In all my blogging about how the Weaver is set up, I didn't mention the very last part of the Resources section in Volume 1!
"A Father's Devotional Partner for the Weaver."
Let it first be noted that I haven't yet given this to my husband. I am planning on it, though, because I see it as a very valid activity. I simply haven't taken the time to sit down and explain it and let him read the pages, yet.
This section is only a few short pages. But they are so rich. It has an open letter to dads, explains how Weaver is set up, and has many copies of cards that mom can fill out for dad. Let's face it, dad is busy in many of our homes. I know that my husband is overloaded with responsibilities. He works full time to support our family, and that is a blessing. This allows me to stay home and teach, clean, cook, nurture, well, you know all that we do all day!
But sometimes, since dad is busy as the provider, he misses out on the education. We hear moms talk often about how disconnected their husbands are as far as schoolwork goes. But Mrs. Avery has thought of a simple way to keep them in the loop.
These little cards are brilliant. Mom fills in the 2 days that a bible section is being covered, let's say Thursday and Friday. And she fills in the lesson number and bible verses used. She fills in the title of the lesson, ie- Injustice of Pharaoh vs. Justic of God. She fills in the Academic Topics, ie- Power and Function of Royalty, Past-Present, Poetry. Dad, then, can note any specific experience or knowledge on the back of the card. He can share that information with the kids at the dinner table or bedtime, or where ever it's appropriate.
There is a Devotional reminder for dad that says he is to write thoughts on the back of the card including insights, experiences, or questions raised by the Scriptures quoted. Consider the title and topics, how do you better understand God? And what could you do to apply this new insight to your life?
Then there are check boxes ~ Listened to memory verse, shared personally on unit, 1 activity for wife (ask), 1 activity to relax you, 5 minute chat with 1 child. This is just a great set of reminders. When my husband gets home at night, he does a great job connecting with the kids, but this would give his time with them more forethought and depth. He doesn't think out ways that he can relax. And the kids have AWANA verses that they say to me regularly. But how fun it would be to have dad review them each night at the dinner table or at bed.
Please note that this is not something to hold over dad as "one more thing" to do! Poor guy! Be gentle and understand that if he is just not able to add more to his long day, it's ok. Maybe he'd be willing to do just part of it? Maybe you could make up your own cards? He isn't required to do everything on the card. The purpose is for him to have 5 or 10 minutes in the Word, reading what his kids are learning and adding his information as he sees a need.
If we implement this system, I will likely be posting more about it. But I felt it was important to share that Mrs. Avery has set up a way for dad to be involved, even if he can't be home helping in the teaching. Dads are a crucial part of home discipleship. Let's keep them lifted in prayer. :)
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The Weaver ~ In the Beginning...
It just isn't possible to sum up The Weaver in a paragraph. So I suggest that you grab a cup of tea or some chocolate and put your feet up for a few minutes while I tell you our experience thus far! We've not been using it that long, but I have to share what a blessing it has been for our family!
When I first started homeschooling my preschooler in 2004, I was drawn to the idea of a Unit Study approach. I loved the idea that I could teach both kids on the same topic but at their own level. I looked over some types of Unit Studies and just didn't feel like God was opening the door for me to use any of them. Either it was clearly not for our family, or it was so overwhelming to me that I couldn't picture how to make it work. I tried various styles of learning, and all of them were wonderful in their own way. But something still seemed to be missing and my longing for unit studies didn't go away.
Unit studies have a base that all other subjects are centered around. For example, many are history based. As the student learns a new part of history, all the other school subjects deal with the same topic. Some are based on science. But still, none of them stood out.
Now, if you have read my article My Foundation for Homeschooling you will understand where I was coming from. I didn't want to just have 'Bible time' as part of our day. I wanted every part of our education to point our eyes to our Creator. And, it is sad to say, sometimes Bible time would get left out of our day because we ran out of time.
No matter how good my boys are (and I do think they are pretty good kids), they had many days where apathy was the attitude toward their school work. I know that we had the curriculum we had because I prayed and felt so certain in what I bought. And I still feel certain, I believe God had us where He wanted us, using what we were supposed to use.
In the late fall of 2010, I once again found myself asking the Lord if there was something else I had missed. I truly don't recall where The Weaver first popped up. But it was online somewhere. One reference lead to another. I was getting very curious and excited!
I wasn't looking to change things THIS year. I was thinking ahead to next year. But along came a sweet woman who happened to have an extra set of Weaver volume 1. I didn't expect to see it come so soon, but the mail moved FAST and it was at my home in a matter of a few days. I tore open the box and started to devour the information inside! It was as if this was written just for us!
What is it that makes me love it so? First, this curriculum is based in Scripture. So let's say that today we read about the Tower of Babylon. We'll then start learning about architecture. Then we'll build some sugar cube buildings. You can see how that little project turned out on my article http://hearts4home.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-year-goals-weight-lifting.html New Year Goals. With that in mind, you will never run out of time for Bible, because it all STARTS in the Bible! You can't do any other school work without opening in the Word!
Library time is always fun for us. We love it! But now it's a scavenger hunt. We look ahead at the unit we'll study and write down the topics, the books the author suggests, and a few rabbit trail ideas of our own. Then we head to the library with our list in hand ready to attack! We come home with stacks of rich videos and books.
Before going any further, let's go through the binders together...
