|
Users viewing this topic:
none
|
|
Login  | |
|
curriculum question - 11/12/2008 8:29:09 PM
|
|
|
georgiabelle
Posts: 8
Joined: 6/13/2005
Status: offline
|
Currently, I home school a 4th grader and a 6th grader. I feel like we do school too quickly. We use Math U See, Easy Grammar, Logic Books, The Mystery of History, Ken Hamm's Scinence Curriculum, and handwriting. I also make them write papers about books they have read or topics that interest them.
Both of my children seem to work quickly but with understanding. I don't want them to be able to finish so quickly, but I don't want to drag out school unnecessarily either. I have always liked to pick and choose from various curriculums, but now I am considering Sonlight for next year, mainly to get more educational reading in rather than fluff. I am not sure if a change like this is wise or not.
Also, using a curriculum such a Mystery of History concerns me because I worry about the "normal" history they are missing out on. I do think it is wonderful to see how Biblical and world history tie together, but I also feel like they should have a more working knowledge of current history also.
Thanks for any input.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: curriculum question - 11/12/2008 10:10:38 PM
|
|
|
creationtalk
Posts: 704
Joined: 6/9/2005
Status: offline
|
quote:
I don't want them to be able to finish so quickly, but I don't want to drag out school unnecessarily either.
Why do you think they finish too quickly? It looks like you have them doing quite a bit now.
If you feel there are areas in which they are deficient, you can use the library to supplement with out changing how you are doing things.
One potential drawback I can see to changing to a complete curriculum at this point is you run the risk of having entire sections that are boring because they have already been covered.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: curriculum question - 11/13/2008 1:00:46 AM
|
|
|
cindybode
Posts: 1561
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: Northwest PA
Status: online
|
What's the point? Why do you want them to take more time with their work? Is it because you're mind is still in public school mode and you've been conditioned to believe school is between 9 and 3? Be honest here - I'm not trying to pick on you. I'm just trying to get you to make an honest assessment of the situation. You're not going to come up with a solution until you really pick this apart and are honest with yourself about why it's bothering you so much. It sounds like they understand the material and they're already doing plenty. Are you afraid of them having long, unscheduled blocks of time? Why? What do you think will happen? Are you afraid that unless they spend ___ minutes on their math, they can't possibly understand it, even though all the evidence says they do? If you can write down 5 good, valid reasons - reasons that are not simply about your comfort level - why they need to take more time (because I don't see you saying they need to do more work, just not go through what they have so quickly), then maybe you have a valid concern here. If all your reasons have to do with your own comfort level, then maybe that's what you need to work on. Homeschooling does not have to look like public school, and usually works better when it doesn't.
I'm not sure what you mean about "normal" history. If your kids like MOH and do well with it, then just grab a book from the library if there's an area that you don't think MOH covers adequately. If you think MOH has too many gaps, then it's not the curriculum for you. Find something else, or toss the curriculum altogether and just get books from the library.
_____________________________
If you lock in any creature, from rats to chickens to pigs to people, 10 to 30 or more in a box and force feed them you'll create little monsters. Confinement Education School Operations (CESOs) just don't compare to naturally pastured free-ranged kids.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: curriculum question - 11/13/2008 5:05:55 PM
|
|
|
georgiabelle
Posts: 8
Joined: 6/13/2005
Status: offline
|
Thank you for the responses I have received thus far. I have had a few ideas to ponder. As to "current history", sorry about the confusion. You are correct. The MOH begins "in the beginning" and works through Biblical history as well as other histories occuring at the same time. I guess I should have just phrased it as American history or government. Until the election, I had not realized that we had not studied the basics of our government's layout or the jobs of the various people in government. For example, my children of course know that the VP becomes President should something happen to the President. They asked who was next in line if something happened to the VP. I told them it would be the Speaker of the House. They had no clue who that was because I had not taught them that. That just made me wonder if the history program we are using is truly what we need. I did order books from Amazon explaining our government and the jobs therein. I guess I just need to supplement when I see the need arise.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: curriculum question - 11/13/2008 5:22:32 PM
|
|
|
cynthia
Posts: 8069
Joined: 3/31/2005
From: Beautiful Puget Sound Region
Status: offline
|
Government is a different program than history. There are probably resources on-line that you can get. You can also go to the library for books about government that would be at the level of your children.
I use Mystery of History and love it. We study government separately. We also study American History separately. I don't have any curriculum for American history, but assign a lot of reading about different time periods and a lot of biographies. My eldest is fourteen. She will be using Notgrass for American history next year, as I want to do a more formal study of American history for high school.
Kids learn a lot through reading about the historical time periods. I have a list of books that my dd read last year for 5th grade. Here it is:
1. William Bradford: Pilgrim Boy, by Bradford Smith (2/08)
2. Mary of Plymouth, by James Otis (2/08)
3. George Washington, by William M. Thayer (2/08)
4. Benjamin Franklin, by William M. Thayer (3/08)
5. John Adams Public Servant, by Bonnie L. Lukes (4/08)
6. John Adams, by Zachary Kent (4/08)
7. Morgan the Jersey Spy, by James Otis (4/08)
8. Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes (2/08)
9. America’s Paul Revere, by Esther Forbes (4/08)
10. Samuel Adams: The Father of American (4/08)
11. Independence, by Dennis Fradin 4/08
12. Why don’t you get a horse, Sam Adams?, by Jean Fritz 04/08
13. Captain John Paul Jones: America’s Fighting Seaman, by Ronald Syme 4/08
14. Calico Captive 11/07
15. Traitor: The Case of Benedict Arnold, by Jean Fritz (05/08)
16. Hitty, Her First Hundred Years, by Rachel Field (12/07)
17. Carry on Mr. Bowditch (November 2007)
18. Heroines of the American Revolution, America’s Founding Mothers, by Diane Silcox-Garrett (5/08)
19. A book about Thomas Jefferson, which I returned to the library before putting on the list and cannot recall the name of. (05/08)
20. (Milestones in Black American History) Braving the New World 1619-1784, by Don Nardo (05/08)
21. Of Courage Undaunted, by James Daugherty (05/08)
22. Sign of the Beaver, Elizabeth George Speare (4/08)
23. You wouldn’t want to be an American Colonist: a settlement you’d rather not start, by Jacqueline Morley (5/08)
Personally I think it is very important for the Christian to understand history from a Christian perspective. I never had any instruction on church history and found that to be a hindrance as an adult. We need to know historical context. To me, Mystery of History is an excellent program, especially when the additional books and resource are used. I have children in Mystery of History I and one daughter in Mystery of History III at this time. My daughter, who is in MOH 3 is learning about current world dictators, STD's and famous artists along with her study of the Renaissance.
Did that help at all?
ETA: I copied the reading list off my records and didn't edit it very well.
< Message edited by cynthia -- 11/13/2008 5:36:56 PM >
_____________________________
My husband and I have a motto:
We are the leader. We are one.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: curriculum question - 11/13/2008 6:49:36 PM
|
|
|
his_chosen
Posts: 1099
Joined: 4/11/2005
Status: offline
|
Okay, so the elections showed you that there is a "gap" in their education. Do a mini-unit on government. But guess what--somewhere along the line, they are going to ask you another science/hitsory/geography/etc question and you realize that they don't know that either. So you do a mini-unit on that, too. This doesn't point out the weaknesses in your educational materials. It teaches your kids that when you don't know something, YOU FIND THE ANSWER!!!
_____________________________
You have a choice. You can throw in the towel or you can use it to wipe the sweat off your face.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: curriculum question - 11/14/2008 9:31:01 PM
|
|
|
MrsDC
Posts: 151
Joined: 8/17/2005
From: Sinaloa, Mexico
Status: offline
|
quote:
For example, my children of course know that the VP becomes President should something happen to the President. They asked who was next in line if something happened to the VP. I told them it would be the Speaker of the House. They had no clue who that was because I had not taught them that.
Just FYI, even if you had taught them that information, there's a good chance that they would have asked. Facts taught in isolation don't really have the best recall rate. However, now that you had that discussion and they were actually interested, you'll be able to talk to them about Mr. Speaker for the rest of their lives. I doubt they'll ever forget.
How much time are you hoping to spend on "focused lessons" every day? We start school at 9 or 9:30 daily and seldom if ever go past noon (only on days like today when *certain people* take 3 hours to do 20 math problems...but that's a different thread altogether.). That's 6 kids 5th grade through 11th grade.
Are you feeling like they are done with school and you still have a few hours left (grading, record keeping, etc.) plus making lunch and keeping house, etc.? I hit that wall the year my oldest hit 6th grade. Everyone else was done and I was stuck for hours correcting math work and grammar drills. That was when we totally revamped our chore system and the kids started making lunch and even helping with dinner.
Remember that the enemy will attack you anyway he can -- and attacking our sense of "well-being" is a favorite of his. Could be that everything is fine, and you're just under attack or there could be some changes that need to be made.
