Larger families..

[Marsha]

do you combine or keep seperate?

If you combine..what do you use?

[KIN]

I combine mine for history and science and do the rest separately. However, mine are all young - grammar age. Maybe someone with multiples levels will chime in!

[CalicoKat]

We also do history, science, art, and Bible all together. This year we're using MFW Adventures for that -- none too consistently. In previous years we did SOTW with better success.

 

Now for the rest. It's done at separate levels of ability, but it's the same curriculum series. I found that if I learn the flow of one curriculum series I can be more consistent as a teacher.

 

We use MUS for all. One kid is in Gamma, and right now two are finishing up Primer. Next fall I'll probably have Delta, Alpha, and Primer all going. See how that works. I don't have to relearn how to teach math. AND my older kids can jump in and help out with the youngers.

 

The two kids in Primer at 7 and 4. One is delayed and the other is well, advanced. It's a hard bit for the older one to swallow. But we keep reminding her that everyone has their talents and we shouldn't get upset if her db's gift is mathematics. She's gifted in areas he isn't, like helping with the younger babies.

 

Next fall we'll start with FLL - the 2nd time I'll have gone through it as a teacher. And my eldest will continue with R&S--I really like it. The others will graduate to R&S after FLL.

 

Everyone is doing Getty Dubay Italic - We've got Books, A, B, and D going on right now.

 

Reading is ETC, Pathway Readers, and OPTGR. Most of these are my 2nd time through.

 

Also by using the same curriculum for the up-coming students I'm not having to spend as much. Just have to replace consumable workbooks.

 

Not having to re-learn a new method each year also frees up some of my gray matter to think of crafts--or at least that's the idea. :) It also make it easier for dh to plug in occasionally while I'm out--since it's not completely new to him either having taught it once before to another kid.

 

The younger kids also have a sense of accomplishment to finish a workbook that their older sis has finished. And they can look forward and know what's coming, sometimes with enthusiasm.

 

I have 5 kids 8,7,4, 2, and 9 mos. (3rd, 1st, K, Pre-K, and nursery)

[stephanie]

do you combine or keep seperate?

If you combine..what do you use?

 

I have 4dc, and I combine as much as I can. We do History and Science together now. I'm working on putting my 2nd and 3rd grader together. Right now they do dictation, WT, handwriting, ETC, history and science together. I wish I could get them together in Math and GRammar. That would be nice. Then I wouldn't have to teach those subjects on 4 different grade levels. I know it can be overwhelming. What are the ages of yours? Mine are 6th, 3rd, 2nd, and K.

[Tenaj]

I've got seven dc: 15, 14, 11, 6, 4, 2, 2 mos. When my oldest were in the grammar and early logic stage we stayed together for everything except math and grammar but as they have gotten older I've had to seperate them. They still do Latin together but my 14 yo was tired of keeping up with her older brother and wanted to do her own thing. The gap down to my 11 year old was always a little too much for combining him with them and now the second gap down to 6yo is the same way. I'll probably start combining the younger kids as they reach school age to some extent.

 

We are using Sonlight this year for everyone. The two olders work on their cores independently (Core 100 and 7). Even my 11 yo does a lot of his core work by himself now that he's able to read and comprehend (Core 4).

 

Of course, my 6 yo requires my attention for most of his school work but that's just the way first grade is!

 

Other curr.: Noeo science for the youngers, Apologia for the olders. Rod and Staff English and Analytical Grammar, Math U See for the youngers and Teaching Textbooks for the olders.

 

HTH

Janet

[KristineIN]

I only have three, but I do everything together except math & grammar(writing etc)

 

We do history, science & Bible together.

 

Kristine

[Lenora in MD]

We do history, science, art, music, bible, and read alouds together. The do math, grammar, spelling, handwriting and phonics individually because they are on different levels. I have used sotw and truthquest for history, real science 4 kids, and artistic pursuits with everyone combined.

[FloridaLisa]

My dc are 16, 14, 13, 11, 8, 3 and 12 months.

 

Bible, bible memory: altogether.

 

Math: completely separate

 

LA: I tend to group my school-age into 3 groups for writing and grammar. Spelling and vocabulary is completely separate.

 

Logic: older 3 using Intro to Logic; middle on some pre-logic books.

 

History & Science: I group into 3 groups.

 

And the groups can change from year to year, depending on the shifting levels of my dc.

 

HTH,

Lisa

[siloam]

do you combine or keep seperate?

If you combine..what do you use?

 

We do History and Science together, and all other subjects one on one with each child. Yes that takes forever for me. It isn't so bad on the kids because they get to play while I work with each sibling.

 

That is also why I have two Science programs listed. WP we do as a group and God's Design my oldest is only doing. She wants to be a Zoologist/Botanist, so I though it important for her to do both.

 

Heather

 

[susie in tx]

I've combined my older two for math, but I try to keep them more separate these days. It's more of a confidence issue for my eldest. Recently, I separated my 12 yo and my 9 yo in history. It's working rather well, actually. They are working on their own, which gives me that chunk of time to working with my 6 yo and my 4 yo. I like it a lot.

 

The idea of combining appeals to me a lot. In practice, though, I don't find that it works very well. We are trying to keep everyone on the same page wrt which part of history we are studying. I like that we can have dinner table conversations about the same topic.

[Quiver0f10]

My older kids do the same spanish, english and writing and then the younger ones do the same history, writing, latin and bible.

