We are 16 weeks into the Purple Student Book of Grammer for the WTM. Besides thinking that the book is hard to follow visually, I am very happy with the content. However, I keep coming across circumstances in which the answers don't seem correct based off of previous lessons. Is there anywhere I can go to verify answers or ask questions? Would this forum be the place to do this?Thank you

Well-Trained Mind Press is having a Cyber Monday sale; today only, we're slashing prices on all downloadable products by 40%. That includes Story of the World student pages and audiobooks, all of Jim Weiss's audio stories, Writing With Ease, First Language Lessons, Grammar for the Well-Trained Mind, math resources from Kate Snow, how-to workshops by Susan Wise Bauer, and many more! Get started here.

Hi all, "Grammar for the Well-Trained Mind," the follow-up to "First Language Lessons," will be available on PDF in just a couple of weeks and in physical form by late September or early October. But we know that many of you are eager to get started, so we're giving away the first six weeks of the curriculum here. This grammar curriculum was formerly known as "Advanced Language Lessons," and you may have heard about it under that title. It consists of a Core Instructor Text (used for all four years), yearly Student Workbooks (the first one is being released now, and #2 is in development), yearly Answer Keys to explain all answers for the Student Workbook, and a Comprehensive Handbook of Rules (a handy reference guide for grammar, useful for all writers of whatever age). The free PDF includes: The first 6 weeks of the Core Instructor Text The first 6 weeks of the Student Workbook for Year 1 The first 6 weeks of the Answer Key for Year 1 (which gives all answers AND thorough explanations) The first part of the Comprehensive Handbook of Rules I'll be available to answer questions in this thread. We will also be releasing explanatory videos in the coming weeks. Follow us on Facebook for updates on that. To answer some possible questions: --Yes, this is good for middle-grade students, but could also be used with high-school students --Yes, it can be pre-ordered on Amazon (but their release dates aren't always accurate) --Yes, some of the sentences in the exercises are drawn from "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" and "The Princess Bride." --Yes, schools and co-ops can get bulk pricing. Contact us at 1.877.322.3445 or order@welltrainedmind.com Again, the first six weeks are available here. Here's a longer description of the curriculum: Grammar for the Well-Trained Mind takes middle-grade or high school students from basic definitions through advanced sentence structure and analysis—all the grammar skills needed to write and speak with eloquence and confidence. This innovative program, by experienced educator Susan Wise Bauer, combines the three essential elements of language learning: understanding and memorizing rules (prescriptive teaching), repeated exposure to examples of how those rules are used (descriptive instruction), and practice using those rules in exercises and in writing (practical experience). Scripted lessons make it possible for any parent or teacher to use the program effectively. Step-by-step instruction takes students from the most basic concepts through advanced grammatical concepts Extensive diagramming exercises reinforce the rules and help technical/visual learners to understand & use the English language effectively. All diagrams are thoroughly explained to the instructor/parent. Examples and exercises are drawn from great works of literature, as well as from well-written nonfiction texts. Regular review is built into each year of work. Core text is designed to be used effectively with students from fifth grade through high school, regardless of background. The program is easily customizable to each student’s strengths and weaknesses. Description of the Program Each year, parents and teachers go through the dialogue, rules, and examples in the Core Instructor Text; students follow along in the Student Workbook. This repetition solidifies the concepts, definitions, and examples in the student’s mind. The Core Instructor Text provides not only rules and examples, but scripted dialogue that makes it possible for any parent or teacher to use the program effectively, along with instructor notes that thoroughly explain ambiguities and difficulties. There will eventually be four Student Workbooks, one for each year (the Year 1 Workbook will be released first). Each Student Workbook contains the same rules and examples—but four completely different sets of exercises and assignments, allowing students to develop a wide-ranging knowledge of how the rules and examples are put to use in writing. Each Student Workbook has its own Key, providing not only answers, but also explanations for the parent/instructor, and guidance as to when the answers might be ambiguous (as, in English, they often are). All of the rules covered, along with the repeated examples for each, are assembled for ongoing reference in the Comprehensive Handbook of Rules. This will become the student’s indispensable guide to writing through high school, into college and beyond.

