Pathway for someone who is more verbally inclined

[desertflower]

Hello,

 

So, I realize that often students who are mathematically inclined tend to use BA/AOPs.  I know not every child who is mathematically inclined goes this route.

 

I was wondering, if one has a child who is more verbal/analytical.  What are the possible choices?  I have heard MCT grammar is good for accelerated learners.  But what else would you do for a child who is more verbal/analytical?  I have reading good books on my list already.  ;)

 

Is there a pathway(s)?  Or do people just read good literature and use any program they deem fit for the child?

 

I hope my question makes sense. 

 

Thanks in advance for any info.

[Crimson Wife]

Some materials I used with my verbal kid: MCT; Killgallon; Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop; Figuratively Speaking; Walch Prose and Poetry Toolbook; Lively Art of Writing; Art of Arguments; A Workbook for Arguments; They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing; Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. I ended up outsourcing to DE at the local CC starting in 9th grade.

Edited December 31, 2017 by Crimson Wife

[Crimson Wife]

One thing I really liked for reading Shakespeare and some of the other older & more flowery literary classics like Beowulf are parallel texts.  Perfection Learning has a bunch of them for various Shakespeare plays.

[desertflower]

Thank you Crimson wife.

[Laura Corin]

We used Galore Park for English.  It's light on grammar (my boys were intuitive learners of grammar and punctuation) and spelling (ditto).  There's lots of decent literature in the passages and many ideas for writing.

 

For maths, which didn't particularly interest them, I used Galore Park maths.  It's solid, a bit old-fashioned, with lots of word problems.  We flirted with Life of Fred for my elder, but it wasn't good - he just wanted to know how to do things, not do all that puzzling out.

[desertflower]

I think my answer is teaching her literature.  Probably something like figuratively speaking or teaching the classics and perfection learning when she's older. 

 

Thanks for all the inputs.  :)

[eternalsummer]

We do Classical Writing; we also do Killagon.  We're doing languages slightly early and probably 2 of them at least (Latin now and Greek starting either in 8th or 9th - she'd like to add French but I'm hesitant).  For lit, I have had the most success with just strewing books.  She reads a lot.  I find that feeding the interest builds on itself - she liked Connie Willis and Connie Willis likes and references Heinlein and Agatha Christie, so she reads Heinlein and Christie - Christie uses a bit of French here and there so she wants to learn French.  Willis and Christie both reference WW2 here and there so she was interested in WW2, etc. Willis also (in her WW2 books esp.) references Shakespeare, so she is interested in Shakespeare.  Currently trying to find an online Shakespeare class as I got How to Teach your Children Shakespeare and she's read right through it and memorized, etc.  

 

For math, she liked Jacob's Pre-A (Alligators and Apples or something like that) but it was taking forever because of all the reading and writing; we switched to AoPS but that took even longer, although she enjoyed the problem-solving aspect of it.  Finally found some old Pre-A and Alg books from the 70s by Dolciani, and they are going much faster and with no struggle.  (she's not hugely interested in struggling at math).  

Edited January 2, 2018 by eternalsummer

[8filltheheart]

We went wide and deep with the things we read. My Dd fell in love with poetry and Shakespeare. We tied literature to cultural studies. Foreign languages (Dd studied 3 simultaneously.)

Edited January 2, 2018 by 8FillTheHeart

[Crimson Wife]

Ellen McHenry's Excavating English  was also a hit.

[MinivanMom]

With my highly verbal child, I used less curriculum than I have with my other children. She never used a spelling curriculum or a structured writing program or a literature program. Mostly I let her read and write and pursue her interests. Occasionally, I would give book suggestions or help her find resources or read over her writing, but mostly I stayed out of her way.

 

When she was little, she went through a period where she made daily newspapers for dh, then she moved into a period where she was intensely prepping for Scripps spelling bee, and then she finally moved into serious creative writing. Summer writing workshops introduced her to a number of college-level resources that wouldn't have been on my radar for a middle schooler at that time. At this point she is studying two foreign languages, but most of her focus is on literature and creative writing. She has also won a number of writing contests, and that has been a huge confidence builder for her.

 

The programs that we did use and like were the first 3 levels of MCT (while skipping most of the writing assignments), Killgallon, and Figuratively Speaking. 

 

 

[Donna]

With my highly verbal child, I used less curriculum than I have with my other children. She never used a spelling curriculum or a structured writing program or a literature program. Mostly I let her read and write and pursue her interests. Occasionally, I would give book suggestions or help her find resources or read over her writing, but mostly I stayed out of her way.

 

This is similar to the path I took with highly verbal dd. She self-taught reading very young so never needed a reading/phonics or spelling program I eventually found a very creative local writer/former teacher who homeschooled her own children to tutor dd in writing. She works with dd on writing and editing her writing, in depth analysis of great books and poems, and they do a lot of crafts. Dd has been working for over a year on a novel. She is taking the introductory college English course through DE this semester so she can take the higher level courses she is really interested in.

 

We read for pleasure together and listen to audiobooks while in the car.

Dd also is learning two languages.

[desertflower]

Thank you ladies.  I have a plan in my head now of her pathway.  Shakespeare, spanish, figuratively speaking, good literature, mct, and killgallon.

[desertflower]

With my highly verbal child, I used less curriculum than I have with my other children. She never used a spelling curriculum or a structured writing program or a literature program. Mostly I let her read and write and pursue her interests. Occasionally, I would give book suggestions or help her find resources or read over her writing, but mostly I stayed out of her way.

