rowan25 Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 (edited) Does anyone use Living Books Curriculum?? Any opinions pro/con, company related, content related, etc?? Edited April 13, 2009 by rowan25 changed title for clarity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 bump up for today :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 No one??? :confused::sad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 not really sure what you mean. but we use living books that tie in with what we are learning in history. I get my list from WTM, veritas press catalogue, sonlight catalogue, and Bethlehem book list. and just assign the books to my children. they read for 1 hour a day an assigned book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 not really sure what you mean. but we use living books that tie in with what we are learning in history. I get my list from WTM, veritas press catalogue, sonlight catalogue, and Bethlehem book list. and just assign the books to my children. they read for 1 hour a day an assigned book. I see!!! :ohmy: It never occurred to me that people would be confused! I've been looking at so much, it's perfectly clear to me. :lol: This is what I'm talking about. http://www.livingbookscurriculum.com/living-books-homepage.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 I'd love to know too. I'm happy with Sonlight for our main program, but I am looking into her Michigan History program for this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 (edited) Rowan, you will get more answers if the name of the curriculum appears in the subject line. But, I did a search and found very little. There is something called Living Learning Books that I had this confused with. It looks like this one is not very well known, but I did see a lot on the for sale boards. :o Living Books Curriculum---opinions? [Archive] - The Well-Trained ... Edited April 13, 2009 by Lovedtodeath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Thanks. Still new to all of this!! :blush: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 (edited) Living Books Curriculum---opinions? - The Well-Trained Mind Forums ... 3lilreds in NC Hive Mind Queen Bee This member has it in her signature line. Edited April 13, 2009 by Lovedtodeath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 I used Living Books Curriculum for the 07/08 school year. I loved the curriculum. I still use their american and world history books (most, not all) as supplemental reading for my sons. I also have utilized some of their science recommendations this year in addition to what we are already doing. The quality of the literature is top-notch. The customer service is great. If you order thru them- you get email advice, etc. This year they just started something called the Family Circle- where there is even more support offered. I also subscribe to their Parent's Journal- which has been a WONDERFUL help over the years. It is a wonderful "CM program in a box"... I had no trouble tweaking the weekly plan to suit my family- and enriching it here and there as I felt necessary. I found it to be very "pure" charlotte mason- striving to apply her philosophy as close to possible as she wrote it. I loved this aspect of it and loved the thoughtfulness/thoroughness of Sheila Carroll and her articles/writings. I also loved the fact that their curriculum supports education in developing nations. The reason why we switched: We switched to Heart of Dakota because we needed a Christ- centered program- and were one step away from Christian textbooks due to that need... We are really enjoying our year with HOD and are planning on staying with their curriculum. Sometimes I am sad because I loved Living Books and the literature is a higher quality and level than some of what we are reading in HOD (this is why I still use it! :) ) I did find with LBC that I had to add in some things in grade two to help develop our understanding of the revolutionary war- due to my own history sketchiness- but I did that with one library book and it was great. My sons really enjoyed studying the history time periods the way they have them planned. We ran into trouble with Ancient Egypt and our priorities/heart for our school- again that is why we switched. I hope this helps. I imagine- if you search this board, you will find different replies about LBC and possibly some of my own posts. You can also visit their forum too! You can get to it from their website. I hope this helps, Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 living books curriculum---opinions? - the well-trained mind forums ... 3lilreds in nc hive mind queen bee this member has it in her signature line. thank you, thank you, thank you!!! :d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 The reason why we switched: We switched to Heart of Dakota because we needed a Christ- centered program- and were one step away from Christian textbooks due to that need... We are really enjoying our year with HOD and are planning on staying with their curriculum. Sometimes I am sad because I loved Living Books and the literature is a higher quality and level than some of what we are reading in HOD (this is why I still use it! :) ) I hope this helps. I imagine- if you search this board, you will find different replies about LBC and possibly some of my own posts. You can also visit their forum too! You can get to it from their website. I hope this helps, Rebecca This helps a great deal!! I am definitely looking for something