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time4tea
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| Posted: Jan 18 2007 at 1:11pm | IP Logged
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Jenny,
We tried "Universe in My Hands"/"Pilgrims of the Holy Family", but honestly could not make it work for us (even though I very much wanted it to...). At this point, I have my 6th grader using other Science materials instead of what CHC recommends. I really like the other suggestions for 5th and 6th Grades in the CHC lesson plan guide, but the science materials I found awkward. I have noticed that other Moms have had a similar experience with these materials (esp. "Universe in My Hands"), and have wondered if perhaps CHC will make another suggestion for science materials when they revise the Middle Grades Lesson Plan Guide at some point.
God bless!
Tea
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Blessings to you!
~Tea
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Lisa R
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| Posted: Jan 18 2007 at 4:16pm | IP Logged
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We couldn't make "Universe In My Hands" work for us either.  We just do our own thing now.
Regarding the LOG and Speller books, I just don't see how workbooks have helped my boys in the years I've used them. And I've used a workbook every year for fear of not teaching something.  They still miss the same things when writing papers and that was the reason I was using the workbooks...to help with writing.
Communication is the goal for us whether it's written or oral. I've switched to copywork, dictation and written narration (in the form of notebook pages) and am seeing much better writing.  We're learning parts of speech with songs or madlibs etc. I do plan to use Winston Grammar in the next few years to cement all those parts of speech. I'm trying to have a more hands-on approach to all of our schooling. It seems to make it "stick".  Sounds kind of like "Real Learning!" 
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God Bless!
Lisa, married to my best friend, Ray and loving my blessings Joshua (17)and Jacob(15), Hannah(7) and Rachel (5)!Holy Family Academy
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JennyMaine
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| Posted: Jan 18 2007 at 5:40pm | IP Logged
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Lisa, thanks for sharing your experience. I'll never give up workbooks. . .I love them! (They're called workbooks because they save mom a lot of work! LOL) Sorry to hear that CHC materials weren't effective for your family. Aren't you glad there's so much to pick from and you can find what works for you? And that's one reason I love this board. . .it isn't limited to only CM methods, but open to discussing all the various kinds of learning. And after all, when any learning takes place. . . it's "real learning"!
I also like to use songs, MadLibs, and things like the Schoolhouse Rock cd-rom for reinforcement. I think the writing assignments in the CHC lesson plans (for instance, the grade 4 writing assignments based on state studies) are solid, especially when combined with Creative Communications. They really round out the spelling workbooks and LOG. I love Cathy Duffy's review of Creative Communications, I think she really describes it well. Definitely a good resource for "real learning."
Could ya'll be more specific about Universe in My Hands and Pilgrims of the Holy Family? What made it not work for you? How long did you actually use it for (6 months? 8 months?)? Was it your children who didn't enjoy it, or yourself? What did you replace it with? Any description would be helpful, as I haven't had my hands on those materials yet to review them. We do have a couple of the Apologia elementary books, but I struggle with sticking to one science topic for months at a time.
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--JennyMaine, Mom to Catherine (17) and Sam (15) "The countenance is a reflection of the soul. You should always have a calm and serene countenance." -- Therese of Lisieux
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: Jan 18 2007 at 6:22pm | IP Logged
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Jenny,
We have several Apologia science books for elementary and I've found that I can use them for awhile and walk away and go to a different one and then return. Forinstance, we started botany in fall 2005 and then stopped in the winter, picked it up in spring 2006 and then will vist again in spring 2007. We did only the bird section of the Flying Creatures book. We'll visit other flying creatures another time.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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ALmom
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| Posted: Jan 18 2007 at 7:41pm | IP Logged
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Genevieve:
Be glad to show them to you - just remind me while you are here! Can't wait to meet you in person!
