Following TWTM with an AL

[Runningmom80]

I think there was a thread like this years back, but I couldn't find it.

 

I'm wondering, if you follow TWTM, and have an accelerated learner, what did that look like for you? I've found the stages do not represent my AL well, but the resources have mostly been great. (When I can find a secular resource at the correct level!)

Just curious how many posters here are following TWTM, and what that looks like in your homeschool. 

[Slache]

It's complicated?

A stronger focus on foreign language.

Grammar does not need repetition and he does much better with a lot of Brave writer added into his language arts. We like IEW because it leaves lots of room for his mature writing without unrealistic expectations.

We use vintage math. It takes less time and leaves more for his language studies.

I allow for interest led content subjects because he devours books. No 4 year cycle.

[SoCal_Bear]

We don't follow a four year cycle. It's too restrictive for us as I give him a lot of input in what and when we study something.

We run multiple foreign languages, multiple sciences, multiple math/logic, and multiple history programs, We accelerate/compact as needed based on how he is working. Writing is the only area that we are running closer to chronological age, but we dip into various resources at whatever rate he wants to tackle at whatever pace he decides he wants to do it. I have no problem shelving something he is not engaged with.

Edited September 13, 2018 by calbear

[Jackie]

I gave up. Neither DD nor I liked SOTW. We both like science to be more open-ended and exploratory. She learns grammar quickly and reads voraciously, but her writing is slow and labored and there’s no level that fits that. Her math is well beyond what Classical says she should even be capable of.

The Trivium fascinated me when I read about it, but what sticks with me from WTM isn’t methodology but a strong respect for education and knowledge simply because those are wonderful things, not as a means to some type of end. SWB’s Rethinking School resonated, as I don’t expect my kid will ever fit a “style” created by anyone else, which is the reason we homeschool in the first place.

[Sarah0000]

We've just started first grade so only getting started being a bit more structured. So far I like TWTM ideas for routine and gradual writing, but I also like to add in a creative approach as well. Right now I'm working on getting the routine writing stuff into history and science more like what I think TWTM recommends around third grade. I think being an AL helps with doing this so early since he already had handwriting down by kindergarten.

I'm also loosely following a four year history cycle but also keep up an Am History strand (so more like LCC than TWTM). I do not get trying to match the science with the history though. Seems totally contrived, unless you're doing history of science. Plus since my AL is so advanced in math he can handle higher levels of science.

[EKS]

The repetition is soul sucking, so I just used it as a very loose guide.

[Slache]

12 hours ago, EKS said:

The repetition is soul sucking, so I just used it as a very loose guide.

Well put!

[HomeAgain]

We are loosely following TWTM, which, really, isn't that how it should be?  We follow it for content, but do skills at ds's level.  DS8yo seems to be gifted in language and math (writing being about average).  At least once a year I read through the stage he fits age-wise.  I still keep in mind that I want him to learn facts and use age appropriate resources and that we should be focused on memorization.  He does copywork, he learns poetry by heart, and I have him read through books that are age appropriate.  Then I also throw in things I think he would like.
When it comes to languages, music, and math, he works entirely at his level.  We've also found that a lot of material lends itself easily to a very wide range of grades/ages.  I took a look at his shelf and most of it looks like low middle school because of this. 
It doesn't mean that when he gets to middle school we're going to dump the skill focus for the high school focus.  It just means that we'll continue to find materials at his level, create a rigorous program for him, and go through another cycle of history while working through the rest at a level appropriate.

We don't use any of Peace Hill Press' products except the history because the writing programs drove ds crazy with their pace.  But I think that is different than what you are asking, maybe.

[Runningmom80]

Yes, we don't use Peace Hill Press because we are secular, so I wasn't entering that conversation. ?

[slackermom]

I read the book before my child was school age, and then again when I started homeschooling in grade 4, so I was at different stages as an educator when I absorbing the information.

My child was in public school to start, but craving more learning, so we after-schooled. In order to avoid duplicating what school covered, we focused on languages and history. We did a couple of years of Latin, then some Gaelic, then French, and I decided to do a 4 year chronological history cycle starting in second grade. I followed the Kingfisher Encyclopedia SWB recommended, but we worked on history in the library, pulling whatever books appealed to us as we moved through history. We started homeschooling full-time halfway through grade 4, and it was clear that we needed to ramp up the materials by then, so the second half of the history cycle was done in the regular history section of the library rather than in the kids room. I believe one time through history with me was enough for my child so far. It provides a good context for the various history units that are covered in the classroom now that my child is back in school (they went back in grade 6, and just started high school). I also feel like covering history that way taught a ton of skills, and really gave my child ownership over the learning process. I tied in a bunch of the science studies with the history timeline, especially various stages of the industrial revolution, and its impact on our city.

I skimmed the math, but we did our own thing.  We ended up in the AOPS world early on.

The SWS writing stuff did not work for us either. Completely wrong for my kid. The MCT Caesar's English was great, but not the rest of those materials. I think that was a good fit after the Latin.

At this point, I am fuzzy on which resources were recommended in the book, and which I got from the forums here. Even if I took nothing from the book, finding this community made homeschooling so much better for us.

 

[Condessa]

I find TWTM to be a great jumping-off point.  It gives me a starting point and then I adjust to my individual kids from there.  My kids love SOTW and the four-year history cycle--it is so easy to use that as a spine and add greater depth as wanted.  In areas of my kids' strengths, it still has good suggestions for those subjects, we just may need to flip to further on in the book to find the right level.  When my dd started to argue and try to catch me out in conversation all the time, I recognized it from TWTM description.  I believed she was entering the logic stage , and started incorporating a stronger focus on logic and the "why"s in our discussions of her material at that age.  TWTM is also great for helping me to know what reasonable time expectations are for my kids' ages, as I can easily get caught up in the mindset of expecting time output corresponding to the average age of the curricula they're using because they are capable of it.