We are using Bigger for 3rd. It's a perfect fit for us!
And as far as eyes glossing over.... well, I always thought it was a boy thing. LOL You'd be surprised how much they soak up, even though they're standing on their heads, playing with smuggled in toys, or tapping hands and feet nonstop. You're not going to get better than that with my boys! LOL But they are listening, even if it doesn't look like it.
Carrie - I know there are "placement" pages
Ladies,
While I've been away at convention, you have been having such lively discussions! I'm missing out on all of the fun!
Seriously, though, you have done a wonderful job of sorting through the answers to these very interesting questions. When we write our guides, we are assuming the parent is reading aloud the scheduled material up until the child can read (and comprehend) some of the material themselves (usually by the end of "Bigger..." or beginning of "Preparing..".)
So, the levels Christian Liberty Press assigns to their books is not based on them being read-aloud. Their levels actually correspond to the level the child is to read the text themselves (except for the kindergarten/first grade material).
Next, we often use reprints of older, more classical books. So, the language in them is much more descriptive and requires growth as a seasoned listener to appreciate them. The Charlotte Mason style of learning says that kiddos need to grow as listeners by listening to excellent literature from living books. So, if kiddos haven't been exposed to much of this kind of listening/literature before, it will take some time to get used to the style.
Lastly, I just wanted to emphasize the necessity of looking at kiddos through a developmental lens for program placement, rather than a grade-level lens. In any given classroom, when I was teaching public school, the range of stages in a single grade classroom would have floored most people! For example, in a typical grade 3 classroom, we would have third graders who could read at an 8th grade level all the way down to kiddos who couldn't read 3 letter/short vowel readers. Developmentally, they were all over, but they were all called third graders.
For my own children, we've used our guides at both the highest end of the age range and now at the lowest. It has worked both ways! The placement chart is by far the most useful tool in program placment.
Blessings,
Carrie
While I've been away at convention, you have been having such lively discussions! I'm missing out on all of the fun!
Seriously, though, you have done a wonderful job of sorting through the answers to these very interesting questions. When we write our guides, we are assuming the parent is reading aloud the scheduled material up until the child can read (and comprehend) some of the material themselves (usually by the end of "Bigger..." or beginning of "Preparing..".)
So, the levels Christian Liberty Press assigns to their books is not based on them being read-aloud. Their levels actually correspond to the level the child is to read the text themselves (except for the kindergarten/first grade material).
Next, we often use reprints of older, more classical books. So, the language in them is much more descriptive and requires growth as a seasoned listener to appreciate them. The Charlotte Mason style of learning says that kiddos need to grow as listeners by listening to excellent literature from living books. So, if kiddos haven't been exposed to much of this kind of listening/literature before, it will take some time to get used to the style.
Lastly, I just wanted to emphasize the necessity of looking at kiddos through a developmental lens for program placement, rather than a grade-level lens. In any given classroom, when I was teaching public school, the range of stages in a single grade classroom would have floored most people! For example, in a typical grade 3 classroom, we would have third graders who could read at an 8th grade level all the way down to kiddos who couldn't read 3 letter/short vowel readers. Developmentally, they were all over, but they were all called third graders.
For my own children, we've used our guides at both the highest end of the age range and now at the lowest. It has worked both ways! The placement chart is by far the most useful tool in program placment.
Blessings,
Carrie
Momof2n2-
I will be using LHFHG for my 6 yr old(turning 6 next month). I tried starting it a few months ago and have decided to put it on the shelf till the fall. I will just focus on math, reading and handwriting. I found that the history was above him and wanted to keep it all together. We will do all of LHFHG probably using the 1st grade appendix work for science and math.
Though I consider my son in K now and 1st next yr I'm going to report as K for the fall. My DS seems to sway between K and 1st grade work so why put the extra pressure for "having" to be in 1st next year. I'll just say he is in K and do 1st work. Make sense??
So, in a nutshell....I will be doing LHFHG for 1st grade
I will be using LHFHG for my 6 yr old(turning 6 next month). I tried starting it a few months ago and have decided to put it on the shelf till the fall. I will just focus on math, reading and handwriting. I found that the history was above him and wanted to keep it all together. We will do all of LHFHG probably using the 1st grade appendix work for science and math.
Though I consider my son in K now and 1st next yr I'm going to report as K for the fall. My DS seems to sway between K and 1st grade work so why put the extra pressure for "having" to be in 1st next year. I'll just say he is in K and do 1st work. Make sense??
