Curriculum
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Name: Terri
Subject: What happens after 8th grade?
Hi. I have recieved your last two catalogs and am very intrigued. I am thinking that I will use your suggestions for teaching my two ds's. They are just starting their education. I also have a daughter who is beginning 9th grade this year. I was a bit perplexed about your curriculum suggestions ending with the 8th grade. I have used a myriad of things to teach her the past 5 years. Unfortunately I would not be comfortable saying that I have given her a "good" education. It has been rather "relaxed." Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you.
Name: Margo
Subject: Ray's Math
Thank you so much for your catalog and this forum. I have bought the Ray's Arithmetic series but could never find a forum where people used these and could answer questions about them (if you don't mind I will be sending others here). I am anxiously awaiting the rest of your curriculum suggestions. I do have two questions - Which math books (Ray's or Practical) have the better explanations for new topics? While I have taken quite a bit of math I would like help in explaining the concepts at my child's level, which do you feel does that to the greatest degree? My last question is this - have you seen the higher Ray's books (they cover algebra to calculus www.raysarithmetic.com) and would you recommend them if you have seen them? Again, thank you for your catalog/forums I have found them very helpful and encouraging.
Name: Jennifer
Subject: Math/McGuffey question
Hello! I have 4 children aged 10,8,5,3. We have homeschooled from the
beginning and have used many different curricula over the years. I already own
the original McGuffey readers and am intrigued by the idea of using them as the
base for our entire Lang. Arts program as you suggest. It would be helpful to
have ONE series that all the children go through. I am also interested in the
Ray's/Practical Arithmetics. I suppose my questions would be along the lines of,
if you were to use all the materials you suggest for this many children, how
time consuming is it? We also do unit studies for science/history/art. I want
books that cover the 3 R's well, and that will leave us time to pursue our other
interests. I want materials that will give the children solid grounding in these
important academics. It sounds like the ones you suggest may fit that
description.
Another question would be where to start? My older two are
very good readers--going into 4th and 5th grade-- and my 5 yo is just
beginning(about kindergarten level). The older two are probably lacking in the
grammar area, but phonics/reading/spelling is very strong. They are above
average in math. Could you make a suggestion on where to start the 10 and 8
yo?
Thanks for your time
Name: Wendy
Subject: McGuffey Reader Workbooks
I'm going to start using the McGuffey readers on my dd's. I'm interested in the
workbooks. My question is are these workbooks big on phonics or what exactly do
they cover? Is the McGuffeys and the workbooks cover all subjects but math,
history and science?
I have a dd that I brung home from public school and
she is behind in her reading would these workbooks help her? And how do I know
what level to start her at? She has a hard time decoding and sounding out the
words like root she spells rot. Will this help her? Should I start at the
beginning or on a higher level?
Name: Libbie
Subject: History - Homeschooling
I realize this question is probably ridiculously premature, but I am about to
have our first child, and we have decided to home school him or her. My concern
(among many, of course!) is that we are English, and most all of the Christian
resources we would trust are American. This means that the spelling and vocab is
very different, and also that the American history, while something I want my
children to know, is not the most relevant angle for my children to study. I'm
not sure what I can do!
Any suggestions would be most welcome!
Thanks,
Libbie
Name: Mrs. John Szklarz
Subject: Curriculum
What a blessing it is to be writing to you. I have gained a lot of help in
reading past issues of "In Keeping with the Faith." My question is about
curriculum. We have 3 children; our daughter who is 13 and 2 boys 5 and 21
months. I have used many different things in our 8 years of homeschooling. My
main concern is for the character training of our children. When my daughter was
young we used Bob Jones for everything. Since then the Lord has showed me things
that were wrong with their curriculum in particular their reading. For example,
the fantasy stories, and many other things. I do like their handwriting style
and their spelling for the most part. For my son's first grade, at first I was
going to go with Rod and Staff for Reading and BJ for Phonics and Handwriting.
This would make it more difficult I think with the different styles. We have
problems with some of Rod and Staff's doctrinal statements but we like that they
are not worldly like Bob Jones. We have prayed about this over and over. We want
to be good stewards of the money God gives us and we want to be placing good
things into our children's heads and hearts.
