August 17, 2008
More on Tapestry of Grace and Planning
I still shake my head as I type the words.
Rose asked how much planning I'm doing. Actually, I'm up to my eyeballs in planning, but I think that's just because I'm figuring out the system, and how to mesh their system with my system. They have everything very nicely laid out, but I must also have 1) my own overview of what I'm doing in a week, with not only TOG but everything else, and; 2) some assignment system for the two older kids so that they know what they are doing.
I'm experimenting with a couple of different spreadsheets for my own weekly overview. TOG has nothing to do with this - I always do some kind of weekly overview. However, now I have to fit TOG into it. I now begin to see why people make TOG workbooks for their kids. If I copy the pages for each child, I can just circle the appropriate reading and geography assignments and go. I can also add in the history questions, and any maps or activity pages (usually coloring pages for the younger set). Karenciavo seems to be the TOG notebook queen, and I assume I will succumb to the desire for those sexy Levenger Circa notebooks. (How sad it is that I can use the adjective "sexy" for a notebooking system.)
I have been using Pageflakes to give the older boys their assignments. They like this a great deal. I think it's a bit of a pain, but I can't think of any better options. Pageflakes lets me give them a reading list for the week, as well as daily assignments. I just have to remember to update them every week.
For years I journaled our homeschooling, using a paper planner for a basic idea, but only writing in it what we did, instead of what I planned. Now, I need an actual planner. A flexible, good planner for the Mac doesn't exist. I'm hoping Jeff will write one. It's on his list. In the meantime, I use Pages and Numbers to make up weekly sheets that tell me what each child is meant to work on in each subject on each day. I used a chart drawn up in Pages last year, and I'm experimenting with one in Numbers this year. (I'm doing this because Susie did the gruntwork of making the layout, and making it TOG compatible, so I don't have to. Ha. I mean, thanks, Susie :)
But what this means is that I'm simultaneously putting assignments into Pageflakes, making workbooks, and creating detailed plans in both Pages and Numbers. I am deep into planning Heaven or Hell, depending on your point of view. The upshot of this is that I do not yet know how much planning TOG will really require of me.
In the comments, KathyJo noted that it might be easier for a non-Christian to deal with the religious content, than a Christian of a different flavor. That may be true. I want to note that the worldview used in TOG is specifically one of providential history. If that is not your cup of tea, you are warned.
Here are some examples of Christian content we've seen this week. We had one question that asked the student to discuss John Smith's character, to think about whether or not he had the qualities of a good leader, and whether he should have been in charge of Jamestown ... and why we thought God allowed him to be the leader. That's an example of a question that's easy to modify. We simply do the first part, and ignore the second.
The student is given some Bible verses, and asked to use them to think about and discuss Galileo's positions, and why the Catholic Church was so threatened by his views. When we have the time, I don't mind at all doing an exercise like this. This can be a very interesting and informative exercise, and I want my kids to know how Christians think, and what the Bible says.
However, at the high school level, you encounter questions like: "What specific events in the story of Jamestown obviously show God's Providence at work?" And next week, at the Dialectic level: "In what ways did God provide for the Pilgrims?" Those will have to be tossed out wholesale, while I attempt to not gag.
But later on: "Using the Bible, define the qualities of a hero." Okay, we can define the qualities of a hero based on our own yardsticks. We can even compare our definition of a hero to a Biblical definition.
So it varies. There is still much we can use. Some of it we can use to learn about Christianity and Christians. And some of it will be kicked out the door.
We had our first end-of-week discussion today. It should have been on Friday, but, well, it was today, in the car on the way to and from the mall. (Captive audience!) It went really well, and was fun. Of course, encouraging Connor to discuss history is like encouraging a politician to talk about himself. Jeff enjoyed it a great deal. We particularly liked the fact that teacher's notes led us to discuss how the colonies were funded by joint stock ventures, and what that meant and how such companies work. All in all, a good discussion like this, with the whole family, is worth the price of the curriculum for me.
And oh, oh, I think the best moment for both of us was when we were discussing money and value, and Jeff asked the kids what "value" is, and Aidan responded: "Oh! Oh! Heinlein talked about this in Starship Troopers!"
Ah, the indoctrination is going well.
Posted by lynx at 7:41 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
July 2, 2008
Lingua Latina/Henle Latin
I thought I'd take this out of the comments and post it where it might be more generally useful.
I've been asked about Lingua Latina and Henle Latin: when to start, what to buy.
For Henle, you need the First Year Latin
Lingua Latina
Now, you'll have to bear with me, as my books are packed and I'm relying on memory.
• The CD will provide you with the audio of the complete text, plus all the exercises in an immediate self-correcting format. I find this to be an essential tool for our studies.
• Colloquia Personarum will provide you with extra reading, keyed to each chapter - not essential, but a good extra.
• Latine Disco has helpful pointers and explanations for each chapter - I find it useful. I don't think it's essential, but it is useful.
• The College Companion will lay out all the grammar for you. You need this.
