I received my copy of Writing With Ease today. I've resisted the temptation for so long, but I'm glad I have it now. It really is a wonderful book, and I think it will complement LLATL very nicely.
When *B* started 1st grade I followed The Well-Trained Mind exactly. Since then, I've eased up a lot in the area of Language Arts. (Ruth Beechick helped me to see the error of my way.) So, when I saw that Susan Wise Bauer had come out with a writing program I was very hesitant.
I caved. I bought a copy and I LOVE it!! We're starting evaluations tomorrow. I'm pretty sure that *B* will be able to start on Level 2, I don't have high hopes for Level 3. I do think that this will help a lot before moving into Writing Strands, as I had planned.
MFW RtR- This week we learned about "The Birth of Islam." It was very interesting. Daddy also joined us for History this week. =)
BIBLE- We read some of Luke and the corresponding pages in Victor. We also took some time to pray for Muslims.
MEMORY VERSE- They are memorizing I Corinthians 13. This week we added verse 2. "And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." ESV
HISTORY- I don't really like Story of the World, so I asked (on MFW forum) if there was a suitable substitution. The consensus was that there isn't. So after much research and prayer I've decided to use it anyway. This week we didn't read it though. We read the chapter about Muhammed from Famous Men of the Middle Ages. We are also reading the section on Islam from Usborne's Encyclopedia of World Religions. I made a notebook page, but we ended up not doing it - I'll explain later.
REBEKAH- Benjamin Franklin chapter 8, Alice in Wonderland chapter 3 and Anne of Green Gables chapters 23-29.
Back to the notebook page. They were just beginning the notebook page and we heard this terrible noise outside. I walked outside and it was hailing! Every house around here has a tin roof so it was LOUD!!
This is our house. We went to the neighbor's house when the Tornado Warning was issued. (We have no basement.)
It hailed like this 3 different times over a 3 hour period. I have never seen it this big before.
We didn't do much this week. Zachary had an appointment with the Pediatric Cardiologist and that sort of killed our week. At his last well-check the Dr. heard a Venous Hum. It's just a vibration of the blood flowing through the veins near his heart. Nothing serious and they usually grow out of it, BUT it's most common in 3-4 year olds. Zachary is only 19 months old so Dr. wanted to make sure that it wasn't anything more serious. The cardiologist said that Zach's heart is structurally fine, the hum is innocent, no restrictions and recheck before Kindergarten. =)
TREY - Singapore 1A: Text pages 33-37, Workbook exercises 18-19.
CALEB - Singapore 3A: Intensive Practice pages 1-9.
He also read DaVinci chapter 6 and Princess and the Goblin chapters 14-16.
MFW RtR- We tried using MFW Creation to the Greeks and it just didn't work out. I was researching curriculum for next year and decided to try MFW again. Since we are beginning the Middle Ages I decided to try to find a cheap Rome to Reformation guide and start at week 14. I have everything else, so all I needed was the guide.
BIBLE- We read the Nicene Creed each day this week and started reading Luke in chapter 5.
MEMORY VERSE- "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." 1 Cor 13:1 ESV
SCIENCE- Right now RtR schedules a study of the Human Body. Rebekah and Caleb are doing that at Co-op so I'm not adding in science until we get to Astronomy.
MATH- There's been a few changes since last post. I've finally stopped trying to keep everyone in the same program! =)
TREY- He's starting back up with Singapore 1A. He loved it before, he just wasn't ready once it got to addition. He's ready now and doing an excellent job! He seems to "get" math, so Singapore is my first choice. Text pages 30-32 & Workbook exercises 15-17 & Extra Practice exercise 3.
CALEB- I bought Singapore 3A Text and Intensive Practice. I was just going to get the text but Caleb thrives on math puzzles and problems that really make him think. Text pages 6-17, including practices 1A, 1B, 1C.
REBEKAH- She has been thriving with Saxon 5/4 over the last couple of weeks. This week she did lessons 7-10 and Test 1.
LANGUAGE ARTS- Trey is the only one who did any this week. He did Ordinary Parent's Guide lessons 34-36. On Friday we reviewed the vowel sounds.
"Now, that work which is of most importance to society is the bringing up and instruction of the children -- in the school, certainly, but far more in the home, because it is more than anything else the home influences brought to bear upon the child that determine the character and career of the future man or woman. It is a great thing to be a parent: there is no promotion, no dignity, to compare with it."