 

When she was little, she went through a period where she made daily newspapers for dh, then she moved into a period where she was intensely prepping for Scripps spelling bee, and then she finally moved into serious creative writing. Summer writing workshops introduced her to a number of college-level resources that wouldn't have been on my radar for a middle schooler at that time. At this point she is studying two foreign languages, but most of her focus is on literature and creative writing. She has also won a number of writing contests, and that has been a huge confidence builder for her.

 

The programs that we did use and like were the first 3 levels of MCT (while skipping most of the writing assignments), Killgallon, and Figuratively Speaking. 

 

Minivanmom, did you do killgallon and mct simutaneously? or alternate years?

[MinivanMom]

Minivanmom, did you do killgallon and mct simutaneously? or alternate years?

 

We did the first three levels of MCT in 4th, 5th, & 6th. We also used Killgallon in 5th and 6th, but we weren't really doing it simultaneously. When dd finished all the MCT books for that level, she would work through a Killgallon book to finish out the school year rather than moving straight ahead to the next level of MCT. It was a nice change to alternate the programs, but I can't imagine taking a whole year for a Killgallon book. I want to say that she completed MCT from Sept-Mar and then Killgallon from Mar-June. I never had it perfectly planned out, though.

 

And dd probably could have completed MCT at a much younger age than she did, but formal grammar just wasn't on my radar at that point. We had a very relaxed Charlotte Mason approach up until about 4th grade.

[desertflower]

I would get out the word problem books for the dc who is verbal/analytical after doing arithmetic thru household activities.

 

 

One hit for us was using the detective parallel for writing instruction. 

 

 

eta: I'd also get in to debate.

       For preAlgebra, go Dolciani, the verbal is there, but there is the opportunity to improve visual/spatial skills.

Thanks.

 

What is detective parallel?

[desertflower]

We went wide and deep with the things we read. My Dd fell in love with poetry and Shakespeare. We tied literature to cultural studies. Foreign languages (Dd studied 3 simultaneously.)

 

How did you teach Shakespeare?

 

I've already read Midsummer Night's dream to her.  it was in poetry form and had illustrations.  i was thinking of romeo and juliet next. 

 

what year did you start this? 

[desertflower]

We do Classical Writing; we also do Killagon.  We're doing languages slightly early and probably 2 of them at least (Latin now and Greek starting either in 8th or 9th - she'd like to add French but I'm hesitant).  For lit, I have had the most success with just strewing books.  She reads a lot.  I find that feeding the interest builds on itself - she liked Connie Willis and Connie Willis likes and references Heinlein and Agatha Christie, so she reads Heinlein and Christie - Christie uses a bit of French here and there so she wants to learn French.  Willis and Christie both reference WW2 here and there so she was interested in WW2, etc. Willis also (in her WW2 books esp.) references Shakespeare, so she is interested in Shakespeare.  Currently trying to find an online Shakespeare class as I got How to Teach your Children Shakespeare and she's read right through it and memorized, etc.  

 

For math, she liked Jacob's Pre-A (Alligators and Apples or something like that) but it was taking forever because of all the reading and writing; we switched to AoPS but that took even longer, although she enjoyed the problem-solving aspect of it.  Finally found some old Pre-A and Alg books from the 70s by Dolciani, and they are going much faster and with no struggle.  (she's not hugely interested in struggling at math).  

 

I have read part of "How to Teach your Children Shakespeare". I think I'll go back and read it again and teach her shakespeare this way. 

[8filltheheart]

How did you teach Shakespeare?

 

I've already read Midsummer Night's dream to her. it was in poetry form and had illustrations. i was thinking of romeo and juliet next.

 

what year did you start this?

I have a routine I have developed for Shakespeare with my kids. First we read the story in Shakespeare Stories by Leon Garfield. Then we read the play along with a recording. (We never attempt to just read it ourselves. I personally think the way I learned Shakespeare in school, reading silently on my own, destroys Shakespeare.) Then we watch a performance (live is fabulous but sometimes we watch a video.)

 

We start with the comedies. Love Comedy of Errors. Age....no single answer. Depends on the child. My language loving Dd probably started 5th grade-ish. (I can't remember.) She loves Shakespeare. For her sr English course she did a capstone Shakespeare thesis.

[eternalsummer]

I have a routine I have developed for Shakespeare with my kids. First we read the story in Shakespeare Stories by Leon Garfield. Then we read the play along with a recording. (We never attempt to just read it ourselves. I personally think the way I learned Shakespeare in school, reading silently on my own, destroys Shakespeare.) Then we watch a performance (live is fabulous but sometimes we watch a video.)

 

We start with the comedies. Love Comedy of Errors. Age....no single answer. Depends on the child. My language loving Dd probably started 5th grade-ish. (I can't remember.) She loves Shakespeare. For her sr English course she did a capstone Shakespeare thesis.

 

Yes!  When I got to college, of all things, and learned about the possibility of reading Shakespeare side by side with a paraphrase (and ideally reading the paraphrased version before the original), it was like a whole mysterious world had opened up.

[Runningmom80]

My verbal GT kid is into writing and languages as well as music. We are working through Big History Project this year with a heavy emphasis on writing.  I'm trying to make it more of a humanities bend with added literature.  

 

There are a few posts from Lewelma (Ruth) on this board about what her younger is doing that are chock full of good ideas!