Day by Day... Some people opt out of this planner, but I love it. I think you have to remind yourself that it is a tool. You aren't a slave to the planner. You can do, or not do, whatever you like. Each unit is separated by a divider. At the beginning of each unit divider is a "Unit Preparation" page (or pages.) Becky Avery (the author) has put these pages together for the educator to read in advance. It explains what you'll be teaching, possible book suggestions for read alouds, and supplies you may need.
From there, each page is labeled by the day. So you'll see Chapter 1: Day 1. You won't see Monday, Tuesday... There is no hurry in this. You do each day as you feel you are ready. Under the Chapter and Day is room for you to write in the date, and she has the theme written. Ie- "The city, Creation vs. Evolution. Under that you'll see a "thought for the day" section. These can be read to the student or can just be a pick-me-up for the teacher.
Each subject is in bold print below. So it opens with Bible, listing the reference to read, it tells you which bible lesson you will read from in Volume 1, and any other supplies or information you'll need for the bible study on that day.
Below that comes the Social Studies OR Science section. I say 'or' because you trade off every other day. This keeps it fresh for my boys! They love doing something different every other day. Under Social Studies or Science you'll see a list of grade levels and objectives. We'll come back to that in a bit.
After that is Language Arts OR Health and Safety, again, alternating. Then a list of books and supplies needed, creative writing suggestions, Wisdom Words (if you so chose to use her Language Arts program). And it ends with Math and Reading sections which are left blank. This way you can fill in what you want to use in your home.
A little side note... We have chosen not to use Wisdom Words. However, it is a fabulous program and I wouldn't have a problem using it at all. Instead, we chose the Phonics Road series. You can see more of that on my blog as well. Our math (currently) is Math U See for ds7 and Life of Fred and Calculadders for ds10.
Now for the BIG binder... Volume 1! Upon opening, you'll notice it has an overview of the entire volume. This is handy to see what you'll be covering at a glance. Mrs. Avery then has several pages of information, introduction, and ideas on scheduling (if you aren't using the Day by Day planner.) Then you'll see those lovely Unit dividers. Open divider Unit 1 and you'll see a Unit and chapter overview outline. "Unit 1, Chapter 1, 10 days" is the first heading, with the outline below. Of course you can make a unit last as long as you like. Remember, you are in charge of the flow, so if you want to follow rabbit trails, go for it! But she suggests how long a unit ought to take for planning purposes. Then comes "For Your Information" where you, the teacher, will learn more about the topics you'll be teaching. So far all these pages have been white in color. The Bible Lessons and suggested reading list will also be in white. After that the colors change and they become quite important.
This is another of the areas that I love in Weaver! Each grade, from K-6, is separated by color. So all pages of lessons for Kindergarten are golden rod. If I have a student who does work at a K level, I will turn to the golden rod pages no matter which unit I am on. She assigns them as grade levels, but you decide what level you want your child to work. In fact, they may be working at K level in science and social studies, but in language arts you feel like putting them on the grade 1 work. You have total control over the work they will be doing.
At the end of each chapter you'll see white pages again. Don't overlook them! There, you will find vocabulary words, health and safety, field trips, observation projects and memory verse suggestions.
So how do these 2 binders work together? Remember, earlier, when I said I'd get back to the grade levels and objectives? Here we go! So when Day by Day Unit 1 Day 1 says to teach your K student Science Objective #1... you'll go to Volume 1 binder, open it up to Unit 1 Chapter 1, turn to the golden rod colored pages labelled Kindergarten, look under the science section and read Objective 1! Day by Day will tell you exactly where to find everything in the Volume that you'll do that day. Simple! So I have those little post-it notes that I use as my own dividers. In the Volume, I have one saving the page we're on for my 1st grader, and one for my 5th grader, and one for the "For Your Information" section for me! In the Day by Day I have one that holds my place each day.
At the very back of the Volume you will find the Resource tab. Mrs. Avery will often refer you to something in that resource section. So don't overlook it, there are several useful pages!
One quick note: There are 7-12 grade supplements that you can order to make this curriculum go all the way through graduation! I haven't seen those, personally, so I can't speak to them. Maybe someone will leave a comment here that explains those further. But I thought it important to let you know it does go through grade 12. In the same manner, there is a Weaver Interlock binder for Pre-K! So it can be a complete curriculum from beginning to graduation if you wanted.
What about the cost of all those books she suggests? I have found that some of the suggested Milliken books are worth having, however I bought them used on Amazon and other places. And I wouldn't recommned them unless you are dealing with upper ages, possibly 4th grade up. The usborn books are great. They are generally easy to find in the library, but worth looking for if your library doesn't carry them. Speaking of the library, most of the topics you'll cover can be studied in depth with books found at the library. So you could honestly do most of your studies with the library and the internet. No major book investment needed! I also found that many of my books on my shelf at home have worked just fine.
What does a typical day look like for us? Amazingly smooth compared to before! Remember when I said there was great apathy many days in our schooling? No more! We usually start with our AWANA memory verses. Then we'll move into the bible study and sometimes I'll add an extra book or even bring out a hymn CD to sing together if it fits the lesson. Then we move right into the topics that the Day by Day has laid out. The wonderful thing about a unit study is that both boys are learning the same things together! When we've finished with the work listed, I pull out the Phonics Road to Spelling and Reading for ds7, ds10 works quietly on his Calculadders. Then ds7 watches his Math U See video or does his MUS workbook while I work with ds10 on his Bridge to Latin Road. We do all of this from 9:00-11:00 each morning. Sometimes we may go right up till noon depending on what we're covering. Any time left over can be spent with ds10 doing a read aloud with ds7. Last week we studied composers, so ds10 would read a picture book to ds7 about any given composer. After lunch we usually have a very free flowing time. The kids may take the afternoon to enjoy the sunshine outdoors. They may play card games. Or they may be found turning their school work into play. And this isn't unusual since we've started The Weaver! They learned about architecture, so in free time they watched DVDs about buildings and bridges and they built them out of legos.
