choirfarm Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I've been trying to post for 2 days on your thread and I can't. It gives me that cirlce sign in thing. I have only used the white board very occasionally and only on the weeks where there isn't much on a topic in their reading. Other than that this is what we do: On Monday morning I conference with the boys about what our goals/deadlines are for the week. They have Monday - thursday to finish reading, maps, timelines and questions. They put them on my bed Thursday afternoon. We have our discussion together on Friday. I try to do the socratic style and flesh out what they believe. The teaching video that TOG had was very helpful. We also tend to watch a Netflix during lunchtime. For example, the boys are watching the last part of JFK A Presidency Revealed as I write this. We just have tons of cool discussions as we go as well. Dad has pop quiz and will have discussions with them off and on. To be honest, what I like about the curriculum is that they have to grapple with the material themselves and have to be able to defend what they think and why. They will remember that much longer than if I were to sit in front of a white board and "teach" them. Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battlemaiden Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I've been trying to post for 2 days on your thread and I can't. It gives me that cirlce sign in thing. I have only used the white board very occasionally and only on the weeks where there isn't much on a topic in their reading. Other than that this is what we do: On Monday morning I conference with the boys about what our goals/deadlines are for the week. They have Monday - thursday to finish reading, maps, timelines and questions. They put them on my bed Thursday afternoon. We have our discussion together on Friday. I try to do the socratic style and flesh out what they believe. The teaching video that TOG had was very helpful. We also tend to watch a Netflix during lunchtime. For example, the boys are watching the last part of JFK A Presidency Revealed as I write this. We just have tons of cool discussions as we go as well. Dad has pop quiz and will have discussions with them off and on. To be honest, what I like about the curriculum is that they have to grapple with the material themselves and have to be able to defend what they think and why. They will remember that much longer than if I were to sit in front of a white board and "teach" them. Christine This is what we do as well, except I do the lecture on Thursday afternoons (I have younger children who need to nap and we could never discuss while the 2yo was around ;)). They have to write a short essay of my choosing after that on Thurday- if the lecture doesn't go too long, which it often does. Friday morning we do the literature discussion, and a paper if necessary. I rarely give tests and quizzes, but we reinforce a lot. We've begun doing date flashcards at dinner- WWII had so many important dates that I made it a game. Sometimes we match the called out event to the correct date card, or do it the other way around and I hold up a date card and they have to tell me the event. Cookies or chocolate chips are often involved. :D I really like TOG more and more all the time. We are in our second year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battlemaiden Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Wait, I got carried away. Yes, I do use a white board during the lecture at times. The boys like the visual. We mostly have socratic discussions, but the white board helps to write key names, dates, and people as bullet points during the lecture/discussion. Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elinor Everywhere Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Thanks very much! Ok.....I feel a bit better about what I am doing. I need to punch up our discussions - they just don't seem that great to me. It usually is more like a lecture than a discussion. Hmmm. I'm wondering if both my daughter and I are not prepared enough to have good, interesting discussions. Maybe I'm relying a little too heavily on the TN -- I don't think I have a firm enough grasp of what she is learning to be able to branch out and away from the outline. Thanks to you both for posting; it's given me some guidance and I appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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