Tracy
-
Posts
3,779 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by Tracy
-
-
Well, in the first A-block lesson (pg 4-37), it just says to either make them or, if you buy them, to make sure they have size, shape, and color attributes. I suppose I'd just print out the block masters on cardstock, maybe laminate them, and cut them out.
Thanks! That sounds like something I can do. :)
-
Attribute blocks.
IIRC, CSMP uses a set of 24: 4 shapes, 3 colors, 2 sizes. It tells how to make a set somewhere in the materials.
Thank you very much. I see in the materials where there are the patterns, but I don't see anything anywhere that tells how to make them. But the 700-page TM is not searchable. Any idea of where I might find the instructions?
-
I am excited to start CSMP and came across a materials list. Most of it I am finding on the site. But does anyone know what A-Blocks are?
-
The book claims it is for 4yo too. I have been doing it with my dd since she was 4. I don't consider her advanced. But we don't do the advanced activities. Just the simplier ones. When we re-row we will catch the others. :D
Yes, this is why FIAR is so good for a gifted kid, especially one that is particularly gifted in only certain areas. There are always both simple and advanced lessons to choose from. And sometimes, you might choose to completely overlook a topic like math (FIAR's weak point) and spend two days on social studies or science or whatever looks particularly yummy:drool5: that week.
-
We are just finishing K with my 5yo. Here is my blog post about our original plan, which includes a link to another post about how it got tweaked.
I think that FIAR is a really good basis for a curriculum for an advanced Kindergartner. You would need to supplement math and make sure to spend time having the child read to you. We use FIAR for copywork, since Grasshopper was already writing. But everything else that you do is icing on the cake.
-
Why you should start early and not wait.....there is an amazing post by Janice that is escaping me right now...that really drives home the point that You are the eldest student in your home and how beneficial it is to start with TOG and read ahead. Maybe someone else has it marked. I though I did, but it's gone :(
This is one from Janice that I have marked.
-
-
I love Five in a Row (FIAR) for that age.
:iagree: I can't imagine our K year without FIAR. We did a little math, spelling and a little extra science and geography/history. But most of our curriculum was FIAR. Dd wanted to do it even when we didn't have school.
-
Tina, do you happen to know where that was recommended on the site? I'd like to see that, thanks! I'd probably get the updated version, I guess, but I want to check and see what they say about it.
:bigear:
-
We haven't started yet, but I decided to start with TOG from the beginning with my rising 1st grader this next year. I am not worried about getting bored teaching the same old thing. As I prepare for LG level this next year, I can see how there is no way to do everything that looks so tempting. It is easier to pick and choose by saying that we can do what we missed the next time around when dd is in 5th grade and ds in 1st grade. And then I'll have another chance when ds is in 5th grade.
I think the greater threat with TOG is burnout from trying to do too much and not being able to say "no" to all the wonderful treats at the buffet table.
-
We use the Simply Charlotte Mason Scripture Memory system to memorize as a family. I am much slower than the children, but they go easy on me. The constant review is very helpful for all of us.
I have seen this and really want to do it. But we are just starting out, and I am afraid that doing this now with a 5yo and a 2yo will be overkill and scare dh away from memorization. How long have you been using this method?
-
Play "store." Get out all those toys that he never plays with and put them in your store. Use circle stickers or masking tape to lable prices. Give him some money to "buy" stuff with.
When my dd did not know her money values yet, I took her marble run set and labeled each piece with a price. I asked her questions about money (e.g., how much is a penny worth, which coin is a penny, etc.), and I gave her coins for her answers. She then used her coins to buy marble run pieces and put it together.
Also, you can do "story problems" using things that are interesting to him. For example, "The dinosaur laid 5 eggs. One of them got eaten by a snake. How many baby dinosaurs hatched?" Or, "The fire department sent 3 fire trucks to put out the fire. Each fire truck carried 3 firemen. How many firemen went to put out the fire?"
-
We just finished A and are on to B. The only reason to buy a manual that I can think of is if you want ideas for supplemental activities. But IMO, SWO is only good for a child that is already pretty good at spelling, so you wouldn't need supplemental activities.
