Guest Ecref Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 I have been homeschooling my Kiddos (age 7, 5, 3, 1) all along and have used a variety of curriculum. We did mfw k and 1 and then last year we did fll2, wwe1, Singapore math 1b/2a, rod and staff spelling and classical conversations. This year, so that my son could get speech therapy and we could get some of the other benefits, I decided to sign the oldest two up for cyber school and use the Calvert curriculum. Now that I have started it, I am not sure if it is the right for us( lots of stuff to turn in, etc, etc). I may keep my son (k) enrolled but am considering switching my daughter (7) back to traditional homeschooling to cut out on my workload a bit and also teach her what she's ready to learn ( lots of review with cyber). Here is my problem: One of the other reasons I switched to cyber was the constant fear that we were " missing" something. Could you give me some direction on what I may be missing as far as a 2nd/3rd grade curriculum if I decide to pull her out of cyber this year? Fll3 Wwe2....is this enough for composition/writing at this age? Singapore math 2b/3a Spelling (3rd grade)...could use some direction on this one Cursive ( could use some direction here too) Classical conversations for history and science What about reading comprehension/literature? Thanks in advance for helping me out here. I just want to make sure we cover all of our bases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 We're using Spellwell and Handwriting without tears. Yes, I think FLL2 and WWE are enough. I am having the girls narrate after reading for comprehension. I have not found any curriculum for teaching things like setting, characters, plot, etc... so I am using BrainPOP Jr. and kinda winging it otherwise. Would love to hear what others are doing for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 My third grader is using WWE3, and I think it's enough for him right now. I want to see how he does with picking up punctuation, spelling, etc. organically -- that is, through reading and the WWE exercises, rather than through actual lessons in punctuation and spelling. We have used BrainQuest workbooks in the past to hit those areas but decided to take a break from them this year. My third grader will take a standardized test in the spring, per our state's requirements, so I want to see if the gentler approach works or not. For cursive, both of my kids have done well with Handwriting Without Tears. I don't worry too much about reading comprehension at this age; I just have them read and sometimes discuss it with me. Nothing formal. Sometimes I assign things I want them to read; sometimes I give them a list from which to choose; sometimes I let them pick (within certain parameters; it has to be of a decent quality to count as schoolwork, although I'm more lenient with new readers -- Magic Treehouse, for instance, counted a year ago, but it wouldn't count now, in third grade). We also do a lot of audio books and some read alouds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 For a good speller, you might try R&S Spelling. We use Apples & Pears, but it's designed more for struggling spellers. AAS is another option, but expensive and may not be worth it for a child who spells well. For cursive, we used Teach Me Joy and followed up with a workbook I found on Amazon called Wacky Sentences, which transitions the student from tracing to writing in cursive from a manuscript model. I like the look of it much better than the HWT style. What I consider literature is usually read aloud, but DD also had her own books to read, both aloud and silently. I looked at lists like Sonlight, Ambleside Online, and recommendations on this board to pick books. Some books relate to the time period we are on in history and others are just stories. To check comprehension, I would ask her to narrate what she read or heard. Occasionally I would ask questions like "Do you think what X did was right? Why do you think so?" or "What would you have done if X happened?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ecref Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 Thanks so much!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuzu822 Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 What I consider literature is usually read aloud, but DD also had her own books to read, both aloud and silently. I looked at lists like Sonlight, Ambleside Online, and recommendations on this board to pick books. Some books relate to the time period we are on in history and others are just stories. To check comprehension, I would ask her to narrate what she read or heard. Occasionally I would ask questions like "Do you think what X did was right? Why do you think so?" or "What would you have done if X happened?" :iagree: I really like the Simply Charlotte Mason lists too! That said, we are going to use Memoria Press second grade literature for the second half of the school year for some more traditional "reading comprehension" work. Blackbird & Company also has literature guides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruby Rose Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 FLL3 That is what I am using for my 3rd grader. I also got some Scholastic workbooks to make things more "fun." I've been able to incorporate the book "No Boring Grammar" (fairy Tales, I think...I can verify if your interested.) into many of the lessons. Wwe2....is this enough for composition/writing at this age? Yes. I bought 2, but we are doing 1 this year. This is my 3rd year trying it. DD had no problem with narration, but has been writing phobic until now so I didn't push it and set it aside each year. Slow and steady wins the race IMO. Singapore math 2b/3a Sounds good. We did MM for 2 years and it was a nightmare and made DD hate math. We are rebooting math and using Miquon at an accelerated pace. I think even if it takes 3rd and 4th to finish it she will have the skills needed for 5th. Also starting my Ker with Miquon at a slow/moderate pace. Spelling (3rd grade)...could use some direction on this one We have done Spelling workout with little retention. Tried AAS but it wasn't a good fit for us (probably because we never got to the right level). We are now using R&S. it's not DD favorite, but it gets the job done. I like that it has some phonics built in. Like instead of the word fish it has a picture and ask what word starts with the same sound. And it's fairly independent. It could be completely independent, but that's something I'm working on with DD. we've only complete a week so I know it will improve. Cursive ( could use some direction here too) We are using ARFH for cursive. Classical conversations for history and science We are using SOTW 1 (another that we started and stopped). Now BOTH my kids are LOVING doing this together. And it includes narration and copy work to help with writing. We are all very happy with our choice and timing on this one. We are doing BJU Science 3 plus a Science class at the children's science center. Haven't started yet, but I was able to find Magic School Bus videos to go with many of the science chapters. What about reading comprehension/literature? I purchased BJU Reading 3. There is a lot to it! Not sure if I will use all the parts. The readers seem interesting thus far. Honestly some good readers or books on level and some of the reading comp workbooks from Scholastic would have been fine. However, although my dd is a good reader, I have to make her do it. I've also chosen to do The Chronicles of Narnia with ROAR lit guide this year as our read aloud. Hoping it will be a hit. Good luck with your choices. As you can see, you don't have to marry your selection. Try it and do what works. You can always try things at a different time. My kids are both very intelligent, but also very artistic and creative. I don't want them to hate school or learning so I am flexible with how we learn. What I am finding with this approach is that they want to learn and find out about things that interest them. I am equipping them with the tools of HOW to learn as we'll as what to learn. Don't be mistaken, there are many things they HAVE to learn regardless. But, my favorite thing to hear my son say is "Let's look it up!" My dd has become very resourceful at research, especially when it is something she is interested in. This week it was the lizard they caught. She was able to research and find out how to determine sex, species, that it was cold blooded, needed a heat lamp, what it ate, what type of environment it needed, etc. THAT'S the stuff that makes me proudest! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ecref Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 Does anyone know the best place to order rod and staff spelling books? I can't find it on all the major websites (amazon, CBd, rainbow, etc). Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruby Rose Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 RR isn't allowed to put it on their website, but they sell it. You can call to order it or call to get the item # and order online. It's also listed in the catalog if someone has one handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 Does anyone know the best place to order rod and staff spelling books? I can't find it on all the major websites (amazon, CBd, rainbow, etc). Thanks! I've had positive experiences ordering from roadandstaffbooks.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 I usually buy R&S from a distributor, www.milestonebooks.com. You can see tons of samples there too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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