Gone are the days of complaining about school. Back are the days of awe and wonder over what we're learning! Do we still have bad days? Sure! I think any homeschooler has to question their sanity at times. But I am so grateful for the joy and interest that The Weaver has brought back to our learning!
Feel free to ask questions or post comments. :) God bless you in your journey, no matter what it looks like.
When I first started homeschooling my preschooler in 2004, I was drawn to the idea of a Unit Study approach. I loved the idea that I could teach both kids on the same topic but at their own level. I looked over some types of Unit Studies and just didn't feel like God was opening the door for me to use any of them. Either it was clearly not for our family, or it was so overwhelming to me that I couldn't picture how to make it work. I tried various styles of learning, and all of them were wonderful in their own way. But something still seemed to be missing and my longing for unit studies didn't go away.
Unit studies have a base that all other subjects are centered around. For example, many are history based. As the student learns a new part of history, all the other school subjects deal with the same topic. Some are based on science. But still, none of them stood out.
Now, if you have read my article My Foundation for Homeschooling you will understand where I was coming from. I didn't want to just have 'Bible time' as part of our day. I wanted every part of our education to point our eyes to our Creator. And, it is sad to say, sometimes Bible time would get left out of our day because we ran out of time.
No matter how good my boys are (and I do think they are pretty good kids), they had many days where apathy was the attitude toward their school work. I know that we had the curriculum we had because I prayed and felt so certain in what I bought. And I still feel certain, I believe God had us where He wanted us, using what we were supposed to use.
In the late fall of 2010, I once again found myself asking the Lord if there was something else I had missed. I truly don't recall where The Weaver first popped up. But it was online somewhere. One reference lead to another. I was getting very curious and excited!
I wasn't looking to change things THIS year. I was thinking ahead to next year. But along came a sweet woman who happened to have an extra set of Weaver volume 1. I didn't expect to see it come so soon, but the mail moved FAST and it was at my home in a matter of a few days. I tore open the box and started to devour the information inside! It was as if this was written just for us!
What is it that makes me love it so? First, this curriculum is based in Scripture. So let's say that today we read about the Tower of Babylon. We'll then start learning about architecture. Then we'll build some sugar cube buildings. You can see how that little project turned out on my article http://hearts4home.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-year-goals-weight-lifting.html New Year Goals. With that in mind, you will never run out of time for Bible, because it all STARTS in the Bible! You can't do any other school work without opening in the Word!
Library time is always fun for us. We love it! But now it's a scavenger hunt. We look ahead at the unit we'll study and write down the topics, the books the author suggests, and a few rabbit trail ideas of our own. Then we head to the library with our list in hand ready to attack! We come home with stacks of rich videos and books.
Before going any further, let's go through the binders together...
Day by Day... Some people opt out of this planner, but I love it. I think you have to remind yourself that it is a tool. You aren't a slave to the planner. You can do, or not do, whatever you like. Each unit is separated by a divider. At the beginning of each unit divider is a "Unit Preparation" page (or pages.) Becky Avery (the author) has put these pages together for the educator to read in advance. It explains what you'll be teaching, possible book suggestions for read alouds, and supplies you may need.
From there, each page is labeled by the day. So you'll see Chapter 1: Day 1. You won't see Monday, Tuesday... There is no hurry in this. You do each day as you feel you are ready. Under the Chapter and Day is room for you to write in the date, and she has the theme written. Ie- "The city, Creation vs. Evolution. Under that you'll see a "thought for the day" section. These can be read to the student or can just be a pick-me-up for the teacher.
Each subject is in bold print below. So it opens with Bible, listing the reference to read, it tells you which bible lesson you will read from in Volume 1, and any other supplies or information you'll need for the bible study on that day.
Below that comes the Social Studies OR Science section. I say 'or' because you trade off every other day. This keeps it fresh for my boys! They love doing something different every other day. Under Social Studies or Science you'll see a list of grade levels and objectives. We'll come back to that in a bit.
After that is Language Arts OR Health and Safety, again, alternating. Then a list of books and supplies needed, creative writing suggestions, Wisdom Words (if you so chose to use her Language Arts program). And it ends with Math and Reading sections which are left blank. This way you can fill in what you want to use in your home.
A little side note... We have chosen not to use Wisdom Words. However, it is a fabulous program and I wouldn't have a problem using it at all. Instead, we chose the Phonics Road series. You can see more of that on my blog as well. Our math (currently) is Math U See for ds7 and Life of Fred and Calculadders for ds10.
