We have previously used the Bob Jones Press Heritage Studies in the elementary grades. We have also used the World Studies book from BJUP. This is the book from BJUP that SEAL enjoyed. We started to use the BJUP World Geography textbook and decided it was not for us. SEAL has studied American History - That was my first experience in designing our own class, and I was pleased with the results.
I have removed the rest of the post since I have changed my plan....Here is a link to our revised High School Plan. I will post the other years' plan shortly. :0)
What are some your favorite textbooks or plans for social studies? I would love to hear of them. PLEASE SHARE!!! : )
Friday, May 20, 2011
Rosetta Stone Homeschool Language Programs
My children have recently developed a strong desire to learn other languages. SEAL would like to learn Russian and Spanish. NFL is interested in German and is considering a second language also. After hearing this and talking with my parents, the younger children have climbed aboard also!
The programs we are hoping to buy (eventually) are Russian, German, Spanish, and Sign Language. We have several different motivating desires- using it in work later, communicating with DAD's family who speak only German, helping translate for church, and the list goes on. Perhaps DRAMA QUEEN wants to meet Dora!
We are talking about the kids (individually) spending a summer in Spain, Costa Rica, Moldova, Germany, or Mexico when two years of language study have been successfully completed.
PLEASE share in the comments - Have you used the Rosetta Stone Homeschool Program? What do you think? I would love to try their program and review it on my blog. Two years are recommended, but do you have a differing viewpoint concerning how many years of language students should pursue?
The programs we are hoping to buy (eventually) are Russian, German, Spanish, and Sign Language. We have several different motivating desires- using it in work later, communicating with DAD's family who speak only German, helping translate for church, and the list goes on. Perhaps DRAMA QUEEN wants to meet Dora!
We are talking about the kids (individually) spending a summer in Spain, Costa Rica, Moldova, Germany, or Mexico when two years of language study have been successfully completed.
PLEASE share in the comments - Have you used the Rosetta Stone Homeschool Program? What do you think? I would love to try their program and review it on my blog. Two years are recommended, but do you have a differing viewpoint concerning how many years of language students should pursue?
Monday, May 16, 2011
Elementary Science - Then and Now...
Up until this year, we have used all Bob Jones Press Science textbooks. BJUP texts use a broad coverage of general science each year - as many publishers do. They present science from a biblical viewpoint, and they have experiments which can be completed in your own home using household items.
This coming year we are changing our approach. Rather than covering a broad view of science for 7 years (K-5 through 6th grade), we will be studying 7 different areas of science - each in depth for a whole year. I am excited because we will be able to grow our scientific interests in each of these fields. The textbooks we will be using are from Apologia. Astronomy, Botany, Zoology 1 (Flying Creatures), Zoology 2 (Swimming Creatures), Zoology 3 (Land Animals), Anatomy & Physiology, and eventually Physics & Chemistry (being written right now) are the courses that my children will be able to delve into thoroughly.
I am VERY excited for what the future holds for our children in the focus of elementary science. My children are eager to learn also. When "NFL" was sick recently he read the whole Exploring Creation with Astronomy text just because he wanted to read it! "Nurse" has started Botany and plans to finish it during the summer. "Horse Girl" is doing the same with Astronomy.
We will be starting with Anatomy & Physiology. We will have a 6th grader, 5th grader, 2nd grader, and a Kindergartener studying this subject together. Since one of my goals is for our children to learn on their own, the older two will read the text and complete their notebooks independently. I will read and help the younger two with their Junior Notebooks. I hear that the Junior Notebook is really exciting!
"Spunky" wants to keep the BJUP science books as something to read for fun, and she carried all 6 of the books to her bed during Quiet Time recently. It looks like she will receive a double feature of science.
What do you do for elementary science?
What texts do you like?
Do you do experiments?
What have your children enjoyed?
This coming year we are changing our approach. Rather than covering a broad view of science for 7 years (K-5 through 6th grade), we will be studying 7 different areas of science - each in depth for a whole year. I am excited because we will be able to grow our scientific interests in each of these fields. The textbooks we will be using are from Apologia. Astronomy, Botany, Zoology 1 (Flying Creatures), Zoology 2 (Swimming Creatures), Zoology 3 (Land Animals), Anatomy & Physiology, and eventually Physics & Chemistry (being written right now) are the courses that my children will be able to delve into thoroughly.