"The children are...public trusts, put into the hands of parents that they may make the most of them for the good of society."
She goes on to say that the mother is the one who has the most influence on the children. I assume that this is because the mother is usually the one to stay home with them. That really puts the burden on me! Even though my husband is the Spiritual leader of this home, I am the one who interacts with them for more hours of each day. Is that why Freud always blamed the mother? =)
Mothers owe a 'thinking love' to their Children
Ms. Mason quoted Pestalozzi: "The mother is qualified... by the Creator Himself, to become the principal agent in the development of her child; ... and what is demanded of her is -- a thinking love... Maternal love is the first agent in education."
That helps put things into perspective for me. God gave me the children that He did, because He knew that we were the best match for each other. It's really hard to see that when my daughter is behind in math because I can't explain it a way for her to understand. I trust that God knows what He is doing, thought I don't always understand.
"...they will doubtless feel the more strongly that the education of their children during the first six years of life is an undertaking hardly to be entrusted to any hands but their own. And they will take it up as their profession -- that is, with the diligence, regularity, and punctuality which men bestow on their professional labours."
That is EXACTLY how I feel. I want to know what my children are learning, especially when it has to do with our Christian beliefs. How could I possibly trust anyone else to to give my children the best education? Only I know what is best for my children. God made us to go together, so I have to know!
The training of Children 'dreadfully defective'
Parents do need some sort of instruction on teaching children. (Hence, the reading of Home Education.) I don't think that we necessarily need to have a college degree to teach our children, but I do think that even our own education should never stop. I graduated High School and spent one year at a University. When you're doing it to pass a class, you really don't get much out of it. I've found that my education is severely lacking and have decided to become self-educated.
How Parents Usually Proceed
"The parents' chief care is, that that which they supply shall be wholesome and nourishing, whether in the way of picture books, lessons, playmates, bread and milk, or mother's love.... They let their children alone, allowing human nature to develop on its own lines, modified by facts of environment and descent.
Nothing could be better for the child that this 'masterly inactivity,' so far as it goes. It is well he should be let grow and helped to grow according to his nature; and so long as the parents do not step in to spoil him, much good and no very evident harm comes from letting him alone."
It's very important that we let our children grow into their own personalities. They need direction, but they also need room to grow. They need to be free thinkers. As much as I don't like it, my children need to form their own opinions about things... even their faith.
--- Next Week (Wednesday, March 16) I will post on
I did have Rebekah do Key to Fractions, Book #1: pages 1-4. And realized that she is retaining ABSOLUTELY NOTHING from Teaching Textbooks. She rarely got under a 90% for the lesson, but apparently there's just something about the program that she's not getting. I don't really know what to do.
I also introduced her to Fred. She's fallen in love! =) I found some books for multiplication and division (plus a few other concepts) that seem similar to Fred. I'm toying with the idea of having her do those 2 books before trying to move on.
Stanley F. Schmidt, author of Life of Fred, claims that the upper level books are complete. Cathy Duffy, on her review website, placed Life of Fred under "Math" not "Math Supplements." This leads me to believe that maybe they are! I know that there is a lot of controversy about this, but I've got 2-3 years to decide.
I wasn't going to blog about the Preface... and then I read it.
"...the knowledge of God is the principal knowledge, and the chief end of education."
As parents, this has always been our main goal. If our children don't know God then nothing else matters! This is why I believe it is important for the children to learn about God within all of their "school" subjects.
"Such a theory of education, which need not be careful to call itself a system of psychology, must be in harmony with the thought movements of the age; must regard education, not as a shut off compartment, but as being as much a part of life as birth or growth, marriage or work; and it must leave the pupil attached to the world at many points of contact."
Wow! Such strong, thought provoking words! Learning should not be a separate entity. It should be a natural part of everyday life. I will admit that I struggle with that. How do I integrate schooling into our day without making it "school?" I want to instill the love of learning into our children. I never want learning to become a chore.
"...the child is a person with all the possibilities and powers included in personality."
Sometimes it is hard to remember that they really are just miniatures of us, and that they deserve the same respect.
In the Preface, Charlotte Mason summarizes her educational theories in eighteen points. These points are expanded upon throughout the book. I really like how Leslie Laurio has put them in a Modern English Paraphrase. (I am reading the original words by Ms. Mason, but I do like to compare from time to time.)
I've been trying to read this book for a while now, never getting past the "Preliminary Considerations." I've come to the conclusion that the only way I'm going to do it is to blog about it.
