Koerarmoca Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 My girls will have been in a pvt Christian school for 2 years when we start schooling at home next year. I have homeschooled in the past and all but never all 3 older girls at once. I am pretty solid on what I want to do in some areas but totally clueless in other areas. They are going to be in 1st, 4th and 8th grades so combining things would be hard. for my 1st grader my plans are Math- MEP LA/Reading- FLL & FIAR Social Studies- CLE Science- I kinda just want to piggy back on things her big sisters will be doing, mostly hands on and teach briefly on life cycle, earth/space science type things. for my 4th grader Math- Saxon 6/5 (is where she tested at but I have 7/6 & 8/7 if I need to go up) LA/Reading- easy grammar? + plans to read Anne of green gables History- I plan on adding her to my 8th graders all American history Science-? for my 8th grader Math-? she is below average here did not do great on the saxon placement tests but she needs to take Alg 1 in 9th LA/Reading-? I need to prepare her to do a lot of writing also not strong in this History- All American history she does excellent in history Science- Exploring creation w/ general science she also does well in science and I plan to do Biology in 9th so wanted to start 8th with general science if I cant beef her up in math I don't see how we could go past biology and anatomy I honestly can take 5 years to do high school if I need to, she is a year ahead in school to begin with. She was super smart at 4 so we started her in Kindy a year early (my mother did the same with me) I can see with her it may of been a mistake. another bump in the road is that their isn't much $$$ we can spare for much more curriculum. dh was working 2 jobs so they could attend pvt school after we paid 2nd semester tuition for this year we decided he should quit (he was working both 1&3 shift and was basically only sleeping 4-5 hours a day so he could spend an hour or 2 a day with the kids and I he was always stressed and it wasn't worth it) We have both felt led to homeschool again so it was fitting to stop all the stress in his life and do what we feel called to do. So keeping low cost ideas in mind, can y'all help me fill in some holes here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I dont' see a lot of holes. I did notice no phonics for the 1st grader. Is she already a strong reader and has completed phonics? That is the only thing that would be necessary here that is missing. For Science: You could have the 4th grader study the general science topics with the 8th grader. Just have books at her level on the topic and a science encyclopedia. Then she can write definitions and narrations, do diagrams, and read books at her level. With the 1st grader, I think science is covered in FIAR. I haven't used it, but I have read blogs where that is what people used as their whole curric for S.S./Science in 1st. The 4th grader could tag along for these stories and studies too. I know that my upcoming 4th grader still likes picture books and maps and activities like the ones in FIAR. Reading good books for your 4th grader is good. That is what we do here, along w/written narrations on them and other subjects, and is what we will continue to do for 4th next year. Are you planning anything for spelling? That is something you might want. I can't really comment on the 8th grader, I am not there yet:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovemy4kids Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Science- I kinda just want to piggy back on things her big sisters will be doing, mostly hands on and teach briefly on life cycle, earth/space science type things. History- I plan on adding her to my 8th graders all American history Science-? Science- Exploring creation w/ general science she also does well in science and I plan to do Biology in 9th so wanted to start 8th with general science if I cant beef her up in math I don't see how we could go past biology and anatomy . Science - if she wants to do biology in 9th, I'd forgo the general science and do the physical science here is a link to how to include both of your younger students... http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/PhysSU.html Math-? she is below average here did not do great on the saxon placement tests but she needs to take Alg 1 in 9th . Would you mind sharing where she placed on the saxon tests? If she started with 8/7 she could still take Alg 1 in 9th. www.homeschoolwithsaxon has some great tips on this. You would be far better to place her where she needs to be and keep plugging away, then to put her too far up and miss the foundational skills she needs. We had to do this with my son and he is in Alg 1 this year for 9th and doing well. Blesisngs Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koerarmoca Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 I dont' see a lot of holes. I did notice no phonics for the 1st grader. Is she already a strong reader and has completed phonics? That is the only thing that would be necessary here that is missing. For Science: You could have the 4th grader study the general science topics with the 8th grader. Just have books at her level on the topic and a science