CTC history Ency. and English recom.

[Alison in KY]

I'm starting to gather books for CTC and I was skimming through the TM last night when I read something about needing a history encyclopedia. Somehow this had not caught my eye before. Can you recommend what you use for this? I didn't see where it actually gave suggestions of a particular title.

For English, will we be okay using the R and S 4 with a boy who probably couldn't tell me much more than what a noun or verb is? It's not that we've never done grammar, more like he just doesn't care about it . Do you think we can make it through with this level?

Also, I was reading through the dictation instructions and I wanted to see if I was understanding this correctly. We let the child look it over, then we take it away and they write it out as we say it phrase by phrase, instead of saying the entire paragraph and having them try to remember and write it out?

And lastly, for those of you who have done spelling by dictation only, how has this worked with a poor speller? I'm at a point where we are finally making progress with a spelling program that I really love and I hate to give it up. I'm tempted to do both and drop a few of the Bible activities or hands on projects.

Thank you,

Alison

[eazbnsmom]

Alison,

We are using CTC this year and have not used a History Encyclopedia. I am wondering if it is an alternative for research from the internet. My daughter usually did her research online (wikipedia) so that may be why it was not necessary (or maybe I just missed something )

[my3sons]

I'm starting to gather books for CTC and I was skimming through the TM last night when I read something about needing a history encyclopedia. Somehow this had not caught my eye before. Can you recommend what you use for this? I didn't see where it actually gave suggestions of a particular title.

For English, will we be okay using the R and S 4 with a boy who probably couldn't tell me much more than what a noun or verb is? It's not that we've never done grammar, more like he just doesn't care about it . Do you think we can make it through with this level?

Also, I was reading through the dictation instructions and I wanted to see if I was understanding this correctly. We let the child look it over, then we take it away and they write it out as we say it phrase by phrase, instead of saying the entire paragraph and having them try to remember and write it out?

And lastly, for those of you who have done spelling by dictation only, how has this worked with a poor speller? I'm at a point where we are finally making progress with a spelling program that I really love and I hate to give it up. I'm tempted to do both and drop a few of the Bible activities or hands on projects.

Thank you,

Alison

We just finished CTC, and you are in for some fun! We just used Wikipedia, which I was fine with for this purpose. It worked well and was a good way to teach basic computer skills as well. I would think half-speed R & S 4 would work well, just be sure to do the oral review from the teacher's guide, as that was super helpful for cementing skills for my ds. (I accidentally skipped if for awhile , and when I started doing it, it made a big difference in his retention, so thought I'd share that.) Yes, you are right about dictation. Complete memorization is not part of it, and your description of the steps for it were accurate. My oldest ds had speech for several years and is not by nature a good speller. I used to do another spelling program along with dictation, but he's done much better and had greater gains since I stopped it, and we are only doing dictation. I wouldn't want to miss the other skills/learning in Bible activities or hands-on projects for more spelling, as dictation/copywork covers spelling so well already, but that's just my 2 cents.

In Christ,
Julie

[Alison in KY]

Thanks Julie, I appreciate your thoughts. When you say Rod and Staff at half speed, is that they way it's written in CTC, or are you saying for me to cut out half of the assigned work?

[my3sons]

Glad to help - That's the way it's written in CTC. We enjoyed that pacing, as 2 of the days are devoted to R & S English, and the other 2 days are devoted to "Write with the Best". It was nice to rotate them and also made the length of time we were doing school be about the same each day.

In Christ,
Julie

[Allison TX]

Hi Alison. I just wanted to comment on spelling through dictation. It has been wonderful for my very poor spellers. We have been using dictation, within the HOD guides, for 2 1/2 years, and both my boys have improved drastically! It has taken a while though. I didn't see the results immediatly. We had previously used Spell to Write and Read, and they retained very little of it. We also tried Rod and Staff spelling, and while it was okay, their spelling didn't transfer to their writing. With dictation it does. Hope this helps.

Allison

[Alison in KY]

Thank you Allison.

