awisha. Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Early December I placed an order for the TWTM through an online book store and also asked the library to purchase a copy. Guess which copy I am reading. Apparently the book was lost in the mail, so I am having it resent for no extra charge. Today I got the copy from the library. Yay!! Okay the questions: 1. Who else thought when they first read TWTM that they wished they could go back in time and redo the younger years?? I do. 2. When you first implement the suggestions in the book, is it better to go full steam ahead or gradually build up?? I am up to page 111 already and I just have to say a BIG thank you to Susan and her mother Jessie for writing this book. THANK YOU!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 My oldest was nearly 10 when I pulled him out of school and started homeschooling. I so wish I had started from the beginning. I started with the core subjects of maths and English, then added a new subject each month. I tried very hard, but was never able to achieve the level of academics in TWTM. Did you order from Fishpond? I have had stuff get lost in the mail form them as well, had a new one sent out and received , and then a few months later the original order turned up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awisha. Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 I just thought of another question. The book talks about making notebooks for each subject and adding paper to the notebooks. Are notebooks just like the 4 ring binders/folders we have in Australia. To me notebooks are the spiral bound notepads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I'd say a lot depends on finances. I jumped in at full steam and loved doing so, but I had to make quite a few curriculum adjustments along the way. That can get pricey, especially with multiple kids. We use 3-ring binders in our homeschool. Lots of them. Lots! When my dh's company changed their name, I got even more with the old logo on them. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Yes, they are ringed (3 or 4, either is fine) binders so that you can add more paper. I read TWTM before I really knew anything else about homeschooling other than Abeka, so it made my head spin. That didn't stop completely for a couple years. The audio lectures SWB has on MP3 for sale at PHP (ha, how's that for acronyms?) are immeasurably helpful. "A Plan for Teaching Writing", all 3 levels, is especially good at illuminating what is said in the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caribbean Queen Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Are notebooks just like the 4 ring binders/folders we have in Australia. binder with rings. 1. Who else thought when they first read TWTM that they wished they could go back in time and redo the younger years?? I do. 2. When you first implement the suggestions in the book, is it better to go full steam ahead or gradually build up?? When I first read TWTM it scared me. You are a brave lady. :) I decided against following TWTM, but I still appreciate it, and I use it as a bouncing off point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 When I first read it, my kids weren't in school, yet. But I so wished that I had been educated in that manner! I use it as a guideline for how I plan out my year and each day, but I don't follow it to the letter. I really like the approach. The details don't work out for my kids so much, though. I have 3 ring notebooks for some subjects, but not all. We don't do nearly as many narrations as are suggested in the book. Writing is one of our biggest challenges. Getting my kids to write a sentence is like trying to climb Mount Everest without a Sherpa! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 (edited) My tip is: Make sure you do narration. And keep doing narration, even if your children are good at it. The level of the material goes up as your children grow, so just because they can do it easily for this level does not mean they will be able to do it easily at a higher level. The ability to read something complicated, pick out the important bits, and restate it in summarized form is a basic skill that your students will need when they have to deal with upper or university level academic material. There was a long thread on basic skills awile back (I'll try to find it) that says what I wish I had done starting from when mine were small. When I first read TWTM, I missed many of the important bits. Fortunately, I followed the directions just enough that my children got some of the basic skills even though I didn't know what they were for until I was trying to help them as teenagers, but it is easier to adapt TWTM for your own family (and everyone needs to adapt it) if you know why it recommends doing what. The advantages of using Writing Strands, which we grumbled over for years, weren't apparent until we were reading Homer and Shakespeare much later. (I think now TWTM probably recommends SWB and JW's English materials. Those are probably an improvement on Writing Strands.) Nan Edit: Here is TWTM skills thread: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255839&highlight=foundational+skills Edited January 13, 2012 by Nan in Mass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Re the binders: Yes, 3-ring. I found the Really Big Binder for history, etc., pretty overwhelming. We've gone over to a hybrid system. For some things (grammar and spelling, for example), my kids use a bound copy-book rather than loose paper. For other things (history) we use a binder. At the end of the year I combine all our things into one humongous binder. When I first read TWTM I was intimidated by it and thought I would try to use some of the principles but that adopting the whole system would be too overwhelming. When I finally made the switch into full-time usage, it was waaaaaaay easier and simpler than I thought it would be. I wished I had done so earlier, yet at the same time what I had been doing had been good too. In other words, even though I felt/feel that TWTM is superior to what I was doing, yet my earlier choices had been good ones, so I forcefully push aside my perfectionism and accept that it's all been good. For implementing, I have found it helpful to write down a short, bullet-point summary of what to do per subject. No philosophy--just a strict do-this-do-that. It looks much different to me when it is pulled out of TWTM, and often much simpler. ;) I suggest you do so as well, and then decide what is realistic to implement and what you'd like to wait on. Also, remember, SWB herself would be the first one to say to please do what will work for your individual child. Customize. (I have heard her actually, really say so more than once at convention.) Her way does not have to be your way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I am up to page 111 already and I just have to say a BIG thank you to Susan and her mother Jessie for writing this book. THANK YOU!!! I'll second this. And add another big THANK YOU!!! for providing these boards. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 1. Who else thought when they first read TWTM that they wished they could go back in time and redo the younger years?? I do. YES! My older kids were going into gr 2 and gr 3 when we started homeschooling. I read TWTM and dreamed of doing it but could not implement it in the beginning of our journey because I had to focus on the mental health of my oldest. Now 6 years into our journey I still dream of it lol but have had to accept with my first 3 that I will never be at the level of academics that TWTM outlines. Perhaps with my youngest. 2. When you first implement the suggestions in the book, is it better to go full steam ahead or gradually build up?? For us it was full steam ahead followed by dropping a ton and now we are slowly building up again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awisha. Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 Thanks for all the replies ladies. Very much appreciated and you have given me something to think about :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I just thought of another question. The book talks about making notebooks for each subject and adding paper to the notebooks. Are notebooks just like the 4 ring binders/folders we have in Australia. To me notebooks are the spiral bound notepads. We tried folders, but my children really prefer exercise books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awisha. Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 We tried folders, but my children really prefer exercise books. Hmmm, that sounds interesting. One day I'll have to go and investigate all my options at officeworks or something. Thanks :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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