[Excelsior! Academy]

We have 4. We combine when we can. History and science is done all together. Copywork/handwriting is done all at the same time, but everyone is working on their level. The older two are on the same level in Latin and I plan to do the same with the younger two. The only things that are totally done alone and to their levels are math and English grammar. I would go crazy if I had to teach each subject individually to each child.:eek:

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

I keep them separate, except on history and science, I modify for their needs

[Guest St. Francis Academy]

I have 5 children who are of school age and we combine history and science. History is RC History, which is a Catholic program that provides multi-level reading lists, similar in approach to TOG but not as thorough in its layout. I'm thinking of switching to TOG for next year, though, since the oldest will be on the hump between logic and rhetoric. Science, we just do very informally (think of the suggestions in Latin Centered Curriculum) since they are all under 8th grade level. The oldest two are combined using MUS.

 

Valerie

[Marie in Oh]

I am thinking of separating them next year. Next year I will have 5th and 4th and 2nd and K. I am thinking of Sonlight for the olders and either Sonlight or MFW for the youngers. I have considered TOG for everyone, but I just can't get my hands around it-- or my mind around it either.

[siloam]

I have considered TOG for everyone, but I just can't get my hands around it-- or my mind around it either.

TOG is not for everyone.

 

It is structured very much like WTM.

 

The child reads books on a topic, then has a discussion with the teacher and does writing on the topic. The difference is TOG is arranged more like a unit study. They recommend the books to read on that topic at the 4 different levels and provide vocab, mapping, literature (including worksheets), activities and the discussion for a specific topic. Everything for that week wraps around the topic, except the Literature...though it is often related (is literature from that time). I adore how they incorporate art, music and scientific discoveries so that you get a picture of the whole culture.

 

To compare to SL:

 

-TOG is a unit study with distinct weekly topics where with SL you could take out the weekly divisions, move them by one day and it really wouldn't matter.

 

-TOG is structured to have the child do all the history reading. At the LG level most people do read them aloud, but if you had a good reader they could read the pictures books themselves. SL doesn't have the child read history till Core 100, though many people start earlier.

 

-Both have readers, TOG calls it literature.

+SL has oral discussion questions till level 100, where they can be written (though I think there might be one or two of the upper levels they haven't converted to written...not keeping up on things like I used to).

+TOG provides written literature worksheets and written history questions (which can be done orally) at all levels.

 

-SL has Read-Alouds and TOG does not.

 

-Both cover missionaries.

 

-SL has more poetry, though TOG does cover it.

 

-Mapping is slightly different.

+ SL will cover places as they come up in a book, but having the child look them up and mark it on a main map (can be modified).

+TOG will provide a list of places to label. TOG mapping is more...well just there is more. They also other methods including: salt dough maps, cookie dough maps and overlay maps (so you can create a base with a clear overlay to show changes over time).

 

-They are scheduled a little differently, though both can be modified to be more like the other:

+SL is scheduled to have daily reading and work on timeline, mapping and do discussion on that reading daily.

+TOG is laid out to be more classical with block scheduling. For example: do History readings Monday, Literature on Tuesday, Mapping and Timeline on Wednesday, Discussion on Thursday and finish up with writing on Friday. I schedule TOG to be more daily like SL. :D

 

Because TOG is laid out to be done more in blocks, the BIGGEST difference is that SL has a pick up and go daily schedule where TOG gives you all those pieces, but you need to print them out, organize them and figure out the best method to present them (they often give you more than one idea of how to do this, so you have to pick).

 

If you have used SL and tend to mess with the schedule, add things, change things and generally play with it, then TOG might be a better choice. If you use SL and never mess with anything but just open and go, then run away from TOG as fast as you can. It is not for you. ;)

 

My understanding is that MFW is structured more like SL than TOG. I have been told the teacher manual has even more detail to help the teacher, it is Bible centered (SL is not, but TOG is) and the base reading schedule is lighter, but it provides lists of additional readers for the child, so if you have a child who loves to read they can cover the same volume of material as SL.

 

Heather

[susie in tx]

 

 

-SL has Read-Alouds and TOG does not.

 

 

 

TOG Year 2 Redesigned has Read-Alouds.

[susie in tx]

I have considered TOG for everyone, but I just can't get my hands around it-- or my mind around it either.

 

I honestly think you have to have it in your hands in order to figure it out. Even then, it's tough. I printed out the 3 week Egypt study last summer, and it was too overwhelming for me. I couldn't figure out how the tables worked, what went with what, etc.

 

After spending 20+ weeks combining 2+ SL cores, I was ready for TOG. My planning time has been cut way down. I had more of an impetus to figure out the tables and how TOG works. Even then, it's taken a while to see how it all works together. In fact, I'm still figuring it out. (This is our second week of using TOG).

[siloam]

TOG Year 2 Redesigned has Read-Alouds.

 

Really? Ohhhh something else to look forward to in the redesign....

 

Heather

[susie in tx]

Really? Ohhhh something else to look forward to in the redesign....

 

Yep. They aren't in Year 1, but they are in Year 2. I can't remember off the top of my head what they are, though. We add in Read-Alouds no matter what. My girls learned to love them with Sonlight. And, I got used to doing them. LOL

 

I do add in poetry reading to our TOG. I like reading poetry to my girlies.

[siloam]

Yep. They aren't in Year 1, but they are in Year 2. I can't remember off the top of my head what they are, though. We add in Read-Alouds no matter what. My girls learned to love them with Sonlight. And, I got used to doing them. LOL

 

I do add in poetry reading to our TOG. I like reading poetry to my girlies.

 

We add RA's too. In fact we have one for History and one for Science. Ummmm we spend most of our History and Science time doing the RA's. :D I like that I can keep TOG light enough to do that in the younger years. :cool:

 

And I don't have any problem finding books to use as RA's. Just have problems fitting them all in. I know, I am a hopeless book junkie.

 

Heather