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mom2boys030507

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Everything posted by mom2boys030507

  1. My oldest does Creative Writer once each week. He looks forward to it each week. I think it is helping me write better and understand the different elements that need to go into writing a story. We use R&S Grammar including the writing assignments, he also writes across the curriculum ala WTM.
  2. I have just started to read this book and have enjoyed reading through this thread. I think we have started this with our oldest without even realizing it. For a few years, he has been telling us that he wants to be a writer. In January, we started him in Creative Writer. This fall he is participating in National Novel Writing Month. So he is working on writing a novel because he wants to. We are helping to provide the frame work and the support but he is the one who is driving force behind the project.
  3. My boys 7 and 9 did Corn and Beans last spring. They loved it and learned alot. I will say my 9 yod did get more out of it.
  4. This looks really look interesting. I am not seeing where I can purchase the modules or how many kids it is geared for.
  5. I have not looked closely at the first years of SCM but I will be as this year progresses. I am thinking that if we read some books at a little faster pace and skip a few things it should all work out for 4 years. The one thing I have read is that the first 2 years are very heavy on Bible History and while that is very important to us, it will not be the focus of our school for history. To me bible history is important in the big picture but the extras are to be studied as bible not history.
  6. This is our first year using SCM History Plans. I am enjoying our year and so our my boys. We have struggled up until now finding a history we liked. We didn't enjoy SOTW or CHOTW so I ended up using them as outlines and covering what I wanted to. I think that worked okay for the first few years but it was a lot of work for me. I see myself continuing to use SCM History Plans as we go forward although I am trying to figure out how to make 5 volumes fit in 3 years. I feel like volume 6 is just right and covers the same time period as SOTW book 4. I find the amount of history to be the right amount in the day. The work at the lower levels especially is listening and narrating then adding in any crafts you want and find.
  7. My 9yod ends up with homework but only because he is so busy staring out the window or playing with his pencil that he doesn't get his work done. The first 3 weeks of September this year were very trying for us. My boys are all given the amount of work I feel they can handle academically and developmentally. As they get to the point of being able to do independent work, they are given a set time for independent work. If their timer goes off before they are done it is homework. For my oldest, he is given 40 min to work through his math lesson after I teach him. In early September, he was only getting 2-3 problems done. I knew he could do it because once a week or so he was done easily. (I also watch for signs of frustration or the work being to easy and have my husband look over their assignment sheets to make sure I am not off base in my expectations.) Then suddenly last week he didn't have homework. It finally sank in for him that he had to complete his school work before he was able to go play. (Yes, he gets breaks at set times each day regardless of what is done.) But, the biggest points of being at home for him is that he gets more free time then his friends who go to school. I am sure we will go through this struggle again at other stages but I am hopeful for know that he is learning to work diligently during school time so he can have his free time later in the day.
  8. We have to test every year, also. I do not teach to the test in any way. My oldest has done very well on the tests and I expect my middle will this year on his first test. I do remember the first test my oldest took. He had to pick the White House out of a group of 4 black and white pictures. We had not studied American History at all. He looked at me and said, "But, Mom these are all white houses." I laughed so hard and told him to pick the one he thinks the president lives in. I believe he picked the wrong one and we read a little bit about the white house after that because he was interested. I still think his response is funny and will most likely be a fond memory of the pain of testing for many years to come.
  9. I am currently reading the Little House series to my boys, ages 9,7, and 5. They all love it. We are just finishing Farmer Boy.
  10. On Fridays, we do Life of Fred, Creative Writer, Geography, Science Experiments and Greek Copy Work. Fridays are the day my kids get to do the curriculum they are excited about and we tend to only do once a week. They are fun but full days.
  11. Well my oldest read through the entire series starting at 7.5yod. His dad started reading 1 and 2 out loud and he just picked up the book and started reading. Once he finished the series the first time he started over. Now at 9 he has read the entire series almost 10 times. My current 7 yod is reading book 7 and my 5yod wants to start reading but his reading level is not quite there yet:) So I think kids can read the books as soon as they are ready. We have read the books and love them too. We are also available and do talk with our boys frequently about what is happening in the stories.
  12. My 4th grader is doing R&S 4 and Creative Writer. I am finding this to be plenty of writing. He also writes narrations for history and science. We do dictation exercises a couple of times a week. He does dictation with Spelling Wisdom and I also add in a paragraph from a book he is reading at least once a week. He does R&S 4 days a week and Creative Writer on Fridays. I am looking at starting WWS next year but fear it will become to much for him. I have no intention of dropping R&S as it is working so well for us and he wants to be an author so dropping Creative Writer is not really an option either. I hope that with the writing assignments in R&S and writing narration for science and history, I will be able to give him enough practice in writing.
  13. My son is still really enjoying and we are also banging our heads against the wall learning long division in Singapore 3A. I am finding these two math programs to be great to go between.