We use Math-U-see for my
daughter. She had a hard time with math not understanding the concepts.I love
math so we had difficulties. Math-U-See helped me to see how she was thinking
and it helped her to understand the why's of math. My big question is with
English skills. We believe in teaching practical skills that will help them to
be all that God wants them to be. Well I guess I have rambled on enough. We want
to please the Lord and do what's right. Please help. Thank you for being there,
Mrs. John Szklarz Phil. 1:3
Name: Vanessa
Subject: History and Science
I wondered if you have any recomendations for history and science. I am just unsettled as what to do. We are using McGuffey's Readers and Ray's Arthimetic. I really like these and plan to use them the whole way thru, but I am so confused as to what to do with history and science. I have been praying about it and I feel with all the confustion in my mind I am not hearing the Lord. My husband feels he is not "qualified" to advise me, but has joined me in prayer about it. You seem to have raise Godly children so I thought to ask your advise as I do not know any one that as managed to do this and homeschool all the way thru highschool.
Name: Jennifer
Subject: Question About Keepers
I am wondering if anybody here uses the Keepers/Contenders handbooks as a
regular part of their curriculum, rather than as a supplement. I am seriously
considering doing only Bible, math, composition, reading, and Keepers/Contenders
next year, and omitting any other "academic" subjects. Does anybody else here
do this? How does it work out for you? Are you comfortable with this? I
really want to do what is best for my kids in the long run, and I think life
skills are *so important* and will serve my kids better when they are adults,
rather than memorizing the periodic table of the elements or knowing how to
diagram a sentence. Does this make sense?
Any advice or input is
appreciated!
Name: Cheryl
Subject: McGuffy Readers
After your post on McGuffy readers, I was just wondering how I could tell if the ones I have are the original. I have a set that was sold by Mott Media years ago. It was reprinted in 1982, but the original copyright page says 1836 Cincinnati: Published by Truman and Smith 150 Main St.
Name: Marni
Subject: Rod & Staff Readers
I'm torn between McGuffeys and Rod & Staff readers. How do they compare?
Answer from Jeff Zakula
Answer from Lucy Buck
Name: Barbara & Terry
Subject: Practical
Arithmetic Series
I thought you might be interested to hear how the books were received at our house by our boys, ages 9 and 11. They loved the older pictures of cars, etc! The oral math our 9 year old and I did today was fun for him. We did 6 pages starting from the first page. He loved it! He has used Horizons Math for 2nd grade previously. His comment: "Hmm, this program is going to help me really learn my facts and not count on my fingers; that oral stuff shows whether I really know it or not!"
The 11 year old starts his book tomorrow!
Name: Marivic
Subject: Pathway Readers
How would Pathway Readers compare with the McGuffey Readers in terms of moral content and the reading methodology and exercises?
Name: Karen
Subject: Practical Arithmetic and Ray's Arithmetic
Both of these arithmetic books look wonderful. What is the difference between the two series? Do both explain the concepts equally well? Thank you for replying.
Name: Patricia
Subject: Practical Arithmetic
We are using Practical Arithmetic Book 1 for third grade. I'd just like some ideas on how you have used these books. I'm not sure if we are doing enough each day or what, but we are no where near being at p. 256 where the promotion test is. While I don't just want to rush my children through to be able to say we are done, I want to progress at a reasonable rate. Would you mind sharing with me how you approach these books? Any help would be appreciated. I do want to say I do like these books very much, and the children enjoy using them.
Name: Peggy
Subject: Practical Arithmetic and ..........?
The catalog states that the Arithmetic books are for grades three through eight. What, if anything, would you recommend using before and after these books? Is the third/fourth grade book basic enough to use as a first math textbook? Our children are ages 9, 7, 7, & 4. We started with Reasoning With Arithmetic and then switched to Rod & Staff. We were planning to follow the Rod & Staff 3rd grade with Saxon 54. How would these books compare, and what age/skill level would it be appropriate to begin using them?
Name: Lori
Subject: Math Curriculum
I too, am interested in how the Practical Arithmetics books compare with other curriculums on the market. We have tried BJU, Abeka, Learn at Home, and misc workbooks. I read a post that lead me to believe the instructions for each topic were slim. Is there adequate instruction given? How does the scope and sequence compare with the other curriculums available? Thanks!
Name: Becky
Subject: Math Books
Hi! I'm wondering if anyone can tell how Practical Arithmetic compares with Saxon. Thanks.
Name: Michelle
Subject: Math Books
I recently bought your new math curriculum. My daughter is 8 and she does not care for "school" the way that most people think school is supposed to be. I am learning to become a relaxed homeschooler in our approach and found this math book to be the perfect match to our relaxed style. It’s fun!!! Sometimes when she doesn’t feel like writing (she is very auditory) I read to her a problem and she dictates the answer. This really is so fun and easy. Is this really all we need for a complete math program, or would you suggest we supplement with something else? Also, how much should I have her do a day? Thanks so much for bringing this wholesome and old-fashioned fun way of leaning to us.
