I've been wanting to gather a list of links of free home school curricula. Lots of different home schoolers do something similar, so I didn't think it was necessary to duplicate their efforts, but I find that many have just resources mixed in with actual curricula, and there is not much full curricula out there that is free. So, here is my pathetic attempt. I will organize by subject, including subjects for which I don't have links, so I at least have a place to put them when I come across things I like.
*A note about the term "free". Anything that needs to be printed out first, is not without cost, but is generally less expensive than one published and sold for profit.
Math
Khan Academy
https://www.khanacademy.org/
"In Fall 2013, the option to assign a playlist directly to your students from Khan Academy's site will be available." This is a really exciting development that will make it easier to use Khan Academy as a primary curriculum. I like Singapore Primary Mathematics and use it through book 6B (approximately 6th grade). At that point, however, I explore options for the Algebra/Geometry sequence with my child and we choose something appropriate.
This year, I have a son who will be finishing 6B and I am offering Khan Academy as an option. From what I've read, KA works best after 2nd grade.
Language Arts
Grammar: KISS Grammar by Ed Vavra
http://home.pct.edu/~evavra/kiss/wb/PBooks/index.htm
While navigating his web site can be a little confusing, this link takes you to the page from which you can download the printable workbooks. He has all the grades and levels online, but only some are in printable workbook format. He continues to tweak things and responds to questions on the yahoo forum, which I recommend joining. This approach takes a little getting used to, but uses real sentences to teach grammar, so students learn grammar more thoroughly than they might other wise.
Reading:
LibriVox https://catalog.librivox.org/ and
Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/
This is one area where I don't think a curriculum is strictly necessary. I do, however, think it a good idea to have good lists of age appropriate classics to work through. I like the audiobooks to listen to with the whole family. The ebooks are great for individual reading. I'm still working on coming up with a variety of generic worksheets to round out reading comprehension and enhance meaningful discussion (we'll see if that happens).
History
Science
High School/College Physics: The Mechanical Universe
http://iws.collin.edu/mbrooks/documents/mechanical_universe/PHYS_2425_Physics_Videos.htm
These videos are very well done. While originally designed for college physics, they can work for high school, too. This particular web page has worksheets that go along with some of the videos. I will continue to look for worksheets to go with all of them.
K-8 Science: I. Science Mate
http://www.msnucleus.org/membership/index.html
I haven't used this yet, but it looks to be comprehensive and user friendly.
Foreign Language
American Sign Language 1,2 & 3 by Dr. Bill Vicars
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/lessons/lessons.htm
This course works for all ages. Dr. Bill suggests .5 credits for each ASL course for K-12, but also suggests each course is worth 4 semester credits for college. I believe there is enough material to last a whole year for K-12 and feel that giving a high school student 1.0 credit for each ASL 1, 2, and 3 course is realistic. ASL 1 is lessons 1-15 and ASL 2 is lessons 16-30. While he is still tweaking things to make an ASL 3, I believe you can assume that lessons 31-45 are roughly equivalent to ASL 3.
Fine Arts
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Singapore Math, Digital learning, & Automated grading
I've been wanting to create a digital version of Singapore's Primary Mathematics US edition to automate grading and even create video tutorials to help streamline the teaching process. I've been kicking this idea around for awhile, but have been at a loss as to how to implement it. I know there are products like Teaching Textbooks that already do what I envision, but I like Singapore's curriculum better and it is much less expensive, since I already own all the instructor and textbooks for 1A through 6B. I also went ahead and purchased all the workbooks for my school age children this year.
Problem: I am not a programmer and hadn't found something where I could just adapt it to my needs (primarily a software program where I tell it to show the student the math problem and I tell it what the answer should be and the student has to type in the correct answer, or the program won't go on to the next question).
