Homeschool Chat

[DawnM]

Thank you! I have never used Rosetta Stone. It is all computer based? Is there a lot of reading involved?

Dawn

It was meandtheguys.

It is post #123 on page 13. Sorry I'd have to have two windows open to link it.

 

[NHWX]

The Homeschool Buyer's Co-Op has Auralog's Tell Me More on sale for (now) $212. It's supposed to cover 4 years of language.

NHWX

 

[Praise2Him]

Here's something I got last week from my state homeschool email list:

I wanted to pass this on from another homeschool group I am on. Here is a link where you can chose from 34 different foreign languages to learn and the best thing is they are all FREE. Hope this helps those looking for a foreign language program. Once you get to the link go all the way to the bottom and click on the monthly freebie "foreign language link"

http://www.usa.gov/

We are doing French right now, so I checked it out briefly. It does look good - seems like you'd have to do a lot of printing though. But hey, it's FREE! They do have a lot of obscure languages so if you're wanting to learn, say, Chinyanja, Hausa, Igbo, Kituba, Moré, Sinhala, Twi, or Yoruba you're all set!

BTW, we're using Rosetta Stone, and it's all computer based. But, I think I ordered the wrong version because it didn't come with any type of book, workbook or anything

 

[DawnM]

I think if you didn't get the Homeschool version you can get the workbooks at RainbowResource.com

Dawn

Here's something I got last week from my state homeschool email list:

I wanted to pass this on from another homeschool group I am on. Here is a link where you can chose from 34 different foreign languages to learn and the best thing is they are all FREE. Hope this helps those looking for a foreign language program. Once you get to the link go all the way to the bottom and click on the monthly freebie "foreign language link"

http://www.usa.gov/

We are doing French right now, so I checked it out briefly. It does look good - seems like you'd have to do a lot of printing though. But hey, it's FREE! They do have a lot of obscure languages so if you're wanting to learn, say, Chinyanja, Hausa, Igbo, Kituba, Moré, Sinhala, Twi, or Yoruba you're all set!

BTW, we're using Rosetta Stone, and it's all computer based. But, I think I ordered the wrong version because it didn't come with any type of book, workbook or anything

 

[lori1043]

Happy
​

Momma's

Day!!!
To my fellow Disney fan
homeschoolers and those thinking about delving into this crazy but oh so fulfilling wonderful world!!

Lori​

 

[KibbyCat]

I'm not sure if you can do it, or what you can do about the tuition. Is there a chance that you can use the already paid tuition as a credit in the future?

I have two fairly demanding boys but we started homeschooling when they were older than yours, so I can't speak directly about how you might manage it. I know I felt pretty much adrift the first year. We had a co-op program set up with the school that the boys had previously attended fulltime but it just kind of fell apart. In the end, what made me feel like I had a handle on homeschooling was buying a curriculum and sticking to it. We used/use K12 and modified it to suit our family and our children's learning needs.

I wish you the best of luck in trying to decide this issue. Stop back and let us know how it's going, OK?

NHWX

Thanks for the encouragement and advice. I will definitely look into curriculums and try to find one that will work for us. Will keep you posted....

 

[Ellester]

Bumping since we had fallen all the way to page 3! While many of our friends are winding down for the year, we are still in full swing. We school year round otherwise I just get too frustrated about what they've forgotten! We have a big homeschool field day this Friday. My oldest is down the street "training" with her friends for the relay races!

 

[Laura.bora]

Here's another who's still in full swing! We're currently studying butterflies, and taking a trip to the Bronx Zoo next Wednesday while down on LI visiting family. Got to love the pay what you want Wednesday!

 

[DawnM]

We are schooling year round as well. The kids are very excited about Cub Scout camp in June (yours truely volunteered!!!! This is the only way my 4 year old gets to go and he loved it last year.)

We are also going to MI for a wedding in June. Hoping to combine it with some tours and things to see there.

Dawn

 

[wondermomamy]

We school year round, too. We are taking a break beginning Friday for a trip to WDW!! We are VERY excited. When we come back, we will begin 1st grade. Excited about that, too, but not as much as our trip!

Amy

 

[Momvic5]

OK guys....I have been looking at different math curriculums for my oldest DS(12), and after posting a question on what all of you use with your older children, Teaching Textbooks seems to be the most recommended. After looking at it online, it kind of reminds me of Saxon. I could be wrong. I could only view certain pages from the student workbook.

For those of you who have used Saxon and Teaching Textbooks ~ other than the DVD presentations of the material, is there a huge difference in the style between the two? What is the biggest difference? Do you think a transition from Saxon to Teaching Textbooks can be made easily? Why do you like Teaching Textbooks over Saxon?

Sorry for all the picking of your brains. My DS12 is going into the 7th grade, and right now, he enjoys math. I would love to keep it that way, but I also want to make sure I am keeping him on target and challenging him. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[wvdislover]

Bumping since we had fallen all the way to page 3! While many of our friends are winding down for the year, we are still in full swing. We school year round otherwise I just get too frustrated about what they've forgotten! We have a big homeschool field day this Friday. My oldest is down the street "training" with her friends for the relay races!

