well trained mind and nothing else

[Supertechmom]

I just read the Well trainedmind last night. It fits perfectly what I have been trying to do on my own the last few years. I've always struggled trying to find the "right" curriculum and this finally feels just right. iT fits our style.

 

BUt then I jump on here and see all the references to TOG, MFW, Sonlight, and I wonder is anyone using the WTM exactly as outlined in the book?

Are any of you just following the book and using it and not using other "prepackaged" programs? Or does everyone still need to find a curriculum?

 

I was seriously going to buy the book(and that is a big big step for me) and implement the program outlined in there Monday ( I have most of the primary resources for 8th and under all ready in the book) as it really only requires some tweaking for us from what we are doing now. But now I wonder if one can really do the program in the book if everyone is buying all these other curriculums.:confused:

 

Thanks!

(forgive the spelling my computer is down and I am using the backup which might blow up with spellcheck ;) )

[anissarobert]

I follow TWTM almost exclusively. (I even use many of the recommendations from the 1st edition, because I have been using it for a while.) So many of the other things look good, but I always end up back with TWTM.

 

I have always wanted my kids to have a classical education and TWTM seems the best way for me. BTW a new edition is out soon.

[Snickerdoodle]

Well, I have used the TWTM and LCC as guidelines for the type of homeschool I would like to have. I didn't take all of their curriculum recommendations as the last word. I also factored in my personal wishes for the direction our homeschool as well as the needs of my children based on their learning styles and personalities.

 

That said, I'm not the prepackaged curriculum type but I can see the appeal for other families.

[WTMCassandra]

I'm mostly WTM. I do add Biblioplan to history, CW to writing, and implement some LCC principles, but WTM guides the bulk of what I do. I don't do a full-fledged unit study kind of thing like TOG or MFW.

 

I was initially attracted to WTM by noting all of the bits and pieces of other approaches that I had liked rolled into one. So it's hardwired in me to incorporate other bits and pieces from other things ; ). I am also a curriculum junkie who hates to pass by anything really good--I tend to buy Sonlight titles for my children's birthday present (shhhhh, don't tell them it's school, they think it's fun reading). Perhaps others share these tendencies--there's a lot of people on here who mix and match.

Edited January 24, 2009 by WTMCassandra

[lionfamily1999]

I'm just starting, and we're using TWTM exclusively. I looked at some of the other things (Charlotte Mason, Latin Centered, etc), but still think TWTM is just right all by itself.

 

So, yes, some people do.

 

At the same time, I have looked at some various places for Science and Math, but isn't that recommended in the book anyway?

[lllll]

We've been doing WTM since the first edition came out. No prepackaged curr, but definitely tweaking here and there. We do a totally different math. We've added more logic than the book has. Added in Bible study. And so on. WTM has worked beautifully for our family.

 

I'm not sure about this because I don't read other hs boards, but I think that the reason you see so many other curr users here on this board is that the ladies here are just so darned helpful. Seriously. This is a great place to get ideas and solutions for any hs question you can come up with. Or any non-hs question you can come up with, too. ;)

[JudoMom]

Well, I have used the TWTM and LCC as guidelines for the type of homeschool I would like to have. I didn't take all of their curriculum recommendations as the last word. I also factored in my personal wishes for the direction our homeschool as well as the needs of my children based on their learning styles and personalities.

 

That said, I'm not the prepackaged curriculum type but I can see the appeal for other families.

 

 

This is where we fall.

 

I'm anxiously awaiting the 2009 version of TWTM so I can see any new recommendations for the Logic stage. I've got the 1999 & 2004 (from the library) versions on my nightstand right now.

[Colleen in NS]

I wonder is anyone using the WTM exactly as outlined in the book?

Are any of you just following the book and using it and not using other "prepackaged" programs?

 

Not exactly, but mostly!

 

I figured out the basic principles in the book, use most of the resources and techniques, and have tweaked along the way. It's been a great ride. This board has been a TREMENDOUS help to me.

[Parrothead]

I use something different for spelling. I follow the 4-year cycle for history and science, but use some different books to get it done. Our LA, math, reading, grammar and (probably) writing are from TWTM. I say probably because we are using SWB's new writing curriculum and I'm sure it will be recommended in the newest edition this spring.