-
Put it to music! Any little jingle, really helps here! Row, row, row your boat, Joy to The World, Mary Had a Little Lamb, anything! Try it! That is a trick I teach the kids in the sunday school class I teach. We start by singing it in a popular tune, then slowly move to just saying it! Retention is GREAT!!!!! :D HTH
Yes, that has worked well for dd. But I am the one needing the help, and I don't know if I can do this by myself:blush:. Maybe I should laminate it so I can take it with me in the shower! :D
-
I believe in cursive first...but my daughter was 4 when she wanted to learn to write, she was not able to master cursive that young so we switched to printing. I did cursive this year with her, but it still needs work.
Her little brother wants to learn to spell a few words, but didn't want to learn to write early, he'll be doing cursive first next year, at the same time we will work on my daughter's cursive.
I use the ZB manual for older children or adults and just teach it from a whiteboard, transitioning to paper much later, you can use the online ZB worksheet maker thingy. It's a lot easier that way, I tried cursive in 1st grade from paper with several different methods and they were all a bust.
Don Potter does cursive first with his K students, they start from a blackboard with chalk. Their cursive is amazing by the end of the year!
Thanks for this. It is very encouraging. I like the idea to start with the white board.
-
Okay, since no one has given the other perspective, I will give it a go.
I'm teaching print first and very deliberately. I am philosophically teaching printing, because as SWB noted in her writing lecture, some kids have a hard time reading plain manuscript unless they are learning to write print manuscript at the same time. My ds is very much one of these kids.
In terms of fine motor skills, cursive probably wins the argument because of its continous stroke motions, but if you consider reading, teaching printing first is often the best choice. There is a reason most handwriting programs begin with printing and move to cursive later, and it is not necessarily because printing is easier. ;)
Thank you very much for offering this other perspective. It is one that I had not considered. Although I guess that this would not be an issue with a child that is already reading?
-
What about with a younger child that wants to write. My dd started writing when she was 3yo, and we used the Kumon books with huge letters that take up a quarter of the page. Might I have been able to teach her cursive first? (Not that I am worried about what I should have done--just gearing up for child #2.)
-
tracymirko,
Fwiw, my ds recognized and knew the sounds for all the upper and lowercase letters before we started cursive. He copied print lettes on his own, I just hadn't given him formal instruction. I was wondering myself if he would be confused, but he figured out the difference very quickly between "what we read" and "how you're learning to write".
Thank you. That is very encouraging. I would very much like to teaching writing just one time.
-
I also do hand motions to prompt my 6 year old, which also helps me in the long run.
We have been learning ASL. Maybe I need to throw that into our memorizing! That is an idea.
-
I write the verse/poem/quote on the white board then we read/repeat it together a couple times. Then, we take turns erasing a word or two (everyone else closes their eyes while 1 person erases). Then, we repeat it together again. Then, someone else erases and we all close our eyes, etc, etc. until it's all erased. We do that Monday. Tuesday we read it off the whiteboard again once then erase it and try to repeat it together. If we need it we can look at the paper on the wall (I always print it off the computer on a regular sheet of paper and put it up for the week.
HTH
I tried something like this on the last one we did. (We are only on the 4th one that we are doing together.) It seemed to help everyone else memorize it even faster, and I was left waaayyyy behind. I always thought I was pretty smart--always did well in school. If it were just me and dd, I would be okay with her passing me up. But DH is keeping up just fine. :banghead: I want to just run away, but then I have to be an example, right?
-
I am very interested in teaching cursive first. But here is my concern with it. My dd knew her letters, upper and lower case at 2yo. If you are teaching a 5yo his letters and how to write at the same time, it seems easier. But for a child that is already so familiar with letters in print, he is learning a new way to form letters. I didn't know about cursive first with dd, but I would like to do it with my 2yo when he is ready. But I am not convinced that it will work well in this instance.
-
My plan as I teach my LG child is to read the TOG history notes for R level and to read as much of the R literature books as I can. So when I get to R level with dd, I will be better prepared.
-
Concerning the writing levels, I would just make sure you peruse all of the assignments over the year for a particular level before placing your child at that level. I thought I would have my dd do the writing at level 1, because it looked easy enough for her in the first unit. But when I looked at how the assignments would progress toward the end of the year, I realized that it would be too much for her. So at least at the 1st level, the writing requirements advance quite a bit from the beginning to the end of the year.
-
I had this grand idea to memorize scriptures as a family. Grasshopper and DH are doing great. But I am really struggling! Anyone else memorize as a family? Is this a bad idea?
spelling rec for great, natural speller?
in Accelerated Learner Board
Posted
:bigear: