Jump to content

Menu

CW dropout...what now?


partyof5
 Share

Recommended Posts

Here's the story: We have had Aesop & Homer going on here. I love it. I don't mind the prep, the teaching, the "work" of it, and I can't say the results are bad, BUT we just don't have time for all of this. It was good last year, but his year it's not getting done with our new schedule.

 

My dd12 doesn't love Homer and it was SO time consuming for her. I could skip parts, but I feel that for what we're actually getting through, I could likely get similar results with a simpler program. Meanwhile, her history readings aren't "sticking" and I have been trying to figure out what we're really missing here. I *think* that dropping CW will solve both these problems.

 

My dd9 is in Aesop and hates it. She finds it boring to constantly retell fables and I can't say that I love Aesop now either after about a year of it. Boring.

 

Meanwhile dd6 is doing FLL & WWE and I LOVE it. We are new to WWE (she's the first in our family to benefit from this book) and being back in an SWB program made me wonder what I was thinking with all this CW stuff...what I mean is, have I made writing too complicated, too time-consuming, and too burdensome for us all? So I pulled my book off the shelf again and re-read some parts, and I got the 2009 edition from the library to compare & make sure I'm not missing anything.

 

The plan now (I think!): Drop all CW. Go back to WTM recs for outlining in history & science, with related writing in those subjects. This plan for outlining would also probably solve dd12's problems with history retention I suspect. We would also add in literary writing (analysis) which I have accidentally gotten away from. Meanwhile dd9 would have more freedom to have more varied writing assignments on content-area topics which I know she would prefer to Aesop. I might even pull out my dusty Writing Strands books and fill in some gaps on the kinds of writing I feel we've gotten away from with the CW approach.

 

I know TWTM book is not the only valid recommendation for homeschooling plans but honestly, it resonated with me so much in year 1 that I'm not sure why I meandered away! UGH! Anyone else come to this conclusion?

 

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. Should I be listening to the SWB audio lectures on writing?

 

Thanks for any input!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've been following TWTM's method for around 18 months now. I've found that, for the most part, SWB's recommendations for all subjects are sound, thorough programs. The few programs which didn't work for us were probably just not the best fit for the way I teach or the way my dc learn, but in the main TWTM is one of my first ports of call if I need curriculum and "how-to" advice.

 

I haven't listened to any of SWB's lectures but I would imagine they are very informative (actually now I'm thinking I will go and listen to them!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly I wouldn't drop Homer for your student who likes it. I don't think Diogenes is as time intensive, but I could be wrong there. Hopefully Heather and a few others who have actually done it will come by and comment. My oldest only has 12 weeks of Homer B/Poetry B left. (Not that you need to know that I just feel the need to share. :D )

 

For your younger student, why not? You could change your mind and do OB later, which sounds like it would be a better fit for this child anyway, but they are a little young to go there now.

 

For your oldest and reading comprehension. Have you tested their reading and comprehension level? DIBELS is great for that. Here is a post where I link DIABELS and the free log in page.

 

Next does this child see pictures in their mind? Often children who either lack that ability or have not developed it for factual information, only for stories, will have problems with comprehension. Most of the people who have great comprehension also have great visualization skills. Both Visualizing and Verbalizing and Ideal Chain work on developing that ability.

 

My oldest has a horrible time with fine details, but does great with the big picture, and outlining does her no good, because she is an audio learner. She does much better if I have her read it aloud to herself and then she writes a story incorporating the concepts to help her remember them. She does a lot better that way but I still plan to work on visualization with her.

 

Heather

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the responses. Lots to think about...We would be just starting Homer B if I were to pick it up now. I'm just not convinced that all the detailed analysis is really worth all the time it takes. If I had all the time in the world, I'd be inclined to push through but it was taking us nearly 2 weeks to finish one "week" in Homer A, and not becuase she's not a capable writer...just that the analysis, scenes, etc seemed to not change the resulting piece of writing. And I felt we were only doing one kind of writing, over & over again with only slight variations.

 

I'm not sure I can do more of that right now. I'm not ready to sell it all yet and I did buy Diogenes already in hopes of getting there one day.

 

Regarding reading comprehension, what I've found is that her TOG readings are getting "done" but when we do the discussion questions it's all gone. Even if I have her write out some answers with resources in front of her, it's just a search & find mission which is tedious. My conclusion right now based on our conversations about this is that she's unfocused in her reading time, just kind of zoning out, and therefore not really engaging with the material. I was thinking that outlining would require more engagement while reading and would make discussion time actually productive.

 

I'm going to check out that link though...I feel good about her reading level & comprehension ability based on the literature she can tackle well (and talk about). It's the history that's getting us stuck.

 

Anyway, thank you so much for your input! I see you posting a lot on here about CW, RS math (which we adore!) and TOG which is another favorite of mine and you seem to do them all so well. Wish I could figure out how to balance 3 kids and their mom-intensive writing programs. I have to have some subjects be a little more independent for the oldest right now so that there is enough of me to go around.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Regarding reading comprehension, what I've found is that her TOG readings are getting "done" but when we do the discussion questions it's all gone. Even if I have her write out some answers with resources in front of her, it's just a search & find mission which is tedious. My conclusion right now based on our conversations about this is that she's unfocused in her reading time, just kind of zoning out, and therefore not really engaging with the material. I was thinking that outlining would require more engagement while reading and would make discussion time actually productive.

 

I'm going to check out that link though...I feel good about her reading level & comprehension ability based on the literature she can tackle well (and talk about). It's the history that's getting us stuck.

 

Anyway, thank you so much for your input! I see you posting a lot on here about CW, RS math (which we adore!) and TOG which is another favorite of mine and you seem to do them all so well. Wish I could figure out how to balance 3 kids and their mom-intensive writing programs. I have to have some subjects be a little more independent for the oldest right now so that there is enough of me to go around.

Given she is 11 it could be developmental, especially if she isn't into history to begin with and doubly so if you are talking about the discussion questions which expect the kids to make logical leaps. That ability develops around 5th grade, but I know of kids who don't develop it till 9th (though usually those have LD's or are boys).

 

If the readings are flirting with the upper end of her reading level it might also be taking too much energy for her just to read the book for her to remember content. I know my oldest tests the best in comprehension, but this year I had her cover a few D level books, and they tended to overwhelm her. She didn't do that great at the discussions either. Though like I said earlier she is a big idea gal and struggles with the details anyway. But she is 7th grade, almost 13 and loves history and still struggles with the D level logic questions.

 

Heather

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...