If I could do Logic Age all over again I would….
My ideals for foreign language, math and science in grammar and logic stage…
*To begin Latin and a modern foreign language in the grammar stage, continue it in logic stage and finish some of Henle before starting high school. Then it’s a breeze in high school to only review the basics of a modern language and then move on to the more advanced elements of that language.
*If I had to do grades K-5 math all over again, I would not waste time and money on all the programs we tried and didn’t like. Instead, I would have simply used manipulatives and focused on teaching basic skills such as counting, learning math facts and learning basics of fractions. I love Lial’s Math series so in 6th grade I would have begun my kiddos on their first math text with Lial’s Basic College Math and allowed them to work through the text for a couple of years before starting them on Lial’s Algebra in 8th grade. If we had done this, I could I have saved myself some time, headache and LOTS of money.
*Starting formal high school sciences in 7th grade… courses such as general science and physical science… this would be a useful plan as well.
Homeschooling my girls when they were little without having clear models of classical education to use as guidelines… well, it made for a little too much unschooling and prevented us from reaching some of the goals that we would be otherwise reaching by this time. Hindsight… Now I can only live by the motto: It’s never too late!
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I still do copywork/dictation and narration with my 10yo. We began typing lessons last year (continuing this year) to prepare for logic stage writing.
My son’s copywork is his handwriting practice. You can get a program to produce your own pages so your dc hone their skills writing something that fits your school life perfectly.
As far as history goes, your narration questions should move away from just recitation of facts and toward why and what questions. So grammar stage would be, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue,” but logic stage would be, “Why at this period in time did men begin to look for different trade routes to the east?” “What are some reasons why they didn’t prior to that time?” Therefore, you need to provide books that answer these types of questions. I like the Guerber books (Story of the Middle Ages and more) and the H.E. Marshall books (Our Island Story, This Country of Ours).
For logic we are using Mindbenders, the Fallacy Detective and Thinking Toolbox with my ds10. Mindbenders are not teacher intensive. We will do FD and TT one or two days a week.
I know you want to keep everyone together and that is why you are choosing Prima Latina. If I may, I suggest picking things with the oldest in mind, not the youngers. PL is really, really, simple and I don’t see much benefit doing it with a 10 yo. I would get LC I and use it with your dc who are 2nd grade (if they’ve had some grammar) and up. The youngers can sit in.
HTH,
I wish I had done more writing with my oldest in the middle grades… posted by mom24bz1g
Streeeeetch your dc as readers…
We have done one complete logic stage rotation and are in our second year of the rhetoric stage. One thing that we have done well is reading great literature and non-fiction. Don’t be afraid to attempt something with your dc that may seem over their heads. When TWTM recommended that a 5th grader read Euthyphro and Phaedo from Plato’s dialogues in The Trial and Death of Socrates, I thought it was nuts. Nevertheless, we attempted it with an attitude of “We’ll take what we can get from the experience and walk away as better people.” Dd and I struggled through together (it wasn’t much easier for me than for her), and we understood more than I thought we would. Dd began her road to understanding that reading is hard work.
Now, I wouldn’t recommend a steady diet of “over their heads” type books, but doing a little each year eventually creates a reader who’s not afraid to tackle something hard. As a 9th grader, this same dd actually found Plutarch and Herodotus to be some of the easier reading. The bonus for you is that when you go through the tough works again with your younger students, you will understand them even better!
I have found TWTM mantra “Immerse your dc in great literature,” to be the best advice I’ve ever received. In addition to lots of assigned reading for school (literature, history and science), we listen to books on tape when we travel–we’re in the middle of Kipling’s “Captains Courageous” right now. Again, over the years, the number of wonderful books we’ve “read” this way has really added up. In addition, the shared experience creates some priceless family bonds. My whole family still laughs about a real “dud” we listened to a few years ago on a trip to VA. I also assign summer reading–my dc each pick one book from the following categories: literature, history (can be historical fiction), science (15 yo picked a book on stem cell research this year), and choice. I have found that when I set this expectation, my dc greatly exceed it, especially in the literature and history categories.
I hope I have given you some fresh ideas. In general, we have been so pleased with the classical model of education that we don’t have many things we would do differently. Sure, there are new things I would try or different curricula I might use, but mostly those are just tweaking a satisfactory course of study.
Beth
If I could turn back the hands of time regarding my ds…
I would have done grammar, copywork, narration (including history summeries), and dictation exclusively through 7th grade. I spent 3 years searching for the perfect writing program while ds put little effort into writing. I’m dealing with the aftermath of that decision to this day. I should have used CW:Aesop with him when it first was released, no matter how old he was.
Like Anna, stated, jumping into higher level science texts since my ds was interested. More self directed science with additional experiments. I waited until the end of 7th grade for this.
Perhaps, forcing ds to continue Latin after 8th grade. I was sick of fighting with him in order to get the lessons done.
Other than the above, we enjoyed our logic stage years, our debates, reading lists, and together time.
To aid in our history discussions…
We use tapestryofgrace.com which includes teacher notes, student assignments thinking/ discussion questions. Our discussion questions come from our texts and from Tapestry. Below, I’ve listed some of my history resources for my 9th and 11th graders.
These suitable for logic- rhetoric stage:
*Spielvogel’s The Human Odyssey, student and TE (high school text)
*History of US series & SG’s
*The Making of America, by Johnston (National Geographic)
*Don’t Know Much About American History by Kenneth Davis
These more suitable only for rhetoric stage:
*Spielvogel’s World History, text and SG (AP text)
*American History: A Survey by Brinkley, text and SG (high school AP text)
*A Basic History of the United States, 6 volume set & Te Guide by C. Carson
*A History of the American People by Paul Johnson (narrative)
*To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian by Stephen Ambrose (narrative)
*Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts
Some of the above texts are older edition. A few of them I purchased “gently used” as previous editions. I would also suggest checking out the yahoo list- “TWTMHighSchool” for ideas to use with logic and rhetoric stages. I get most of my high school ideas from here, the yahoo list and from Tapestry.