So, in a nutshell....I will be doing LHFHG for 1st grade
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susie in ms
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Sat Feb 16, 2008 2:37 pm
Momof2n2,
You said:
"See, when I see - Read Reddy Fox, pp 1 - 4, it sounds [I've not seen the books] like, "yeah, right! He will NEVER be satisfied with only 4 pages!" But knowing it is somewhat challenging is a good thing!"
Now that is a problem that I feel that I will come across. When I got Lil Hearts here several days ago Hannah saw the box, looked in and exclaimed, " Lotsa books!!! Read books!!!" You should have seen her eyes light up!! So I got out one of the Burgess books and we sat and read 2 1/2 chapters in no time. She was not happy to stop at 1 chapter. She is only going to be 3 in July!!!!!!!! I was planning on holding off using Lil Hearts till she was either 4 or 5 due to the maturity level needed in certain areas of Lil Hearts. But I don't know how this will work with the reading being so short. I know when I am reading a good book I want to be at least somewhat satisfied with the amount of reading I accomplished in any sitting. I don't know if I can just read a few pages and then require Hannah to wait till the next day to be able to read just a few more and so on. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to be on Unit 15 with the reading and Unit 7 with everything else, kwim. Your thoughts?
You said:
"See, when I see - Read Reddy Fox, pp 1 - 4, it sounds [I've not seen the books] like, "yeah, right! He will NEVER be satisfied with only 4 pages!" But knowing it is somewhat challenging is a good thing!"
Now that is a problem that I feel that I will come across. When I got Lil Hearts here several days ago Hannah saw the box, looked in and exclaimed, " Lotsa books!!! Read books!!!" You should have seen her eyes light up!! So I got out one of the Burgess books and we sat and read 2 1/2 chapters in no time. She was not happy to stop at 1 chapter. She is only going to be 3 in July!!!!!!!! I was planning on holding off using Lil Hearts till she was either 4 or 5 due to the maturity level needed in certain areas of Lil Hearts. But I don't know how this will work with the reading being so short. I know when I am reading a good book I want to be at least somewhat satisfied with the amount of reading I accomplished in any sitting. I don't know if I can just read a few pages and then require Hannah to wait till the next day to be able to read just a few more and so on. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to be on Unit 15 with the reading and Unit 7 with everything else, kwim. Your thoughts?
Susie ~ servant to Christ, wife to Ricky for 25 years, mom to Trisha 22, Kris 21, Joshua 19 and Hannah Grace almost 4.
Loving Little Hands to Heaven!
Loving Little Hands to Heaven!
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netpea
This is one of the tenets of CM style learning. Short readings that capture the mind. Savoring the book instead of devouring. It can be difficult as I and my kids love to devour books. But they will not retain as much if you devour it. I just rediscovered that myself when my 7yo begged me to keep going in the history book. He didn't retain any of it, when we only do one chapter a day, he retains it all.susie in ms wrote:I don't know if I can just read a few pages and then require Hannah to wait till the next day to be able to read just a few more and so on. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to be on Unit 15 with the reading and Unit 7 with everything else, kwim. Your thoughts?
just something to think about.
I see a couple of things you could do. You could stop where it says to in the TM. You could read ahead then when you finish the book early, you could read one that is NOT part of the program. This will prevent you from being on lesson 25 for read alouds and lesson 13 in history. You would just hold off on the next read aloud until you got to that history lesson.
HTH
Sarah
HTH
Sarah
Sarah
ds 11/01
dd8/04
ds 11/01
dd8/04
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susie in ms
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Sat Feb 16, 2008 2:37 pm
Oh yes, I realize that CM suggest short lessons. I guess I just didn't realize they would be that short, kwim? But you know if I would have been a Sherlock instead of a Watson I would have realized 9 blocks divided into 1 1/2 hours equals 10 minutes each. I don't plan on devouring (although that is always tempting ) as I know about retention.
Dixie, I like your idea. I will keep it as a possibility!
) as I know about retention. Dixie, I like your idea. I will keep it as a possibility!
Susie ~ servant to Christ, wife to Ricky for 25 years, mom to Trisha 22, Kris 21, Joshua 19 and Hannah Grace almost 4.
Loving Little Hands to Heaven!
Loving Little Hands to Heaven!
