Curriculum recommendations for "digging deeper"

[lgliser]

It was suggested to me over on the accelerated learner board that I ask for specific curriculum recommendations for going a little broader and deeper.  I don't know if Sam (8 years old) is gifted or just a quick learner but he really does catch on quickly to things.  He memorizes things very well and he picks up on new math concepts very fast.

 

I had asked how to even go about accelerating a quick learner and the good point of going deeper rather than just quicker was made. 

 

So I guess I'm just wondering what good curriculum options we might have.  I'd say especially in history and science.  Maybe grammar too?  We are doing My Father's World for history and it's US History this year, which I had heard was a really fun year.  And it is - we are really liking it.  But I can tell he would love to go deeper.  We get extra books to read and that's been great.  I'm not sure what else I could do.

 

With math, we just switched from Abeka to CLE.  I'm not sure about switching again, but maybe some sort of supplement to challenge him more?  I don't  want to race through 3rd grade math like we basically did with 1st and 2nd.  There are definitely new concepts being introduced.  He understands all of them just fine so I'm not sure what he needs.

[ALB]

You could supplement math with something that approaches it differently, like MEP or Life of Fred.  As far as grammar goes, it will eventually get more complicated over time so I think I would personally just enjoy the fact that your son finds it easy for now.  

History and science would be interesting to beef up, and there are different ways you could do it.  If you are already doing extra reading, maybe consider adding in a project or two?  For history, he could do some research on a topic of interest and put together some kind of project to display what he has learned (cover a cereal box with paper and put different pictures and paragraphs on each side, make a lapbook, a diorama, a poster board, write a story, etc.).

Science is included in MFW, right?  My impressions from looking at it before were that the topics changed from week to week in Adventures, which doesn't really lend itself to going deeper.  You could always add a more systematic approach, like Elemental Science.

Another thing I would suggest is to begin Latin!  

[mohini]

How bout a computer programming/ animation course? My ds is doing one through Youthdigital.com now and he loves it. For grammar you might consider CLE LA (which is quite rigorous) or adding in a Latin program (like prima latina or Minimus.) Also Memoria Press has great literature guides that are fairly independent.

 

ETA - We're also using VP self paced history and loving it with the recommended reading

[Farrar]

For math, trying Beast Academy seems like a no brainer.

 

For history, you're doing US history. The options are sort of unlimited. There's a huge amount of historical fiction for US history about nearly every time and place. While he's on the young end, the Joy Hakim series has a lot of good depth for upper elementary and middle school. There are tons of great nonfiction books too... Tell us where you are in terms of time period and myself and others, I'm sure can suggest resources. Are you to the Civil War yet?

 

For science, I would also look at doing more books. If he's really accelerated, he might enjoy the Scientist in the Field books. But there are others out there. And for science, there are so many documentaries that are great - like Cosmos, episodes of NOVA, etc.

 

In general, I think I would just have more resources around. Strew things. Strew books to read and games to play that use strategy and so forth. And be open to doing projects and following his interests.

[Meadowlark]

We're doing adventures this year too, and although it's fun, it's hard to dig in very deep as the concepts change from week to week. My oldest is in 2nd, so I think of it as just an overview with plenty of time to dig in deeper later. We get lots of extra books and I think a ton of learning goes on during book basket time. My son also loves science and I feel MFW is very light on it, so we check out experiment books from the library, and he does his own experiments.

 

For math, I suggest Singapore intensive practice or Challenging word problems. We did CLE a for awhile and I think Singapore is much deeper than CLE or any traditional math. We use BJU now with IP and I feel like the two complement each other very well.

[wapiti]

I will second the thought of trying BA as being a no-brainer.  If that doesn't work out for some reason, then supplement with SM CWP and/or IP and/or switch over to SM or MEP entirely.  There are several ways to skin this cat.

[desertflower]

I don't know if this qualifies as deeper, but what about books from the critical thinking co.? My ds and dd loves them.

 

Or logic games? My ds loves no stress chess.

[8filltheheart]

Hands-On Equations for math.

 

Reading books selected from rabbit trails that other studies generate.

[lgliser]

 

Science is included in MFW, right?  My impressions from looking at it before were that the topics changed from week to week in Adventures, which doesn't really lend itself to going deeper.  You could always add a more systematic approach, like Elemental Science.

Another thing I would suggest is to begin Latin!

Science is included.  And it is light, and it does just change from week to week so it really is tough to dig in. 

