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Anyone care to review Trailguide to Learning POE yet?


5LittleMonkeys
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Guest aquiverfull

We were using POE this year. We just finished the Jamestown unit and started the Pilgrim unit. I'm not going to be doing POE strictly anymore because I've decided to go at it more on my own. I've decided it just moves too slow for us. I'm using it with a 6th grader though, so I might feel differently if I were using it with younger children.

 

I've used quite a bit out there for history...WP, SL, BJU, BF, tried MFW ECC. Out of all of those I like POE the most. I love the copywork and dictation. The notebooking pages are nice. The Wildlife Guide and the built in geography in the program are awesome!! We have enjoyed all of the readers so far.

 

The biggest reason I do not want to continue with Trail Guide is because the guides are not strictly in chronological order and that really bugs me. I'm going to include the approximate dates of these events so you can see what I mean. For instance, in POE you cover: Columbus (1492), Jamestown (1607), Pilgrims(1620), Daniel Boone(1775), Lewis and Clark(1804) and Moving West(1820s). In the next guide POS, you cover: Colonial America (1600s-late 1700s), Revolutionary War (1775), The War of 1812, The Civil War (1861-1865), and Gold Rush(1849) and Moving west again from what I can tell. So it's more of a unit study I guess and that's not exactly what I was expecting.

 

Overall I think it is a great curriculum. It's put together and flows very nicely within the guide. All of the subjects are integrated and my dd has learned and RETAINED a ton! It's just that she is getting close to high school and I'm starting to panic. I'm ready to move out of American and get the other time periods covered. If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

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Thanks Kelli, for that review!

 

I do have a few specific questions...

 

What type of time commitment did this require each day?

 

I know the website said that it included LA, but did you find the LA to be enough or did you supplement with something else? If you left the LA out would it detract from the program?

 

What other subjects did you feel you needed to add in order to make this 'complete'?

 

How many of the book selections would be able to be read independently by a 3rd or 4th grader?

 

I know it has suggestions for stretching this out to be academically suitable for a 6th grader but what about a 7th grader who is a bit behind in reading?

 

Also, were there lots of hands on activities included?

I was thinking that if there weren't, supplementing it with the New World Explorers and Colonial Life from Homeschool in the Woods might be a good fit even if doing that were to spread the program out over 3 semesters. (Just thinking out loud there.)

 

I think that's all the questions I have for now. Thanks again!

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Guest aquiverfull
Thanks Kelli, for that review!

 

I do have a few specific questions...

 

What type of time commitment did this require each day?

 

I'm sorry, I never really timed it. I'm horrible at keeping up with time when we do school. However, I do know that it took a large portion of our day. Hmmm.. there are some days that are very full, others not so much. I'm thinking it takes about 2 1/2 -3 hours, some days a little more, some maybe a little less.

 

I know the website said that it included LA, but did you find the LA to be enough or did you supplement with something else? If you left the LA out would it detract from the program?

 

What other subjects did you feel you needed to add in order to make this 'complete'?

It includes LA, but I didn't find it to really be enough. My dd is using Phonics Road at an accelerated pace so we are getting LAs from that too. If I were only using POE I think I would definitely substitute LAs. Now this may very well be a matter of personal opinion though. Here are the things included in LAs: There is the copywork/and or dictation that is done daily. Then there are spelling words, sometimes word study-where the student has to define words (these generally come from the readers), then the student uses a dictionary to compare their definition with the actual definition. Some grammar is included but it's not that often. There are also writing assignments a few times a week.

 

As far as other subjects to supplement, I personally feel that the Science is light for a 6th grader. It would be fine for younger students. That's the problem though, if you start having to do a lot of supplementing you are going to be adding even more time. The way the LAs, Science, Art and Geography are integrated is the beauty of the program. Everything is so nicely coordinated. It all has meaning, which makes it very hard to leave out. (for me anyway)

 

How many of the book selections would be able to be read independently by a 3rd or 4th grader?