Solution: The kids and I started a computer science curriculum, Scratch. It occurred to me that I could use it to write a simple program that would do the basics of what I wanted. I could then use Moodle to integrate it into a schedule, combine it with links to Khan Academy for the instruction portion, and voila! I have a somewhat automated computer based math, freeing up some time so I can focus on helping my kids with the concepts with which they struggle. They also seem more motivated to do their school work when it's on the computer.
Here is a link to my Scratch page and the first projects my high school age son helped me create (He is already a Scratch expert).
Problem: I am not a programmer and hadn't found something where I could just adapt it to my needs (primarily a software program where I tell it to show the student the math problem and I tell it what the answer should be and the student has to type in the correct answer, or the program won't go on to the next question).
Solution: The kids and I started a computer science curriculum, Scratch. It occurred to me that I could use it to write a simple program that would do the basics of what I wanted. I could then use Moodle to integrate it into a schedule, combine it with links to Khan Academy for the instruction portion, and voila! I have a somewhat automated computer based math, freeing up some time so I can focus on helping my kids with the concepts with which they struggle. They also seem more motivated to do their school work when it's on the computer.
Here is a link to my Scratch page and the first projects my high school age son helped me create (He is already a Scratch expert).
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Encore Middle School Advantage software review
I purchased Encore's Middle School Advantage and Elementary Advantage
for my home schooled children to use a couple months ago. For this
review I will focus on the Middle School product.
It was easy to install, but each component had to be installed separately. This was a little tedious, but once done, it's done. The user interface has much to be desired. Each topic is its own program and the quality varies greatly. Only Foreign Language and Encyclopedia Britannica have the ability to make use of most or all of the computer screen. The other components all are restricted to a little box in the center with small type.
Grammar & Writing:
Pros: These components have a lot of content with lessons and quizzes, perhaps even enough to be stand alone curriculum.
Cons: The space theme with its sound effects is sound effects is very obnoxious. Student progress is not able to be tracked, as far as I can tell. Also, the student can do lessons in any order with no controls to make sure they are done in an appropriate sequence. I had to create a syllabus for my daughter to follow and check off what she has done and to guide her as to what she should do next. Every time you try and quit out of the program, you have to click through the credits.
Overall: If you can stand the sound effects, this is a useful, generally thorough Grammar & Writing curriculum. I need to delve more deeply to make sure the content is sufficient to stand alone as a curriculum. I would say there is enough for one year's worth of school.
Math:
Pros: There is a fair amount of information presented.
Cons: This is rather light on interactive practice and quizzes with no way of tracking what's been done.
Overall: This is definitely only supplemental material, but may be useful as extra help for students who need it.
Life Science:
Pros: There is enough content to provide at least one year's worth of material as a stand alone science curriculum. This component has the ability to track student study and quizzes and provides reports. The user interface, while still not making full use of screen real estate, is much easier to navigate than the Grammar & Writing components without obnoxious sound effects. It has the ability to print out the lessons, so some content can be studied offline.
Cons: This component only uses a small fraction of the computer screen and you have to scroll up and down within the screen to read through the lessons. The student can do lessons in any order with no controls to make sure they are done in an appropriate sequence. I had to create a syllabus for my daughter to follow and check off what she has done and to guide her as to what she should do next. Every time you try and quit out of the program, you have to click through the credits.
Overall: A better user interface, making full use of the screen, and more sequential navigation controls, making sure the student uses all the extra multimedia and supplemental content before taking quizzes and making sure quizzes are taken in order, would make this an extremely comprehensive and useful product with the ability to be used as a stand alone curriculum. In its current state, with some parental guidance, it is a good option for a year's worth of 7th or 8th grade science.
US History:
This component is designed like the Life Science component and I would give it the same evaluation.
Foreign Language:
Pros: Finally, one component that can be used in an expanded window. It has great interactivity, quizzes, reports user activity, and has 4 different languages (French, German, Italian, & Spanish).
Cons: My guess is that you won't become fluent in these languages, but it provides familiarity with common vocabulary and is a good introduction. Some sequence suggestions would be helpful.
