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CrunchyMom
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My 4th grader llikes Can You Feel the Force as well, and he liked Boy of the Pyramids when he read it last year.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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JennGM
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We loved Boy of the Pyramids.
Those Liturgical Calendar pages are great, and that is my plan to put into the Proclick, thanks to Lindsay's spurring. And now that you have provided an example of success, even better!
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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JennGM
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And isn't Joan Windham great? She really captures a child's imagination and stirs the wonder of knowing about the saints. Paired with Rosa Giorgi's books, you can have the story and then the facts and symbols and images to round out the saint.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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hmbress
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Mackfam wrote:
Our monthly Bravewriter plans are working out great! I spent the summer refreshing myself and re-reading Bravewriter's The Writer's Jungle. After reading it, I decided to come up with a monthly Bravewriter plan for each of my kids. I have four kids in four different stages of writing here (from Jot It Down to Eavesdropping on the Great Conversation), so having these simple writing ideas (each month has a theme and writing ideas) written out in a table format in each child's notebook is a HUGE help to me in managing writing ideas! It's been super helpful!
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Oh, Jen - I don't suppose you could share these? I have two who are in the Jot It Down and Partnership Writing stages and am re-reading The Writer's Jungle myself wanting to do the very same thing. I would be very appreciative!
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Heather Rose (ds13, ds10)
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Maggie
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CrunchyMom wrote:
We've been slow starting, but the boys beg me to do Sassafras science several times a day  |
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I have never heard of this! It sounds fantastic!
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Wife to dh (12 years) Mama to dd (10) ds (8), dd (1), ds (nb) and to Philip Mary (5/26/09), Lucy Joy (12/6/09), and Margaret Mary (3/6/10) who entered Heaven before we had a chance to hold them.
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Mackfam
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hmbress wrote:
Mackfam wrote:
Our monthly Bravewriter plans are working out great! I spent the summer refreshing myself and re-reading Bravewriter's The Writer's Jungle. After reading it, I decided to come up with a monthly Bravewriter plan for each of my kids. I have four kids in four different stages of writing here (from Jot It Down to Eavesdropping on the Great Conversation), so having these simple writing ideas (each month has a theme and writing ideas) written out in a table format in each child's notebook is a HUGE help to me in managing writing ideas! It's been super helpful!
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Oh, Jen - I don't suppose you could share these? I have two who are in the Jot It Down and Partnership Writing stages and am re-reading The Writer's Jungle myself wanting to do the very same thing. I would be very appreciative! |
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I'd be happy to share! I exported all my documents from Pages to Word documents in case something here is useful and you just want to leave the format and change names/details. Two of my kids are transitioning writing stages right now so the writing projects I've planned reflect their growing and my stretching them a little toward the next writing stage.
Hope these are useful!
Jot It Down - I created these plans based on Julie's description of what a child in Jot It Down stage should be doing. Most of this is happening naturally in our home (things like narrations), but I really wanted reminders to build that habit of Keen Observation she talks about, so I built that into my plans.
2013-08-30_200458_Katie-JotItDown-Monthly_Writing_Projects_P lan.doc
Jot It Down transitioning to Partnership Writing - This is for my 4th grader that is in a transitional phase of writing. He's still building that skill of keen observation and we're working on Free Writing.
2013-08-30_201007_JP-JotItDown--_Partner-Monthly_Writing_Pro jects_Plan.doc
Partnership Writer transitioning to Faltering Ownership - These are for my 8th grader, also in transition. His writing matured and grew tremendously over the summer. He AFFIRMS my understanding and belief that you don't have to PUSH a writer that is nurtured on rich and worthy literature - they grow on their own, in their own time. It really does happen! And I believe this with great conviction, and you would too if you could have seen the progress of this kid almost overnight! His written narrations have just exploded - they're both dynamic and meaty in content, and their quantity of detail has exploded. Last year, I was lucky to get two sentences. So...be patient with your slow growing writers, Moms! Keep encouraging and let the process unfold!!! Just as a way of explaining - in the notes column, once or twice a term we choose one written narration to walk through the editing process (his choice which one), and that's what those notes....
Freewrite
Revision
Editing
Final Draft
....mean. Those are the steps of walking a piece of writing through the editing process.
Anyway - here are my Partnership transitioning to Faltering Ownership plans:
2013-08-30_201813_Mark-Partner--_FaltOwner-Monthly_Writing_P rojects_Plan.doc
Eavesdropping on the Great Conversation - These plans are for a 12th grader that is a natural writer. She enjoys writing as long as it can be creative, and is fiction-based so this plan stretches toward more and more non-fiction writing (as a way of building writing muscle), and of course has essay and academic writing practice. By high school, freewrites are more topic driven though the writing itself is still "free". It's great practice for the timed essay seen on ACT/SAT.
2013-08-30_202634_Sarah-EavesdroppingGreatConvo.doc
There you have it! My yearly plans based on the Bravewriter stages of writing my four kids are in. 
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Mackfam
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JennGM wrote:
| And isn't Joan Windham great? She really captures a child's imagination and stirs the wonder of knowing about the saints. Paired with Rosa Giorgi's books, you can have the story and then the facts and symbols and images to round out the saint. |
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I agree and have been grateful for your recommendation of Joan Windham so much! My kids really respond to her writing style!! And the symbols in Ms. MacArthur's liturgical year coloring pages intrigue my children! It's a big mystery so they love hearing about the saint from our Windham books, but if there isn't an explanation for WHY the saint they are coloring is holding a door, then I know I better be prepared to hunt it down because they want to know! It has really boosted our liturgical year time in a very simple and do-able way this year! And of course, my big kids enjoy listening in while they work! So, I say WIN-WIN!
And the Proclick coloring books have really made the coloring pages personal for each child!! Keep them in calendar order and it just makes them so easy to use! I let the kids each pick out their own scrapbook paper covers. You'll be so glad you spent the time to assemble your books, Jenn! It's a great time-saver!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Angie Mc
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Using practice SAT prompts + Google Docs + paperrater + M-F schedule to pump out a 5 paragraph essay a week with Aiden (high school senior)
Using scoopit for family banter and family learning
Using Groupme.com for accountability and communication, especially with Dave (dad).
Time Management: Having weekly family meetings. Using Gmail + Evernote + Google Calendar + Google docs
Watching a lot of movies
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
About Me
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Barb.b
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Bumping this up because I have more of an idea of what isn't working!
DD grade 10 - using the lighting Lit book for a semester like they say is not woking. Just too much with Math, Chem, SAT prep, grammar/comp - in form of more SAT prep), spanish, world history. We will do it for a year course - with hopefully adding a couple books to just read at the end of the year.
DS 5th grade - got a book from Houghton Harcourt - Horizons for History that was civil war to present. Made for 5th. But - IT IS WAY TOO BIG! I felt like he was getting the reading done but was going to fast he was never going to remember! Last year he used Setons 5th grade book but only finished half. So, I am going back to is to finish it. That was we can try to actually LEARN it! So what if he does a 5th grade history text over 2 years (4rth and 5th!).
Any one else have better idea of what isn't working!
BarB
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jawgee
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-Our Classically Catholic Memory co-op started this week with a great first day, and I am confident it will go as well as last year (if not better, seeing as last year was our first year!) The kids love getting together with their friends, and I love the chunks of information they pick up and then make connections with later when we are studying at home.
-Teaching Textbooks is a favorite of mine. DS11 is starting his third year with it, and DS7 just started TT4 over the summer.
-Bravewriter Boomerang. DS11 had been doing weekly dictation from Spelling Wisdom, but he really didn't enjoy the passages pulled out of context. I chose ten books from their published issues and ordered the passages from each one. The lessons are concise - just the way DS like them because he dreads literary analysis of any kind. I think he's getting strong fundamentals just going through the lessons each week, though.
-And, just for fun, the read-aloud of Jack's Insects (which I purchased from SCM) has been a hit. We're not doing the notebooking that goes along with it, but I think it would be a great accompaniment for kid who isn't pencil-averse like mine. LOL.
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Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
The Catholic Cup on Facebook
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4 lads mom
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What’s working....humm...did we start school yet??? 
Seriously, I’m a bit frustrated by the inconsistent nature of our homeschooling sometimes. Just keeping it real...we have had so, so many medical issues the last several months, coupled with two boys moving off to college, so it is a bit jangled up right now.
What IS working...as usual....is reading poetry, reading lots of great books, Teaching Textbook....and we just got our NOEO Science, but a few crucial books were on backorder, so we’ll wait to start this one. I love to download free things for my kindle app, so many great fairy tales to read to Lily....that’s fun!
I LOVE so many of the writing suggestions. I am slogging through the MODG freshmen grammar, and it isn’t working. What does seem to work is doing exactly what Jen refers to above...will be reviewing that whole thing with my freshman.
Look forward to reading more....
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Mom of four brave lads and one sweet lassie
Scenes From This and That
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4 lads mom
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Oh, and I am doing Explode the Code with Lily, and Singapore Math..both of those are winners! (Kind/1st grade)
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Mom of four brave lads and one sweet lassie
Scenes From This and That
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hmbress
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Jen, I don't know how I missed your response before, but thank you for sharing your Bravewriter plans, they are a big help!
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Heather Rose (ds13, ds10)
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JennGM
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4 lads mom wrote:
What’s working....humm...did we start school yet???
Seriously, I’m a bit frustrated by the inconsistent nature of our homeschooling sometimes. Just keeping it real...we have had so, so many medical issues the last several months, coupled with two boys moving off to college, so it is a bit jangled up right now.
