lea1 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I had never heard of Robinson before yesterday but spent a lot of time on their site reading last night and today. I'm curious if anyone is using a hybrid of Robinson's method for math along with the majority of the WTM philosophy? If so, how is that working out for you? Would I need to purchase Robinson in order to be able to understand and use their method for math? (mostly about how to get a younger child from manipulatives and flashcards to the full 2 hours a day. Also, I read somewhere that there are a number of things you would need to make sure to cover before starting Saxon 4/5, such as money, time and there were a number of others. I would be concerned I might miss something. And, lastly, is anyone using it with a math program other than Saxon? Just curious because I was planning to use Singapore but have heard they are not known for having many practice problems and that is what Robinson recommends. I would plan to use Singapore's Intensive Practice and Challenging Word Problems so that might help. However, I also wonder if Singapore provides enough step by step information for a child to self-teach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 The man is a loon, pay him no heed. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Bill, you rarely let me down. :rofl: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 My boys did well following his advice to spend more time learning math to prepare for science, rather than completing science textbooks. I didn't purchase the CDs though. I think there is a lot of overlap in SOW, Robinson and LCC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 The man is a loon, pay him no heed. Bill :lol: I just choked on my own spit! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooblink Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 You don't have to purchase the CDs to adopt the "method." There's really no magic to his approach to math - he simply skips Saxon 1-3 and suggests starting your 7 year-old on Saxon 5/4. If you run into a gap like money or time, then just spend a little more time on it - you don't need a curriculum to teach those things. For my 12 year-old, the self-directed model works very well. For my 10 year-old...not so much. I still sit with him and we do math together every day. He will not (nor do I see the need) do 2 hours of math. My 12 year-old does 1 lesson per day and I see no need to advance him to Calculus by age 14, unless he desires that path. As for science, we have, in effect, adopted the Robinson method. We read about and explore science conceptually, but don't do formal course work and don't plan to do formal science until high-school. I like the WTM idea of keeping a science notebook, and we've recently started them, but I try to keep science "delight driven" and, if it gets to be drudgery, we'll scrap the notebooks and fall back to reading, videos and fun experiments. I like them to explore the world and question whys and hows, but I don't want to label it "Science Class" and kill their enthusiasm. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea1 Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Thanks everyone, I appreciate the responses. I have not read enough of what he wrote to know if he is "a loon" or not:). Regardless, I think he has some good points to ponder regarding his approach to math and science. There are many with whom I don't agree with about everything but it is good to be able to pick and choose from those bits where one does agree. I like the idea of spending more time on math and having high expectations of ones children in this regards. I think teaching them addition, subtraction, multiplication and division at an early age and having them memorize the facts very well is a good thing. I don't know enough about Saxon to know if I would take that approach yet. I also think allowing them to work more independently could be very beneficial, although that may depend on the child. I believe one of my sons would probably relish in doing it on his own, with very little help/input from me. I'm not sure about my other son. I think if they are capable of doing this it would be very beneficial. Gooblink, I like your approach to science and will likely follow something similar. Thanks for the input. I don't think I need to buy their product in order to do what I want to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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