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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: July 20 2009 at 5:20pm | IP Logged
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I'm planning for my next high schooler and considering these syllabi for her that I haven't used before:
World Geography
US History/American Lit
Medieval History/Lit
Gov't/Econ (using DS/Penny Candy)
British Lit
Earth Science
We aren't signing up with them so I won't have the help of a TA or anything like that.
We had some problems with the Biology syllabus this year. For example, the "account of photosynthesis" sample that was a graded assignment didn't match anything we could find in either of the texts, and frankly, was difficult for dh and I to even comprehend. We also feel that Biology the Easy Way is *not* easy.  That said, other parts of the program were fabulous and I am looking into ways to make the whole thing more doable for my next dd. So I guess what I"m wondering is if anyone has had any similar problems with these other MODG syllabi? If I know ahead of time, maybe I can be more prepared and not find myself desperately hunting down other resources in the middle of the year when its snowing? And if you want to share thoughts on any of these courses,I'm all ears. 
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~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: July 20 2009 at 5:26pm | IP Logged
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I will just say that the Earth Science course made me and my son cry! Honestly, I couldn't figure it out and we quit by the third week. There are several different sources and you had to find things in the various field guides that we couldn't find. Maybe we were just a little dense. But I have heard others say that they really didn't like it.
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Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: July 20 2009 at 5:42pm | IP Logged
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teachingmyown wrote:
| I will just say that the Earth Science course made me and my son cry! Honestly, I couldn't figure it out and we quit by the third week. There are several different sources and you had to find things in the various field guides that we couldn't find. Maybe we were just a little dense. But I have heard others say that they really didn't like it. |
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Oh no! That is just the sort of thing I am worried about. We had that problem with the biology syllabus once or twice, too...
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Carole N.
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| Posted: July 21 2009 at 6:52am | IP Logged
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Books, we had the same problems with the biology syllabus that you had. I did not find Biology the Easy Way easy at all and in the end, we just used it as a reference tool.
We have used Natural History and I liked it. We are currently using the Medieval History/Lit. My ds really likes history, so for us, this is a good fit. I am also planning on using the American Govt with DS. I have not seen this syllabus yet.
I really thought that perhaps the problem was preference of subjects since my ds loves history, but could live without science. I have choosen not to use their chemistry syllabus, but to go with MacBeth's living books approach. This is more work, but I really don't want to crush his enthusiam for a subject area.
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: July 21 2009 at 8:58am | IP Logged
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Carole, this is very helpful. My next child to start high school loves history as well. In the medieval lit. syllabus, is your ds finding the Churchill book and the history text on Spain hard to get through? Its hard to tell from the catalogue if these are readable or intensely dry...
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Tami
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| Posted: July 21 2009 at 10:25am | IP Logged
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Books, I've used almost all of these, and could give you some input. My MIL is here, so computer time is scarce. Is is it ok if I jump in here and there quickly? I'll have more time after the middle of next week if you're interested...
I can tell you right off the bat that World Geog. is a light course (read: easy) - and research based. Basically, after getting through the first few weeks learning scale and reading Journey to the Center of the Earth, it's map work and research. Most of the country facts can be found at CIA site and InfoPlease! The challenge questions need Google or other materials.
We are not using Encarta (honestly, I couldn't find it, or maybe it was because we are on a Mac) but my boys have done fine just using the atlas and internet. Two of my ds did this course this year.
Hope this helps. 
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Tami
When we are crushed like grapes, we cannot think of the wine we will become. (Nouwen)
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Bookswithtea
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Tami, I'd be grateful for any info. you can share. I need to make sure, as much as possible, that this is the road I want to go before we start (which is one year from now), and I don't have syllabi to look at first.
I'm planning on the geography for 9th since I figured it was an easier course and would balance out some of the harder subjects in that first 9th grade getting used to the heavier load curve.
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Carole N.
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| Posted: July 21 2009 at 11:29am | IP Logged
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Books, he really liked both books but he especially loved the book on Spain. Of course, he loved all of the living books as well. We have stopped for break and he will pick up next year with The Cleaving of Christendom. So I cannot tell you what he thinks of that book.
BTW, the answers to the questions that are asked in the syllabus are in the syllabus, so unlike Natural History you do not have to worry about reading the text and sorting it out.
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: July 21 2009 at 3:39pm | IP Logged
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Well, that's good to hear. I need to see if anyone locally has these syllabi for me to look at. I hate the idea of purchasing without being able to see them...
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Tina P.
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Carole N. wrote:
| I really thought that perhaps the problem was preference of subjects since my ds loves history, but could live without science. I have choosen not to use their chemistry syllabus, but to go with MacBeth's living books approach. This is more work, but I really don't want to crush his enthusiam for a subject area. |
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Carole, my son *does* love science...ALL KINDS...but doing earth science the way the syllabus suggests was squashing his interest. There were so many papers that he's still working to catch up doing HALF the recommended papers. My son does NOT care for papers. So the problem is NOT preference of subject. It seems to me that the problem is trying to box a "discovery subject" to use the Clarkson's term.
Science is supposed to open one's mind. I feel that this curriculum, maybe so that a grade can be assessed, stifles the child's interest. I feel this way about ALL put-together curriculums. For our family, what's on the market either skips over all experimentation and discovery or makes huge and time-consuming projects out of science. There's no middle ground.