What IS working...as usual....is reading poetry, reading lots of great books, Teaching Textbook....and we just got our NOEO Science, but a few crucial books were on backorder, so we’ll wait to start this one. I love to download free things for my kindle app, so many great fairy tales to read to Lily....that’s fun!
I LOVE so many of the writing suggestions. I am slogging through the MODG freshmen grammar, and it isn’t working. What does seem to work is doing exactly what Jen refers to above...will be reviewing that whole thing with my freshman.
Look forward to reading more.... |
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Oh, I'm in the same boat with medical distractions! We're being a bit organic right now before I can really tie down plans.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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SeaStar
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Our CM-style map drill is really taking off! For a few weeks it seemed as if we weren't making much progress there, but my dc are really into it now
Same for our read aloud of Captain Joshua- Sailing Alone Around the World.
It was a slow starter for us, and I was tempted to abandon shop, LOL, but now we are really enjoying it- tracing his route on the map and enjoying his commentary. The sailing terms are a little familiar from Swallows and Amazons, so that helps.
Our time lines are coming along nicely, too, thanks to google images and MIchele Quigley's time line book. It is fun to see the picture bank building up!
ONE HUGE FLOP: I got Swallowdale on cd via ILL, trying to be frugal (vs. buying a copy). Well, the narrator was a women, and it was awful!
My dc begged me to turn it off after 20 minutes so the story would not be ruined for them. I had to agree. I guess Santa might have to bring us the cd with the good narrator for Christmas... what was his name again?
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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Willa
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BIGGEST WIN
We invested in Life of Fred this year. Even though it hurt, I bought the whole elementary series for my 5th grade youngest, and it has paid off. He is thoroughly invested in the series and has gotten accustomed to the method.
The rule is that we read the book aloud first together and do the Your Turn to Plays. Then when the given book is finished he can freely re-read it. We started way back with Apples and are now just finishing Jellybeans. So he has a pile of LoFs by his bedside which he often pores through.
Last year, we read Fractions and Decimals but we are going to reread them now that he has progressed through the whole lot of the elementary series. I think he will understand them better now after the summer review. I plan to keep going until he is obviously way over his head and then take a break for a while.
Everything else I planned seems to be working out fine with just minor tweaks. That is rare. So no major FAILS.
Our only issue is that besides Life of Fred, we do everything at half speed. So we should be completing week 6, but my kids are all at week 3/4. I suspect part of this is that we were working during the summer months and would throw up the schoolwork if something summery came up. Anyway, I hope we speed up a little now that fall is definitely here.
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Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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Angel
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Well, we're finally getting going now. It's been a weird year because my two teenagers never really took any time off between last school year and this school year; they signed up for math classes that started in early August and so they had to double up on Algebra to get done in time. Then we signed my 11th grade ds up for a chemistry class that also started in early August, except the teacher started giving them assignments in mid-July. The chemistry is just shy of being a disaster; the teacher gives an enormous amount of work and micromanages every little bit of it. This is not exactly what I wanted when I thought about outsourcing chemistry because I never liked it in high school and wanted my ds to have a decent lab. Now he hates it, too, and I feel like our lives have been taken over by chemistry.
But -- live and learn. What *is* going better this year is accountability for my teens, so I'm feeling more confident that I'll be able to do my own chemistry class for my 9th grade dd when the time comes. (I'm helping my ds all the time for his class anyway.) I see that Sally mentioned she's using a blog for her 10th grader, and blogs are working out pretty well for us, too... although I'm just using them to give assignments. I have my 9th and 11th graders combined for history/lit/religion; we're tweaking Sally's western civ/ancient history lesson plans this year. The kids wanted to delve a little more deeply into Mesopotamia, ancient China, ancient India, etc., so I just type everything up as a blog post along with various edifying links for them to check out and it works pretty well. This way none of us can lose the lesson plans. 
I've also set up an assignment blog for my 9th grader because I'm designing her geography and zoology this year, too. Jen has mentioned elsewhere Why Greenland is an Island and that's what we're using for geography right now. We flesh out the reading every week with mapwork and links based on the chapter or section. My dd seems to like it; she's never been terrific at geography, and I think she feels like she's starting to get it now.
For my younger boys, we're using Winterpromise: Animals and Their Worlds. The boys are mostly liking this so far, although I find it impossible to stay on the WP schedule. We're way far ahead in our chapter book, and the DK Animal Encyclopedia is really hard to read aloud so we mostly haven't been. But overall, they like having the notebook to do on their own, and one of my 7 yo twins *especially* likes it.
My boys are also enjoying Glory Stories, which we've been listening to in the car on the way to get my teens from their classes. I bought the whole set, and although it was expensive, I'm glad I did. We're *all* enjoying these, not just the boys.
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Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: What's working this year?
