The Curriculum Choice

Creative Writing Supplement Review

May 212009

Story Starters, by Karen Andreola, is perfect for your reluctant writers and it is a creative writing supplement that can be used for a change of pace along side any writing program. If you’ve heard about using narration as a grammar tool, you will definitely want Story Starters on your school shelf.

The name Story Starters is just what it says, a start of a story. And if you haven’t guessed it yet, the child reads the beginning of the engaging story and gets to finishe the story. For younger ages you could use it as narration practice and for older ones you would want them to write the rest of the story. Karen gives you several ways to use this book as you gradually progress through the stories. You do not have to use all the stories, you can pick and choose. There are even some pictures with no beginning story so that the child can start from the very beginning. The stories are exciting or intense and they are a mix of kind gestures and heroic deeds. If you are wanting to incorporate character training into your homeschool, these stories are perfect for open-ended discussions on virtues. Also, if you are a sucker for vintage illustrations, like I am, then you won’t be able to pass up this resource. I like to color them with my littlest one, while the older ones read me their stories ending!

Key points to remember about Story Starters:

suggested use is for grades 4-12 (little ones can color the illustrations and feel like they are participating)
non-consumable (one book per family)
creative writing supplemental resource
character themes that lead to good discussions
illustrated with timeless pictures
reluctant-writer proof

Written by Brenda

Side note: If you use IEW, then Story Starters is perfect for units III and V. That’s when we have a chance to pull out this great resource.

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Elementary Greek

Foreign Language 1 Response »

May 182009

img_greek1set Elementary Greek , year one, by Open Texture is designed to be used for as young as second grade. It is a full year’s course and is written simply for the teacher with little to no experience in the Greek language. It’s 30 weeks of lessons are laid out in daily portions that take around 20 minutes on average. Each child needs their own workbook and everything else is non-consumable. This course would also be great for a student of jr. high or above to complete on their own with little help from an adult.

One of my children took an interest in Greek in kindergarten. How did this happen, you ask? Well, living up to 2 older brothers isn’t always easy. So when my 3rd son saw a chance to do something different then his older siblings he jumped on it. He wanted bragging rights in one area of his life, is what I’m guessing. We began with the first two levels of Hey Andrew, Teach Me Some Greek. Greek quickly became his favorite subject. We really enjoyed Hey Andrew, but the reason why I switched is simply the time factor. I have many children to school and I needed to simplify my day by combining more of my children’s studies together or combining several subjects into one subject. I was not about to ditch Greek with my son – being his favorite subject consistently.

So, along came Elementary Greek and solved a problem for me. It also teaches grammar. The grammar portion is gentler then say Shurley or Abeka, but it is comfortable from a Charlotte Mason perspective having shorter lessons. This is how we worked it into our school. I decided that we would take 2 years to do level one, doing Greek 3 times a week. We do Primary Language Lessons 2-3 times a week also. He drills his Greek vocabulary 5 days a week.

Some things that I have added to Elementary Greek to make it fit our needs better (having a younger student) have been:

notebooking grammar terms such as noun, adjective, verb, article adjective for us to reference in other areas of studies like writing.
played many games with the flashcards like laying them on the floor, throwing a bean bag on them and saying the Greek word in English, or saying the Greek letter’s sound and we’ve played hang man using vocabulary words.
created our own silly songs and chants to remember the declensions and the irregular verb “to be”.
made lapbook elements to remember things like the sounds of diphthongs, eventually we will put these together in a lapbook.

Elementary Greek year 1 teaches the Greek alphabet, basic vocabulary, grammar and translation. The workbook provides practice that is necessary to remembering the lesson. The flashcards and CD are an essential part of the program. We have enjoyed memorizing scripture in Greek also. Click here to listen to some CD audio samples:

Lesson One, Day 3

Lesson One, Vocabulary

Lesson 20, memory verse
Written by Brenda

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May 172009

construction_site_3_kids_building Pardon our dust as we are sprucing up the site. Please have patience while we get everything in its proper place so that you can find what you need easily. You can go to Graphically Designing to see who is making this site beautiful. She’s the best!

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What Kind of Homeschooler are You?

Philosophies 2 Responses »

May 132009

Tips for Defining Yourself

Homeschoolers are in a world of their own. To outsiders, all homeschoolers are the same…weird. But inside the world of homeschooling, you quickly become defined by your method of teaching. When you meet another homeschooler, some of the first questions asked are, “What curriculum do you use?” and “What kind of homeschooler are you?” To new homeschoolers, this can be completely overwhelming and finding your options can literally drown you in information.