[annaz]

I was hoping for an encyclopedia recomendation, darn. While I'm sure wikipedia is fine for this purpose, I don't let my dd online yet, even with me there. (She clicks wildly and I think there's plenty of time for that later.) Plus I've known wikipedia to really be wrong on some things. Nothing is better than a good old book in the lap. I looked up encyclopedia's and ah...I guess that'll be on my wishlist forever. I'll have to check out the used stores. But we constantly run across things and look them up and they're never in our books and we have a ton. Anyway,I'll jut be quiet and patiently wait, hoping someone mentions one.

[birchbark]

Carrie recommends one here and here.

[Alison in KY]

Thank you ladies. I just thought of one more question.

My son just turned 11 and we'll be starting him in CTC in a month or so. I'm calling him a 5th grader this year. I do not use DITHOR, but I will typically buy the books that are scheduled in DITHOR. I am already doing RA's from my daughters program and I do not want to read aloud more than one book, my son sits on this RA session. So, in this instance, would you use the RA books for regular reading, or would you pick the DITHOR books for regular reading, or does it matter?

Alison

[my3sons]

We loved the History Interest RA's in CTC. They truly made us feel like we were back in time living through all of the intrigue of the ancients. Do you think your ds could read them on his own? If so, I think they are wonderful. The follow-up skills in the Storytime box taught my ds so much as well, and were just enjoyable to do. You could still do those (they take like 5 minutes), but have him read the Storytime books first on his own. Once dc are in RTR, that is an option suggested anyway, so you'd just be using that option a year earlier.

As far as DITHOR, that's the reading instruction and includes all of those skills for teaching reading for children already reading well. It is only scheduled 3 times a week and doesn't require a whole lot from the parent at the upper age levels. If getting through half of the genres is too much to do (which is about what you get through doing it 3 x's a week), then even getting through 3 of the genres would be better than none. If you are doing a different reading program that has all of those reading skills in it already, than this wouldn't apply. DITHOR is so important to do IMO, because it includes all of those skills dc need to take their reading to the next level. Those are just my thoughts though, you will know what fits your family goals for schooling best.

In Christ,
Julie

[Alison in KY]

Thanks Julie. I was actually concerned about using the history RA's. I know there is a warning by Carrie. I do have a sensitive young man. I've also read a couple comments from someone else that one or two of the books she was really sensitive too. I guess knowing him I have my concerns. However, if it' only a few that you think are pretty graphic, then maybe you could tell me which ones to not get?

I have looked at DITHOR, but I didn't feel like it would work for us. I do love the book selections though. So, would you do the DITHOR books, or the CTC boy interest set? Or maybe both I like my kids to read a variety. If I dont' give my oldest a variety of good books then he'll do his best to just read Hardy Boys

Thanks again,

Alison

[my3sons]

Thanks Julie. I was actually concerned about using the history RA's. I know there is a warning by Carrie. I do have a sensitive young man. I've also read a couple comments from someone else that one or two of the books she was really sensitive too. I guess knowing him I have my concerns. However, if it' only a few that you think are pretty graphic, then maybe you could tell me which ones to not get?

I have looked at DITHOR, but I didn't feel like it would work for us. I do love the book selections though. So, would you do the DITHOR books, or the CTC boy interest set? Or maybe both I like my kids to read a variety. If I dont' give my oldest a variety of good books then he'll do his best to just read Hardy Boys

Thanks again,

Alison

Oh, well having a sensitive child is something important to consider! I sooooo wish I could talk you into trying DITHOR - I do think you'd love it. Could I answer any questions for you about it? BUT, assuming you'd rather not get into that right now with this decision at hand - I think for him reading books on his own I'd choose the DITHOR books, as they're specifically chosen to be enjoyed reading independently at that age. If you have the funds, I'd probably get the CTC boy interest set though too. I have personally decided as my boys get older that I am unable to keep up on finding excellent reading choices for them, and like you mentioned, they're stuck in some series then (my ds also loves mysteries, like the Hardy boys ). However, that's just me and my dilemma - you may very likely be doing better with that search for good books than I am. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie