ByGrace3 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I have pieced things together since the beginning. Things are going well, but in the back of my mind I always wonder, am I missing something? What should I add? Would a box be more "complete"? (When I say box, I most likely would use Memoria Press or even Veritas Press so that is what I am comparing my plans to). A recap of the last few years dd: Kindergarten-3rd grade: (by the end of the year) Phonics/reading: Abeka Phonics K and 1 ETC 3-8 Sonlight readers 2, 3, 4/5, D Math: Saxon 1 MM 1-4A Right Start games Writing: WWE 1- half of 2 Brave Writer CAP Fable Spelling: AAS 1-4, R&S spelling 4 Handwriting: HWOT K, 1, ZB cursive and copywork Grammar: FLL 1, 2, and 3 History: SOTW 1, BP year 2, US history yr 1 (lots of literature tied into history) Science: ES biology, ES Earth and space, Education Exploration Physical Science Foreign Language: Some Spanish but not a lot. and we were Latin failures :tongue_smilie: Music: piano lessons Art: drawing books, Draw Write Now, Usborne, Mark Kistler online lessons She is also in team gymnastics and is in the gym about 13 hours a week. Plans for 4th: FLL4 Cap Narrative 1-2 Sonlight readers E R&S spelling 5 cursive copywork MM 4B-5A US history yr 2 (or maybe VP OTAE self paced) Science: either chemistry or Science in the Beginning More focus on Spanish Continue piano, Mark Kistler art, and gymnastics ds K-1st AAR pre-level, 1-3 AAS 1 (maybe 2) HWOT K, 1, and 2 WWE 1 FLL 1 RS A, MM 1-2A BP yr 2, US History yr 1 ES ESA, and Education Exploration Physical Science Plans for 2nd Finish up phonics via OPGTR if not finished AAS 3 WWE 2 FLL 2 Copywork SL readers MM 2B-3A Science: either chemistry or Science in the Beginnings US History yr 2 (or maybe VP OTAE self paced) He hasn't done much art or music because honestly, getting him to read has taken all our energy. He will start piano in the fall and he plays basketball. When I look at MP, the things I think we may be missing out on is the review. MP has tons of built in review. I wonder if we could implement some of those. We are doing US geography this year, could we just use the MP US geography review workbooks? Also, at least for dd I would like to add some of the lit guides. I feel like getting to choose curriculum based on personalities and abilities is one of the greatest benefits of homeschooling, but then I think, "what if I am not doing it right? what if I am missing something huge?" So, where are our gaps? Anyone care to share their thoughts??? Thank you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 A box to put it in? :) I think it looks fine. You could put in your own review/recitation day for each subject every so often (maybe once a month?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llifeon18wheels Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 You have a very nice eclectic plan. I love eclectic. I think maybe a bright colored tote is in order. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 (Scratches head...) Stress? (It came in "the box," I have to do it all!) Less flexibility for varying degrees of ability from subject to subject? Less variety? Less ability to meet needs and varying learning styles? Less fun in looking at all those fun curriculum sites? Freedom to pursue interests and rabbit-trails? Seriously though, if you enjoy being eclectic, carry on! Boxes do suit some people well, others prefer to work without. Gaps exist either way, whether you choose what to do or someone else chooses what to do. "Complete" is a myth. Try not to switch skills-based programs too often, but with content-based subjects, that's easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 It all sounds good to me. Our review is, "Tell Dad what you learned about this week." lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 The planner that tells you what to do on what day. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 :lol: I am not planning to go to a box...I like doing our own thing...I just don't want my kids to miss out on anything because I did it myself, ya know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llifeon18wheels Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 See, I do a "box day" video for our Sonlight box. I can just see a great video for "tote day". Put it all in there, then call the kids in and have fun with it. Celebrate your eclecticness. Am I the only one that finds this to be a cool idea? I am adding gobs of great stuff to our Sonlight next month and then next year it will be even more eclectic and I'm getting excited about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llifeon18wheels Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 The planner that tells you what to do on what day. :) I bought an Erin Condren Teacher Planner to do just this. I'm a box checker and I'm looking forward to seeing it all in front of me versus just writing everything in on my Sonlight schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I use a box, and I have to say, I don't think I will