What Worked, What Didn't?

[MyLife]

What didn't work:

 

Cottage Press. I was sad. It was my ideal, but not my reality.

 

 

Why didn't Cottage Press work for you? I'm planning to purchase it in the next couple of weeks.

[coastalfam]

I love this kind of reflection.

 

For our main curriculums, what worked for my 9 year old was ELTL, AAS (man, he improved a lot), MUS, I Can Do All Things, and HLTL cursive. My 6 year old did great with AAR, HWOT, and MUS. My oldest who has Down syndrome, did well with a program we get from his charter called "PCI" for sight reading, he did well using the components of AAR to help him memorize the phonics, and work on decoding and spelling, and I think is ready for AAR and AAS starting this summer. Math was another story. Still searching for anything at all that will work.

 

Our introduction to SOTW for History study was great. It worked really well with the Activity Guide and lots of related literature. I LOVED Quark Chronicles by Barefoot Ragamuffin Curricula. We used the available study guides to put together a simple and very effective study of Botany, and now Zoology. I found Ellen McHenry's website and science projects/curriculum through our Wayfarers planner, and fell in LOVE. We really liked Botany in 8 Lessons, and lots of random projects we have downloaded from her free section. I really enjoyed studying Geography through novels, and supplementing with Google searches and library books to learn about the settings we were reading about. Our local Library worked for us big time this year. Enjoyed our composer studies using story books and listening to related pieces at bedtime.

 

We dropped a book here and there that wasn't really appealing to us. We dropped the Barry Stebbing Little Lambs book for my oldest and youngest--they are both too uncoordinated fine motor wise to have enjoyed the activities. They were just frustrated.

 

The other thing that didn't work was our initial schedule, which we were following from Wayfarers. We have classes we go to at a charter and lots of therapy appointments for my oldest, so I had to stop using Wayfarers as a daily planner, and use it instead as a menu that I then had to re-arrange into my own planner. We ended up doing History and Science each one afternoon per week, and rotating a lot of our other content subjects and special activities as we had time in a very changing and busy school year. I think I have finally given myself permission that that is perfectly fine. :)

[KeriJ]

Why didn't Cottage Press work for you? I'm planning to purchase it in the next couple of weeks.

I'm not sure I can put it into words well. I will say that the samples and the description are very accurate. So if you like what you see, you'll probably be fine. I think I just realized I prefer to separate the different areas of language arts. I didn't care for the pacing either. I used 3 levels though, so my reasons are probably different depending on the specific book. But mostly, I just realized that for whatever reason, my brain follows R&S better.

 

ETA: Also, using literature for a grammar lesson seems to ruin it for my kids. Maybe it's just us.

Edited April 27, 2017 by KeriJ

[Momto4inSoCal]

What worked -

Reading eggs, love this program! It helps me give my boys some reading practice when we are busy

 

Analytical Grammar - Still a fav, I'm actually sad we are done with it

 

Math Mammoth - Finally I feel like I see the fruit of the last 3 year with this program with my oldest

 

Beast Academy - gives my younger daughter the challenge that she needs

 

Latin Book One - I love this program! So good! I wish it had a teachers guide though

 

What didn't work -

 

Logic of English foundations - I may go back to this over the summer but it moved to fast

 

Latin Alive - I have realized I am not a fan of classical academic press products I don't like the way they organize their products. I need programs to be a little more structured.

 

All in all I've had to learn to be flexible and to not try and cram so much work in. We started the year with a ton of programs but teaching 4 kids at home is harder than I thought and it's forced some independence on my older kids and forced me to let go.

Edited April 27, 2017 by Momto4inSoCal

[MyLife]

I'm not sure I can put it into words well. I will say that the samples and the description are very accurate. So if you like what you see, you'll probably be fine. I think I just realized I prefer to separate the different areas of language arts. I didn't care for the pacing either. I used 3 levels though, so my reasons are probably different depending on the specific book. But mostly, I just realized that for whatever reason, my brain follows R&S better.

 

ETA: Also, using literature for a grammar lesson seems to ruin it for my kids. Maybe it's just us.

