Friday

Mr. D Math for a Struggling Math Student

Help for Your Child is Here

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Mr. D Self-Paced Pre-Algebra in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed below are my own and may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my legal disclaimer page.

If you have been a reader of my blog for any time at all, then you know the struggles I’ve had in math with my oldest child. Grace has bounced around through various programs, eventually settling down with Math-U-See. Once her freshman year rolled around, I realized that her bouncing around and need to go slowly to really understand concepts had put her at a disadvantage as far as being “on track” with high school math. I needed something that she could use that would be effective, quick, and with lots of support. Enter Mr. D Math.


I won’t lie. I was very apprehensive about how Mr. D’s Pre-Algebra program would work for Grace. We were in a unique set of circumstances (needing to quickly get through a math class) with a child who has struggled to find the right math fit. I’m really pleased, however, with the result and some of the program’s features that I thought would not work for her were actually huge areas of assistance. Since Grace actually used the program and I was more of an observer, I wanted Grace to have a voice in this review.

Grace’s Thoughts
How did you like your first online class?
I prefer the online setup and I can fill in the worksheet while he’s teaching the lesson which means I can move through the material more quickly. It’s very easy to use interface and program.

How is Mr. D as a teacher?
The way he explains things is easy to understand and as a visual learner, the way it looked on the screen helped my understanding as well. I appreciated that he defined all of the mathematical terms because it made it easier for me to understand what to do. 

Was self-grading a positive or a negative?
I like the self-grading, but it would be easy to cheat. I was able to see exactly where I went wrong and could rewatch the video to find my mistake.

Did you use the online help?
While I didn’t take advantage of the online help, I know that in the future as I progress into more difficult material it will be a huge benefit.

Final thoughts on your experience with Mr. D?
I want to continue with Mr. D Math. Previous math programs I’ve used haven’t explained things clearly or where I could understand them, but Mr. D actually explains things so I can understand as someone who doesn’t like math.


  My Thoughts
I don’t know if it’s the program or the teacher, but Mr. D’s Pre-Algebra program is achieving the goals I had for it and then some! Due to the online, self-paced setup (there is a live class option as well), Grace is able to quickly work through the concepts she understands and slow down on the ones she doesn’t. She is learning and retaining. I love that Mr. D gives kids multiple attempts on homework and quizzes. For my daughter, this focus on learning over grades is so important. Knowing she can go back multiple times until she truly understands allows her to relax and absorb information without the worry or pressure of making a good grade. I’ve truly been amazed at how much the self-grading has helped her. Out of everything I researched about the program, the self-grading was where I faltered a bit. Would she be honest about her work? Wouldn’t she be better served by having me check her work? Boy, was I wrong! The self-grading aspect has been where she’s probably learned the most. It allows her to see her mistake and correct it. She’s already approached me multiple times in the past weeks to tell me something she learned in Mr. D’s class.  Honestly, I’ve been worried about Grace and how her high school math classes will shape up, but Mr. D has taken those worries off of the table. When I asked her if she had any negatives about Mr. D’s Pre-Algebra class, Grace replied, “Well, it IS math.” I have a feeling that Mr. D can change that attitude too!

Do you have a struggling math student?
Let me know what’s worked for you in the comments and be sure to consider Mr. D Math for all of your math needs from Pre-Algebra to Pre-Calculus plus ACT and SAT test prep classes.
Chelli

Wednesday

Assigning High School Credits in a Charlotte Mason Homeschool

Many times when you choose a Charlotte Mason approach to your homeschool, you are swimming along pretty well until you wake up one day and realize that your child will be in ninth grade next year. Uh oh. Now what do I do? Must I give up our days of living books, narrations, and multiple history streams for a prescribed course of science and history classes along with official literature and writing courses to make sure that my child earns the appropriate amount of credits to graduate and/or be accepted into a university? The short answer is no.

CM High School Credits

This past summer, with ninth grade looming on the horizon, I was at a crossroads when it came to Grace’s education. I had discovered a Charlotte Mason curriculum I loved, and the kids were doing well with it, but I was afraid that I was going to be forced to give it up because of high school. I knew how Charlotte Mason worked subjects in the high school grades, as a similar continuation of the lower grades, but dear Charlotte never had to deal with United States graduation requirements and college admissions. Would Charlotte’s way of rotating through history and the sciences fulfill those? I decided to put pencil to paper and compare Charlotte’s class lists with modern American high school education and college preparedness. Disclaimer: Be sure and check your state’s homeschool laws. Some states require homeschoolers to meet certain requirements for graduation. Also, if your child wants to pursue a higher education, check the entrance requirements for that university since they all require different courses.

