So if you started something new after the holidays, how is it going?

[HappyGrace]

We've gone to much more math focus (as you can tell by all my posts lately :)) rather than humanities and it's been great, and dd10 is starting to feel more confident in that area. The Liping Ma book was an amazing inspiration in that area-showed me that the math *teacher* makes a huge difference! Lightbulb moment!

 

Also we were starting to feel like our days were degrading into subject after subject, and made some changes to lighten that up and do more laid back couch time instead-read/discuss, poring over the Bible, etc. together.

 

So what's up at your house? New curriculum? New schedule? How do you like it so far?

[LanaTron]

I am now working in MCT Island level (sans poetry) with my 4th grade ds, who spent last fall crying each day when I pulled out Growing With Grammar. Now, we have no tears. I can only give a tentative :hurray:, however, because I'm not so sure if he's really getting it, or just "sort of." I am afraid that if it is "sort of," he may become frustrated as we go along. Only time will tell. But he is eager to work on grammar each day, and that's a huge turn around.

 

For my 7th grade dd, I put her back in GWG (tried her on Hake 7 this year), and she is happy as a clam, usually doing grammar right after math in the morning.

 

For 8th grade ds, we dropped Discovering Mathematics. He is more relaxed now that I'm not expecting him to do two maths. And I am finding that Life of Fred Beginning Algebra is plenty challenging, although I may need to write up some more practice problems for him to get these changing mixture problems. Also, I am letting him take a grammar break until next fall. He was working in Hake 7, as a continuation from last year. At first Hake was great, and he enjoyed the challenge of it. But eventually I noticed that he was not really retaining the more challenging information well. I think the format (spiral, like Saxon math) is wrong for him.

 

We also changed scheduling. I am getting up earlier, and getting the 7th and 8th graders up earlier. I am starting their Bible and math by 8 a.m. (that's early for us), and they are usually well into their work before the younger two are finished with breakfast. That is a big help, as once all four are trying to school, it ends up feeling so chaotic for me.

Edited February 2, 2010 by LanaTron
always for clarity, it seems

[FlockOfSillies]

I've added Steps to Good Grammar to supplement Warriner's, and I'm sitting down with dd10 each day to read a two-page spread in KHE and outline it with her. I had to drop the TOG core reading, but I'm hoping we'll have more time for literature.

 

I'm also trying to start the day earlier. It's hard on scout nights.

[Closeacademy]

We started using Oak Meadow and so far I am really happy with it. The 2nd grade work is perfect for my youngest even a little challenging which is what she needed.

 

And the 5th grade stuff is starting to get interesting. I think that we will like it long term.:001_smile:

[elfinbaby]

We went LCC in January. I typically overwhelm myself with all of my "plans" and then feel like a loser b/c I can't keep up with them so we scaled way down - against my innate desire to try to do too much. We're doing great! I hit 4 subjects/day, no excuses. We're doing it! I know this doesn't sound like much but it's improvement for us. This week and last week we've been working on getting out of our pjs by 9 am:) Next week, it's going to be a chores and scheduling! I can do it, yes I can:D Then I'm going to focus on personal preparedness.

 

I don't like taking things slowly. I like to see immediate results so this is hard for me; however, I can see the difference in ds in particular. He's struggling less with math, for instance, since he's doing it consistently.

 

I was determined to take the bull by the horns this semester. Last semester we had a lot of illness w/the kids and dd had seizures that necessitated an ER visit pretty often. Instead of dropping the ball again, I hope I'm creating a system that the kids can follow even if I'm not here 100% of the time.

[Homeschooling6]

I started my two oldest with SWR and I'm still trying to get the hang of it but it's going okay. I'm going to stick with it. I don't think we are using the program 100% right though :001_huh:

[MomOfOneFunOne]

Really, we couldn't be happier! The only regret I have is how much time, how many years we struggled and cried over IEW. Brave Writer is such a Godsend. We're having a ball!

[mom31257]

We started CLE LA 1 and CLE Math 2 with my ds. It is going VERY well. He loves the timed speed drills. He is so excited to beat his record of time left out of the two minutes. I am loving that the spelling is rules instead of lists. Yesterday he was so proud of himself for spelling a word he had never seen or heard, and he did not know the meaning. It is a very thorough program. I also love that is it open and go.

 

I will be adding the CLE I Wonder reading after he finishes LU 104. I am anxious to see what it is like. My ds is doing BJU 1 reading right now and enjoys it. I own BJU reading 2nd-5th, except for needing new worktexts. My dd is doing CLE 7th reading for the first time, and I've been very impressed with it. I am afraid it is going to be a tough decision.

[2_girls_mommy]

We put away R&S math for my Ker until next year. She learned a lot from it, but it began moving too fast. So I am doing K math now on my own. I think it is more relaxed but it is at her pace, so she is actually retaining more. I have used some of the books and ideas from Core Knowledge website and then we are working through a K workbook that I had on shelf, and practicing her skills that she learned in R&S like counting to 100 and by 10s, recognizing the teen #s and # words. It is going well so far.

 

For both, we started our space studies the WTM way. I really enjoyed the planning phase and the 1st week of this. My dd7 loves science, and especially a new topic that she has never learned about. So the excitement level is still high here. Also, not something new, but she started cursive in her R&S penmanship book this semester and is feeling pretty big about now:) I think I have this semester well planned and we are moving smoothly now.

 

Of course now it is time to begin planning next year:tongue_smilie:

[Hockey Mom]

This week I decided to teach DS7 reading myself (instead of having him watch the DVD lesson). We are also skipping handwriting a couple days of the week because honestly, his handwriting is fine and he writes enough in the other subjects.