Overall: No real complaints. Easy to use.
Encyclopedia Britannica:
Overall: Another component that is able to be used in an expanded window. It seems easy to navigate with the basic things one might look for in an encyclopedia.
Middle School Advantage:
Overall, this is a good bargain, for the price. It has lots of content on core subjects with a poor user interface. I am comfortable using the Life Science and US History components as a stand alone year's worth of curriculum, with parental guidance to ensure lessons and quizzes are used sequentially. Grammar and Writing can be comprehensive parts of a language arts curriculum, but the obnoxious interface and sound effects detract from their potential to be a really good curriculum option. The Math component does not have enough practice and quiz problems to provide the depth I would like for a stand alone curriculum, or even as a very useful supplement, but might be helpful for teaching concepts from another perspective. Foreign Language and Encyclopedia Britannica have the best user interfaces, with easy navigation and lots of content.
It was easy to install, but each component had to be installed separately. This was a little tedious, but once done, it's done. The user interface has much to be desired. Each topic is its own program and the quality varies greatly. Only Foreign Language and Encyclopedia Britannica have the ability to make use of most or all of the computer screen. The other components all are restricted to a little box in the center with small type.
Grammar & Writing:
Pros: These components have a lot of content with lessons and quizzes, perhaps even enough to be stand alone curriculum.
Cons: The space theme with its sound effects is sound effects is very obnoxious. Student progress is not able to be tracked, as far as I can tell. Also, the student can do lessons in any order with no controls to make sure they are done in an appropriate sequence. I had to create a syllabus for my daughter to follow and check off what she has done and to guide her as to what she should do next. Every time you try and quit out of the program, you have to click through the credits.
Overall: If you can stand the sound effects, this is a useful, generally thorough Grammar & Writing curriculum. I need to delve more deeply to make sure the content is sufficient to stand alone as a curriculum. I would say there is enough for one year's worth of school.
Math:
Pros: There is a fair amount of information presented.
Cons: This is rather light on interactive practice and quizzes with no way of tracking what's been done.
Overall: This is definitely only supplemental material, but may be useful as extra help for students who need it.
Life Science:
Pros: There is enough content to provide at least one year's worth of material as a stand alone science curriculum. This component has the ability to track student study and quizzes and provides reports. The user interface, while still not making full use of screen real estate, is much easier to navigate than the Grammar & Writing components without obnoxious sound effects. It has the ability to print out the lessons, so some content can be studied offline.
Cons: This component only uses a small fraction of the computer screen and you have to scroll up and down within the screen to read through the lessons. The student can do lessons in any order with no controls to make sure they are done in an appropriate sequence. I had to create a syllabus for my daughter to follow and check off what she has done and to guide her as to what she should do next. Every time you try and quit out of the program, you have to click through the credits.
Overall: A better user interface, making full use of the screen, and more sequential navigation controls, making sure the student uses all the extra multimedia and supplemental content before taking quizzes and making sure quizzes are taken in order, would make this an extremely comprehensive and useful product with the ability to be used as a stand alone curriculum. In its current state, with some parental guidance, it is a good option for a year's worth of 7th or 8th grade science.
US History:
This component is designed like the Life Science component and I would give it the same evaluation.
Foreign Language:
Pros: Finally, one component that can be used in an expanded window. It has great interactivity, quizzes, reports user activity, and has 4 different languages (French, German, Italian, & Spanish).
Cons: My guess is that you won't become fluent in these languages, but it provides familiarity with common vocabulary and is a good introduction. Some sequence suggestions would be helpful.
Overall: No real complaints. Easy to use.
Encyclopedia Britannica:
Overall: Another component that is able to be used in an expanded window. It seems easy to navigate with the basic things one might look for in an encyclopedia.