I know that there are a lot of moms that are just like me. I began researching homeschooling, and how to do it, while I was pregnant with my first child. I was still teaching in a public school at the time, but I knew one day that I would have the blessing of homeschooling my kids. I am a first generation homeschooler so I had no idea that there are actual methods and theories about teaching your kids at home. I also didn’t know that there are curriculum just for homeschoolers. Almost 5 years later, I am still trying to define what kind of homeschooler I am.

Before you google your eyes out, turn off your computer and sit down and write out everything you believe about education. This is your mission statement; it will become your foundation for all of the choices you will have to make. In my mission statement, I included how I believe my children learn. I also included how I think that learning is assessed. Brenda has written a great article that can help you as you write your mission statement .

After you have your mission statement, and you feel you need to put a label on what kind of homeschooler you are, find the methods/theories that best suit you based on your mission statement. Research the homeschooling methods out there and find one that matches your core beliefs. If there are several that match you, you might be Eclectic. As you make a list, write down what you like and don’t like of each method. Here is a list of just some methods:

Classical
Unschooling
Charlotte Mason
Ruth Beechick
Traditional
Eclectic
Unit Studies
Notebooking
Lapbooking
Religion or Faith Based
Virtual Schooling or Hybrid Schooling or Distance Learning
Deschooling
Umbrellas (your child learns under an organization, a public school, or private company)
Montessori
Enki
Waldorf
Reggio Emilia
Delayed: The Moore Method
Accelerated
Principle Approach
Thomas Jefferson
Relaxed
Delight Directed
Child-Led
Research Based
Radical unschooling

Now that you know how you will teach your child, you have to find the tools to do this. There are so many curriculum choices on the market that there are conventions just so that homeschoolers can check them out. There are three main ways to find your curriculum. First there is the boxed curriculum. This is curriculum that covers every subject area for the entire year. Everything is mapped out for you, may even be scripted, and often comes with all the materials your child will need. Your second option is to pick and choose specific items from a boxed curriculum. You might just want to buy the math materials or the reading books. Another option is to create your curriculum from free online resources, or resources from the library. You also have the freedom to design your own curriculum.

There are three steps to developing your identity as a homeschooler. First, write your mission statement. After you have this ingrained into your heart, find a method that fits your beliefs. And finally, find curriculum that matches your foundational beliefs and method.

The great thing about homeschooling is that you have the freedom to teach however you want to teach. And you can change your methods and curriculum whenever you want. Even if it is in the middle of the school year. If it isn’t working…move onto something new. One thing that can give you a concrete foundation is your core beliefs in how you believe your children learn best. In homeschooling, it doesn’t matter what kind of homeschooler you are. It doesn’t matter what curriculum you use. Because, as a homeschooler, you are doing what is best for your child.

Written by Kari Wilcher

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Noeo Science Curriculum Review

Charlotte Mason, Science 2 Responses »

May 122009

Noeo Science is a rare jewel for Charlotte Mason homeschoolers. Miss Mason felt that nature study was adequate science instruction for elementary children. But for eclectic homeschoolers who desire a more structured science curriculum in addition to nature study, Noeo fits the bill.

Noeo is not a textbook but a literature based curriculum with options for grades K-6. You can choose from one of three areas–chemistry, physics, or biology. Your set includes an instructor’s guide, living science books, biographies of scientists, and experiment kits. The spiral bound, three –hole punched instructor’s guide has readings laid out for 4 days for each of the 36 weeks. The schedule is light and thus meets Miss Mason’s recommendation for short lessons.

The instructor’s guide is really more of a schedule than a teaching guide. As Miss Mason would have it, the books are meant to speak directly to the child, so there is no need for lengthy teaching notes. There is absolutely no busy work in this program. There are only reading, experiments, and narrating. Generally, the only notes in the instructor’s guide are “read the assigned pages and describe and/or sketch what you learned in your science notebook.” This type of activity is narration, exactly what Charlotte Mason recommended. Sometimes the instructor’s guide points out key vocabulary words to define, and when experiments are scheduled, there is a supply list.

The experiments are from Young Scientist Club Kits and from Ein’O Kits. The supplies are all included, and the directions are very clear. I found that each experiment really worked well to give us a concrete illustration of what we’d been reading about. Noeo supplies a blank experiment template to document each project.

Noeo Science also has a Yahoo group where you can get help at any time. Once I could not understand one of our physics experiments, so I posted a question on the group. Randy Pritchard, the creator of Noeo science, responded to my question with a clear explanation. And after that, we were able to successfully complete the experiment.

