We discovered Landmark's Freedom last year at our homeschool convention. Overall, we enjoyed the curriculum. Here are the specifics...
Bible
We bought 2nd grade Bible for Chris. The first day he worked on vocabulary. He liked learning how to look words up in the glossary. The next 2 days were stories with some questions following about the story. I found it was more effective and easier for him to remember the details if I paraphrased, rather than reading the story word-for-word. The 4th day was review, which, I have to say, was a bit challenging for him...and even me at times. The 5th day was a quiz, which, again was challenging.
We bought 6th grade for Corey and Chandler, because it was an overview of all the books of the Bible. Again, the first day was vocabulary, which they did fine on. The 2nd day was reading a survey of a couple of books of the Bible, along with a passage from one of those books. The third day was questions from their reading. They did fine on the part that was from the survey, but I think because we used a different version (NIV verses KJV), they struggled with that part. The 4th day was review, and the 5th day was a quiz.
We started out using the Bible memory verses suggested, but towards the end of the year I assigned verses about particular issues we were dealing with.
History
We used the history program for Chris in 2nd grade. He enjoyed getting to know a little about each of our Presidents....and could name them in order! I discovered some interesting facts that I hadn't known, too. And I memorized the Presidents right along with Chris.
The only negative thing I would say about the history is that some of the questions they asked were a little too detailed.
English
We bought the English for Chris as well. There was a lot of writing in it, which was challenging in the beginning. But by the end of the year he was doing well. I thought it was a good curriculum. He learned the basics in an easy-to-understand format.
We also used the English curriculum for Kaelyn (11th grade). She was challenged by the amount of writing, but it was good for her. We both thought some of the writing topics were odd.
Science
We used 2nd grade science for Chris. I found it was easier if I paraphrased some of the information in these books as well. We did learn some interesting facts about bugs and sea creatures!
We used 6th grade science for Corey and 7th grade science for Chandler. Like the Bible, they started with vocabulary the first day. Then they had reading, questions, and a review. They closed out the week with a quiz. They both liked the curriculum well enough, although we agreed that it didn't provide enough experiments as we would have liked.
In summary, I would recommend Landmark's Freedom for those who like workbooks. It's not as hands-on as we would like.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Easy Grammar
We used Easy Grammar 6 and Easy Grammar Plus this year.
Easy Grammar requires little to no planning on the part of the teacher, and it's relatively inexpensive. The directions are easy to understand, and the boys were able to do their work independently. We got the Teacher's Edition, so the rules, answers, and student pages were all in one place.
Easy Grammar does not use diagramming. It depends on what you think of diagramming as to whether that's a positive or negative aspect.
Easy Grammar is solely a grammar curriculum. There are no writing assignments or lessons.
I would recommend Easy Grammar for a simple, inexpensive, easy-to-use grammar curriculum. I would not recommend it for someone who is looking for a more comprehensive language arts program.
Easy Grammar requires little to no planning on the part of the teacher, and it's relatively inexpensive. The directions are easy to understand, and the boys were able to do their work independently. We got the Teacher's Edition, so the rules, answers, and student pages were all in one place.
Easy Grammar does not use diagramming. It depends on what you think of diagramming as to whether that's a positive or negative aspect.
Easy Grammar is solely a grammar curriculum. There are no writing assignments or lessons.
I would recommend Easy Grammar for a simple, inexpensive, easy-to-use grammar curriculum. I would not recommend it for someone who is looking for a more comprehensive language arts program.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Math-U-See
We've been using Math-U-See for a few years now, and it's DEFINITELY a keeper!
Each level includes the following:
On the DVD, Mr. Demme teaches a small class the concept of the lesson. I usually watch the DVD with my child, although my older children may sometimes watch it on their own.
The Teacher's Manual also has an explanation of the concept. If my child does not fully understand the concept from the DVD, or just has questions, we follow-up with the Teacher's Manual. It also has all of the answers to the exercises and the tests.
The Student Text has 2-3 pages of problems specifically using the concept being taught in that lesson. It also includes 3 pages of review sheets for each lesson, which have problems from past lessons, as well as the current lesson.
The Text Booklet has a test for each lesson, as well as unit tests, and a final exam.
The basic manipulatives are used from the beginning. They are color-coded, which makes it easy for the child to quickly identify the "number" they are looking for.
The fraction overlays are awesome! They really help a child to be able to *see* what 1/4 or 3/5 looks like.
The decimal inserts snap onto the back of the basic manipulatives. We have not had an opportunity to use those yet, but I'm excited to teach decimals in a way that we can understand and *see* more clearly.
In addition to these items, www.mathusee.com has placement tests, online drills, and a worksheet generator that really help to complete the curriculum.
I highly recommend Math-U-See for any learning style. The first time I looked at the program at a curriculum fair I was amazed at how simple math could be! My daughter was very frustrated at that time because she hadn't been able to grasp math concepts. With MUS, she was able to *see* what she was doing and understand *why*.
Each level includes the following:
On the DVD, Mr. Demme teaches a small class the concept of the lesson. I usually watch the DVD with my child, although my older children may sometimes watch it on their own.
The Teacher's Manual also has an explanation of the concept. If my child does not fully understand the concept from the DVD, or just has questions, we follow-up with the Teacher's Manual. It also has all of the answers to the exercises and the tests.
The Student Text has 2-3 pages of problems specifically using the concept being taught in that lesson. It also includes 3 pages of review sheets for each lesson, which have problems from past lessons, as well as the current lesson.
The Text Booklet has a test for each lesson, as well as unit tests, and a final exam.
The basic manipulatives are used from the beginning. They are color-coded, which makes it easy for the child to quickly identify the "number" they are looking for.
The fraction overlays are awesome! They really help a child to be able to *see* what 1/4 or 3/5 looks like.
The decimal inserts snap onto the back of the basic manipulatives. We have not had an opportunity to use those yet, but I'm excited to teach decimals in a way that we can understand and *see* more clearly.
In addition to these items, www.mathusee.com has placement tests, online drills, and a worksheet generator that really help to complete the curriculum.
I highly recommend Math-U-See for any learning style. The first time I looked at the program at a curriculum fair I was amazed at how simple math could be! My daughter was very frustrated at that time because she hadn't been able to grasp math concepts. With MUS, she was able to *see* what she was doing and understand *why*.
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