Now for the BIG binder... Volume 1! Upon opening, you'll notice it has an overview of the entire volume. This is handy to see what you'll be covering at a glance. Mrs. Avery then has several pages of information, introduction, and ideas on scheduling (if you aren't using the Day by Day planner.) Then you'll see those lovely Unit dividers. Open divider Unit 1 and you'll see a Unit and chapter overview outline. "Unit 1, Chapter 1, 10 days" is the first heading, with the outline below. Of course you can make a unit last as long as you like. Remember, you are in charge of the flow, so if you want to follow rabbit trails, go for it! But she suggests how long a unit ought to take for planning purposes. Then comes "For Your Information" where you, the teacher, will learn more about the topics you'll be teaching. So far all these pages have been white in color. The Bible Lessons and suggested reading list will also be in white. After that the colors change and they become quite important.
This is another of the areas that I love in Weaver! Each grade, from K-6, is separated by color. So all pages of lessons for Kindergarten are golden rod. If I have a student who does work at a K level, I will turn to the golden rod pages no matter which unit I am on. She assigns them as grade levels, but you decide what level you want your child to work. In fact, they may be working at K level in science and social studies, but in language arts you feel like putting them on the grade 1 work. You have total control over the work they will be doing.
At the end of each chapter you'll see white pages again. Don't overlook them! There, you will find vocabulary words, health and safety, field trips, observation projects and memory verse suggestions.
So how do these 2 binders work together? Remember, earlier, when I said I'd get back to the grade levels and objectives? Here we go! So when Day by Day Unit 1 Day 1 says to teach your K student Science Objective #1... you'll go to Volume 1 binder, open it up to Unit 1 Chapter 1, turn to the golden rod colored pages labelled Kindergarten, look under the science section and read Objective 1! Day by Day will tell you exactly where to find everything in the Volume that you'll do that day. Simple! So I have those little post-it notes that I use as my own dividers. In the Volume, I have one saving the page we're on for my 1st grader, and one for my 5th grader, and one for the "For Your Information" section for me! In the Day by Day I have one that holds my place each day.
At the very back of the Volume you will find the Resource tab. Mrs. Avery will often refer you to something in that resource section. So don't overlook it, there are several useful pages!
One quick note: There are 7-12 grade supplements that you can order to make this curriculum go all the way through graduation! I haven't seen those, personally, so I can't speak to them. Maybe someone will leave a comment here that explains those further. But I thought it important to let you know it does go through grade 12. In the same manner, there is a Weaver Interlock binder for Pre-K! So it can be a complete curriculum from beginning to graduation if you wanted.
What about the cost of all those books she suggests? I have found that some of the suggested Milliken books are worth having, however I bought them used on Amazon and other places. And I wouldn't recommned them unless you are dealing with upper ages, possibly 4th grade up. The usborn books are great. They are generally easy to find in the library, but worth looking for if your library doesn't carry them. Speaking of the library, most of the topics you'll cover can be studied in depth with books found at the library. So you could honestly do most of your studies with the library and the internet. No major book investment needed! I also found that many of my books on my shelf at home have worked just fine.
What does a typical day look like for us? Amazingly smooth compared to before! Remember when I said there was great apathy many days in our schooling? No more! We usually start with our AWANA memory verses. Then we'll move into the bible study and sometimes I'll add an extra book or even bring out a hymn CD to sing together if it fits the lesson. Then we move right into the topics that the Day by Day has laid out. The wonderful thing about a unit study is that both boys are learning the same things together! When we've finished with the work listed, I pull out the Phonics Road to Spelling and Reading for ds7, ds10 works quietly on his Calculadders. Then ds7 watches his Math U See video or does his MUS workbook while I work with ds10 on his Bridge to Latin Road. We do all of this from 9:00-11:00 each morning. Sometimes we may go right up till noon depending on what we're covering. Any time left over can be spent with ds10 doing a read aloud with ds7. Last week we studied composers, so ds10 would read a picture book to ds7 about any given composer. After lunch we usually have a very free flowing time. The kids may take the afternoon to enjoy the sunshine outdoors. They may play card games. Or they may be found turning their school work into play. And this isn't unusual since we've started The Weaver! They learned about architecture, so in free time they watched DVDs about buildings and bridges and they built them out of legos.
Gone are the days of complaining about school. Back are the days of awe and wonder over what we're learning! Do we still have bad days? Sure! I think any homeschooler has to question their sanity at times. But I am so grateful for the joy and interest that The Weaver has brought back to our learning!
Feel free to ask questions or post comments. :) God bless you in your journey, no matter what it looks like.
Monday, February 14, 2011
My Journey on the Latin Road... so far
Everywhere you look, you'll find articles explaining why you ought to start early or start late in teaching grammar to children. I decided that I didn't want to start my kiddos on grammar at too young an age. My oldest is 10 now, and we started him on a great program in the 4th grade. I loved it, and I still do.
However, when I switched our schooling to a unit study approach, I was overwhelmed by our read alouds. The grammar we used had a long list of great literature, and I can't fault it for that. But adding all the unit study books to that list was just too much for mom.
I believe it is important to have a strong foundation in reading and writing. My oldest son is a great reader, and he's a fairly strong speller as well. But I just didn't feel like we were heading down a solid path with grammar, we needed something and we needed it fast.
After some prayer and searching, my dear friend introduced me to The Latin Road. She has been using The Phonics Road with her children, and I believe I can say she's had great success! If the Phonics Road was that solid, I had to look closer at the Latin Road to English Grammar.
I have to put up a small disclaimer, in case anyone thinks I'm being paid for this review. I'm not. I did sign up to be an affiliate because I think this is an amazing program. But this review is strictly from my own opinion over these last couple weeks. This may get a little long winded, so you may want to grab your cup of tea now before pushing ahead...
