New and full of questions

[abrightmom]

Hi there!!

We are agonizing over our plan to home educate or kiddos with a classical model -- just read LCC version 1 and am awaiting version 2. I plan to read it as soon as it arrives!! We have also enjoyed looking at the Highlands Latin School site. I LOVE what I am seeing and the LCC model is the FIRST classical model that really really speaks to my heart. The resources here at MP look wonderful and I can't WAIT to begin to implement some of them into our family's studies. Questions are as follows:

1. Any chance that you can advise us on where to start NOW (being the middle of a traditional school year) with a current K'er and 1st grader (who is really more of a 2nd grader quite honestly - totally done with phonics and reading extensively and voraciously!) . . . Plan to start Latin with older son now but what else? I am HOPING that the MP curriculum for first and second will be available this summer . . . wink wink. I can use the LCC book as my guide. Does that mesh well with what the MP curriculum plan/schedule will be like for my 1st and 2nd graders? We have not done much in the way of memory work or geography or history. I have a VERY capable (possibly advanced/gifted) 7 year old and have yet to reach a point of challenge for him. My youngers seem more typical for their ages/levels.

2. Will you be providing recommendations/ideas to homeschooling families with several grades? Having to individually teach 3+ separate grades sounds like too much BUT I love love love the LCC/HLS models/plans and long for them to work for us. Will there be any helps or suggestions in the teaching guides when they come out for these grades? Have you helped other families seeking to implement these ideas with several ages/grades/learning levels at once?

3. I am planning to start learning Latin ASAP. I am a good student but Henle is intimidating to me right now. First Form appeals to me as a gentle start to a busy Mom of 4 youngsters. Does this sound like a good starting point for me?

4. Are the Latin Centered Curriculum and the Highlands Latin School the same model/curriculum plan? I'm not sure if that question makes sense . . . I LOVE the LCC book so much and anticipate reading and loving the second edition. If I look at HLS am I seeing LCC put into practice? If I look at the suggestions in LCC are they being implemented at HLS/by MP?

If you have read to the end of this post then I thank-you!!!!! Charting a course is intimidating and the course we plan to take looks terrifying from this vantage point (the start). I know of no other place other than the forums to ask these questions! Thanks so much.

Katrina
Mom to DS7, DS5, DD3, DSbaby

[tanya]

Hello.

The LCC does provide a basis for mapping out your curriculum. MP and HLS do not follow it exactly; we have formed our curriculum based on our own needs in the classroom, the needs of our customers, and the input of our teachers. But we do follow the general format of the classical education; we just don't necessarily do the same literature, grammar program, math, etc.

Our K-2nd curriculum doesn't entail a lot of history, science, or social studies. The focus in K-2nd is to learn to read fluently, master basic math skills, and learn to write. As we bundled our curriculum, those subjects made up the core curriculum. Then, we added literature and enrichment to lead students toward a classical model. You can see a sample week of our K curriculum on our website. 1st-2nd grades will be formatted very much the same.

Have you looked at our StoryTime Treasures guides for your oldest child? Since he is a good reader, they will help transition him into thinking about what he has read, formulating good answers to comprehension questions, working on vocabulary, etc. And we continue to use SRA Phonics through 2nd grade. We complete book 1 in K, book 2 in 1st, and book 3 in 2nd.

I have study guides for the literature for 2nd grade - 7th grade right now. I haven't published them, but I am selling in-house printed versions as people ask for them.

As far as teaching several different ages at once, I do think that you can consolidate some subjects up to a certain point. For example, the social studies, science, craft projects in our kindergarten curriculum could work for the whole family. And as your children get older, you can choose to study a particular time period in history one year and make it work for everyone on different levels. Your youngest could do Story of the World; your oldest could do a Famous Men book in the same period. And as they get older, you just keep moving up in difficulty level, but studying the same time period. It really helps you because you only have to be an expert on one time period. When they get old enough to do their work independently of you, they will begin branching off – your oldest into actually reading the classics while the younger ones continue studying general history.

I do think that First Form is an excellent place for you to start learning Latin. We have an online class for adults in the summer that teaches First Form in 1 month. That might be of help to you.

I hope I have answered all of your questions. I would be glad to answer any more you have after reading this.

Good luck!

Tanya Charlton

[abrightmom]

Tanya,

Thank-you so very much for taking the time to answer all of my questions. I really appreciate it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You have been most helpful!!

Katrina