 

 

How bout a computer programming/ animation course? My ds is doing one through Youthdigital.com now and he loves it. For grammar you might consider CLE LA (which is quite rigorous) or adding in a Latin program (like prima latina or Minimus.) Also Memoria Press has great literature guides that are fairly independent.

Yes, he'd love computer programming.  His daddy's a programmer so they could do this together!  Is CLE LA more rigorous that FLL?  That's what we use now.  I think my kids would like Latin!

 

 

Tell us where you are in terms of time period and myself and others, I'm sure can suggest resources. Are you to the Civil War yet?

We just talked about the Louisiana Purchase - 1803.

 

 

We're doing adventures this year too, and although it's fun, it's hard to dig in very deep as the concepts change from week to week. My oldest is in 2nd, so I think of it as just an overview with plenty of time to dig in deeper later. We get lots of extra books and I think a ton of learning goes on during book basket time. My son also loves science and I feel MFW is very light on it, so we check out experiment books from the library, and he does his own experiments.

 

For math, I suggest Singapore intensive practice or Challenging word problems. We did CLE a for awhile and I think Singapore is much deeper than CLE or any traditional math. We use BJU now with IP and I feel like the two complement each other very well.

I agree - fun but hard to dig deep!  We do love book basket time. 

 

My husband just suggested that instead of having our son do a math lesson a day, have him do a set time (like 30 min, since usually his math lesson might take him 10 min) of math a day.  I could have him do his CLE lesson and then work on something like BA or MEP or something?  Does that sound like a good plan?

 

 

I will second the thought of trying BA as being a no-brainer.  If that doesn't work out for some reason, then supplement with SM CWP and/or IP and/or switch over to SM or MEP entirely.  There are several ways to skin this cat.

I have heard of BA but know nothing about it.  I'm going to look into it though.  SM is Singapore Math I assume?  I just don't know about switching to it completely.  I am not a mathy person so I need a curriculum that I can teach.  I feel like it's an unfamiliar approach to math so a) I will have a tough time teaching it and b) I feel like we may have to start at the very beginning so we get into the swing of how to do it.  What is CWP and IP?  I have heard of MEP....

 

Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions.  I'm once again overwhelmed and feeling like I am just not good enough to give my kids what they need!  But I think that looking into some of these things will really help!

 

 

[Laura Corin]

 

Maybe grammar too?  

 

I'll address English, as it's the area where I think we had the most success in enrichment.  I don't know the materials that you are currently using, so I'll just talk about what we did:

 

We used materials that touched on grammar lightly but used rich literature.  Quick learners often pick up grammar more-or-less by osmosis, so we didn't feel the need to spend too much time on it.  It's easy to load up quick learners with more and more busywork, just because they get through it fast.  I tried, instead, to acknowledge the work done and move onto more meaningful tasks.  Spelling we also did for as long as Calvin was actually learning something - once it was clear that he was a natural speller, we stopped.  The curricula that we used had comprehension passages from good books (prose and poetry), gave a variety of writing prompts, and suggested related reading.

 

We developed grammar and vocabulary by his reading great works of children's literature (AA Milne, EB White, Michael Bond, Roald Dahl, Lewis Carroll, Arthur Ransome, E Nesbit, Frances Hodgson Burnett, CS Lewis, RL Stevenson, Jules Verne..... ).  I don't know your son's reading level, but there are some great lists of classic novels for different abilities.  My son read one to two great novels a week.  I rarely questioned him on them - the whole point was for him to immerse himself in them.

 

We also, every Friday, spent half an hour on learning poetry by heart.  I just chose poems from a good children's anthology.  The idea was to have the words ringing in his head.  Calvin didn't much like this at the time, but has since said that it was the best thing that we could have done.  He writes poetry now.

 

Anyway - I hope that this helps.

 

L

[Cottonwood]

Moving Beyond the Page has been a REALLy great thing for my gifted and accelerated students.