Thanks for your thoughts! We currently use separate materials for language arts, so the thought of having it all together is appealing to me. I also like that it includes picture study and nature study. I've wanted to include both since we started homeschooling but haven't because it just seemed like "one more subject to cover."

[PentecostalMom]

What worked-

*CLE math for my 3 and 6 graders.

*Mama made American history. We gave up doing encyclopedia/outlines and my 6th grader read a TON of books (I think we are at 15 currently) instead. She loved it, and honestly has a better understanding of history.

*IEW for both big girls. SWI B followed by Narnia for my 6th grader, and Fables and Fairy Tales for my 3rd grader. We started in February, so we won't finish the whole year by summer, but I adore IEW, and have seen tremendous growth in their writing.

*Elemental Science Chemistry for the Logic Stage coop for my 6th grader, unit study based science for my 3rd grader at the same time. I am hands off for the chemistry part. Some moms teach the bigger kids and I, along with two other moms, teach the younger siblings. The middle schoolers do all the labs, reading, vocabulary, and discussion question there. I like that I don't have to assemble a bunch of supplies, that she gets to works with lab partners and bounce ideas off each other, and that there is no homework, so science is completely taken off our home schedule.

*Morning Basket-we recently started this and everyone loves it. It takes us 1-1.5 hours, but it is so well worth it. The morning feels nicer, calmer, and I'm really loving all of the discussion. Depending on the day, we cover-religious study, character, reading aloud, history, literature, fables, poetry, music, art, spelling, math facts, memory work, and logic.

*Art and Debate classes at coop #2-the art is taught by two ladies who own an art studio, and is fantastic. They've done glass fusing, clay, canvas painting, chalk, and a bunch of other methods. I love it. I feel they are really learning a ton. The debate class is the second half of what started as a logic class. It's for my oldest. She comes home every week excited to research the topic (some have been age of the earth, animal testing, women leadership in church, building Trumps wall, etc.) and spends hours preparing her defense. Even though we are generally on a very liberal side (the coop is Christian based, so we are kind of heretical lol), and she is in the minority when it comes to choosing sides, her teacher has applauded her and cheered her on and has never made her feel weird. She adores her teacher.

*Phonetic Zoo-It's easy to implement and doesn't make her cry. Win.

*Shepperd Software-they do the world geography drills. Takes five minutes and they all do it happily.

*Prodigy Math-got it for $8 a year, totally worth it. It's fun, and they get exposure to some different concepts and methods.

 

 

What hasn't worked-

*Sigh. Basically anything with my 6 year old. She's on the sensory spectrum, and has a very hard time with emotional regulation. I don't think it's the curriculum, it's her. We are doing Miquon and CLE Learn to Read. I like them both a lot, but she gives me a hard time everyday. I am at a loss. She is capable, and the curriculum is good, but she does it grudgingly and generally needs to leave the table at least once. [emoji21]

*Mapping the World With Art-the reading selection bored them. The map drawings were good, but they didn't really retain much.

*Critical Thinking Co-grammar/language arts. It got done, but I'm not sure how much was retained...this isn't a total fail for us, but I don't know that I loved it. We'll be doing something else next year.

Would you share more details about what you did for your "mama made American History"? I am looking at putting something together for my 11yo dad and would love to keep it simple!

 

 

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[kristamaranatha]

Following.

[Um_2_4]

What worked:

- WWE for youngest 3

- MUS for DD10 (math phobic, possible dyscalculia) - She is borrowing and carrying like a pro!!! YAY!!!

- Readingeggs/Mathseeds for DD7 & DS7, all my kids used this and loved it. I will continue with readingexpress for a while

- Singapore math for DS7&DD7

- US History Detective for DS12

- CTC Word Roots software for DS12, DD10 prefers the workbooks

- ETC with DS7 and DD7

- Dubay handwriting for DS7 and DD7

- Science: just doing readings and lots of great visual books, skip the workbooks

 

 

OK, but not stellar:

-AGS Algebra for a pre-Alg for DS12, got some solid review in and shored up any weaknesses before Alg in 8th, but explanations were not that great

- Hakim condensed History of US, it was ok, too much at some point for youngest 2 and DD10 (who is not a fan of history)

 

 

 

Didn't work:

-Not planning in detail for the whole year (not by date, but week 1, week 2, etc.). I had the big picture and planned 1st 12 weeks in detail, but once year started, time went too fast and I got behind planning the next 6 weeks. This year I will plan 36 weeks of work and have it all printed/bound/boxed and ready to go. To much time printing/whole punching etc.

- too much seat/book work for DS7 (sensory issues), next year: Math on whiteboards, spelling with magnets, etc. Keep writing for handwriting and writing(WWE) and spelling. Everything else interactive or narrations or projects.

- Sequential Spelling online, horrible voice recordings, kids like typing their spelling, but not again....

-WWS for DS12, I like it, he does not, He did fine through WWE, but he needs formulas for writing (kind of like me), this was too "open" for him. He did get outlining down though this year.

 

[nixpix5]

What worked for us:

 

DD (7):

Spelling you see B, her spelling is outstanding right now and I feel I owe it all to SYS.

 

Math combination of Horizon and Singapore. She wasn't grasping story problems and Singapore came to the rescue. When she bounced back into Horizon book 2 she was much better prepared.

 

Abeka language 1, has just been so outstanding. It is thorough and she loves it.

 

First Language Lessons 1, has been a hit with her. She enjoys the time with me when we do it and her speech has also benefited.

 

DS X2 (the 6 year old twins)

 

Abeka language 1. I bumped them both into it half way through the year and it was the best decision. One is reading Magic Tree house now and the other is comfortably reading leveled readers.

 

Math u see alpha and Rightstart math B. I put each twin in a different math based on learning styles. At first it was more work for me but now it is like nothing and I can easily do both. Either math would not work for the other if I reversed them. It is amazing how math is that subject where you really do need to find the right fit. This works and we are sticking with it.

 

Subjects with all 3 that worked:

 

SOTW 1 with Biblioplan Ancient. This was perfect. So so fun and every single one has eaten it up. I am going to be sad to finish it up.

 

Mommy's homemade Africa continent study. We used Draw Africa as a spine, 10 days in Africa game, and Africa geopuzzle to focus on each country. Each week we would draw,trace or label 2 countries and I would get books about each country to read that week. They could be about people, myths, customs, animals, basically whatever we could find. It has been phenomenally successful. All 3 kids can rattle off each country using a blank map and tell things about each one. Eritrea was a favorite and they loved learning about the Mangrove Trees.

 

RS4K Geology paired with Geology Rocks! This was a great science study and we all learned a ton. We did chocolate chip cookie archeology digs, made a homemade seismigraph, grew crystals in egg shells, made sedementary rocks and so much more. It was truly an outstanding time.

 

What didn't work for us:

Reason for Handwriting: my kiddos hated it. I thought it was cute but it brought the twins to tears and made my daughter's handwriting worse. We switched to Draw Write Now! and that was much better.

 

All About Spelling:this was too confusing for the kids used alongside Abeka. I may revisit this at later levels as I really like it but it just didn't work for us.

 

Abeka 1 writing. When my DD and I both started rolling our eyes during each lesson I knew it was time to abandon ship. Same goes for Abeka 1 spelling. Just didn't work. Nothing was being retained so we abandoned it.

[almondbutterandjelly]

What worked:  Mathusee Algebra and Mathusee Geometry.  What didn't:  Horizons Algebra and Lifepac Geometry

What worked:  Drawing pictures for each vocabulary word in Abeka Vocabulary

What worked:  "Out-sourcing" science to my wonderful husband

What didn't work:  Yoga for the Brain, which has random writing prompts.  My dd hates random writing prompts.  Give her summaries or research papers, but none of this creative writing nonsense.

 

 

 

 

[Chelli]

Worked:

 

• Almost everything curriculum wise. I really feel I'm in that sweet spot where I know enough about my kids and how they learn that we really don't hit snags too much anymore. 

• Trying out a new three stream history rotation with dd13 and two stream history with dd9. I was a little worried, but they really enjoy it and are having no trouble keeping track of the time periods.

• Going back to doing both history and science each week. We did block scheduling of history and science for a couple of years and really enjoyed it, but this year the girls asked to do both in the course of a week. I was worried I would become stressed, but with our living book approach instead of curriculum approach to these subjects, it wasn't a big deal.

