cjbeach Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 "fun" if you found one or used such an item? I feel like such a boring teacher some days. I often look at http://www.ellenjmchenry.com/ and think her curriculum items look like fun! Ideas? Suggestions? -Kathy, the boring momma/teacher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 I was going to suggest Ellen McHenry as well. We've done The Elements and just started Carbon Chemistry. These are in addition to our normal science, just for fun. DS also likes the Cool Stuff books by Chris Woodford. My DS also likes these Great Courses history DVDs with Linwood Thompson: World History and Early American History. The speaker's style is a little goofy/whimsical (some don't like it, but we do) but packed full of great info. Also Drive Thru History, available from Netflix on DVD and some on streaming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 while i know some wouldnt consider it a curriculum, we're doing the Highligts super secret adventure, which is geography. i'm THRILLED that my curriculum-hating, social-studies hating 9 yo is enjoying it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 We tried The Elements and my kids hated it. Fun around here means SL or some other reading heavy program. We love books. I think it all depends on what your family considers fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 McRuffy Science, hands down the most fun ever. Followed by History Odyessey's Level One materials (Level Two is not nearly as entertaining). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 My kids really like mythology, so we do the workbook with games provided by the NME people. I also make scavenger hunts based on Greek myths which they love, except when they are shoving each other to get to the clue first :glare: . My younger LOVES zaccaro and considers it a lot of fun. THey both enjoy History Pockets, lapbooks and crafty projects, so I try to incorporate them, but this time of year it's hard for me. DIY online is a source of great, independent fun for both of them, and a great learning experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilaclady Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 My kids loved the SOTW activity guide as they got to do lots of crafty, building things. I am not crafty by nature so can't think up such things but it as nice to have the guide and be able to incorporate it into history. They also like critical thinking books to use instead of their normal curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 My little dd finds being allowed to do anything on the computer fun, so she does Dreambox Learning and has a blast learning math. My older dd finds Life of Fred to be fun math, and she found Beast Academy to be fun also. She is currently having fun with WP's Equine Science, because she loves horses. she likes MCT language arts a lot, but I don't know if it would actually rise to the level of "fun". other than that, she mostly has her fun when school is done . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Fun was Amanda Bennetts Chocolate Unit Study!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 We loved Ellen McHenry's Chemistry. Would be tempted by her other curriculum too. We have also enjoyed LOF. My kids are mathy and adore Fred. When they were little Draw Write Now was probably the most used favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 We had a lot of fun in 6th with Moving Beyond The Page, Mysteries in History, and Intellego. Oh, and dabbling in Hands On Equations. Fun takes a new meaning in 8th. "Fun" now means less craftiness and flash, and more intellectual stimulating. For my kid, Jackdaws are fun. Coursera is fun. Hard work is fun....as long as it doesn't require too much writing. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cschnee Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 GEMS science/math guides are fun! Horrible Histories, cooking for history or math or geography, scavenger hunts for any subject. Games for math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Science experiments and dissections and art projects are most "fun" here. My dd loves reading, so all of the literature from CHOLL has been a hit, sometimes steering her into a new series or subject matter. Also, we all like poetry memorization and singing. We can't sing AT ALL. But we look up songs I think they should know on YouTube and we all sing them together in the morning. Today was The Fifty Nifty United States and This Land is Your Land. We don;'t memorize poetry consistantly throughout the year, so when we do, we all enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nandmsmom Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Science experiments are always fun for us. We have loved going through Getting Started with Latin. It's been a lot of fun for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjbeach Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 Wow... so many great ideas! Thank you!!! Ironically, I just ordered the Intellego unit studies on Middle Ages 1 (gr 6-8). Thank you again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 "Fun" is when the kids get to play Jeopardy (like this one for SOTW or one I make up for Latin). However, oldest really, really enjoyed The Fallacy Detective this year. She liked the one-on-one (no siblings listening in), no-writing, interesting discussions with the occasional spirited disagreement with the back of the book suggested answers. There were also several times we had to look something up because it referenced something she (or both of us) didn't know. She now knows parts of the movie "the Music Man" because of FD. These rabbit-trail You Tube visits were "fun" for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thowell Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Hands down Learning Adventures A World of Adventures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 "Fun" is when the kids get to play Jeopardy (like this one for SOTW or one I make up for Latin). However, oldest really, really enjoyed The Fallacy Detective this year. She liked the one-on-one (no siblings listening in), no-writing, interesting discussions with the occasional spirited disagreement with the back of the book suggested answers. There were also several times we had to look something up because it referenced something she (or both of us) didn't know. She now knows parts of the movie "the Music Man" because of FD. These rabbit-trail You Tube visits were "fun" for her. I know FD is not secular, but would it be a problem for secular or Catholic families? We are liking the Homeschool in the Woods Time Traveler projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I know FD is not secular, but would it be a problem for secular or Catholic families? We're Catholic & didn't find anything objectionable in FD. It is still of a politically conservative bent, but it wasn't as badly 'bent' as I was led to believe in some posts here. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland_Mom Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 When my kids were younger, we LOVED Real Science Odyssey. We used Earth Science, and the boys were crazy about all the experiments/demonstrations/projects. We've also thoroughly enjoyed some of the Homeschooling in the Woods Resources. The lapbooks are beautiful, and we also learned a lot through the process. But . . . their Time Travelers Series include wonderful hands-on projects. Many of them are a little more time intensive, but I was looking for something beyond cut and paste. Another favorite: Discovering Great Artists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybunny Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 We find MCT grammar and all of his books from Royal Fireworks Press the most fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 We have used McHenry's stuff, and while we enjoyed it, I wouldn't call it 'fun'. We have been having a blast with Harnadek's Critical Thinking. Once we got past chapter 2 we started having a lot of fun. And we have had fun with our lit studies. My kids and I can sit around and talk about books all day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Little Professor Science Kits. Pricey, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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