Workbooks are working

Discussion in 'Homeschooling' started by cornopean, Jul 29, 2014.

  1. cornopean

    cornopean New Member

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    I am so happy with workbooks. :D I can't believe how well this is working out for our family. Here are the advantages:

    First, there is a workbook on practically every subject!! No matter where your student is, there is a workbook for him. One of my kids was struggling with Saxon. Boom....bought a Kumon workbook that has all story problems and let him work thru that for awhile. My other kid is a horrible speller....in about two shakes, I found a workbook for him. You can target specific problems in your child's learning and customize each child's education more than with full-on curriculums.

    Second, everything under one roof. Now my kids homeschooling consists of a stack of workbooks. They get them out and start working their way thru them. No need to grab the exercise book, or the textbook, or the answer manual, etc. etc. Do you know how much time we used to spend looking for missing books? manuals? etc. etc.! :shock::shock: Most workbooks even have answer keys in the back.

    Third, organization. There is never a question of what a child has to do that day. It's always the same. One lesson from each book, five days a week. Very little planning necessary. When I (dad) get home at the end of the day, it's pretty easy for me to review the workbooks and see how they are doing. Less work for ma.

    Fourth, no mess! The workbooks come out; the workbooks go back on the shelf. ....and woe betide the student that leaves his/her workbooks out.

    Fifth, co$t. Most workbooks are under 10 clams and are very well done with color and such.

    Sixth, sequence. You never have to worry if your child is ahead, behind, on-track, off-track, etc. Most workbooks have a series (e.g. Explode the Code has over 15 books; Spectrum workbooks always have a series, Kumon likewise, etc.) It's also easy to look ahead and see where your child will be. If a book has 50 lessons in it, then I can easily predict when s/he will complete it and where s/he will be in the sequence.




    At any rate, if you are struggling with HSing, you might give this some serious thought. The workbook approach was a lifesaver for us. I'd be happy to talk more with anyone if you want; but seriously, it's pretty easy. And if anyone has criticisms of this approach, please don't spare me. I really want to know if I am missing something here. If you've had experience with this, let me know. Our HS was going down the tubes, and now things are looking up again. My wife especially is encouraged and refreshed with this new approach. Done now.

    Carry on.....
     
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  3. Danielle

    Danielle New Member

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    My whole life would fall apart without workbooks! lol We focus on music as a family--I need workbooks! We don't use them for absolutely everything, but definitely the core. They're not for everyone. And they have to be the *right* ones to work for us (mainly CLE). Glad your wife is refreshed--good stuff :)
     
  4. shelby

    shelby New Member

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    I love workbooks! We use CLE.. its a life saver. :)
     
  5. TendinButterfly

    TendinButterfly New Member

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    I've never even considered workbooks..but you make a compelling argument!! Something to look into for next year ;-)
     
  6. featherhead

    featherhead Member

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    I love workbooks, but sadly my daughter got burnt out on them last year. So this year the only workbooks we have are explode the code and a huge science workbook. I'm a little apprehensive about it. If it doesn't go well we will head back to the workbooks.
     
  7. m0m0f3boys

    m0m0f3boys New Member

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    Workbooks

    I'd be lost without them. I have a mixture from many different companies. What will work for 1 child may not for another.
     
  8. CrazyMom

    CrazyMom Banned

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    Ya gotta love what works for you!

    That said, in eight years of homeschooling...we never had a single workbook. LOL.

    But being oddball unschoolers...we never had textbooks or a curriculum, either.

    One note of caution about work books...and it's not really a big deal, but it's something to think about:

    When Elle started public school in eighth grade, one criticism we heard over and over about "homeschoolers joining public school"....is that they did not have enough practice writing essays, reports, letters, stories, etc.

    The teachers expressed genuine surprise that Elle could write a solid essay, and could express herself well in writing. They said that many home school kids are so often given fill in the blank and multiple choice to do for English...that their composition writing skills can fall behind. "Homeschoolers generally really struggle with writing" is something we heard over and over...paired with surprise that Elle wrote pretty well.

    To learn to write well...you really do need to write.

    If workbooks are a prefect fit at your house....that's awesome. They work great for math and reading comprehension and teaching basic grammar, spelling, etc.

    But for writing, you might want to supplement with some independent original writing.

    I had Elle writing stories as early as first grade with original art.

    They usually went something like this:

    The Day I was Queen

    One day I cawt an elf. He said I could have three wishes. I wishd I was queen. Poof! I lived in a cassel with a handsum pris. For my secund wish, I wanted everyone to be happy. Poof! The hole town was laffing and having fun. I was so happy I did not need my third wish. I told the elf to give it to my best frend. The End.

    She'd draw pictures to go with this.

    Doing this sort of early story writing taught so many things. Sequence. Thinking about dialog, how to express action, how to pay attention to tense and perspective. Story arc, plot, resolution. While primitive....it laid the framework for more complex ideas in writing later.

    With workbooks, you don't often get confronted with the problem of creating a WHOLE story or breaking down a concept and creating a solid essay. Essay writing is a big part of getting into a good college. It's an important skill.

    Also, every kid should learn how to write a business letter, and a personal letter, and understand the difference. Formal and informal emails would be good to cover, too.

    I had Elle write a snail mail letter to a favorite author in fifth grade. About six months later, she got this amazing response to her letter. The author had actually written her a two page letter..from Guam, where he was doing some biological research! It came airmail on that thin tissue paper stationary. She was fascinated!

    So yeah...writing...is my only criticism of workbooks.

    If you're mixing some original writing into your week, I'm sure they could still work well for you:)
     
  9. Mouseketeer67

    Mouseketeer67 New Member

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    We used the workbook approach for pre-k through middle school. When the kids got to high school we switched to traditional textbooks.
    We did alot of story telling, played Dungeon and Dragons, and did do a little writing during our homeschooling years.
    All of my kids have graduated with honors. My oldest son and daughter are both college students on scholarship. He is majoring in mechanical engineering and she is majoring in dental hygeine. My youngest son graduated recently and has decided that he wants to become a boat captain and work in the oil fields here in Louisiana.
     
  10. Lindina

    Lindina Active Member

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    That's great, Mousketeer! That's about as diverse as you can get with 3, I think. :)
     
  11. Mouseketeer67

    Mouseketeer67 New Member

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    Thanks

    Thanks Lindina :)
     
  12. Jess

    Jess New Member

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    My daughter had really bad essay writing skills, so the argument that homeschoolers do not have enough practice writing essays, reports, other assignments is pretty fair. An there is a problem of having a good teacher who will guide and teach to write essays. I found a good decision for this issue - we hired essay writer at one of the popular services for students and he helped to develop needed skills.
     
  13. Britanny Sphinx

    Britanny Sphinx New Member

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    Workbooks are really the holy grail in homeschooling. I'm so glad I can use them.
     
  14. JimmyDoor

    JimmyDoor New Member

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    I want to know more info about Workbooks, it interested me.
     
  15. IgorEt85

    IgorEt85 New Member

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    If its crashing just before map loads chances are you might not have correct COD version ? as the hack was made for?
     
  16. GilbertoKreiger

    GilbertoKreiger New Member

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    Workbooks are a common practice all over the world and are of great importance to students. According to a survey conducted by best-essay-writing.services, teachers seek the help of workbooks as well. So, it is a mutual place of knowledge that helps all.
     
  17. sabbir862

    sabbir862 New Member

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