Tidbits of Learning
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Posts posted by Tidbits of Learning
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This is probably going to be frowned upon, but I had kids coming home from public school this year and it was starting to go this way with my oldest-4th grade dd9. I realized that she had no fear of consequences like those at ps. If she brought home bad grades b/c of incomplete work or extra homework b/c she goofed off at school, we (parents) were on here and she was punished.
She saw no punishment besides during school hours at home mostly and was checking things off that she didn't finish and dawdling or doing poor quality work all morning. So I bought a behavior kit from the school supply store and if she is on red when Dad comes home, there is punishment from someone besides just me, the teacher. I also gave her quite a few zero's and 28's and 34's on some assignments that were either 1. not done 2. not finished 3. not done correctly 4. just plain sloppy and totally not acceptable. I put all the grades into homeschool tracker and told her that she was failing. I told her we would finish out this year but my grades were real and if she tested me back to ps she goes but she would have failed this year.
I did this for a week with the zeros and bad grades. It made a big improvement on her attitude. And the first time Dad came home and she was on red, there went the Nintendo ds for a while. I see Dad as the principal of our school. If I am the only bad guy, then at some point she just takes me with a grain of salt. Just like at school, if the teacher is your only concern and you aren't afraid of getting in trouble with her then the parents are brought into the equation to maintain order.
I do set timers and anything she doesn't finish during school hours during my set time for the activity then she is doing for homework with Dad when he gets home. She doesn't want to do homework with Dad if you know what I mean. Homework with Dad means he knows that she goofed off or gave me issues so that I couldn't work with the other kids.
I know it sounds a lot like school and that is the way it had to be for us. She had no fear of failing, no fear of punishments from anyone besides me, and no respect and care for my time that I was putting into her education.
It was hard to write 24 on an english grammer lesson that she totally bombed and didn't even do by the directions trying to slack, but it was totally worth it when she realized she had to work for me to give her the grades.
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I've had the exact opposite problem b/c I am a lefty and so far all my kiddos are righties. There is a lot of left handed things that will make life easier. Back when I was a kid, I wound up having to learn to cut right handed and such.
I have since found all kind of things to make being left handed much easier.
http://www.thelefthand.com/index.html
Oh and the fine motor skills sound okay. My ds6.5 first grade still rushes and his looks sloppy. I have just bought fine motor skills workbooks to target those areas every day aside from his regular curriculum.
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This is our last week with HOD. We started June 1. My 1st grader will have finished LHFHG in 15 weeks except for the storytime books. We will continue reading the storytime books but move on to doing a mix of things for the rest of our 1st grade year.
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With this being my first year, I did this as well. I spent $300 on HOD's BHFHG and am only going to use the history from it. I can't really sell it until I am through with the guide for history so I have the other books just sitting on my shelf.
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I think it looks pretty good and I totally understand about having one that fights you on stuff. We have loved The Reading Lesson with ds6 and it is painlessly getting the job done. They have some printable certificates on their web site that my ds loves to put stickers on as we finish each lesson.
I looked at FIAR and would love to hear how it goes with a lot of children. I have 4 kids and was nervous about trying it with all of the kids being at different ages and stages in reading. So we are researching it a bit more.
I think it looks like a good year for you and the kids. :grouphug:
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Definitely. Having to remediate poor handwriting habits later on is much harder than correcting them in the first place. Been there, done that with 2 that went to public school at first.
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Handwriting without tears is really great. I used printing power with my dd8 last year and it was a lifesaver. I don't know about remedial phonics. We are using the Reading Lesson and love it, but I am not sure how it would be for an 8 yr old. They have samples on their site and you could definitely use it with your 5 yr old.
I have used Hooked on Phonics with success with my girls before 2nd grade. I found it very easy to use and the kids enjoyed it and improved their reading. I plan to use it again with ds6.5 after he finishes The Reading Lesson.
We also use a slant board and pencil grips during handwriting time. It really has helped my dc's handwriting. We also keep a poster on the wall of the manuscript letters and a numbers chart to 100 that seems to help my ds with his reversals.
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It looks good to me. The only one I really know anything about is FLL (doing it with my 1st grade ds). FLL is really easygoing and we love it.
I wish I would have gotten Abeka for history and science. ;)
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I'm trying to do more with my 4 year old this year, and although we're doing ok with the Kumon books I have, I'd love more hands on stuff and a bit more formal program.
I love the looks of LHTH, but would prefer a secular program and just can't find one.
Although I'm ok to fly by the seat of my pants with my oldest for the youngers I need something that's really all laid out for me.
I guess I'm looking for "Fun Preschool for dummies"
Anyone have any ideas?
