XP: Started the Robinson Curriculum with an older student and loved it? Tell me more.

[dauphin]

Or just tell me more about it period.

I heard about it from a local friend but she has younger children.

It looks like it's hard to see a sample, and I'm all about samples....LOL. And Table of Contents and such.

 

Should I say more about us?

I have a rising 6th grader. She is accelerated in math and reading/reasoning skills, with a science/STEM bent. We are fairly new to classical education specifically (barring a year with CC and 3 months in a private school) and homeschooling generally (last year was our first full year). Her writing skills are probably average although we have not yet worked on summarizing and outlining, but she can narrate longer than I (as an introvert) can listen. :)

 

I love the idea of the classics/Great Books, and reading-based education. I started down the road of Sonlight after picking up an OLD IG at a curriculum sale, but became discouraged with all the warnings about inaccuracies and the "problems with historical fiction." But I really want a LIST and a framework, I am stressed at the prospect of winging next year all on my own (we are pulling out of the SOTW/4-year cycle for a year to do Am. Hist next year, and almost no-one seems to do Am. Hist from a classical perspective at this age level in one year).

 

TIA!

 

[Momling]

It might be an awesome program, I really know nothing about it. But... I did once get some crazy junk mail from Art Robinson that made me think he might be a complete nutball. I'd check him out before subscribing wholeheartedly to his curriculum.

[birchbark]

Another similar curriculum you may be interested in is A-Squared. Here is a chart on their site comparing it to Robinson.

[dauphin]

Verrrrrry interesting....

At worst, it could be kind of like the Yesterday's Classics ebooks collection!!!!

[kiana]

You'll run into the same problem with inaccuracies and historical fiction with Robinson as you did with Sonlight. Also, most of the books are so old that you can find them for free online and download them yourself. Here's a list with free downloads for most -- http://homeschoolfreestuff.wordpress.com/books-for-reading/robinson-booklist/

 

There are some really dubious choices for reading material as well.

[MamaSprout]

Maybe look at Classical House? http://www.classicalhouseoflearning.com/logic-stage-literature.html

Some historical lit, but more focus on classics.

 

There's some others... Ambleside, others with book lists, etc. A good read of Well Trained Mind is actually a good place to start. I actually avoid Sonlight books unless I can get them at the library, because the used market for them is overpriced most of the time.

 

In looking over Robinson, I didn't see anything there that makes it easy to use, appealing to my kiddo (or me), or even great lit. The argument that ancient history etc, hasn't change since the 1920's is actually incorrect. Archeology has become more scientific in the last 100 years. I would not use an out of copyright book as a history spine.

 

Both Sonlight and Ambleside were originally created for missionary families, with an assumption those families don't have access to libraries. If you do have a library, you can put together what ever book list you want (including many free classics through Gutenberg or Overdrive.) Just search here for reading lists, literature list, etc.

 

Create a routine for reading/ writing/ talking about those books. There's lots of great resources out there that are much less expensive in terms of time and money than jumping through hoops for a "free" curriculum.

 

ETA, I did go look at both Robinson and AO again. I do think AO's program is much easier to use than when we used it. I also guess Robinson has a Yahoo group.

 

Just my .02

Good Luck!

 

[zenjenn]

To a limited extent, I do what the Robinson Curriculum advises (I do a lot of giving my kids stuff to study and do, and then get out of the way, maintaining a high expectation that they study diligently and independently during certain hours.)

 

So knowing that I roll that way, I looked him in depth but I saw no reason to give him my money and still remain unclear as to what he offers that I can't just as easily do on my own. I'm baffled as to why I would climb on board with his recommendations and resources rather than choosing my own (because his approach is so hands-off, that's mostly what his "curriculum" is - his choice of resources.) While I'm not Christian like the above poster so obviously his stuff isn't going to be a good match for me, I honestly can't imagine just climbing on board with *anyone's* big list of resources. Part of the advantage of this kind of approach to homeschooling is making study choices based on what you and your kids are jazzed about.

 

I do like the way things are going, though. We didn't always run this way, I was a lot more hands on than Robinson recommends when my kids were younger, but eased into having them be more and more independent. I think going about it that way actually gave them more tools to be more effective independent learners later on.