How does Noeo compare to Sonlight science? Although they both use living books and experiments, Noeo’s experiments are always related to the readings. And whereas Sonlight’s packages offer a broad view of many facets of science, Noeo focuses on just one area each year. Noeo offers some blank notebooking templates, and Sonlight has activity sheets. Both use narration as a learning tool.

We have completed our study of Physics 1 (recommended for ages 5-8, grades 1-3). I found it a wonderful curriculum and am totally satisfied with the purchase. The books are colorful and engaging, the type that you don’t want to sell once the study is over. There is a definite structure, but it’s not so stifling that you can’t go off on tangents of your own. The standard assignment after each reading is really just to narrate. You can do this orally, through a science notebook, through lapbooking, or whatever other method you prefer.

Written by Jimmie, Charlotte Mason flavored mom of one.

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The Elements – Chemistry Review

Science, Unit study resources 3 Responses »

May 102009

The Elements
by Ellen Johnston McHenry

Now let me introduce you to the profile of the compliant child: My oldest is very easy to homeschool. I could hand him a 500 pg. book to read, give him 3 pages of questions to answer, assign a 5 page typed report and he would comply by the following day. I know this about him but I do not take advantage of this with every subject. I do give him assignments at the beginning of the week and collect them on Friday and we have a discussion usually pertaining to history.

I wanted to enjoy this short bit of time that I still have with him, learning and sharing experiences before he starts high school and doesn’t want and/or need my help anymore. Two main areas (in addition to history because that is a given)that I wanted to share with my 7th grader this year was chemistry and Latin. So, I planned to spend time with him each week for these subjects.

Having said all this, my point is that I picked something for his particular learning style and something that we could enjoy together through a conversational type of learning. What I found in The Elements is a black and white text that reads like a book, written in 3rd person, cartoons throughout (you can never go wrong with boys and cartoons) and charming stories illustrating key points. One for example is The Periodic Kingdom, in which she explains the periodic table in a fantasy world of kings, nobles and outlaws. Since he is an avid fantasy LOTR/Eragon fan I knew this would click with him.

Topics covered:
The definition of an element, the structure of an atom, the invention of the Periodic Table by Mendeleyev, chemical formulas, electron orbitals and shells, the octet rule, arrangement of elements on the Periodic Table, atomic bonding (covalent, ionic and metallic), plus an up-close look at the families on the table: alkali metals, alkali earth metals, transition metals, true metals, non-metals, halogens, noble gases, and lanthanides and actinides. Click here, to see more info and download the first chapter free!

So this is how we use the program…
He and I read and laugh at the cartoons, discuss the text and he answers the questions, sometimes orally. We also do the Internet research questions and then to cement the learning there are creative activities. My oldest does not “need” these to learn the concept, but we do them anyways, because I “need” them and its another way to spend time together. The prep time can be high depending on what activity you pick, but I always pick the ones that I can handle that week. My favorite one is something that made the periodic table more fun then I could have ever imagined and I wish that I could have done something like this in my high school chemistry classes. The activity was making trading cards (picture baseball or Pokemon here) out of each element. I had two other siblings join in with this and we ended up with a whole set of the elements. Each card had a spot for:

-the symbol
- atomic #
- its “team” example: metals, nonmetals, noble gases
- name of element
- interesting facts
- it’s “field” or location on the periodic table
- a picture of element (in most cases it ended up being a picture of what the element is found in)

The children came up with several ways to play games with these cards. And they loved it! The other activities are also unique and not your typical science activity. Ellen is very creative with this portion of the book.

Did I mention there are cute thumb print characters in the form of cartoons on each page? they are too funny! And, while I’m mentioning, let me tell you about the CD of songs…only two. We ALL wished there were more to listen to.

Suggestions:
I do have a suggestion to compliment this study. Although this is an intro in chemistry, my over-achieving mind saw the need for a Chemistry kit. I got him the C2000 for Christmas and he plugs away through this on the weekends during his free time!

Written by Brenda, classically eclectic mother of 5

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First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise

Charlotte Mason, Classical, Language Arts 2 Responses »

May 052009

fll_thumb As a homeschool mom hopefully you will at least once use a curriculum that will leave you with cherished memories. First Language Lessons was one of those programs for me. It is a curriculum that leaves me with warm memories of cuddling with my daughter on the couch as we would do her grammar lessons. Oh, how I miss it even more as I write this review.

What is First Language Lessons? It is a complete grammar and writing program for first and second grade.