I am VERY excited for what the future holds for our children in the focus of elementary science. My children are eager to learn also. When "NFL" was sick recently he read the whole Exploring Creation with Astronomy text just because he wanted to read it! "Nurse" has started Botany and plans to finish it during the summer. "Horse Girl" is doing the same with Astronomy.
We will be starting with Anatomy & Physiology. We will have a 6th grader, 5th grader, 2nd grader, and a Kindergartener studying this subject together. Since one of my goals is for our children to learn on their own, the older two will read the text and complete their notebooks independently. I will read and help the younger two with their Junior Notebooks. I hear that the Junior Notebook is really exciting!
"Spunky" wants to keep the BJUP science books as something to read for fun, and she carried all 6 of the books to her bed during Quiet Time recently. It looks like she will receive a double feature of science.
What do you do for elementary science?
What texts do you like?
Do you do experiments?
What have your children enjoyed?
PLEASE SHARE!!!
How we ended up here....
My first year of teaching at home I taught "SEAL" first grade and "NFL" kindergarten. We also had a 1 yo daughter, "Horse Girl" and a 4 month old daughter, "Nurse". I have a degree in Elementary Education and had already taught K-5 for two years on the island of Guam where I met my husband. "SEAL" had attended a local private K-5 program. I had been interested in teaching him at home all along, but my husband's reaction was not positive at first. "SEAL" wanted to stay home b/c we were leaving for school close to 7:00 each morning. Finances became an issue, so my husband decided to give home education a try. His mind has been changed forever.
We have been educating our children since September 11, 2001. Yes, our first day of school was on 9/11! My husband called me while we were working on making flags, and he asked me, "Are you watching tv?" At the time that seemed like a really dumb question, but the tv stayed on a lot over the next few days. Needless to say "formal" schoolwork didn't get off to the best start, but we learned a lot during those difficult days for America.
Our first year I used Bob Jones Press curriculum, because I like their products and was familiar with them already. That first year was pretty decent in my opinion. Somewhere along the way we switched to HomeSat. I was very pleased with the teachers on HomeSat. I still think they are great! Watching their lessons taught me much about teaching early math.
I went through some health issues, as well as pregnancies, and although we continued home schooling it was not as structured an organized as I felt it should be. My kids were doing well in Science and History particularly, but we were a bit behind with Math. "NFL" knew how to read but did not enjoy it. When "NFL" was in the fifth grade we purchased the Robinson Curriculum. We followed much of the RC philosophy, but we have not used their reading lists. I know one of the first big changes was that of reading for an hour every day. Six months later, "NFL" followed me around Wal-Mart as I shopped....reading his book as he walked. That was HUGE for our family! My husband stated that if that was the only positive change that came from our curriculum switch that it was worth it. : ) I like it when dads see the benefits of home education!
Since the Robinson Curriculum used Saxon Math, we made the switch also. My original "ruling" was that if they scored below a 90% on a lesson, they had to correct the problem and redo the lesson the next day. Needless to say we had some attitude issues at the beginning. We also trudged SLOWLY through Saxon 6/5 and Saxon 7/6. Now we are still using Saxon Math, and we are pleased with the thorough coverage of mathematics in the whole series of Saxon. I do not use the newest consumable Saxon books but the earlier edition hardback books and paper. (My husband wanted them to do all of their math work on graph paper, and that has made their work so much neater!)
As a result of reading Dr. Art Reed's newsletters I no longer require 90% on every lesson. I do require it on tests though! "SEAL" finished Algebra 1/2 in April and is working diligently on Algebra 1. He is already halfway though the book and consistently getting 90% or higher - frequently 100%. My girls are just starting Saxon 5/4, and they have gotten off to a much better start. "SEAL", "NFL", and "Horse Girl" are all planning to finish a whole math book between now and the beginning of next school year!
For history and science, I continued using BJUP textbooks. In general the children just worked through them on their own in elementary school during their reading time. (Reading time increases slightly with each grade level.) When "NFL" and "SEAL" reached high school we were introduced to the Apologia Science curriculum, and we gradually switched all high school texts. "SEAL" has commented several times how he enjoys Apologia Science and understands their textbooks so much more.
