Dropping anything yet?

[aelgraham]

Goodness, it's only week 3 for us and I'm ready to drop a subject already. I am not really liking 'Discovery of Deduction' for logic at all. It's so dry and boring!! If I just hand this over to my DS12 to do on his own, he'll just skim it and get nothing out of it. If I READ it to him, it feels silly and boring. The format of the book so far is read passage, answer questions. The only fun part we've had so far was watching the scene from 'The Holy Grail' where they use "logic" to figure out if someone is a witch.

 

I suppose I could try to pre-read the chapters and present the material in a more dynamic way, but shouldn't the curriculum do this for me??

 

Has anyone else used this? Is anyone out there ready to drop something already? I really hate making mistakes with curriculum-- we all try so hard to make good decisions and do our research. You just never know if something will work until you really get into it.

 

Frustrating!!

 

Thanks,

Amy

[masaki]

Oh, I hate it when that happens! I've done my fair share of dropping books, heck, even whole subjects in the past. I'm sorry I have no practical advice to offer you regarding the program you're using, but I'm sending good vibes your way. I hope someone here can help you out. :)

 

Marilyn

[5LittleMonkeys]

We've been at it since the middle of June. We are dropping So You Really Want to Learn Science for dd13. (Need to change my siggy.) I was hoping it would be a nice overview of Biology, Physical Science and Chemistry for her before she starts highschool but there is just something about it she doesn't like. She said that the way some of it is worded is confusing. I don't know how to make it better for her other than to go through every chapter with her, explaining as we go. Do to time constraints I was hoping she could do this on her own. The problem is she has decided she just doesn't like it and I know with her that means she won't put in her best effort with it.

 

We're using the middle school Aha!Science with additional books right now, until I can decide if I want to use something else. She's doing interest projects on the genetics of horse breeding too. I'm not overly concerned about her not having a formal science program though because I know highschool sciences start at the beginning so as long as she has a basic understanding of the sciences and understands the scientific method she will be fine.

[abbeyej]

I suppose I could try to pre-read the chapters and present the material in a more dynamic way, but shouldn't the curriculum do this for me??

 

Yes, you should. And no, I honestly don't always think the curriculum "should" do that. A subject like logic, especially, really needs to come out of discussion and contact between a mentor and student. Sure, some materials are better than others, but ultimately it *does* come down to us as teachers.

 

So :) yeah, you're gonna have to bite the bullet on this one and prepare a bit. :)

[Melissa B]

We decided just today to enroll dd 13 into an online great books program - very last minute, as the class begins next week. Originally we were going to wait until next year. That means we will be dropping American history and literature. :willy_nilly:

 

I also broke down and repurchased Saxon Math 1 for ds6. I sold it after using it three times with the girls. The idea of doing it a fourth time was daunting. Unfortunately, I can't find anything I like better. :rolleyes: We begin Saxon 1 on Monday.

[elegantlion]

Discovery of Deduction has been a big hit for us this year. We are also on week 3 of school. I found pre-reading the chapters was necessary for me, but I teach through the chapters and discuss. I read most of it this summer. I really like the format and prefer it to the other formal logic programs I previewed.

 

It starts fairly basic, but it ramps up fairly quickly and if you're not staying on top of the vocabulary it can get confusing. Because it's formal logic and not informal logic (which can be easier to understand), I think a guide through the books is a good idea.

 

Yesterday we printed off the Sherlock Holmes story in 4.4 and read it aloud and discussed, not really following the assignment. We're also using Rulebook for Arguments, which ties in nicely with DoD.

 

We've actually done well with our subjects so far. I usually have at least one subject crash, but I think I headed it off before we started school as I made some last minute adjustments.

[aelgraham]

Yes, you should. And no, I honestly don't always think the curriculum "should" do that. A subject like logic, especially, really needs to come out of discussion and contact between a mentor and student. Sure, some materials are better than others, but ultimately it *does* come down to us as teachers.

 

So :) yeah, you're gonna have to bite the bullet on this one and prepare a bit. :)

 

Believe me, I know all this! I follow the WTM history without curriculum and have great discussions and "lectures"-- and with other subjects, even math and grammar. I've done informal logic this way too. So I agree with you entirely!

 

But when I buy a true, complete curriculum like this, I expect it to be rich and engaging, and requiring little prep. You can't be full-on for every subject and I guess I had higher expectations for this. But judging from the other comments, maybe I just need to stick with it and get past this loooong intro section.

 

Amy

[ChiMomNP]

Yes, we just dropped BJU Life Science. It is a GREAT course but in the last year my son did Advanced Life Science through K12, Oak Meadow Life science, and all 3 Apologia zoology books. He loves life sciences, but it was overkill big time. So we just switched him to Oak Meadow Environmental Science, the one they use for 9th grade. I think it will be a good change for him.

[Aquinas Academy]

Yes, we've dropped something. :glare: DD 13 announced a few days ago that she doesn't want to keep learning Greek and would really rather work on Norwegian. I'm actually fine with this, but couldn't she have told me before we started. *sigh*

She's loving DoD though! :)

[Deniseibase]

My DD asked me yesterday if we could please please PLEASE drop Story of the World and just read real books instead. So, I'm still going to be following SOTW, just picking all the books out of the Activity Guide and reading those :)

 

We already dropped Crossing the River with Dogs & AoPS Intro to Number Theory for math, but I had already half-planned on doing that if the AoPS Pre-Algebra was as good as I wanted it to be, which it is.

 

We've already dropped Kilgallon's Sentence Composing for the first few weeks of WWS. The plan was to move through Kilgallon really fast, then take a local writing class, then to WWS once the book is available. But, Kilgallon, although she is learning from it, is making her cry every day. She is learning from WWS too, and it doesn't make her cry, so I guess we'll just pick up where we leave off once the book comes out.

 

I always expect a change or two in the first few weeks as we work out what's going to work best. This is the first year I've ever had THIS many changes tho.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[melmichigan]

My DD is beta testing WriteShop Jr Book F. I am not sure if creative writing is where we need to be going with this child. She has dysgraphia and writing is a struggle anyway. I'm wondering if we should stay more focused on History with IEW or WWS. Writing Tall Tales and Mysteries just isn't a necessary skill and we need to prep for high school. I'm still debating what to do.

Edited September 4, 2011 by melmichigan

[Another Lynn]

Yes, we just dropped BJU Life Science. It is a GREAT course but in the last year my son did Advanced Life Science through K12, Oak Meadow Life science, and all 3 Apologia zoology books. He loves life sciences, but it was overkill big time. So we just switched him to Oak Meadow Environmental Science, the one they use for 9th grade. I think it will be a good change for him.

 

We are dropping BJU Life Science also, though our reasons aren't as good as yours, :D. Your recent science resume is much more impressive than ours, so it is a comfort that even with your experience you felt it was too much also.

[mazakaal]

We haven't even started our school year yet, but I've already decided to drop Traditional Logic. It looks like a great course, but I think it will be challenging for ds. Algebra I will be challenging enough for him, along with two foreign languages, so I really don't want to push him too much. I got a book on improving study skills, so I'm going to have him do that instead of logic this year, and use TL for 9th. That way he can get 1/2 credit for it as well.