tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post838858851411584884..comments2024-03-14T11:50:14.761-04:00Comments on DarwinCatholic: The First Four WeeksDarwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-65295627570078828302016-10-05T13:03:02.013-04:002016-10-05T13:03:02.013-04:00Thanks, all, for sharing your family's program...Thanks, all, for sharing your family's programs -- this gives me a lot to draw on for next year. We're going to be mixing it up (again) but one thing that will definitely stay the same is having daily schedules for them as can follow a daily schedule. That has been so gamechanging, I can't tell you.<br /><br />Also for next year: cloning myself twice so I can sit with both younger ones and the baby at the same time.mrsdarwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03446744635277205867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-79880493881245669742016-10-04T20:46:30.084-04:002016-10-04T20:46:30.084-04:00I'm in my 19th year homeschooling. (Yea! Only ...I'm in my 19th year homeschooling. (Yea! Only fifteen more years to go!) and I currently have an 11th grader, 10th grader, 7th grader, 6th grader, 4th grader, 1st grader, and a 3-year-old. <br /><br />I uses CHC SPARINGLY. I like the reading program you mentioned. And, after I've taught a little of the Writing Road to Reading, I like CHC's spelling series with apologetics. I just make sure my kids write out their words and phonetically mark them a la WWTR. <br /><br />We are classical, but very eclectic. Some Kolbe (even their online class... HIGHLY recommended!)... some MODG recommendations, a strong history spine in a 4-year cycle that I've crafted myself, over the years. <br /><br />Two of my favorite curriculums: The Latin Road to English Grammar. It takes 2 years of high school lever Latin, and spreads it out into 3 years. We start in 7th grade... finish in 9th (so it counts as Latin II in high school) and then have 3 years to do Spanish! :-) I love that it teaches/ reinforces English grammar while teaching Latin. Good stuff. And, for 6th grade (and up) Religion.... the Ignatius Study Guides to various NT books. We start with the Gospel of Mark in 6th grade, then do Acts, Luke, etc. By high school, my kids are doing Paul's letters. federoff11noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-3731066464764621342016-10-01T15:14:55.884-04:002016-10-01T15:14:55.884-04:00I always wanted to like CHC,but two things got in ...I always wanted to like CHC,but two things got in the way. <br /><br />1. The Catholicy-ness, as you say. Right there with you. <br /><br />2. The real and serious lack of literature, or books of real and serious literary quality. <br /><br />When I had really young children and a wide age spread, I think I was attracted to the potential for structure in CHC for the younger kids (though when I tried to use the lesson plans, I could never make myself follow them -- they were for somebody on another planet, I guess. Planet Organized), but what I have kept returning to, and will never leave again, is Mater Amabilis (with my own tweaks and modifications). Read the good books, narrate the good books. <br />Sally Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05014351173194941624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-73390046336771261812016-09-30T19:30:50.605-04:002016-09-30T19:30:50.605-04:00Congratulations!
I found CHC useful for adding a ...Congratulations!<br /><br />I found CHC useful for adding a snippet of faith-flavor to the overall curriculum, but notably uninspired academically. We're doing the Kolbe 9th grade Greek History and Lit this year with my 8th grader, and while the readings are terrific (he's doing Herodotus and the Iliad at the moment) I'm not overly impressed with the lectures they provide or their study guides.<br /><br />What we liked most as a spine was Sonlight. It's literature-based, and you can dump the Protestant bios and do saints instead (sorry, that came out sounding harsh; I didn't mean it that way!). I loved the read-alouds, which (back in the day) had everyone on the same page.<br /><br />Best bet we've found for science is the Ellen McHenry unit studies. It took me a long while to realize that science is an utter failure unless we have every single supply needed on hand in September.<br /><br />Glad you're having a good year. I do think a good portion of homeschooling is being a policewoman. Keeping folks on track is work! I do find that saying, "If you can stay on track for 12 minutes I can put a batch of brownies in the oven" extends the attention span.Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06668252458131596362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-45003065357168741262016-09-30T19:26:39.510-04:002016-09-30T19:26:39.510-04:00Good to hear :) Congrats are definitely in order,...Good to hear :) Congrats are definitely in order, for all of you!<br /><br />I've been doing daily morning-work with my kids, for the first time ever (I'm pretty eclectic-un-school-y, but turning toward classical). Some of my people were feeling their lacks, without a good way to meet the lack on their own (you can only really get fluency with your handwriting by... well, by writing over and over and over, for instance, even if you don't really feel like writing). Plus, I have been working through IEW's Teaching Writing Structure and Style, and was looking forward to teaching it to the kids (YAY! It has been a hit, even with the amount of work I'm having them do). We're only 2 wks in, because we took off to go to the Tetons, but so far it's been good. As you have said, it's good for my own discipline to have a daily plan. We've been trying to start with the day's Gospel (and, with a tiny reminder on Lectio Divina-ish prayer, we're trying to practice praying). The True, Good and Beautiful, slowly being worked out in my home. <br /><br />Our "spine" is the Classically Catholic Memory work for the week (from co-op, because otherwise I wouldn't be doing it) - gives us a bit of science and a bit of history, and we pull books from the library to fill in as we want.<br /><br />Have you looked at the "Bible Tells Me So" book? We use it here just as a read-aloud (and discuss). I know people have used "St Patrick's Summer" similarly. But as you say, your people are getting their daily dose of Church-set Bible, so I'm sure they're doing well. (I loved Melanie B's piece on the Lazy Homeschooler's Bible Memorization program :) ) mandamumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13456664219186606851noreply@blogger.com