Michelle T Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Is anyone here using Connect the Thoughts? What do you think? Are you doing the lower or upper levels? How do your kids like it? Is this your only curriculum, or a supplement? Any other reviews, comments, opinions, on Connect the Thoughts would be much appreciated! Michelle T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepymommy Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Just bumping this up to learn if anyone has had any experience with this program yet. :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 I only have experience with the First Step Starter program (for ages 4-6). We did the prehistory and honestly, I felt it was too simple for my accelerated 5 year old, and I really disliked how they wanted you locked into reading and following the script of the lesson. That may be a personality quirk, though. I don't mind doing things if they are suggested or requested, but I don't do demands. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avila Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Bumping this up hoping Joanne catches it. I am pretty sure she was going with this for the year. :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jcbsews Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 I like them conceptually, but the scripting drove both me and my elder child nuts. She's 7/8th grade, and worked through all of the upper school introductory courses (how to do CTT, Information Right or Wrong, and How to do Research), but did two lessons in the creative writing course and asked to switch to something else. I purchased first step elementary "living your life" and history for my 2nd grader, but the format doesn't work at that age level for us either - and it's exactly the same format as upper school, it just uses different vocabulary for younger children. My younger child found it dry and hated "book lesson day". I love the material covered, and Steven really does know his stuff - it's just a shame that the format the lessons are presented in is so irritating to us that we can't use it. Look on Currclick for the samples, and see if the lesson format bothers you - if not, it's a great curriculum! JC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Hey, here I am! I am using it with most of my students, ranging 5th grade to 9th. We did the intro courses. It was hard for them to complete them since it is very non traditional, even for homeschooling. They got the hang of it, though. Since I homeschool mine and others, I do grade their work which Steven does not recommend. But he's not my Principal. ;) The kids like that they get to draw pictures, go outside, work with others, check on the internet. It's taken some time for them to get used to *thinking*. They really wanted to fill in the blank, give one word answers and be done. I was pretty gracious first term and would give the work back to them for a re-do instead of a bad grade. Now they mostly do well the first time. We are using LS History, LS Science Basics, US Science Basics and US History when they get to page 28. Everyone is doing the reading program and Creative Writing. I have a lot of electives I got on sale. I'll be offering those as extra credit options and several are for the Freshman as they progress through High School. It's secular, very, so if that's an issue, know in advance. I haven't yet found the right system for storing, etc. Having it all in one notebook has proven overwhelming for the students, so I am working on other ways to keep track of all the pages and who did what, when. What else would you like to know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in NZ Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I needed to get my ds#1 to write more, work a bit more independently, & "own" his learning. CTT really did help with this. I put both boys on CTT for the term, but I did keep some of my previous favorites in the weekly work load (i.e. Latin & spelling). Ds#1 worked on the US courses (science, history, creative writing) Ds#2 worked on the LS courses (science, history, creative writing). Both boys first worked through the basic intro courses + How to Research & Computer Literacy. CTT can be almost completely independent. CTT has made them think. Ds#1 said one day that CTT History was like un-schooling as it didn't tell him what to think, he had to figure that out on his own. That I really like about CTT. I haven't continued to use CTT as our main curriculum as we've changed a bit of our homeschool focus to include a few more NZ materials. Ds#1 will most likely begin NZ correspondence school for highschool credits next April, so I needed to get him used to "how" NZ schools do things. Ds#2 is finished with the CTT courses I purchased & did not like CTT as well as the CM-style program I'd been previously using with him. This term we returned to that for him, adding is a few NZ resources. Ds#1 is finishing up the CTT courses he began & I may have him work through a CTT elective / term as the way CTT works does fit his learning style. CTT did get him used to putting words on paper in a non-threatening manner, something I've been struggling with for many years with this particular dc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I know it is supposed to be done as a whole and in order, but can you pull out pieces? For example can you do just the writing and history, but not the science? I was just looking at this yesterday, but it is too much independent work for us to do the whole thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I know it is supposed to be done as a whole and in order, but can you pull out pieces? For example can you do just the writing and history, but not the science? I was just looking at this yesterday, but it is too much independent work for us to do the whole thing. Yes, each subject can be done independently. You couldn't pull from within one subject, however. One great way to do this would be using electives from CTT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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