I have done about 1/3 of LHTH and found it became very repetitive. I am going to do Hewitt's Preschool Plus when he gets to be 4. It looks really good. http://hewitthomeschooling.com/book/bgroup.asp?i=8052
The sample gives you a really good idea of what to expect from it and the books you would need. http://hewitthomeschooling.com/book/bxpp.asp
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I personally love FLL 1/2 and have started it with ds 6.5. I agree with the previous poster that phonics and reading come first. My son probably wouldn't have been ready for even gentle grammer like FLL until now. His fine motor skills have improved and he sits longer and listens better and just seems to have matured.
My girls were early readers and would have been ready for FLL 1/2 in K instead of 1st if we would have homeschooled them then. I think it depends on the child. I think FLL is so light and gentle that it is a great introduction without seeming overbearing.
We tried R&S this year with dd9 and I am going to switch her to FLL 3 and WWE as soon as possible. I just didn't like R&S and love FLL.
After FLL we are switching to Winston Grammer and Write on Track in 5th grade. I will do the same with the youngers go through FLL and WWE until 5th.
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Spill the beans, please! What is LFBC Physical Science?
I was just thinking this afternoon how I miss the spell of an unused workbook - :lol:! I really hate them once they've gotten "messy" with writing, but brand new...just love them!
Really, anything that holds your hand enough to let you know "this is what you need to learn next" is good, right? So, use what works and enjoy!
I think LFBC stands for landmark freedom baptist curriculum.
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We are doing The Reading Lesson and I love it. My son also doesn't do well with a lot of writing. We use Reading Eggs on the computer as well.
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the home school families where i live tend to have lots of children so they reuse their books, I have asked a few at a meeting I went to and they seemed kind of cliquish (SP?) they seemed to ignore me because I am not originally from the area and am not home schooling to involve religious practices and values
This is my biggest fear this year. That we won't fit in with other homeschool families in co-op b/c we are schooling for different reasons.
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The worst decisions I have made were the ones that I ordered online without seeing in person. A few minutes on the internet with a sample page doesn't do it for me. Hopefully, for myself, I have learned that I really need to see something in person to consider buying it, especially for an expensive purchase. And I know I have learned that not everything that looks fun actually is fun when you get it home!
I definitely did this this year. It is my first year and I wish I would have found this site sooner. I just didn't know that sometimes all-in-one doesn't work and they all look good in the catalog and on the site and on the message boards for their particular curricula.
I looked at sample pages, printed them, compared them, and thought this is great. I ordered and thought, "What have I done?" This will never work. You can't get a good feel from a few sample pages. I totally missed this year.
Coming to other sites besides particular curricula sites was the best thing I could have done. Yes, it has given me lots of curricula choices to research and drool over. Fortunately, I don't have the money to jump on everything I love at first site b/c of my very expensive miss this year. So I am really changing things out as I "know" that it will be better than what we are doing right now.
Next year, I will go to homeschool conventions and such and see it in person. It would have made a very big difference if I had done that this year.
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We are also having trouble plodding through the Egleston books. I am thinking about either getting Abeka history or Beautiful Feet's Primary American History.
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Heart of Dakota programs
I love the idea, but each year I end up speeding the year up and finishing in half the time since we want to move a faster than they do. Then I'm left with a "now what?" for the rest of the year.
I agree. Bigger's history progresses pretty well. The rest we zoom through. We are going to finish Little Hearts in 15 weeks instead of 34.
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My ds6 in a typical day does:
A Reason for Handwriting-10-15 min.
R&S Fine Motor Skills workbook-10-15 min.
Singapore Math-10-20 min. depending on topic
FLL 1/2-10-20 min. depending on lesson
Singapore Start Up Science-15-20 minutes
The Reading Lesson-15-20 minutes
History for Little Pilgrims-15-20 minutes
Read Alouds-time varies
Starting in Sept. on Mondays he will also do co-op from 2-5 pm for language arts, music, art, and p.e.
It takes us 2-2.5 hours to do his work, but he is rotating in and out of kitchen with the other 2 school age kids. He also will begin cub scouts this year as well.
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Wow! This is great. I have both a 3rd and 4th grade dd's that just came home from public school this year and don't really have any experience with dictation and my 4th grader did poorly on the state test with reading comprehension. I was thinking this would be good for both girls. Does this sound like the right level to start them with?
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Do not push them to change their preference. It will not make their writing neater or increase their motor skills.
I am a lefty and write neatly. I have no idea how my motor skills were as a child or at what pace I got neater handwriting. My cousin who was a lefty until he was forced to switch by a well meaning relative around 4 yrs old has the most horrible handwriting I have ever seen.
Whether you are a lefty or righty is based on a brain preference. Lefties are right brained and righties are left brained.
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where can i find cheap sign language materials? my local library doesn't have any materials about sign language that is available
We used baby signs and I bought the starter kit at target for $39 and then got a good deal on ebay for books and cd's and the 6 disc dvd set. It was worth it as my son was a late talker but could communicate with us from the time he was 8 months old his needs. It really cuts down on the tantrums.
The colors and such I just had brainy baby flashcards that I had readily available for him to play with...I didn't "do" flashcards with him but he would dump them out and hold them up and I would tell him purple square, blue circle...that sort of thing. I had them leftover from my ds6 and we really loved them b/c they have real pictures of things on them like apples and wagons. Baby Einstein has a lot of cards that go with their dvd's as well and they are also real pictures. Again, he would just dump them at first and he would pick one and I would tell him what was on the picture. The baby einstein has a lot of tactile elements as well. The animals have fur you can rub on the cards and their is smooth ones also for different skin types.
When my ds2.5 got a little bigger, I bought the wood puzzles that Walmart and such stores carry with the alphabet and numbers and automobiles. My favorite is the Melissa and Doug fish color puzzle where you match the colors (front of fish and tail of fish). I really think just playing and letting him explore these things together made a big difference.
Oh and read, read, read whenever you get the chance.
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Modern Curriculum Press has one called The Write Direction
http://www.textbooksheaven.com/servlet/the-641/Modern-Curriculum-Press-/Detail
If you click on detailed description it will tell you more info.
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They can really be hit or miss, but the reason they seem drawn out is b/c they were originally a newspaper column that was added to each week by Thornton Burgess. They were compiled later into book form.
There were parts my children have liked about them but it took a while to get into Reddy Fox and about the time it got interesting it was the end of the book. Peter Cottontail was a snoozer totally. We are doing Danny Meadow Mouse now and honestly I could be reading to myself I think.
I think it all depends on the child how much they like the books. Some of them are more interesting than others. You could always pre-read another title and see if you like it better.
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I liked MCP Plaid Phonics. I have used it in k and 1st grade with my ds. I did not have the separate readers though. I did have the teacher's guide for 1st and it made it a lot easier and went into more depth and gave teaching suggestions and ways to teach the different sounds.
The teacher's guide is great and I wouldn't want to try and teach plaid phonics without it again. It covered the rules well and the teacher's guide was essential for teaching the rules and how to use all components of the program.
I would definitely recommend it to someone for learning phonics. I wouldn't recommend just using the workbook alone if it is your only phonics instruction. As a supplement, you can get by without the teacher's guide, but as a stand alone phonics I would really recommend the teacher's guide or you won't get a lot of the instruction that isn't workbook based. The activities are all in the teacher's guide.
Have you went http://www.pearsonlearning.com. You should find more information there.
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I'm doing Start Up Science with my almost 6 yo ds. It's a 4 book series from the Singapore Science people. It has some easy hands on stuff scattered through the books. We're doing circuits this week. :001_smile: I like it a lot, but I think it may be going out of print? Rainbow Resource didn't include it in their print catalog this year. I found them at Christian Book Distributors though. I ordered enough copies for my youngers. I hate it when things go OOP. I hope these aren't going OOP and RR not carrying them anymore is some kind of fluke.
I am using this with my ds6 and dd7. I don't think it is going oop though. I ordered mine from Singapore just a couple of weeks ago and the singapore site didn't say anything about it going oop.
How much is your child in charge in of picking curriculum?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted · Edited by OpenMinded
Well, I tried letting my dd9 help this year picking out some things and well...we tried HOD. She loved the catolog and books that were going to be read, but it was so easy. I just don't think it was challenging enough and I don't think she was retaining all that I was reading aloud. The history was pretty good, but the other options seemed light and she was breezing through it and the activities seemed geared to the young end of the guide. She also is artsy and loves to color, but after notebooking only with science for 3 months her notebooking looked worse and worse and her enthusiasm for the experiments lessened. She was totally slacking but had gotten used to the easy work and when I challenged her with another spelling program on her grade level she totally balked. That made the decision for me that we needed to change from HOD.
She loves the catalog for HOD and looking at the books, but I know it is not the program for her or me.
I decided to do a co-op once a week with a professional art teacher, language arts with classic books, music, and drama. So she is still getting her artsy, craftsy stuff in during the week.
So I would say get her input, but also weigh were you want her to be in the end. If you feel it doesn't challenge her and she could do more, then it is time for a change. My child liked HOD and balked at changing, but I knew that she wasn't being challenged and that she needed something else. I feel that I will be giving her the artsy part she needs at co-op.
I will say this she loves the homeschool curriculum catalogs period. Think about us Moms when we get the catalogs and how great it all seems and how we want to buy it all and then think back to when you were 10 and the big Sears Christmas catalog would come and you got a bad case of the giveme monster.
I will listen to my dd9's input, but unless I can see the books in person I am not going from her liking a catalog or from me liking a catalog ever again. I will see the curriculum in person from now on out.
R&S is good for Math. Abeka is expensive, but you can get their language arts and some history from CLP for cheaper b/c they give their own answer keys. We moved from R&S English to ABeka Language and love the change.
I wouldn't keep books that I could purchase again in a few years if I wasn't going to use them until then.