What a cool idea! Field Day is one of the things I hated that my DD10 is missing since I pulled her out of school a couple of months ago.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Sorry for all the picking of your brains. My DS12 is going into the 7th grade, and right now, he enjoys math. I would love to keep it that way, but I also want to make sure I am keeping him on target and challenging him. Thanks for your thoughts.

Don't be sorry-you are being a good mom and you can now add education researcher to your resume' !!My 12 yo son is also going into 7th-but we are up to Pre-Algebra.The thing that drew me in is that I don't have to teach it We've just finished Saxon and this sees a little bit easier to understand. Like the concepts are made clearer. I really wanted him to understand ratios, decimals, metric measures and anything else'basic' before we moved on to Algebra next year. He had it last year, but I just wanted one more year of solid review. I also like the fact that this is giving him a professional tutor!! Saxon seemed to get a bit boring-doing the same things over and over. I don't know for sure how much is gonna be repeated with TT, but it can't be as much as the other. I 've read/heard from other homeschool moms nothing but raves over this.So, I hope it's as good as it looks!! I did look through the books a bit and it seems very attractive, the cds looked fun and it just really caught me as something I would enjoy and learn from if I was in 7th grade. Heck,I'll probably get hooked on it! I like math!!

 

[Momvic5]

Don't be sorry-you are being a good mom and you can now add education researcher to your resume' !!My 12 yo son is also going into 7th-but we are up to Pre-Algebra.The thing that drew me in is that I don't have to teach it We've just finished Saxon and this sees a little bit easier to understand. Like the concepts are made clearer. I really wanted him to understand ratios, decimals, metric measures and anything else'basic' before we moved on to Algebra next year. He had it last year, but I just wanted one more year of solid review. I also like the fact that this is giving him a professional tutor!! Saxon seemed to get a bit boring-doing the same things over and over. I don't know for sure how much is gonna be repeated with TT, but it can't be as much as the other. I 've read/heard from other homeschool moms nothing but raves over this.So, I hope it's as good as it looks!! I did look through the books a bit and it seems very attractive, the cds looked fun and it just really caught me as something I would enjoy and learn from if I was in 7th grade. Heck,I'll probably get hooked on it! I like math!!

I went to the Teaching Textbooks website last night, and my DH and I watched a few of the sample lectures. We were impressed. I agree, a professional tutor is the way to go. The only thing that is not attractive is the price, however; it will be well worth the $$ if it works and spares DS12 of mom as his tutor.

We will be doing Pre-Algebra around here too. I am excited about it. I always loved algebra and hope he will too.

Thanks for the idea on the old dusty resume'. The Lord knows that if I ever need to use it, I will need all the help I can get.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Me Too!! doing all this has made me become more creative with titles!!! My mom told me this weekend -I don't know where she heard it, some nightly news--that they (whoever they are, I don't know) figured up what a mom's yearly income is and it was around $117,000.00. I do not think this was hsing mommies either-so we could probably add quite a bit onto our little income!! Now wouldn't that be nice?

 

[nuzmom]

We have an ongoing discussion at our co-op concerning Saxon Math. I have my DS12 do everything, each lesson. The timed test, mental math, lesson, practice, and problem set. He does all tests and investigations. And, yes, he completes the entire book. Math takes anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour each day. My DS scores perfect in math on standardized tests (at his grade level) and typically scores 90% or better on his Saxon tests. DS12 is 6th grade age and completed Saxon 76. (I'm convinced that he does well, in part, because of being consistent in doing his math work. I think the more math you do, the better/faster you get at it)

3 other families with children doing same math (kids are older, same grade level) do not have their kids do the timed tests or mental math and have them do 1/2 the problem sets. They also only complete about 2/3 to 3/4 of the book ("it reviews next year anyway"). Math takes them about 30 minutes.

These families are now saying that their children can "test out" of lessons next year. They're going to have them take test 1 and if they score 90% or better, skip those lessons, take test 2, 90% or better, skip those, etc. First, I can't see that happening because these kids are slow in doing problems involving math at our co-op and in my opinion, are certainly not "advanced". Has anyone heard of doing this???? What happens if you child "tests out" of 1/2 to 3/4 of the book? Skip that book?

I just got done looking at TT - looks interesting. Had DS take the pre-algebra placement test (because 7th grade looked super easy) and he scored 100%. I haven't had him take the algebra test.

So, my question is - how do you know what level to place your child? Has anyone switched from Saxon to TT? How did they compare?

I guess I should mention that I have a strong math/science background (engineer) and my children seem to follow suit. We also believe in challenging our children, not beyond ability, but it's important to us to stay at their level.