• Making exercise a part of our school day as its own subject.

• Looping learning blocks instead of subjects. We get to everything throughout the year, but I'm not trying to cram certain subjects onto certain days. It's loose, but with structure.

 

What Didn't:

 

• Two different co-ops leading to two long days out of the house. Next year we're doing only one co-op. I don't know what I was thinking.

• Latin study during our Power Hour/Morning Meeting time. Dd13 was NOT having it. I'll pick up Latin for dd9 in a couple of years (she enjoyed it), and we're going to go the word root study instead of full blown Latin for next year.

• Bible Study Guide for All Ages for dd13. I still love BSGFAA, but my oldest needs more. I realized it about halfway through out year, but didn't want to mess with finding something else. Next year I'll have her listen in on lessons (we do it during Power Hour), but she'll do her own bible study at her level.

• Winston Grammar and Fix-It Grammar for dd13. To be such a lover of words and writing, she does NOT like grammar. I tried Winston because it's supposed to be great for right-brained learners. She hated it. I went back to Fix-It with her because she said she liked it, but she was having zero retention with it. I finally bought Analytical Grammar and we're finishing out the year with it and will complete it next year. She still doesn't like it but I told her once we finished the book I would never have her do grammar again. That sold her on it. I've been pleased with her retention as well.

[Wheres Toto]

We've had a pretty good 7th grade year. I started to write a long summary and realized that probably no one really needed to know about all the things I made up ourselves. So, I'll just say a couple things that might be useful.

 

• We liked Mosdos Jade much more than I thought we would. Shame it's not really available anymore.
• Forester's Algebra has annoyed me at many times. Too much emphasis on calculator type problems and weird order of introducing polynomials and overwhelming volume of word problems. We're going to go through algebra 1 again with AoPS next year. AoPS will work as a 2nd year math for her but not for primary. I don't want to do every math level every 2 years so I suspect we'll switch to Derek Owens after algebra 1.
• I still big giant fluffy heart love Español Santillana, and it's well worth the $$ to have a real Spanish program finally. DD has learned a ton this year.

Everything else we've done is a mix of things I've stuck together that wouldn't make sense to anyone. The things we stopped were more because I realized they'd work better for high school than my goals for middle school. Overall, we got an amazing amount of work completed that was still pretty interesting and engaging.

 

Mosdos website is back online, so it looks like it's available again.

[vaquitita]

What worked and what didn't...

 

Block scheduling. We did a term of science, a short term of 'extras', and then a term of history. This was great. Tho next year I might schedule something lighter/more fun for the spring term.

 

OTOH, writing out exactly what chapters and what correlating books we would do each and every week, did NOT work. A simple list, where I just do the next thing in our designated history time slot works much better for me.

 

Loop scheduling. Right at the end of the year I think I've finally gotten the hang of loop scheduling some of those extras that too often get skipped.

 

For my 6yo Singapore, HWOT, spelling you see, and the RS4K K workbook were all great and he will continue then next year.

 

Math. MUS for my 9 yo. I'm on the fence about it for my oldest. I'm playing with math Mammoth samples right now.

 

AAR continued to work for my 9yo.

 

Spelling. RLTL worked nicely for my 11yo. We've petered out, but it would probably be good to finish level 4. I'm on the fence about SYS for my 9yo. She hates the dictation, I think she's really not ready for it. Next year I'm going to try AAS with her. AAR was a good fit and I hope AAS will be too.

 

Grammar. ELTL... I like it, but it just isn't quite working for us. I dropped it in January and switched my oldest to Fix It. That seems to be going quite well and I plan to continue next year.

 

Writing. After dropping ELTL, we tried IEW's ​SWI-b for a month or so. My son really likes Andrew Pudewa, but I'm not sure it's the right fit for us. I'm trying some Brave Writer stuff right now. This is definitely the right fit for *me* we shall see how my son does with it. If it works for him, then great, we'll go all in next year with BW. If not, then we'll pick SWI back up.