encyclopedia. Then she can write definitions and narrations, do diagrams, and read books at her level. With the 1st grader, I think science is covered in FIAR. I haven't used it, but I have read blogs where that is what people used as their whole curric for S.S./Science in 1st. The 4th grader could tag along for these stories and studies too. I know that my upcoming 4th grader still likes picture books and maps and activities like the ones in FIAR. Reading good books for your 4th grader is good. That is what we do here, along w/written narrations on them and other subjects, and is what we will continue to do for 4th next year. Are you planning anything for spelling? That is something you might want. I can't really comment on the 8th grader, I am not there yet:) as far as phonics goes she is a strong reader (I think) for being 1/2 through kindy. She is pretty solid on most site words, she understands most phonics concepts, and is pretty good at sounding things out. I figure with FIAR we will come across many opportunities to study new words and supplement in some phonics printables. we also have a dvd phonics series at the library that she loves and she would do starfall.com all day if I let her. I honestly do think my 4th grader could do Science & History no problem with my 8th grader, even some math. She is a advanced reader and seems to understand concepts above her normal peer level. What I don't want to do with her though is take away things she should be learning at the 4th grade level. spelling wise I was planning to just use random at level lists I have found on the net. The 4 & 8 graders are really good at spelling already and I don't feel led to spend a lot of time in this area.. I wasn't sure if I would introduce spelling at the 1st grade level or not. I figured that it again would be something we would come across doing FIAR and maybe making a list of new to her words. and maybe just testing her on dolch words. I am a horrid speller (spell check is my bff) so I don't want to make mistakes here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I don't know what scope and sequence you are using, but if it is WTM, then physics is what is covered in science in 4th grade. The PP's link could take care of that for your 4th grader and 8th grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koerarmoca Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) Science - if she wants to do biology in 9th, I'd forgo the general science and do the physical science here is a link to how to include both of your younger students... http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/PhysSU.html Would you mind sharing where she placed on the saxon tests? If she started with 8/7 she could still take Alg 1 in 9th. www.homeschoolwithsaxon has some great tips on this. You would be far better to place her where she needs to be and keep plugging away, then to put her too far up and miss the foundational skills she needs. We had to do this with my son and he is in Alg 1 this year for 9th and doing well. Blesisngs Sandra She is doing biology now in 7th (she loves it and needs it in High School), she had physical science last year.. I went with general science because she has not had enough science from a creation stand point so its almost like going back in time a bit and really just using it as a filler because she needs science. Despite being a Christan school they have been more about experiments and dissections then studying the creation behind science IMO praying before you cut open a sheep eyeball does not = Science from a Christian viewpoint. I think the school (which is only been open for 1 full year this being the 2nd year) assumes that most of these kids in upper grades have already had the basic creation science foundations where as my dd was PS some and we did mostly HS science fluff before. as far as saxon goes it's not that she didn't understand it she explained the concepts, steps, etc. for everything but she just got the answers wrong. Like she knows how to get the answers but she is gummed up in the works of basic addition/subtraction/multiplication/division. I have considered just spending the summer doing tons of speed drills and then retesting in Aug to see where she is at. I think she could do 8/7 just fine if we worked out the basics a bit. thanks for the links I will check them out :D Edited March 16, 2011 by MichelleC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovemy4kids Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 She is doing biology now in 7th (she loves it and needs it in High School), she had physical science last year.. I went with general science because she has not had enough science from a creation stand point so its almost like going back in time a bit and really just using it as a filler because she needs science. Despite being a Christan school they have been more about experiments and dissections then studying the creation behind science IMO praying before you cut open a sheep eyeball does not = Science from a Christian viewpoint. I think the school (which is only been open for 1 full year this being the 2nd year) assumes that most of these kids in upper grades have already had the basic creation science foundations where as my dd was PS some