Middle School Advantage:
Overall, this is a good bargain, for the price. It has lots of content on core subjects with a poor user interface. I am comfortable using the Life Science and US History components as a stand alone year's worth of curriculum, with parental guidance to ensure lessons and quizzes are used sequentially. Grammar and Writing can be comprehensive parts of a language arts curriculum, but the obnoxious interface and sound effects detract from their potential to be a really good curriculum option. The Math component does not have enough practice and quiz problems to provide the depth I would like for a stand alone curriculum, or even as a very useful supplement, but might be helpful for teaching concepts from another perspective. Foreign Language and Encyclopedia Britannica have the best user interfaces, with easy navigation and lots of content.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Destroying Angels
What do you do when you live with a couple destroying angels?
Yes, I actually need an answer to that question.
My almost 2 and 4 1/2 year old take everything apart, everywhere and I think I'm going insane. They get busy making messes while I'm still trying to deal with the last one. You'd think I've had enough 2 and 4 year olds to have this figured out, but I don't.
Yes, I actually need an answer to that question.
My almost 2 and 4 1/2 year old take everything apart, everywhere and I think I'm going insane. They get busy making messes while I'm still trying to deal with the last one. You'd think I've had enough 2 and 4 year olds to have this figured out, but I don't.
Mom, it's an EMERGENCY!
A couple of years ago my husband and I were out in the garage working on a project while our older children were playing at friends' houses and our younger children were taking naps in the house. We were just finishing up when our son
While sitting here trying to decide what to write, my 2 year old son, who was supposed to be asleep in his crib, walked in. He said, "I'm awake now". Which was, well, quite obvious. I asked if he climbed out of the crib, a skill I'm beginning to think he has learned. He said, "Yes". Then he handed me a child size version of a hard hat, like those worn on construction site, for me to wear. I dutifully put the hat on my head and smiled at my son. He said, "You're pretty". I thanked him, he said "You're welcome", he took back his hat and left the room. It's hard to be mad sometimes.
It reminds me of the other day when I was bringing him in from the car. He wanted to stay out front to play, but since I wasn't going to be out there with him I flung him over my shoulder and started to carry him to the house.
He was protesting so I cajoled, "Peter, just let me love you".
"No, mom, don't love me", he replied angrily.
"Oh, I love you, Peter!" I persisted.
In the same angry sounding voice, each word emphasized, "Mom, I love you, too!"
While sitting here trying to decide what to write, my 2 year old son, who was supposed to be asleep in his crib, walked in. He said, "I'm awake now". Which was, well, quite obvious. I asked if he climbed out of the crib, a skill I'm beginning to think he has learned. He said, "Yes". Then he handed me a child size version of a hard hat, like those worn on construction site, for me to wear. I dutifully put the hat on my head and smiled at my son. He said, "You're pretty". I thanked him, he said "You're welcome", he took back his hat and left the room. It's hard to be mad sometimes.
It reminds me of the other day when I was bringing him in from the car. He wanted to stay out front to play, but since I wasn't going to be out there with him I flung him over my shoulder and started to carry him to the house.
He was protesting so I cajoled, "Peter, just let me love you".
"No, mom, don't love me", he replied angrily.
"Oh, I love you, Peter!" I persisted.
In the same angry sounding voice, each word emphasized, "Mom, I love you, too!"
Friday, September 7, 2012
Nonconformity, education and life
I didn't used to think of myself as a nonconformist. Growing up, I followed the rules, almost to a fault. While I had a bit of a stubborn/rebellious streak where homework was concerned, I graduated high school with high enough grades to get into the college of my choice. It was only when my own children had begun school that my antipathy for homework, mixed with a dislike of being forced to do things in a way that I disagree with, reared its head.
My nonconformity did not begin with home school, though. It became evident with the birth of my fourth child. Just the existence of a fourth child in a family is not typical. The fact that she was born at home, on purpose, is evidence that conformity is not my ambition in life. I have since had three more children born at home.
Having been brave in breaking with birth norms, breaking out of the public school system was not as scary as it might have been, but bravery is not about not feeling fear, it is moving forward in spite of it. Giving birth in an uncommon location caused me very little fear. One sometimes feels self conscious about doing something unusual, but fear was not a large emotion where my home births are concerned. If anything, I felt a great deal of relief.
Taking my children out of the public schools and taking upon myself the responsibility of teaching them everything they need to know to be happy, self sufficient, giving members of society is no small undertaking. Fortunately, I only need to teach them one day at a time, one hour or one minute or one second at a time. As with all aspects of parenting, it is a good thing that we need only deal with one second at a time (1, 2, 3...breathe).
Green, 4 year old size footprints painted on the living room carpet-1 one thousand, 2 one thousand, 3...breathe.
Styrofoam bits all over- 1 one thousand, 2...
Holding my 20 month old through the night while he throws up every 15 minutes for over 5 hours- 18,001, 18,002, 18,003...
It's not about refusing to conform for the sake of not conforming. It is about using the brains, talents, and inspiration God gives you to make intelligent, inspired choices, even when those choices don't conform with what most people choose to do.
My nonconformity did not begin with home school, though. It became evident with the birth of my fourth child. Just the existence of a fourth child in a family is not typical. The fact that she was born at home, on purpose, is evidence that conformity is not my ambition in life. I have since had three more children born at home.
Having been brave in breaking with birth norms, breaking out of the public school system was not as scary as it might have been, but bravery is not about not feeling fear, it is moving forward in spite of it. Giving birth in an uncommon location caused me very little fear. One sometimes feels self conscious about doing something unusual, but fear was not a large emotion where my home births are concerned. If anything, I felt a great deal of relief.
Taking my children out of the public schools and taking upon myself the responsibility of teaching them everything they need to know to be happy, self sufficient, giving members of society is no small undertaking. Fortunately, I only need to teach them one day at a time, one hour or one minute or one second at a time. As with all aspects of parenting, it is a good thing that we need only deal with one second at a time (1, 2, 3...breathe).
Green, 4 year old size footprints painted on the living room carpet-1 one thousand, 2 one thousand, 3...breathe.
Styrofoam bits all over- 1 one thousand, 2...
Holding my 20 month old through the night while he throws up every 15 minutes for over 5 hours- 18,001, 18,002, 18,003...
It's not about refusing to conform for the sake of not conforming. It is about using the brains, talents, and inspiration God gives you to make intelligent, inspired choices, even when those choices don't conform with what most people choose to do.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Do-It-Yourself School
I became disenchanted with regular school a number of years ago. However, it wasn't until my oldest child was in 5th grade that I decided to take my children's education into my own hands and do it myself. That was 4 years ago. I really just got tired of conforming to the public school system (conforming just isn't my thing).
Recently, I've been thinking I should post the curricula I'm using as a way to organize my own thoughts and, perhaps, help someone else make a decision about some aspect of their child's education.
I have been using this curriculum my children starting in Kindergarten, finishing by about 7th grade. I say "about" because I slow down or speed up based on my child's readiness. My oldest daughter, who is starting 7th grade this school year, is finishing up book 6B. By the end of this series they are ready for Pre-Algebra.
Life of Fred
I haven't used this yet. I was looking for a math curriculum to follow Singapore Math. I feel it is important to be consistent for the Algebra 1/Geometry/Algebra 2 math instruction, since sometimes geometry is integrated throughout algebra and sometimes it is not. After a great deal of study, I narrowed it down and let my daughter choose. She decided on Life of Fred. We will see how it goes.
I buy books 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 when each child starts kindergarten and go through the books in that order, finishing about 3rd grade. I buy the "1/2" books if a child needs extra help before going on to the next book.
Spelling City and Spelling Workout
After completing Explode the Code, I have been using the Spelling Workout workbooks for the activities and the Spelling City site for spelling tests. Over the last year or so, I have relied more on Spelling City for activities as well as tests using their premium account. This allows me to create assignments for the children and it keeps track of everything for me (a big time saver).
We have been through all 4 books now and are back to the first book this year. I really like this series. I bought the books on cd and we listen to history while driving to our weekly Tae Kwon Do class. I created notebooks for the children using my preferred activities from the Activity book (I made copies and had them spiral bound for each child). I don't use the tests and we will be using a timeline with everything on it already.
I bought FLL 1&2 when they came together in one hardbound book. I like it a lot and continue to use it. I ended up creating a supplemental poetry booklet, illustrated by my children, to give easier access to the poems we memorize. I like the poetry memorization and the memorization of grammar definitions and lists. Initially, I was not thrilled with the memorization of word lists (like the prepositions and helping verbs), but I have found it very useful as we progress in our grammar studies. Even the older children will chime in when we chant the helping verbs. FLL 3 & 4 are more time consuming for me, as the instructor, than I would like, so I have looked into other options. I also found the leap from FLL 2 to FLL 3 is not gradual enough. If I were only teaching 1 or 2 children, I might have stuck with this series, but I have 7 children and just can't spend as much teaching time as FLL 3 & 4 require. (I like that there is no prep time, though)
Climbing to Good English
I used Good English to bridge the gap between FLL 2 & 3 and also used it for my older students who were beyond FLL 4. This relatively inexpensive and fairly comprehensive curriculum was less time consuming to teach, but after using book 2, two years in a row with different children, it burned me out and became tedious for me as the teacher. I think that having 3 of my children complain about it all through the first year of using it didn't help. So the search continued to find a good grammar curriculum for our family...
KISS Grammar
I found a reference to this on a forum I visited while looking for a used Junior Analytical Grammar book for my 7th grader. It intrigued me, first, because it is free. As I investigated it more, though, it excited me due to its unique approach to grammar, as well as the fact that it has materials for various levels enabling me to teach my 3rd, 5th, and 7th grader grammar all at the same time (yes, as a mother of 7, time is a huge factor for me). So, no JAG for dd for now and we will see how things go. As I mentioned above, I will still use FLL 1&2 for my first grader, but, if I'm still using KISS in two years, ds will join his older siblings.
The Sentence Family
This is a delightful way to teach basic grammar concepts. I use it as a supplement and will go through it with the kids again this year.
This is the first writing curriculum I used. I plan to continue to incorporate some of the concepts, but I will be moving away from the workbooks this year using Science and History for topics on which to have the children write. I liked the ease of using the workbooks with everything ready with no teacher prep time, but, once again, when I had multiple children all at different levels, I just didn't have the one on one teacher time to keep up and one ore more children tended to fall behind due to my lack of time (I'll probably write a whole separate post about my time issue, if I have the time). I liked that the little excerpts from literature created a desire in my children to read the whole books from which the excerpts were derived. I didn't like that each level takes a whole 36 weeks to complete. Things always come up, whether illness, field trips or life in general that sometimes interrupt a school day and prevent us from accomplishing all that we set out to do. I prefer a curriculum designed for 34 weeks, or less, giving us more flexibility in our school, yet still enabling the feeling of having completed a curriculum in our school year.
Recently, I've been thinking I should post the curricula I'm using as a way to organize my own thoughts and, perhaps, help someone else make a decision about some aspect of their child's education.
Math:
Singapore Primary Mathematics US edition, Books 1A through 6BI have been using this curriculum my children starting in Kindergarten, finishing by about 7th grade. I say "about" because I slow down or speed up based on my child's readiness. My oldest daughter, who is starting 7th grade this school year, is finishing up book 6B. By the end of this series they are ready for Pre-Algebra.
Life of Fred
I haven't used this yet. I was looking for a math curriculum to follow Singapore Math. I feel it is important to be consistent for the Algebra 1/Geometry/Algebra 2 math instruction, since sometimes geometry is integrated throughout algebra and sometimes it is not. After a great deal of study, I narrowed it down and let my daughter choose. She decided on Life of Fred. We will see how it goes.
Spelling:
Explode the CodeI buy books 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 when each child starts kindergarten and go through the books in that order, finishing about 3rd grade. I buy the "1/2" books if a child needs extra help before going on to the next book.
Spelling City and Spelling Workout
After completing Explode the Code, I have been using the Spelling Workout workbooks for the activities and the Spelling City site for spelling tests. Over the last year or so, I have relied more on Spelling City for activities as well as tests using their premium account. This allows me to create assignments for the children and it keeps track of everything for me (a big time saver).
History:
Story of the WorldWe have been through all 4 books now and are back to the first book this year. I really like this series. I bought the books on cd and we listen to history while driving to our weekly Tae Kwon Do class. I created notebooks for the children using my preferred activities from the Activity book (I made copies and had them spiral bound for each child). I don't use the tests and we will be using a timeline with everything on it already.
Grammar:
First Language LessonsI bought FLL 1&2 when they came together in one hardbound book. I like it a lot and continue to use it. I ended up creating a supplemental poetry booklet, illustrated by my children, to give easier access to the poems we memorize. I like the poetry memorization and the memorization of grammar definitions and lists. Initially, I was not thrilled with the memorization of word lists (like the prepositions and helping verbs), but I have found it very useful as we progress in our grammar studies. Even the older children will chime in when we chant the helping verbs. FLL 3 & 4 are more time consuming for me, as the instructor, than I would like, so I have looked into other options. I also found the leap from FLL 2 to FLL 3 is not gradual enough. If I were only teaching 1 or 2 children, I might have stuck with this series, but I have 7 children and just can't spend as much teaching time as FLL 3 & 4 require. (I like that there is no prep time, though)
Climbing to Good English
I used Good English to bridge the gap between FLL 2 & 3 and also used it for my older students who were beyond FLL 4. This relatively inexpensive and fairly comprehensive curriculum was less time consuming to teach, but after using book 2, two years in a row with different children, it burned me out and became tedious for me as the teacher. I think that having 3 of my children complain about it all through the first year of using it didn't help. So the search continued to find a good grammar curriculum for our family...
KISS Grammar
I found a reference to this on a forum I visited while looking for a used Junior Analytical Grammar book for my 7th grader. It intrigued me, first, because it is free. As I investigated it more, though, it excited me due to its unique approach to grammar, as well as the fact that it has materials for various levels enabling me to teach my 3rd, 5th, and 7th grader grammar all at the same time (yes, as a mother of 7, time is a huge factor for me). So, no JAG for dd for now and we will see how things go. As I mentioned above, I will still use FLL 1&2 for my first grader, but, if I'm still using KISS in two years, ds will join his older siblings.
The Sentence Family
This is a delightful way to teach basic grammar concepts. I use it as a supplement and will go through it with the kids again this year.
Writing:
Writing With EaseThis is the first writing curriculum I used. I plan to continue to incorporate some of the concepts, but I will be moving away from the workbooks this year using Science and History for topics on which to have the children write. I liked the ease of using the workbooks with everything ready with no teacher prep time, but, once again, when I had multiple children all at different levels, I just didn't have the one on one teacher time to keep up and one ore more children tended to fall behind due to my lack of time (I'll probably write a whole separate post about my time issue, if I have the time). I liked that the little excerpts from literature created a desire in my children to read the whole books from which the excerpts were derived. I didn't like that each level takes a whole 36 weeks to complete. Things always come up, whether illness, field trips or life in general that sometimes interrupt a school day and prevent us from accomplishing all that we set out to do. I prefer a curriculum designed for 34 weeks, or less, giving us more flexibility in our school, yet still enabling the feeling of having completed a curriculum in our school year.
Conclusion:
I have not included all subjects in this post, but it is late. I will see about posting more. It helps me organize my brain to put my thoughts in writing. I hope this is of some use to someone.
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