There are two readers used in each unit. One is meant for the student to read aloud to the parent. The second is meant to be read aloud by the parent. It is not much reading each day... in fact we started adding books because we wanted more reading. All POE will have you do is read 1/2 a chapter a day for the read aloud, and around 1 chapter for the student reader. Now this may pick up in the last units. I know there are more than 2 books assigned in the next guide. There are narration and discussion questions assigned for the read aloud book. If you have a strong reader, I suppose you could have your child read both instead of you reading aloud.

 

I know it has suggestions for stretching this out to be academically suitable for a 6th grader but what about a 7th grader who is a bit behind in reading?

There are enrichment activities listed on the 5th day. These are for older students to dig deeper. Also they have several assignments for extra research at the library or on the internet during the regular lessons. They also sell a Middle School Supplement (MSS) that has more to beef up for older children. I bought the Columbus MSS but we didn't end up using it much.

 

Also, were there lots of hands on activities included?

I was thinking that if there weren't, supplementing it with the New World Explorers and Colonial Life from Homeschool in the Woods might be a good fit even if doing that were to spread the program out over 3 semesters. (Just thinking out loud there.)

There is a lot of drawing in POE. There are almost no hands on activities, only a handful. So if you and your children like Hands-on you will want to add activities in.

 

I think that's all the questions I have for now. Thanks again!

You're very welcome! :001_smile:
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We are using it this year and I really love it. I revamped my younger two kids' plans so that I can use it for the next six+ years. :)

 

This year I am using it with a 1st and 5th grader along with a tag-along 7th grader that refuses to be left out of anything fun. The first unit was probably best suited to her, of all my kids, so I couldn't leave her out. :001_rolleyes: I've found it too difficult to include my ds5 (pre-K.) He will be folded in when he is in 2nd grade and we begin the world history series.

 

It takes my 1st grader about 1 hour per day using the easiest level, my 5th grader 2-3 hours using some of the third level and some of the middle school supplement and my 7th grader 2 hours using the middle school supplement (but only because I refuse to give her any more time, she sometimes does more work in her free time.)

 

Things I've added:

 

1st grader - CW Primers for additional language arts (considering using the CW program throughout the years for additional language arts) Keepers of the Night for a bit more nature study (again will likely add a Keeper book each year for more science.)

 

5th grader - added the middle school supplement. So 1st grader reads aloud the easiest book to all, older two girls take turns reading aloud the book marked as a read aloud to all and then there is a chapter a day from a third book listed in the middle school supplement that the older girls each read to themselves.

 

Added MCT grammar (and Latin) for additional language arts, the Keepers of the Night for more science and for additional history reading the Hakim series History of US and the G. Foster series (Columbus and Sons, World of Captain John Smith.) These readings assigned to her before I decided to use the POE program and since they fit and dd enjoys reading - I've just matched them up for additional exposure.

 

7th grader - basically does everything planned for her at the beginning of the year just added this program at her request :D So she has additional language arts, history and science

 

As a note - the TC Early American History lectures match up quite well to the POE program with both ending in the same time period. Usually all three girls will watch the TC dvds while only the eldest does the additional readings and worksheets.

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1st grader - CW Primers for additional language arts (considering using the CW program throughout the years for additional language arts) Keepers of the Night for a bit more nature study (again will likely add a Keeper book each year for more science.) Speaking of writing...how have you found the writing assignments in the middle school supplements? Challenging, average, or non-existent?

 

5th grader - added the middle school supplement. So 1st grader reads aloud the easiest book to all, older two girls take turns reading aloud the book marked as a read aloud to all and then there is a chapter a day from a third book listed in the middle school supplement that the older girls each read to themselves.

 

Added MCT grammar (and Latin) for additional language arts, the Keepers of the Night for more science and for additional history reading the Hakim series History of US and the G. Foster series (Columbus and Sons, World of Captain John Smith.) These readings assigned to her before I decided to use the POE program and since they fit and dd enjoys reading - I've just matched them up for additional exposure. So, I'm assuming that the middle school supplements still don't offer enough grammar? I know Ruth Beechick likes to hold off on grammar but wondered if it would be more prevalent in the middle years. I wonder if the Paths of Settlement and Paths of Progress will include more grammar and writing instruction? (Just thinking out loud there.)

 

As a note - the TC Early American History lectures match up quite well to the POE program with both ending in the same time period. Usually all three girls will watch the TC dvds while only the eldest does the additional readings and worksheets. Is this 'Teaching Company' you are referring to?

 

Thank you for typing out all of the additions you make. It sounds like it is flexible in customizing to each child. I would want to add in more hands on activities in place of the additional reading you have added but I can see from your example that we would have no trouble fitting them in.

 

As I mentioned above, this may be our fall back (next year for my 3rd and 7th) if our interest led endeavors don't last. I really like the idea of trying out something that has all subjects tied to one another and the flow from one subject to the next is seamless. My concern, I think, is that it won't be nearly as all in one as I would feel comfortable with, especially in LA. Ofcoarse, I too will be using CW so I'm sure that would fulfill my need for more LA. Hmmm...I'm finding it hard to find a reason why this wouldn't work for us.

 

Thanks for your input Melissa, and thank you Kelli for answering my specific questions. :D

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Keepers of the Night for a bit more nature study (again will likely add a Keeper book each year for more science.)

ram and since they fit and dd enjoys reading - I've just matched them up for additional exposure.

 

As a note - the TC Early American History lectures match up quite well to the POE program with both ending in the same time period. Usually all three girls will watch the TC dvds while only the eldest does the additional readings and worksheets.

 

Can you share more about Keepers of the night? I've never heard of it and wouldn't have guessed from Amazon that it would be something for nature study, at least not the one I just looked at. And TC? We have POE and haven't really begun adding it to what we were already doing with American History using BF and TQ.

 

Thanks!

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Just thinking ahead for curriculum next year... and I've been wondering about POE.

 

We've already read a few of the books in Volume 1. Could you skip it and start with Volume 2? Or does POE build upon itself in such a way that would not allow you to do this?

 

You would have no problem with the first two units, but the last unit does a review each day in place of Science/Geography so you wouldn't be able to do some of the review of the first three lessons (or weeks.) We are planning to do a couple of bigger enrichment projects during the last unit since its focus is primarily language arts and review.

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Aime,

 

Sorry, I don't know how to quote a quote. In answer to your questions:

 

There are lots of writing assignments in the middle school supplement - enough that we don't do them all. I think they are grade appropriate. Many of the assignments are additional research on a subject already being studied. There was a report on a country being studied and a report on an animal being studied. My favorite are the compare/contrast assignments. They are open enough that a student can work at his/her ability. In the first unit there was an assignment to read a short biography on Leif Erikson or his father and then to write a compare/contrast paper between him and Columbus. A more experienced writer could write a compare/contrast between Leif, Columbus and the main character in Carry on, Mr. Bowditch (the middle school assigned book.) There was some instruction on making a Venn diagram and suggestions on how to organize the paper.

 

Following the CM way, there is not much grammar and what is there is studied as it is come across in the readings. There is daily dictation. For the middle school student it is 2-3 paragraphs daily from the middle school reader. The student is expected to keep a personal spelling log. Each week the student adds spelling rules. (The nice thing about the assigned dictations is that they will have words that match the weekly spelling rule.) The student is expected to also determine rules for other words that are frequently misspelled and there is a large emphasis on word study.

 

I noticed in unit four (the regular book - not the middle school supplement) expository writing is introduced and covered quite a bit. So, maybe if you used the books at the ideal age you really wouldn't need any supplements at all - certainly not if you were a strict CM follower. I prefer having a writing curriculum with an outline of how to write and then I can take the writing assignments in the book and have the student write them using the outline learned in his/her writing curriculum. I do feel that CW and Trail Guide to Learning used together is plenty.