 

[Momvic5]

We have an ongoing discussion at our co-op concerning Saxon Math. I have my DS12 do everything, each lesson. The timed test, mental math, lesson, practice, and problem set. He does all tests and investigations. And, yes, he completes the entire book. Math takes anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour each day. My DS scores perfect in math on standardized tests (at his grade level) and typically scores 90% or better on his Saxon tests. DS12 is 6th grade age and completed Saxon 76. (I'm convinced that he does well, in part, because of being consistent in doing his math work. I think the more math you do, the better/faster you get at it)

3 other families with children doing same math (kids are older, same grade level) do not have their kids do the timed tests or mental math and have them do 1/2 the problem sets. They also only complete about 2/3 to 3/4 of the book ("it reviews next year anyway"). Math takes them about 30 minutes.

These families are now saying that their children can "test out" of lessons next year. They're going to have them take test 1 and if they score 90% or better, skip those lessons, take test 2, 90% or better, skip those, etc. First, I can't see that happening because these kids are slow in doing problems involving math at our co-op and in my opinion, are certainly not "advanced". Has anyone heard of doing this???? What happens if you child "tests out" of 1/2 to 3/4 of the book? Skip that book?

I just got done looking at TT - looks interesting. Had DS take the pre-algebra placement test (because 7th grade looked super easy) and he scored 100%. I haven't had him take the algebra test.

So, my question is - how do you know what level to place your child? Has anyone switched from Saxon to TT? How did they compare?

I guess I should mention that I have a strong math/science background (engineer) and my children seem to follow suit. We also believe in challenging our children, not beyond ability, but it's important to us to stay at their level.

OK.....you and I are in the same boat. I posted the same question. My DS12 is in Saxon 7/6 right now, and other than the timed tests, we do it all. We do not skip lessons, and we complete the whole book. Most days it takes him 45min to 1 hour as well.

I am looking into TT too. If we decide on it, I will start my son at Pre-Algebra. Like you, my DH is an engineer, and my son is very good in math too, but my DH insists that we do not skip books at this level. He feels strongly that we should keep him at a pace where he is able to move confidently and smoothly rather than pushing him too fast so that he slows down and gets frustrated.

We did not test our son so I do not know about the placement tests. Since your DS tested so well, he might be ready to move ahead past Pre-Algebra. It is so hard to say when you do not have a book in front of you to flip through and study. I have plans to visit my local Homeschool Store and see if they have any used TT so that I can thumb through it. I know I like Saxon, and that it works for my son, but it does get boring so I am willing to try TT if it will render the same success that Saxon has given my son.

Let us know what you come up with!

 

[nuzmom]

Momvic5 - WOW, it was nice to hear that we're doing the same thing. Gives me more confidence that our approach is good.

I know I like Saxon, and that it works for my son, but it does get boring so I am willing to try TT if it will render the same success that Saxon has given my son.

That exactly what I'm thinking - Saxon gets a bit boring but is successful. I truly feel it's a very solid curriculum. You should have your son take the placement test, too. They're pretty easy. I'm not sure I'm convinced that TT will render the same success as Saxon. Although, having a child who gets a "bad taste" for math because it gets too boring isn't good either. It's just such a tough decision!!!!

 

[Momvic5]

Momvic5 - WOW, it was nice to hear that we're doing the same thing. Gives me more confidence that our approach is good.



That exactly what I'm thinking - Saxon gets a bit boring but is successful. I truly feel it's a very solid curriculum. You should have your son take the placement test, too. They're pretty easy. I'm not sure I'm convinced that TT will render the same success as Saxon. Although, having a child who gets a "bad taste" for math because it gets too boring isn't good either. It's just such a tough decision!!!!

You mentioned your son just completed Saxon 76. If you decide to stay with Saxon are going to have your son go into Saxon 87 or are you going to jump to Saxon Algebra 1/2? I have been pondering this as well. Like I mentioned earlier, my DH does not want me to skip a book, but at the same time I think Saxon reviews enough that he would be able to skip Saxon 87 and go into Algebra1/2 from Saxon 76. Another idea I have heard and thought about was to do Saxon 87, but skip Algebra 1/2 and go straight into Algebra 1 at 8th grade. What are your thoughts? .....Are you feeling tired?.....I am ...too much thinking involved.

I will be so glad when I finally make my mind up. It is a tough decision.

 

[nuzmom]

You mentioned your son just completed Saxon 76. If you decide to stay with Saxon are going to have your son go into Saxon 87 or are you going to jump to Saxon Algebra 1/2? I have been pondering this as well. Like I mentioned earlier, my DH does not want me to skip a book, but at the same time I think Saxon reviews enough that he would be able to skip Saxon 87 and go into Algebra1/2 from Saxon 76. Another idea I have heard and thought about was to do Saxon 87, but skip Algebra 1/2 and go straight into Algebra 1 at 8th grade. What are your thoughts? .....Are you feeling tired?.....I am ...too much thinking involved.

I will be so glad when I finally make my mind up. It is a tough decision.

Yep, trying to figure that out, too. I've heard it both ways also. I have an email to a friend of mine whose son skipped either Saxon 87 or Algebra 1/2. I can't remember which, hence my email. I'll let you know what she says.

I'm the type of person that has this in the back of my mind until it's resolved. I'll feel better after it's figured out and I have a plan. Until then, it's draining my energy.