When my daughter was in 1st grade I was looking for a language arts program to suit her needs. I was a new homeschooler at the time and was afraid to step away from “workbooks”. I went with a typical language arts workbook program and boy, did my daughter shed tears with those workbooks. It simply was not an enjoyable way for her to learn. I knew I needed to find something that would give me sanity and yet educate my daughter without a daily dose of tears.

Through many hours of searching and boring my my dear husband with endless conversations of how I need to change my curriculum, I finally found my solution. It was First Language Lessons!

How does this program work? It is set up to be done through 1st and 2nd grade. In first grade you start with very simple lessons that are done orally and some small writing exercises. The first forty lessons are completely done orally. In the first grade level the student is taught nouns, proper nouns, capitalization, and pronouns. Sentence types are introduced near the end of 1st grade. During first grade the student is also taught their telephone number, the days of the week, the seasons, holidays, months of the year, titles of respect, and how to write dates. My favorite part of the program is the poem memorization. I will never forget my daughter reciting the poem “The Caterpillar” by Christina G. Rossetti. This is a memory so dear to my heart. There are various short poems that the child is to memorize. The memorizations are right on target for being age-appropriate. My daughter and I would laugh so hard when she was memorizing the poem “The Goops”. Oh, such a wonderful memory!!

The second grade level takes it up a notch in the level of work expected from the child. Some of the poems are longer to memorize. All eight parts of speech are introduced including linking verbs, state of being verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and interjections. The writing consists of copy-work and dictation which is done in many of the second grade lessons. It may sound a little intimidating to teach all eight parts of speech to such a young child but the idea behind the program is to introduce the child to grammar. It is in the later years that your child will perfect these grammar skills.

Another part of the program is narration which is done in first and second grade. The narration is done in two ways, with picture study or story narration. With picture study the child will study a picture and then describe it to you orally. In story narration, a story is read and the child is asked to tell the story back to you in his own words. Both types of narration create wonderful vocabulary skills.

What are the pros? The lessons are short and easy to teach. Very little material is needed. The two year program is much cheaper than many of those fancier programs out there on the market. This is a very effective program introducing all eight parts of speech. Jessie Wise and Sara Buffington have created two more volumes of First Language Lessons that goes up to the fourth grade level. The best part is that you can cuddle up on the couch for many of the lessons.

What are the cons? For some homeschoolers they may not want to introduce grammar at this young age. There is a lot of repetition which some may not like but I consider this a plus.

In conclusion, First Language Lessons is an excellent program to gently introduce grammar to the young child. From my experience this program gave my daughter a strong foundation in grammar and writing which she has continued to carry with her .

For more information regarding First Language Lessons please click on link:
http://www.peacehillpress.com/

Written by Korey

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10 reasons to buy the curriculum guides even if you don’t use the Noah Plan

Biblical Principle Approach No Responses »

May 012009

The Noah Plan curriculum guides from the Foundation for American Christian Education are hefty tomes full of almost anything you need to know to teach a subject using the Biblical Principle approach. But those who use a different approach can still gain a lot from FACE’s work.

Time lines. While not comprehensive, their time lines are well done and informative, and highlight the use of the subject for the advancement of the Gospel. They are helpful for planning the history of any subject, and cross-referencing to see what was going on in other spheres at a particular point in history.
Resource lists. Especially in history and literature. They are a gold mine. In the history guide they are arranged historically. And their lists incorporate as many original sources and classics as possible for a book this size.
Charts, forms and graphs. Especially in English and the line maps in History and Geography. And they have sample notebook grading charts and other teacher tools.
The focus on Providential History. No matter what your approach, a Providential approach to history affects all subjects and shapes your Christian worldview. Each subject guide addresses that subject’s history
Research. In the literature guide, the information on Shakespeare is almost worth the price of the book. In each guide they offer original documents and a view of a subject that is hard to find in other homeschool resources.
Notebook examples. Even if you are not into traditional notebooking outlines and such, there are many examples of well thought out pages. They can inspire and challenge, or even help solve a problem.
The passion. The authors of each guide are master teachers, and reading their guides can spark an interest, rekindle an excitement or reinforce an idea. Anyone can get on board with doing things well, even if you aren’t keen on the specific methods.
The projects. Each guide offers ideas for projects that you can adapt to any unit study or textbook you may be using.
Tools. Things like word studies and the elements of notebooking are things that any teacher can use. Word studies will serve you well in elementary school through graduate school. It is an invaluable skill. And tools like sample notebook grading sheets can give you a place to start when creating your own materials.
Easy on the pocketbook. There is only one book to buy for each subject. It takes you from kindergarten through high school. All this goodness is wrapped up in one volume for each subject. The investment is only made once.