 

Yes, TC is teaching company. I already had the DVDs and my dd12 was already planning to work through them this year for American history. They are listed as high school level - but I would question that. They are more middle school level and the lecturer dresses up in costume and uses fake accents to keep the students' attention. It works better for some students than others. :)

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Can you share more about Keepers of the night? I've never heard of it and wouldn't have guessed from Amazon that it would be something for nature study, at least not the one I just looked at. And TC? We have POE and haven't really begun adding it to what we were already doing with American History using BF and TQ.

 

Thanks!

 

Keepers of the Night written by Bruchac (who incidently wrote the Pocahontas book used in the middle school supplement of Jamestown) is part of a series that covers nature study for students at all ages. Each chapter begins with a Native American story followed by several pages of information on the topic studied and discussion questions on the topic. Then there are many activities related to a theme. For Keepers of the Night the main themes are night animals, night plants, astronomy, camping and developing relationships with the land (the standard ending unit in all the books.) I felt this book tied in best with POE because the focus so far has been astronomy/navigation and animals. Things we have done or plan to do from the book - constellation map using beans, model solar system, night frog hunt, moth experiment, building a campfire, campfire cooking, lots of night walks looking for different things.

 

I think the books are great. They are interesting and have a nice balance with stories, factual information and activities for children of every age.

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It's been about 4 months since I've seen any talk about this and was wondering if anyone has used in long enough to give their impression about it. I'm keeping my eye on it in case our interest\project learning doesn't work out long term. TIA!

 

 

My ds loves unit studies and I wanted to study american history. I thought this would be a perfect fit for us. My ds hates all the drawing and and copywork. He thought there were not enough books. We ended up reading 4 extra books on CC. He really likes the program, but we have already done the earth and life science so it is mostly for review.

 

We are 1/2 way through Jamestown and took a break. I found 3 chapter books on Jamestown from the Dear America series. We are going to finish those along with the POE recommended books. I think we are going to take a break from the rest of it.

 

It is a good program, but it is just not for our family. :(

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  • 1 month later...

I have enjoyed reading this thread. We love Trailguide. We use a lot more than Trailguide though and the certified teacher in me tends to do too much. We use POE for American History and SOTW for World History. For English, we use Shurley (ammended), for Math it is MUS, for Spelling Phonetic Zoo (though I don't recommend it). Science is Apologia. For Art, Nature Study, and Music we use a Charlotte Mason approach. Hope this helps...would love to read others' opinions.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We got through 2 units of POE and had to stop, but only because my oldest went to school so I had to revamp things for the little ones. She is home again now, but I didn't want to upset their apple cart again, so we will pick it up where we left off last year.

 

All in all, I think it is a wonderful curriculum! Everything flows smoothly and the kids retained a ton. I also agree with whoever said that if you are using it at the appropriate ages, I don't think it requires supplementation. I added some phonics for my little one, but she was only in second and still needed that work. The only thing we will probably add next year is Apologia science. My oldest started one of the books in school and LOVES it, and the science was our least favorite part of POE. Most of it was fine, but one of the books, the Handbook of Nature Study, we found hard to read. The style of Apologia fits us much better:)

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

I've been reading every thread I can find about this curriculum. I am curious if anyone has completed an entire year of POE at this point, or has even stuck with it POE to POS and has completed 2 years.

 

It seems like most reviews I've seen are that people are so excited to get started and then fizzle out after 2-3 units.

 

:bigear::bigear::bigear:

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We are finishing up the POE from Trailguide to Learning. I have found that it gives the students a deep understanding of the people and the time period they are studying. At times my son and daughter have felt bogged down with it, but enjoy it overall. Considering all of the things that are integrated, it accomplishes many things at once. As a former high school English teacher, and then head of a K-12 private school in charge of curriculum, I have looked for something like this to come along. It is interesting and engaging while integrating history, writing, vocab, and grammar (though TGL takes an informal approach to grammar). We will continue next year with POS. There are things I would change about it, but by and large think it is an excellent choice. I hope this helps.

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  • 2 years later...

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