2nd & 3rd graders - How are they doing in CTG?

[jasntas]

My dd will be a 2nd grader and tagging along in CTG as well. As Missy OH said, just remember not to overdue it with your 2nd grader. Don't expect too much and remember she will repeat it again at a higher level of understanding. (If you stay with MFW that is. )

HTH

[Julie in MN]

I think your family will have fun together in CTG. Here are a couple of photos for ya:
http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php ... 841#p47453 (crystal's family building the tabernacle)
http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php ... 332#p67332 (my family in their tabernacle)

Here is a thread with more experiences:
http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1304

Julie

[RachelT]

Hi! We just finished up CTG with my 4th and 2nd graders last month! It was a fun year! I do not think it was boring or too intense at all. The only area where she did not have the attention span was with some of the history readings, so I learned to summarize the important parts of information from the Streams of Civilization book. She liked looking at the pictures of the Ancient World book. She did not like listening to The Children's Homer at first, but it grew on her while her older brother LOVED the adventures of Odysseus in this book, so don't miss it! If I had found an audio edition of that book, that my have been better. She liked coloring or doing something quietly while I read aloud. They both really enjoyed the Patricia St. John read alouds. For the Greek roots, I purchased a set of simple notebook pages designed for the EFTRU book from currclick.com and it simplified those lessons for both children. I think your 2nd grader could learn the roots just as well as your older child. My 2nd grader liked the science experiments, building the tabernacle, helping get ready for the OT feasts, building our Lego pyramid, and some of the book basket choices.

I think that it's easier to do only one MFW curriculum and scale it down than to do two programs when it isn't necessary anymore like when you were doing K or 1st grade. You can find ways to scale back CtG, but your 2nd grader may surprise you! My 2nd grader is the one who knows Isaiah 40:21-31 the best, better than me or her older brother and she is preparing to recite it for her grandparents next week!

Ps - I am editing here to add that for the history notebook summaries we worked on these together and I had my children narrate the information aloud to me, while I typed it up. This worked well for my 4th grader who has reading/writing learning disabilities and my 2nd grader.

[jasntas]

I'm interested in those of you who've had first graders in MFW1, tagging along with an older sibling in ECC, who then move on to CTG. Did your children find CTG stimulating and did it hold their attention since they are doing a similar era of Bible history back-to-back?

I don't have a lot of time today but just wanted to say that my dd is in 2nd this year and in CTG with her older brother. She loves it as much as he does. It has been a natural progression from tagging along in ECC last year.

[cbollin]

How heavy is the work in CTG?
I need to decide on curriculum for next year and I am debating whether to do ADV and CTG or just CTG with some American History units added. To give you some background: this year we did ECC with my 8 y/o (3rd grade) and we did First Grade with my 2 five y/o boys. They are on the young side -(late August birthdays) but they did very well with first grade - writing 3 sentences for summaries and easily read through the entire bible reader.
So I know that it is not suggested to do 2 programs (ex" Adv and CTG) - however I worry that because they are so young that CTG will be over their heads and they will miss out on important instruction given in ADV. This year they tagged along with big brother by coloring country/people pages and listening to PoE, Windows on the World, and the other science book as well as all the missionary read alouds.
The one thing that is making me lean towards doing only CTG is the cost savings, but I don't want to ruin my children! (Ok, that's a bit dramatic - but I'm still new to homeschooling and need my swimming arm floaties)

did it work for you to let them have language arts and math in first grade at that level and let them have fun stuff from ECC?
it's more of the same in CTG.... if the younger sibs leave the room during advanced assignment and go play... that is not ruining them. so they get to play dress up and make egyptian crowns and make pyramids.. the rest? goes over their heads, so what?

If by chance your bigger fear is really along the lines of:
if I expose them to topics in CTG, will this ruin them spiritually? the answer is: uh no. Especially not the case coming out of mfw first grade.

if the bigger question is: but c'mon we just did OT in first grade.. do they really have to repeat it? Well... it's going to be ok. some review at this age is good... it's enough different that it will not matter.

Let's pretend you have the funds to buy whatever you want to buy... cost is not factor now in your decision. Do you want to run them as separate (completely different topics, etc), or as family style like you did this
year with ECC and 1st?

at the risk of this sounding wrong.... if they never do ADV, it's ok. HIS grace is sufficient. Curious here? what "important instruction" are you worried about missing from ADV?

on the other hand, if you feel that God is saying "those two need ADV and you have to trust ME"... then none of the rest matters... there might be something in there that God wants you to do. But make sure it's not your fear telling you that.... I know some people have no trouble doing ADV and CTG or RTR at same time... I would not have been one of those.... If you need to have some touches of US history.... tuck it in book basket when the pickings are slim on ancients.