 

Thinking Tree Funschooling Journals. These have added some much needed fun to our spring. I don't plan to go all funschooling, but I do think I will keep them as a part of our school. Maybe just once a week or possibly full time for our spring term. The kids get to research stuff that interests them, but in a semi directed way. Sometimes I need that break, of a non mom led subject.

[PentecostalMom]

Worked:

 

• Almost everything curriculum wise. I really feel I'm in that sweet spot where I know enough about my kids and how they learn that we really don't hit snags too much anymore.

• Trying out a new three stream history rotation with dd13 and two stream history with dd9. I was a little worried, but they really enjoy it and are having no trouble keeping track of the time periods.

• Going back to doing both history and science each week. We did block scheduling of history and science for a couple of years and really enjoyed it, but this year the girls asked to do both in the course of a week. I was worried I would become stressed, but with our living book approach instead of curriculum approach to these subjects, it wasn't a big deal.

• Making exercise a part of our school day as its own subject.

• Looping learning blocks instead of subjects. We get to everything throughout the year, but I'm not trying to cram certain subjects onto certain days. It's loose, but with structure.

What Didn't:

• Two different co-ops leading to two long days out of the house. Next year we're doing only one co-op. I don't know what I was thinking.

• Latin study during our Power Hour/Morning Meeting time. Dd13 was NOT having it. I'll pick up Latin for dd9 in a couple of years (she enjoyed it), and we're going to go the word root study instead of full blown Latin for next year.

• Bible Study Guide for All Ages for dd13. I still love BSGFAA, but my oldest needs more. I realized it about halfway through out year, but didn't want to mess with finding something else. Next year I'll have her listen in on lessons (we do it during Power Hour), but she'll do her own bible study at her level.

• Winston Grammar and Fix-It Grammar for dd13. To be such a lover of words and writing, she does NOT like grammar. I tried Winston because it's supposed to be great for right-brained learners. She hated it. I went back to Fix-It with her because she said she liked it, but she was having zero retention with it. I finally bought Analytical Grammar and we're finishing out the year with it and will complete it next year. She still doesn't like it but I told her once we finished the book I would never have her do grammar again. That sold her on it. I've been pleased with her retention as well.

Hi Chelli,

 

I'd like to know about looping learning blocks and what you've chosen for root word study instead of Latin. Thanks!

 

 

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[Chelli]

Hi Chelli,

 

I'd like to know about looping learning blocks and what you've chosen for root word study instead of Latin. Thanks!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Learning Blocks: We try to start around 9 or 9:30 (night owls here so late risers!) and we stop at 4:00. The stop time is firm. I have 5 blocks of time in our day. We work through those five blocks until we hit 4 pm, and then we stop, and the kids begin their Afternoon Chill activities (piano practice, drawing, free reading, play outside, watch a documentary, typing practice, Prodigy Math, etc.) We eat around 6:30 and after that the kids have unrestricted free time to do whatever they wish until bedtime (usually playing on tablets, watching TV, etc.) If we don't make it through all 5 blocks in one day, then we just pick up where we left off the day before and work through our blocks of time until 4 that day. It's looping, but looping entire portions of your day instead of subjects. My 5 Blocks are: Math, Assigned Reading, Foreign Language (Block 1), Neighborhood Walk (Block 2), Power Hour (Block 3), History/Science (Block 4), Language Arts (Block 5). I still set timers for each subject within that block so we don't go too long on one specific subject.

 

Root Word Study: I'm almost positive I'll use Caesar's English from MCT Language Arts using just the Teacher's Manual, but I also looked at the word root study from Critical Thinking Press. It's my backup plan. Also thinking about adding in a history of the English language just for fun using The Word Snoop once we've finished the first part of Caesar's English.

[beka87]

 

Learning Blocks: We try to start around 9 or 9:30 (night owls here so late risers!) and we stop at 4:00. The stop time is firm. I have 5 blocks of time in our day. We work through those five blocks until we hit 4 pm, and then we stop, and the kids begin their Afternoon Chill activities (piano practice, drawing, free reading, play outside, watch a documentary, typing practice, Prodigy Math, etc.) We eat around 6:30 and after that the kids have unrestricted free time to do whatever they wish until bedtime (usually playing on tablets, watching TV, etc.) If we don't make it through all 5 blocks in one day, then we just pick up where we left off the day before and work through our blocks of time until 4 that day. It's looping, but looping entire portions of your day instead of subjects. My 5 Blocks are: Math, Assigned Reading, Foreign Language (Block 1), Neighborhood Walk (Block 2), Power Hour (Block 3), History/Science (Block 4), Language Arts (Block 5). I still set timers for each subject within that block so we don't go too long on one specific subject.

 

Root Word Study: I'm almost positive I'll use Caesar's English from MCT Language Arts using just the Teacher's Manual, but I also looked at the word root study from Critical Thinking Press. It's my backup plan. Also thinking about adding in a history of the English language just for fun using The Word Snoop once we've finished the first part of Caesar's English.

 

 

So with the learning blocks, do you time each subject, then move on?  How exactly is this looping? (Guess I don't quite get it!)

 

Also - I highly recommend the Word Snoop!

 

 

[PentecostalMom]

Learning Blocks: We try to start around 9 or 9:30 (night owls here so late risers!) and we stop at 4:00. The stop time is firm. I have 5 blocks of time in our day. We work through those five blocks until we hit 4 pm, and then we stop, and the kids begin their Afternoon Chill activities (piano practice, drawing, free reading, play outside, watch a documentary, typing practice, Prodigy Math, etc.) We eat around 6:30 and after that the kids have unrestricted free time to do whatever they wish until bedtime (usually playing on tablets, watching TV, etc.) If we don't make it through all 5 blocks in one day, then we just pick up where we left off the day before and work through our blocks of time until 4 that day. It's looping, but looping entire portions of your day instead of subjects. My 5 Blocks are: Math, Assigned Reading, Foreign Language (Block 1), Neighborhood Walk (Block 2), Power Hour (Block 3), History/Science (Block 4), Language Arts (Block 5). I still set timers for each subject within that block so we don't go too long on one specific subject.

Root Word Study: I'm almost positive I'll use Caesar's English from MCT Language Arts using just the Teacher's Manual, but I also looked at the word root study from Critical Thinking Press. It's my backup plan. Also thinking about adding in a history of the English language just for fun using The Word Snoop once we've finished the first part of Caesar's English.

We usually get started around 9-9:30. I don't have a firm stop time, just when we're done. For the most part, each kid with the exception of the littles stop when they are done with their list for the day. We do loop subjects and I find it is working. Normally, everyone is finished around 1:30ish. Sometimes one of the older ones will take a little longer. I tried block scheduling in the past but it's too difficult to implement with so many children and such a wide age range.

 

 

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[SorrelZG]

Worked: Rod & Staff English

 

Didn't Work: My math choices this past year. Just days ago I would have put them in the previous category but we did the compulsory state testing this week. :closedeyes:

 

Edited May 6, 2017 by SGPS

[mom of 2 boys]

Worked:

 

- Work boxes.

- Doing half of our work before lunch the other half after.

- Sticker sheets and incentives.

- Reserving library books online. Major time saver, so fortunate to have the ability to do that.

 

Didn't work:

 

- My Fathers World K. Major flop. It was way too easy and light, supplementing just led to ditching it.

- Doing a "morning basket" or a "book basket" or whatever you call it. My toddler made it impossible. We will try again next year.

- "Busy bags" for my toddler. Major flop, he just threw everything at us.

- Art class - some kids just aren't into art I guess. He did like the ceramics portions though, so it wasn't a total loss. Gym class isn't a huge hit at the moment either.

[Cecropia]

This was my first year of homeschooling.  Everything I mention was given to both boys but tailored to their ages/abilities.  It was a steep learning curve...

 

What worked well:

 

Life of Fred --- They dutifully worked through the books without complaining, which was amazing (for 7th grader, that was Fractions through Pre-Algebra 2; for 4th grader, that was Apples through Decimals and Percents).  They both drew large portraits of Fred on the covers of their school binders, which shows how much he is loved here!  Although I was a bit nervous about the small number of practice problems, the boys don't mind doing extra worksheets when we notice a gap/weakness in their knowledge.  Now that my 7th grader finished all the pre-algebra books, I am having him take some public-school-type assessments to make sure he is really ready for algebra.  So far he is passing them with flying colors.