and we did mostly HS science fluff before. as far as saxon goes it's not that she didn't understand it she explained the concepts, steps, etc. for everything but she just got the answers wrong. Like she knows how to get the answers but she is gummed up in the works of basic addition/subtraction/multiplication/division. I have considered just spending the summer doing tons of speed drills and then retesting in Aug to see where she is at. I think she could do 8/7 just fine if we worked out the basics a bit. thanks for the links I will check them out :D Ahh... now the general science makes sense....the link will get you to how to do the same with general science for all of them. Math.... good idea on speed drills over the summer then doing 8/7. That's basically what we did with my 13 year old... she came to saxon from singapore and tested into 7/6 by just 1 problem shy of 8/7 so we went with 8/7 anyway and she has done fine. Blessings Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koerarmoca Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 this is why I bought 6/5, 7/6 & 8/7 figuring I have one advanced in math and one a touch below level in math that in one way or another I would get use out of all 3, not to mention 2 more dd's that may use them some day. I think they both could benefit from some drills practice over the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschooling6 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Soaring with Spelling is $13.99, one of the less expensive I have found. I reveived levels 1, 3 and 5 in the mail and like what I see. Here is a list of some free (for the price of printing) Grammar workbooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Michelle, can I be tacky and ask what curriculum they're using for the science for her this year? She's in school doing biology? Or is she doing the BJU Life Science? I just ask, because of the eyeball thing. If you're not feeling she got enough creation science and she's doing the BJU Life Science, then it may be the teachers skipped those chapters. The topics covered in the Life Science 7 are introductions for them to go DEEPER in the BJU Earth Science 8. And in fact, that's what I was thinking would be a good fit, as I read your posts. Very meaty, appropriate for a strong student, hits the creation science thoroughly, and would give you plenty of spring boards to do things together with your youngers. What I would do then is pull a couple of the topics out, say the Astronomy and something else, and do two of the Apologia elementary books with your youngers. They can all do the labs together and be able to discuss together and share what they're learning, but they'd all be at appropriate levels of content. Don't forget to look up the constellation books by H.A. Rey of Curious George fame. They go beautifully with the Apologia elementary astronomy book and will be enjoyed by all your kids. As far as the math, you might look at the Lial's books as well. There's a BCM (basic college math) that gets discussed a lot on the high school boards. I have a Lial's pre-algebra (very similar) coming in the mail, because I wanted to see them for myself. The BCM, according to the experts on the hs board, will get you brought up to speed on the basics and nail pre-algebra enough to go into algebra the following year. Just so you know, Algebra 1 in 8th is a common college prep track. You might like think about calling her by her age grade and dealing with the graduation thing when you get there. But that's none of my business. I'm just saying it's something to consider. Just because you had to declare her a grade ahead for school doesn't mean you have to now. With homeschooling you can call her by age grade (which I know she's not used to) and do the materials as accelerated as you want. Things have changed a lot since some of us were in school, and the rush to accelerate is strong. In some parts of the country algebra 1 in *7th* is the norm for the college prep track. Accelerating her grade level might not allow her to accurately reflect or spend time on her strengths, especially if they're in the humanities, not math. As far as history, well if she is gifted in that area, no the 4th grader couldn't keep up with what your oldest *could* do. I have an AP level spine for my history-buff dd to use next year for 7th and am mixing in all kinds of GB, gb, and primary sources, essay writing assignments, etc. No 4th grader could keep up with that, lol. So I think the key is to get over to the Logic/Middle grades board and read on the high school board and see what some of your options are. It's a trick teaching the extra-capable kids, because it doesn't necessarily work just to bump up their grade. I'm not trying to turn my dd into a high schooler or anything else. She's still a kid. I just take bits of what they say and try to bring it into her world to make it connect. GB=Great Books. That would be things like the books used in Omnibus, the heavy classics. You can discuss themes with them, ponder context, etc. gb (lowercase) means good books, these are the ones that might not make a GB list but are still valuable. Again, you can discuss themes, evaluate them from a literature standpoint, etc. Primary sources, well