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Exams: Kids are blank!
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Yes, pre-printing is a good idea! 🙂 We just have seperate ring binder notebooks for history and one for Bible to keep them in for a nice presentation! And you are right, everyone has to find what works for them!
I was just trying to encourage Lindsey to give it a try! 🙂
If notebooking doesn’t appeal or if you don’t enjoy the extra work of it all, simply make index cards with a brief review of what you studied on each one. Before each lesson, drill it. I have been doing this for a while now, and my kids REMEMBER! It doesn’t take much time and the result has been great.
FYI- Many times my kids will write on the review card a short description. Sometimes I just write a title, depending on time. I love notebooking, but honestly it doesn’t fit in my day very often. So while our notebooks are not full, my growing index pile is my wonderful go-to.
HTH!
Hi Lindsey,
I don’t have the exact quote at my fingertips, but I remember Charlotte saying that sometimes the PNEU made a mistake in their book choice but this only came to light at exam time. This is what we found with the “Famous Men” series (though it is a living book for many families). My son was in third-grade at the time and could narrate the famous mens’ lives after the initial reading but at exam time he could not keep any of the stories straight. The following day, he was able to link one of the lives to Archimedes. He had read “Archimedes and the Door of Science” on his own and gave a lively narration complete with drawings of the Siege of Syracuse. So, your exam time may have simply ferretted out a non-living book.
Another thought would be the exam questions themselves. Examples of questions are at the back of volumes III and VI (I think). At times, children could be given four people from which they could choose one to write about. At other times, the questions seem a bit leading, e.g. rather than saying, “Tell me about Pericles,” Charlotte’s exam would say,
“In what ways did Pericles make Athens beautiful? How did he persuade the people to help him?” “How did Pericles manage the people in time of war lest they should force him to act against his own judgment?”
HTH some and much grace and peace to you on your move. We move on Friday as well.
Warmly,
Richele
Richele,
Your comment actually sets my mind at ease! I am not as familiar with Charlotte’s PNEU schools as some, but I am glad for your familiarity. If Charlotte herself found flaws with the books she used for her students around exam time, then it’s absolutely possible that we will as well. Now that that has surfaced, I just don’t know what to do about it. As I mentioned previously, we aren’t using a spine next year. I am looking forward to the change; however, I am concerned that we won’t be learning about any of the key people, as that is what spines discuss. I know nothing of the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, so I’m not even sure where to begin if I were to attempt to supplement with biographies.
I think simplehome’s idea of index cards sounds simple enough. Note booking is just one of those things for me that I suppose I like the idea of, but I know myself well enough to accept the fact that I probably would not follow through with it. I don’t enjoy tedious things, and notebooking seems tedious to me. I also happen to be the mother of the slowest child on planet (task-wise), so I might predict notebooking could cause some issues between that child and me as far as dawdling and perfection are concerned.
I wish you all the best with your move. Is it a big, out-of-state move or an in-town/new-house move?
Blessings,
Lindsey
As I mentioned previously, we aren’t using a spine next year. I am looking forward to the change; however, I am concerned that we won’t be learning about any of the key people, as that is what spines discuss. I know nothing of the Middle Ages and Renaissance period
Well, if it helps at all, AO Year 2 is Middle Ages and Renaissance…. Their spines are “Our/An Island Story” and a choice of “Child’s History of the World”, or one of the Synge books (I don’t remember which right now…) Only the chapters for that time period, of course…
Another idea for a spine type book is to use either The Awakening of Europe by M.B. Synge (probably the one AO uses) or Story of Europe by H. E. Marshall. They will address English history in those, but also the broader picture of the Rennaisance all over Europe. Both are available through Heritage History, Main Lesson, or Yesterday’s Classics.
I didn’t mention it earlier when I shared our personal experience with nb sheets, but richele’s post echoes our experience. This Country of Ours by HE Marshall was like that for my dd when she was in first grade. It just wasn’t the right book for us even though many others love it. Find a different book and simply try again.
We’ve found the Veritas Press Timeline cards to be very helpful. They have a short synopsis and suggested additional reading on the back of each card. Our eldest daughter used these for copywork/retailing in a nicely lined journal. She enjoyed embellishing it with doodles related to each timeline event. The cards are found quite easily in very good used condition.
Becca<><
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