AK_Mom4
-
Posts
6,977 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by AK_Mom4
-
-
My DD is doing 6/5 and is writing her answers directly in the book. There is enough space in the margins to work out the word problems. It is working well for us. She finished most of Horizon 4 last spring and placed into Saxon 6/5, so I would not be surprised if yours is ready for 5/4 after Horizon 3.
-
Yup! I agree too! We backed down and let DD7 start reading Magic Tree House and Cam Jansen series (....way below her reading level....) and it got her started reading for fun. For DS, it was all non fiction. He HATED reading stories and refused to read anything until I started giving him DK books on different topics. Now he reads everything, including fiction.
-
Can I throw out an idea on the Music? Music is good - Music with HEADPHONES can be even better. We played around with both for DS13 and definitely found improvement in his focus abilities when using headphones as opposed to just background music. I have no objection to listening to his music, but having him use headphones really helped with the concentration. He says it gives his brain something to do while he reads.
And the best part - it's a totally natural remedy!:) No meds required!
-
We had a time when we were in Dr. offices at least 3 days a week for several hours at a time. The things that worked for us were: getting up an hour earlier to squeeze in some school work before appointments, using an MP3 player so DS could tune out the noise in the waiting room/car and get some work done. Like you, evenings and weekends were pretty booked up, so that option was off. We doubled up on core subjects on the days we stayed home and left the "extras" (history, science) for appointment days. Often DS didn't get much done in the waiting room because he had to watch his little sister for me, but he did try to get some done in the car.
I think it can be done on 2 days a week if you can make use of car time and focus/double up on core subjects on the days you are home.
-
Give them to my 8yo. She'll have them "fixed" for you in less than a day!
Steel wool would probably be almost as good.
-
I'm using the Hakim books with my 8th grader and it's just about right. It would be over the head of my 3rd grader. For her, I'm using History Odyssey Early Modern Level 1 and it's just right.
-
Time Warp Trio, American Girl books, Misty of chincoteague series, boxcar children, Alice in Wonderland, Pony Parade, King of the Wind, Wizard of Oz series, and anything non-fiction about China (her current fascination!)
-
Instant Toddler Basketball hoop:
Take one wire clothes hanger. Bend it into a circle. Tie it to Stair Post or Lamp or even the broom handle using whatever is at hand (in our house usually a bathrobe sash).
Instant Toddle Basket ball:
Crumple up newspaper into a ball that will fit in the hoop. Wrap around and around with tape. Poof! Instant ball!
Cost: Totally Free!
BTW - these are excellent things for SuperDD9 and SuperDS7 to make for you while you are nursing da baby. Have them make 3 or 4 balls and play dodge ball with DS2 in the living room. Also have those big kids make him a fleet of paper airplanes. All of which can be flown indoors without damaging anything. Paper boats to float in the sink. Paper hats to wear while jumping off the pirate ship (aka your couch!). ANd if DS2 tears them up - no harm done!
-
We use Mcruffy 3rd in a 4-day week for LA and Science. If works just fine. We plan to complete a lesson each day. Actually Science only gets on the schedule 2 days a week, but if DD finishes her other work (and she usually does) on the other days, we go ahead and do another science lesson.
-
You can pay for testing from a child psychologist. We had some neighbors that went that route when they felt the school psychologist had done a poor job testing their child.
Another story - All our kids have been IQ tested. The 3 older for admittance to the gifted program in public school. Kid #4 we had tested because we decided to homeschool her due to some "problems" she was having in public school. The problems were all related to her being very asynchronous. The tests helped us pinpoint her strong and weak points and have made it much easier to tailor her curriculum for her.
-
Something different - we do a 4-day week, but we do it as 3 full days and 2 half days (Thursday and Friday). We ended up with the two 1/2 days because the kids had music lessons and martial arts on those afternoons and we just didn't get anything done.
And - if they work ahead on the 3 full days (and they often do!), we use Thurs/Fri for fun stuff. Holiday projects or crafts or game days.
-
We did a fun workbook last year - The Complete Book of Maps and Geography. It says Grades 3-6, but my 2nd grader had no troubles with it. It covered reading all sorts of maps and had sections on all the US states. American Education Publishing and it was less than $10
-
I would just declutter. That would be the number one priority. Box it up and put in storage. If you have some school stuff that you need to keep handy, put it all in a suitcase with wheels for storage that you can take with you when the house is shown.:)
-
One of my DDs is allergic to our cat. The two things that really help are a heavy duty air filter machine that runs in her bedroom all the time and putting a cheap plastic shower curtain over her bed during the day so the cat doesn't get on her bed. The air filter machine was about $75 at Home Depot and worth every penny.
Also - could you borrow a cat from someone for a few days? We had mouse problems at a local office. We brought in our cat with his litter box and water bowl for a couple of days and he had a wonderful time catching mice. No more mouse problems!
-
DS13 had no formal grammar in ps. Last year we went with Easy Grammar Plus and it was terrific. I just bought the student workbook and he went thru it a few pages every day. It has enough review to cement the rules and nice clear explanations.
-
I had to break the Saxon placement tests into several pieces for my DD8 - it was just too long for her. We did them across 3 days in 15 minutes blocks and it went much better.
-
This is a great topic! It is something I am trying to figure out as well for DD8 and is really the driver behind my reading and trying to learn this WTM stuff as it seems to be a great way to help with the acceleration problem.
For some things, we have been accelerating by skipping levels. We've done 2nd, 4th, and are about to start 6th grade math. For LA, we finished 1st and 3rd and will look at 5th or 6th grade materials for the fall.
But DD8 can't write at 6th grade level - her little hands give out. So science, history, and penmanship, we do at grade level. For the LA, we do it mostly verbally or I write for her while she dictates. If your child struggles with reading, I would do that subject at her level to keep her moving forward, but do the others at her ability level - realizing that you may have to read the materials to her until her reading catches up a bit.
Oh yeah - and keep it fun! For my DD, that means lots of crafty projects (I'm not crafty myself so it's tough).
-
We also school-on-the-go. DS13 and DD8 each have a "day box" - a plastic pencil box with pencils, scissors, erasers, scissors, glue stick, crayons, a calculator - whatever they need to use on a daily basis.
How about a small wheeled suitcase or briefcase with a handle? They are pretty inexpensive new and extremely cheap from a thrift store. Zip it closed and your books travel with you anywhere and are protected from the weather.
Living math, anyone?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
We did not use math books for DD(now 8) until last year. She learned it all from living math on a day-to-day basis. Baking, games, and listening to older siblings do their homework. She is good at math and sucked it all up like a sponge.