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Tracy

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Everything posted by Tracy

  1. Last week, a friend offered quite a few children's Russian language materials to me. I had no plans to do any foreign language this year, much less Russian. But I do have a personal interest in learning some Russian since my g-grandparents were from the Russian partition of Poland, and I would like to be able to read those records. So here we are starting the Russian alphabet tomorrow. I am very :hurray: but also a little :svengo: . Well, we will do it as long as it is fun and interesting. I have no illusion that anyone here will actually learn to speak it. But reading and writing names would be cool.
  2. Spell to Write and Read (or Spalding, but I like SWR--either will do the job)
  3. I am so sorry about the reaction that people are having to your request for curriculum recommendations. I am glad that you are confident about what you are doing anyway. You seem to be very prepared. I think it is completely inappropriate for anyone here to so harshly judge your abilities at the mere request for curriculum suggestions. FWIW, my dh had only one single education class that he learned anything from (he also being a natural teacher). And when he got his masters in education, he told people that he was purchasing a raise, since he wasn't really learning anything. (Just to test what he could get away with, in one class, he did nothing except attend class. He did no assignments. He did not even buy a textbook. He got a C, along with a note from the instructor about how disappointed she was in his work.) It is a nice touch that you are seeking to obtain those teaching credentials. They seem to mean a lot to other people, but they do not represent your teaching skills in the least.
  4. This is one of my dd9's favorite videos. She said recently that she wants to be Vi Hart when she grows up, lol.
  5. I was really excited until I saw that the starter deck was $25, and that there would be several more decks. That is really pricey for a deck of cards. But if that isn't enough, you can spend $10 extra dollars if you want the storage box. :tongue_smilie: I just can't wrap my brain around spending $100+ on cards.
  6. My dh is a high school teacher, and I can tell you that teacher licensing and their robust hiring practices do little to create good teachers. I would take a former homeschool mama in a small classroom over any of my dh's colleagues any day.
  7. I am only on Island level right now, so I am not the best to make a recommendation. Here is the MCT site, which gives general recommendations by grade level. I would start by looking at the samples for Magic Lens 1.
  8. MCT was my first thought, as well. I am not sure it has enough writing, though.
  9. I wish I could help. We are on List P, but I just combine the quiz with the Enrichment activities. But I thought I would bump you anyway.
  10. I love the Tales of Young Americans series. It was my dd's first introduction to history, and she is still a huge history buff. I would also consider anything on this list of classic books.
  11. Jim Trelease in his Read-Aloud Handbook says you should continue through high school. I think it depends on the child. I have one that loves to be read to, and I will probably always read to her while she lives in my house. But my other child craves independence. He reads everything I get for him before I am able to find the time to read to him. We still read books to him that are beyond his ability to read on his own. But I suspect that it will not be long before we are not reading to him very much.
  12. :party: Have a party. Play. Craft. Go to the park. Breathe.
  13. Writing SWR Handwriting SWR W/ CURSIVE FIRST Phonics SWR Spelling SWR Reading SWR Grammar SWR Math MIQUON (We also love CSMP, but having used it for 4 years, I must warn you that, as far as I can tell, it is only worth it if you have a highly verbal student who is a reluctant writer, as it is very teacher-intensive.) History SOTW/TOG Geography SOTW/TOG Science BFSU
  14. I only have 2 kids, but they are night and day, so I sometimes use the strength of one to shore up the weaknesses of the other. Instead of calling attention to the one that has the problem, I tell both kids that we are working on X. Then when my kid who is good at X does his thing, I can praise (or reward) him for it in front of the other. That is often enough of a reminder and incentive to get the other one to do it. I have to admit that I get frustrated far too easily. My husband has really helped me with this. He just keeps saying, "We're going to be cheerful, even if we don't feel like it." He doesn't say it directly to me, but just generally. And it helps all of us to calm down. So I have tried to with varying success to do this with the kids when he is gone. It has made me realize how much I contribute to the problem. The most important thing that we can do is to keep our heads about us and not allow ourselves to react emotionally, further escalating the problem. I am not sure how to do this myself exactly, But I know things go better when I can remember to keep myself calm.
  15. What age/grade level? I didn't use formal grammar when my child was young, because WWE had enough grammar to suit me for that age.
  16. I have had a set of Derwent pencils since my 9yo was 4yo. They have never broken. We only need to sharpen them when they get dull. I am about ready to invest in a larger collection.
  17. No problem. I like philosophical discussions, too. But it was this discussion that led me to look at Bravewriter as a possibility, so the utilitarian Me was hoping to come up with a list of other programs that I might want to look at. ;)
  18. I was trying to address those that specifically addressed me and suggested that I wasn't sufficiently considering other factors. I was trying to be tactful but I see that I ended up being vague and confusing. :huh: Sorry about that.
  19. Yes, it is disruptive for him, especially when he is driving. When he is home, he has to sit with his eyes closed for a while. But it usually only lasts for a few minutes.
  20. It hardly seems fair to call it a migraine, because it does not even compare to the pain that others experience. Thanks for the links!
  21. I think it is very interesting how much philosophy ended up being discussed in this thread. I realize that "less is more" may mean different things to different people. I also understand that I have to examine my own educational goals and philosophies and and not jump on a program purely for its "less is more" philosophy. (Believe me, I have done that ad nauseum for many years.) Nevertheless, I still maintain that using the right curriculum can help a HS mom to learn how to accomplish the "less is more" purpose. I have used some of these curricula to that very end. It was my hope that we could discuss how various programs can help (keeping in mind, of course, that this is not the only reason to use a curriculum).
  22. That is interesting that you mention visual migraines. My husband does experience something like that, but it is more like a blurriness/difficulty focusing. When he spoke to an eye doctor about it, he said it sounded like a migraine without the pain.
  23. Why does he hate it? If it is because it is taking too much time and it is draining, then you need to either cut the amount of work he does or split it up differently. A different program might help, but you might end up with the same problem, too. I have spent 3 years trying to pare down math for dd9 until I cannot pare it down anymore. But I accidentally stumbled upon something recently that may be helpful. Instead of making her do her worksheet right after the lesson, we are going to try having her do her worksheet first thing the next morning. We have only tried it once so far, but I was amazed at how much more energy she had for math when I did this.
  24. I was cuddling with my kids in the early morning, and ds6 points to the ceiling and says, "See the dark spots swirling? They always do that and become a tornado." I thought he was kidding, but when I asked him about it further, he was quite sincere. It sounded completely nuts to me. But then dd9 nodded her head and said "Yeah, it doesn't happen very often, but I have noticed that sometimes, too." She completely understood what he meant. When I asked dh about it, he said that sometimes the numbers on digital clocks wiggle, but that was as close as he could get. Neither child has any issues with reading. Ds6 is my academically-minded kid. He is rather advanced and does most of his work independently. Any thoughts, BTDT experience?
  25. I do think that the curriculum matters to some extent. When you start with a curriculum that is based on a "less is more" philosophy, there is less tweaking to do. Some people are naturally good tweakers :001_rolleyes:, but others (like myself) are less experienced or continue to struggle with tweaking even if they have some experience. I am certainly more comfortable with it now than I was when we started homeschooling, but I always have this nagging doubt in the back of my head every time I decide to skip something in a curriculum. So I would rather start with a program that has less to start out with. I think we can add WWE to this mix. It really helped me to have a 10-minute/day program and see that my dd was really learning how to write.
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