This year we went to a homeschool conference, and I discovered the Apologia elementary science books. My friend loaned me her copies of Astronomy and Botany. "Horse Girl" and "Nurse" are interested in science again! "Nurse" asked if she could stop the 4th grade science text she was using and begin Botany. This summer "Horse Girl" (going into 6th grade) is doing Astronomy on her own, and "Nurse" (going into 5th grade) is studying Botany on her own! Next year "Horse Girl", "Nurse", "Spunky!" (2nd grade), and "Gentleman" (K-5) will be doing Anatomy & Physiology together! I am ready to start the next school year right now. Well, if I had all the books purchased I would be.
I think this post is long enough, but in future posts I will be sharing how we home school now in each subject area. I would love to hear from my friends about their teaching goals and ideas. Please share in the comments regularly.
We have been educating our children since September 11, 2001. Yes, our first day of school was on 9/11! My husband called me while we were working on making flags, and he asked me, "Are you watching tv?" At the time that seemed like a really dumb question, but the tv stayed on a lot over the next few days. Needless to say "formal" schoolwork didn't get off to the best start, but we learned a lot during those difficult days for America.
Our first year I used Bob Jones Press curriculum, because I like their products and was familiar with them already. That first year was pretty decent in my opinion. Somewhere along the way we switched to HomeSat. I was very pleased with the teachers on HomeSat. I still think they are great! Watching their lessons taught me much about teaching early math.
I went through some health issues, as well as pregnancies, and although we continued home schooling it was not as structured an organized as I felt it should be. My kids were doing well in Science and History particularly, but we were a bit behind with Math. "NFL" knew how to read but did not enjoy it. When "NFL" was in the fifth grade we purchased the Robinson Curriculum. We followed much of the RC philosophy, but we have not used their reading lists. I know one of the first big changes was that of reading for an hour every day. Six months later, "NFL" followed me around Wal-Mart as I shopped....reading his book as he walked. That was HUGE for our family! My husband stated that if that was the only positive change that came from our curriculum switch that it was worth it. : ) I like it when dads see the benefits of home education!
Since the Robinson Curriculum used Saxon Math, we made the switch also. My original "ruling" was that if they scored below a 90% on a lesson, they had to correct the problem and redo the lesson the next day. Needless to say we had some attitude issues at the beginning. We also trudged SLOWLY through Saxon 6/5 and Saxon 7/6. Now we are still using Saxon Math, and we are pleased with the thorough coverage of mathematics in the whole series of Saxon. I do not use the newest consumable Saxon books but the earlier edition hardback books and paper. (My husband wanted them to do all of their math work on graph paper, and that has made their work so much neater!)
As a result of reading Dr. Art Reed's newsletters I no longer require 90% on every lesson. I do require it on tests though! "SEAL" finished Algebra 1/2 in April and is working diligently on Algebra 1. He is already halfway though the book and consistently getting 90% or higher - frequently 100%. My girls are just starting Saxon 5/4, and they have gotten off to a much better start. "SEAL", "NFL", and "Horse Girl" are all planning to finish a whole math book between now and the beginning of next school year!
For history and science, I continued using BJUP textbooks. In general the children just worked through them on their own in elementary school during their reading time. (Reading time increases slightly with each grade level.) When "NFL" and "SEAL" reached high school we were introduced to the Apologia Science curriculum, and we gradually switched all high school texts. "SEAL" has commented several times how he enjoys Apologia Science and understands their textbooks so much more.
This year we went to a homeschool conference, and I discovered the Apologia elementary science books. My friend loaned me her copies of Astronomy and Botany. "Horse Girl" and "Nurse" are interested in science again! "Nurse" asked if she could stop the 4th grade science text she was using and begin Botany. This summer "Horse Girl" (going into 6th grade) is doing Astronomy on her own, and "Nurse" (going into 5th grade) is studying Botany on her own! Next year "Horse Girl", "Nurse", "Spunky!" (2nd grade), and "Gentleman" (K-5) will be doing Anatomy & Physiology together! I am ready to start the next school year right now. Well, if I had all the books purchased I would be.
I think this post is long enough, but in future posts I will be sharing how we home school now in each subject area. I would love to hear from my friends about their teaching goals and ideas. Please share in the comments regularly.
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