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abibechard

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Everything posted by abibechard

  1. I've been thinking about this question for over a week and just realized I DO know some princess stories that aren't your typical "my life exists to find a boy" Tale of Despereaux has a princess and it's one of my favorite books. Full of good character studies. The Princess and the Goblin. There is a boy but it's very much an equal footing friendship. Light Princess is a fascinating little book about a princess who floats. There is a prince but still good. She is very much a character in of her own self. I second Paperbag Princess as well. Also maybe look up some stories about REAL princesses throughout history. I would be interested if there is a book on that.
  2. We are using one of those notebooks with the space for a picture with our school. I have a 5 and 3 year old. It's not something I intend to use every day as a journal. But for drawing while I'm reading aloud or for nature walks. Or just little bits and pieces of our school concepts I'd like to reinforce. I'm not pushing the writing much yet, but they can dictate and I can write. It's more for the drawing. I love that they could have something at the end of the year to mark what they've learned all in one place.
  3. We love Sonlight. I grew up with it and loved the broad perspective it gave me on the world and others points of view. If you are interested they have a great article called Reasons You Shouldn't Use Sonlight. It's spot on. I love that they acknowledge they may not be for everyone. But they are for us!
  4. My family consists of three boys. Ages 5,3 and 4 months. My husband works 8-5 outside the home and I'm a stay at home mom. We are doing Sonlight's P4/5 with 1st grade elements (readers and LA) for my oldest. Our official start of school day is tomorrow and I'm very excited to start this journey with my two boys. The only thing I'm nervous about is just carving time in my day for school. I feel like we fill our days just with keeping the house running, feeding and helping my baby sleep, making food... adding on school seems intimidating at times. I would like to hear from you how you structure your days. I know school will only take us maybe 2 hours. I'm guessing an hour of couch time and an hour of table time at the most. Do you tie any of your particular subjects to other parts of your day? Heres my hopeful routine (not schedule, because with the baby I don't feel like I can stick to particular times, just rhythms) Wake - Nurse: Breakfast: Papa Leave Post Breakfast - Dressing: Beds Made: Laundry: F nap: R&E play Morning Time - Couch Subjects: Handwriting: Break for R&E to play: Housework: Make Lunch Lunch - Finish Any Reading Post Lunch - E&F Nap: R's Table Subjects (Math, LA, Readers): R Quiet Time with leftover naptime: Me rest Afternoon - Housework: Errends: Make Dinner Dinner - Papa home Post Dinner - Papa play time: Cleanup boys areas: Baths Bedtime for Boys - Finish Laundry: Clean Kitchen: Adult Time Bedtime
  5. Make it more about the process of working with different mediums and the pleasure of getting her mind and hands busy than about trying to churn out a particular piece of art.
  6. I say go with what your child likes. If she likes paint and clay she might be more tactile. Lean into that. Playdoh, slime, gluing mosaics. Also maybe have her help pick out art supplies. If she's part of the process she might be more interested. I'm a pretty artistic person, but normal arts and crafts kill me. So much mess for so little to show for it. I'd much rather my kid just freely play with art supplies or try to replicate other things he sees in his world than some Pinterest craft that I'll want to throw away. The more personal it is to them the better.
  7. I have an advanced 5 year old and a laid back 3year old. (Both boys) We finally settled on Sonlight's PreK Core. I'm supplementing my older one with 1st grade readers and language arts. I know it's going to be easy for him but we can always do a longer read aloud or explore concepts at his level alongside the curriculum. I'm more focusing on creating a school rhythm in our home and balancing life with three (I have a 4month old as well). I'm hoping I can keep them in the same core for a while. Mostly expense wise. But also just for simplicity sake.
  8. Check out Timberdoodle for amazing toys and games.
  9. We are about to finish up the Reading Lesson with my 5 year old. He knew his letters and most of their sounds but wasn't putting them together. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons was what I was planning on teaching him with but it would have moved way to slow. With Reading Lesson I moved faster (one lesson is supposed to last a week but we skipped a lot of repeats and did a lesson in two days). It's simple and quick. I loved that I didn't have to do a bunch of extra things. It covers lots of phonetic rules without feeling super intense. I really loved it. I think it's perfect if your child is already starting to read because you can skim through it without missing important steps or you can go slow and read every page. It's on Amazon for pretty cheap. I think it's used by Timberdoodle.
  10. Oh. I would maybe wait on Stuart. The concept is great but it quickly gets boring toward the end and his main goal is love which is not relatable at that age. I'd reccomend Indian in the Cupboard instead. Dicamillco is one of my favourites. Maybe have him read Tale of Despereaux instead? I know your daughter read Winn Dixie but maybe as the little brother he should read something and recommend it to her? Turn the table a little and give him confidence.
  11. I know this is an old topic, but it's one of my favourites. With a reluctant reader I too would focus on plot driven works. May I suggest Wild Robot by Peter Brown instead of Ivan? We listened to Ivan on Audiobook and I think the stylized language could be frustrating to a new reader. It makes an excellent audiobook or read aloud though. Since you are trying to create empathy Wild Robot would be perfect. There is a lot in there about not pre judging and caring for others. Just a thought. When you have a reluctant reader getting them into a series is super helpful because they get comfortable with the world and characters and are drawn to go back into the books. We are listening to Gregor the Overlander and it's been great. It might be worth checking out. 21 Balloons is great for a boy that's more into technical things And every boy should experience Robert McCloskey's Homer Price stories. They are easy to read but funny and relatable. If you have a reluctant reader I would maybe focus less on teaching him moral lessons and more on cultivating a love for reading. If he feels like you are digging for character growth over just enjoyment and curiosity, he may balk on you. A lot of us grew up on things like Hardy Boys and Babysitters Club and LOVE to read! Sometimes it's just about getting your own world to return to. Have you heard of the Read Aloud Revival Podcast? She has some excellent thoughts on reluctant readers. You can search through her website for the podcast episode that might help. At this point I would have lots of interesting TO him books just laying around. Calvin and Hobbes! Things he would be drawn to pick up on his own. Another reluctant reader tip is reading aloud or listening on audiobook to the first book in the series and then leaving the sequels out to be found. Sounds like you're a great teacher thinking through this so carefully.
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