As I was saying, after prayer, consideration, my friend's recommendation, online reviews and even calling to talk to the author, I decided to jump in with both feet and buy not only the Bridge to the Latin Road for my 10 year old, but also the Phonics Road level 1 for my 7 year old! If my 10 yo had completed the Phonics Road, we'd just jump straight into The Latin Road level 1. However, since we hadn't, we are using the Bridge to the Latin Road to be sure he has a strong foundation in grammar.
I'll start with the drawbacks, so far I see only one. The cost. I spent quite a sum of money to get both products. However, and this is a big however, I would do it again! It is that good. If you feel God is leading you this direction, then I would encourage moms to find a way to afford this... stash any extra money, have a yard sale, a baked goods sale, get creative because you won't be sorry.
Let's start with why I chose the Bridge to the Latin Road to English Grammar. As I said, I didn't feel our grammar up to this point was strong enough to go right into Volume 1. So thankfully, Mrs. Beers has already considered that and made the Bridge! This is a fantastic grammar program that covers all the bases so thoroughly that I'm convinced I'll be learning a thing or two, as well! She also has no senseless busywork at all! Everything serves a purpose.
It requires my son to use cursive throughout the program. I'm grateful, because he's gotten lazy in that area. Many people see no need for penmanship today. But I disagree. I think it's still important to express yourself with the written word.
You may like to know what you are getting for your money... The Latin Road to English Grammar comes with a teacher's guide, DVDs, and a student binder, latin cards and verb cards for a fun verb game, as well as pencils for the student (black, red, and blue, to be used according to special instructions in the course...)
The teacher's book is well laid out. There are daily lesson plans and each page of the student notebook is copied in the teacher's book, with all answers filled in. Not only filled in, but in cursive handwriting so that the child can look and see that he's written his work properly. In the picture you can see my son's work next to the teacher book.
The entire Latin Road series is laid out as if the child was training to become a builder. So the first section of the binder is called Framing Codes. You'll find your daily schedule, grammar tunes and some basic learning there. The second section is Sentences to Analyze. And the third section is labeled Designing Codes, where he'll find the Latin Roots.
The first few weeks take the child through the basics of grammar. It fully explains nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, etc! It then moves the child into diagramming sentences. I saw no need for this when I was a student. Until, that is, I started studying a foreign language. Mrs. Beers knew that learning a language would solidify grammar for the student. And because Latin helps to teach a firm foundation in spelling and vocabulary as well as giving a better understanding of the English language, it was a natural fit!
So is it a grammar program or a Latin program? It is both. The Bridge to the Latin Road is mostly grammar, but begins to add in Latin roots! It is a good introduction to her Latin Road to English Grammar Levels 1-3. All of these, however, still teach grammar. It's a great mesh of both!
The section called "Design Codes" is where the student will build a very useful resource full of Latin roots. For example, he will have a page that says "port," and he'll write that the meaning is "carry." Then he'll write words like "report~ carry back again."
Let's talk DVDs... Mrs. Beers understands that it is possible that we haven't all been taught HOW to teach this method. If you've read The Writing Road to Reading, you are familiar with the program's heart and soul, but you may not know HOW to teach it. So she has recorded herself teaching the program. It is like having her sitting in my living room each night, showing me how to teach this to my son. So you'll either want to sit down once a week and take notes in your teacher book, or you can take a few minutes each night to see what you'll teach the following day. I highly recommend using them faithfully. While The Phonics Road and The Latin Road both have DVDs, you probably won't watch the Phonics Road DVDs with your child. But the older kids can watch The Latin Road along with you, if that helps your child in his learning.
A fun part of the program is the Grammar Tunes section. She has come up with words that fit common children's songs. They help teach many aspects of grammar, are catchy, and let's face it, anything set to music is easier to remember!
Why did I buy the Phonics Road, also? Because it looked like a very solid foundation to teach my youngest son to read. He has some glitches in his learning. At the very least, we can identify an auditory processing glitch. Mrs. Beers encouraged me that this program takes children from parts to the whole and trains their brains how to work properly. She said I may have to work a bit slower with the program, but to be patient, it would work.
The first thing I did was set up a special 'Writing Space' for him. The table and chair fit him perfectly. And I think he likes the idea of having his very own space! In fact, my 10 year old is slightly jealous of this fact and wants his own space now as well!
Just like the Latin Road, the Phonics Road offers the DVDs! Again, can't say enough good about this, it helps me on so many levels. After all, I want the best education for the kids, and I have no time or extra income to take a class. But I can pop in a DVD and take some notes. The DVDs also teach Grammar Tunes, like the Latin program.
This program also has the teacher binder and the student binder, a black and a red pencil for the student, a marker and "Handy Dandy Clipboard" with a clear plastic sheet for practice letters, and flash cards. The flash cards teach the child to recite the sounds of each letter or letter team, rather than the letter name. For example, when you show the 's' card, the child says "sss, zzz" representing both sounds the 's' can make, starting with the most common sound. By week 5 they are reading words quite naturally, and by week 15 they are reading the enclosed readers for which they get to make custom illustrations. No more guessing at the words based on the picture included! Also, no more tracing letters! All letters are taught by the teacher showing how to do them properly, and the student follows along using their clipboard and marker.
If you have questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer. You can also click on my link on the right side of the page to see the official website. It is loaded with information that I found very helpful, as well as Mrs. Beers' phone number! She is a wealth of information.
In the end, the program is only as good as it is for your family. It may not be the solution you are seeking. But the only way you'll know is to seek the Lord and see if He is leading you to this. :) God bless!
However, when I switched our schooling to a unit study approach, I was overwhelmed by our read alouds. The grammar we used had a long list of great literature, and I can't fault it for that. But adding all the unit study books to that list was just too much for mom.
I believe it is important to have a strong foundation in reading and writing. My oldest son is a great reader, and he's a fairly strong speller as well. But I just didn't feel like we were heading down a solid path with grammar, we needed something and we needed it fast.
After some prayer and searching, my dear friend introduced me to The Latin Road. She has been using The Phonics Road with her children, and I believe I can say she's had great success! If the Phonics Road was that solid, I had to look closer at the Latin Road to English Grammar.
I have to put up a small disclaimer, in case anyone thinks I'm being paid for this review. I'm not. I did sign up to be an affiliate because I think this is an amazing program. But this review is strictly from my own opinion over these last couple weeks. This may get a little long winded, so you may want to grab your cup of tea now before pushing ahead...
As I was saying, after prayer, consideration, my friend's recommendation, online reviews and even calling to talk to the author, I decided to jump in with both feet and buy not only the Bridge to the Latin Road for my 10 year old, but also the Phonics Road level 1 for my 7 year old! If my 10 yo had completed the Phonics Road, we'd just jump straight into The Latin Road level 1. However, since we hadn't, we are using the Bridge to the Latin Road to be sure he has a strong foundation in grammar.
I'll start with the drawbacks, so far I see only one. The cost. I spent quite a sum of money to get both products. However, and this is a big however, I would do it again! It is that good. If you feel God is leading you this direction, then I would encourage moms to find a way to afford this... stash any extra money, have a yard sale, a baked goods sale, get creative because you won't be sorry.
Let's start with why I chose the Bridge to the Latin Road to English Grammar. As I said, I didn't feel our grammar up to this point was strong enough to go right into Volume 1. So thankfully, Mrs. Beers has already considered that and made the Bridge! This is a fantastic grammar program that covers all the bases so thoroughly that I'm convinced I'll be learning a thing or two, as well! She also has no senseless busywork at all! Everything serves a purpose.
It requires my son to use cursive throughout the program. I'm grateful, because he's gotten lazy in that area. Many people see no need for penmanship today. But I disagree. I think it's still important to express yourself with the written word.
You may like to know what you are getting for your money... The Latin Road to English Grammar comes with a teacher's guide, DVDs, and a student binder, latin cards and verb cards for a fun verb game, as well as pencils for the student (black, red, and blue, to be used according to special instructions in the course...)
The teacher's book is well laid out. There are daily lesson plans and each page of the student notebook is copied in the teacher's book, with all answers filled in. Not only filled in, but in cursive handwriting so that the child can look and see that he's written his work properly. In the picture you can see my son's work next to the teacher book.
The entire Latin Road series is laid out as if the child was training to become a builder. So the first section of the binder is called Framing Codes. You'll find your daily schedule, grammar tunes and some basic learning there. The second section is Sentences to Analyze. And the third section is labeled Designing Codes, where he'll find the Latin Roots.
The first few weeks take the child through the basics of grammar. It fully explains nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, etc! It then moves the child into diagramming sentences. I saw no need for this when I was a student. Until, that is, I started studying a foreign language. Mrs. Beers knew that learning a language would solidify grammar for the student. And because Latin helps to teach a firm foundation in spelling and vocabulary as well as giving a better understanding of the English language, it was a natural fit!
So is it a grammar program or a Latin program? It is both. The Bridge to the Latin Road is mostly grammar, but begins to add in Latin roots! It is a good introduction to her Latin Road to English Grammar Levels 1-3. All of these, however, still teach grammar. It's a great mesh of both!
The section called "Design Codes" is where the student will build a very useful resource full of Latin roots. For example, he will have a page that says "port," and he'll write that the meaning is "carry." Then he'll write words like "report~ carry back again."
Let's talk DVDs... Mrs. Beers understands that it is possible that we haven't all been taught HOW to teach this method. If you've read The Writing Road to Reading, you are familiar with the program's heart and soul, but you may not know HOW to teach it. So she has recorded herself teaching the program. It is like having her sitting in my living room each night, showing me how to teach this to my son. So you'll either want to sit down once a week and take notes in your teacher book, or you can take a few minutes each night to see what you'll teach the following day. I highly recommend using them faithfully. While The Phonics Road and The Latin Road both have DVDs, you probably won't watch the Phonics Road DVDs with your child. But the older kids can watch The Latin Road along with you, if that helps your child in his learning.
A fun part of the program is the Grammar Tunes section. She has come up with words that fit common children's songs. They help teach many aspects of grammar, are catchy, and let's face it, anything set to music is easier to remember!
Why did I buy the Phonics Road, also? Because it looked like a very solid foundation to teach my youngest son to read. He has some glitches in his learning. At the very least, we can identify an auditory processing glitch. Mrs. Beers encouraged me that this program takes children from parts to the whole and trains their brains how to work properly. She said I may have to work a bit slower with the program, but to be patient, it would work.
The first thing I did was set up a special 'Writing Space' for him. The table and chair fit him perfectly. And I think he likes the idea of having his very own space! In fact, my 10 year old is slightly jealous of this fact and wants his own space now as well!