The Sciences

Usually in an American high school (and you’ll find this is true for all of the subjects I mention in this post), we separate out disciplines into their own category. So for science, you would study physical science, biology, chemistry, and physics all in separate years. However, in a CM education, and throughout most of Europe today, the sciences are integrated as one subject where you study all of the sciences each year, while going more in-depth each time. Looking ahead to Grace’s high school science, I wanted to see if this approach of covering biology one term, chemistry one term, and physics one term would be the equivalent of spending a year on each.

The numbers below are based on doing science four days a week (three days of reading and one day of lab) along with a natural history or science biography reading for thirty minutes one day a week as well.

One term (12 weeks) of biology each year for 3 years: 48 hours per term= 144 hours total

One term (12 weeks) of chemistry each year for 3 years: 48 hours per term= 144 hours total

One term (12 weeks) of physics each year for 3 years: 48 hours per term = 144 hours total

One year (36 weeks) of natural history/science biography for 3 years: 18 hours per year = 54 hours total

As you can see, even with spreading these classes out over three years, it’s easy to hit enough hours to earn a high school credit. Plus, it leaves the senior year for dual enrollment or student choice. Since my oldest is not a STEM kid, and if she does go to college it will be in the arts or humanities, I’m subbing out physics for environmental science in our three year rotation after she finishes physical science this year.

The Social Sciences

Another area where Charlotte Mason integrated subjects was in the social sciences by having various history streams (American, world, and ancient) running concurrently, while incorporating geography, economics, and government.

The numbers below are based upon doing history four days a week (30 minutes each day), geography two days a week (30 minutes each day), and government or economics one day a week. These calculations are a little more complicated due to the various history streams that you would be studying each year, but hopefully you can follow it all.

One year (36 weeks) of American history twice a week for four years = 144 hours total

One year (36 weeks) of British/World history once a week for four years = 72 hours total

One year (36 weeks) of ancient history once a week for four years = 72 hours total

In the breakdown above, you can see an American history credit is easily achieved over four years, but what about a world history credit? If you combine your British, world, and ancient history studies together, you again reach 144 total hours of work, a full credit.

Now let’s look at geography (a combination of living geography books and mapwork), government, and economics.

One year (36 weeks) of geography twice a week for four years = 144 total hours

Two years (72 weeks) of government twice a week for two years = 72 total

Two years (72 weeks) of economics twice a week for two years = 72 total

The way I planned my daughter’s high school path was to focus on government in the years when we study the founding of our country and modern times, and then focus on economics in the alternating years, which would be colonial times and the 1800’s. No matter how you choose to divide it up, over the course of four years, a full credit is achieved in geography and a half credit in both government and economics.

Hopefully by breaking down these subjects over the years, you can see how the requirements for college entrance are achieved despite the odd (to Americans anyway!) rotation that Charlotte Mason used. I know it helped me see that the education I was planning for high school would in no way hinder whatever path my children choose. So go forth in confidence, Charlotte Mason homeschooler! High school is no hurdle at all.

Chelli

Tuesday

A Gentle Feast Curriculum Review

Disclaimer: I received a copy of A Gentle Feast White Year Curriculum in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed below are my own and may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my legal disclaimer page.

As a Charlotte Mason homeschooler and a type A one as well, I’ve always prided myself on being able to create booklists, courses of study, and a Morning Time (called Power Hour around here) coordinated with our school year. It was enjoyable for me to do this, but it was time intensive, involving weeks of planning, tons of reading and research, and then scheduling it all.

I’ve continued this process over the years because I had problems with pretty much all of the Charlotte Mason curriculums on the market. For some the history rotation did not match what Charlotte Mason actually did, for others they added in other educational philosophies that made the curriculum Charlotte Mason inspired or a Charlotte Mason blend, for some it required all of my children to do their own thing for each subject studied, and for some the book choices were all older, and usually expensive, making the curriculum difficult to use and editing on the fly a necessity due to racist and misogynistic undertones.