more literature based and good quality is a big part of that. We are currently using purely secular materials. However, due to some issues at our church which are leading us to seek church elsewhere, we're finding that we want to include Bible in our school. I had looked at HOD, but my hubby and I didn't feel drawn to it. I thought I remembered reading that Bible was an option with Living Books. Can you tell me how what was given wasn't enough for you? Also, I have a wild almost 2 year old! :tongue_smilie: And I'm looking to simplify things a bit. I am drawn to Sonlight--but wary for several reasons--and to Ambleside--but I'm afraid that it would be too hard to try and do all of the planning that seems to be associated with this. That's why when I found LBC, it seems almost too good to be true for me!!! Are there any downsides, other than searching for something more Christ centered for you, that you can think of to this curriculum? Thank you so much for your thoughtful post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Rowan, you will get more answers if the name of the curriculum appears in the subject line. But, I did a search and found very little. There is something called Living Learning Books that I had this confused with. It looks like this one is not very well known, but I did see a lot on the for sale boards. :o Living Books Curriculum---opinions? [Archive] - The Well-Trained ... That would explain my searching problems!! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaik76 Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 I own the second grade manual for LBC, and have gone through it thoroughly. The CM method just doesn't work for us, so this curriculum doesn't work. I love the idea of it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Yes, I'm loving the idea of it too. I'm just so unsure how it will work for us. I guess that's why I'm looking for reviews. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 This helps a great deal!! I am definitely looking for something more literature based and good quality is a big part of that. We are currently using purely secular materials. However, due to some issues at our church which are leading us to seek church elsewhere, we're finding that we want to include Bible in our school. I had looked at HOD, but my hubby and I didn't feel drawn to it. I thought I remembered reading that Bible was an option with Living Books. Can you tell me how what was given wasn't enough for you? Also, I have a wild almost 2 year old! And I'm looking to simplify things a bit. I am drawn to Sonlight--but wary for several reasons--and to Ambleside--but I'm afraid that it would be too hard to try and do all of the planning that seems to be associated with this. That's why when I found LBC, it seems almost too good to be true for me!!! Are there any downsides, other than searching for something more Christ centered for you, that you can think of to this curriculum? Thank you so much for your thoughtful post! I hope this reply helps! :) The Bible in Living Books is excellent. My son memorized several passages of scripture for recitation- he loved the materials used, etc. Children interact with the "real" Bible- which I loved. She follows CM's own principles very closely! It wasn't that it "wasn't enough" as much as I wasn't able to integrate Christian worldview when we encountered different issues in literature. One prime way that I realized this is that my six year old narrated from D'ulaires Leaf the Lucky and his entire narration consisted of a focus on the viking gods,etc. For our family- this was an indication that I wasn't reaching his heart in the way I wanted to be... It was mainly a personal family issue- rather than a curriculum issue. Living Books is written by christians and founded on a christian worldview. Grade Four uses Sower Biographies in it and they certainly do not shy away from spiritual matters at all! I don't have any complaints about the Bible as much as that we just needed a program truly Christ-centered... I hope this makes sense. I truly loved LBC. I can't think of any downsides at all- except that it is very flexible- and you have to be the "guide" -i.e lessons aren't scripted, if you find you need a stronger narrative (like we did in Grade 2) you have to take the initiative with it. It is such a rich curriculum. The other downside, for our family, were some of the literature choices. We just couldn't do them. The were fascinating, interesting books- but not for us-I hope you know what I mean... A prime example is Egyptology from Grade 2- not for us- but very, very interesting! I found LBC to be a very interesting, diverse curriculum. We incorporated more picture study and nature study while using it then we have this year- which makes me sad. The teacher's guides are chock full of wonderful CM articles and helps. It is written/created by solid educators and that caliber is very evident throughout. I hope this helps! If you have any other questions- I would be happy to help! (I can't check my spelling- and I am typing this fast- so sorry! :001_huh:) Sincerely, Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 I hope this reply helps! :) The Bible in Living Books is excellent. My son memorized several passages of scripture for recitation- he loved the materials used, etc. Children interact with the "real" Bible- which I loved. She follows CM's own principles very closely! It wasn't that it "wasn't enough" as much as I wasn't able to integrate Christian