I know nothing of Math U See, Logic Books or Easy Grammar, but we use MOH and I love that. Of course, we've been over a year on the first volume. I'm easily sidetracked and we take lots of bunny trails. Today, for instance we were discussing Egypt and famines and I sent the older boys to hunt down info on famines happening around the world today and what was being done about them. They came back to say that the one that's been happening for decades in Ethiopia is (according to their source) similar to one which happened a few thousand years ago (like, maybe when Joseph was there?). It's most important to me that my kids see the Bible not as a story book but as a history book. MOH does an excellent job of reinforcing that point.
Just a thought -- do you do many outings and field trips? Hands-on learning is the best! It's a good way to fill up the days with "anti-fluff", too.
Well, that's probably enough of my rambling!
Hope it was somewhat helpful!
_____________________________
Fancy signatures are highly overrated. Just click here and visit my blog. Please.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: curriculum question - 11/15/2008 9:45:37 AM
|
|
|
jrsmom
Posts: 2
Joined: 5/11/2005
Status: offline
|
Just last week I was worried about the amount of time I spend with my son working on school work, so this has been on my mind, too.
I used to teach in a elementary school. So I sat down and added up all the minutes my students were in the classroom with me. Then I deducted the minutes it took for things like attendance, getting ready for lunch / recess, time they were gone to art, music, gym and so on. I realized that they were in the classroom with me for about 3.5 hours. That's all.
And one on one time is so much more effective then one on twenty-five time in a classroom! Plus, my son doesn't have the choice to not pay attention like students in a classroom can. 
We use Math U See, and I really like it. But we could do a math lesson in 5 minutes, some days. So I supplement the math portion of our day. BUT my son LOVES math and he's good at it. For us, we're doing what he's interested in. I love that flexibility that homeschooling gives us!
|
|
|
|
|
RE: curriculum question - 11/26/2008 12:18:46 AM
|
|
|
dramagal
Posts: 66
Joined: 10/23/2005
Status: offline
|
One of the great advantages of homeschooling is all the freed up time for doing things we're interested in - reading, drawing, building huge lego creations . . . There are so many other things to learn and ways to learn. Let them explore those.
About American history and government -- They're in 4th and 6th grade; they have other years to study American history and government. My eldest has studied American history 3 times, at different levels with different foci. He's in 10th grade now and taking American History in a co-op. When he was younger, we did a lot on the American Revolution, reading lots of stories, etc. In between, he's studied ancient history, history of science, etc.
My daughter (8th grade) has been able to have a wider variety of history. We've learned that colleges often require certain high school history courses (US, World, Civics. . .), so we decided that for 7th and 8th grades she would get to do "artsy" history. 7th grade she did a Beautiful Feet history of Composers. This year, she's doing the History of Theatre, as written by my husband.
It's fun for her, but she'll also be a lot more rounded than her contemporaries who keep learning the same stuff year after year. (Oh, for 6th grade, she shared in her brother's 8th grade US history from BJU, so she knows that stuff too.)
_____________________________
Who let the wild donkey go free? Job 39:5.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: curriculum question - 11/28/2008 11:35:42 AM
|
|
|
goodnsimple
Posts: 51
Joined: 7/28/2008
Status: offline
|
I am also using MOH for a 6th grader. I do not feel that at his level it is complete. But I do like the inclusion of biblical history. We tend to use it as a jumping off point. I then do searches and we do more online stuff. The British museum has great ancient history stuff. They have stories and interactive games that have them do things like irrigate a field in ancient mesopotamia...this week we matched Chinese symbols with what the word is...not difficult, but I do think it "gets in there better" when you pull from different sources.
Anything he expresses interest in...I find more info. Some things we just read MOH and go on... it depends.
I do the same for Science...that I supplement the text with online stuff where he is more interested.
as far as time
We have a rule that no video games or fluff tv until after 3:30...but he can watch discovery or history channel...play a folder of online games that are "more" educational, and read anything he wants. (or play outside.)
Sometimes I will write that stuff down on his lesson plan, he likes getting 'school credit' for doing something he would do anyway.
|
|
|
|
 New Messages |
 No New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/ New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/o New Messages |
 Locked w/ New Messages |
 Locked w/o New Messages |
|
 Post New Thread
Reply to Message
Post New Poll
Submit Vote
Delete My Own Post
Delete My Own Thread
Rate Posts |
|
|
Forum Tools
Printable Version
