, The Tempest, The Once and Future King, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

     

    CW Herodotus and Intermediate Poetry

    Traditional Logic (scheduled in CW Herodotus)

    Teaching Company Middle Ages Videos along with time line.

    Life of Fred Advanced Algebra with Khan Academy

    Exploring Education Physics

    Third Form Latin

    Spanish II with tutor

    Graphic Design and Photoshop at Co-op (2x week)

    Yearbook at Co-op (2x week)

    Drama at Co-op (1x week)

    Riding and volunteering at horse rescue ranch (3x week) --another love

    Performance choir (2x week plus performances)

     

    Here's my dilemma: DD wants to work on her novel and write poetry. She has been writing her novel over the past year. She is passionate and wants to publish it for her friends. Today, she handed me some poems/songs that she has written. They are really good! I realized that her skills are beyond me in the area of creative writing and I don't know what to do about it. I'm thinking about pushing CW Herodotus and Traditional Logic off until next year and finding a tutor for creative writing/poetry. If this is just a phase, she can do it to her heart's content with some guidance. On the other hand, this could be a career-starter for her.

     

    Help! I'm feeling a little panicky about this and I never panic!

    Let's talk Stock Pots

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I just did boat loads of research on cookware. My best resource was Cooks Illustrated on-line. I was ready to throw away all of my cookware and get good pieces that will really last. I ended up getting a mix of All-Clad copper core and regular stainless steel. But, for my stock pot, nearly everyone recommended "saving" money and getting at minimum a good aluminum core base. This one is very highly rated and on sale right now. I've only used it a few times, but I like it so far.

    Best digital scrapbooking software? And...

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    You will find that most people in the digi-scrapping world use either Photoshop or Photoshop Elements (PSE). I use PSE and I can do everything I want. In the last several versions, Adobe has added a lot of helpful features just for digital scrapbooking.

     

    There is a learning curve, but once you've made a few pages, you'll get the hang of it. There are many tutorials on-line to walk you through it. The beauty of digital, is that I can go back and make changes to my earliest pages effortlessly.

     

    For materials--there is more than you could ever use. PSE can open any JPEG, PNG or tiff file which are how most of the digital papers and elements are saved. You open a digital paper (most of them come in 300dpi, 12"x12"). Then you open and drag the elements of your choice (frames, flowers, ribbons, stickers, and much more) on top of the paper. Each element is a separate layer on the paper. You can open and drag your photos onto the page and make them into any size you wish. You can add text and a title and, voila, you are done! Then you change your beautiful layout into a JPEG file to be printed which you can do at home or upload to a printing shop or wait until you have enough pages to make a bound book.

    Best website for ordering wild rice?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    There is a huge difference in quality of wild rice in the stores. If the package says that it is from California, PUT IT DOWN! I buy only truly "wild" wild rice. Here is an article about the difference. I haven't been able to find true wild rice in the high-end stores where I live now, so I stock up when I'm in MN. I haven't purchased any on-line so I can't help you with finding the best site.

    Please critique my science sequence

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Thank you so much for your replies--they are really helping me think this through.

     

    I'm going to stick with a lighter Physics next year, because she needs to have fun again and I want to focus on math and writing.

     

    I was considering Conceptual Chemistry because she would have another chemistry class later, but I think you are right about changing that to a more rigorous approach. Then she won't have to do an AP Chemistry if she wants to study something else. I definitely want her to have at least one AP science class--we'll see where her interests lie before tackling any more.

     

    Of course, I fully expect these plans to change, but at least I can feel good about having a general progression.

    Please critique my science sequence

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    My science plans have been completely changed for high school. I had been counting on doing science at our co-op, but my dd's life science class this year has made her hate science. It has been very dry and boring.

     

    I've spent the day investigating and here's what I'm thinking.

     

    Next year (8th), dd wants to do just physics. She is burned out on life science and we've done a lot of chemistry at home. I like the looks of Exploration Education. Otherwise, I would consider Conceptual Physics.

     

    9th: Conceptual Chemistry

     

    10th: Biology (Miller Levine?)

     

    11th: AP Physics?

     

    12th: choice--possibly AP Chemistry or specialize

     

    Does this look like a good sequence for a college-bound student who may be interested in competitive schools? Dh has a doctorate in chemistry and dd is so much like him, I can't rule out future science major for her.

    Talent searches and children with high verbal but not mathematical ability

    in Accelerated Learner Board

    Posted

    My dd is very advanced verbally and is not strong at math. She is advanced at math, but it is not her strong suit at all. When she took the tests, I told her to skip any problem that she didn't know. It took the pressure off of her and she was comfortable with that. A child who scores extremely high in the verbal sections can still do well in the talent search because there are more verbal sections.

     

    Also, you should consider why you want to take the test. For me (and probably most homeschoolers) it is an opportunity to really hone in on strengths and weaknesses. My dd took the ACT and SAT this year and the results were very informative.

    Anyone thinking about next year yet?

    in Accelerated Learner Board

    Posted

    Your 8th grade sounds a lot like what I have planned for ds. I was also thinking about AP Human Geography. Do you have a curriculum in mind for that?

     

    I haven't thought this one through much at all. I've heard that it is the easiest of the AP tests and so is a good one to start with. I'll look at the resources recommended on the CollegeBoard and WTM.

×
×
  • Create New...