Universe in Your hands didn't work for me either - mostly because I have no depth perception and cannot sense size of things and would have been overwhelmed with it all. I also tend to have trouble without being given lots of detail for me (assumes a certain level of knowledge or confidence that I didn't have). A friend of ours used it well during a summer with hers - but she is very science minded and just 2 children and organized - none of which I am. We substitute some Kolbe science in the older grades and flounder with science in the younger grades (well we liked a few things here and there and have a lot of experiment books around the house, but something seems missing). I'm curious about Apologia - what ages, how Protestant does it come across? I really disliked Apologia Physical science and Biology at high school.
With the other one, you really need to have a mentor for different activities and I wasn't sure where to find that - and didn't have the time to hunt. My perception was that this would be a great boy-scout alternative with a like minded co-op group. I keep hanging on to the book with the idea that eventually something will click and in the meantime rely on other things for science. There are some neat ideas - just nothing that we've been able to run with yet.
Janet
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Lisa R
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| Posted: Jan 18 2007 at 7:47pm | IP Logged
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Jenny,
I hope you didn't think I was saying anything bad about workbooks  . Just that they didn't work for me.  Definitely, "any" learning is "real learning"!
Blessings!
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God Bless!
Lisa, married to my best friend, Ray and loving my blessings Joshua (17)and Jacob(15), Hannah(7) and Rachel (5)!Holy Family Academy
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time4tea
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| Posted: Jan 19 2007 at 8:55am | IP Logged
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Jenny,
It has been awhile since I purchased (and then sold) Universe in My Hands, but I will try to recollect my thoughts for you. Afer receiving the book, I went through it myself and then had my dh go through it (he is a Physicist - builds mirror assemblies for x-ray telescopes and stuff like that, so I figured he would be my best resource to talk the program through with). I found the activities and discussion listed in "Universe" to be very awkward for use in a homeschool situation (at least at our house), and found the material and overall organization of the program to be somewhat haphazard and not well-focused/clear. My dh told me that while he understood exactly what the author was trying to teach, he found her presentation of the material to be not particularly well organized either, especially since it was intended to be taught to children in 5th or 6th grades, not teens or adults. As a result of both of us feeling this way, I sold "Universe". Now, this is my experience. For those who like the program, I am not trying to offend here (I know that internet messages can sometimes come off much harsher than it is intended to).
Regarding Pilgrims of the Holy Family, my dc just weren't interested in it, because they are already involved in different little side projects and interests and didn't see the point of doing the same things for "badges". It looked like a nice program otherwise.
For science this year as well as last (so for 5th and 6th grades), we just use the good, old CM nature study approach, and my ds keeps a lovely nature notebook that he loves to illustrate. Right now, he is working on mammals. The Apologia textbooks make a great spine for this kind of study in 5th and 6th grades (Seton now sells them at their online bookstore). Next year for 7th, he will begin the Life Science: All Creatures Great and Small book, using it over 2 years as CHC suggests. I actually tried to complete Life Science: All Creatures in one year with my older ds who is currently in 8th, but in order to really dig deep into that book, I really believe you need 2 years at the Middle School level.
Hope this helps!
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Blessings to you!
~Tea
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JennyMaine
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| Posted: Jan 19 2007 at 12:28pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, Tea! Those are the kinds of specifics that help me make a decision!
Lisa, hope I didn't come across as grumpy!
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--JennyMaine, Mom to Catherine (17) and Sam (15) "The countenance is a reflection of the soul. You should always have a calm and serene countenance." -- Therese of Lisieux
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: Jan 19 2007 at 12:35pm | IP Logged
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Jenny,
My thoughts were about the same as Tea's. My husband is not a scentist, but neither of us could really wrap our brains around using it with our kids for the same reasons as Tea. And my impression of Pilgrims of the Holy was much the same as hers as well.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Lisa R
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| Posted: Jan 19 2007 at 4:18pm | IP Logged
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Jenny,
No, not at all. I was just making sure I didn't !
God bless!
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God Bless!
Lisa, married to my best friend, Ray and loving my blessings Joshua (17)and Jacob(15), Hannah(7) and Rachel (5)!Holy Family Academy
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: If you use CHC lesson plans...