Hi, I want to buy FLL 3 Instructor book so my question is that are all the contents from FLL 3 Student book included in FLL 3 Instructor book? Can I just buy FLL 3 Instructor book as it's parent intensive so can we do most of it orally? Recommendations and experiences please! :confused1: Thanks!

Hello Forum Folks, The Well-Trained Mind team is committed to helping you and your children navigate the wilds of education...whether through these forums, our books and audio products, our online courses, or our website. As part of that commitment, we are always looking for new ways to bring content to you. Can you help us? If you post a response to any or all of the following queries, you'll be entered to win one of five Well-Trained Mind tote bags we're giving away! How do you use streaming video content in your educational efforts? Do you watch videos about homeschooling, parenting, skill development, or education? Do you use videos with your children as part of your lessons (not counting full online classes such as Well-Trained Mind Academy)? What are your favorite programs/channels/presenters for this type of content? Why? How long, on average, are these videos? And: For this content, do you use paid services (Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, other [please describe]) or primarily free ones (YouTube, etc)? Thank you for your help! We'll announce the winners by December 7th. Justin and the folks at The Well-Trained Mind

In the book she explains how you could go about this. Does anyone have experience making it work? It seems like most large families who are following a classical path use a more laid out curriculum such as TOG, Biblioplan, etc. Any experience following the WTM plan with children in multiple levels?

.

I guess I don't fully understand this and was hoping for input. The WTM has a list of literature that corresponds to the historical time period (for example, this year was ancients for us, so we have read a lot of Greek myths and books about Egypt so far). I have done some of those books as read alouds and some I assigned to my oldest for reading. How do you do this? Part of what I struggle with is that my youngest doesn't get assigned reading from the list yet due to reading level. So I don't want to make them all assigned reading because there are too many and because I want him to also benefit from it. However, trying to decide which I should read aloud versus assign can be hard for me. We are getting to the point where my oldest could almost read all of them without issue but his comprehension might be better on the lower lexiles, so I go for those. Honestly, though, I have no idea what I am doing. How do you all manage this? Suggestions??

Hi everyone, Check out these two FREE webinars for lots of helpful, practical tips on teaching addition and subtraction! From Kate Snow: math expert, homeschool mom, and author of our two newest books "Addition Facts that Stick" and "Subtraction Facts that Stick." Addition: January 5th, 8 PM Eastern time Subtraction: January 17th, 8 PM Eastern time Sign up here! And if you aren't available for those time slots, don't worry: we are planning to make recordings of the sessions available shortly after they happen. Justin from Well-Trained Mind Press

Hi all, I knew you'd want to know that we're offering two brand-new audio lectures by Susan Wise Bauer, recorded at homeschooling conferences: Burning Out: Why it Happens and What to do About it Every home school family finds itself in the doldrums occasionally. But when the doldrums last for weeks or months, it’s time to consider the possibility of burnout. In this seminar--drawn from years of personal experience with effective home education and burnout--Susan defines burnout, investigates the elements that make burnout more likely, and offers a series of practical, experience-tested suggestions for moving forward. and What is History? How and Why Should I Teach It? Choosing the right program isn’t the first step in teaching history to your students. Before you can make informed decisions about what curricula to use, you need to understand why you’re teaching history at all--and define what your student should be gaining from it. This seminar will explain what history actually is (you might be surprised!), survey different methods and approaches for teaching, and suggest appropriate goals for elementary, middle-grade, and high school students. Both are now available as MP3 downloads, along with all of our other lectures.

This is our first year using MFW, (currently half way through ECC with a 6th and 8th grader), and our first full homeschool year. After reading WTM, I'm still not sure about going out on my own for next year. Has anyone used MFW, (or anything similar) and added anything from WTM to beef it up, and/or make it more of a classical study? My 6th grader wants to use MFW again next year (Exploration to 1850), but I'm worried it won't be enough for her. Would it be more trouble than it's worth? Should I just branch out "on my own" and follow the WTM guidelines? We are currently using: Saxon/LOF math Rod & Staff English Apologia Science I plan to order Writing with Skill 1 soon and start both girls on it right away. I still need to research "The Art of Argument" and "Traditional Logic 1" as I'm not sure which to go with for each girl. Update - Have decided to drop MFW for next year. Thanks anyway.