that's things like diaries, writings, oral narratives, firsthand accounts. I found the cookbook of General Lee's family, fully edited and documented, with lots of info about how the ingredients and methods, etc. I have a diary of a 14 yo girl who lived through the Civil War and tells what she saw. There are also non-conventional history routes to explore with the humanities buff, like the history of housekeeping book I'm looking through right now to add to our mix. Unfortunately, I haven't found anything pre-done to be all this. :) Just to get some ideas to get you thinking, you might read about Omnibus and the WTM method of studying GB. You might not want to do those things now, but it would give you a sense of where you might want to go at some point and what skills you'd need to have in place to be ready to do so. There are also a lot of resources for implementing AP-level classes at home and of course online classes. You want to chose the next couple years of history and writing with the goal in mind of preparing for those. Well I'm rattling. Do what you want. You sound like you're working through the issues. Oh, AAH is fine, but the writing is kind of mediocre. I'm using the DK book Story of the USA for next year and integrating it with the workbook from the BJU 11 US History. Alternately, you could do the BJU 11 straight. Lots of topics and springboards for further research. My dd is just very visual and happens to have fallen in love with the DK book. I found some terrific online lectures to go with it. BTW, I was looking over the MFW high school american history that uses the BJU 11 over two years, and it doesn't look too bad either. Anyways, that might give you some more ideas to expand your options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koerarmoca Posted March 17, 2011 Author Share Posted March 17, 2011 Oh my word.. I just typed a novel and lost it when my cat jumped on my laptop grrrrr. officially she is taking "Science 7" lots of biology stuff, some life sciences and physics mixed in. They are not allowed to being home text books its pretty lab based and she brings home vocabulary that is about it. They use some secular books here and for the life of me I can not remember the publisher(s) I seen a stack of books they used at open house and that was the just of it. They also do not have science everyday its a rotation type schedule. As far as math goes, I am pretty set on using the saxon I like the set up of it. She is excited to do it and I am pretty comfortable in thinking she will be ready for Alg 1 after doing 8/7. I don't know what we will use for Alg 1 but I am not set on Saxon for that. I am also interested to know where her school would of placed her for math next year. They have Math 8, pre Alg, Alg 1 & Alg 1 Honors . She is in pre Alg now so it would be Alg 1 or Alg 1 Honors (I think alg 1 and honors use the same text just honors goes faster) She is making C's in pre-alg so using the 8/7 is mostly review to ensure I can go ahead with Alg 1 for 9th. I am ok with that track. Now if she all the sudden starts making A's and the school feels Alg 1 honors would be a better fit I would be inclined to start Alg 1 for 8th. Also re-testing her on saxon and the years end would paint a better picture. I don't want to base it all on what the school would do when they are no longer going to be in charge of her education. Moving on to History. After looking more at the AAH and its claim to be for 5th-8th.. I feel its too easy for her I could beef it up alot (or buy something else) I have no doubt at all I could use this no problem for my 4th grader. dd12 however has not had American history she did civics/American gov't in 6th and is doing world history this year. So what ever we do i want it to be American. Now speaking to the "age grade" thing. I consider my self a newbie and this line of thinking hasn't really entered my mind. I do feel though she has completed the necessary amount of years, has the skills, and has the maturity to be an "8th grader" not to mention its a "status" thing with kids. Having an advanced/accelerated 4th grader to be, and knowing her favorite hobby is picking on her big sister and taking every turn she can to show her older sister she is smarter/better than her. This would be a lot for dd to take on she is sensitive enough. kwim? We have talked to her in some detail that while she is ahead a grade it is perfectly ok to do 5 years of highschool to ensure she is fully prepared for college. another issue altogether is my budget doesn't allow for much more to be purchased I can save up some prayerfully but I tend to stick with lower cost things and things I can reuse or resell. We also have a pretty decent library and netflix which helps some. Thanks so much for your post Elizabeth I can see your heart in it :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 (edited) It's actually not ok to take 5 years to do high school. You can, but you only get *4* years to count on that transcript. You're going to put a grad date, and the 4 years before that are what the prospective college or university will count for admission requirements. Occasionally they'll count toward those totals a few specific things (like algebra 1) garnered in 8th. But no, you