[mohini]

I don't know if CLE is *more* rigorous than FLL overall but it does seem to move a bit faster and is very independent. I tried FLL 3 after CLE LA 2 and found myself skipping the first half (almost) of the book. FLL's memory work is really nice though and sorely missing from CLE IMO. As I understand it you are looking to accelerate your ds but still have to work w/ your dds - so having something like CLE for him to work on might fit. Also you can pick up at whichever LU you think is appropriate. CLE LA 2 teaches Cursive, beginning diagramming and walks the student through writing a book report in addition to basic grammar and punctuation. The great thing about CLE is that you could always try out one LU for 4$ ;)

 

Another good resource for programming is Hourofcode.com which is free. - Though I will say that we have found the Youth Digital course worth it's cost. (I bought it through homeschool buyers coop 40% off -)

[truemind]

I would agree that BA would be a great addition to math.  My DD(8 year old) was doing SM, we added BA and it took our math education to a new level.  It slowed us down quite a bit but the level of engagement and enjoyment is much higher.  Let's just say I don't have to ask her to do math anymore.  Just a word of caution, BA initially is rather slow, but eventually you will see how it engages a student with higher level thinking.  Couldn't praise BA more...

[lgliser]

Just wanted to get some clarity - for those who say that Beast Academy is a no-brainer, you mean that we should use it as a supplement to our CLA, right?  Or does BA stand alone?

[Miss Tick]

BA is considered a stand-alone program, but it has minimal review of previously taught materials, so some kid may need that. BUT you expressed hesitation about switching math again, and there is no reason you can't just use it to supplement. The comic book format makes it enjoyable for my ds, and a lot of the material is presented differently and often more deeply than a traditional program. My ds uses MEP and BA, one as a spine, one as a supplement, although they often change rooms from week to week.

[g1234]

Stanford Lhistory Education Group's Reading Like a Historian for US or World history. It's excellent for going deep! http://sheg.stanford.edu/rlh

[Staceyshoe]

You might want to take a look at Truthquest History.  There is no structure, and it's a very flexible program.  If you want a rigid schedule, look elsewhere.  We like it because it's easy to tailor.  Ds can go as indepth into topics as he wants or just gloss over them if we choose.  We can add lapbooking, timeline, mapwork, and notebooking easily by purchasing the supplements--or we pick-and-choose the supplements or we can do without those.  It's based on living books which we also like.  It's very easy to make the program fit your family rather than vice versa.

For science, you may want to try Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding.  It's another program that can go into great depth if you choose, but it's extremely flexible.  There are activities/experiments, living books recommendations, etc.  The strength of the program is that it fosters critical thinking.  The "weakness" is that it's not open-and-go, though I've learned how to be very efficient in lesson prep so it takes little time. 

Another science option we love is Ellen McHenry's units.  Can't beat the depth of information while still being so kid-friendly.  Love them!

[Mommy_of_4]

Following.....

[lgliser]

 

Another science option we love is Ellen McHenry's units.  Can't beat the depth of information while still being so kid-friendly.  Love them!

I just looked this up and I wish I could see a sample page or something.  How does the curriculum go?  What's a typical day/week like?  Thanks :)

[lgliser]

 

Stanford Lhistory Education Group's Reading Like a Historian for US or World history. It's excellent for going deep! http://sheg.stanford.edu/rlh

 

Looks neat!  Do you do a lesson a day?  Curious how this one works too....is it free??  Looks like I just need to sign up and then I'm able to download things.  So I guess you could just pick a unit to dig deeper into here and there if you want? 

[Staceyshoe]

I just looked this up and I wish I could see a sample page or something. How does the curriculum go? What's a typical day/week like? Thanks :)

(I'm on my mobile and can't link now.). If you click on a product in her curriculum store, you can view the first 1-2 chapters. She's very generous with samples and free downloads.

[g1234]

Looks neat!  Do you do a lesson a day?  Curious how this one works too....is it free??  Looks like I just need to sign up and then I'm able to download things.  So I guess you could just pick a unit to dig deeper into here and there if you want? 

 

Totally free.  Just sign up; you won't start getting a bunch of "junk" mail.  We used it for a year and a half with a small group.  We would meet each week, do a RLAH lesson, then the kids would scatter to write an essay based on the lesson and we'd meet the following week to enjoy each other's essays.  You can pick and choose lessons--they're all freestanding.  It was excellent for critical thinking and reading, good discussions, and meaty essay topics.  Plus we have such a perfect memory of each lesson we did.  A year later, I could tell you all sorts of things about the explosion of the battleship Maine, or about the political cartoons of Thomas Nast, or about what sharecropper contracts looked like, or whatever.  When you work with real documents around a pertinent, real historical question that even "real" historians debate, you just don't forget it.  It is a perfect complement to a history spine....you fly over history fast enough to get the context and cover enough ground, and you land here and there to get to know a few specific neighborhoods very, very well.  We did nearly all the US History lessons, and I plan to go back to it next year for at least some of the World History lessons.  Can't say enough good about this resource.  It's worth a lot, lot of money, and yet it's entirely free.  Grateful thanks to SHEG.