-crystal

[Julie in MN]

So I know that it is not suggested to do 2 programs (ex" Adv and CTG) - however I worry that because they are so young that CTG will be over their heads and they will miss out on important instruction given in ADV. This year they tagged along with big brother by coloring country/people pages and listening to PoE, Windows on the World, and the other science book as well as all the missionary read alouds.
The one thing that is making me lean towards doing only CTG is the cost savings, but I don't want to ruin my children! (Ok, that's a bit dramatic - but I'm still new to homeschooling and need my swimming arm floaties)

I think Crystal is right, the littles will be well prepared for CTG after doing 1st, plus their experiences with ECC. And there is a lot for a little one to love in CTG - creation, dinosaurs, making 10 commandment tablets, reenacting the 10 plagues (dad was the pharaoh at our house!), building a mini tabernacle, building a tent for the Feast of Booths... I think doing CTG as a family will be fun!

Julie

[SarahP]

Thank you ladies.

My thinking was: If the "Littles" were not the little brothers but the "Onlies" would I be doing ADV or CTG - I don't want to short change my kids educationally because they aren't the first born. But I can see where I can serve all of them better if I'm not spreading myself so thin. If I "just" do CTG I can do it with excellence rather than just doing the bare minimum of 2 programs. I think they will all LOVE CTG - I'm not too worried about going into the mythology. We have a "family rule" about no magic, no fake gods, but this means that they really do have an understanding of fake god vs. Real God and I think that I can teach them the mythology in a way that this will further cement that idea. Plus the great thing about Homeschooling is I can edit when I need to. I'm really excited about CTG I think it sounds like a fun year!

[Julie in MN]

I understand the whole reasoning behind Adventures and it sounds like a great program. We were excited about using it this year with our upcoming 2nd grader. I also understand the hesitation behind introducing mythology, etc. at this age and know we would have to temper the presentation (although I will say that while this would have definitely not been a good curriculum for our oldest, it does change with the youngest child who tends to be exposed more to discussions at an earlier age anyway.) Our children are all 6 1/2 years apart so we are used to them doing completely separate schooling. HOWEVER, with our last two kids (one starting 9th, one starting 2nd) we have our first actual opportunity that we COULD have them on the same cycle. While they would, of course, not read the same books, do the same writing, etc. etc. the idea that we could relate field trips, discussions and even some of the same movies to the same time frame is sounding very appealing. We have never been able to truly be on a family cycle. We travel quite a bit and it would sure be nice to have one topic to focus history trips for both kids. So while if this were not a possibility I would prefer to use Adventures and do the year of American History, etc...

COULD it work to start her on CTG at 2nd grade and has anyone else done this?

I'm going to copy some of the links I posted on the 2nd grade/RTR thread...
Here are some threads about 2nd graders in general:
2nd and CTG http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1304
Little ones and CTG http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2768
tagging along with the family http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=11069

"Usually" for MFW families, the family is in CTG because there is an older sibling. I know that isn't the case for you. But in some ways, since this is not your oldest child, I think you will have a better chance of success. You *probably* won't be trying to make your 2nd grader do CTG as if she were an 8th grader, like most of us do with our firstborns, KWIM

In some ways, it sounds fun. The younger could be setting up the tent or blowing the morning "shofar" for the feast, and the older didn't have that scheduled but gets to join in. I totally see why having a year together would be so nice. You could read aloud Cat of Bubastes maybe, or listen to the audiobook; Eric Liddell, too. And we tried to do most of the Old Testament together as a family, so maybe that would work in the evenings with dad? You definitely could watch the movies of the Iliad/Odyssey and such together, and if oldest hears the Greek myths at the elementary level, it's quite an interesting contrast to the "real version" he'll be studying in high school.

In other ways, I'm not sure. I'm not sure they'd ever really be on the same page, and most of the year, the younger would be doing OT things that the older had read much earlier in AHL. Most of the AHL books are *not* kiddie material, even for a mature kiddie (I have one of those, since my two boys are 11 years apart), so only a few could be shared. And I'm not sure there will be all that much time for a high schooler to enjoy family field trips and such (a little, but just saying high school will be different that way). Most of all are the things you mentioned -- is your youngest firm in his understanding of God's love and hope for the world, before all the crazy things man has done; and is she ready to hear things like how the 10 plagues relate to the Egyptian belief system?

I can't help you make a decision but I can definitely join you in your swirling thoughts
Julie