  14. My son is also working through the end of Singapore 4A. I think he hit something major fog when we started school. Throughout the summer he would do Singapore about once a week and worked on some Beast. This last week, he couldn't do the simplest problems in Singapore. I schedule 45 mins for math 4 days a week. But, if he is not done in that time it is homework, because he has a habit of wasting time especially in math. He figures he wants to be an author when he is an adult and doesn't need math. Needless to say his father and I have a different opinion.
  15. My oldest loves Magic School Bus and has enjoyed these lapbooks.
  16. If they are comfortable with what you are requiring now then add in the other things slowly. Start with the just doing the cursive practice for a few weeks. Then add in IEW. My kids write a fare amount and I start the year with slightly less writing then the previous spring and add to it fairly quickly but slow down when the kids are reaching their perceived limit of writing.
  17. My son is going to do NaNoWriMo this year. But, he has also been using Creative Writer from Peace Hill Press. I am have been very impressed with this book and think it would challenge most people. Creative Writer 2 is going on sale this coming week too. It is intended to be a once a week program but has helped to fill my son's desire to do creative writing.
  18. The reality for me is that we school 3 days a week for our main school year. We do our main subjects and curriculum, Mon, Tues and Wed. Thursdays are Co-op which is extras for us. Then on Fridays are the once a week, or supplement stuff. Yes, Fridays are school days but they look very different and have their own schedule. As far as scheduling, I just do the next thing. Come June, I figure out where each kid needs to be in a book before they can put it away for the summer. They always continue with math and Greek. I have learned that taking a break in these subjects means lots of review in the fall. We typically wrap up mid to late June and start up Mid Aug.
  19. I can't speak to all of your choices. My biggest suggestion is to pick what you think will work best for the here and now, when and if you decide to bring your son home. Looking to find one company to stay with for the long haul when you have used nothing is a huge task. I have always homeschooled my boys and thought when I started I would use HOD as far as they wrote for. This last 1.5 years. I still think it is a great program however, it no longer fits our needs. Now, it is better for me to pick and chose each subject. Remember kids change and so do you through the journey of schooling. Picking what you think will work best for the present and then re-evaluate as time goes on.
  20. I am trying to find things for my boys to make to go with our year 4 study this year. I want to introduce them to handicrafts that are useful and have potential to lead to hobbies. One activity I thought of was to have them make moccasins this fall as we study the West Ward expansion. It would be a great time to make them as we head into winter. Has anyone made moccasins and have a good kit to recommend? Any other ideas of handicrafts to try out through out our year that fit with our history study?
  21. I am going to get the Curious George Paper Dolls for my Kindergartner and then we will read all the books together and see if that leads to other fun activities.
  22. My oldest is a 4th grader school year and has started Beast 3A. He struggles with the same things as his little brother. The Challenge questions are challenging. But having the guide book in the house - there is no way he was going to miss out. I am guessing there will eventually be some things that are a little easier but it is still great math for this age.
  23. This looks like a great recipe. My oldest has been introduced to whittling in Scouts but has done very little. At this point my other two boys will not be allowed to use pocket knives to carve as they need to earn their Whittling Chip in Scouts first. It is a very much looked forward to activity as they enter third grade. I am sure the younger two will do some but this is primarily for my oldest as he is the one who is and has been most interested in this type of art. I would love to find books for him to read and then get started together or that he can teach himself from the book. His father will also be involved as he also enjoys whittling but hasn't done it since he was a young man - early college years.
  24. This year we are going to be doing Apologia's Swimming Creatures. They suggest making an ocean box to show all the animals you study throughout the book. My oldest is very excited about this project and would like to learn how to sculpt and whittle many if not all of the animals. I am thinking he will need some easy, quick results projects to start with other wise he will become discouraged and give it up. Any suggestions of books to get us started?
  25. My youngest boy, Matthew, turned 5 in May. He learned to read this last school year and ended our year reading Dinosaurs Before Dark. He enjoyed reading the book and doing a lapbook with it. My questions are where do I go with him. Age wise he will be in K this fall although all of his work will be grade 1 or higher. He is all boy, so needless to say school work is not high on his list. He will read aloud to me but it can be a battle of the wills. He reads independently but has a hard time telling me anything that he has read, no matter how short the passage or little the detail. With each of my boys, I had them complete all 5 levels of Hooked on Phonics then read through Heart of Dakota's Emergent Reader list. Matthew is about half way through the list. My plan was to continue but with his resistance I am no longer sure. I feel like he needs to have something to do with at least some of what he is reading. I am not sure how to challenge Matthew without killing his love of reading. Right now he is loving the graphic novels that he is reading with his brothers, but come fall they will not be in our house much. His older brothers will be required to do other reading and they have read most of the graphic novels our children's section carries from the local library. Any suggestions?? Any good programs to follow up Hooked on Phonics and continue his phonics instructions? He is writing, 2-3 short sentences per day is his current max, but found the ECT books to move to slow.
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