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Message |
    
Sonja Biggs (sonja)
Member
Username: sonja
Post Number: 4
Registered: 02-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 27, 2003 - 08:49 am: |     |
I use it somewhat as both. I will also add in other things not mentioned to the list and check those things off. Since I have to write formal end-of-the-year assessments/evaluations on my boys because of Brandon's need for special services through the district, I keep track pretty closely to make the writing easier at the end of the year. But these pages are certainly my record keeping/jump-off point. |
Jo Dee (jodee)
Board Administrator
Username: jodee
Post Number: 165
Registered: 06-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, February 27, 2003 - 07:50 am: | |
Susan,
I use it mainly as a guide and not a "checklist" as I have some of my own ideas as to what is important and what isn't. But I'm sure we all have that attitude.
Jo Dee
Nothing takes God by surprise! |
Susan (susan)
Moderator
Username: susan
Post Number: 150
Registered: 05-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 - 04:07 pm: | |
Okay, before I post the next section, how are you all utilizing the Learning Objectives sections of the manual? Do you use it as a check list, or more of a general guide, or what?
I can hardly believe that I am about to exit this section completely with the older two kids. Andrew turns 12 this summer, and has grown and changed so much. Amazingly, we really have covered or at least touched upon just about everything listed in this section.
His reading and writing language skills are still a bit behind, because of his CAPD, but his base content knowledge and mathematical skills are far above his peer group.
What shall I do with my boy in junior high? And Sarah will be ninth grade. sigh...
Aaron will just be 5 in March, so we aren't doing anything formal with him yet. He has already learned so much, just from hanging out with the rest of us.
Susan McGlohn
Homeschooling 9 years and counting 
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Susan (Susan)
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 01, 2003 - 08:53 am: | |
Oh how I wish I could run all of this by the Moores before posting….sometimes I want to see if I am understanding the Manual correctly…but you will have to be my sounding board and we will see if we can discern this topic ourselves.
What are the learning objectives for grades K-3 and for grades 4-6? I know, we are in the section for grades 4-6, but I did not do an adequate job of discussing this part of the last section, and some of us have two or more children that span both levels, and some children are individually spanning both levels in different subjects. For instance, my son, at age 9, was reading at a late first grade level, but did math easily at an upper fourth grade level. My daughter at age 11 read on a seventh grade level, but did math on a fourth grade level, and some of her written communication skills were still on the primary level as we had not emphasized those areas yet.
The learning objectives given for children in this Manual are aptly called "No Stress Learning Objectives". This means no stress is placed on the child to progress faster than he is able, and no stress is placed on the parent to push the child too fast.
The learning objectives are purposefully spread out over a number of grades, because the Moores want us to understand that children do not grow in a straight proportional line in all areas. There will be peaks of learning followed by plateaus and even some dips along the way, and each skill may develop at a totally different rate than the others. And when a child is busy growing physically or spiritually, his emotional or educational growth may slow to help the child direct the most of his energy to the area that is maturing.
This makes very good sense, because just think how we feel after a big Thanksgiving feast. We feel tired and sleepy, and we know that our bodies are not ready to run a marathon. It needs time to DIGEST what we have eaten.
Imagine you have just taken a nice bite out of your favorite food. You roll it around on your tongue, you savor it, exploring the different textures, flavors, you chew it up with your teeth, and swallow it; only then are you ready to take the next bite and you raise your fork.
Our children's brains, too, need time to digest information it has taken in. To roll it around and try it out in different ways, before it will be ready for the next bit of information.
Now imagine the same meal, only you are rushed with time and people's expectations of you. They are hurrying you to finish; even though they might not be saying so, you can sense that they are impatient for you to move on to the next activity. Suddenly your stomach tightens, and you lose your appetite. You move on to the next activity, only to feel slightly ill, and you do not enjoy it very much.
So will our children's brains shut down. They simply cannot digest the information taken in and make room for more when they feel pressured and hurried. They will get stressed out, burn out, and lose their joy in learning.
So what are the learning objectives for K-3 and for 4-6?
