Love2Smile Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 For a 6th grader? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 For a 6th grader? Oak Meadow's grade 6 curriculum (which I just received!) is quite hands-on, but it is also somewhat writing intensive. Sorry, I don't have more to offer, but I haven't tried much else for middle grades. Have you considered just adding in some hands-on along with studies? There are lots of great project/craft books for various eras in history, and there are dozens upon dozens of good science experiments books out there, many divided by topic, that could be coordinated with anything you should choose to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Oak Meadow Laurel Springs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Konos It's a unit study approach. It comes in three volumes. Each volume covers certain character traits which are developed through the study of various topics. Nearly all subjects are covered through those topics, except math and phonics. It is basically a list of vocabulary, suggested reading, activities, writing suggestions, etc. with minimum directions. You pick and choose which books (or sub library books of your choice) and activities you want to do and make it happen. It is also very teacher intensive which is why I abandoned it. I'm just not organized enough. I can tell you that my kids loved what we did when using it. Here's an example: Attentiveness Unit covers composers/music/orchestra, birds, Native Indians, ears/sound, eyes/sight, and early explorers (ie. Lewis and Clark). We listened to music and made our own craft instruments to practice tempo, pitch, etc. We learned about ears and their structures by creating a crawl-though ear and labeling a corresponding diagram. We experimented with sound waves by stretching syran wrap over a bowl, putting rice on it, and watching what happened when we placed it in front of the speaker. We experimented with turning the volume up and down and the base up and down. We also learned about deafness, Alexander Graham Bell, and Helen Keller. For sight, we read about eyes, eye diseases, and their structure. We were suppose to dissect cow eyes but I didn't get around to finding them. We also experimented with being blindfolded and made notes to each other using braille (punching cardstock to make bumps). We also leared about Louis Braille. For Lewis and Clark, we read about them, saw an IMAX movie about them and mapped their route on a salt dough map. It's a lot of work, a lot of organizing, a lot of supplies to track down...but the kids loved it. Because I'm not an organized person, we didn't cover as much as I would have hoped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 Oak Meadow's grade 6 curriculum (which I just received!) is quite hands-on, but it is also somewhat writing intensive. Sorry, I don't have more to offer, but I haven't tried much else for middle grades. Have you considered just adding in some hands-on along with studies? There are lots of great project/craft books for various eras in history, and there are dozens upon dozens of good science experiments books out there, many divided by topic, that could be coordinated with anything you should choose to use. Writing is GOOD! Can you tell me more about the 6th grade curriculum? Do they have grammar, spelling etc...? What about history? I have our own math I'll check out KONOS too Laurel Springs is too much money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Heart of Dakota's newest guide. Great balance of hands on and writing and building independence. Awesome and solid program great for a hands-on lover! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 (edited) Writing is GOOD! Can you tell me more about the 6th grade curriculum?Do they have grammar, spelling etc...? What about history? I have our own math I'll check out KONOS too Laurel Springs is too much money 6th grade is Ancient Civilizations (actually goes through Medievel/Renaissance as well). Language Arts is incorporated into the History syllabus (which is actually 2 books) as part of each week's lesson. Lessons are laid out by week (although in gr. 6 it does say "Day 1, Day 2, etc.") Grammar is incorporated into the History writing assignments. There is also an English Manual in the back of the 2nd book of the History syllabus. For spelling, they ask you to pull words from your studies. They also give vocabulary words, so you could use those for spelling if you wanted. There are more vocab and definitions in the Teacher's Manual. The TM, however, is not necessary to the program. I got it, but had not used an OM TM before. It is nice if you want some guidance on how to evaluate some of the assignments, and it does give suggested answers to the test questions at the end of each Science lesson. Science is Basic Life Science and is a separate syllabus. It is laid out one lessons per week (no division of "Day 1, Day 2 etc.). There are test questions at the end of each lesson -- usually 4-8 questions, no multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank though. This is not a workbook or activity sheet type of program. At. All. No circling this or that. No multiple choice questions. No fill-in-the-blank. Everything is explored through reading (and further reading), researching topics on your own, writing, observation, and hands-on activities. We don't use OM Math, so I have no input for you there. You can buy the whole thing (with Math), or you can buy the parts separately. There is a craft kit available. I did get the craft kit, but only because I do not have a place to go shop for some of the more unusual supplies (like a marbling kit, calligraphy kit, & parchment paper). YMMV, and I would suggest looking locally for craft supplies if you can. Edited May 20, 2009 by Audrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tami Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 I am using Ancient Civilizations and the Bible from Diana Waring next fall. It is a very hands-on, right-brained-friendly, adhd-friendly curriculum that is challenging enough for middle school and up. I love the looks of it! Blessings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashkraw Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Have you looked at " In the Hands of a Child". this can be adapted to all age levels. What about Winter Promise. This seems to be very hands on and family interactive. Monica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amandajh Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Winter Promise:iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 winter promise = too much $$$$$$$$$:ack2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 Konos It is also very teacher intensive which is why I abandoned it. I'm just not organized enough. I can tell you that my kids loved what we did when using it. thats why I wont even look at KONOS...I have read bad reviews about it and how difficult it is and I am a new homeschooler, that wont work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 I am using Ancient Civilizations and the Bible from Diana Waring next fall. It is a very hands-on, right-brained-friendly, adhd-friendly curriculum that is challenging enough for middle school and up. I love the looks of it! Blessings. Too Biblical! LOL I am picky huh? I am looking at Oak Meadow and Learning Adventures right now, but i'll probably stick with Sonlight because it's what im familiar with:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen+4dc Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 which I use and have loved, you can always add in lapbooks and such from www.handsofachild.com/shop/ They have books for just about everything: from grammar to history to music/art appreciation. They are not terribly expensive and there's not a lot of materials to gather. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 which I use and have loved, you can always add in lapbooks and such from www.handsofachild.com/shop/ They have books for just about everything: from grammar to history to music/art appreciation. They are not terribly expensive and there's not a lot of materials to gather. HTH Thanks for this! Looks awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 btw...what is "science living books" i see you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tami Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 We used KONOS our first few years of homeschooling, and it's not teacher intensive at all. It's very easy on mom, if you use it as designed with Discovery Learning. For every "bad" review, there are many happy KONOS users that you're not hearing from cuz they're happy, kwim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Wait..SL is religious,too. I third Oak ?Meadow. Loving it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakblossoms Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I'm always confused about KONOS being teacher intensive. It's no more than me using SOTW. Once a month or week I would get on the library catalog. I used the KONOS list of books and would start searching and cross searching for TONS of books. I would pick the easiest projects and do maybe one or two. I hardly ever bought anything. I'm too cheap. When we learned about tracking we used old stuffed animals. We tore them apart and turned them into trapper hats. Such a blast and silly. I used KONOS open and go. I just let the boys pick which character trait looked the best. They remember quite a lot from those days. Volume 2 or 3 are on my wishlist. I can't afford anything right now, but I would gladly give them a loving home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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