Please read along with me and comment on the appropriate posts! OR post on your blog and share the link! If I get enough interest I will set up a link list generator.
You can read it FREE from Ambleside Online.
I'm reading this Kindle version.
I'm going to read one section per week and post on Wednesdays. My first post will be Wednesday, March 9 and it will cover Some Preliminary Considerations.
I should start out by saying that Daddy lost his job on Friday, February 18, so our learning was a bit... uh... interrupted throughout the week. Good news is that he started a new job today! Only one week off, only missing one paycheck. God is good!
BIBLE- We began using the International Children's Bible Field Guide by Lawrence Richards. This week we read the first chapter: What you should know about the Bible. It was interesting. It told basically how the Bible was written and answered a few common questions. One part shared how careful the scribes were when copying the Bible. After we read the chapter we completed the "Pretend to be a scribe" activity. They had to copy John 3:16 exactly how a scribe would do it. They also had to count letters and words. It took about 20 minutes!
HISTORY- The older 2 take TN History at Co-op on Mondays. Together, we read MOH2 Lesson 22 about everyday life in the Dark Ages. That was it!
SCIENCE- All of them did science at Co-op,
LATIN- Latina Christiana I, Lesson 4. We did the lesson and drills, but not the workbook yet.
MATH-
Trey (FKA: Shark) did MUS Alpha lesson 7. He's so good at Math. =)
Caleb (FKA: Crow) completed lessons 53-55 of TT4.
Rebekah (FKA: Kitten) finished lessons 98,99 and quiz 14 of TT4. I *think* I'm going to have her start Life of Fred: Fractions within the next few weeks.
AOy1-
Trey is working on week 12 right now. Like I said earlier this week was a bit disjointed, but we got most of it done: Our Island Story, chapter 7; Trial and Triumph, chapter 3; Fifty Famous Stories, Arnold Winkelreid.
Shark is taking Astronomy at Co-op this semester. His teacher sent me a link about a Meteor Shower caused by the debris left by Haley's Comet. I'm pretty sure that's what this was. This picture really just does NOT do it justice. I'm so glad the kids got to see it.
Unless otherwise noted chapter numbers refer to The Story of the Romans by HA Guerber.
Books marked with stars (**) are meant to be read over a few days to a week.
This is a work-in-progress so please check back for updates.
MAP ~ Label modern countries on map of Roman Empire.
1 - The First Settlers
2 - The Escape from the Burning City
3 - The Clever Trick
4 - The Boards are Eaten
5 - The Wolf and the Twins
6 - Romulus Builds Rome
MAP ~ Circle and label "Rome", color Italy green and Sicily yellow.
7 - The Maidens Carried Off
8 - Union of Sabines and Romans
9 - Death of Romulus
~ Ancient Rome!: Build an Arch, pp 25-6
10 - The Strange Signs of the Romans
11 - The Quarrel with Alba
12 - The Fight Between the Horatii and the Curiatii
13 - Tarquin and the Eagle
14 - The Roman Youths
~ Ancient Rome!: Highways and Waterways, pp 52-8
** City by David Macaulay
15 - The King Outwitted
16 - The Murder of Tarquin
17 - The Ungrateful Children
18 - The Mysterious Books
19 - Tarquin's Poppies
20 - The Oracle of Delphi
21 - The Death of Lucretia
~ Ancient Rome!: Gifts of the Etruscans, pp 29-31
~ Ancient Rome!: A Kid is Still a Kid, pp 32-9
~ Ancient Rome!: Put Janus over Your Door, p40
22 - The Stern Father
~ Ancient Rome!: The Roman Republic, pp 42-4
23 - A Roman Triumph
24 - A Roman Triumph (continued)
25 - The Defense of the Bridge
26 - The Burnt Hand
27 - The Twin Gods
28 - The Wrongs of the Poor
~ Ancient Rome!: The Orders of Roman People, pp 45-6
29 - The Fable of the Stomach
30 - The Story of Coriolanus
