I have figured out how to make our grammar, Rod & Staff English, not be so cumbersome!
Currently, we do a lesson in R&S English 4 days a week. They write everything out. It really doesn't take Savannah that long. She did it last year and she is used to it and she writes quickly. CHARLOTTE on the other hand spent about 2 hours today completing her English lesson. (grrrrr....) She writes slow and beautiful and is so easily distracted.
We just spend way too much time devoted to it. We're studying Latin and memorizing grammar terms through Grammar Recitations. R&S English is overkill, but I need it because it is all new for me, and I want the kids to have a solid foundation too.
Here's what I figured out:
Book 3: Cut out the first lesson on how to take care of your English book, cut out ALL reviews and extra activities, and cut out the last section on poetry. You get 80 lessons left over. I can do 2 lessons over 40 weeks.
Book 4: Cut out the first two lessons on how to take care of your English book, cut out all reviews, and cut out all *composition lessons. You get 80 lessons left over.
Book 5: Same as book 4. 80 lessons. 2 lessons/week.
BIG sigh of relief. We'll do two days of grammar and two days of Classical studies, which also contains a little writing. I'm going to add in two days of copywork and two days of dictation. Still a good amount of writing, but copywork and dictation shouldn't take Charlotte as long to complete. Plus copywork and dictation serve as better models of writing than the samples in R&S English.
I feel better. Whew!
-----Update----
This week I decided to do R&S completely oral and combined. I'm starting in Book 3 since Charlotte hasn't had any grammar yet. We will do 4 lessons a week, orally, with both Savannah and Charlotte. They'll take turns answering questions with me. Today it took about 10 minutes. I figure I can probably get through Book 3 & 4 this year.
However, even though grammar went from over an hour to do, to only 10 minutes, the day was still really, really long. I don't know what to do. I'm frustrated. :(
Showing posts with label Grammar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grammar. Show all posts
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Monday, November 19, 2012
School Break!!!
This week is a school break. We have schooled 12 weeks so far!!! 1/3 the way through!
So this is the time I get to organize myself; re-examining how we are doing, dropping what doesn't work, trying new things. I am going to make a schedule for myself, for the things that I am in charge of. I need to have written goals. For instance, I want to get through our history books before the end of the school year, so I need to put the chapters on a weekly schedule to see how many chapters I need to read each week. I need to put Latin on a schedule as well. Sometimes we repeat lessons for extra practice and sometimes we get lazy and don't do latin every day. Maybe I could make a visual chart to check off for every time we do scripture reading, devotional, FHE and memory work so that the kids will motivate ME instead of the other way around all the time. I could do that for poetry and science too. They'll hold me to it because they love those subjects. Hmm....
I learned something new this week in 3rd grade english; when to use "me and Isaac" and "Isaac and I". I never learned this in school. If you didn't either, here is the scoop on the poop:
The pronouns I, you, he, she, it, we, & they are used in the subject of a sentence. The pronouns me, you, him, her, it, us, & them are used in the predicate of a sentence.
So it would be:
Isaac and I / went on a date.
Marissa / babysat for me and Isaac.
How easy is that? Why did I not learn this in school? It is a little embarrassing, as a teacher, to be learning along with Savannah. I just explain to her that I never learned this in school and that is one of the reasons I'm homeschooling her. Thank heavens for great curriculum!
Did you know that those who have earned teaching degrees and then homeschool their own children claim that their degree did not help them one little bit? They say that teaching degrees teach mostly classroom management. So don't feel bad that you don't have a teaching degree. You don't need one. It DOES help to be educated, but not necessarily with an education degree. If I had more schooling I would no doubt be a better teacher. As it is, I spend a great deal of time educating myself, and that will just have to be enough for now.
So this is the time I get to organize myself; re-examining how we are doing, dropping what doesn't work, trying new things. I am going to make a schedule for myself, for the things that I am in charge of. I need to have written goals. For instance, I want to get through our history books before the end of the school year, so I need to put the chapters on a weekly schedule to see how many chapters I need to read each week. I need to put Latin on a schedule as well. Sometimes we repeat lessons for extra practice and sometimes we get lazy and don't do latin every day. Maybe I could make a visual chart to check off for every time we do scripture reading, devotional, FHE and memory work so that the kids will motivate ME instead of the other way around all the time. I could do that for poetry and science too. They'll hold me to it because they love those subjects. Hmm....
I learned something new this week in 3rd grade english; when to use "me and Isaac" and "Isaac and I". I never learned this in school. If you didn't either, here is the scoop on the poop:
The pronouns I, you, he, she, it, we, & they are used in the subject of a sentence. The pronouns me, you, him, her, it, us, & them are used in the predicate of a sentence.
So it would be:
Isaac and I / went on a date.
Marissa / babysat for me and Isaac.
How easy is that? Why did I not learn this in school? It is a little embarrassing, as a teacher, to be learning along with Savannah. I just explain to her that I never learned this in school and that is one of the reasons I'm homeschooling her. Thank heavens for great curriculum!
Did you know that those who have earned teaching degrees and then homeschool their own children claim that their degree did not help them one little bit? They say that teaching degrees teach mostly classroom management. So don't feel bad that you don't have a teaching degree. You don't need one. It DOES help to be educated, but not necessarily with an education degree. If I had more schooling I would no doubt be a better teacher. As it is, I spend a great deal of time educating myself, and that will just have to be enough for now.
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