Hey y'all, Just a quick reminder that Peace Hill Press has lowered its prices by 20% on nearly everything in the store...and we've lowered the prices on our already-discounted "School in a Box" kits by 10%. No need to enter coupon codes, etc; the prices are already cut. This sale continues through Monday at noon Eastern time. Justin at PHP

My homeschool group started a co-op four years ago, which we've been part of since then. This coming school year, I decided to make a change and try Classical Conversations (it's new to our area). I will have three children (ages 6,8,11) in Foundations and I will be an Essentials tutor (teaching my 11 year-old and 1-2 other students - it's a small group). Now it turns out that our homeschool group co-op is going in a whole new direction and will be doing Odyssey of the Mind over this next school year. I am wondering if it's realistic...or even healthy...to attempt to do both, since that would take up two mornings (plus an afternoon) each week, leaving us with only three mornings for actual homeschooling, and one of those days is Saturday (our weekend is Sun/Mon), which historically has been difficult to preserve for lessons, though I tried this past year, since it felt like we really needed four days (mornings and partway into the afternoon, then quiet time and extracurriculars). I'm hesitant because this is our first year with CC and with me being a tutor, so I don't want to take time away from what's needed to put the most in to that, but on the other hand, the co-op chose OM (Odyssey of the Mind) partly to remove the burden of teaching from the parents. I wouldn't even have to coach or assistant coach - I could just help out, so there shouldn't be any prep work or homework. My other reservation is philosophical. In a way, it seems like these two programs are diametrically opposed - sort of like conservative vs. liberal, Christian vs. secular, history vs. future, knowledge vs. creativity, wisdom vs. innovation, convention vs. technology. Or, remove the "vs." and could they could be seen as complementary? God is full of paradoxes, so maybe this is like that. And OM does use critical thinking, problem solving skills, so that could fit with logic...but in the classical model, that wouldn't happen until the middle grades, whereas OM includes grammar stage kids. And the lack of adult direction (kids come up with everything on their own) doesn't seem like it would be compatible either...unless all the kids were being taught logic as a separate course to inform their decisions. Then throw in Susan Wise Bauer's view that it's better not to join a co-op at all. Well, at least that's what was best for her family. Since we have been WTM'ers from the beginning, her opinion is worth its weight in gold. And having experienced a co-op these past three years (in fact, the only time we weren't in it was our very first semester and that was just with one child, so I really don't know any different), I can see where it can be problematic. Still, for us, I've felt that the benefits outweighed the downsides...at least until this past year, which was part of what prompted me to make the change to CC. Some others in our homeschool group are doing both, but they are generally less rigorous at home (more Charlotte Mason than WTM) and have younger children.

I've been reading the WTM for the first time since I started homeschooling and was shocked to see that I should be teaching logic. I had never known it was a subject to teach and was not taught it in my own education. Then there have been some threads on here recently about Logic. Hmmm...I need to do this, but how? Can you help me? So, I have a 6th grader and 3rd grader. Neither of which have done anything from Critical Thinking company or Fallacy detective, or any of those others I've seen mentioned, Logic Liftoff, Orbiting with Logic, etc. Where do I start? What is my goal? I understand what I read in WTM and agree with the benefits and necessities of teaching it. And my husband has agreed he'd like to teach it for me. So what do you start with at 6th grade to progress to a formal study of logic. What path would you take? What programs do you like? I was looking at Building Thinking Skills Level 2 and wondered if I should use the software or the book, or what? Or is there something better for a 6th grader? For my 3rd grader I can see following the WTM progression or something similar. What are your favorites?

Are you planning for this fall? Do you have students in 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th grades? If so, then you need this talk by Susan Wise Bauer: The Well-Prepared Student: How to Get Ready for the High-School Years Susan Wise Bauer gives clear, specific directions for helping a middle school student prepare, academically and practically, for high school. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/well-prepared-student.html In this session, learn what and how to teach your child in grades 5 through 8--before that ninth-grade year begins. How can you be sure that you’re handling the transition from elementary learning to more complicated studies properly? What do you do when your child resists? What should you do in the seventh and eighth-grade years to make sure that your student is ready for high school? Includes suggested milestones for each year and subject, as well as practical suggestions for catching up and covering material that may have been missed. MP3 Download, approximately 60 minutes It's going to be $3.99, BUT order before noon Friday, and pay only $2.99.