As far as the length of the readings, you will find that the readings are scheduled to be purposefully short for several reasons. First, the Charlotte Mason style of learning is about "living" with a book over time, rather than about consuming books. This is a BIG departure from the way most curriculums schedule their readings. The reason for this is that books read slowly over time are much better retained. They become a part of you. Short readings are also essential for narrating practice. The number one downfall to narration is having readings that are too long to be narrated well.
Now don't get me wrong, we are a reading family, and we love books too! So, in my kiddos free time they may consume books as they please. As read-alouds before bed or in the late afternoon when school is done is also a great time for longer read-alouds sessions, if your family enjoys that. But, I would encourage to keep the schedule that is laid out for the readings in our guides and not zoom ahead, or you will lose the point of the various lessons.
When my oldest son was doing Sonlight (for our first 4 years of homeschooling), the thing that finally caused me to switch to a CM-style of learning was the pace at which the books were consumed. My son is an avid reader and has always been able to read, retell, and comprehend almost anything put in front of him. But, with the large chunks of reading he was scheduled to do each day from multiple books there was very little retention overall. Narrating was impossible or incredibly lengthy (after reading 30-40 pages), and I was out of touch with what he was doing each day. It felt like he just went off and read and checked it off. Then, I went through a series of questions with him and that was it. I wanted discussion, dialogue, narration, connections, and memorable reading sessions. I wanted, GASP... "Less done better".
So, I know this is a departure from what you're used to. But, I would encourage you to give the "fewer quality books done better over time" a try. Then, the rest of the day is yours to consume other books as you please.
Blessings,
Carrie
Now don't get me wrong, we are a reading family, and we love books too! So, in my kiddos free time they may consume books as they please. As read-alouds before bed or in the late afternoon when school is done is also a great time for longer read-alouds sessions, if your family enjoys that. But, I would encourage to keep the schedule that is laid out for the readings in our guides and not zoom ahead, or you will lose the point of the various lessons.
When my oldest son was doing Sonlight (for our first 4 years of homeschooling), the thing that finally caused me to switch to a CM-style of learning was the pace at which the books were consumed. My son is an avid reader and has always been able to read, retell, and comprehend almost anything put in front of him. But, with the large chunks of reading he was scheduled to do each day from multiple books there was very little retention overall. Narrating was impossible or incredibly lengthy (after reading 30-40 pages), and I was out of touch with what he was doing each day. It felt like he just went off and read and checked it off. Then, I went through a series of questions with him and that was it. I wanted discussion, dialogue, narration, connections, and memorable reading sessions. I wanted, GASP... "Less done better".
So, I know this is a departure from what you're used to. But, I would encourage you to give the "fewer quality books done better over time" a try. Then, the rest of the day is yours to consume other books as you please.
Blessings,
Carrie
Here's another thread on a similar topic that may be of help too:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=508
Blessings,
Carrie
http://www.heartofdakota.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=508
Blessings,
Carrie
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susie in ms
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Sat Feb 16, 2008 2:37 pm
Well, now that explains it!! You know, I remember someone telling about the lessons being purposefully short in order to aid in better narration and retention, but I forgot about it!! 
Carrie you said:
"But, I would encourage to keep the schedule that is laid out for the readings in our guides and not zoom ahead, or you will lose the point of the various lessons."
This is what I was afraid of! I do tweak, chop and add by nature, but there are certain parts that don't lend well to that sort of thing in most all curriculum that I have seen. I didn't want to lose points in other segments of the lessons.
Okay, so I will probably follow Dixie's idea with Burgess books, and maybe add some books that relate to history and science that can be devoured at will! Not all at once for you folks that think I will dump a mound of books on my dd's head!! Hehe!! Just a variety over the year.
Thanks everyone!!
Carrie you said:
"But, I would encourage to keep the schedule that is laid out for the readings in our guides and not zoom ahead, or you will lose the point of the various lessons."
This is what I was afraid of! I do tweak, chop and add by nature, but there are certain parts that don't lend well to that sort of thing in most all curriculum that I have seen. I didn't want to lose points in other segments of the lessons.
Okay, so I will probably follow Dixie's idea with Burgess books, and maybe add some books that relate to history and science that can be devoured at will!
Not all at once for you folks that think I will dump a mound of books on my dd's head!! Hehe!! Just a variety over the year. Thanks everyone!!
Susie ~ servant to Christ, wife to Ricky for 25 years, mom to Trisha 22, Kris 21, Joshua 19 and Hannah Grace almost 4.
Loving Little Hands to Heaven!
Loving Little Hands to Heaven!