The one other item I don't have and think would be useful is Latine Doceo
Lingua Latina is difficult to teach if you don't know Latin. With my current knowledge (I would guess that I'm at high school Latin I level) I can teach up to Cap. X, maybe XV, of Lingua Latina (in contrast, I'm comfortable with nearly all of Henle I). You can teach yourself with LL, but it will help if you're very motivated.
Lingua Latina teaches through a reading method - if you had the right teacher, it would be an immersion method. The text of Lingua Latina contains no English at all. You learn vocabulary through context and picture clues. You learn to read and understand Latin very well this way; however if you are not being led by a good teacher, you are going to have to find a way to learn the grammar yourself. That's where the College Companion comes in.
However, since I first started Latin with Henle, which is a direct, grammar-intensive approach, I like to use Henle for grammar. I prefer to go through Henle first, learning as much grammar as I can absorb. Then I turn to Lingua Latina and learn to use that grammar, and to read fluently.
If you learn a language best through reading and inductive grammar, you may find Lingua Latina and the College Companion to be all you need. If you are like me and need more explicit grammar instruction, my advice is to spend some time with Henle, or Wheelock's first. I found Wheelock's to be overwhelming as a beginner; Henle is much more approachable. However, Henle is thoroughly Catholic, so take that into account. With Henle, you will learn how to fight the Gauls, and understand the Mass - each useful, in its own way.
Edited to add: John from Memoria Press commented to remind me about MP's Henle Study Guides. They had completely slipped my mind. We used one with Connor and found it to be very beneficial. I do recommend them, especially if you are beginning Henle in the middle school years.
Posted by lynx at 12:05 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 14, 2006
I just found our winter activity ...
You know, for those days it's too rotten for the kids to go out, and everyone's stuck in the house?
Look at these plans.
Jeff, we're going to need boxes. Lots of boxes.
Posted by lynx at 6:53 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
September 8, 2006
Clip Art
Need clip art for your timelines? Clipart ETC has fantastic black and white artwork of a perfect size for timeline work.
Posted by lynx at 7:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 20, 2006
Pete's Pond Webcam is back!
http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/wildcamafrica/
It's on a loop at this moment, but as of sunrise Monday should go live. Now we can all spend our copious free time staring at a pond in Africa.
You know, I have a whole pond in my back yard. It is true, though, that it's less likely to have zebra wander by. As far as I can tell, anyway.
Posted by lynx at 9:40 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
July 21, 2006
American History Garage Sale Find
I literally stumbled across some great American history books today: Volumes 1 and 2 of "Opposing Viewpoints in American History," published by Greenhaven Press.
No frills, here. Each book is over 300 pages of source documents, addressing key points of American history in chronological order (from reasons for and against colonizing America, to 1992 and the end of the Cold War). For example, Vol. 2, for the topic of the Great Depression and the New Deal, presents the following pieces:
• Henry Ford, from "On Unemployment," Literary Digest, June 11 & 18, 1932: "Self-Help Is the Best Response to Unemployment."
• Charles R. Walker, from "Down and Out in Detroit," in America Faces the Future, ed. Charles A. Beard, 1932: "Self-Help is Not Enough."
• Franklin D. Roosevelt, from his address to the Democratic National Convention, July 2, 1932: "America Needs a New Deal."
• Herbert Hoover, from a campaign speech delivered at Madison Square Garden, New York City, October 31, 1932: "Roosevelt's New Deal Would Destroy America."
Very little commentary accompanies these pieces, but what is there provides good questions for critical thinking and analysis. I haven't had time to read very far into the books, but so far the reader is left, in every case, to make up his own mind about the issue. For each article, titles for further reading are suggested.
I'd never heard of these books before. I picked them up for $1.00 each, and think they'll be very, very useful for high-school American history reading.
Posted by lynx at 10:12 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 14, 2006
Hey, it's 3-14 ...
Posted by lynx at 1:55 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 23, 2006
Essentials
Over at The Denim Jumper, Poppins asked us to imagine that we were going on a journey into outer space. We will be gone for the next 10-13 years. We can bring with us five books and three programs: What do you choose?
Off the top of my head, here were my choices:
Lord of the Rings
A good dictionary
The complete works of Shakespeare
Encyclopedia of word history - probably Kingfisher
And then I'm torn between the Norton Anthology of World Literature or a good science encyclopedia, which might be more useful in space.
Programs:
Singapore Math (Only because it covers more years than Right Start.)
Henle Latin (The kids would hate it, but if I can only pick one, this is it.)
Classical Writing
But boy, would I be hoping that someone else brought along a really good music collection.
What do you think? Jeff?
Posted by lynx at 1:33 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 28, 2005
Paper Crafts from Canon
Yesterday I rediscovered Canon's 3-D papercraft site. We put together the Jurassic dinosaur and lunar landing dioramas. They have African savanna dioramas, origami, ornaments, buildings of the world ... enough to keep kids busy for a good, long time.
Posted by lynx at 9:24 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack