VP self paced -- retention no grades

[ByGrace3]

Both my 5th grader and 3rd grader are doing NTGR. I have a couple of questions. If you use VPSP, how involved are you? I have been very hands off. I have helped here or there, but mostly they do it alone. I assumed with built in review retention would be high, but my kids are struggling to keep it all straight, my 8 yo in particular. Both are struggling with all the dates.

 

My 10 yo is doing fine and has an A, but my ds is struggling a good bit. We have never done tests and quizzes before so I'm not sure how concerned I should be. I know the grades don't matter, but if my child came home with C's from school I would not be ok with that. So why should I be ok with this? Should I get more involved? Or are the tests just challenging and those grades are to be expected? I quizzed him before his test today and he still got a 78. He has done well on some, but most are high 70's/low 80's for tests. Just wondering what others experiences with this has been...

[lorisuewho]

My boys are in their third year of VP self-paced history.  I am very hands-off.  The memorizing all the dates was not as important to me at this age, as knowing the sequence of events.  Therefore, I let them use the cards to look up dates only for the tests.  They can't use the cards for anything else.  This has dramatically improved their test scores and more accurately reflects how I would have tested them.

[SilverMoon]

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Edited September 5, 2023 by SilverMoon

[PeterPan]

Shh, but you're allowed just to let them enjoy the history.  Thirty years from now they'll remember even less, but they'll remember if they had a good time or if it provoked a love for history.  

 

They're planting seeds, making pegs, and when they hit this stuff again it will be more familiar.  Particular dates aren't so dreadfully important.  They should be getting a general sense of flow.  Are they doing supplemental reading?  

 

I just wouldn't worry about it, because a lot of what VP thinks matters doesn't matter.  The world will go on, even without memorizing dates.  We used the VP self-paced after several years of the printed, and we liked it a lot.  I'm just pretty oh well about it.  People like history or they don't.  They find how *they* engage with history.  Just because it wasn't the particular things VP picked doesn't mean they're failures.  

[chiguirre]

I really wouldn't worry that the 8 yo is doing much worse than the 10 yo. That's to be expected. You wouldn't flip out if you 3rd grader got a 78 on a 5th grade test at a b&m school. That would be a solid accomplishment.

[OneStepAtATime]

Let them use the cards for the dates. As with others I was far more interested in them understanding the events and the sequence than the actual date.  That, IMHO, is much more valuable. You might consider supplementing with documentaries and the recommended readings if you haven't already. It was more fun that way and helped tie things together more effectively.

 

[ByGrace3]

Thanks everyone. Actually, one reason I hesitated using self paced was the focus on dates and things I felt didn't matter...:lol: I considered the open book thing, but goodness I CANNOT get passed how I signed my name to that silly form in the beginning promising that my kids would have no help and no access to materials for tests. Honestly, other than that I would have no problem at all for the dates anyway...I don't think they are as important...but it feels like I am lying! Crazy. I know.

[ByGrace3]

I really wouldn't worry that the 8 yo is doing much worse than the 10 yo. That's to be expected. You wouldn't flip out if you 3rd grader got a 78 on a 5th grade test at a b&m school. That would be a solid accomplishment.

I thought about this, but while I am not surprised my 5th grader is doing well...I kinda feel like she is doing well in a 3rd grade course...and so my ds should also because it is intended for 3rd grade not the other way around. ;)

 

Truthfully I think I just need to have some grace with ds. He broke his clavicle 4 weeks ago and my very normally active boy is having a hard time. Grace is definitely needed.

[greyseal]

My 3rd grader is doing about the same as you describe yours doing in Explorers to 1815. She does worse when I'm hands-off, and better when I am nearby for a test. If she's stuck on a date, I give her a hint and she usually can figure it out. I don't care about her having dates in her head so much as knowing the sequence of events in the Timeline, so that's where we focus our efforts. She'll always be able to check a date online, so that doesn't worry me. Also, she's 8! She'll hit all this again eventually, so again, I don't worry too much. 

 

Grace is good!

[PeterPan]

You know, it's really not a crime to have them hit something that is hard.  The dates in the VP self-paced were hard for my dd too.  (She has ADHD, and lots of memorization wears her out.)  But she remembers the hard work, the skills, the attention she made to them.  She learned that she wasn't as good at some things as other people might be.  That was ok, kwim?

[wehave8]

:bigear:

 

We'll be there soon.  Not too bad, so far, in OT&AE, but I watch everything our dss (8, 10, 12).

Honestly, I was wondering, though, if I'll be able to keep it all straight when we get to the next level.  Now I'm concerned.   :huh:

 

If not VP, and SOTW was a bust for us, what else would there be for NT/G/R?

 

Pam

[PeterPan]

Pam, don't buy problems before you have them!  :)   Adults are going to struggle more with retention, because we're *older* and have more on our minds, more filling up our working memory.  Kids don't come to it so encumbered.  There's no reason to drop if they're otherwise enjoying it and if you're finding it a useful framework for your time.  There IS NO perfect instruction.  You know this.  There is just joy in the journey, what gets done, what inspires.