Introduction and Schedule Questions

[omd21]

Hello ladies!

 

I'm new here, and new to homeschooling. Reading through this forum the past couple of days has been so inspiring. I have so much respect and admiration for you ladies! You are a smart, accomplished bunch!

 

I wanted to introduce myself. I'm Odalys. I pulled my 10 year old out of public school this year. I have been wanted to HS her since she was in First Grade but my DH had reservations and I wanted to have him 100% on board. My DD10 has been a perfect student with straight A's. She genuinely loves studying, homework and school, which for a long time made us doubt whether we should pull her out. If it isn't broken, why fix it? However, this year I observed her slowly losing spark. She was just going through the motions. I just have this gut feeling that I can do better at home. Her favorite subject is Science. she wants to be a chemist when she grows up :)

 

I also have a sweet, creative DD who is five and homeschooling Kindergarten. A little budding artist :)

 

My questions for you today are:

 

1. Can you suggest a great Biology program/ textbook for my fifth grader? Any great Science Kits?

 

2. Can you give us some feedback on our planned daily schedule? We want to keep it as simple as possible, since this is our first year homeschooling. I'm a little concerned about doing History and Science only twice a week for 1.5 hours each instead of more frequently. I'm following TWTM. Is anyone else out there doing the longer, 1.5 hr sessions for History and Science successfully? Also, is Math only four days a week ok? Here is what our schedule looks like:

 

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Math (1hr). Math (1hr). Math (1hr). Math (1hr). Logic (1hr).

Spelling (15). Spelling (15). Spelling (15). Spelling (15). Latin (1hr).

Break. Break. Break. Break. Art (2hr)

History (1.5hr). Science (1.5hr). History (1.5hr). Science (1.5hr)

Break. Break. Break. Break

Grammar (15). Grammar (15). Grammar (15). Grammar (15)

Latin (45). Logic (45). Latin (45). Logic (45)

 

The above is about 4.5 hours of instruction per day. She also has:

 

2 hours a day of independent reading and creative writing.

30 minute violin lessons a week with daily practice.

Swim-team.

We are a bilingual family, so she will be doing some Spanish reading at her leisure as well.

 

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you!

[foxbridgeacademy]

For Science and History I would plan for up to 1.5 hrs but be willing to cut it short when she gets tired, bored, or you just run out of stuff to do. Math for 1 hr 4 days a week seems very reasonable to me. I wouldn't spend so much time on Logic, but that's just me. Depending on what curriculum you're using it may not stand up to that much time per day. A lot of people drop grammar in favor of certain Latin programs. You might ask on the "logic Stage" section to see what is suggested as the best for a Latin/grammar combo. If you list the exact curriculum you plan on using someone might be able to give you a better idea of how long it takes to do a daily lesson.

[jenncslp]

I don't have any schedule input right now, but wanted to say, "WELCOME"! :hurray:

[omd21]

For Science and History I would plan for up to 1.5 hrs but be willing to cut it short when she gets tired, bored, or you just run out of stuff to do. Math for 1 hr 4 days a week seems very reasonable to me. I wouldn't spend so much time on Logic, but that's just me. Depending on what curriculum you're using it may not stand up to that much time per day. A lot of people drop grammar in favor of certain Latin programs. You might ask on the "logic Stage" section to see what is suggested as the best for a Latin/grammar combo. If you list the exact curriculum you plan on using someone might be able to give you a better idea of how long it takes to do a daily lesson.

Thank you :). Our curriculum is:

 

Math - Saxon 6/5

Grammar - Rod & Staff Following the Plan

Spelling - Spelling Workout F (I've considered cutting this; she is a very strong speller)

History - History: The Definitive Guide

Logic - Building Thinking Skills

Latin - Latina Christiana (tentative)

Science - Still Looking (she has an Apologia textbook, Zoology of Flying Creatures, that we bought on a whim last year. She asked to do Biology instead)

 

I would love to hear more about the Latin/ grammar combos.

[....]

I think your schedule looks fine.  If you guys become bored with Building Thinking Skills, you could do other logic-based activities like Mind Benders, Red Herring Mysteries...we're going to try The Great Chocolate Caper: A Mystery that Teaches Logic Skills.   http://www.amazon.com/Great-Chocolate-Caper-Mystery-Teaches/dp/1593634994  

 

For science, does she want to use a textbook?  Besides Apologia, there's Shephard Science:  http://www.scienceshepherd.com  And CPO Life Science:  http://www.amazon.com/Life-Science-science-Scott-Eddleman/dp/1588924874/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374661509&sr=8-1&keywords=cpo+life+science  (not sure if that's the new version or not)

 

For kits, do you have TWTM?  On pages 391-392, she has a list of hands-on biology resources.  We've done Owl Pellet Dissection, we've dissected a crayfish, a perch, a squid and a cow eyeball.  I also bought a microscope last spring, several boxes of prepared slides and some books about microscopic life to use this fall.  I think I might buy some of the protozoa mixtures and slides from Home Science Tools.  I think I'm going to have the kids make a Protozoa Guidebook or something with some sketches and writing about different microscopic life we find.  Don't forget TOPS science.  We haven't used any of their kits, but I know they're popular.

 

Good luck with your first year!

[foxbridgeacademy]

Not to get too personal but what is your ideological views on Science? Are you strongly Christian with a young Earth or old Earth POV. Knowing which way you fall on the subject will help others give you suggestions. For example I know nothing about religious curriculum but can suggest Real Science Odyssey Biology level 1 or 2 (I prefer 2 for 5th and up)it does have evolution. There's also CPO Life (as mentioned by PP) there's a link somewhere to a free version of it(somewhat more neutral I think). Also you could look into Prentice Hall Life. They have a really neat way of doing their Science texts (Separated by topic into 5-6 different books.) An excellent source for lab products and ideas is Home Science Tools.

To get specifics on the Latin/Grammar (we don't do Latin, sorry) idea try a keyword search or simply ask out right on the Logic Stage board.

We tried SWO ages ago and dropped it after just a few weeks. It was way to much busy work for my natural speller and did nothing to help my dyslexic DS. I would suggest something like Spelling plus. She could test out of the words she knows and you can tailor the weekly exercises to fit her learning style.... plus it's relatively cheap (used).

[omd21]

Not to get too personal but what is your ideological views on Science? Are you strongly Christian with a young Earth or old Earth POV. Knowing which way you fall on the subject will help others give you suggestions.

We tried SWO ages ago and dropped it after just a few weeks. It was way to much busy work for my natural speller and did nothing to help my dyslexic DS. I would suggest something like Spelling plus. She could test out of the words she knows and you can tailor the weekly exercises to fit her learning style (used).

We are very open minded Catholics :) I'm looking for curriculum that places an emphasis on academic achievement. We share Scripture and prayer throughout the day so I don't feel the need to incorporate religion in every single text. I'm fine with a textbook that includes evolution. I'll look into your suggestions.

 

I had been wondering whether SWO would be useful for her so I'm glad to hear about your experience. She is a natural speller as well and placed in several rounds of spelling bee comp. the last two years. I have been wondering whether I should move her directly into Vocab from Classical Roots?