Which is your favorite edition of The Well-Trained Mind? I like certain parts of each one, but my favorite is the first one. I own the second edition and have the first and third ones checked out from the library right now ... just for comparison. I like how the rhetoric stage is mapped out the best in the first one. Which is your favorite and why?

Background: -Like many here, I have been intrigued with TOG since I first heard about it, not too far into our homeschooling journey which began 3.5 years ago when my oldest (then in the middle of 1st grade) requested that I homeschool her. I have spent hours reading most of the TOG threads here and just returned from the Great Homeschool Convention in Long Beach where I heard Marcia Somerville (TOG creator) speak - I went to both of her workshops and that's what renewed my interest in the curriculum. At the same time, I also thoroughly enjoyed Susan Wise Bauer's workshops, and was encouraged to continue with TWTM. -We just wrapped up our school year and our first four-year cycle of SOTW / WTM (my oldest) -My children will be entering 5th, 3rd, and 1st grades, so Upper Grammar (maybe some Dialectic) and Lower Grammar Questions: (I do know about the buffet concept and that you don't do everything, but still wondering about how to implement it in these ways) How compatible is TOG with WTM? Does it follow the same question and narration format? (I'm having trouble seeing that with the samples - I see questions only for dialectic and I see writing exercises, but I can't tell if they correlate). Does anyone use SOTW at the spine? Whether using SOTW as the spine or the TOG spine, is it helpful to use the SOTW AG questions & verbal narration followed by written or is the equivalent of that in TOG? Is it realistic to schedule TOG with math, science, grammar, spelling, Latin, Spanish, and intro to Logic? (the latter two just for my 5th grader) If so, how do you do it without taking up your whole day or getting behind in the four-year cycle? Is there art and music appreciation at the UG & LG level at all? I believe I read that it's touched on in the D level. If so, how do you schedule that in along with all of the subjects listed above? How much / what do you read aloud to your UG & LG students? Do you read anything aloud to your D students? ...As it may be obvious, I'm rather attached to the WTM way of doing SOTW, but I also had some real struggles with my oldest and narration (verbal & written), especially in our 2nd and 3rd years. I can't imagine experiencing that with my middle child, while also schooling my oldest and youngest. So I guess I'm looking for some hand holding, but also afraid of losing the benefits of the rigors of going soley with WTM/SOTW. At the same time, TOG seems like more work in some ways - less concentrated and more spread out. Any input to help me decide would be great - I don't want to inflict the three week sample on my children when we've just finished up our school year (we really need a rest period). I have a coupon that has to be used in the next two weeks, so that's part of why I want to decide soon - if I get the full year program, we can get all the instructional DVDs ($50 value) free or free shipping if we buy the print version. Can anyone comment on how helpful those DVDs are?

I am on the fence about whether to follow TOG Year 1 as written or painstakingly rearrange it to go chronologically (an option, though not the preferred one, presented in the TOG Yr 1 introduction), so that I can continue to use SOTW as our spine (even though TOG only lists it as an alternate) because I really enjoyed all 4 years of SOTW with my oldest (following WTM) and want to do it again with my younger two. The only problem is that it's not a perfect fit, as TOG doesn't always line up with SOTW, even when rearranged chronologically. Any other input on meshing Tapestry of Grace with the Well Trained Mind is also appreciated, as that's what I'm attempting to do all the way around.

Going into the logic stage, if one has followed WTM through 4th is one plenty well prepared? And -- especially if WTM provides an excellent foundation -- are there any areas of WTM you wish you'd followed more closely, or that are likely to get forgotten/skimmed? or that you found needed adapting? thanks so much in advance! ETA: also anything you'd add, or leave off ...