Within the last few years, though, the homeschool market has been flooded with quite a few new Charlotte Mason curriculums. After writing about some of my favorites, I was contacted by the author of A Gentle Feast with the offer of writing a review of the full curriculum. I readily agreed (because who doesn’t love free curriculum!), but fully expected to only use it for a few months to honor my commitment of writing a review and then drop it. However, it didn’t turn out that way.

A Gentle Feast Review

A Gentle Feast is the creation of fellow Charlotte Mason homeschool mom, Julie Ross, and she’s done a fabulous job of integrating various resources, books, and parental helps to create a unique offering for the Charlotte Mason homeschooling community. This past year we’ve been using what Julie has labelled the White Year, which has us studying the years from 1650-1800 in both American history and British history along with Greek history. She also divides her curriculum into four forms, a Charlotte Mason term that means levels. Form 1 generally covers grades 1-3, Form 2 covers grades 4-6, Form 3 covers grades 7-9, and Form 4 covers grades 10-12. Since Sophia and Grace were in Form 2 and Form 3 this past year, they both did all three history streams included in the White Year, but Levi, whose only in Form 1, only studied the American history portion. While this all sounds complicated, Julie has done the heavy lifting for you.

Parent Helps

First, A Gentle Feast includes tons of parental helps for both families new to a Charlotte Mason education and to those who have been using Charlotte Mason principles in their homeschools for years. A ninety page ebook of foundational methods and principles is included in a full year curriculum purchase which includes general guidelines for scheduling the curriculum, including options and suggestions for combining forms, tips on narration, a general scope and sequence, and lots more. You also have access to a five day email introduction video course, where Julie walks you through using A Gentle Feast and basic Charlotte Mason ideas, and a private Facebook community and a private online community at the Gentle Feast website where Julie will personally answer your questions and provides extra support material for your year. It truly is a great way to make you feel confident in your purchase and getting the most out of the curriculum.

Lesson Plans and Book Lists

In addition to the general information provided in the parental resources, you receive information specific to each form, and not only the forms you are teaching, but all four forms. By having access to what all four forms are reading and studying, you can truly customize your child’s education to their ability, if needed, by choosing books in a form above or below your child’s actual placement. It also lets you only need to purchase the four years, Green, White, Red, and Blue, and you’ll have a complete curriculum to use throughout your homeschool journey. You also can easily combine forms together by choosing books from the various forms that work for all of your children.

Each form also has their own specific narration tips, which lets you know what to expect at each level, their own book lists, both for the curriculum itself and for free reads on their own time, and a schedule for the entire year for each form. It really is as easy as copy and paste to create your own customized school year using A Gentle Feast as your foundation.

Morning Time Plans

One of my favorite parts of A Gentle Feast are the Morning Time plans (pictured on the right above). Everything is truly included! Bible readings are planned out for you each day along with read alouds, picture study (with the pictures you are studying already included!), composer study (with links to the musical compositions), poetry study, hymns, recitations, and more.

Of course, because I can’t leave anything alone, even a great curriculum like A Gentle Feast, I had to add in some things to our version of Morning Time (aka Power Hour, which is pictured on the left above), such as Liberty’s Kids episodes, a living book study of government, and vocabulary just to name a few. I also added some things from the curriculum into our family learning time that weren’t actually intended for family learning like our British history readings and Form 2’s geography reading.

Morning Time Binder

Because Julie has included everything you need for a successful Morning Time experience, I created a special binder for all of those printouts and resources, so that it’s all contained in one place, which makes our Power Hour totally open and go all year long.

Student Workbooks

While the Morning Time plans are great, the student notebooks that are included with A Gentle Feast are in first place for my favorite part of this curriculum. Every form has one of these notebooks where all copywork and dictation passages, recitations, hymns, poetry, and free writes are kept in one nice neat place. For Form 4, there is even a student planner, customized for the curriculum, included as well. In the new A Gentle Feast 2.0 version (yes, Julie is already making improvements!) of these notebooks, some of the forms in some of the years even have built in grammar or phonics lessons using the copywork, which makes this already user friendly resource even better. It’s so nice to have everything in one location, and I imagine it would be very useful for those of you who homeschool in states where you need a portfolio.