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Tina P.
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Books, I liked US History. I like how for every time period, you have to write a paper with a unique style. For instance, one is done in dialog, one is a narrative, and one is a journal.
My son doesn't like it as well as I do because -- horror of horrors!  -- he has to write. History lends itself to writing. And I recognize that my oldest has to learn to write in another subject if not science.
Be wary of the books you choose to read for each time period. Some are more suited to girls and others appeal to boys more. The first book my son read was geared more for girls. I didn't catch his reluctance to read it until I read a few pages. 
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Tami
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Bookswithtea wrote:
Tami, I'd be grateful for any info. you can share. I need to make sure, as much as possible, that this is the road I want to go before we start (which is one year from now), and I don't have syllabi to look at first.
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Ok bear with me - will post as I'm able. Out tonight and the next to days with MIL, visiting parks.
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Tami
When we are crushed like grapes, we cannot think of the wine we will become. (Nouwen)
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: July 21 2009 at 6:27pm | IP Logged
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Well, the reviews here are generally favorable for the history. I should say we are used to doing history the Sonlight way...with tons of books and that breakneck-out-of-breath-feeling that comes with trying to cover too many time periods within a year.
After much prayer, I am looking for something different, something that allows for more thoughtful consideration of each era. I am also weary of doctoring up protestant curricula and finding substitutions. This particular child reads like crazy (she's 12 1/2...just finished the entire unabridged Sherlocke Holmes), can never seem to get enough of history, generally likes to learn and loves homeschooling. I don't expect that she would grumble much no matter what I use, as long as it isn't something with a strong textbook/test format. She really dislikes that. She also prefers to work independently, for the mostpart, although she doesn't seem to mind some discussion times with me. I don't see her enjoying any kind of curriculum that would require her to have her face in the computer for hours at a time. She much prefers to cuddle under a blanket and read on paper (much like her mother ).
I haven't considered MODG syllabi for a long time. It didn't work well for my oldest so it got filed in my brain faaaarrrr away. But I am thinking maybe she would enjoy it. I want her to be challenged, but I don't want to discourage her, either. We aren't classically oriented in our homeschool. We don't teach latin and I don't teach Laura's method of phonics and spelling, either. Will this put her at a disadvantage in these particular subjects?
I'm also wondering about the daily flow of these syllabi. The examples on the website are not helpful at all in that regard.
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Blessings,
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Karen T
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Books,
I have only used a few of the MODG high school syllabi so have limited experience. However, you were asking would it be difficult for her to jump in after not having the "classical" background that Laura mostly uses. I don't really see how she'd be at any disadvantage with any of those subjects for that reason. The biggest problem we had is the amount/level of paper writing required. It seemed like a lot of papers were being assigned, with very little guidance on how to do it. I assume that users of MODG all along have had plenty of practice but my ds had not done nearly that much writing at that point (9th grade). We were using Natural History (which was not one of the heavy paper ones although there is one big project), Religion and World History/Literature.
As far as the daily flow, most of the syllabi seem to have specific assignments listed for 3-4 days per week, such as Week 3, Day 4 - read more of your chosen book. Week 4, Day 1 - begin writing paper.
Unfortunately I don't have any of the ones you listed to give you more concrete examples. I've also wondered about the govt/econ one - I keep going back and forth between it and SL's core on that.
Karen T
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mariB
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Yes, these Syllabi are great if you do not care to have everything laid out for you. In other words, it is more like an outline...especially with the American History/Lit.
We used the Earth Science but I ended up doing it more our way then the syllabus's way. We did lots of sketching. I am not a workbook lover and we ended up using the field guides much more. I plan to use this with my eighth grader this year using the Miliken guides as a reference (they are expensive by the way for what you get). There was too much essay writing for us in the earth science syllabus..and I agree with not much guidence. We only did the writing once in a while. (We wrote in other areas.) We did like the field guides and the idea of dividing up earth science in the four areas of
geology
oceanography
weather
astronomy
in the eight week increments.
American Lit/History syllabus is very open ended. We are using it this year with one of our high schoolers. The syllabus does have a couple of weeks back to back where is just says "read" and a full week here and there where it says "write". I do like the selection of books to choose from and I have not been good at all in following other lesson plans outside of my own. So this has worked for us.
A side note. I am hesitant to buy anymore high school syllabi from MODG due to my style of teaching. I purchase the grade school syllabi in the past (K-7th) and most of the 9th grade syllabi.
I just felt I could do the same thing on my own and that is why I am putting together our own British Literature course this year for our 12th grader...I am also tempted to purchase the Lightning Lit from Hewitt Home School Resources...
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Bookswithtea
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Thanks, ladies, for the thoughts and advice. After much consideration, the reviews I hear about MODG syllabi for high school are just not encouraging. Everyone kind of shrugs their shoulders and says, "um, yeah, its ok...not enough guidance, can be strenuous at times, too much writing...but we are managing to get through it...sort of..."
I'm going to create my own, but I'm also going to use Serendipity as a framework, which is Catholic and lovely. Its a bit more work than buying syllabi, but I think in the end we'll be happier. And I know I am happier when I actually enjoy the Serendipity planning, whereas when I was looking at the MODG syllabi, I just felt heavy, like, "is there some way I can make this work?" Feels too much like when my mom forced me to eat brussel sprouts! 
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Topic: MODG high school syllabi