I'm heavily considering TOG to use with my upcoming 5th, 3rd, and 1st graders, having just finished our first four-year cycle with TWTM / SOTW but I am not sure I can justify the cost and labor for just humanities (history, geography, literature, writing) when we also want to cover the other classical subjects: math, science, grammar, handwriting/typing, spelling, Latin, Spanish, Intro to Logic (last two are for my oldest). With such a focus on one area, I'm concerned about it swallowing up the time energy that needs to be distributed among the others. And it sounds like a scheduling nightmare. In the past, we haven't formally studied writing because it happened organically with the narrations - same with geography, so I'm not sure whether we need to specialize like that. So I either need people who have successfully made the above scenario work to encourage me or I would like to find a program (or even just a scheduling tool) that is more aligned with TWTM. I considered Classical House of Literature but again, it's a lot of emphasis on one area. Maybe that's okay but I'm worried about overkill... (I also posted another thread with specific questions just about TOG http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=390173 )

Science is the one thing I'd like to do with all my kids (since it's not working out to do history together due to mature themes of SOTW 4), so I would really appreciate any input on how best to do it. To stay on the WTM cycle, I would like to do a semester of chemistry and then a semester of physics (physical science). We would have done chem this past year but I delayed it because I thought Apogolia's chem/phys book was coming out this fall, and now it turns out that it won't be until next year. I've read through many threads and checked out samples. The contenders seem to be NOEO, RS4K, Elemental Science, McHenry's Elements, and Classic Science (Mr. Q). My dilemma is that there seems to always be a divide between K-3 and 4-6. I want something that will bridge that gap...if it's out there. So I am open to other curriculum suggestions as well, Christian or secular.

I have two girls & we are new to WTM. We have our curric. up & running & is going well. I was thinking of introducing Latin for my 8 yo, using GSWL. We have only just begun to study grammar (1st language lessons book 1) so would it be a better idea to wait until she has a better grasp on English grammar? I am wondering if that is the reason Latin is introduced in G3, or if it is another reason?

Did I read somewhere that SWB was working on a new edition of TWM? Any ideas when this might be coming out (if of course I did not imagine this?):tongue_smilie:

I've been using TWTM since we abruptly began homeschooling two years ago in the middle of my oldest's first grade year. I checked it out of the library and kept it the whole semester until the newest edition of TWTM came to my mailbox. It was a Godsend and I have been pleased with using it (and tweaking it according to what fits us), but my youngest child - my only boy and the one who has the strongest personality (highly structured and outgoing) is entering K this fall, and so I'm wondering it if I should try MFW. I'm leaning toward it because I like the idea of combining both WTM style classical with CM classical (esp. since my middle child is very hands-on), and because it uses the 4th book of the SOTW, which is where we'll be in the fall, and I really want to finish that series, since it has worked well for us...also, it has supplements for my middle child (since that period in history has more mature elements), which my K'er might even participate in (he's super eager to join us). My question is...how closely does MFW correlate with WTM? Would it work to combine them? I like looking up books from the library that are in the SOTW AG, so is there any overlap between MFW books and WTM book recommendations or would I just be creating more work for myself (which would defeat my purpose in making this change)? Another reason for the change is that we've been using Apologia science instead of doing it the WTM way, but it turns out that the Young Explorers Chemistry/Physics book isn't coming out until next year (which I had been planning to use this fall for our last year of the science cycle)...and MFW makes includes a chem/phy combo for the year we're using (it's their 5th year but since we're on the WTM cycle, I'm calling it our 4th year). I'm also wanting to be savvy about spending (which means I'll probably spend eons of time I don't have looking for used options of buying everything in MFW instead of just buying their packages), so any thoughts or tips on that are also appreciated. Thanks for any input on this from WTM loyalists who have tried or currently use MFW!

My daughter 6 just finished ETC7 and has started Spelling Workout A and seems to be doing fine. But then everywhere and everyone seems to be using AAS and I dont know much about curriculum yet since its my first year and I'm just following SWB recommendations in the WTM. So since I'm new to this I'm thinking I'm missing out on something good and maybe the right way to learn spelling is to learn the rules. Is that right? should I ditch Spelling workout and switch over to AAS? Will my daughter be somehow behind or at a disadvantage if she continues with spelling workout? How come a lot of you don't follow the WTM recommendations? :confused: It seems that majority just do the SOTW, FLL and WWE but not any of her recommendations. Is it because you've been in this for so long that you just know what works and whats good and whats not? Thanks for any advice!