worldview when we encountered different issues in literature. One prime way that I realized this is that my six year old narrated from D'ulaires Leaf the Lucky and his entire narration consisted of a focus on the viking gods,etc. For our family- this was an indication that I wasn't reaching his heart in the way I wanted to be... It was mainly a personal family issue- rather than a curriculum issue. Living Books is written by christians and founded on a christian worldview. Grade Four uses Sower Biographies in it and they certainly do not shy away from spiritual matters at all! I don't have any complaints about the Bible as much as that we just needed a program truly Christ-centered... I hope this makes sense. I truly loved LBC. I can't think of any downsides at all- except that it is very flexible- and you have to be the "guide" -i.e lessons aren't scripted, if you find you need a stronger narrative (like we did in Grade 2) you have to take the initiative with it. It is such a rich curriculum. The other downside, for our family, were some of the literature choices. We just couldn't do them. The were fascinating, interesting books- but not for us-I hope you know what I mean... A prime example is Egyptology from Grade 2- not for us- but very, very interesting! I found LBC to be a very interesting, diverse curriculum. We incorporated more picture study and nature study while using it then we have this year- which makes me sad. The teacher's guides are chock full of wonderful CM articles and helps. It is written/created by solid educators and that caliber is very evident throughout. I hope this helps! If you have any other questions- I would be happy to help! (I can't check my spelling- and I am typing this fast- so sorry! :001_huh:) Sincerely, Rebecca I think I understand. Actually this sounds more like what I'm looking than I thought! :001_smile: I don't mind that the lessons aren't scripted. I'm a former teacher, so that part doesn't bother me. But with my 2 year old, I'm finding my planning time limited, so having even a basic layout would be great. Thank you so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 One other thing I will say: You can always email LBC with any specific questions. Sheila Carroll is very, very helpful! And I highly recommend signing up for their Parent's Journal. The studies are nicely integrated and the literature very carefully and thoughtfully chosen. Hope this helps, Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3lilreds in NC Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Rebecca, I would *love* to know what library book you used to help explain the Revolutionary War! We're using LBC Year 2 this year, and that's been a tough one. Actually, we've pretty much ditched that portion of the curriculum for now and are reading the Rainbow Book of American History from the beginning so we can catch up to the Revolutionary War and go from there. They started off with Taxation Without Representation and my girls were quite confused. We decided to go back and learn about how the colonists got there before discussing why they didn't like their taxes! :D We've been using LBC this year and I love it! I didn't think I would when we started the year, honestly. It didn't seem like "enough" to me. Now, though, I'm starting to see the beauty of implementing CM methods in our school and it is wonderful. Living Books is probably the closest thing you will get to "Charlotte Mason in a box." The authors are very helpful and I get quick responses to all my questions. They also have message boards, which are not nearly as active as this one, but I get good info there, too. Rowan, I did answer your PM, and do please let me know if you have more specific questions about LBC that I can answer for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Beth- that threw me too! :D It is a Landmark picture book. http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/Liberty%21/019751/1239673623-977694 (here it is at rainbow resource)- I ended up buying it because my kids loved it so much! It really helped us. My oldest son also read Yankee Doodle Boy (on his own, his request) the summer after his grade 2 year because LBC whetted his interest in history so much! I was also teaching grade one at the time- so we had the colonial time history learning happening thru that program. Hope this helps! If I had to do it again- I would not have attempted to teach grade one and grade two- just have chosen one level for both of them and then added in a spine like you are to give some background... but we sure did enjoy it. :) I am glad to hear you are enjoying your year. My oldest really took off with reading fluency- everything, during our LBC year. LBC is dear to my heart!:) Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3lilreds in NC Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Rebecca, thank you so much! I have requested that book from the library. It looks like other people would like it too. I'm 3rd in line. :) When I emailed back and forth with Sheila about which year to choose, she suggested Year 2 for this year. I was not sure I wanted to do that, but it's worked out really, really well. My older girl needs a bit more encouragement, whereas my younger girl is extremely competitive and can keep up with more advanced material. Also, we didn't want to miss studying Ancient Egypt. It's worked out well for both of them, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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