31 - The Farmer Hero
32 - The New Laws
~ Ancient Rome!: Order in the Court! p47
33 - The Death of Virginia
34 - The Plans of a Traitor
35 - The School-Teacher Punished
36 - The Invasion of the Gauls
37 - The Sacred Geese
38 - Two Heroes of Rome
39 - The Disaster at the Caudine Forks
40 - Pyrrhus and His Elephants
41 - The Elephants Routed
~ Ancient Rome!: Conquest, Conflict, and the End of the Republic, pp 60-2
42 - Ancient Ships
43 - Regulus and the Snake
44 - Hannibal Crosses the Alps
45 - The Romans Defeated
MAP ~ Punic Wars
** Hannibal by Robert Green
and/or
** Hannibal: Rome's Worst Nightmare by Philip Brooks
46 - The Inventor Archimedes
** Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick
47 - The Roman Conquests
48 - Destruction of Carthage
~ Ancient Rome!: Rome vs Carthage, pp 63-6
~ Ephesians 6: Armor of God
49 - Roman Amusements
~ Ancient Rome!: Roman Leisure and Fun, pp 75-83
** Gladiator by Richard Watkins
50 - The Jewels of Cornelia
51 - The Death of Tiberius Gracchus
52 - Caius Cracchus
53 - Jugurtha, King of Numidia
54 - The Barbarians
55 - The Social War
56 - The Flight of Marius
57 - The Proscription Lists
58 - Setorius and his Doe
59 - The Revolt of the Slaves
** Spartacus - movie with Kirk Douglas
60 - Pompey's Conquests
61 - The Conspiracy of Catiline
~ Ancient Rome!: Enter Julius Caesar, pp 67-70
62 - Caesar's Conquests
63 - The Crossing of the Rubicon
64 - The Battle of Pharsalia
65 - The Death of Caesar
~ Our Island Story, chapter 2
** Julius Caesar: Dictator for Life by Denise Rinaldo
66 - The Second Triumvirate
67 - The Vision of Brutus
68 - Antony and Cleopatra
69 - The Poisonous Snake
** Cleopatra by Diane Stanley
70 - The Augustan Age (Birth of Christ)
** Luke (Holy Bible)
** Augustus Caesar's World by Genevieve Foster
71 - Death of Augustus
~ Ancient Rome!: After Augustus Caesar, p 83
~ Ancient Rome!: The Pax Romana, pp 72-3
~ Ancient Rome!: Popina & Mosaic Trivet, p 74
{Birth, Life and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ}
** Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
** Ben Hur - movie with Charlton Heston
I have a 2 week study planned but haven't worked out all of the kinks yet, so I'll leave this part mostly blank for now. =)
~ Trial and Triumph, chapters 1-2
72 - Varus Avenged
73 - Death of Germanicus
74 - Tiberius Smothered (Christ Crucifixion)
75 - The Wild Caligula
76 - The Wicked Wives of Claudius
77 - Nero's First Crimes
78 - The Christian's Persecuted
79 - Nero's Cruelty
80 - Two Short Reigns
~ Our Island Story, chapters 3-6
** Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
** The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff
81 - The Siege of Jerusalem
82 - The Buried Cities
** Pompeii Buried Alive by Edith Kunhardt
83 - The Terrible Banquet
84 - The Emperor's Tablets
85 - The Good Trajan
86 - Trajan's Column
87 - The Great Wall
88 - Hadrian's Death
89 - Antonius Pius
90 - The Model Pagan
~ Ancient Rome!: Nifty Teachers Have Apples and Mangoes, p84
91 - Another Cruel Emperor
~ Ancient Rome!: Rome's Decline and Fall, pp 85-6a
92 - An Unnatural Son
93 - The Senate of Women
94 - The Gigantic Emperor
95 - Invasion of the Goths
96 - Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra
97 - A Prophecy Fulfilled
98 - The First Christian Emperor
~ Our Island Story, chapter 7
~ Trial and Triumph, chapters 3-4
~ Ancient Rome!: Changes, pp 86-8
99 - The Roman Empire Divided
100 - An Emperor's Penance
~ Trial and Triumph, chapters 5-7
101 - Sieges of Rome
102 - End of the Empire of the West
~ Ancient Rome!: End of the Roman Empire, pp 89-92
** Science in Ancient Rome by Jacqueline L. Harris
The Library had their book sale this past weekend... I spent too much money, but found some real gems.