Just like the Latin Road, the Phonics Road offers the DVDs! Again, can't say enough good about this, it helps me on so many levels. After all, I want the best education for the kids, and I have no time or extra income to take a class. But I can pop in a DVD and take some notes. The DVDs also teach Grammar Tunes, like the Latin program.
This program also has the teacher binder and the student binder, a black and a red pencil for the student, a marker and "Handy Dandy Clipboard" with a clear plastic sheet for practice letters, and flash cards. The flash cards teach the child to recite the sounds of each letter or letter team, rather than the letter name. For example, when you show the 's' card, the child says "sss, zzz" representing both sounds the 's' can make, starting with the most common sound. By week 5 they are reading words quite naturally, and by week 15 they are reading the enclosed readers for which they get to make custom illustrations. No more guessing at the words based on the picture included! Also, no more tracing letters! All letters are taught by the teacher showing how to do them properly, and the student follows along using their clipboard and marker.
If you have questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer. You can also click on my link on the right side of the page to see the official website. It is loaded with information that I found very helpful, as well as Mrs. Beers' phone number! She is a wealth of information.
In the end, the program is only as good as it is for your family. It may not be the solution you are seeking. But the only way you'll know is to seek the Lord and see if He is leading you to this. :) God bless!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Something Old, Something New...
No, I'm not planning someone's wedding. But I am looking at something old, something new, something borrowed, and well, there are some blue things I guess, too.
In our homeschooling, I have always trusted God to show us what to use and where to go. We've always had interesting, exciting curriculum. But in the last couple months God has really shaken things up, in a good way...
Something old... I'm sticking with a few old favorites. Good old books are among my favorite things! I love finding old books at book sales! We'll also be keeping our old math curriculum, Math U See, for our youngest son. We really enjoyed that with our oldest (till this year, that's part of the something new...) We'll also be keeping all our favorite old audios to enhance our history studies.
Something new... Well, there are a lot of new things lately. We started using The Weaver curriculum just a few short months ago. I have never set aside my entire curriculum mid-year. But this seemed so orchestrated by God that I had to just jump in with both feet. It's been a wonderful thing!
Something that isn't new (but was new in the fall of 2010) was switching our oldest son to Life of Fred, from Math U See. He was fond of MUS once upon a time but had grown bored with it and really liked the idea of LOF's story line. It was a good choice for him. He really enjoys math now! However, I was finding that some of the practice of math problems would disappear over time. So another something new that we'll start next week~ Calculadders. We'll do this in addition to LOF. He isn't thrilled with the idea of drills, but he's willing to give it a go as long as he can keep LOF as his main math book!
And finally our newest something new~ The Latin Road! The Phonics Road to Spelling and Reading for my youngest son and the Bridge to the Latin Road for my oldest son. We have used All About Spelling this year and may continue with my oldest son. It is based on the Spalding Method, which, it turns out, so is the Phonics Road! (Oh, The Phonics Road books have blue covers, there is our something blue!) Anyhow, I'm very eager to get them started, in fact I'm so eager that I won't wait till autumn. The beauty of homeschooling says I can start any time! So we'll begin that next week! I'll be posting more info about the program as I learn more...
Something borrowed... I am so grateful for other homeschooling moms and the library! Especially now that we've begun doing a unit study approach in our homeschool. It is a blessing to have a neighbor with which to swap books! And our local library is a wonderful resource to have available! It's like a big scavenger hunt every time we go there!
I intend to post more info about the programs we use and possibly even some photos. I hope it will be helpful to someone trying to pick curriculum. It is sometimes an overwhelming choice, but let the Lord guide you and you'll never go wrong! :)
In our homeschooling, I have always trusted God to show us what to use and where to go. We've always had interesting, exciting curriculum. But in the last couple months God has really shaken things up, in a good way...
Something old... I'm sticking with a few old favorites. Good old books are among my favorite things! I love finding old books at book sales! We'll also be keeping our old math curriculum, Math U See, for our youngest son. We really enjoyed that with our oldest (till this year, that's part of the something new...) We'll also be keeping all our favorite old audios to enhance our history studies.
Something new... Well, there are a lot of new things lately. We started using The Weaver curriculum just a few short months ago. I have never set aside my entire curriculum mid-year. But this seemed so orchestrated by God that I had to just jump in with both feet. It's been a wonderful thing!
Something that isn't new (but was new in the fall of 2010) was switching our oldest son to Life of Fred, from Math U See. He was fond of MUS once upon a time but had grown bored with it and really liked the idea of LOF's story line. It was a good choice for him. He really enjoys math now! However, I was finding that some of the practice of math problems would disappear over time. So another something new that we'll start next week~ Calculadders. We'll do this in addition to LOF. He isn't thrilled with the idea of drills, but he's willing to give it a go as long as he can keep LOF as his main math book!
And finally our newest something new~ The Latin Road! The Phonics Road to Spelling and Reading for my youngest son and the Bridge to the Latin Road for my oldest son. We have used All About Spelling this year and may continue with my oldest son. It is based on the Spalding Method, which, it turns out, so is the Phonics Road! (Oh, The Phonics Road books have blue covers, there is our something blue!) Anyhow, I'm very eager to get them started, in fact I'm so eager that I won't wait till autumn. The beauty of homeschooling says I can start any time! So we'll begin that next week! I'll be posting more info about the program as I learn more...