won't be able to make a 5 year transcript and have that work. I'm being very specific in my wording here. Where I worked, the university was not extremely competitive, so they were merely looking to see if the student had enough units (not credits which are material covered but units meaning time spent) to enter without deficiencies. Every school has what they're looking for. We marked all over the transcript, crossing off anything not done in that 4 year time-frame, refiguring the GPA to include only certain courses, etc. So sometimes advice comes on the internet that reflects what people got away with because they had very full transcripts; they don't realize the colleges DIDN'T accept it or consider it. Well that's a bunch of hub-bub. I'm not even sure exactly what you meant by 5 years for high school. You just want to think through it. I agree you have lots to consider. You'll sort it out. The best thing is to take your time and think through a 6 year plan. Debra Bell, in her very excellent book on homeschooling high school, suggests this, and I had a lot of chats with my dd to that end recently. Debra Bell even came to the high school board and posted in a thread I started. Her book has a nice chapter on junior high, so you might like to get it. Oh, that science you described is interesting. I do like the biblical integration and strong creation science viewpoint of the BJU texts. As far as cost, well we like it with the student texts, activity pages, and the labs dvd. The tm has the schedules, but you might be able to find them used. Check out the Earth & Space science 8. It's a very, very strong course, if you could find it at your pricepoint. The Apologia general science, well I have that and plan to sell it off. It's just not at all the same. In fact, I wouldn't even recommend it in your position, because I don't see how it works into any progression or plan for you. It's sort of a nebulous course. I had been so hopeful it would work well here, with my history-buff, lover of all things reading, but it totally flopped. For us it had lots of content but none of the helpful structure of BJU. If you're going to do Apologia, I would bump it up and get a higher level. If you're calling it 8th, go ahead and do biology. Or doesn't the Apologia physical science cover quite a bit of creation science and traditional earth science topics? BTW, AAH has a lot of content, especially in AAH2. The workbooks make it look deceptively simple. The amount of content is good. I just don't like the writing style. Edited March 17, 2011 by OhElizabeth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I would really recommend a more solid plan for spelling. And also phonics with your first grader. My DD was reading at about 4th grade level in K and we still needed to finish phonics. For inexpensive spelling that will also cover phonics and other topics (vocabulary, etymology) try: How to Teach Spelling (I got mine from paperback swap! $3 per book including the TM!) Webster's Speller or The Spelling Book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 For writing, I won't rec. IEW since cost is a consideration. You might want to take some time to study TWTM *and* listen to SWB's MP3 writing lectures (all 3 of them, so you know what foundational skills are assumed and to have an idea of where you're headed). They're very inexpensive over at the Peace Hill Press site, and they infinitely clarify what Susan & Jesse wrote in the book. So there's that method. Or... you could try Writing Strands. Among writing programs, it's not terribly expensive. It looks easy for the parent to implement as well. I'll second (or third?) the advice for a phonics & spelling program. I don't remember seeing grammar listed, either. Phonics can affect spelling later on, and many spelling programs review phonics rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Yeah, you can follow TWTM writing guidelines for free - and integrate it into your other subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skueppers Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I know I'm all about his lately, but you might take a look at using Khan Academy (free) over the summer as part of your strategy to help her be more precise with computation. It is unforgiving - if you don't get 10 questions in a row completely right, you have to start over. Until you get 10 in a row right, you are not "proficient" in the topic. It also handles review. (Thus speaks the dork who has been staying up late this week solving systems of algebraic equations on Khan Academy. I keep thinking, "oh, I can do one more...") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 You message title is: I need help nailing things down (long) I was hoping for a thread about nails, and nail guns. :) (I have to re shingle the roof this summer and want to know what nail gun is best to buy) Unfortunately, the nails for our roof come from the man and the nails for our school often come from us (when the dad is too busy or not inclined). The real nails? Self-care, continually working toward peace, solving problems as they creep up, and not planning too far in advance. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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