Curricula:
Rod and Staff: Following the Plan, English 5 Worksheets
Rod and Staff: Preparing for Usefulness, English 8
BJU: Handwriting 3 for Christian Schools, 2nd Ed., TE
BJU: English 3 for Christian Schools, 2nd Ed., Worktext Answer Key
BJU: Math 6 for Christian Schools, 2nd Ed., Text
BJU: Heritage Studies 4 for Christian Schools, 2nd Ed., Text
BJU: Heritage Studies 6 for Christian Schools, 2nd Ed., Text
Learning Language Arts Through Literature, Yellow, TM
Guides to History Plus by Kathryn Stout
Literature: My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner Hatchet by Gary Paulsen Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Cake! by Donald J. Sobol The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare The Light Princess by George MacDonald David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Thomas A. Edison by Sue Guthridge (Childhood of Famous Americans) Eleanor Roosevelt by Ann Weil (Childhood of Famous Americans) The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh The Best Mistake Ever! And Other Stories by Richard Scarry Little Toot adapted by Joanne Ryder Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. by Judy Blume Earthquake in the Early Morning by Mary Pope Osborne (Magic Tree House)
Another Magic Tree House book
McGuffey's Eclectic Primer, Revised Edition The New Kid on the Block poems by Jack Prelutsky A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
Other Books:
Errors in English and Ways to Correct Them by Harry Shaw
Creation Evangelism for the New Millennium by Ken Ham
A Picture Dictionary of the Bible by Ruth P. Tubby
The Book of Where or How to Be Naturally Geographic by Neill Bell
The One Year Book of Devotions for Kids
Exodus: The True Story by Ian Wilson
Parables of Jesus by J. Ellsworth Kalas
Kids' Bible Q&A
Readings in Ancient History by Nels M. Bailkey
The Giant Book of Strange But True Sports Stories by Howard Liss
DK Eyewitness: American Revolution
The Kingfisher Book of the Ancient World
Found Alive as told to Ben East
Forty Days Lost as told to Ben East
Theme-A-Saurus; The Great Big Book of Mini Teaching Themes
My mom lives in CA so it's always a big deal when she visits OH... either we travel north or she travels south for a few days. This year we were very fortunate that we were able to go to OH - we get to spend more time with her that way.
SATURDAY, MARCH 27
We left at 8:20 AM and reached Lexington, KY by about noon. Kitten has a friend there, so we stopped and played for about 1.5 hours.
It was about 4PM when we got to my In-Law's house. We visited, ate dinner, and they sang "Happy Birthday" to me.
7PM - arrival at Memaw's house to visit a bit before heading to the hotel.
SUNDAY, MARCH 28
We went to church with *my* Grandma, and I have to tell you she FELL while holding the baby!! Everybody is OK but she really freaked me out. (Not for the baby's sake, he was fine.) Afterward, we went to Grandma's house for pizza and Birthday Cupcakes. (Do you sense a theme?)
Later that evening, I dropped Mr Krabbs and Turtle off at my In-Laws house so that the rest of us could go to La Comedia, a dinner theatre. We saw Phantom of the Opera, I had forgotten the story line so it was like watching it for the first time! =)
This is a pic of the big kids - my 3 oldest, my brother's boys, and my sister. There was also my mom (Nana), my Memaw, my brother and his girlfriend.
My mom had a Birthday Cake sent out to me.
The kids were excited that they got to meet the cast. Kitten said, "I get to meet a real live super star!" =)
When I picked the little boys up I found that they had been crying the ENTIRE TIME that I was gone.
MONDAY, MARCH 29
The morning was spent at Boonshoft Museum of Discovery. Awesome, hands on and very kid oriented. My best friend (Michelle) from middle and high school joined us with her son. (My mom was taking the pics.)
Then we went to McDonald's and played for an hour or so. After that we went shopping and Memaw joined us for dinner at Golden Corral. Back at the hotel mom took the kids swimming.
Memaw is explaining how her mother used a stove similar to this one.
We had KFC for a late lunch. Mom took my brother and his girlfriend to dinner and Memaw and I watched the kids. My dad came to visit us and so did Gina, another friend of mine.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31 - my birthday!
Mr Krabbs had a low grade fever but we decided to head to the Cincinnati Zoo anyway. He started feeling a little better as the day went on.
SPEED RACER!
AFTER the zoo - can you believe we did more? I'm telling you my mom WORE. ME. OUT! - we went to Newport on the Levee.
For my birthday dinner we ate at Mitchell's Fish Market. I had a steak though.
The Ohio River and Cinti as a backdrop. I had a good birthday... definitely one to remember.
THURSDAY, APRIL 1
We went back to Newport and spent the morning at the aquarium. Mr Krabbs still wasn't feeling well and he wanted to wear the green shirt again, so I let him. =)
Eating ice cream. It's the only shade they could find.
