CLE Math Answer

I had a question asked in one of my comments so I thought I would post the answer to it here for any of those that are interested in Christian Light curriculum or just even the math.

Christian Light's math includes a teacher's manual and 10 Light Units. In the early grades Christian Light's math does require teacher instruction though it is not intense. The teacher's manual includes what needs to be done for each lesson. Flashcards, drill and then the lesson for the day. Christian Light's math manual is NOT scripted like Saxon math's manual for grades K-3. It does not tell you what to say but does help guide you in teaching your student. Lessons are short, yet effective. After the lesson the student is able to complete their lesson independently. So far the math is working well though my oldest isn't fond of it. She'd much rather have the bells and whistles and color that many math programs contain. But the math program is effective and I am seeing progress in her math abilities wether she wants to admit it or not. Christian Light's math is spiral and incremental meaning the program reviews material by bring it back so the student doesn't forget the material and its incremental meaning that it teaches new concepts in bite sized pieces one step at a time.

Christian Light's Language Arts is much like its math. We are currently using the level 3 Language Arts and I really like its spiral and incremental approach. This method seems to work well for my oldest who has had very little grammar instruction thanks to the Calvert we used with the cyberschool. Again the LA is spiral and incremental. It reviews previously learned concepts throughout the grade level and teaches it in bite sized pieces so that the student can put the pieces together and understand its whole.

We are also using the Christian Light for Reading as well and this subject seems to be the least liked subject by my oldest. Even though I like the rhyme and reason of the program she just doesn't like it. Besides this, the Reading program is very thorough,. In order to be successful with the program you need to have at the very least the book and the Light Units. The manual is useful , contains alternate Light Unit tests but isn't a must have if your budget is tight. If you do purchase the manual it is useful. The Reader only contains the stories and nothing else. Its the Light Unit that has the bulk of the program inside each workbook. Each level is different but in level 500 the Light Units contain vocabulary, Bible Memory verses that go along with the story that has been read and important and crucial reading skills , reading comprehension and much more.

As for the Christian Light Science and History we aren't using these so I can't comment on them. There are many happy families that use them but I decided not to use them this year.

So there you go folks. My mini review of our experience with using Christian Light Education so far in our homeschool.

What are Plankton?

Okay. Its been a while since I've updated the blog here but had to share a funny.

We started Zoology 2 or Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day. This book is part of the Elementary science series from Apologia science. We just began the book this week and so far we've really enjoyed it and learned a lot in the first few pages.

The first chapter began about the wonders of God's creatures then slowly worked its way into types of fish , plankton, types of plankton and filter feeders. As I am reading this I can see my daughters envision Spongebob. How do you know they were?

As I read this to them they sat there intently and after I finished I began to ask them questions about what I read. I asked them things like what a nektonic animal was ( for those of you who don't know , they are swimming creatures) and what benthic animals were ( animals that creep, jump, crawl or hop in the sea) and asked them for examples. Then I jumped into the question about what were plankton? My 5yr old who had been listening all the while without me knowing it raises her hand. So I thought I would let her chime in with her answers since her big sisters were answering them all. She proudly with a smile told me " He has one eye, two arms, two legs and drinks coffee!!" She was referring to Plankton from Spongebob. Hannah gave us such a much needed laugh that we pretty much ended our science session with that. I look forward to reading more and seeing what my girls come up with next!LOL.

Second Day with Christian Light

Well since we have so much going on this week preparing for our trip our Christian Light materials had came in the mail. I'll admit at first glance everything looks great. I really like how thorough the curriculum is. The reading to me is great and the stories are really interesting. The Language arts is everything I am looking for in a program and the math is excellent too. Think of Saxon math on steriods. CLE math is much less formulatic,and more like a combination of a mastery and spiral math program rolled into one.

