heartofdakota.com

I'm new to this board--a homeschooling mom in my 15th year. My oldest ds graduated from homeschooling and is in his 2nd year of college. I also have a ds 17, ds 15, dd 13, and ds 9.

I have a few questions about CTC (since I'm thinking ahead for my two high schoolers next year, I might as well think ahead for my youngest son--who will be 10--as well!). Just giving this some consideration and have several questions.

How many lessons are spent on the Zoo 3 (Land Animals) book?
**We are doing Land Animals this year. I'm wondering if I should simply replace the whole science section, or just put Zoo 2 (which we haven't done) in place of the Land Animals book.

With R&S grammar, are the writing sections covered as well as the grammar sections or are the writing lessons completely replaced with the Write with the Best book? And the R&S book is stretched out over 2 years, correct?

If you are using Write with the Best, what do you like about it? Can you compare it to any other curriculum that would give me a better idea of how it works?

Can someone give me a few samples of the dictation passages?

I am SO not a project person, but my son loves them. Seriously, how easy are the history & art projects?

How much time is it REALLY taking? How much is your child doing independently?
**Since this would be for my youngest, I might have more time available to work with him on history, science, etc. BUT since I have older ones with sometimes crazy schedules, I need something he CAN do independently when necessary.

Are there additional resources suggested in the Teacher's Guide?

Is the Teacher's Guide just the introduction that you see online plus the daily lesson plans? If not, what else is in it?

What is your favorite part of CTC (or what do you consider the most effective part)? What is your least favorite aspect and why? I realize these are just opinions.

Wondering how this would compare with CTC:
My schedule with ds this year is...
Bible reading & prayer with family
Read-aloud & Missions study--30m
History (Geography)--30m
Science--30m
Math & English lessons introduced--30m
He works alone through a Bible workbook, BJUP reading, spelling, and handwriting (60m) and finishes math & English (30-45m)

Thanks!
Chrissy

Welcome to the HOD Board, Chrissy! I am using CTC this year with my almost 10 yo ds and will be glad to answer your questions. (We are loving it BTW! )


How many lessons are spent on the Zoo 3 (Land Animals) book?
The first 14 units use the Land Animals resource.

With R&S grammar, are the writing sections covered as well as the grammar sections or are the writing lessons completely replaced with the Write with the Best book? And the R&S book is stretched out over 2 years, correct?
All sections of R & S are covered (including the writing), and it is stretched out over 2 years. Both Building with Diligence (4) and Following the Plan (5) are scheduled half-speed in the manual. We enjoy doing a good portion of it on a markerboard/orally, and then ds completes the rest in his composition notebook.

If you are using Write with the Best, what do you like about it? Can you compare it to any other curriculum that would give me a better idea of how it works?
I'm impressed with Write with the Best, and my ds is enjoying it as well. I like that it uses excerpts from outstanding, timeless literature as a model for teaching writing. It includes all of these samples, so there's no need to purchase a zillion titles. It has plans mapped out in manageable segments, and I really am enjoying the creativity brought to life in my ds as we do the lessons. It is not tedious, as some other writing programs I've researched seem to be.

Can someone give me a few samples of the dictation passages?
Here's a past thread where I typed dictation samples for Levels 2-4:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1221
Here are some samples from Level 5, which is also included in CTC...

1
Let us do our duty in our shop, or
our kitchen, the market, the street, the
office, the home, just as well as if we stood
in the front rank of some great battle.
- Theodore Parker

50
Some day I hope you will have the
opportunity of reading Helen Hunt
Jackson's charming story or Indian life
called "Ramona". In addition to this piece
of prose, many poems have been written
about the Indians.

100
During Colonial days the Liberty Bell was
brought from England to Philadelphia, and
afterward the following words were
written upon it: "Proclaim liberty
throughout all the land unto all the
inhabitants thereof."

I am SO not a project person, but my son loves them. Seriously, how easy are the history & art projects?
You can look at my past threads to see how many times I have said this same thing about myself. I too am so NOT a project person, but still all of the projects get done cheerfully here. Do you know why? Four reasons: 1 - my ds can do them independently; 2- the projects are done in small chunks over 3 days; 3 - the project is always done and put away after the 3 days; 4 - the projects use materials I have in my home already. I think HOD does an awesome job of making sure we project phobic moms get projects done for our project loving dc.

How much time is it REALLY taking? How much is your child doing independently?
Here are the approximate times each box of plans takes:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3765
I've found these times to be accurate, but my ds has been doing HOD a long time. If a child was new to HOD, it may take a bit to train him/her to do the parts independently that he/she is supposed to be doing independently. A child needs to be able to follow written directions well. Training our dc to use the HOD guide's plans themselves has helped so much. Here is our schedule this year. We are done by 12:30 PM each day:

From the schedule you provided at the end of your post, it appears you are doing school about 4 hours a day. That is comparable to CTC - we do school about 4 to 4 1/2 hours a day. Of course if it is your first time doing some of the things in the guide, it may take 2-4 weeks to get into a rhythm and get your day down to that time increment.

Are there additional resources suggested in the Teacher's Guide? All of the packages and choices provide a lot of flexibility in customizing CTC to fit your goals. The extension package is one example, as well as the Storytime options. The Appendix is like a little treasure chest too.

What is your favorite part of CTC (or what do you consider the most effective part)? What is your least favorite aspect and why? I realize these are just opinions.
My ds feels like he is truly transported back in time to the Ancients time period. He loves what he is learning. I love that Biblical/world history are expertly interwoven. Christ is at the center, but academics are still incredibly strong too. I personally love having science experiments done by my ds each week, as well as a history project each week (these are things I would probably not get done on my own consistently). The student notebook is beautiful. The LA lessons are CM style and excellent. We're enjoying the watercolor painting techniques along with the classical poetry study of Robert Frost (another thing I would probably not get done on my own). I love that my ds starts his day with his own Bible quiet time - complete with Bible study, verse memorization, singing, and prayer according to the ACTS method. Outstanding! I also am enjoying the way my time is spent teaching my ds. The teacher directed things are really where my time needs to be with my ds, and we love our time together. I also enjoy my ds's new found independence with this guide. He is loving that as well. HTH!

I think your ds would love CTC as much as mine has!

In Christ,
Julie

my3sons,
Thanks SO much for your detailed reply and helpful information. I appreciate the links to other relevant posts, and the copy of your schedule as well! I'm a scheduler myself, so it always helps to have a visual of how someone else has planned a curriculum into their day.

Chrissy

I'm glad to help, Chrissy! Since you enjoy schedules, here is one more link where we all share our schedules:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2093

In Christ,
Julie