ever go back to piecing things together. Our box is a very complete well regarded curriculum that is also quite challenging from 3rd grade up....keeping that in mind... My box gives me: More free time to read Less stress over what we might be missing Accountability (we use the ATS service) Guidance, help, any question of any kind is only a phone call away from loving caring experienced teachers who love teaching and children (again, this is probably unique to my box, Calvert) Balance - there is more variety built in Balanced views and opinions - since it's not all my exact worldview, we are really doing a lot more talking about the wide wide world out there NOt pushing too hard- on my own I tended to either spoil or push my kids, unknowingly. With the box, I know they are working up to a level considered challenging for their age group. If it happens to be easy in certain areas, I feel the freedom to allow them to enjoy the ease in that area. Likewise, if an area seems particularly challenging, I feel good about pushing them a little, knowing that this is a good challenge similar to that which they will face throughout life. Husband- my husband loves the box. He loves to tell people about it, recommend it, refer people to it, share it with colleagues at work who ask about homeschooing, and he loves that I feel secure using the box. He never felt that way with eclectic methods. Kids- Kids love it that when the LM is done, the day is over!! No more surprises and unusual stuff, just randomly coming at them from mom. They really want to know what is happening and that has worked better for us with the box. Obviously, the box has it's downfalls but you have lots of lists of those upthread and I assume you will downthread too. So I won't bother. I have used a box for grades Pre, K, K, 2, 4, and 6. I have done eclectic mixes for K, 2, 3, and 5. (with different kids obviously), so you can see I have had extensive experience with both boxed and eclectic for elementary school with two different children of very different personalities and learning styles and we ALL prefer the box!!! Calvert all the way baby. LOL (PS we don't use their math. My son uses saxon and my daughter uses Horizons mixed with Calvert for conceptual stuff) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 See, I do a "box day" video for our Sonlight box. I can just see a great video for "tote day". Put it all in there, then call the kids in and have fun with it. Celebrate your eclecticness. Am I the only one that finds this to be a cool idea? I am adding gobs of great stuff to our Sonlight next month and then next year it will be even more eclectic and I'm getting excited about it. "Tote Day." I like it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommytoFour Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I don't want to hijack your thread, but why did you do BP for just a year and then go away from it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I don't miss a "box" of separate materials chosen by a certain company (like Calvert), but I do miss having an integrated curriculum - this would be something where the subjects and skill work all interconnect and flow. I think Moving Beyond the Page does this pretty well (at least between history and literature, not sure about how science ties in), but I cannot use it for everything. The science is way too intensive and the grammar is not systematic enough for my kid. I love that the lit projects are so varied - speeches, debates, scripts, power points, all sorts of essays, etc. Oak Meadow integrates some subjects in the K-8 years. I tried OM and it wasn't a good fit. Maybe K12 does this? I have heard their art and history are complementary, and geography is folded into history. I would love to have literature that highlights either the historical period we're studying or a scientific concept we're studying. The composition exercises would be based on literature, history, or science but would be systematic and incorporate grammar/editing skills that are being learned. The work would be balanced and efficient. I use separate programs (from separate publishers) for everything and it's fine because I can choose "the best fit" but nothing works together. There is redundancy, and there are gaps. Language Lessons Through Literature integrates LA with literature, but a good half of the lit is not stuff I would choose, and I want more than just copywork in the first two levels so I plan to supplement with grammar workbooks and sub other lit as needed. I love the concept but it's not the LA I would choose; however I'm trying to make it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 I don't want to hijack your thread, but why did you do BP for just a year and then go away from it? I loved BP. Really I did. But the revised year 3 wasn't ready when we needed it so we decided to do our own thing for US History for now. We very likely will go back to BP in the future. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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