Now on the other hand if you asked my daughter she doesn't like the reading , its just not a flashy reading program for her. She doesn't like that math. Because it makes her think. Well at least that would be what she would of told you a few days ago. The math is getting a little bit better for her and the reading , well she still doesn't like it. I did ask her to bear with me for a little while with it all. That we are just starting out on our own so its going to take a while to find what works and what doesn't. Just right now I need for her do be doing more work independently and this curriculum will help her do that.
Right now I'm just having her focus on her reading, math and LA. We can work on science and history later on when we get home next month. The crazy part is I wish I could of pulled out my other two from the cyberschool. I most definitely feel less stressed having one of them out at the moment. It would be even better for me if I had the other two out so I wouldn't have to worry about getting things done at the moment when I will need to focus on Maggie. But like all things we will get through it all. We always have and always will.

The Value of a Dollar and Science Fun

I do have to admit that the one way I can motivate my daughters is with a dollar. The girls have been diligently saving their money they get from the tooth fairy and from doing chores here at home. Marilyn managed to save $32, Katie had around $20 and Hannah about $15. So today we trekked off to my favorite store Target, and the girls found some Littlest Pet Shops and Hannah found a baseball glove and Dora baseball that she likes. I also managed to pick up some little boy clothes for our neighbor who had her little boy last Wednesday. It was fun buying little boy clothes. The girls had fun picking out the outfits too. They are like little mother hens.
We are gearing up for our trip to Cincinnati. We are planning a few things to do on the way. Such as going to the Creating Museum , the zoo and aquarium , the Children's Museum and what not. I'm glad to know that the weather will be decent while we are there for the next three weeks.

On the school front Marilyn is enjoying her new homeschool freedom. I can definitely say that I feel less stressed that's for sure. So far we have started a little bit into our Apologia Swimming Creatures science book. I have bought the lapbook CD that goes along with this book. I'm not sure when I'll start it. Maybe next month when we get back from our trip. I've also started printing out the stuff for our Time Travelers History Course. Again something that is probably not going to get started until March. We've also been working with our Writing Tales and Marilyn is really enjoying that much better and its nice to see a smile on her face and her willingness to do more. She loves her Geography book. Basically I bought a workbook called Maps Charts and Graphs and she is enjoying it. Math right now we are just working on her mulitplication. Just doing drill sheets and waiting until we get her Christian Light for reading , math and grammar. This is the last of the stuff we've been waiting for from everything I've ordered so far in the mail. I'm surprised its taking so long to get to us since CLE is located in Virginia. I know media mail can take up to 2 weeks but still. All I'm hoping is that it comes before we leaves. I honestly won't be happy if it doesn't.

Also we've been working on some fun science projects. Marilyn grew some crystals. It is just too cool. We used Epsom salts and we really got a great result and the crystals grew fast too. We also worked on trying to make a rain cloud in a bottle but it didn't work and we had fun playing a weather science file folder game that we found on a file folder website. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Just a little nervous

I don't usually put "Maggie stuff" on this particular blog because I like to keep it open for our fun family adventures that we do have. Sometimes though putting my thoughts here where few people read them is sometimes better.
In February we will be making our trek to Cincinnati. To me it will be a great adventure. Going to somewhere other then Corry, PA. Taking the girls with us, which we've gone ahead and have decided to do. I like to convince myself and say this will be great. I know it will be, but the planning has been a work in progress since at least March of 2008.
I guess the whole thing of it all is becoming so real for us. Its sad that we have to travel elsewhere to get better care for her. Why shouldn't we have the same great care here in PA? I know many families trek across the country and sometimes even outside of the U.S to get the care their child needs. But why can't all doctors be good doctors? Why do we need to pack our family and travel during the school year for surgery and testing that should of been done a long time ago?

I don't think I will ever know the answers to those questions but the one thing I am greatful for is the fact that we have a choice. Its going to be a costly choice for us, but a choice none the less.
With schooling the girls, and me working on my degree it all seems very overwhelming at times to know that we are doing so much all at one time. Somehow we manage to get through each and every school year.
The only thing I guess that gives me great solice in this whole thing is reading so many wonderful posts from families that have been to Cincinnati and how they have really gotten great care. I know that all this "inconvience" will not be for nothing and that we will be doing the best for Maggie. I mean really, isn't that what a good parent is supposed to do?" To seek out and find the right care , the right answers to questions that aren't being answered? Not being content with just what anyone says. We may never crack the entire mystery of " What is Maggie?" But at least we have a choice to try and figure her out!LOL.
Sorry for the vent. I guess knowing we'll be gone from home for an entire month makes me just a little nervous. The only great part is by the time we get back home spring will starting. Knowing that there will be less to no snow is comforting. I need summer!