 

I added the Greek Alphabet Code Cracker last week, and both of my boys LOVE it.

 

We do the Heritage Studies 1 together, and I add the enrichment activities to make it more enjoyable. So far, it's working out. The video lesson by itself is incredibly boring.

[Moniksca]

We started N'allenart L'art de lire 1, 2 weeks ago and we love it so far.

We are also going to try to do more hands on science stuff so I'm looking into purchasing some science kits for my ds, just trying to keep things fun.

[mom31257]

I have been meaning to establish a poetry time every week, but have not actually done it. We had poetry reading time with hot chocolate. We have memorized a few poems this year, but not done much reading of poetry. I had read somewhere about someone doing it over tea time, but my ds does not like tea at all.

 

The kids really enjoyed it. They both wanted to have turns to read them as well. Some we discussed, but most we just read and enjoyed.

[Punks in Ontario]

We started Ken Ham's study of Pilgrim's Progress. I love it and the guys seem to like it, too.

 

Shortly before Christmas, we also started CLE LA with the older guys. They don't love it, but I can see a definite improvement.

[MissKNG]

We started a Peter Rabbit lap book and though my big girl loves the Peter Rabbit story, she isn't too keen on the lap booking part! This will probably be our last lap book for a while.

 

We also finished Singapore EB and she has been working in the Reader Rabbit math book....she totally loves it!! She does an average of 10 pages or so a sitting! It's over half done and should be completed this month - she is working on completing the certificate in the back!

[happyhomemaker25]

LOL, we were starting a lot of new stuff after the holidays. Then I found out I was pregnant after nine years of waiting. It's high risk so I have had MANY Drs appts.

All that to say, we have completed one full day of school in the past month. So I have no idea how the new stuff is/will work out. :glare::tongue_smilie:

[Halcyon]

about a week ago, we switched gears COMPLETELY, going from 2.5 years of k12 independent which we followed pretty closely to...well.....our own mix :) We also changed up how we schedule/plan our day--rather than creating a firm plan we stick to, i write out what we've accomplished each day and 'tweak' it throughout the week so I can be sure we've covered what we need to.

 

 

We are using less worksheets, more talking.

 

 

We are using a kitchen timer and I am setting it for, say, 40 min for Math, 15 for Grammar etc. Before, DS had to finish whatever I'd set before him, even if it took him longer. It caused frustration and tears, and in the last few weeks it had gotten worse, so this was the catalyst for a big evaluation.

 

We have a special keyring system for my son that has velcro-ed squares with what he needs to do each day (writing, reading, etc). Whenever he completes a subject, he moves the velcro-ed square to a "completed" sheet that is stuck on his wall. Sorta like workboxes (we use files though) but not exactly. Too hard to explain here, but it empowers him and he loves it.

 

And of course, we have switched curriculum. We are keeping k12 science and art for now, and using the spelling lists. But for just about every other subject we've switched. See my siggie to see what we're doing now.

 

He loves math again because it's "easy"--singapore has fewer problems, and he loves the MEP worksheets we do as supplementation. He loves vocab because we're doing it online. He loves history because there's less writing. He enjoys logic because it makes him think. And so far, WWE2 is proving to be a much better fit than k12 Language Arts. k12 lessons we long, lots of sheets, lots of writing--we were SWIMMING in worksheets. All a bit overwhelming. I do love their LA, it's just too much.

 

So overall, I would have to say we are, right now, a VERY VERY happy homeschooling family.

 

:D

Edited February 2, 2010 by Halcyon

[Guest Cindie2dds]

We started using Oak Meadow and so far I am really happy with it. The 2nd grade work is perfect for my youngest even a little challenging which is what she needed.

 

And the 5th grade stuff is starting to get interesting. I think that we will like it long term.:001_smile:

 

This is so good to hear. This is our first year with OM and we are really enjoying it. I hope to use it for the long term also.

[LittleIzumi]

MFW K--Bombed :tongue_smilie:. Not bad but we are not prepackaged all-in-one curricula people, lol.

 

MUS--Still waiting for the student books but dd asks to play with the blocks and watch the DVDs already.

 

AAS--Started 2 days ago, already in love. :D Dd chose doing more AAS over a DVD today!

 

Will be starting NOEO in a week or two.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

MFW K--Bombed :tongue_smilie:. Not bad but we are not prepackaged all-in-one curricula people, lol.

 

 

:lol:

 

Same thing happened to me with WP.... it lasted less than two weeks. I realize I tweak, that's who I am. ;)

[Laura W.]

We switched several things this month.

 

Three of my children (dd6, ds6, ds8) are using Explode the Code books. They are exactly what those children need right now.

 

My dd9 just started CLE LA 3 and Reading 3. She's still adjusting to the new curriculum, but I am really impressed with it. I want to use CLE with ds8 next fall.

 

My oldest began Lightning Lit 7 and Jump In. Those programs are a good fit for her. She also began Life of Fred, and right now she loves it.

 

I'm waiting for our Teaching Textbooks programs to arrive. My 3 oldest will be using them.

 

Overall, I'm very happy with how things are working out.

 

Blessings,

 

Laura

[Cami in UT]

After a horrid day in January with ds9. I have read and realized that even though I think CM might work a little better for him, I can't wrap my head around it. I'm too much of a WTMer. :lol: So I have starting making sure no lesson for him is longer than 30 minutes. Also, after debating for 2 1/2 years I finally made the switch for him to MUS. It came yesterday, so we shall see if it works for him. We are trying a week (or maybe two, we will see how this week goes) of TOG. And to spice up life a little, ds3 is potty training this week.