[lulubelle]

We are about 95% WTM since just starting this past summer. I have also liked Core Knowledge and use the book resource guide too. And, I decided to do American history this year - kindergarten year. We also picked up some geography and mapping workbooks that my son really enjoys. I can see that people run into problems along the way and may use others sources. I am committed to Saxon math right now and phonics pathways. We will start History of the World and FLL in the Fall. The resources for homeschooling are enormous and we as teachers to our children need to find some part of it on our own.

[Mekanamom]

We did WTM exclusively for a year.

 

It was a good year, academically, and I really loved all the PHP books that we used. If we could have used PHP materials exclusively, that would have worked out great.

 

My problem was that I had a very frustrating time pulling together a secular program that fit our needs. We ended up using excellent textbooks from religious publishers... but after a while just couldn't take all the religious references. The kids were starting to roll their eyes and make fun of those materials, and I think it's important for them to be respectful other peoples' beliefs while staying secure in their own. So, after that year was up, we went for packaged, secular curricula.

 

Yes, I do know that the WTM has secular options. We tried a few of them and just didn't like many of them. They might work great for someone else. :)

 

I still supplement our current curriculum with PHP materials. :thumbup:

Edited January 24, 2009 by Mekanamom

[dcjlkplus3]

I just read the Well trainedmind last night. It fits perfectly what I have been trying to do on my own the last few years. I've always struggled trying to find the "right" curriculum and this finally feels just right. iT fits our style.

 

BUt then I jump on here and see all the references to TOG, MFW, Sonlight, and I wonder is anyone using the WTM exactly as outlined in the book?

Are any of you just following the book and using it and not using other "prepackaged" programs? Or does everyone still need to find a curriculum?

 

I was seriously going to buy the book(and that is a big big step for me) and implement the program outlined in there Monday ( I have most of the primary resources for 8th and under all ready in the book) as it really only requires some tweaking for us from what we are doing now. But now I wonder if one can really do the program in the book if everyone is buying all these other curriculums.:confused:

 

Thanks!

(forgive the spelling my computer is down and I am using the backup which might blow up with spellcheck ;) )

 

We are following TWTM. I love it. My oldest is a 7yo 2nd grader. The only outside things we use are BJU math (not recommened in TWTM) and Pandia Press R.E.A.L. Science Earth and Space 1. I had a really hard time last year with science - so I decided we needed a science curriculum that would fit in TWTM, which has us doing Earth Science and Astronomy for year 2.

 

I don't always go with the recommmendations (for example, just got a handwriting book from Walmart, as opposed to Zaner-Bloser or HWOT; Spelling Power as opposed to SWO), but I do go wth the set-up/format recommended. Some of those decisions are made by money and some by what works best for my kiddos.

 

I have the 2004 edition and will be buying (if at all possible) the 2009 version when it comes out. I like how the recommendations change as new things become available (like OPGTR, FLL and WWE) - even SOTW wasn't done when the first version came out.

 

I say buy the book - or amybe wait for the newest edition (is it out yet?)

[Julie in Austin]

We do it as written, with a few tweaks, but no additional packaged program. (Unless you count Story of the World . . .)

 

I think there are people who didn't want to have to assemble things themselves, or wanted more guidance, or just like these boards even if they aren't really using WTM. Nothing wrong with any of that, but you should know that you can do just WTM without another packaged curriculum.

[swellmomma]

I mostly follow it though not to a tee. I am looking at sonlight core's next year to make some things a little easier on myself, as I will have 3 schooling a toddler and opening a home daycare, I need to give up some of my planning etc. However I still mostly follow wtm and the suggestions laid out in it. Even if we go with a sonlight core, we would still mainly be using wtm, and sticking with the curric I have found works for us in particular.

[Rosie_0801]

You can follow the principles of the Well Trained Mind without following all their curriculum recommendations. If their suggestions work for you, goodo! If they don't suit you for some reason, why would you try and bulldoze your way through just because the book said so. A book is a book, it's not a god! I start by looking at their recommendations, but I then go and look at all the reviews I can find and see if I agree with them. Susan and Jessie's advice may be good, but they aren't responsible for educating my kids, I am. I modify their advice to suit me. I don't modify me to suit their advice. For example, it doesn't matter how brilliant a spelling program is, this Australian here won't be buying an American spelling program!!