Merry Christmas to All!

Our 2008 Christmas wet really well yesterday. The girls had tons of fun opening their gifts from Santa. Maggie enjoyed tearing paper. That was her thing. Today the girls are just sitting back and enjoying their school free day and playing with all their toys. We'll be starting back with school on the 29th unfortunatly because in Feburary I'll be going to Cincinnati with Maggie for surgery and visits with some of their specialists so dad is going to be taking over the school stuff while I am gone but I sure would like to get as much done as I can so we don't get to far behind. Our summer this year is reserved for Philidelphia when we go to the VACTERL Conference. We are going to use that time to vacation too. This year Marilyn is studying American history and so this is a great opportunity to show the girls some real American history.
The girls got a lot of great presents from grandma and grandpa as well. Those presents are sitting up at the farm since everything was just a sheet of ice yesterday and since our parking lot is so far from our apartment it would of been impossible to bring it up. But with a Christmas miracle tomorrow is going to hit to a balmy 65 degrees. I just wish it would stay like that for the rest of the winter. Hope everyone enjoys the pictures , warning.. a few scary pictures of me. I did not have a good night's sleep due to Maggie not feeling well. She had kept me up all night long. So I felt awful getting up at 8 am.

Thinking about Next Year

Can you believe that its only the middle of the school year and I'm already thinking of what we will be doing for school next year? I can't believe it either but I am. I have been really considering homeschooling my oldest two on my own next year. They are definitley getting burnt out from taking the PSSA's. They just cringe when they hear the word even. My oldest is begging to be homeschooled without a cyber for next year so I have talked it over with Tim and I've really been thinking about it and we just may take the plunge. Katie isn't so sure. She thinks she might want to go with Agora but with all the problems and strange changes that are occuring I don't think we will go that route. If she wants to use K12 like her third sister then I may go with PAVCS or some other K12 school. But not Agora. Unfortunatley the school is just burning kids out and I don't want that. I do though feel that Katie will like being homeschooled on her own.
I do need the break of schooling at home. You ask , what is the difference? There is a big difference. With homeschooling you can use your own curriculum, take the time that you need to learn concepts, and just enjoy learning. With schooling at home you are basically bringing a public school in your home, and its just more demanding. We have to keep plugging along wether they get it or not. Of course I know one isn't really any easier then the other. Homeschooling in Pennsylvania requires a lot of paperwork on my part. Keeping portfolios, doing evaluations, keeping Physical Education logs. So I would be trading the ease of the cyberschool keeping all that paperwork for me versus to having to do it myself next year. But if this helps keep the love of learning for my girls , that's what we will do.
I haven't decided if I will keep Hannah in K12 yet. I just may and do it as long as it works for her. So far K12 seems to be working really well for Hannah. I wish I could purchase it myself but it is WAYYYY to expensive. Totally out of our budget. So I will need to use a cyberschool in order to use K12. At this point I feel as long as its not broke with Hannah we'll stick with it until it doesn't work for her or if I get burnt out. Which ever one comes first.

I haven't yet set a curriculum for Marilyn and Katie yet. Other then I know I want to use something a little more self paced. Something that doesn't require to much prep time or very little. Something they can use on their own and come to me if they have any questions. So I have boiled it down to Christian Light and Ace School of Tomorrow. I think I may use both curriculums and add in some great living books to read. Of course this isn't all set in stone. This is just what sounds really, really good to me at the moment. Actually I wish I could do this all right now. Because I'm really burnt out myself plus we have to go to Cincinnati in Feburary and the thought of having to drag all these books and computers with us just makes me feel tired thinking about it.
While I'm typing here I'm asking the girls if that sounds like a good plan and they definitley think so themselves. Sounds good to me.