Calvert....Science

[lovinmomma]

We're doing Calvert through our local charter. We're in a situation where that's the best thing for us right now, and for the most part I've been really enjoying Calvert. However, while the science is interesting... it feels so rushed and so broad. I feel like we cover a unit basically every day, but we don't have enough time to let anything "soak in". I guess there's not much that I can do about it because we have to complete it, but are there any of you out there that have used Calvert and found a way to dig deeper? I don't feel like there's time for retention. To give you some perspective, we were using BFSU when we HSed before.

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Not really, but then I am not a Science person.  We actually really loved the A CLoser Look series, and felt it was just right for us. Of course we did end up looking things up on the internet more than once, but for the most part we were happy. But I have always had a light touch with Science.

[lovinmomma]

Not really, but then I am not a Science person.  We actually really loved the A CLoser Look series, and felt it was just right for us. Of course we did end up looking things up on the internet more than once, but for the most part we were happy. But I have always had a light touch with Science.

 

Thank you for your reply! I just feel like DD doesn't have time to really grasp what she learned the previous day before moving on to something new, and then she's expected to remember a list of vocab words each day... that's a lot! :) We enjoy the book. Maybe it's just the pace that is difficult.

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One thing that is different was that in our case we were not part of a charter and my dd 4th grade was not signed up for ATS< so we did NOT memorize vocab words.  THe pace was fine for us, because we just read and enjoyed the book together pretty much on the couch.  We didn't do the busy work associated with the writing either!

 

If you are through a charter school, you will definitely have to do the vocab words, but do them at a different part of the day.  For my 6th grade son, who was in ATS, he wrote his vocab cards during the subject he was studying, but he studied them during "Study Time" every day.  This ensured that he didn't dread the subject at hand.  He looked forward to reading his books and he could dread "study time" in another part of his brain.  LOL

 

Also, do you have the tests to be given to your children?  The Calvert tests were wonderful (They are the tests given every 20 lessons for ATS students.)  They really ensured that the students understood the material as a whole and they were not full of busy work.  Our ATS teacher said that I was perfectly free to look ahead at the tests, so that I could see how better to tailor the material.  I can guarantee you that the tests will include lots of vocab.  HOwever, you may look at the tests and decide that conversation is enough as far as daily work in Science, and that you can skip all the writing involved.  I don't know if your CHarter tests are different from Calvert's but you can definitely still tweak the curriculum.  

 

You should be in communication with your charter ES, becuase you can also skip certain aspects of spelling.  For example, my Calvert School ed counsellor, told me that we could skip the Spelling Books entirely, because all of the spelling needed was in the online program.  She said the Spelling stuff is pretty extraneous.  Again, it depends on your charter, BUt that is another thing we skipped entirely and saved tons of time.

[lovinmomma]

One thing that is different was that in our case we were not part of a charter and my dd 4th grade was not signed up for ATS< so we did NOT memorize vocab words.  THe pace was fine for us, because we just read and enjoyed the book together pretty much on the couch.  We didn't do the busy work associated with the writing either!

 

If you are through a charter school, you will definitely have to do the vocab words, but do them at a different part of the day.  For my 6th grade son, who was in ATS, he wrote his vocab cards during the subject he was studying, but he studied them during "Study Time" every day.  This ensured that he didn't dread the subject at hand.  He looked forward to reading his books and he could dread "study time" in another part of his brain.  LOL

 

Also, do you have the tests to be given to your children?  The Calvert tests were wonderful (They are the tests given every 20 lessons for ATS students.)  They really ensured that the students understood the material as a whole and they were not full of busy work.  Our ATS teacher said that I was perfectly free to look ahead at the tests, so that I could see how better to tailor the material.  I can guarantee you that the tests will include lots of vocab.  HOwever, you may look at the tests and decide that conversation is enough as far as daily work in Science, and that you can skip all the writing involved.  I don't know if your CHarter tests are different from Calvert's but you can definitely still tweak the curriculum.  

 

You should be in communication with your charter ES, becuase you can also skip certain aspects of spelling.  For example, my Calvert School ed counsellor, told me that we could skip the Spelling Books entirely, because all of the spelling needed was in the online program.  She said the Spelling stuff is pretty extraneous.  Again, it depends on your charter, BUt that is another thing we skipped entirely and saved tons of time.

 

I believe that our tests are the same as the ATS tests. The vocab is a stretch for sure! Trying to remember that many vocab words each day is rough. Especially for a dyslexic child that struggles with rote memorization! I'm trying to find something that could help her learn her vocab words online or an app... that way it doesn't feel quite so... lame. :)