 

Your Business Math (Simply Charlotte Mason) --- Another hit here.  We did a month a week as a fun supplement.  I love the practical knowledge it gave them.  7th grader didn't want it to end...

 

SOTW coordinated with K12 Human Odyssey --- They read, they do well on quizzes, no complaints.

 

Ellen McHenry science courses (Elements, The Brain & Botany) --- These were super fun and we looked forward to science every day!  Loved all the extra activities and videos.

 

Sheppard Software geography --- better than Seterra.

 

Ted Ed and Crash Course anything

 

Sleep, Shower, Sandwich

 

 

What was ok but might need changing:

 

IEW SWI B --- Mr. Pudewa is entertaining, but the exercises were tedious for the kids. The keyword outline rules have been especially difficult.  Some of their work was wonderful, though!  I am going to look into Bravewriter.

 

IEW Fix-It Grammar --- Usually takes more than 15 minutes a day.  This is because of the dragging of feet!  I'm not sure that they will ever enjoy grammar, no matter how I present it.

 

Ellen McHenry Mapping the World with Art --- It is not as well-liked as her science courses, and I think this is because of the preparation to drawing.  Both boys have some anxiety with using a compass, getting angles right with a protractor, marking a circle to be like a clock face etc.  The little chapters and activities are fine.  They need geography and I really believe that drawing is the way to go.  We are only about halfway through and I plan to stick with it.

 

The Fallacy Detective & The Thinking Toolbox --- I thought I would really love these, but they were just ok.  Some of the answers to the practice problems seemed arbitrary to me.  The dialogues made it fun for the kids, but they haven't retained much.  I am going to try "Philosophy for Kids" over the summer.

 

Bible Basics for Catholics and New Testament Basics for Catholics --- A little over their heads at times, but this was to be expected.  Cute stick man drawings were easy to replicate and made the books more interesting.

 

The Virtual Instructor (art) --- I don't think what we get out of this was worth the money.  Plus the website is twitchy.  I might drop it and just get art books from the library next year.

 

Local co-op 1x a week --- Useful for social time, but that's about it.

 

 

What didn't work:

 

Poetry Tea Time --- They liked it, but it was too much work and too much time for me to set up with the fancy tablecloth and snacks and everything, and babies just loooove to make noise when poetry is being read!  Now on poetry day they make themselves a cuppa and have an assigned reading to complete on their own (not always poetry).

 

Prodigy Math --- Not too much math gets done here.  The boys spend most of their time playing the little side games, editing their characters and rearranging furniture.  They say that the game won't let them advance any further, hmm...

 

Dragonbox Algebra 12+ --- They both zoomed through this app, but they give me blank stares when I try to apply it to algebra on paper.  I don't think the concept sunk in.

 

Dance Mat Typing --- Too distracting and annoying to learn.  Prefer typing.com

 

Rummy Roots --- We find this game dry, boring and time-consuming.

 

Memory Work --- One boy has a much better memory than the other and likes to show off, causing hard feelings.

 

Recess --- Letting them out before school is done only leads to procrastination when (if!) they come back in.

 

Physical Education --- Really struggling with working this in, especially in the winter months.  A daily walk as a family is most doable but that certainly doesn't feel like exercise.

 

Dropping spelling --- Both are natural spellers, but I have been noticing more errors lately.  We will have to add some in next year.

[Guest]

Too many books, too little time.

 

My two and a halfth grader needs a shorter school day and less mama drama for three and a halfth grade. It wasn't the curriculum's fault.

 

My 28yo was homeschooled from birth or compulsory attendance age, depending on your perspective, and I just got too arrogant this year and overestimated my own ability to identify and resist marketing techniques. I'm not going to beat myself up over it, but I hope I have learned a thing or two from my own mistakes that will make me more effective in helping new homeschoolers or at least a more compassionate shoulder to cry on when they just need to vent.

Edited May 8, 2017 by Guest

[2_girls_mommy]

sorry. Nothing new to add...

Edited May 9, 2017 by 2_girls_mommy

[Vida Winter]

:lurk5: