next year curriculum

[duboisa]

Does anyone have an expierance for Switched on Schoolhouse or lifepac's. I am starting to think ahead to next year and am looking at this for language arts, and Social Studies . i am sticking with Math u see and Apologia for science.

[TexMama70]

We are using SOS this year and I like it but I can't say I love it when it comes to Science and History. I think it's a little too fast paced and too detailed, sometimes to the point of being too dry. We decided on SOS because my two sister-in-laws were homeschooled from 5th grade on up and they used it so I was familiar with the setup. I have been looking around too for next years curriculum. I do like the ELA and Math with SOS but I am trying to decide what we should do for Science and History. I'll have to check out Apologia for Science. I just think for our daughter she needs more traditional workbook/textbook material for those two subjects. One huge plus with the SOS is that is grades for you and at anytime you can pull up a grade report so it does save time in that area. So, again, I like it but I'm not sure I love it! lol! This is our first year of homeschooling (our dd is a 6th grader) and after reading posts here and talking to my MIL I knew not to freak out if the curriculm didn't suit us to a "t". What is it about Apologia that you like?

Sara

[Dianna]

Does anyone have an expierance for Switched on Schoolhouse or lifepac's. I am starting to think ahead to next year and am looking at this for language arts, and Social Studies . i am sticking with Math u see and Apologia for science.

Angie, I haven't used SOS, but other parents who've used it has commented that it's dry and gets boring. Parents also don't like how much time children are spending on the computer due to its format. Some like the automatic testing and grading features, though.

I also haven't used Lifepacs, but I've also heard many parents say that it's dry and not quite up to the level of other curricula. Some have said that when their children leave the lifepacs and go to another curriculum or transfer into school, they're "behind" where they should be. Others have said that Lifepacs are great for children who need things given to them in small chunks - where they can read about it, answer questions about it, then move on.

I hope this is helpful to you in some way.

Dianna

[duboisa]

Apolgia is a textbook approach written to the student, so it is easy for them to read, it is also very in depth with lots of experiments. you can go to their website and download the first module of most of the books. For seventh grade, the book is general science, which is what we are using. I will start my youngest in 3rd grade. (2 years from now) with their elementary science. The first module in general science is really dry and boring so dont that deter you because one you get past it, it gets really interesting.

if you need to know more of want to see my book, just let me know.

angie

[duboisa]

Well dry and boring is NOT what i need. I need somehting to get his attention in a serious way, but we have been using library books and following his interest for this year and he really needs more structure than that allows. I am worried that he isnt learning anything at all. Any suggestions for something that will allow me to measure his progress and get him ready for high school the next year ( i am scared to death about homeshcooling him for high school )

[Dianna]

Any suggestions for something that will allow me to measure his progress and get him ready for high school the next year ( i am scared to death about homeshcooling him for high school )

Angie, you're looking for language arts and social studies, right? Will he be in 8th grade next year, or 9th? What area of social studies would you like to focus on - geography? world history? us history? something else?

Dianna

[duboisa]

he will be in the 8th grade, and i want to start at the beginning of time and move forward in depth. this will take us all the way through high school. We will take each time period and do all aspects of social studies with it.. History, culture, geography, etc.

[Dianna]

Angie, for history, if he reading/comprehension skills are lower, you may want to try Story of the World and then augment it with other, higher level resources. You'd use the four SOTW books as a non-threatening introduction, then add in other resources (library books, documentaries, etc) to flesh them out.

If he's at grade level, the author of the SOTW series is publishing a series similar to it for high school level. It may not be ready for you by next year, though. You can read about it on her blog: http://susan.peacehillpress.net/blog/

Another resource would be a regular high school-level or college-level world history text - use it as a spine and add in other resources to beef it up into a four-year progression. You would basically be studying ancient history, world history, us history, and world geography if you added in other resources to focus on the specific period you're studying that year. A lot of homeschoolers use the texts by Spielvogel for this (he authors both a high-school text, and a college text for world history).

If you'd like a program that's set out for you, you may want to check into Sonlight at http://www.sonlight.com

Do any of these suggestions fit what you're looking at for social studies?

Dianna

[Dianna]

For language arts, high school-level english classes tend to cover literature, composition, vocabulary, and grammar.

For literature, my high schooler just read quality literature - we integrated it with history (us and world). When he studied ancient history, he read myths. When he studied the Great Depression, he read The Grapes of Wrath. Sometimes we used online book notes (the free Spark Notes through Barnes and Noble are great) to discuss theme, plot, etc., and to have discussion questions to chew over.

For composition, he used a variety of resources - I recommend the Wordsmith series. Start with the Wordsmith, then move on the Wordsmith Craftsman. You may need other resources, too, but those would be a good start. Check my links page for links to samples ( http://www.carolinahomeschooler.com/links.htm )

For vocabulary, he just learned it in the context of his reading. He didn't use a separate resource for that. For grammar, same thing... he studied it in the context of his reading and writing.

I hope others can jump here to help you, too, especially if you want resources that are more set up for you. But let me know if you have any questions in the meantime.

Dianna