So now let’s talk about some common questions that are usually asked about Charlotte Mason curriculums and see how A Gentle Feast stacks up.

Form I Books

Can I combine kids, so we are all doing the same thing?

Yes, to a point. If you have children in Forms 1 and 2, 2 and 3, or 1 through 3, I think Julie has made it very easy to combine. Since each form has its own spine book for history and science, you could easily choose a spine from one of the forms and use the supplemental reading at each child’s own level. I left Form 4 out of this combining equation because the plans for Form 4 are really expected to be completed independently for the most part. However, the Morning Time plans and afternoon learning are both designed to be done with the entire family through all the forms, so everyone will meet together at least twice a day for sure.

Form II Books

Are the book choices all older books where minorities and women are treated harshly?

I think Julie has done a really great job of balancing older, more established Charlotte Mason books common in CM circles with more current books as well. In the newly updated A Gentle Feast 2.0, she made it a point to go back and include books specifically about minorities and women that show their contributions to American and world history.

Form III Books

What if I don’t have a specific book the curriculum uses, but I have one similar in our home library or there’s one in the public library? Will everything be ruined if I swap out books?

The short answer is no, it won’t. All of my children had book substitutions at various times over the school year and it was not a problem at all. In the case of my oldest in Form 3, we substituted out an entire subject and changed it to fit what she needed for eighth grade. I found the entire curriculum very easy to substitute books or subjects or add in books or subjects without derailing the entire system. Julie even lets you know in the plans if books can be found in the public domain or if they are used for such a short time that you shouldn’t bother buying them, but get them from the library. The only time that substituting a book could prove irritating is when there is a copy work passage in the student workbook that comes from a book you aren’t reading. I used a passage from the book we were using instead, so it wasn’t a problem, but it did take a little work on my part.

I am so absolutely in love with this curriculum that we are definitely continuing to use it. However, there are a few cons I need to mention as well (but knowing Julie she’s already hard at work on some of these).

1) Not super STEM heavy. In true Charlotte Mason fashion, the science plans for upper grades is pretty weak compared to what most college bound kids homeschoolers do for middle grade and high school science. The science is solid, but not super rigorous since in true Charlotte Mason fashion it relies on living books. I think it would be difficult to write a CM curriculum with super rigorous science unless you had a science background yourself which most CM homeschool moms usually do not (oftentimes it’s more literature and history). If you have a kid who eat, breathes, and lives science or wants to pursue a science degree, you might need to be prepared to give them more or substitute that subject out.

2) Lack of formal literature studies. I know, I know, Charlotte Mason didn’t believe in dissecting books and studying them. I don’t either, really, but if you have a child who is planning on continuing their education after graduation, they will need to be familiar with basic literary terms, what they mean, and how to interpret them. While A Gentle Feast does include classic literary works at the high school level, there is no formal study of these books other than just to read them. You will probably want to add in some literature study guides for a couple of these books to make sure your child is familiar with the dissection of literature that occurs in college. On a positive note, Julie does include formal writing lessons (and rubrics to grade them!) in the high school plans which is a breath of fresh air in a Charlotte Mason curriculum.

3) Added in creative writing prompts. Okay, so technically this might be a positive for you and is totally subjective. In the student packets, creative writing prompts are included that are pulled from various subjects being studied. It's a very Brave Writer-ish approach (Free Write Fridays) meshed with CM. We skip over it and use actual writing curriculum in that slot. Mainly because I hated creative writing prompts in school, and my kids don't seem to like them either. However, I do like that she has the kids do more than just narrate or write narrations with what they are learning.

Now for the exciting stuff….

Julie has so graciously offered the readers of The Planted Trees a coupon code for 10% off any purchase at A Gentle Feast that’s good through 6/8/2018. Just enter the code, plantedtrees, at checkout.

Also, make sure to watch my Facebook Live interview with Julie about our year using A Gentle Feast, leave a comment under the video, and be entered to win a free copy of my homeschool devotional book, Revitalize: Breathing Life and Encouragement into Your Homeschool.

And one final offer, leave a comment on this post or on this review post that I shared on The Planted Tree’s Facebook page telling me what you like the most about A Gentle Feast and you’ll be entered to win a $30 gift certificate from Julie toward A Gentle Feast purchase!

Here’s to a gentle 2018-2019 school year!!!

Chelli