 

:)

Rosie

[RegularMom]

We follow WTM guidelines about 95% as well, with the occasional tweak. The girls are still little (8 and 5), so we don't try to fit in All The Extras though. We work hardest on the basics, then comes history and science, then comes Everything Else if we have time for it. It's easy to get swept away by the possibilities, but my kids need lots of free play time more than they need the super extra electives right now. That will probably change as they get older.

[Supertechmom]

Thanks! I've homeschooled for years with my oldest and have been going around and around wth history and what to use. Last year I decided to just take a history reading list and just do that but have needed a little more guidance than that. Reading this last night made sense of how to do it especially since we all ready use so much of the other things suggested. I just didn't want to get the book and still need to buy TOG or something like that to get history accomplished adn provide a good education. I didn't realize I've basically been doing a classical education along and will only have to make some adjustments in spelling and our copy work and throw in Latin.

 

SO thanks! I'll wait for the new edition and see if I can pickup a cheap copy of this one. I like to tear up the books and lay them out in the order that makes sense to me. NO chance this is out in a digital format is there?

[WTMindy]

I feel like I am true to the ideas and philosophy of WTM pretty much to the letter, but I don't always use the same curriculum to achieve the goals. I use it as a reference tool for planning and I often start with the curriculum suggested by WTM first. My main area of divergence is that I use TOG for history in the logic and (probably) in the rhetoric stage. But, I feel like TOG *is* very much WTM based in so many ways, so I don't feel that I am straying from WTM by using it.

 

By the way, if you stole my copy of TWTM I am looking for it right now and it is driving me CRAZY that I can't find it!!!!!!!!!! So, GIVE IT BACK!!!!

[dangermom]

We pretty much use just WTM as written. I have yet to find anything that fits us better.

[LaxMom]

You can follow the principles of the Well Trained Mind without following all their curriculum recommendations. If their suggestions work for you, goodo! If they don't suit you for some reason, why would you try and bulldoze your way through just because the book said so. A book is a book, it's not a god! I start by looking at their recommendations, but I then go and look at all the reviews I can find and see if I agree with them. Susan and Jessie's advice may be good, but they aren't responsible for educating my kids, I am. I modify their advice to suit me. I don't modify me to suit their advice. For example, it doesn't matter how brilliant a spelling program is, this Australian here won't be buying an American spelling program!!

 

:)

Rosie

 

Yep, that's us, too. (Except the Australian spelling - that would be terribly confusing) We follow the WTM, but we don't necessarily use the resources. I evaluate the resources, decide what looks like it will work for us. Sometimes it does, sometimes not.

 

Now, I have to go order the new writing program. I had no idea this existed... :tongue_smilie: And, of course, it is exactly what I've been looking for.

[Lovedtodeath]

My problem was that I had a very frustrating time pulling together a secular program that fit our needs.

 

I am a Christian, but we do not agree with what Rod and Staff or Abeka teaches, so I know where you are coming from. Rod and Staff is the only curriculum recommended that seems to be very thorough for Grammar and Writing. I have been shopping around for those areas (for later).

 

I have the 2004 edition and will be buying (if at all possible) the 2009 version when it comes out. I like how the recommendations change as new things become available (like OPGTR, FLL and WWE) - even SOTW wasn't done when the first version came out.

 

 

Sometimes it is not possible to use the old version of TWTM because books go out of print and become unavailable. So I plan to buy the new one. I also look forward to seeing the new recommendations.

 

Since the new version of TWTM recommends new products... is it really straying from TWTM if we use them before the new version recommends them? We have years between releases. So some that are TWTM purists (I am not) might still use some different things.

Edited January 25, 2009 by Lovedtodeath

[kalanamak]

Are any of you just following the book and using it and not using other "prepackaged" programs? Or does everyone still need to find a curriculum?

 

 

 

I have added a couple things, like SWR. I have subbed one animal book for the Kingfisher one, which we finished when he was 4. I don't do much construction-projects for history (don't have time, rather read him the Greek myths while he does finer art..), but for the most part I'm doing it her way. I am stressing science more than history at this age, because I'm a science geek. Instead of doing 6 hours of science for every 9 of history, it is more neck and neck. I've "enriched" science with R.E.A.L. and I like it very much.

 

Is that close enough?

I think I might consider a secular TOG, but none is available.