Something borrowed... I am so grateful for other homeschooling moms and the library! Especially now that we've begun doing a unit study approach in our homeschool. It is a blessing to have a neighbor with which to swap books! And our local library is a wonderful resource to have available! It's like a big scavenger hunt every time we go there!
I intend to post more info about the programs we use and possibly even some photos. I hope it will be helpful to someone trying to pick curriculum. It is sometimes an overwhelming choice, but let the Lord guide you and you'll never go wrong! :)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
My Commitment
Do you ever feel like your level of commitment is based on someone else's actions or reactions, or your own feelings? I have heard it over and over. Maybe it's about homeschooling~ "I can't homeschool these kids, they won't listen to me." My commitment to homeschool being taken down because of their actions. "Or, I did this because my spouse did that." As if the way your spouse acts should have anything to do with your level of commitment to the marriage. Or, "My boss is a jerk, so I'm going to ________." Justification, again, to act in a way that is not becoming.
Lately I've heard a lot of these, especially when it comes to marriage. I know that each couple falls in love and can't wait to stand before witnesses and promise to love, honor and cherish each other till death do them part. And somewhere along the way, the enemy will create problems. After all, marriage was God's idea, and so why wouldn't it be a difficult thing now and then? But it seems that so often we hear people say "well if they would have loved me like they were supposed to, I wouldn't have done this." Really? This breaks my heart. No matter what my husband and I go through, the word 'divorce' doesn't enter the conversation. I love that. I am completely safe in that commitment, I know he has no thoughts of giving in when I come up short. And vice versa. Does that mean hard times don't happen? Not so. We are still two people with sometimes differing opinions on life. But I have confidence in our commitment to each other before the Lord!
I know that I haven't loved God like I'm supposed to. Have you? I have not been a faithful bride at all. I mean, I do love Him, but not like I should. Not in a completely self-sacrificing way. Unfortunately I still think of my own feelings far too much. And yet... Christ still died for me. While I was still a sinner, He died for me. His commitment to me went all the way to the cross and beyond.
No matter what the circumstances, our commitment to people around us should stand firm in God's Word. My commitment to my husband is not based on how he treats me, or how I feel. It is a covenant, between my husband, myself and the Lord. I'm accountable to God for how I act and react in this marriage. And in my commitment to raise my sons. And in my job. Even if my job is 'only' around the home.
My work as a housewife should honor the Lord. When I'm doing things for my husband, I should be doing it with a joyful heart, serving my husband and Christ living in Him. After all, would I be snarling and grouchy to wash clothes for Jesus? If Jesus asked me to make a meal would I complain? I would hope that I'd be more than willing to do anything He asked. So why not have that diligence for my family? If I am doing for the least of these, then I'm doing for Jesus.
If you have felt a weakening in your commmitments, maybe leaning on feelings instead of facts, I challenge you to get to the Word and be refreshed. Ask the Lord for strength and vision. Clarity in our work. The ability to carry it out. He's more than happy to oblige.
Disclaimer- I am writing this because I, too, happen to be human. I've struggled over the years with my level of commitment too. It's as much a reminder to me as food for thought to anyone out there reading this. :)
Lately I've heard a lot of these, especially when it comes to marriage. I know that each couple falls in love and can't wait to stand before witnesses and promise to love, honor and cherish each other till death do them part. And somewhere along the way, the enemy will create problems. After all, marriage was God's idea, and so why wouldn't it be a difficult thing now and then? But it seems that so often we hear people say "well if they would have loved me like they were supposed to, I wouldn't have done this." Really? This breaks my heart. No matter what my husband and I go through, the word 'divorce' doesn't enter the conversation. I love that. I am completely safe in that commitment, I know he has no thoughts of giving in when I come up short. And vice versa. Does that mean hard times don't happen? Not so. We are still two people with sometimes differing opinions on life. But I have confidence in our commitment to each other before the Lord!
I know that I haven't loved God like I'm supposed to. Have you? I have not been a faithful bride at all. I mean, I do love Him, but not like I should. Not in a completely self-sacrificing way. Unfortunately I still think of my own feelings far too much. And yet... Christ still died for me. While I was still a sinner, He died for me. His commitment to me went all the way to the cross and beyond.
No matter what the circumstances, our commitment to people around us should stand firm in God's Word. My commitment to my husband is not based on how he treats me, or how I feel. It is a covenant, between my husband, myself and the Lord. I'm accountable to God for how I act and react in this marriage. And in my commitment to raise my sons. And in my job. Even if my job is 'only' around the home.
My work as a housewife should honor the Lord. When I'm doing things for my husband, I should be doing it with a joyful heart, serving my husband and Christ living in Him. After all, would I be snarling and grouchy to wash clothes for Jesus? If Jesus asked me to make a meal would I complain? I would hope that I'd be more than willing to do anything He asked. So why not have that diligence for my family? If I am doing for the least of these, then I'm doing for Jesus.
If you have felt a weakening in your commmitments, maybe leaning on feelings instead of facts, I challenge you to get to the Word and be refreshed. Ask the Lord for strength and vision. Clarity in our work. The ability to carry it out. He's more than happy to oblige.
Disclaimer- I am writing this because I, too, happen to be human. I've struggled over the years with my level of commitment too. It's as much a reminder to me as food for thought to anyone out there reading this. :)
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