Tap Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 (edited) If you had the choice and the $$, which would you pick? ETA: These are brick and morter schools that are already in existance. We are trying to pick between them. A true classical school or Sid The Science Kid style? Classical using curricula such as Latin 3rd-8th grade Spanish 9-11 Greek 12 IEW-SWB Saxon, Jensen Omnibus Music/Art/PE/Choir Individual desks Traditional Playground with fences and safe zones Stereotypical uniforms (plaid skirts and ties) An hour of homework a night/some on weekends too. Sid The Science Kid style (Multiple Intelligences Theory) Student led discovery Lots of field trips/outside time Music/Art/PE Tables not desks (group learning) Meets most state standards but focus is on learning not checking off a list Thematic style study Playground and wetlands accessible to kids. Lost of free play outside. Kids are allowed to get dirty. Very little dress code, come to school ready to get dirty/painted on/spilled on in science etc Less than an hour of homework a night-none on weekends No traditional textbooks. Multiple choices allowed....Choose one choice for each grade span please. :0) Edited May 31, 2012 by Tap, tap, tap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Sid the Science Kid style, largely because the other way is basically incompatible with my child and her learning style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Sid all the way. In most ways my homeschool leans more that way than classical anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LillyMama Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 The way you described Sid seems very Montessori-esque to me. I like Montessori. But I picked homeschool on the poll because, well, I picked homeschool in real life. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heatherwith4 Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I can't think about Sid without thinking of all those ridiculous songs. :lol: However, I voted homeschool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Well I never made it far enough in the poll to read it said homeschool lol I was busy clicking sid all along, then I say totally custom and ignored it not reading to the end of the line :lol: oops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 With my daughter, homeschool all the way. If I had my friend's daughter instead of mine, she'd be in the classical school. With my son I'd seriously consider the Sid school every year from grade 2 but probably still decide to homeschool. :P Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Sid all the way through. It's kind of how I wish our homeschool could be, but I've never been able to pull it off. p.s. Who else is singing the Sid theme song in her head now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly1730 Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Agreeing with some others, this is one reason we homeschool. So we can do it the way it suits us best. That said, I'd lean towards the Sid style for the younger years (in our case more CM-like) and the Classical for the older years (more WTM minus the uniforms:)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Well, my kids have watched Sid three times. Two times it was an episode about charts. Once about nonstandard measurement. My kids still say, "Why....do we need .... Charts, charts, charts" in a fake echo voice. I am not sure exactly Sid type is the answer, but it's pretty appealing to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXBeth Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 For the purposes of the poll, are we pretending Sid is going to eventually be taught something more than just whatever science concept he happens to be curious about that day? Like reading, a bit of math, etc.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 For the purposes of the poll, are we pretending Sid is going to eventually be taught something more than just whatever science concept he happens to be curious about that day? Like reading, a bit of math, etc.? Yep, assuming most state standards are going to be taught in all subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Does the school come with Sid's teacher? Might actually send DD then. I'll take the grandma too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Maybe this is a dumb question... but can't you have classical education "sid style"? I mean, a lot of classical curriculum is designed for use with multiple kids/ages (group learning). You can take lots of field trips to reinforce learning. I wouldn't think uniforms or desk style would matter either way. Classical education also doesn't recommend text book learning. And, is their anything about classical education that instructs students should have more homework? I went to a very sid-ish elementary school. I would also have rated it as fairly classical. We did Latin, more timeline oriented history, lots of real literature. However, there were lots of group projects, hands on activities and field trips. It was a great balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Or why not make the uniforms togas or something, they wouldn't have to be Catholic schoolgirl too short plaid skirts. (I assume kilts are not the boy option? No clothes for boys was specified.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I was thinking about this more. Of the two, from the way you listed it, the Sid approach (despite the fact that I find Sid annoying as all get out) is much closer to what I would prefer. It's dynamic and assumes that the child is an individual, not merely a vessel to be filled with knowledge. However, I think your description of classical sells classical education short. The thing that draws me to classical education isn't that it's old fashioned or traditional. I don't actually even think uniforms or a traditional playground are in any way essential to classical education. Why couldn't you have a classical school with a nature playground in honor of Charlotte Mason and no uniforms? I don't think taking a Saxon style drill approach to math is necessarily a litmus test for classical education either. The thing that draws me to classical education has more to do with building critical thinking skills in children and giving them a foundation of knowledge from which to draw when evaluating the world around them. I would definitely not say I'm strictly classical, but none of the description you gave indicated those elements at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffeetime Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 However, I think your description of classical sells classical education short. The thing that draws me to classical education isn't that it's old fashioned or traditional. I don't actually even think uniforms or a traditional playground are in any way essential to classical education. Why couldn't you have a classical school with a nature playground in honor of Charlotte Mason and no uniforms? I don't think taking a Saxon style drill approach to math is necessarily a litmus test for classical education either. The thing that draws me to classical education has more to do with building critical thinking skills in children and giving them a foundation of knowledge from which to draw when evaluating the world around them. I would definitely not say I'm strictly classical, but none of the description you gave indicated those elements at all. :iagree: I have to agree with this. My son attends a Classical school, and while they do use rigorous curriculum choices, have uniforms (which I happen to like;)), and give out homework- they also do thematic style studies, give the kids LOTS of free play time outside (and on days when the kids are restless, the teachers have no qualms about allowing extra recesses), make sure there is plenty of time for free reading in class, move away from individual desks in 6th grade in favor of a Socratic round table method, have lots of field trips, have a 'no weekend homework' policy, and do a ton of hands on discovery. I think it's possible to take some of the best elements of both styles of education and create something pretty awesome. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 I edited my original post. These are b&m schools that are already in existence. We are making choices for our dd's for the future. :) When we home schooled exclusively, we did do a mix and that is why I am torn. I can see benefits of both. Right now, I am faced with the choice of deciding between one or the other for dd13, and next year for dd5. DD13 was homeschooled with a mix of both thru 5th grade. Then she went to a Multiple Intelligences School for 6-7th. We are trying to decide what to do for 8-12. Her MI school stops at 8th, but there is another in our area that goes through 12. No matter what she will change schools either in 8th or 9th (she doesn't want to homeschool). I didn't want people to say what I should do. I just wanted to get an idea of what they felt would be their preferred style, per age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 (edited) I would probably have voted "Classical" until I saw the saw the list of programs (Saxon, IEW, Omnibus) and I could not run far enough or fast enough away from this option. In no way does this option meet my definition of classical. Bill Edited June 2, 2012 by Spy Car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen. Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 We've been on both sides of that fence. No side is perfect or ideal. From my experience I would choose a school where the kids get along and the teacher does her (or his) job to your satisfaction. This would never happen. Cross your fingers and hope for the best. I'd say pick a Sid style, but with a slightly big class size (around 20 kids). With a small class of say 10 (in our case) you run into some unexpected problems. My goal is that my kid is happy and her time in school is worth her while, not busy work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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