[Aras]

Thanks for the detailed review, g1234! I can't wait to use it :)

[PeterPan]

Assuming you finish out Adventures, are you looking for a year of geography or to start a sequence with ancients?  If you want geography, you may find this easy to make fit your needs.  http://www.guesthollow.com/homeschool/geography/geography.html When she posted the link a while back, we had a thread and discussed some workbooks to make it fit youngers, etc.  Her suggestions are delightful and would be a step up from MFW but still flexible.  

 

For science, you could look into GEMS, TOPS, or the K-8 activity books by the ACS (american chemical society).  Apologia is fine.  With my ds I'm using a mixture.  He's dyslexic, gifted, etc. etc.  I have him doing the BJU science online a couple grades ahead, which he enjoys.  I have kits like the Knex bridges, levers, etc.  So we just do things we enjoy.  With the hungry kids, that's what you do, just facilitating.  You don't expect one curriculum to solve everything.  Fwiw, I like the BJU science a lot as a foundation.  If they jumped in doing say the 4th or 5th (2-3 grades ahead wouldn't be unreasonable for some kids), it might create a spine.  Then flesh it out with cool stuff. With the 4th or 5th (I forget), Snap Circuits go really well.  I got my ds his own set of Snap Circuits so he wouldn't fight dd for them, haha.  Even though he is only a fledgling reader, he can figure out the diagrams and make the things.  So do a blend of things and facilitate.  

 

For history, we'll see.  He's kind of crazy hungry on that front.  I need to get him an audio version of CHOW.  He listens to things and memorizes them.  He watches a lot of history channel.  I got the timeline figures from Geomatters and a cork board.  I'm more in facilitate mode with him, since he's K5.  Since yours will be rising 3rd gr, you might like the VP self-paced online, which my dd ADORED, ADORED, ADORED, or Mystery of History.  I think I'm going to use MOH with him starting in 3rd or 4th and do our eclectic approach until then.  VP has super awesome reading lists in their catalog, with all the books marked upper or lower.  Someone mentioned TruthQuest (TQ) and I also used that for her reading lists.  She's a prolific, self-driven history reader, so I pretty much read the VP card with her, handed her a pile of books, and walked away.  I am so NOT a history person.  One year we read parts of MOH and she would sculpt while we read.  It's just doing things more on her own suited her.  The VP self-paced nails the memory work (and is just plain awesome and adorable), so that took care of the part I should have been doing better.  

 

 

[lgliser]

With the hungry kids, that's what you do, just facilitating.  You don't expect one curriculum to solve everything.

 

 

That's a really good point!

 

 

For history, we'll see.  He's kind of crazy hungry on that front.  I need to get him an audio version of CHOW.  He listens to things and memorizes them.  He watches a lot of history channel.  I got the timeline figures from Geomatters and a cork board.  I'm more in facilitate mode with him, since he's K5.  Since yours will be rising 3rd gr, you might like the VP self-paced online, which my dd ADORED, ADORED, ADORED, or Mystery of History.  I think I'm going to use MOH with him starting in 3rd or 4th and do our eclectic approach until then.  VP has super awesome reading lists in their catalog, with all the books marked upper or lower.  Someone mentioned TruthQuest (TQ) and I also used that for her reading lists.  She's a prolific, self-driven history reader, so I pretty much read the VP card with her, handed her a pile of books, and walked away.  I am so NOT a history person.  One year we read parts of MOH and she would sculpt while we read.  It's just doing things more on her own suited her.  The VP self-paced nails the memory work (and is just plain awesome and adorable), so that took care of the part I should have been doing better.

I am strongly leaning towards VP self paced history.  Thanks for all of the suggestions!

[mohini]

One other math thing you might look at is EPGY - now called giftedandtalented.com. It's the math program out of Stanford U. I am using it as a supplement with my younger mathy one. She likes it well enough and it teaches the conceptual thinking that a program like SM or BA would. It's adaptive so it works w/ your kid's ability and there are some cool games as extras. It's a bit pricey, but cheaper than it used to be ($60/ quarter for independent study.) They also have English but I have not used it. The math can be done on computer or tablet and makes a great "i'm done" activity.