FRIDAY, APRIL 2
Time to go home. We were about 20 miles from TN (in KY) and we hit stand still traffic... you know the kind where people get out of their cars and you see kids playing on the shoulder...
The good news is that with all of the educational activities we can count most of this week as school! (Also posted on my Homeschool Blog.)
More about Joseph this week. Genesis 43-46 and corresponding pages from Journey Through the Bible.
First we read, "After the Heroic Age," from Young Folks' History of Greece by Charlotte Yonge. In theory it was a good idea, but quite honestly it was a little hard to follow. Maybe I was tired or something. So we explored Ancient Greeks on the BBC website and that reviewed a lot of what was just read. Then, from Famous Men of Greece, we read "Lycurgus" (Sparta) and "Draco & Solon" (Athens). To help summarize the two city-states we read from Story of the World v1, chapter 22. We also looked at corresponding pages from Usborne's Greeks.
Nothing this week. We are getting ready to start a unit on birds. The Iliad for Boys and Girls by Alfred Church. We listened to chapters 1-6.
Cautionary Tales for Children by Hilaire Belloc . We read the intro and the first chapter.
We reviewed the first story of Minimus chapter 1. Greek Alphabet Code Cracker by Dr. Christopher Perrin. We completed Unit 1 which is basically an overview or introduction to the alphabeta.
*T* began Go For the Code this week. He worked on the letter c.
*C* did PLL lessons 9-11
*B* did PLL lessons 16-19
*T* learned about number bonds this week. He got it a lot easier than I thought he would.
1A: exercises 7-10
*C* was supposed to learn mental addition strategies, but he said, "Mommy I already do that when I add numbers." So I guess it was more of a review. :)
Daddy finally started working on Monday the 25th, after being unemployed for 51 weeks. Needless to say the last two weeks have been rocky. This past week we were getting used to a new schedule and the week before was all about getting Daddy's truck running!
MEMORY: Took a break. I still haven't figured out what they will work on next.
BIBLE: Continued reading about Joseph. Genesis 41-42 in 3 different readings. We also read the corresponding pages in Journey Through the Bible.
HISTORY: Famous Men of Greece - Theseus, Agamemnon and Achilles. I also rented the movie Troy. (There were a few nekkid rears, but nothing graphic.) We read about Odysseus from Young Folk's History of Greece by Charlotte M. Yonge. I really like that book, I may utilize it more.
SCIENCE/CURRENT EVENTS: We discussed the earthquake in Haiti, by reading the article at Scholastic News and then they completed the comprehension worksheet on their own. So this week was devoted to earthquakes. We read from the Child Craft encyclopedia and explored the USGS for Kids site. Lastly, they colored the US Earthquake Hazard Map.
MATH: (Singapore)
*T* (1A) did exercises 5 & 6.
*C* (2B) did Unit 7, exercises 2 & 3. He's so proud because he proved the answer key wrong! :)
*B* (3A) worked through the HIG pages 39-47 and corresponding workbook exercises. She learned to do bar models and reviewed rounding and estimation.
First of all I have to say that I am in love with the idea of My Father's World. The problem came with implementing the program. As hard as I tried, I just couldn't make it work for us. This is what I learned from that experience:
1. I need all of my subjects separated - Unit Studies overwhelm me.
2. I need one or two good spines to just read and narrate - our library system has next to nothing, so a good spine is extremely important to me.
After I realized these things I tried using Story of the World again. I really like having SOTW as an "extra-info" book, but not a spine. So I considered the Famous Men books. I found Greece and Rome at an excellent used price.
As we've been reading Famous Men of Greece, I've been thinking about the Middle Ages and whether or not we'd continue with the series. I had already determined that I would add Our Island Story to whichever program that we used. (We have a strong British Heritage.) Then I remembered how much I wanted to use Guerber's books.
I know, I'm a mess!
This is what I want in a history curriculum:
1. I want subject headings well defined.
2. I want the designated chapters listed from the spines that I want to use. (Guerber/Miller books, Our Island Story, Trial and Triumph)
3. Loose enough to be as deep or as shallow as we choose without feeling guilty.
I was about to reinvent the wheel... and then I remembered TruthQuest. It really does look perfect for us. I've purchased Ancient Rome. If all goes well then I will purchase the two books I need for our Middle Ages studies.
I received my copy of Writing With Ease today. I've resisted the temptation for so long, but I'm glad I have it now. It really is a wonderful book, and I think it will complement LLATL very nicely.