First, K 3:
Bible and Character Training: Explore God's plan of salvation through the pages of the Bible, Grow in a personal relationship with Jesus.
Subtopics are Knowing God, Building Christian Character, Bible Stories, Exploring the Bible, and Bible Memorization.
Reading and language: Build communication skills through reading, phonics, oral dictation, and composition. Many of these skills can be combined with your units in Bible, History, and Science.
Subtopics include:
Writing Skills: Oral Dictation, Identify a sentence, Capitalization, Punctuation, Dates and Addresses, and writing a letter.
Phonics/Spelling/Reading: NO PRESSURE TO TEACH YOUR CHILD TO READ IS INTENDED FOR THIS AGE GROUP. As your child shows interest, teach him the letter sounds, CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words (C-A-T, D-I-G), double vowel patterns (oa, oo, ee. ea, ie, ow, oy, ar, er, ir, ought, ight), multiple vowel patterns to spell words, read phonetic readers, read non-phonetic readers.
Nature and Science: Discover the wonders of God's creation and the natural laws God ordained to provide order, health, and harmony in our world.
Subtopics: Nature Study, Health Science, Earth Science, and Physical Science.
Nature Study: Mammals, Birds, Plants, Fish, Insects, Trees
Earth Science: Fire, Water, Out In Space (basic)
Physical Science: Light, Colors, Kitchen chemistry, simple machines, five senses
Health Science: Nutrition (basic four groups), Personal Hygiene, Personal Safety
History and Geography: Discover the story of God's leading in the history of our nation and the formation of the lands of the world.
Subtopics: My house, My town, Citizenship, American History. My house: draw arial view of house and yard, blueprint of bedroom.
My town: community helpers, visit hospital, bank, fire station, police station, post office.
Citizenship: National symbols and monuments, state flag, famous presidents.
American History: pioneers, Thanksgiving, American heroes (basic)
Mathematics: Math-It guide book for hands-on learning activities and Basic Math-It for drill work.
Okay, and for Grades 4-6:
Bible: Subtopics: Bible History, Bible themes, Christian Living
Bible History: Heroes, Lessons from the Sanctuary, How our Bible Came to Us
Christian Living: How God Helps Me, Choosing God's Way, How to be a young disciple
Bible Themes: Salvation, Gospel, Promises, God as Friend, Creation
Nature and Science:
Nature Study: Mollusks and shells, flowers, sands and soil, reptiles, Animal behavior, Moths and Butterflies
Health Habits: Care of teeth, sleep, nutrition, First Aid/Emergencies,
Environmental Science: Pollution and Conservation of Natural Resources, Erosion
Earth Science: Rocks and minerals, stars/solar system, physical geography, motions in space
Physical Science: Heat, magnets, batteries/electricity, flight (planes and rockets)
History and Geography: Geography, Citizenship, Travel/Transportation, Communication, Exploration/Correlations, Famous People
Geography: Reading maps, making maps, The earth, continents
Citizenship: rights and duties, how to become president, how laws are made
Travel/Transportation: early forms, inventions, explain changes in culture due to transportation advances
Communication: Define and demonstrate different modes
Exploration: Famous Explorers, Map skills,
Famous People: Inventors, Women, Blacks, Other nationalities
Writing and Speech: Build skills through speech and composition. All of these can be learned incidentally through a variety of writing experiences.
Speech: Narration, oral reports, How-to speech, Devotionals, giving directions, reciting bible verses and poems, description and personification.
Composition: Letters and invitations, book summaries, outlines, short report, themes, journal writing, poems.
Mechanics: Punctuation, word usage, correct verb tense, commas, colon and hyphen, adjectives and adverbs, basic grammar and usage.
Communication Tools: use of encyclopedia, proofreading, note taking, subject-verb agreement, synonyms and antonyms, composition and writing skills, study skills.
Mathematics: Basic Math-It and Math-It guide book for hands-on learning activities and drill work.
Okay, that is basically it for this section. Any questions or comments?
Susan |
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